Chapter 001: The Carriage Escapes

  Tang An brought his speed to the extreme, seeing the cyan green shirt in the distance, he hastily rushed a few steps forward and blocked Mu Hongyu's path.

  "Miss Mu, are you going home?"

  Mu Hongyu's eyes were still slightly red and swollen, but the tears had already been wiped away. Seeing a young monk blocking her path, her expression turned slightly stern.

  She has always been cold and frosty to people, and the younger disciples in the sect are afraid of her. In private, they call her "Cold-faced Luocha". When it became known that she was going to marry Wang Rui, a notorious rich young master from Shu Mountain, many people secretly cursed her, saying that she deserved her bad luck, who let her always put on a disgusting expression that kept people away!

  "What are you blocking me for? Where do I have the time to listen to your nonsense? Little brat, get out of my way! If you block me again, be careful of your own skin!" Mu Hongyu scolded with a fierce expression.

  However, Tang An didn't fall for it at all. She opened her small hands and firmly blocked the way in front of her, saying calmly: "Mu Shijie, if you go back home now, I'm afraid you'll never be able to leave again. Do you think your brother will let you out? Besides, I heard your conversation just now. You're thinking of running away from home, aren't you?"

  As soon as Tang An revealed his intention to leave home, Mu Hongyu's expression changed instantly, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in her eyes. Her left hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Tang An's neck.

  Her face cold, Mu Hongyu's eyes stared intently at Tang An, asking word by word: "Did you really hear everything?"

  Her voice was icy cold, and in her shock and anger, it was already filled with murderous intent.

  Tang An was choked and his breathing was blocked. His face turned bright red instantly: "Cough... let go of your hand!"

  Her grip on his wrist didn't loosen, but instead tightened as she coldly said, "Since you've heard everything, I won't let you leave and inform on me. This place is rarely visited, so even if I kill you, no one will know. By the time someone finds your corpse, I'll have long escaped!"

  Although Mu Hongyu's words were fierce, Tang An saw that the killing intent in her eyes only flashed for a moment before being replaced by endless worry. She was just intimidating herself and would never really kill herself.

  As expected, after a while, Mu Hongyu's grip on Tang An's hand loosened and she asked instead, "Why aren't you begging for mercy?"

  Tang An rubbed his own neck, the suffocating feeling just now was really too bad, he vowed that if anyone choked his neck again, he would curse that person to be unlucky for a lifetime!

  "Why should I beg for mercy? You won't really kill me." Tang An said nonchalantly, his eyes glancing back over his shoulder. He always felt like someone was following him from behind.

  Mu Hongyu's eyelid twitched slightly, but she didn't ask Tang An how he figured it out. She was in a hurry now, and couldn't afford to waste time here.

  She took a glance at Tang An, who looked like he was only six or seven years old, still just a little kid. Mu Hongyu thought that Tang An would be easy to talk to and said in a low voice: "I won't kill you. But you must promise me not to tell anyone about this! Otherwise, if I really can't escape, I'll come back and kill you!" After finishing speaking, Mu Hongyu didn't stay for even a moment, quickly rushing down the mountain.

  Tang An closely followed behind her, not leaving a single step.

  Mu Hongyu used her lightness skill to try to shake off Tang An, but Tang An brought out his childhood energy and sprinted down the mountain road. In short, he absolutely wouldn't let Mu Hongyu's figure leave his line of sight!

  Mu Hongyu had no choice but to stop.

  Turning around, Mu Hongyu suddenly drew out her long sword and pointed it at Tang An: "If you follow me again, I'll really kill you! Don't follow me anymore. Go back to the mountain!"

  The sword tip was pressed against his own chest, and Tang An could feel the cold chill emanating from the sword. However, he showed no fear and instead asked Mu Hongyu: "Do you have any plans to escape from here? You look like a 15 or 16-year-old, do you have any experience traveling in the jianghu? Moreover, you are penniless, what will you do if you get hungry on the run? You won't steal, you won't rob, don't you know that one coin can bring down a hero? I think you'll end up slinking back home with your tail between your legs. Since that's the case, why not just stay at home?"

