klisemfg Chapter 158: Snow-feathered peregrine falcon, delivering a message to the north.
Chapter 158: Snow-feathered peregrine falcon, delivering a message to the north.
North of Tianqi City, Chengdemen Zishi Street, collector.
It was just daybreak when the night watchman's gong sounded, marking the beginning of the morning hour.
A hurried man walked out of the Zang family's house. He was of medium build and his face was not clearly visible in the dim morning light.
This man was a servant of the Zang family in Beili. His name was Zang Ba and he was a smart man.
He received an order from the head of the family the night before, asking him to leave the city early this morning to deliver something to his relatives in the north.
What was strange was that Zang Ba was holding a black bamboo cage in his right hand.
The bamboo cage was two feet high and one foot in diameter. It seemed as if there was some living creature inside, which would stir the black cloth from time to time.
"Chirp~"
As Zang Ba walked out of Zi Shi Street, a sharp eagle cry came from the bamboo cage in his hand!
He looked a little panicked, covered the bamboo cage with one hand, and then immediately quickened his pace.
Fortunately, there was no one on the street at this time. Zang Ba ran for three or four miles and stopped only when he was almost out of the inner city.
Walk another half mile forward and you will reach the north gate of Tianqi City - Xuanwu Gate.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, carried the cage and walked straight towards the north gate.
The captain on duty at Xuanwu Gate was leading a team of armored soldiers, checking the horses, oxen, mules, carts and pedestrians passing by.
It was just past two o'clock in the morning, and there were few pedestrians. Zang Ba, carrying a black cloth bamboo basket, quickly attracted the attention of the captain of the city gate.
"You, come here! Open what you have in your hand and take a look!"
The captain at the city gate was not polite at all. He waved his sword and pointed at Zang Ba and shouted.
Zang Ba was timid and approached the captain and pleaded:
"Master, please do me a favor. I'm going out to look for something on the orders of the Patriarch..."
As Zang Ba spoke, he took out a few pieces of silver from his waist, his eyes flashing, and quietly put them into the captain's hand.
The captain of the city gate immediately softened his expression, but his tone remained stern:
"What are you looking for outside the city? These past few days, we've been under orders from the Grand Eunuch to strictly check all pedestrians!"
"I heard that the Wen family of Lingnan and the imperial prisoner Ye Dingzhi are rebelling against the imperial court. Please don't send them any secret letters!"
Zang Ba smiled cautiously and said:
"How could that be possible? I'm going out to catch some white rats. Our young master is ill, and he needs the tails of these white rats as a medicine inducer!"
The captain of the city gate weighed the silver in his hand and said with a smile:
"What kind of medicine requires a rat's tail?"
Zang Ba lifted the cage and revealed a snow-feathered peregrine falcon with sharp eagle eyes. He then said:
"Rat tails are boiled into a medicinal juice, commonly known as - rat tail juice!"
The captain of the city gate was startled:
"This... this thing is so ferocious, could it be used to catch mice?"
Zang Ba nodded: "That's exactly what Jun Ye said!"
The captain at the city gate didn't waste any more time with him, waved his sword, and let him go.
Zang Ba left the city and walked about two or three miles before arriving at an abandoned ancient tomb deep in the mountains.
He put down the bamboo cage, moved the tombstone carefully, and pulled out a piece of letter from underneath.
The cover of the letter was written with "From the collector himself" and the signature was from my cousin Fei Li.
Zang Ba put away the letter, opened the bamboo cage, and revealed the Snow and Rain Peregrine Falcon.
Peregrine Falcon had a copper tube on his foot, and Zang Ba took out a piece of paper from the seam of his belt.
There was only one sentence written on the note:
"Li Changsheng dispersed his energy and regained his youth. He left Tianqi with his disciple Baili Dongjun, heading towards Xueyue City."
Zang Ba rolled up the note and stuffed it into the copper tube on the peregrine falcon's foot. Then he lifted the peregrine falcon and threw it high into the air, facing north...
"Chirp~"
The peregrine falcon turned into a streak of white lightning, piercing straight into the sky and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The Snow-feathered Peregrine Falcon is a bird of prey unique to the sky, and can soar three thousand miles in a day and night.
News from Tianqi City arrives every day.
Zang Ba clapped his hands, picked up the bamboo basket, and went back the same way he came.
……
That morning, a cool north wind blew by, and Baili Dongjun's Fierce Wind Horse snorted loudly.
Yin Luoxia was sleeping in the carriage, while Li Changsheng, using the alias Nangong Chunshui, and Baili Dongjun chose a sheltered place outside the carriage.
The master and the disciple slept together in the wild.
Baili Dongjun was the first to be awakened by the sound of the horse. He suddenly grabbed his dust-free sword and held it horizontally in front of him.
I felt relieved only after I found that there was nothing unusual around me.
Immediately woke up Nangong Chunshui beside him:
"Master, Master! It's time to wake up! The sun is already high in the sky!"
Nangong Chunshui muttered, "Don't bother me, let me sleep for another half an hour..."
After saying that, he turned over and lifted his sleeves to cover his face.
Baili Dongjun sighed helplessly, and walked to the front of the carriage and called softly:
"Sister Luoxia, are you awake?"
Yin Luoxia poked her head out upon hearing the sound and gently scratched Baili Dongjun's nose:
"Master Baili, I woke up a long time ago!"
Baili Dongjun's face flushed and he took a step back:
"Master...he's just staying here and can't get up. We still haven't had breakfast, and there's no place to go in the middle of nowhere!"
"How about... we go pick some wild fruits and scoop up some spring water to fill our stomachs!"
Yin Luoxia jumped off the carriage swiftly, put one hand on Baili Dongjun's shoulder and said with a smile:
"Junior Junior Brother obeys your orders. I will follow Junior Junior Uncle Baili's arrangements!"
The two of them skipped along the path in search of wild fruits and mountain springs.
Not long after the two of them left, Nangong Chunshui, who was still sleeping soundly, jumped up.
His stomach was growling with hunger and he had no desire to sleep any longer, so he had to stand up from the meadow.
Looking around, he could not see any of his disciples, so he could only sigh inwardly:
"Alas... How great is Baili Dongjun, running off with his beautiful niece to be affectionate..."
"You are such an unfilial son and grandson, leaving me, an old, lonely widower, to starve in the wilderness!"
On the second day after Nangong Chunshui dispersed his power, he felt weak all over, and even running and jumping like an ordinary person was a little difficult.
"Gu... gu..."
His stomach started to protest again. Right now, not to mention food, there was not even a sip of clean water!
Nangong Chunshui had no choice but to move forward and explore the flowers and plants around the carriage, hoping to find some berries to fill his stomach.
I had walked less than fifty steps when I looked up and saw a wild jujube tree about four or five meters tall.
The jujube trees were laden with fruits, and Nangong Chunshui could smell the rich fragrance of jujubes just by standing on tiptoe.
Looking at the fruit right in front of her, Nangong Chunshui exerted force with her legs and jumped up more than a foot high...
But the fruit is still three or four feet away!
"Alas! Without the world's best martial arts skills, I can't even eat wild fruits!"
Just as he was lying under the tree and feeling sorry for himself, he heard the laughter of Baili Dongjun and Yin Luoxia behind him.
Nangong Chunshui quickly got up, crossed his legs and pretended to meditate and practice.
"Master...Master!"
Baili Dongjun looked around and found that Nangong Chunshui was missing, so he shouted a few words.
Yin Luoxia had sharp eyes and saw Nangong Chunshui sitting cross-legged under a tree fifty steps away.
"Master is over there!"