A group of men with different expressions stood on both sides of the gate of Huijiaji, staring at Yan Liqiang and his party who were riding horses into Huijiaji with strange eyes.
This group of men were all dressed in rags and had unkempt hair, but their expressions were fierce. Even though Huijiaji had opened the door and made a welcoming gesture, these men still had weapons in their hands, and there was a hint of vigilance in their expressions as they looked at Yan Liqiang and the others.
"Gentlemen, I am the normal Lu from Huijiaji. I am late, late. I don't know if you are sorry. There are too many bandits outside. We have to be careful. Please forgive me..."
An old man with gray hair, a face full of wrinkles like ravines in the wilderness, a thin body, but a shrewd look in his eyes, saw Yan Liqiang and the others come in, and immediately walked over with a smile on his face and bowed to everyone.
When he saw this old man, Yan Liqiang thought of the old wolves he had seen in the wilderness, which had lost their fur and were no longer strong, but more cunning and had equally sharp teeth.
"You should have an inn here, right?" Liang Yiji asked.
"Yes, yes, yes, of course..." The village head named Chang Lu nodded quickly.
"Then take us to your inn!"
"Okay, okay, okay, please follow me..." The old man nodded, then glanced at the bodies of the dead guards on the rhinoceros horses that had just arrived at Huijiaji. His eyelids trembled, and his body suddenly became more hunched. He lowered his voice and asked in a low voice, "Gentlemen, um...did you encounter any trouble on the road?"
"We just encountered more than two hundred Black Wind Bandits on the road..." Liang Yiji said calmly.
The three words "Black Wind Bandits" really had a huge deterrent effect. As soon as Liang Yijie said it, the old man and the men standing at the entrance of Huijiaji all changed their expressions...
"... However, we have already killed the Black Wind Bandits we encountered, so you don't need to be nervous!"
It was not known whether Liang Yijie was stating a fact or issuing a warning. After hearing Liang Yijie's last sentence, the old man whose expression had just changed suddenly laughed again, "That's good, that's good, but these Black Wind Bandits are not easy to mess with. Those of us who are on guard at Huijiaji at night have to be alert..."
"Well, we'll send someone to keep watch with you!"
“That’s right, that’s right, gentlemen, please follow me…” the old man said, and led everyone into Huijiaji.
Yan Liqiang was riding on his horse without saying a word. He felt someone was watching him. He turned his head and saw a man in a gray cotton jacket standing on the earth wall. He was looking at the bow bag of the horn python bow on his horse with burning eyes, and then his eyes were on his face. There was some confusion and a hint of solemnity on his face - this man was the one whose bow and arrow he had just shot off.
The distance was more than 200 meters and it was dark. I shot two arrows into the crowd. If the man did not have any special abilities, ordinary people would not be able to see me clearly at that distance. So the man should be guessing whether he was the one who shot the two arrows, because the bow case of the horn python bow on his horse was much larger than the bow cases of other guards, and it seemed unique. And I didn't look like I had such ability at my age, so the man looked confused, perhaps still wondering whether the bow in the bow case on his rhinoceros horse was the one he was going to use.
Yan Liqiang didn't explain anything, he just followed the crowd.
At this time, it is a good thing to let these people in Huijiaji be confused about the details and have some fear.
The houses in Huijiaji are low and short, all made of rammed earth. Some are dilapidated, and there are very few two-story buildings. The walls of almost all the buildings show traces of vicissitudes caused by desertification.
The arrival of Yan Liqiang and his group caused many people in Huijiaji to come out of their rooms and look at them curiously with various eyes.
What surprised Yan Liqiang was that there was a brothel in this gray family complex. When he passed an intersection, several women in red and green came out of a low earthen house on the roadside, holding handkerchiefs and waving enthusiastically to the guards on horseback. Of course, as for the looks of those women, they were so horrible that Yan Liqiang didn't know how to describe it.
…
After a while, everyone arrived at the inn in Huijiaji.
If it weren't for the wooden sign hanging next to the entrance of that place with the word "Posthouse" written on it, Yan Liqiang would not have believed that this was the Posthouse.
A half-collapsed earthen wall, three earthen houses with missing doors, a leaky roof, a medium-sized yard, pitch-darkness, and chicken shit all over the floor. Calling this a haunted house might be an exaggeration, as a haunted house is at least still a house. And if this place were in Liuhe Town, many people's pig pens would probably be more sophisticated than this one.
"Is this the posthouse in Huijiaji?" Liang Yiji's voice already had a hint of anger.
"That's right!" The old man nodded and sighed, "There has been no money allocated from above for more than ten years, so this posthouse can only be like this. Even the postmaster here ran away a few years ago because he couldn't make a living..."
"Is there an inn in Huijiaji?"
"Yes, yes, yes..." The old man laughed, "Do you guys want to stay at an inn? But if you want to stay at an inn, you have to pay..."
"Just stay at the inn, we'll pay, and just take us there..."
"Okay, okay, okay, then go this way, go this way..."
…
After walking for another two minutes, everyone finally arrived at an inn in Huijiaji.
Although this inn was a bit shabby, it was dozens of times better than the previous posthouse. There were two large courtyards in the inn, which was quite spacious. When Yan Liqiang and others arrived, the old man immediately directed the servants in the inn to get busy, boiling water, slaughtering sheep, cooking, feeding horses...
Because there were not enough waiters in the inn, the old man asked a waiter to call many people in the town to help.
It turned out that this old man was not only the head of Huijiaji, but also the owner of this inn.