  Muhongyu's eyebrows furrowed slightly. She was just the young lady of the Mu family, and although her martial arts skills were quite good, after all, she was only a small bird with no experience in the Jianghu world. The farthest place she had ever been to was Wudang Mountain in the heart of Jingzhou Province, but that time was for the 100th birthday celebration of the Wudang sect's leader, and many of her senior uncles from the sect had gone together. She really didn't have any experience traveling alone away from home.

  Seeing that Murong Yu's eyes were slightly worried, Tang An knew the time had come and immediately expressed his thoughts.

  "Don't worry about me going to inform on you. Because I'm just like you, and I also want to leave this place!"

  Tang An was about to say something, but just then, Mu Hongyu's expression changed, and she grabbed Tang An, using her lightness skill to fly down the mountain like a swallow.

  "Just now, someone was following us on the road. Now, I'm going to go home and get something right away. Don't follow me anymore!" Mu Hongyu pushed Tang An away and ran towards her own home. However, she was caught by Tang An in one grasp.

  "You can't go back. Now that your brother knows you're thinking of running away, he won't let you out again! Even if there's something urgent, you can't go get it." As she spoke, Tang An pulled out a stack of hundred-tael silver notes from her bosom.

  "If you really want to escape, listen to me." He didn't give Mu Hongyu any chance to object and continued, "Take this money, go to Xicheng to buy a horse carriage, two fast horses, and hire a coachman. Use the remaining money to buy fabric and fill half of the carriage with it. Also, make sure the carriage is as big as possible. Remember to disguise yourself before you go. There shouldn't be many people in Qinghe Town who don't recognize you, right? Don't ask why, if you really want to leave this place, just do what I say. I won't deceive you. My situation is even worse than yours. You're only going to marry someone you don't like, but if I don't escape, I'll be killed!"

  "Are you really not going to betray me?" Mu Hongyu asked a very silly question, making Tang An feel very annoyed. Did this woman just rely on her own anger to want to run away from home without any thought about the escape plan?

  Could it be that today I really met a legendary foolish girl?

  Tang An couldn't help but feel a little indignant.

  But then, Tang An's mouth corner had a smile. This way, isn't it convenient for oneself to take advantage of her?

  …………

  Half an hour later, Mu Hongyu returned.

  She changed into a set of energetic attire and wore a light gauze hat on her head. Although she looked like a completely different person from before, it was still easy to recognize her when encountering familiar people.

  After Qingyun Jade explained it, Tang An only then knew that all those disguise techniques in martial arts novels were actually fake.

  Those human skin masks are all nonsense! Disguise is just an ordinary makeup technique.

  It seems that if modern makeup experts were to travel back in time to ancient times, they would definitely be master-level face-changing artists.

  "You're going shopping like this, and no one will recognize you? You silly girl, I'm impressed!"

  Fortunately, Tong An was very satisfied with the horse-drawn carriage she bought.

  The carriage was very large and could easily seat five or six people without being crowded. However, the inside of the carriage was neatly stacked with rolls of cloth, leaving no space for anyone to sit.

  Tang An is really going crazy today, did this woman use all her brain cells for martial arts training?

  "Didn't I say fill it up halfway? Why is it all filled up?"

  Tang An didn't want to waste any more words, time was pressing, he hastily jumped onto the carriage, under the strange gaze of the carman, he threw down over a dozen pieces of cloth from inside, making room for two people. Then he crawled back into the carriage and used the small knife at his waist to dig out a large hole in the bottom of the rear compartment, just enough for one person to crawl through from underneath.

  After doing all this, he moved all the remaining fabric to the front, pretending it was full.

  He then carefully closed the door in front of the carriage and said to the driver, "I'd like to entrust you with delivering these fabrics to Yun Gui Jin Du Pavilion in Shi Cheng. Since time is pressing, I need you to rush there overnight. I'll add 10 more taels of silver, how about it?"

  The cart driver, upon hearing 10 taels of silver, immediately threw aside the strange behavior Tang An had exhibited earlier and patted his chest to guarantee: "No problem! I'll take responsibility. Absolutely nothing will go wrong."

  10 taels of silver, that's what he can earn in a whole month, so of course he has no problem with it.

  "Alright, since you're not having any issues, let's get going. I've already informed the people at [Yungui Brocade Shop] and they'll take care of these fabrics. Also, these two horses were purchased by the owner of [Yungui Brocade Shop] through my father, saying that the horses from Qinghe Town have great endurance, so you can bring them along as well."

