Chapter 35: The Thirty-Fifth Chapter, Wind and Water Rise (2)

  Mr. Zhou leaned over and said, "Master Zhang, the children can't smell their scent here. Could it be...?"

  "Mr. Zhou, what's your esteemed opinion?"

  Mr. Zhou said: "They can't go up to heaven, nor can they enter the earth. There's only one possibility - they used something similar to Jing Wei San to cover their scent."

  "Net Flavour Powder?" Zhang Siye said, "Even if it is Net Flavour Powder, our leopard dog shouldn't be unable to smell it."

  Mr. Zhou said in a low voice, "Ordinary Qing Wei San is nothing to worry about, but if that little maid Xiao Cui is really from the Shui family and is with them, it's different. The Shui family thieves are cunning and have many tricks up their sleeves. I've heard that one of their skills is to eliminate or disguise their own scent in order to get close to their targets and commit theft. If this Qing Wei San is indeed from the Shui family, I'm afraid we won't be able to track them down with the leopard dog's keen sense of smell for half a day."

  "Is it that serious? If we let them run for half a day, it'll be hard to find them again!"

  Mr. Zhou was also lost in thought with his head bowed.

  Hooked soldier rushed to report: "Zhang Siye, Mr. Zhou, found horseshoe prints, six horses! Judging from the depth, it seems that only five people rode, and one horse was left empty! The horseshoe prints are heading towards the Dongnan direction of Luanshigang!

  "Good rascal! Passing through a place like Luanshigang, not even a trace can be found! It seems they're quite familiar with the terrain around here! What a nuisance! What a nuisance!" Mr. Zhou paced back and forth a few steps, closed his eyes in thought.

  Mr. Zhang saw that Mr. Zhou was also worried, so he waited for a moment until Mr. Zhou's brow relaxed before asking, "Mr. Zhou, what should we do now?"

  "Hmph, after all they are not birds in flight! Nor are they pangolins! As long as they pass by on the ground, they will inevitably reveal their tracks! Come, quickly release all the carrier pigeons from Fengbo Stockade and notify all the relay stations, sentry posts, tea houses, and Green Woodcutter dens within a 300-li radius. Say that Heaven's Zhang Siye is offering a reward of 3,000 taels to investigate the whereabouts of four men with Longxi accents and one young girl, a group of five! Hurry and go, no mistakes allowed!" Mr. Zhou instructed.

  Hooker got Mr. Zhou's order and retreated quickly.

  "Good!" Zhang Siye shouted.

  "Think you can escape? With those inferior horses' speed, we'll definitely catch up to you within 500 miles!" Mr. Zhou turned his head and said to Zhang Siye, "Zhang Siye, let's not delay, we set off immediately!"

  Zhang Siye nodded, and the two giant dogs, still sniffing the ground, let out a whistle and shouted: "Er Jiaozi! San Jiaozi! Save some energy! Let's accompany Dad on the road again!" The two giant dogs raised their heads, seemingly reluctant, but still obeyed Zhang Siye's command and jumped to his side.

  Hooked soldiers stepped forward and hung the steel ring on the neck of the leopard dog with a rope. As Zhang Siye walked out, everyone blinked their eyes, and they retreated from this broken temple in an instant.

  In a little while, this place was again a desolate and quiet valley, with no one in sight. It seemed as if nothing had happened just now, despite all the strange events that had occurred.

  Let's put aside Zhang Siye's deployment for now and talk about Yan Jingtian, Shui Yao'er, and Huo Xiaoxie instead. They left the broken temple and ran several miles in the southeast direction when they heard a leopard dog's earth-shaking roar from the mountain valley behind them. Although they were already quite far apart, the roar was still astonishingly powerful, startling the birds and beasts on both sides of the forest to scurry for cover, causing a great commotion.

  Yan Jingtian and the others couldn't help but turn their heads back, thinking to themselves: "What kind of monster is this? Could it be that Zhang Si's leopard dog has found its way into the broken temple?"

  Longing to return home, the crowd didn't stop for a moment, but instead urged their horses on, rushing straight towards the southeast.

  They went another dozen miles or so.

  As expected, the front is open and clear, revealing a large area of rocky outcrops. This region is a large mountain valley basin, where water has accumulated over the years, washing away the soil, leaving behind only rocks of varying sizes, some as tall as several people. The ground is covered with countless streams that crisscross each other, flowing gently through the gaps between the rocks.

