Warm fragrance cloud around

The surroundings of the hillside are extremely quiet, and people can vaguely hear the sound of the stream flowing in the house. Being in it, it seems to be far away from all the hustle and bustle of the outside world, and the heart also calms down.

However, the residents on the hillside don't seem to be so unreal.

In the following time, taking advantage of the gap between the other party's departure, the men and women in the hut talked about their origins one after another.

The man said that he was originally a son of a foreign businessman, his surname was Chen Xingsan, and he was known as Chen San.Two months ago, Chen San came to the capital to place an order with money, but he got lost and strayed into Guiling, where he was robbed by a group of bandits.There were a large number of bandits, and among them were a few Lian Jiazi. All his money and goods were taken away, and all the guards and followers were killed by bandit swords.

I don't know whether it was luck or misfortune, but he was attracted by the bandit leader's daughter, so he saved his life and has been imprisoned in the mountains until now.Usually other bandits seldom come here, and he tried to escape several times, but this hillside leads to Ghost Ridge on one side, and he can't get out after walking exhaustedly, and bandits guard the downhill road on the other side all the time Every time he fled halfway, he would always be stopped, and then he would inevitably suffer some torture. His legs were crippled by bandits.

As Chen San spoke, he looked around cautiously to make sure that no one rolled up his sleeves, showing the wound on his arm to the two of them.His strong arm is covered with scars, most of which are whip wounds as thick as the little finger, and there are also a few marks that seem to be scalded by charcoal. The scars are relatively new, and they should have been formed in the past two months. delusional.

Chen San said that he would do his best to protect the safety of Lin Junnuan and Lin Junnuan on the mountain, and asked them to go down the mountain and return to Beijing to immediately notify the government and lead troops to encircle and suppress these bandits.

The story of the woman is similar to that of the man, and the story is almost tearful.She called herself Liniang, she was originally the daughter of a scholar, her family was small, but she had little assets. Two months ago, she went to Beijing with her parents to visit friends. When she strayed into a ghost mountain and bumped into a bandit, her parents wanted to protect her. , all died here, and she was taken up the mountain and imprisoned until now.

The biggest difference from what Chen San said was that the bandit Liniang mentioned was only the man Chen San, and she had never met other accomplices.While Chen San was out, she also tried to escape many times, but she couldn't escape alone. Every time she was caught up halfway, and then suffered more cruel punishment.She lifted up her sleeves slightly, showing the dark purple strangle marks on her wrists to the two of them.

Liniang took out a jade pendant from her bosom with great care and handed it to Lin Junnuan, and asked them to go down the mountain to the Baiji Study in the West City of the capital, and hand the jade pendant to the shopkeeper of the study. Will definitely help out later.

Lin Junnuan refused to accept it, and Liniang looked over with teary eyes. She accepted the jade pendant in a moment of resignation, and looked at Cheng Jiangyun helplessly, and the two exchanged a bewildered expression.

Who is lying and who is telling the truth is the question.

Lin Junnuan half-covered his face with the barbecue, and silently mouthed Cheng Jiangyun, "Can you beat me well?"

Cheng Jiangyun shook his head lightly, "Not sure."

The man who claimed to be Chen San was at least twice as strong as him, and he didn't dare to let his guard down since he had never really fought against him.

Liniang offered each of them a bowl of warm water, "The tea has just been used up, the two of you should drink it to relieve the greasy."

The bowl holding the water is a khaki earthenware bowl, with a few small holes missing in the corners. It seems that it has been used for a long time, and the remaining oil stains in the bowl are floating on the water. Chen San opened his mouth and hesitated to speak, and did not take a sip. Put the water bowl aside.Noticing his movements, Liniang's eyes flickered, she lowered her head and said nothing.

These two look really eccentric.

Lin Junnuan asked casually: "The barbecue is just right, who made it? This skill is more than enough to open a shop."

"It's him (her)." The two pointed at each other at the same time, Liniang smiled shyly after being slightly startled, "The things in the country should not be praised by the young master."

Lin Junnuan hummed inexplicably, but there were also a lot of seasonings for barbecue in the mountains, and they lived a very particular life.

Chen San glanced at Liniang, and said harshly: "It gets dark early in the mountains, you two should go back earlier after resting your feet, for fear of danger after dark." Liniang also echoed.

"Dangerous?" Lin Junnuan raised an eyebrow, "Is there a beast in the mountains?"

Chen San scratched his head, his face showing a little irritability, "There are a lot of wild animals in this mountain, and I may encounter wolves at night, so I dare not trespass."

"How long have you two lived in the mountains? Don't you find it inconvenient?"

"It's almost half a year now," Liniang looked at Chen San with relief, "There's nothing inconvenient about it. It's just a matter of relying on the mountains to eat. If you need anything, you can take the goods from the mountains and go to the village at the foot of the mountain to exchange them. Life is not bad."

"Do you want to go to the capital to make a living?" Lin Junnuan sounded quite sincere, "I know a few restaurant owners, and I can help introduce them."

Liniang shook her head and declined politely, "Thank you son, we are used to living in the mountains, I'm afraid we can't do it in the tavern."

Lin Junnuan chatted with them again.

When both parties were present, the two owners of the thatched hut looked like a loving couple living in seclusion in the mountains. Their expressions were occasionally different, but their words and deeds were almost completely different from their respective private words. I feel like I'm watching two great dramas, and I can't tell which is true and which is false.

