At the critical moment, Ling Xiao and Qing Feng fought their way out of the encirclement and fled deep into the jungle. Unexpectedly, the group refused to give in and vowed to get rid of Ling Xiao.
Later, Ling Xiao decided to split up with Qing Feng, perhaps to have a better chance of survival. Qing Feng didn't want Ling Xiao to endure the attacks of those men in black alone, so he snatched Ling Xiao's cloak and put it on, then went in two different directions with Ling Xiao's backs.
"Those people thought I was the young master, and most of them followed me. But after they found out my true identity, they all chased after me along the road the young master took to escape." Qingfeng said. "My road led to a cliff, and those people pushed me to the edge of the cliff. If I didn't jump off, they would kill me."
There might be a chance of survival if I jumped off the cliff, but if I fell into the hands of that group of people, I would be dead.
"Later, fortunately, a doctor who passed by helped me and left some food for me, so I was able to survive until now." Qingfeng sighed.
"Do you still remember this jade pendant?" Wei Xun took out the jade pendant and let Qingfeng take a look at it.
"This jade pendant must have been accidentally dropped when the young master and I were fighting for the cloak." Qingfeng replied.
That makes sense.
Wei Xun had Qingfeng taken away for treatment and rest, while the rest of the people continued searching.
The room suddenly became quiet, and Wei Xun helped Ling Qingwan sit down.
"Maybe something has happened to my brother?" After saying that, tears as big as pearls fell from Ling Qingwan's eyes.
"If what Qingfeng said is true, and he bought some time for the prince to escape, then the prince is very likely to have escaped successfully and should be safe now."
These words were not just a simple consolation; Wei Xun really thought so.
"But if he's fine, why doesn't he come back to find us?" Ling Qingwan couldn't figure it out, and now he didn't want to think about it. He only cared about Ling Xiao's safety.
"If he is in the deep mountains or in a remote town, how would he know we are in Suiyang? He may not come out because he is afraid that the group will find him again. He is alone now and he will definitely not be able to defeat that group, so the best way is to hide."
Everything Wei Xun said made sense, and Ling Qingwan felt a little better.
According to the clues given by Qingfeng, the two discovered that the direction Ling Xiao escaped that day should be leading to Chenghua Village.
Both Shen Chengzhou's men and Wei Xun had been searching in Jinshan these days, and never thought that Ling Xiao might have escaped to a nearby village. Wei Xun immediately decided to go to Chenghua Village in person to look for Ling Xiao's whereabouts.
"I want to go too." Ling Qingwan volunteered.
Ling Qingwan did not follow the search in the mountains because she knew that her physical strength was not as good as the soldiers and she would need someone to take care of her if she went. In order to use all the troops to search for Ling Xiao's whereabouts, Ling Qingwan waited in the city.
Now that she knew the specific clues, Ling Qingwan could no longer hold back and insisted on going along.
"This..." Song Tian hesitated.
Song Tian was sent by Shen Chengzhou to help Wei Xun and protect Ling Qingwan. He wondered if letting Ling Qingwan go to Chenghua Village with him was against Shen Chengzhou's order.
"Mingyue, Luluo and Hongshang are all martial artists who can help. And Hongshang also knows medical skills. Although I don't know anything, but..."
"How come you don't know anything? You can still accompany me, and only you can accompany me." Wei Xun interrupted Ling Qingwan.
He hated it most when Ling Qingwan belittled him.
"Give orders to find a constable who has been in office for a long time, and pick a few soldiers who are more agile. We don't need too many, seven or eight will be enough. Once everything is ready, we will set out tomorrow."
Including Ling Qingwan's side, there were about fifteen people in the group. They set out for the city early the next morning.
The people in the nearby villages were simple and honest, and if a large group of hundreds of people went there, they would definitely be scared. Therefore, Wei Xun made this trip extremely simple, with everyone doing their job and making a big difference.
For convenience, Wei Xun also had someone draw a portrait of Ling Xiao, and gave almost everyone a copy, and went door to door in Chenghua Village to ask.
At this time, Taohua Village is farther away from Chenghua Village.
In front of a wooden house, a man in a green shirt was bending over to chop wood.
The woman came out, holding a kettle and two steamed buns in her hands, and walked up to the man.
"Awan, here." The woman handed the thing in her hand to the man named Awan.
The woman had a pretty face, and although she was not wearing any makeup, she looked very pretty. The man was even more handsome, with strong and delicate features, like a handsome young man.
As the sun sets, the dim sunlight shines on the two of them, like a painting.
"Thank you, sister." The man took it with a smile, then raised his head and drank most of the water in the kettle.
"Thank you for your hard work, chopping so much firewood." The woman glanced at the pile of firewood next to her, feeling a little embarrassed.
The person who worked at home hadn't come back yet, and the firewood was almost used up. Fortunately, Awan came to help.
"It's okay, it's not hard." A Wan smiled.
The woman told Ah Wan to take a rest for a while, and she grabbed the apron hanging on the wall next to her, and was about to go to the kitchen to cook. Suddenly, someone called her from outside the yard.
"Liu'er! Come here!"
Liu'er wiped her hands, without even taking off her apron, and trotted to the woman who called her.
"What's wrong, Xiaoyu?" Liu'er wondered. Xiaoyu looked anxious, as if she had encountered something serious.
Xiaoyu pulled Liu'er out without saying a word.
"Tell me honestly, how long are you going to keep that man?" Xiaoyu asked in a low voice.
Liu'er was in a dilemma.
"You've heard the gossip in the village. They all say that you found a strange man and brought him home. Apart from anything else, how are you going to explain to Huzi when he comes back?" Xiaoyu was really disappointed. She wanted to pry open Liu'er's brain to see what was inside.
"When Brother Huzi comes back, I will explain everything to him. I have nothing to fear from the villagers. I have no right to interfere with what they say about me. But Ah Wan has no relatives here, and he can't even remember who he is. If I don't take care of him, he will just die on his own."
Liu'er couldn't bear to leave Awan behind no matter what.
"I heard from my husband that a group of government officials came to Chenghua Village recently to arrest fugitives. They took out the portrait and asked everyone they met. The person in the portrait looks very much like Awan." Xiaoyu looked very serious and it was hard to tell that she was joking.
Liu'er's heart trembled, and she turned around to look at Awan again.
Ah Wan was concentrating on eating a steamed bun, looking honest and simple, not like a fugitive at all.
"You must have made a mistake. Awan can't be a fugitive." Liu'er said firmly and refused to believe Xiaoyu's words.
"How could I have made a mistake? Even if there was no portrait, don't you think about it? We haven't had a stranger in our village for several years, and now Awan suddenly came, and then soldiers from Chenghua Village came. I ask you, is there such a coincidence in the world? And Awan is so good-looking, I can tell at a glance that he is not from our village."