It was already night, and although Xiangyang City was bustling and lively, apart from the flowery streets and alleys and willows, other places were not as lively as Chang'an where people were singing and dancing all night long.
Qin Mubai led the horse and walked in the alley that smelled of moisture. The horse's hoofs made a crisp sound on the stone slabs. Hua Niangzi followed him a step or two away without haste, her steps were light and silent, and she kept looking left and right.
Along the way, Qin Mubai was only thinking about his own affairs, and ignored the woman who came to keep an eye on her. He never spoke to her. After being bored for a long time, the flower girl couldn't help but feel a little depressed, and hummed in a neutral tone: "Where is your little beauty?"
"What does it have to do with you?" Qin Mubai said casually.
"Don't be so cold and tough!" Hua Niangzi snorted, twisted her waist to follow him, and whispered beside him, "You really agreed to cooperate with them?"
"Them?" Qin Mubai snorted, "Aren't they 'you'?"
"You're really out of touch when you say that." Hua Niangzi curled her lips and said, "Actually, I feel that you and I are even closer."
"What nonsense!"
"I'm not lying to you!" Hua Niangzi looked around and said cautiously, "They don't trust me at all, they only regard me as a tool. In addition to asking me to help them kill people with poison, it is just to vent their desires. The reward is Although they are nice and they treat me politely, I always feel that it is dangerous to be with them. "
"Are you sometimes scared?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but sneer.
"Of course." Hua Niangzi affirmed, "Who is not afraid of death in the world? No matter how tough he is on the lips, he is afraid of death in his heart. Is there anyone who thinks that he will live longer? The more capable and powerful he is, the more he has lived for many years. As time goes by, he becomes more afraid of death, because he must have made many enemies and even killed many people. He must always be on guard against people seeking revenge. That little beauty of yours has a nose as sharp as a dog and eyes as sharp as an eagle. Huan Liang is an out-and-out master of the field. If you don’t believe me, ask her. She must be extremely afraid of death.”
"You talk a lot of nonsense." Qin Mubai said casually, "What exactly do you want to say?"
"Let's find a secluded place to talk!" Lady Hua seemed a little anxious and nervous. Qin Mubai muttered in his heart, I'm afraid you, an old lady, won't be able to play tricks on me
"Go to the small building!"
The two of them rode on a Pegasus and whipped up their whips, and soon arrived at the small building. While riding on the horse, Hua Niangzi hugged Qin Mubai from behind. Taking advantage of the bumps of the horse, she kept rubbing Qin Mubai's back with her pair of plump breasts. Groaning.
Qin Mubai was used to her behavior. He just pretended not to know and was too lazy to care about her knowledge.
As soon as she got off the horse, Lady Hua was surprised and said, "Hey, there's no one in the house? Where is your little beauty? Could it be that she went to bed so early?"
"She returned to her parents' home." Qin Mubai said casually. He opened the door, took out the Huoyizi and lit the lamp, sat down by himself, and said seriously: "If you are afraid that the walls have ears, go and check around yourself. It seems that these are your special skills."
Hua Niangzi complied with the instructions seriously. She carefully checked inside and outside the house for a while, and sprinkled a circle of medicinal powder on the roof and fence grass. Then she clapped her hands and breathed a sigh of relief: "This way, there must be no ears in the wall." ”
Qin Mubai didn't bother to ask her what she had done, and said straight to the point: "What do you want to say?"
"I want to make a deal with you!" Hua Niangzi also said concisely.
"explain."
"Let me tell you my request first." Hua Niangzi also said in a rare moment of seriousness, "Maybe I saw your little beauty and I was envious. I don't want to hang around in the world anymore. I want to wash my hands and live a peaceful life. But as you can imagine, it’s easy to get into the world, but it’s hard to get out of it. Over the years, I have had a lot of enemies. No matter how hard I hide, they will always find me to take revenge. So, I can’t just quit. Unless I can find the most reliable tree to protect me from the wind and rain. For Jianghu people, the best tree is either an officer or a soldier."
"Then what do you want?" Qin Mubai sneered, "Do you still want to follow Chen Yan and be with me?"
