Chang'an wiped her face, helpless. She wasn't familiar with the ancient roads either.
"Let's just walk randomly," she said.
They traveled day and night until they reached Xuantu Commandery. A little further east and they'd be out of the country. Having Old Gu Six as a father truly brought surprises at every turn.
"Daughter, it's snowing," he remarked.
Snowflakes drifted gently, not falling heavily, melting and disappearing as soon as they touched the ground.
The erratic weather changed randomly; they had experienced all four seasons in a month, and now it seemed they had entered deep winter.
Chang'an stretched her hand out of the carriage window. Snowflakes landed on her fingertips, melting into water.
The mule cart moved leisurely through the light snow, unhurried.
Not all refugees would continue north; some had settled in Xuantu Commandery.
Xuantu Commandery was a border town, not particularly safe. With the Great Ye Dynasty in turmoil, no one could guarantee that the Yan Kingdom wouldn't seize the opportunity. It would be troublesome to settle down only to be forced to flee again.
They passed a small city where hundreds of refugees shivered in the wind and snow, waiting for the city gates to open.
Old Gu Six didn't stop. He drove the mule cart away onto a small path. When encountering closed city gates like this, it was best to leave without waiting.
This city was unwilling to accept refugees; otherwise, they wouldn't have let so many people stand in the snow. The county magistrate should have arranged shelters by now.
However, the reality was that the city gates remained shut, without even anyone distributing porridge. The attitude was clear – there was no hope of entering the city.
Ahead, in the woods, there was a fierce battle, with blades flashing.
Old Gu Six stopped the cart at a distance, intending to wait for the two groups to finish fighting before proceeding. He took out some beef jerky Chang'an had given him, eating while watching intently, his eyes bright as he observed their every move.
Chang'an lifted the curtain and looked out the window, then glanced at the french fries with ketchup in her hand. It wasn't necessary to eat fries with ketchup.
She tossed the ketchup and fries back into her space, suddenly losing her appetite.
The black-clothed group had a slight advantage over the blue-clothed one. The blue group was wiped out, while two from the black group were still breathing, albeit heavily injured.
Neither Chang'an nor Old Gu Six intended to interfere. In such large-scale brawls, innocent bystanders could easily get caught in the crossfire.
However, even though they didn't want to get involved, the two parties had noticed these two "fish in the pond."
Adhering to the principle of silencing even passing dogs, the two severely wounded men, eyes full of murderous intent, joined forces to attack Old Gu Six.
They had no choice; these two passersby were simply unlucky to have witnessed the fight.
To avoid causing trouble for their master, they had to sacrifice these unfortunate souls.
Old Gu Six flicked his wrist, and a short sword hidden in his right sleeve flew out, transforming into a streak of light that pierced the chest of the man rushing towards the carriage. With a scream of agony, the man fell backward, instantly losing his life.
He then leaped into the air, kicking the other attacker fiercely, sending him flying backward. The man, already severely injured, coughed up blood from this heavy blow and couldn't get up.
Old Gu Six calmly pulled the short sword from the first man's chest and delivered a final blow to the black-clothed man who was still coughing up blood, sending him to meet his ancestors.
The two black-clothed men died without ever imagining they would be taken down by an unremarkable passerby.
Old Gu Six cleaned the short sword and tucked it back into his sleeve, casually returning to the mule cart as if he hadn't just killed two men.
He was somewhat concerned about Chang'an. "Don't be afraid, daughter. Father will take you away from here immediately."
"Don't worry, Father. I'm not scared," Chang'an reassured Old Six softly. She truly wasn't afraid; exploding zombie brains was far more disgusting than this.
They bypassed the battlefield and slowly drove along the mountain path. The snow had been falling for a while, and a thin layer of white covered the leaves and ground.
The mule trudged through the snow, and as night fell, they arrived at a small town.
People on the streets hurried by, giving only a cursory glance to the newcomers before lowering their heads and rushing away.