Everyone landed and breathed a sigh of relief.
After all the running and fighting along the way, everyone was exhausted, and many people were holding on by gritting their teeth.
The same was true for Yan Liqiang. He didn't feel anything during the battle because his blood was boiling. But now that he had relaxed, he felt that he was already starving. Not only that, the muscles in his arms, shoulders and back were burning with pain, and the tendons in his arms, shoulders and back were sore and painful.
Shooting so many arrows with the Horned Python Bow in a short period of time has reached Yan Liqiang's current physical limit. Although outsiders cannot see it, Yan Liqiang himself can feel that his body has been overdrawn a lot and is exhausted. Now is the time to pay back the debt. If the Black Wind Bandits come again at this time, Yan Liqiang will probably have no choice but to run away.
Although his body had reached its limit, after dismounting at the inn and tying Wuyun Gaixue in the stable, Yan Liqiang was still busy in silence like the other guards, moving the bodies of the guards who died in the battle off the horses one by one.
These bodies could not be taken on the road, so they could only be cremated here and their ashes returned to the capital.
Just after moving the bodies, Liang Yiji came to tell Yan Liqiang that Sun Bingchen wanted to see him. Under the watchful eyes of the guards, Yan Liqiang came to Sun Bingchen's room.
Sun Bingchen was the only one in the room, sitting upright on a chair in the room. Liang Yiji did not follow him in.
"Sir, are you looking for me?" Yan Liqiang entered the room and saluted Sun Bingchen.
Sun Bingchen looked at Yan Liqiang deeply, then nodded slowly and pointed to a seat opposite him, "Sit down!"
Yan Liqiang walked over and sat down calmly.
"It's all thanks to you today. If it weren't for your help just now, most of these guards would have had difficulty surviving this time!" Sun Bingchen said with some emotion.
"I just did what I should do!" Yan Liqiang replied, while muttering in his heart whether Sun Bingchen would ask him about his archery skills next. However, Sun Bingchen's next sentence was beyond Yan Liqiang's expectation.
"Everyone has their own secrets and things they don't want everyone to know. If someone asks you in the future, just say that I already knew your archery skills, so I made you my personal attendant. There is no need to explain anything else. I guess many guards outside, even Yijie, think the same way. If anyone is still curious, just ask them to ask me!"
Sun Bingchen's words made Yan Liqiang stunned. He originally wanted to fool around and believe it or not, but at this time, hearing what Sun Bingchen said, Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly and could only tell Sun Bingchen the truth, "Please forgive me, my master, I didn't intend to hide my archery skills from you before. I just didn't want to attract too much attention. After all, a 15-year-old boy has already advanced to the third level of archery. In a place like Pingxi City in Ganzhou, it is really shocking. I don't have enough experience and my family has no background. In order to avoid causing trouble for my family, I have never revealed my archery skills to others. Even my father doesn't know it until now!"
Sun Bingchen nodded, stroked his beard, and looked at Yan Liqiang with admiration. "I wonder when you discovered that you have a talent for archery, Liqiang? Have you ever had any famous teacher to teach you?"
"Ever since I first touched a bow and shot arrows, I found that I seemed to be a little different from others. Others had to practice for a long time before they could find the feeling, but it was so easy for me the first time. The arrows I shot out seemed to be in tune with my own mind, and it was easy to hit the target. Until now, I have been practicing alone, without the guidance of a famous teacher..." Yan Liqiang did not say that he started learning archery half a year ago, but used a vaguer statement. The so-called first time he touched a bow and shot arrows could be at the age of seven or ten. Yan Liqiang felt that this statement would make it easier for people to accept. Otherwise, if it was too outrageous, it might not be a good thing for him.
Sun Bingchen sighed, "At the age of fifteen, he has already reached the third level of the art of archery. People like Li Qiang are rare archery geniuses not only in Ganzhou, but also in the Imperial Capital. What's even more rare is that you, Li Qiang, are cautious and know how to keep a low profile. It seems that I did not make a mistake about you. You follow me back to the Imperial Capital this time, and I will definitely ensure that you have a bright future in the future!"
"Thank you, sir!"
"When you encountered the Black Wind Bandits just now, you were too impulsive and put yourself in danger several times. Remember what I told you, you just need to protect yourself!"
"yes!"
"Okay, go down. Have a good rest tonight and you don't have to take part in the night watch. I've already asked Yijie to give the order..."
Yan Liqiang saluted Sun Bingchen, then stood up and walked towards the door. When he reached the door, Yan Liqiang gritted his teeth and finally couldn't help but stop. He turned around and asked Sun Bingchen a question, "Sir, so many guards died today just to escort Ye Tiancheng, who should have been beheaded long ago, to the Imperial Capital. Is it worth it?"
Sun Bingchen was silent for two seconds. "The day those guards joined the army, they had to be aware of being loyal to the country. Now, they are loyal to the country. If there really comes a day when I need to die for my country, I will not back down!"
"I understand!" Yan Liqiang sighed in his heart, then pushed open the door and walked out.
Sun Bingchen watched Yan Liqiang leave, and sat quietly in the room with his eyes closed for a while. He couldn't help but touch the mirror bag that he had carefully hidden in his arms with one hand, and remembered the words on the mirror bag.
—A young man in the northwest desert dares to swallow the sky with his two mouthfuls!
Although Sun Bingchen still had some doubts before, Yan Liqiang's performance today made him more inclined to his previous judgment. Yan Liqiang is that person...
(End of this chapter)