By the time Yan Liqiang fished the Black Scale Sword out of the water at the riverbank and walked out of the river dripping wet holding the Black Scale Sword, the three women, Concubine Rui, Concubine Duan and Concubine Yi, had already walked out from behind the rocks.
Concubine Rui's face was not as red as before. Concubine Duan and Concubine Yi looked at Yan Liqiang a little embarrassedly, their expressions were slightly awkward, but looking at Yan Liqiang's eyes, they had basically returned to normal. Yan Liqiang knew that Concubine Rui should have clarified the misunderstanding behind the stone just now. Concubine Duan and Concubine Yi should still remember how he rescued them last night and knew that they were tied to Concubine Rui. As long as Concubine Rui showed them the broken belt, the two of them would know.
Several people were wet, but luckily the three women were wearing skirts with several layers inside and outside. The wet skirts stuck to their bodies, which made the figures of the three people clearly visible but were not transparent. It was just a little embarrassing, but not so bad that they could not be seen.
The atmosphere was a little awkward, and the three women didn't know what to say. Yan Liqiang looked at the rising sun in the sky, and then spoke casually to break the silence, "Well, ladies, why don't we find a place to dry our clothes, take a rest, find something to eat, and then decide how to leave here. According to the weather in the mountains, if you ladies are still wearing trial clothes before dark, we can't hold on!"
"Well, let Lord Yan arrange everything!" Concubine Rui said, and the other two nodded.
Yan Liqiang nodded, looked at the surrounding terrain, then walked to a large rock by the river. Holding the black-scale sword, he flipped his wrist and the huge rock suddenly flew everywhere. In the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang carved the word "Yan" on the rock, and then carved an arrow.
After resting for such a period of time, Yan Liqiang felt that his strength was slowly returning and he gradually regained some strength, so he became adept at using the Black Scale Sword.
The three ladies looked at Yan Liqiang's actions with curiosity.
"Master Yan, what are you doing?" Concubine Duan asked curiously.
Yan Liqiang smiled and said, "Several of us fell into the water last night and we don't know whether we are alive or dead. If I guess correctly, Concubine Rong will definitely send people to search along this river to find our whereabouts. I will leave a mark here. If the people who are looking for us come here and see the mark on this stone, they will know that we are still alive and will come to find us in this direction!"
"Lord Yan is really meticulous!" Concubine Duan praised.
"No, it won't hurt to think about it a little more!" Yan Liqiang glanced at the three women again, his eyes were clear, and he deliberately didn't look below their necks. "Can you ladies leave now?"
Concubine Yi nodded and said, "Don't worry, Master Yan. Although we have been in the palace for a long time, we have nothing to do on weekdays. My sisters and I often play football in the palace. Walking this mountain road is not a problem!"
The kicking ball that Concubine Yi was talking about was not football, but a special palace game between football and shuttlecock. It was very entertaining and loved by the concubines in the palace. Hearing Concubine Yi say this, Yan Liqiang felt relieved, "Then I will lead the way, and the three ladies can just follow me!"
The three women nodded.
Yan Liqiang took the Black Scale Sword and led the three people out of the canyon. If there were any weeds or branches along the way, Yan Liqiang would first use the Black Scale Sword to cut them open and clear them away, and then let the three women behind him follow. The role of the Black Scale Sword at this time was simply irreplaceable. This was also the reason why Yan Liqiang took the trouble to go into the water again to fish out the Black Scale Sword. If he didn't have a sword in his hand, he didn't know how to get the three women out of this place at the same time.
The three women followed Yan Liqiang. At first, they were worried about the strange snakes and insects in the grass along the way, but when they saw Yan Liqiang carefully sweeping away the debris along the way and the road he chose was not difficult to walk on and the walking speed was not too fast, the three women breathed a sigh of relief and followed Yan Liqiang little by little towards the outside of the canyon.
After walking for a short distance, they saw some long and straight branches on the side of the road. Yan Liqiang used his sword to cut three branches to make three walking sticks for the three women, making it easier for Concubine Rui, Concubine Duan and Concubine Yi to walk.
They walked like this for about an hour, and after walking four or five miles in the valley, they saw a small hill in front of them. Below the hill were several huge rocks about four or five meters high. When the three women saw the rocks, they instantly showed embarrassment on their faces.
Concubine Rui hesitated for a moment, "Master Yan, this stone is too high. I'm afraid we... the three sisters can't get over it!"
Yan Liqiang put the black scale sword into its scabbard and said, "It's okay. I'll take you up. I'll take one at a time. Three times will be enough. In this emergency, we'll take the necessary measures. Who of the three ladies will come first?"
The three women looked at each other, all a little embarrassed. Concubine Duan smiled lightly and pushed Concubine Rui, "Master Yan, please take Sister Rui over first!"
Concubine Rui came in front of Yan Liqiang with a red face. Yan Liqiang didn't say much. He put his arm around Concubine Rui's waist, jumped, and jumped over the boulder in one leap and landed behind the boulder. Then Yan Liqiang moved and landed next to Concubine Duan and Concubine Yi. Without waiting for the two women to say anything, Yan Liqiang put his arm around each of their waists, moved his feet, and with a whoosh, he jumped over the boulder in one leap and landed steadily next to Concubine Rui. Then he let go of his hand and continued to draw out the Black Scale Sword to clear the way.
