Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 140 Understanding people

After settling down in the inn, Chen Xuan asked Geng Hong to arrange someone to purchase carriages. They didn't need to be very good, three would be enough.

There were eight of them in their group, and originally two cars would have been enough, but Chen Xuan considered that there were additional uses for them. As a personal secretary, he was naturally responsible for taking care of many things when they were away from home.

Not paying attention to the commotion outside, he took out the map to check the next route.

This map is not available to ordinary people. Although it is not as detailed as a military map, it is circulated among officials within the court. It is much more detailed than the simple maps in the hands of ordinary people.

Next they had to pass through Fengzhou, then Yezhou, and finally reach Liuyu Academy in Huizhou, a journey that would take about ten days.

Starting from Luoshi County, there are a total of eight routes to reach Huizhou, including detours, shortcuts, small roads, official roads, etc. According to the travel speed and road conditions, the time it takes to reach Huizhou via each route is as short as five or six days and as long as nearly twenty days.

In fact, if they rode faster and took a shortcut, they could reach Huizhou in two or three days, but Xiao Cai, Xiao Ye and the others definitely couldn't withstand the long journey. Even if they practiced martial arts, this high-intensity forced march would be difficult for them, so they were not in a hurry.

Considering road safety and food and accommodation issues, Chen Xuan gave up shortcuts and small roads, and also abandoned the safer detours due to time reasons. In the end, he chose one of three different official roads, which took about ten days, as expected.

In fact, this kind of thing had been considered a long time ago. At the moment, Chen Xuan just confirmed it again and had to consider the weather reasons temporarily. After all, they could not see the northern sky when they were in the south.

"Although I've considered it over and over again, there's still a night to be spent in the wilderness, not to mention any other unexpected situations."

Chen Xuan was helpless looking at the planned route.

He has become more and more competent as a secretary, bearing pressures that are not appropriate for someone of his age. But after all, there is no distinction between high and low jobs, and the salary is high and the benefits are good.

Well, actually, with his current ability, twenty taels per month is too little, but there is not much to do either.

After planning the route, he got up and went to water the peach trees. Liang Bo, the gardener of Gao's house, prepared nutrient water and even taught the formula to Chen Xuan, just so that he wouldn't take his job.

This trip to Liuyu Academy would take at least two to three years, and at most four to five years. Naturally, Chen Xuan had to bring the peach tree with him, and still plant it in a pot, which would make it more convenient to carry.

After five or six years, the peach tree still looks like it is dying. It is doing well, but it is not growing tall. It is still only about one foot tall. The plant is as thick as a baby's arm and has three branches. It has never bloomed to this day.

"One main stem, three branches. Although new leaves are produced every year, the number of leaves remains at almost 108. It would be a coincidence if this were a coincidence."

When he noticed this a few years ago, Chen Xuan began to take this peach tree seriously. He no longer just thought about it, but wanted to see what kind of flowers it would eventually grow into.

Because of the peach tree's 'coincidental' special appearance, Chen Xuan also tried to make tea with its fallen leaves. He tried it on small animals first and found it to be non-toxic. Then he tasted it himself and found it to be useless. Perhaps it was because he didn't have enough time?
Since I've traveled through this world and possessed astonishing martial arts talent, it's normal for the peach pit to mutate, right? It's just that I can't see any clues yet.

After watering, Chen Xuan placed it by the window, then sat down, took out paper and pen and started writing and drawing.

I wrote on two pieces of paper, one was put in an envelope and will be sent back to the Gao family to keep them safe, and the other was a shopping list. I had to prepare everything I needed for the next land journey, otherwise it would be difficult to deal with it if I didn't have it at the critical moment.

Not long after, Geng Hong knocked on the door and came in to reply, saying, "Xuan'er, Erhe has already bought three carriages. They cost seventy-eight taels of silver, about twenty-five pounds each. The horses are expensive, more than twenty taels each, and they're not good horses, but they're enough to pull the carriages. The carriages are cheap, and they're already being fed by the stable boys at the inn. I've got someone watching over them."

"Well, thank you for your help," Chen Xuan nodded, and then handed him the letter and the list and said, "Uncle Geng, please arrange for someone to send the letter back, and then try to purchase and load the items on the list. We have to leave early tomorrow morning."

Geng Hong took it, quickly glanced at the list, and said in surprise: "Xuan Ge'er is really thoughtful. Don't worry, I will go to buy it right away."

"Okay, although they are common things, if you really can't buy them, forget it, they are not necessary."

Then Geng Hong left with the list and the letter. He couldn't help but praise in his heart again. He had to admire that Xuan Ge'er considered many details more carefully than him. He originally wanted to remind him, but ended up being taught a lesson.

The list contained everything needed for the journey: charcoal, a portable stove, a water bag, bowls and chopsticks, dry food, seasonings, rice and flour, vegetables, fodder, bedding, lighting supplies, and even insect repellent...

No wonder they had to buy three carriages, otherwise there would be too much stuff to fit.

Out of precaution, Geng Hong went to purchase the goods himself. After all, many things were to be imported, and he was not at ease if they passed through other people's hands.

