PFC Chapter 453 Meeting Sun Qing Again
Chapter 453 Meeting Sun Qing Again
After Li Zhi and his party successfully obtained the pass issued by the Honglu Temple, they couldn't wait to leave Luoyang City.
No one had any intention of lingering on the prosperous scene of this thousand-year-old capital.
On the one hand, the strict class discrimination in the Wei Dynasty is chilling. They really don’t want to endure the cold eyes and ridicule of others while shopping and having fun, which would just ruin their fun.
On the other hand, after being away from home for a long time, the homesickness surged in my heart like a tide.
Moreover, the mission was successfully completed, and everyone was eager to return to Yongguo as soon as possible to hand over the mission and receive the reward.
So, after leaving Luoyang, Li Zhi and his party rode straight to Jingping City without stopping.
When they arrived at Jingping City, it was already late, and they had no choice but to rest in the city for one night.
The next morning, at daybreak, they set out on their journey again.
Soon, they arrived at Zhengwang City.
Although there had been some disputes here before, Li Zhi did not have to worry about being retaliated or blocked on his return trip.
It turned out that Li Zhi learned from Zhuang Zheng that if the envoys of the vassal states were rewarded by the emperor when they met him, those aristocratic families and military nobles would be more or less concerned about the emperor's majesty and would not dare to make things difficult for them.
After all, anyone who is rewarded by the emperor is equivalent to being recognized by the emperor.
If you continue to make things difficult for them, you will be in trouble in front of the emperor.
Those aristocratic families all have clear minds and naturally would not do such stupid things.
Because of this, compared to the twists and turns when entering the city for the first time, this time entering and leaving Zhengwang City was extremely smooth, with no obstacles along the way, no one blocking us, and no one provoking us.
After leaving Zhengwang City, they arrived at Wukou City.
Li Zhi was originally a little worried that Xiahou Shan would disregard the rules and come to cause trouble for him because he had plotted against him before and had used a trick to divert the blame to Xiahou Shan.
However, when they arrived at Wukou City, they found that Xiahou Shan was not in the city.
According to the people in the city, General Xiahou was harassed by the young master of the Jia family a few days ago and was fed up with it. Now he has applied for leave and is hiding somewhere unknown.
When Li Zhi heard this, he couldn't help but smile.
Everything went smoothly, no one caused trouble, and no one made things difficult for me.
This rare success made Li Zhi and his group in a very good mood, and they laughed and talked all the way.
Soon, they left Wukou City and arrived at the place where they had crossed the river and landed.
Su Liang smiled broadly and said to everyone, "The successful completion of this mission depends entirely on you. When we return to Yongguo, I'll treat everyone to a good meal!"
Jia Zhen laughed and joked, "Master Su is treating us? It has to be somewhere of the rank of Shengyue Tower..."
Su Liang came from a humble background and worked in a humble government office. When he heard Jia Zhen mention Shengyue Tower, his face instantly fell. He smiled bitterly and said, "With my meager salary, if I invited you to Shengyue Tower, I'm afraid it would only be enough to order a bowl of white rice per person."
Everyone burst into laughter after hearing this.
They all knew that Su Liang's family was not wealthy, so naturally they were just joking.
However, Li Zhi was listening from the side and smiled. Then he gently patted Su Liang on the shoulder and said, "It's okay. You buy the white rice and I'll buy the vegetables for everyone. Let's crowdfund a meal."
Li Zhi originally intended to make up for the shortfall by himself, but he didn't expect that once he said this, others would respond one after another, wanting to participate in the crowdfunding as if they were unwilling to fall behind.
One offered to buy some wine, another offered to add another dish, and the atmosphere was extremely warm.
As he was speaking, he saw the old man rowing the boat walk out of the thatched hut on the other side of the river.
Li Zhi and his men saw them from afar and shouted, "Father! We want to cross the river, come and pick us up!"
The old man seemed to recognize Li Zhi and his group. He paddled the boat skillfully and headed towards them.
Not long after, the ship docked.
It's just strange that the old man came here alone in the boat, but he was paddling one boat and tied another boat with a rope at the back.
Li Zhi saw that the young boy, Gou Yazi, was not there, so he asked curiously, "Hey, old man, where is Gou Yazi?"
The old man shuddered slightly, lowered his head, and stammered, "He... he is sick... I, an old man, can take you there by myself..."
After hearing what the old man said, Li Zhi nodded and said, "Okay, I'll trouble you, old man."
As he said this, he stuffed another ingot of silver into the old man's hand.
The old man took the silver, absentmindedly, and stuffed it directly into his arms without even looking at it, which was completely different from his previous mercenary and greedy appearance.
However, Li Zhi just thought that the old man was in a bad mood because his dog was sick, and didn't think much about it.
Everyone got on the boat one after another.
Since many people from the Qiongqi Camp were sacrificed this time and the tribute brought to the Wei Dynasty has been received, the group of people who originally needed multiple round trips to be transported can now be carried all at once on these two ships.
The old man looked around and after confirming that everyone was on board and seated, he began to row.
The boat started slowly and swayed forward on the black river surface.
At first, Li Zhizheng chatted with others and didn't pay much attention.
But gradually, he found that there was something strange about the old man rowing in front of him.
The old man's whole body was shaking violently. From Li Zhi's perspective, he could clearly see that the coarse cloth clothes on the old man's back were soaked with sweat.
Li Zhi felt a little uneasy. He frowned and was about to approach to ask when he suddenly heard a cry of surprise from another boat: "Why is this boat leaking?!"
Li Zhi was startled and turned around quickly, only to see that the people on the boat were in chaos.
Before Li Zhi could speak, he felt a chill under his feet.
Looking down, he saw that the dark river water had already reached his ankles without him knowing when. Moreover, the water seemed to have a strange corrosive property. Li Zhi felt his feet were numb and stinging from being soaked in the black river water.
Li Zhi was very anxious. The black river water looked very strange. If the ship really sank here, they would be in danger.
But Li Zhi knew that the more critical the situation was, the more he could not sit and wait for death.
He suddenly rushed towards the old man and picked him up, but was shocked to find that the old man seemed to have been drained of his energy and spirit. He looked like a withered tree, as if he was about to run out of energy.
Seeing this situation, Li Zhi instantly understood that the old man must have known about this matter in advance, and it was even possible that the old man had planned this matter himself.
Li Zhi frowned, raised his hand, and slapped the old man in the face without mercy, shouting, "What the hell is going on?!"
The old man's face was swollen from the slap, but his eyes remained blank. He just shook his head and said, "I don't know... I don't know..."
Just as Li Zhi was furious and ready to take tougher measures against the old man, a burst of arrogant laughter came from the other side.
Li Zhi looked up hurriedly and saw Sun Qing, the prince of Wu who had clashed with them in Wukou City, standing on the opposite bank, laughing at them wantonly.
Next to Sun Qing, Gou Yazi was tied up tightly and kneeling on the ground.
When the old man saw the dog, his dull and cloudy eyes suddenly became clear. He lay on the side of the boat and shouted at the top of his lungs: "I have done what you said. Let the dog go... Please... let him go..."