"I know you won't agree." Hua Niangzi pursed her lips, her face full of shrewdness, and said calmly, "I know, you easily applied for a household registration document for the Hundred Cavalry Army for Chen Yan, so stupid I want it if I want. I'm not greedy. I don't expect to be a royal commander. I just want to be an officer of the Huotou Army in Xiangzhou Military Mansion. I don't have a high official position, but I can be a member of the team. It's not difficult at all, right? "
Qin Mubai laughed: "What do you think of the military government of the Tang Dynasty? Anyone can come in and become an officer? The captain of the team is not big, but he is also an upright eighth-grade officer with a salary and land. In the army It is a self-contained system that is not subject to the supervision of the government. The eighth-grade captain of a military government is no worse than the county lieutenant in the county government, and he has more power in his hands. You really have a big appetite, and you are quite whimsical. !”
"Hey, don't say it in such a bad way, okay?" Lady Hua showed a hint of sullenness and said anxiously, "Aren't you the one who has the final say in the Xiangzhou Military Mansion? Give me a title. That's fine, I don't want your Lumi. But you have to hide in the military camp for a few years. When I find a good man I can rely on, I will marry him quietly. By then, no one will know me. ”
"Impossible." Qin Mubai refused without hesitation, "There can be no women in the military camp. Even Chen Yan's military registration file is just a piece of paper. She will never work in the Imperial City. . Besides, Baiqi is a special army. They often come into contact with the female members of the royal family when they are in the forbidden area. Even if they recruit a few female generals and soldiers, it can be said that the local military government is all made up of grown men. Women may be allowed."
Hua Niangzi frowned and said anxiously: "Then what should I do? In short, you can find a way to help me withdraw from the world, and find a way to protect me so that my enemies will not come to embarrass me. Wait a few days Years later, I will naturally withdraw from the world and become a good person. General Qin, you are the father and mother of the people. Encouraging evil to do good is more meritorious than trying to eliminate evil, isn't it? I admit that I have done a lot before. Bad things, but really serious crimes, such as murder and arson, I have never done anything like that. At most, I just played tricks on some bad men, and that's what people are willing to do. Now I want to be a good person, so you can do it for me. Give it a chance!”
Qin Mubai stared at Hua Niangzi, making her feel a little scared. After thinking silently for a long time, Qin Mubai nodded: "Seeing that you are still somewhat sincere, I can think of a way to help you. However, if you have committed any major crime of beheading before, then there will be a secretary in the yamen It’s none of my business to track you down and bring me to justice.”
"Okay, okay." Hua Niangzi nodded repeatedly in surprise, "Just tell me, how are you going to arrange for me?"
"Prince Wu's Mansion." Qin Mu Baiyan said these three words.
"This...!" Lady Hua was startled, and then she looked confused, "That's inappropriate, that's inappropriate! Li Ke is a prince, and he is arrogant and unattainable. How can he accept a villain like me? Besides... I He must also be aware of my reputation. How can he not be tired of even you hating me? Moreover, didn’t you fall out with him a few days ago? "
"I know Li Ke's personality well. He is arrogant and arrogant, but he also has a clear sense of grudges and grievances." Qin Mubai said, "You were very unbearable before, but if you can really rein in the past and change your past, you will definitely be a new person." With your skill and ability, Li Ke can accept you to stay in the palace and give you a place. My falling out with him is due to official matters, and we have different purposes, but he will also give details to the people I recommend. Consider accepting it. These are not problems. If I say yes, it will be possible. But... why should I help you?"
"Humph, I dare to mention these conditions, of course because I have the goods!" Hua Niangzi smiled mysteriously, "I know what you want to do most right now."
"Tell me."
"It's just to find out who the Lord of Song Cao is. Of course, the most important thing is to rescue the hostages, isn't it?"
"You guessed it right." Qin Mubai said calmly, "Then what can you do?"
The flower girl smiled and said, "I lied to you before."
"What does it mean?"
"About the hostages." Hua Niangzi said, "That night, I was the one who held Pang Fei, and I was also the one who imprisoned and imprisoned him. In our line of work, we must have something in our hands at all times, or use To save one's life, or to raise the price, I think it's easy for you to understand."
Qin Mubai suddenly realized: "So, even the water ghost doesn't know where you detained Pang Fei?"