After this, Yan Liqiang felt that the awkward atmosphere between them was gone at once. The three women walking behind him also took the initiative to talk to him.
Concubine Yi spoke first, "Lord Yan, I wonder who attacked us last night. Will Sister Rong and the others be in danger?"
"The three people who attacked us last night were gangsters. I killed them all. They looked like the three retainers of the governor of Luquan County who escaped from Luming Pass. Concubine Rong and the others should be safe from danger!" Yan Liqiang was walking in front while talking to Concubine Yi behind him. "It was my carelessness. I thought those three little characters must have fled far away after escaping from Luming Pass and would not dare to meet us again. I didn't expect that they would hold a grudge and want to retaliate against us, so they caused what happened last night..."
Concubine Duan also spoke up, "Are these Jianghu people also loyal to a man like Zhou Shouren? They actually want to avenge Zhou Shouren?"
"They may not be loyal, but they really hate us for cutting off their financial resources and killing their financial sponsors. Some people will never give up even for a small grudge. What happened last night taught me a lesson!"
Concubine Rui sighed and consoled him, "Master Yan, please don't blame yourself. Who could have predicted what happened last night? Besides, when those three people escaped from Luming Pass, we were on our way and it was not worth chasing them. If it weren't for Master Yan last night, I'm afraid the three of us sisters would have been buried in the deep ravine and become dry bones in the river!"
Concubine Duan smiled softly, "Sister is right, sister is still good at comforting people!"
Yan Liqiang couldn't respond and could only pretend he didn't hear it...
Concubine Rui's face turned red again. She pinched Concubine Duan behind Yan Liqiang. Concubine Duan blinked at Concubine Rui, while Concubine Yi smiled gently.
After walking for about an hour, the canyon split into two, one to the left and one to the right. It seemed that the roads on both sides were similar. Yan Liqiang stopped at the intersection of the canyon, considering which direction to go.
At this time, Yan Liqiang missed the Fire-Eyed Golden Eagle, but the Fire-Eyed Golden Eagle was no longer by his side. After entering Guzhou a few days ago, there were no more unrest and White Lotus bandits along the way. In order to avoid more trouble, Yan Liqiang asked the Fire-Eyed Golden Eagle to take the box of "magic insects" he got from Lin Qingtian and return to the northwest, along with a handwritten letter from himself, to Cui Lichen of Yu Luo Palace. Yan Liqiang felt that the sooner Cui Lichen knew the news about the evil spirits and the White Lotus, the better. He was unable to spare the time at the moment, and if he wanted to deal with those evil spirits, he had to ask people from Yu Luo Palace to take action. Even if Yu Luo Palace could not find the whereabouts of Lin Qingtian and the emperor for the time being, with Yu Luo Palace's ability and network of relationships, it would be good to know the truth about Dijing City earlier and be prepared for contingencies one day earlier.
"Lord Yan, are you hesitating about which path to choose?" Just when Yan Liqiang was hesitating, Concubine Rui suddenly walked up to Yan Liqiang and spoke.
"Well, that's right. These two roads in front of me seem to be similar. I don't know which one will be more convenient. I'm hesitating!"
"Lord Yan, why don't you try this route!" Concubine Rui said, pointing to the canyon on the right.
"Oh, why did your Majesty think that we could try this route?"
Concubine Rui spoke calmly, "When I was a female doctor in the palace, I read in medical books that there were many medicines in Gaoyi County, Guzhou. One of them was Wisteria Ganoderma, which is very precious and grows mostly in deep mountains and valleys. Wisteria Ganoderma likes the sun, so it often grows in the south of the mountains and north of the water. The herbalists in Gaoyi County often go deep into these places to look for Wisteria Ganoderma after September. I see that the road on the right is in the south of the mountain, and the surrounding terrain also meets the growth conditions of Wisteria Ganoderma. If I take this road, I might be able to find a place with people..."
Yan Liqiang looked at Concubine Rui with some surprise, "It turns out that Concubine Rui is also a national expert in medicine!"
Concubine Rui was a little shy, "Master Yan, please forgive me for making fun of you. I haven't treated patients for many years. I am not worthy of being called a national expert!"
Concubine Yi said, "Sister, you are too modest again. I have never found any female doctor in this palace who is more capable than you. If you were not stuck in the palace, your name would have spread throughout the Imperial Capital!"
"Hahaha, since Her Majesty said it's better to go this way, then let's go this way!" Yan Liqiang laughed, marked the intersection with his Black Scale Sword, and then walked directly towards the canyon on the right.
After walking for just over half an hour, they came out of the canyon and into a sunny forest. Yan Liqiang saw a small wooden house on the hillside in front of him. A stream flowed by the side of the house. There was also a fence around the house. Yan Liqiang was immediately happy, "Great, there are people here. Let's go over and take a look..."
(End of this chapter)