Song Qingshu could not help saying, "The reason you wanted to come along was probably not to persuade them, but more because you were afraid Huo Du might still be nearby."
Huo Qingtong's cheeks reddened. She gave a snort. "What is wrong with killing two birds with one stone?"
Wang Yuyan looked at Song Qingshu and said softly, "Brother Song, Sister Huo traveled all the way to the Central Plains and has worked so hard for her people's future. Do not make things difficult for her anymore." After speaking with Huo Qingtong, she had developed considerable admiration for this strong heroine and naturally did not want Song Qingshu to mock her.
Song Qingshu rarely heard Wang Yuyan plead so gently. Though he was not Duan Yu, his heart still softened at once, and he naturally felt too embarrassed to keep giving Huo Qingtong a hard time.
Soon, the group finished breakfast and set out toward Leigu Mountain. The small town where they had stayed was not far from Leigu Mountain, and after riding hard, they finally reached its borders early the next morning.
They went straight up the mountain path. By noon, the terrain had risen higher and higher, until their horses could no longer proceed. The group had no choice but to dismount and continue on foot. After walking for more than half an hour, they reached a place shaded by dense bamboo, serene and secluded. Beside a mountain stream stood a pavilion built from enormous bamboo stalks. Its construction was elegant and ingenious to the utmost degree: bamboo was the pavilion, and the pavilion was bamboo. At a glance, one could not tell whether it was a bamboo grove or a pavilion.
Huo Qingtong had grown up in the western regions, and when she saw such exquisite scenery,