This small town was much larger than the one where Xiao Mu and the others had settled, with four main streets running north, south, east, and west. Old Gu Six found an inn that looked decent.
A waiter came out to greet them, smiling as he asked, "How many guests? Just passing through or staying the night?"
"Two people, staying the night. We need two upper-class rooms," Old Gu Six said, giving the waiter a tael of silver. He added, "Feed the mule good hay and take care of it."
"Certainly!" the waiter called inside, "Two guests staying the night, two upper-class rooms!"
He took the reins from Old Gu Six and led the mule to the back courtyard.
The innkeeper, hearing the waiter's call, came out to greet them, smiling just as widely as the waiter had.
"Please follow me, honored guests."
The innkeeper personally led the father and daughter upstairs, showing them to two adjacent rooms.
Then he said, "At our inn, you can pay after your stay. Would you like us to prepare dinner for you?"
Old Gu Six looked at the innkeeper, whose smile was as wide as a chrysanthemum, paused for a moment, then said calmly, "Yes, please prepare dinner for two, and send two buckets of hot water to our rooms."
The innkeeper asked a waiter to bring up the hot water first. Old Gu Six gently patted Chang'an's head, saying, "Father will be right next door. Shout if you need anything."
After Old Gu Six returned to his room, Chang'an bolted her door. She didn't use the hot water the waiter had brought up; she didn't have the courage to bathe outside in such cold weather.
She entered her space and enjoyed a comfortable hot bath, thinking that the innkeeper's dinner for two would probably be a normal portion.
Her Old Six father had an abnormal appetite and would surely not be satisfied.
Chang'an took thirty dumplings from the refrigerator and put them in a steamer. They didn't need to be defrosted; they'd be fine with extra steaming time.
She didn't stay to watch them; after setting the dumplings to steam, she left the space. A quarter of an hour later, the innkeeper personally brought up their dinner.
A waiter followed to remove the used bathwater from the room.
The innkeeper brought two large bowls of egg noodles and a bowl of pickled radish.
"Please enjoy your meal. If you need anything, just come downstairs and find me."
He closed the door as he left. Chang'an looked at the bowl full of noodles, topped with two fried eggs, which was indeed quite substantial.
She ate one egg and a few bites of noodles, then gave the rest to her Old Six father.
Chang'an rested her chin on her hand, watching Old Six eat. Despite his refined and elegant eating manner, his speed was not slow at all.
He seemed to be able to eat anything without making a sound. Chang'an felt that eating noodles without making noise somehow missed the soul of noodle-eating.
"Father, are you full?"
Old Gu Six put down his second empty bowl and thoughtfully patted his belly. He tilted his head and said, "I think I could eat a bit more?"
No sooner had he spoken than Chang'an took out some steamed dumplings from her spatial storage. The dumplings were piping hot, filled with pork and Chinese cabbage.
Catching a whiff of the aroma, Old Gu Six's eyes crinkled with delight. It had been half a month since he'd last eaten dumplings, and these would perfectly satisfy his craving.
As Old Gu Six was savoring the steamed dumplings, a voice came from outside the door. "Innkeeper, did anyone come to stay at your inn this evening before us?"
"Yes, a father and daughter," he replied. He didn't know why these two were inquiring about this, but he couldn't hide it anyway. The father-daughter pair had entered the inn in full view of everyone, so anyone who asked around would find out.
The innkeeper stood by cautiously, hoping that the father and daughter weren't the people these men were looking for. The cold, murderous aura emanating from the two men was barely concealed – they were clearly not to be trifled with.
Without waiting for the man to ask further, the innkeeper continued, "Both the father and daughter were exceptionally good-looking. The daughter was soft and tender like a sweet rice ball, while the father was strikingly handsome, albeit rather frail. He seemed to be a delicate scholar."
He emphasized the words "delicate scholar," as if to hint that Chang'an and her father were unlikely to be the people they were searching for.
Dear readers, would you prefer Old Six and Chang'an's journey of escape to last longer, or for them to settle down and start farming sooner?