These are all within Chen Xuan's job scope, but after leaving the Gao family, he needs to take care of everything on his own, which is not as worry-free as before. Fortunately, he is only responsible for the arrangements and does not have to run errands himself, which is very relaxing.

After that, he was free and relieved, and it was already afternoon. "Young Master Li defeated eight challengers in a row with his Qingfeng sword technique. He is a master of martial arts and handsome. He may become the biggest winner and finally win the beauty."

"That's not certain. The competition is still five days away. Many people haven't entered the arena yet and are still watching. There are even more people on their way. They will eventually have to pass Miss Zhao's assessment. It's still too early."

"I heard that Quick Knife Liu Qing is also coming, I don't know if it's true or not"

"Hero Liu? Is that the hero Liu who wiped out eight bandit dens in the first month of the year before last?"

"That's him, isn't it? I heard he's as sharp as the wind and leaves no trace, killing people without leaving any blood. If he takes the stage, I guess no one else will have a chance."

"Speaking of Hero Liu, he busted eight bandit dens last year, but ultimately failed to wipe out all the evil bandits. Some of those who managed to escape didn't dare seek revenge on him afterwards, and instead took their anger out on the civilians, causing ten times the number of casualties among the bandits. The local authorities were furious. Hero Liu walked away in style, but the local people felt sorry for him. When he learned about this afterwards, he was heartbroken and vomited blood."

"Is there such a thing?"

"That's right. These heroes were happy to see injustice, but they didn't even think about the lives of the common people. Can they kill all the bandits? After killing one group, there will be another group. The original bandits still have their own rules. Usually they only take benefits and don't kill people. But if they are angered, what will happen? The heroes felt happy for a while and thought they did good things, but it was the common people who suffered. They traveled all over the world and made the world their home. They will never be held accountable in the future."

"Hey……"

Occasionally hearing the sound of conversation outside, Chen Xuan had no intention of going to see the excitement in the Zhao family arena, as he had to set off early tomorrow morning.

But it should be said that there are still some people who understand that when talking about people in the underworld, they don't always praise their reputations.

The reason why Chen Xuan did not kill anyone in Yuanshizu Gorge that day was not because he couldn't do it, but because he considered various things.

It was easy to get rid of those pirates at that time, but the killing would be endless. If we couldn't kill them all, passing ships would definitely suffer and become targets for venting anger.

Besides, even if the bandits in Yuanshizu Gorge were wiped out at once, the place would be a piece of juicy meat. Would the next group of bandits occupying it be any better than the current ones? The current ones usually just peddle amulets and occasionally bully men and women. What if the next group turns out to be cannibalistic? It's hard to say.

Chen Xuan would eventually have to leave. It was impossible for him to stay there forever to keep the peace. Even if that were the case, the bandits' presence would definitely affect the interests of some people, and then many people would not tolerate him.

In this world, he has long seen that it is neither black nor white, and can only try his best to guide the results in a good direction.

There is no such thing as perfect...

In the evening, Geng Hong had been busy for several hours and had purchased and loaded all the items on the list. Gao Jingming and his team rested for half a day and recovered some energy, but they still had no appetite. After eating something, they still looked listless.

No one had any intention of watching the fun, nor was he interested in the beautiful eldest daughter of the Zhao family. Could it be that she was going to go on stage to compete with everyone and marry into the family and settle down here?

After dark, everyone went to rest as they had to continue their journey tomorrow. The next ten days or so of land travel would be much more difficult than the previous water journey.

Chen Xuan still slept very lightly that night, because there were always people coming and going busy at night, and he didn't know what they were busy with. As long as it didn't affect them, he didn't bother to care.

In the middle of the night, someone shouted in the dark that Miss Zhao was missing and there were signs of a fight in her bedroom. She must have been kidnapped!
This loud cry gave many people who were active at night a burst of excitement. They ran around, making the tiles crackle under their feet.

Chen Xuan was speechless about this. As long as it didn't affect his and others' rest, he would let them go. Fortunately, Geng Hong and others were on guard, so he didn't have to drive them away.

So was Miss Zhao dissatisfied with her family's arrangement of a martial arts competition to find a husband, or was it a self-directed act by the Zhao family? Or perhaps some people, seeing no hope in the arena, simply took the risk of snatching the man away?
These thoughts flashed through Chen Xuan's mind, but he just thought about them out of boredom. It was none of his business.

The next morning they got up one after another, had breakfast, checked out and prepared to leave. The streets were full of discussions about Miss Zhao's disappearance last night. This incident was quite a big deal. When they left the city gate, they were questioned by officers and soldiers, but after showing their certificates of honor, they avoided having their carriage searched. There were no Tibetans in their carriage, and Chen Xuan could guarantee that.

"Miss Zhao has disappeared. Does that mean her family's martial arts competition for a husband has come to nothing?"

Gao Jingming, who had nothing to do, couldn't help but mention it.

"Who knows?" Chen Xuan had no interest at all.

……

(End of this chapter)