"Not bad!" Hua Niangzi grinned, and her smile was a little evil and a little proud. "Although I am a small person in the world, I also have my own principles. I made it clear to them before we cooperated. I'm in charge, and I don't want to be an errand boy. If that's not the case, how can I earn a good price if I just come and go? It's valuable. After I knew Pang Fei's identity, I thought that this man was worth more. Now it seems that the price the water ghosts gave me is far less valuable than what you gave me. So, I decided to make a deal with you. "
"You are smart enough." Qin Mubai shook his head and sneered, "But if you do this, aren't you afraid of offending the water ghost?"
"Oh, do you think I'm really stupid?" Hua Niangzi said, "If I do this, I don't have to be afraid of them no matter what."
"How to say?"
"Think about it, if you join them from now on, with your status, ability and ability, they dare to neglect you? Before, you asked me to tell them that you have been seduced by my beauty. In this way, I She is your woman. To put it bluntly, beating a dog is a deception. Do they dare to embarrass General Qin's woman? Just like they don't dare to take revenge on Chen Yan." Lady Hua raised her lips and smiled. Adding a bit of charm, he added, "Besides, I have never seen a thief who can live forever. I have only heard of wealthy families with hundreds of years of officialdom and thousands of years. Between you and the water ghost, which one is more important?" Isn’t it clear at a glance how to decide?”
"You are such a smart man." Qin Mubai nodded with a smile, "Just talking is useless, empty words are useless. Use your actions to prove it!"
"As long as you really promise me and let King Wu accept me and give me a place to stay, I promise that Pang Fei will appear in front of you before dawn!" Hua Niangzi vowed.
"You can go get someone now." Qin Mubai said calmly.
"Qin Mubai, a gentleman's words are hard to chase! Don't forget what I said today!" Lady Hua gritted her teeth, got up and walked out, "I'm going to get Pang Fei, who is jumping up and down. , hand it over to you!”
"Yeah." Qin Mubai nodded.
The flower lady's figure quickly disappeared into the night.
Qin Mubai sat in the room and drank half a cup of tea in a leisurely manner. Then he went to the bedroom on the second floor, opened the window, slipped along the railing outside the window, dived into the stream and swam forward for a while, and then came ashore. After blowing a whistle, the untied Huoyun horse ran over with its hooves.
The flower girl sprinkled a circle of medicinal powder outside the fence, so Qin Mubai escaped by using water.
"Ladies, do you think I'm a three-year-old child, giving me such a dirty trick? You just want to deceive my trust, and then blatantly act as an undercover agent next to me, right?" Qin Mubai snorted coldly. With a cry, she thought in her heart: If nothing else happens, she will really bring Pang Fei. Giving away a less valuable Pang Fei in exchange for my absolute trust, this transaction is absolutely worth it. Maybe my guess was wrong, and Lady Hua was sincerely repentant and helping me. But in this extraordinary period, the Wannian Ship has to be careful. If she truly and completely repented and switched sides to help me, she would be able to make things clear in the future.
After having made up his mind, Qin Mubai mounted his horse and ran towards the north in the starry night, running around in circles along the way.
As a result, everything was fine.
After spending so long with Chen Yan, coupled with his natural vigilance and the tracking and anti-tracking skills learned in his previous life, Qin Mubai was sure that there was no one following him. So he turned his horse's head and galloped towards Dengzhou.
"It's time for this drama to get to its climax. It's time to close the net on this brown case." Qin Mubai grinned and thought to himself: Li Ke, Chen Yan, the Baiqi soldiers in the military mansion, stay here Quan Wanji and Yuwen Hongtai in the Governor's Mansion will each play their own roles and participate in the final battle against the water ghost!
"What a wonderful layout and seamless strategy!" Qin Mubai thought, with a confident and satisfied smile on his face.
Riding Juechen, at dawn, the hooves of Huoyun Horse had already stepped on the land of Dengzhou. After galloping all night, even a majestic horse like it was foaming at the mouth.
In Xinye County, Dengzhou, the door of a guest room at the government-run inn was rudely kicked open by Qin Mubai. The hearty laughter of several men could be heard inside.
"Qin Mubai, you are so punctual!"
"King Wu, King Qi! I have an appointment with your two princes, how dare you break your promise?" Qin Mubai laughed and walked in with his head held high.
Wu King Li Ke, Qi King Li You, and Xue Rengui were beside them, all showing happy and excited smiles.
"it's time!"