  Tang An finished speaking, and the carman bowed his body onto the driver's seat, humming a response: "Alright, young master, you can rest assured. This fabric and two Dian horses, I will definitely bring them to you."

  Having said that, the driver swung his whip violently and it cracked in the air with a loud "crack". The carriage then started moving.

  The carter swung his whip, singing a little tune, his face beaming with joy. "Ten taels of silver! Tomorrow, just in time to buy that wife of mine a new pair of earrings."

  Taking advantage of the car husband's inattention, Tang An beckoned to Mu Hongyu and quickly ran towards the back of the horse carriage. He lowered his body and reached the bottom of the carriage, then jumped up and slipped inside.

  Namu Hongyu saw Tang An's movements, and suddenly a flash of understanding crossed her mind, "No wonder he wanted me to buy half of the fabric, it turns out that he was going to sneak into the horse carriage unnoticed."

  She also learned Tang An's movements and slipped into the carriage compartment in a flash.

  The car husband drove the car, suddenly feeling that the horse cart behind him didn't know why it shook once and then suddenly became much heavier. However, he was now thinking happily about the 10 taels of silver, apart from giving his wife a pair of gloves, there seemed to be a lot of leftover money. Since losing money at gambling last time, it seemed like a long time since he had gone to the wine shop to drink some old wine, this time the remaining money was enough for him to drink for a month. After returning, he must go and have a good drink.

  Thinking so, he no longer felt that the carriage was heavy. As for driving the horses, it was even more effortless.

  Tang An and Mu Hongyu were squeezed together, stuck in the narrow carriage. The two of them were almost close enough to hear each other's breathing.

  Muhongyu's current mood is also tense to the extreme.

  She took a surreptitious glance at Tang An, and she could sense that this little kid's thoughts were extraordinary. In an instant, she made a decision, considering many issues that she had never thought of before.

  In her mind, she would ride a fast horse from home, then rush all the way to the city gate checkpoint and start a big fight. Then in the chaos of battle, she would seize the opportunity to break through the door, those outer disciples would never be her match.

  But afterwards, those outer door disciples will immediately notify the nearby inner door disciples, and they themselves will have to face a search by many people. If they are lucky, they should be able to find their aunt before the disciples find them.

  Of course, there is also a greater possibility of being caught and brought back!

  "It's just a matter of dying! I'm not even afraid of death, what else is there to fear? For myself, I must give it my all this one time!"

  "But now it seems that there are more advantages. Those outer sect disciples may not think that there is someone in this horse carriage. The success rate of passing the checkpoints has also increased a lot."

  Tang An felt Mu Hongyu's heart beating a bit faster and thought she was worried that her plan would fail.

  Although Tang An wasn't very sure if his plan would succeed, he still couldn't help but comfort her: "Mu Shijie, don't worry. Although I thought of it a bit hastily, the possibility of this plan succeeding is still very high."

  "First, I'll have you go to Xishi to find a cart driver. The drivers there are all locals from Qinghe Town and they frequently enter and exit the city gate, so their relationship with the guards at the gate won't be too bad either. At least they're familiar faces. As long as we don't encounter any guards who intentionally make things difficult for us, the possibility of safely leaving the city gate while hiding in this horse cart is extremely high."

  Muhong Yu nodded: "What you said is not wrong. We hiding in the carriage, indeed much better than I originally thought of riding horses to leave directly, at least before leaving the city gate, we will not be noticed by others. However, this carriage still has a big drawback. That is, we absolutely cannot let anyone know that we are hiding in this carriage. Otherwise, once surrounded, they can catch us off guard, and when the time comes, we won't even have time to escape!

  That's why you deliberately pretended to take the carter to deliver the fabric, and then slipped away under his eyelids, only to sneak back into the carriage when he didn't notice. This way, he became our best witness. When passing the checkpoint, he won't arouse suspicion. Because from the very beginning, he didn't believe anyone was in this carriage!

  Mu Hongyu thought of this and suddenly asked: "If those guards must search the horse carriage, what should we do? Should we fight our way out?"