While they were chatting, Cheng Jiangyun observed the inside and outside of the hut calmly, and finally winked at Lin Junnuan, and the two left.

***

In order to avoid going into Ghost Ridge by mistake again, they went down the mountain on the other side.

The mountains here are much gentler, the trees are not so tall and dense, and it is easy to recognize the direction with the sun above the head. After walking three or four miles on the mountain road, scattered houses can be seen on the side of the road. It seems not far away.

"Mingwei, what do you think?" For some reason, she just wanted to ask this question.

Cheng Jiangyun helped her remove the dead leaves that stained the top of her hair, and pondered: "They are all lying."

The hero saw the same thing, Lin Junnuan snapped his fingers, and looked at him with a smile, "That's right, the identities of the two are obviously fabricated."

Let’s talk about Chen San first. The Great Chu Dynasty did not look down on businessmen. Most businessmen called themselves “Confucian businessmen”. There are very few businessmen as strong as San, and even if he is really a businessman with a special hobby of fitness, after being trapped for two months, his muscles should have lost weight.

As for Liniang, although Lin Junnuan's own words are not convincing, the daughter of a scholar should have read the female virtues and the commandments of women, not to mention following the "lowly and weak first", but it is unlikely that she will Pick up casually while the men are talking.Judging from her every move, it seems that she has been living in an environment where men and women live together, for example, a den of bandits.

Both of them were lying, but it wasn't that they were defrauding people with a good deal of money, but they seemed to have their own ulterior motives, and they were more on guard against each other than they were with these two strangers, which made Lin Junnuan a little confused No brains.

"What did you find?" She just saw Cheng Jiangyun standing in front of the firewood pile outside the hut for a long time.

"There is a sword hidden in the firewood, and there are traces of a fight behind the house."

In order to avoid attracting attention, he only glanced at it for a while. The sword hidden in the firewood glowed coldly and looked very sharp; a few trees behind the thatched house had fallen a large piece of fresh green leaves, and there were still faint spots on the trunk. A few sword marks or whip marks, someone should have fought here not long ago, and both sides have some kung fu foundation.

"It seems that the identities of those two people are not simple," Lin Junnuan sighed, why did he have to deal with all these troubles when he came out to see someone off? Fortunately, Cheng Jiangyun, the Minister of Dali Temple, supported the big thing, and he was a little boy. Just make soy sauce.

"What are you going to do?"

"Let's go to Baiji's study first, do you still have the jade pendant?"

Lin Junnuan took out the jade pendant that Liniang gave her.The jade pendant is semi-circular, it should be two pieces put together as a whole, the whole body is white and smooth, there are a few arc-shaped gaps on the inside, which seem to be some kind of pattern, which looks familiar, but because there is only half of it, it can't be seen for a while. Can't tell the overall shape.

"This jade pendant should be quite valuable, isn't Liniang afraid that we will pawn it directly?"

Lin Junnuan was a little puzzled, could this be the legendary "growing a good face"?She subconsciously pinched herself, and Cheng Jiangyun next to her frowned, "You have injuries on your face, don't move around."

Why make such a fuss about such a small injury, Lin Junnuan curled her lips and didn't care.

The road down the mountain took a long detour. When the two saw the small village at the foot of the mountain, the sun had already set, and they did not encounter the bandits blocking the way that Chen San said.After walking for such a long time, both of them were exhausted. Cheng Jiangyun bought an ox cart from a farmer's house and drove them to the capital.

The old ox pulling the cart was getting old and had to stop to take a breath after running a few steps. They walked very slowly on this road, and when they finally lined up and entered the city gate, it was already dark.

"Should the study be closed?" Lin Junnuan muttered blankly, bumping all the way on the bullock cart, her whole body was almost falling apart, and her eyelids were a little bit hard to open. At this time, she missed the spaciousness at home. Soft bed.Fortunately, he was full enough from the barbecue at noon, so he wasn't hungry yet.

Cheng Jiangyun's face was also full of fatigue, "I'll take you back first."

"Then you come here by yourself? It's not troublesome." Lin Junnuan twitched the corners of his mouth, what happened to them.

"Let's go together, I'm also curious what kind of tricks they are playing."

They disposed of the old ox cart at the chariot and horse shop at the gate of the city, put on a carriage and went straight to Xishi Baiji's study.The study is located in an inconspicuous alley corner in the West Market. Surprisingly, the study is not closed at this hour, and there are five or six people dressed as scholars inside, who seem to be talking about literature, and seem to be in high spirits.

The books in the study are very rich, and the bookshelves are filled in order of subjects. There are also many rare books that are rarely seen in other bookstores. Of course, the prices are quite high.The two of them did not reveal their intentions, nor did they directly take out the jade pendant. They just pretended to be ordinary customers and wandered around the bookshelves, chatting with the shopkeeper for a few words.

The shopkeeper of the study is a middle-aged man in his 40s. He has a somewhat elegant temperament, but he is also free and easy.

Walking through the bookshelves, the tip of the nose is full of ink fragrances of different shades. After staying for a long time, it seems that a bit of the fragrance of books has been tainted on her body. Lin Junnuan walked slowly, pulling out a book from time to time to flip through it casually. When she came to a row of bookshelves, the smell of books was also mixed with some other smell, and a strange feeling suddenly flashed in her mind.

She seemed to have smelled this smell before.