  Yan Jing Tian and the others took a look, knowing that this rocky hill could hide their tracks, and they all dismounted, leading their horses through the rocky hill. Huo Xiao Ye also got off his horse, silently following Shui Yao Er, walking in the middle of the team.

  Don't look at the rugged stone ridge, but the terrain is flat and easy to walk on. With Yan Jing Tian's skills, it was naturally not a problem. Even Huo Xiao Xie didn't feel any difficulty. The so-called "rugged stone ridge" that can hide tracks is because the rugged stone ridge is covered with stones, making it difficult to leave footprints. Even if you step on soft ground and make a footprint, the creek water will come and wash it away. Despite this, Yan Jing Tian was still very careful and ordered Yan Shou Yi and Yan Shou Ren to thoroughly destroy all possible traces that could be discovered.

  After about half an hour, Yan Jing Tian figured out the direction, squatted down, put his hands on the ground, and then leaned forward to listen with his ear to the ground. Yan Jing Tian found that there was no sign of anyone chasing after them, so he led everyone out of the rocky ridge, mounted their horses, and continued galloping eastward.

  Yan Jing Tian and his group walked for a whole day and night without stopping, only briefly resting twice or thrice in between. By the time the sky brightened on the second day, they had already left Tonghe Town more than 300 miles behind, having shaken off Zhang Siye. The people could still hold on, but the horses were all foaming at the mouth; if they continued to run, they would probably collapse and die by the roadside.

  Yan Jing Tian had no choice but to slow down his pace and ordered Yan Shou Chen and Yan Shou Ren to go ahead and scout out the terrain, while the rest of them took a break on the spot.

  Yan Jing Tian asked Shui Yao Er if she knew, and Shui Yao Er also shook her head repeatedly.

  After a while, Yan Shou also returned and reported: "Master Yan Tang, about two miles ahead in the mountain nest, there is smoke rising, possibly a village."

  Yan Jing Tian nodded and said, "Alright! Let's go take a look! Maybe we can get some hot soup to drink!" Everyone was tired and had no objections, so they followed Yan Shou Chen to the village.

  When they arrived at the village mentioned by Yan Shou, everyone was delighted to find that it wasn't a village at all, but rather a slightly dilapidated inn. Yan Jing Tian had sharp eyes and saw that there were servants running in and out of the courtyard, and seven or eight horses tied up inside, so he knew that the inn was still operating normally. The sign above the entrance read: "Luo Ma Inn".

  "Brothers, Water Fairy, there's an inn up ahead. Let's go rest for a while and continue on our way tonight!"

  Everyone also cried out: "Good!"

  This fallen horse inn is not a common inn, but just seven or eight houses on the slope, surrounded by a fence, and the front and back walls of the first house are connected, neatly arranged with tables and chairs, and a courtyard is built facing the street to tie horses and park carriages, which is considered an inn.

  At this time, in the front hall of the Luoma Inn, there was a thin old man dressed as a shopkeeper, smoking a dry pipe and wearing a pair of old glasses. He looked quite elegant, leaning against the counter behind him, shaking his head and looking at an ancient book with great interest, shaking his head and nodding non-stop.

  With a loud crash, a fellow burst in through the door and rushed forward so hastily that he collided with the table and chairs, and nearly fell to the ground.

  The shopkeeper raised his head, saw that it was the clerk who was in a hurry, let out an impatient "tsk" and lowered his head again to continue reading, muttering: "Jia Chunzi, have you seen a ghost or an evil spirit? You're always so absent-minded!"

  Comrade Jia Chunzi was tall and majestic, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, but looked a bit silly. Jia Chunzi bumped into the corner of the table, was in pain, twisted his face, and couldn't say anything, listened to the boss scolding him, then shouted: "Old Master Qian! Old Master Qian! Come, come, come, guests are here!"

  Qian Zhanggui didn't even lift his head and scolded: "You say that a dog bear who steals food, I believe it."

  "True, really! One, two, three, four, five, six. Where are the five or six people?"

  Qian Zhanggui raised his head and saw Jia Chunzi's sincere gaze, and couldn't help but say: "Really coming to guests? What day is today?"

  Jia Chunzi was tall and imposing, with a single stretch of his hands, he reached into the armpit of Qian Zhanggui from behind the counter and lifted him up, bringing the thin old man to the front. Qian Zhanggui seemed unsurprised, muttered something under his breath, adjusted his large coat, and hastily welcomed Jia Chunzi out of the store.