"Miss, this Xiaofa looks honest and kind. Would he report us to the authorities?" Xiao Qing asked in surprise. "Besides, you said yourself that if he dared to report us, we'd kill his whole family."
Liu Rumei sighed, "Alas, that's what we said. If this Xiaofa doesn't report us, and Black Ox dies at his home, he won't be able to explain himself. So, only by reporting it can he clear his name."
After hearing Liu Rumei's analysis, Xiao Qing nodded.
"Miss is right. There's no time to waste, let's run!"
After discussing for a while, the two dared not linger any longer, and spurred their horses towards Xiaoqing River.
They rode for half the night without stopping. Still a hundred miles away from Xiaoqing River, the two could bear it no longer, and their horses were exhausted. The night was too cold.
The horses shivered all over and refused to move forward. Liu Rumei and Xiao Qing had no choice but to find a sheltered spot to stop, light a fire, and let the horses warm up first.
After roasting for a while, the two felt like they didn't want to move anymore. They had been busy since they woke up in the morning, and had cooked for Xiaofa's family at noon.
In the afternoon, they had to flee again. This ordeal had tired them out.
Xiao Qing felt her eyelids getting heavy and couldn't help but say, "Miss, why don't we rest here and leave when it's dawn?"
Liu Rumei shook her head, "No, we absolutely cannot stop. We don't know what the outcome will be tomorrow. You rest here, and I'll look around."
Liu Rumei forced herself to stand up and cautiously circled the surroundings. When she turned back, Xiao Qing had already fallen asleep.
The two horses were nibbling on dry bark nearby.
Seeing this, Liu Rumei's thoughts stirred. She and Xiao Qing had eaten their fill, but the two horses hadn't eaten much.
Thinking of this, the wine shop hadn't taken any parts, this was from the one who was hacked to death, Tie Tou.
Liu Rumei swung her sword, cutting down some dry grass to bring back for the two horses. She fed them the grass and then opened her water flask, sprinkling some water on the dry grass, giving the horses something to drink.
Watching Xiao Qing sleeping soundly, Liu Rumei hesitated, wondering if she should rest a bit longer. Sudan Novel Network
About half an hour later, Liu Rumei suddenly felt something was wrong. She looked up and saw a large patch of firelight in the distant sky.
The firelight meandered towards them. Damn it, those were torches, and a large group of people were coming this way.
Liu Rumei's heart pounded in urgency, and she stepped forward to nudge Xiao Qing.
"Hurry and get ready, we need to leave."
Xiao Qing rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked in the direction Liu Rumei was pointing. She was so scared that her mind buzzed, and she instantly woke up.
Liu Rumei gathered some sand and covered the fire, then with Xiao Qing, they leaped onto their horses and galloped away.
Yelü Chuang led the contingent. His camp was the closest to Xiaoqing River, so he arrived the fastest.
While riding forward, Yelü Chuang suddenly reined in his warhorse and mused, "Was there something smoking by the roadside where we just passed?"
Someone beside him immediately sped off and returned shortly after reporting, "General, there was a pile of fire by the side, not yet extinguished, covered with sand. It looks like they just left."
Hearing this, Yelü Chuang chuckled, "Perhaps it was Liu Rumei, who escaped. Hurry, pursue!"
Yelü Chuang led his men, galloping forward.
Meanwhile, Liu Rumei, with Xiao Qing, raced on. They hurried as much as they could, and just as the sky began to show a hint of light, the two approached Xiaoqing River.
In the dim light of dawn, they saw mist rising and clouds swirling in the distance. Xiaoqing River was finally within reach.
Seeing Xiaoqing River so close, Liu Rumei and Xiao Qing breathed a sigh of relief and fiercely whipped their horses again.
But at that very moment, Liu Rumei suddenly felt the warhorse beneath her lurch forward.
Liu Rumei knew something was wrong. She stomped her feet, leaped into the air, and then somersaulted backward.
Xiao Qing reacted a little slower and was thrown to the ground by her warhorse.
There was a tripwire on the ground, and several figures appeared from both sides.
Then someone shouted, "Brothers, don't hurt the horses."
Hearing this shout, Liu Rumei frowned. This was the accent of the Great Cang Kingdom. Before she could even think, a knife was already at Xiao Qing's throat.
Liu Rumei's mind raced, and she quickly shouted, "Don't act, we are also from the Great Cang Kingdom."
As expected, Liu Rumei's words had an effect. The dark figures stopped their movements, and someone came forward to examine Xiao Qing closely.
"They are indeed people from the Great Cang Kingdom."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing also came to her senses. She scanned her surroundings, noticing the short sabers in their hands – the standard issue for soldiers of the Great Cang Kingdom. She quickly said, "I am Xiao Qing, Miss Liu Rumei's maid. Don't you recognize me?"
Another person came forward, looked closely, and exclaimed, "That's right, that's right, it's Miss Xiao Qing."
The others sheathed their sabers and helped Xiao Qing up from the ground.
Xiao Qing tidied her clothes and pointed towards Liu Rumei in the distance, "Miss is over there."
In the darkness, these men suddenly knelt in unison and shouted loudly towards Liu Rumei, "Greetings, Miss Liu."
Hearing this, Liu Rumei understood. These people who had arrived were her subordinates.
Thinking of this, she walked forward quickly, helped them all up, and then eagerly asked, "Which unit are you from, and where are the others?"
The leader bowed and replied, "Reporting to Miss Liu, my name is Zheng Zhun."
"When we retreated that day, you went left, and we followed to the right."
"The enemy pressed on relentlessly, and we had no choice but to scatter and hide. I led a few brothers and went into hiding. Two days ago, we robbed a lone carriage. This carriage was delivering military provisions to the Great Earth Kingdom, and only then did we learn that all the soldiers guarding Xiaoqing River had withdrawn. So we hurried here to return to our country."
"Hearing the hooves, my brothers and I thought two horses would allow us to move faster, so we were forced to attack Miss Liu."
Liu Rumei sighed with emotion upon hearing Zheng Zhun's explanation. Her army had scattered into many small units like Zheng Zhun's.
If the enemy were to surround Xiaoqing River again, their situation would become even more difficult. She didn't know how many had already returned home.
Just then, someone suddenly shouted, "Look, someone is coming over there."
Liu Rumei looked up. The fiery dragon appeared again in the distance.
Liu Rumei knew it was bad. She said to these men, "Xiao Qing and I killed someone and escaped. The pursuers have likely arrived, we need to leave quickly."
A few men stepped forward to help pull up the warhorses, only to discover that both horses were lying on the ground and refused to get up, presumably exhausted.
Liu Rumei stamped her foot, "Never mind them, let's cross the river first. We'll find a place to hide after crossing."