  He pointed to the large hole below: "The chassis of this horse carriage is almost parallel to the ground, and the bottom of the carriage is very wide. If you can stick close to the bottom of the carriage without falling off, they will absolutely not discover you. Moreover, at this time, it's the busiest time for people in Qinghe Town, everyone outside the town is rushing to leave the city gate to go home, and it's the busiest time for the city gate guards. They don't have so much energy to carefully inspect."

  "People are most busy, but it's also when their minds like to wander. Especially when they're stuck collecting taxes and guarding the city gate. The money they collect is just for their superiors, not for themselves. They can only watch as the money goes by, unable to take any of it. How would you feel if you were in their shoes? You'd definitely be depressed! So, the busier they are with work, the more likely they'll become negative and slack off! That's when our opportunities will be even greater!"

  "Of course, all of the above is just my speculation. If our luck is really too bad and we get discovered, then the two fast horses I had you buy will be our last resort. Hopefully, heaven won't let us be so unlucky."

  Mu Hongyu looked at Tang An with a surprised expression: "The things you just said, were they all thought of in that instant?"

  Tang An nodded: "This is not a difficult thing."

  Mu Hongyu looked at Tang An's calm appearance, her eyes were surprised and extraordinary, but in her heart, she unconsciously let out a slight sigh of relief.

  "It seems I've already seen a life of freedom and ease beckoning me from the future."

  …………

  The horse carriage "Gala" rattled and swayed as it headed towards the city gate.

  Slowly, Tang An heard the noise outside getting louder and louder, with occasional angry shouts from the guards.

  "Line up! Don't move, pay the toll one by one to leave the city! Don't you know the rules? Stop, the head tax is 2 coins per person, there are 10 of you, and you're still short 2 coins. Do you think I'm blind?"

  Roaring with anger, accompanied by the sound of a whip being swung and the man's pained cries, followed by his companions coming to apologize, mixed with the guards' curses. The city gate was indeed bustling at this moment.

  Although everything was expected, Tang An and Mu Hongyu were extremely nervous at this moment, afraid of being discovered.

  "Hurry up with your payment and get out of here! There are still people waiting behind you!" a security guard yelled.

  At this time, a small-headed person came out from behind, pulled his subordinate away, and waved his hand impatiently towards the back, letting the pedestrians behind hurry up to leave. He also frowned and opened his collar, revealing his robust chest full of black fluff.

  "What the hell is going on today? It's already evening, how did it suddenly get so hot? This is really damn weird!"

  The little rascal beside him, seeing the situation, hastily poured a bowl of cold tea from the table and handed it to the leader, saying: "Sir, it's hot today, I think it will rain soon. It's also troublesome to go home on rainy days. You've worked hard enough today, just leave this place to us and we'll take care of it. Your wife is still waiting for you at home. Why don't you go back first?"

  He said, his eyes rolled around, and the little thought in his heart almost hung on his face. Looking at that small head turning around, he chuckled.

  That little head saw the expression of this group, and suddenly it was clear in his heart. It's not that he wants to embezzle a few coppers to go drinking, but thinking about it, guarding the city gate really doesn't have much profit. The rich people who come and go through the city gate are mostly big shots from Mount Shu, so they don't need to pay fees. Those who need to pay fees are mostly small merchants from nearby villages, how much profit can that be?

  "You little scoundrel, can't you behave yourself? But brothers don't have it easy either, I understand. Alright, let's just say I'm treating everyone to a drink today. Off with you, and keep your hands clean." With that, the leader tugged at his sleeve, flipped up his cuff, and hastily strode away.

  That little rascal, at first still somewhat disbelieving, today the master actually agreed! In the past, welcoming oneself was always met with a barrage of curses. But thinking about the beautiful young daughter-in-law who had just been brought back to the master's household, this rascal didn't know what dirty thoughts he had, and on the spot burst out laughing.

  He turned around and shouted: "Brothers, let's work harder today, the boss will treat us to wine tonight!" The remaining rascals suddenly burst into a roar. They quickly formed a queue to collect money, and the speed was incredibly fast.

  The carriage Tang An was in naturally sped up a lot as well.

  Originally, the city gate was large and generally would not be congested, but it's just that those guards might intentionally make things difficult, so the people behind would get stuck. Now those guards are busy collecting money, naturally hoping for more to come in quickly, of course, they can't wait for those who want to leave the city to hurry up and leave, and as for those who don't want to leave, he'd be delighted if you left, so he could add another good wine to his dinner table.

  Tang An's ears were sharp and he listened carefully to the commotion outside, a smile suddenly appearing on his face.

  Muhong Yu's inner strength was even more profound, and her senses were even sharper. She could hear things more clearly. Her heart, which had been suspended in mid-air, stabilized a bit, and even the hand holding the White Jade Sword relaxed somewhat.

  "It seems our luck isn't bad after all. However, this is not the time to relax. The closer we get to the final critical moment, the more unexpected events will occur. You should mentally rehearse now, in case those guards really do search the carriage, how you'll respond."

  Tang An looked down at the hole under the carriage and thought to himself, "Later, if those guards really want to search the horse cart, she will hide in the bottom of the carriage according to what I said earlier. When the guards push open the fabric, I'll lie down sideways in the carriage. My body is small, there's a lot of fabric, and when they push it, I'll shrink into the fabric. If I'm not discovered, that's fine, but if I am... At that time, I'll let Mu Hongyu attract their attention. As long as I shout, 'Mu Hongyu wants to escape marriage!' There aren't many people in Qinghe Town who don't know her. I'll let her attract the guards' attention, and then I'll take advantage of the opportunity to escape!"

  Thinking of this, Tang Anxin felt a twinge of guilt and glanced at Mu Hongyu. Her originally cold face was now filled with expectation and tension, her cheeks flushed red, looking adorable beyond measure.

  Tang An's heart couldn't help but flash a hint of apology: "Although I'm using you to attract attention, my method is indeed much better than your own blind and reckless running. Hopefully things won't really get to that point. If they do, all I can say is sorry..."

  "You don't have to worry. If those guards really discover us later, I'll just crawl out from under here and engage them in a melee, taking advantage of the opportunity while I'm distracting them, you can grab a horse and escape on your own. Don't worry, even if I get caught, I absolutely won't betray you!"

  Tang An's expression changed slightly as he saw Mu Hongyu's serious expression, and a wave of shame suddenly surged up in his heart. "She really is a silly girl. I'm calculating and using her here, but she's still thinking for me."

  Thinking of this, Tang An suddenly said to Mu Hongyu with a ghostly tone: "My name is Tang An, from this moment on, we are partners! No matter what, we must escape together. If you're really caught, don't be afraid, I'll definitely find a way back to save you! Although I'm only seven years old, I've never lied to my own people, and you must believe me too! We will definitely escape together!"

  Muhong Yu stared blankly at Tang An's flushed little face, and at this moment, she only felt a daze in front of her eyes. She also firmly believed that Tang An would take herself out!

  The horse carriage rumbled forward, the carriage was unusually stuffy, accompanied by the occasional rumble of thunder from the horizon, a storm was approaching.

  "Halt! What's in the carriage? Open it for inspection!" The guard suddenly stopped the carriage, and with a "slam", before the driver could react, he jumped up and opened the door. The bells on the corner of the carriage immediately let out a loud jingling sound.

  The car husband looked at the guard's hands and feet without any signs of lightness or heaviness, worried about the goods, and hastily explained: "Sir, inside is a cart full of silk fabrics, I took the order to send it to Yungui Brocade Store in Shicheng. Look at the weather, it's going to rain soon, and they're in a hurry over there, please let me pass."

  The cart driver reluctantly pulled out ten cents from his pocket and handed it to the guard. "Sir, you've worked hard, this is just a small token of my appreciation, don't refuse it, take it to buy some tea."

  The guard burst out laughing and said: "You old man are not bad, very sensible, go past."

  The cart driver sang out in thanks: "Thank you, sir!"

  He suddenly waved his whip and shouted "Go".

  The horse carriage rumbled and started moving forward again.

  Upon hearing this, the two people in the car mentioned the heart that had been stuck in their throats, and slowly sank down again. They looked at each other, and a smile suddenly appeared on their faces.

  Just then, a horseman came galloping from inside the city.

  The golden small sword emblem on his clothes indicates that he is an inner disciple of Mount Shu!

  "Wang Shouzhao has an order, the city gate is temporarily closed. Quickly inform your patrol officer, Miss Mu of the Mu family has been kidnapped by evil people, let him hurry up and search the entire city!"