A Lone Woman on a Snowy Night (Please Bookmark and Follow)

Zhao Ya summoned Tan Dong and instructed him to go to his home after his shift ended and tell Tang Zuier that he would be leaving on an escort job for a few days. She was not to worry, and after he left, she should go out as little as possible.

Tan Dong readily agreed.

After taking care of these miscellaneous matters, Zhao Ya set out with the escort carts.

Once they left the city, they saw barren fields, withered grass and trees, and a scene of utter desolation.

There were far fewer corpses along the road, though.

After traveling for an entire day, Zhao Ya and the others finally reached their first stopover at dusk, more than a hundred li from Dancing Elephant City.

It was an inn, small in scale and far from well-appointed.

But when traveling abroad, simply finding a safe place to sleep was already no easy thing. Naturally, no one expected anything more.

Luo Qiang was quite familiar with the innkeeper. This was a route they often traveled, after all, so they had to know which inns and eateries along the way were good and which were safe.

Once they had grown accustomed to a place, they would not change it lightly.

This inn was one of them.

"Chief Escort Luo, you're personally taking an escort job even during the New Year?" the innkeeper said with a smile.

"Ah, what can I do? Otherwise, who'd be willing to travel all this way just to drink cold wind? Your line of work is better. No wind blowing on you, no rain soaking you."

"Chief Escort Luo, please don't make fun of me. My little business only barely puts food on the table. How could it compare to yours?"

After a few pleasantries, the attendants brought out steaming-hot dishes.

To be honest, the food tasted quite ordinary, not even as good as Tang Zuier's cooking.

Yet Zhao Ya still ate with great satisfaction.

In the depths of winter, getting a bite of hot food was already pretty good.

After dinner, the attendants had arranged the rooms. Luo Qiang assigned people to stand watch that night, while everyone else hurried back to their rooms to rest.

Zhao Ya had been assigned the latter half of the night watch, along with Zhou Hua.

It was worth mentioning that a month and a half earlier, Zhou Hua had finally completed bone forging and become an escort hand.

However, compared to Wei Yu, Zhao Ya, and the others, his breakthrough had seemed thoroughly unremarkable, so it had not drawn much attention.

Zhou Hua had also become increasingly taciturn, to the point that he sometimes did not say a single word to anyone all day.

That personality only pushed him further to the fringes.

No one had even been willing to partner with him for this simple task of guarding the escort silver.

In the end, Zhao Ya had volunteered, resolving the awkward situation.

Zhao Ya slept until midnight, then got up without needing anyone to wake him.

By the time he arrived at the room where the escort silver was stored, Zhou Hua was already there.

"Brother Zhao, you've had a hard shift!" Luo Feng said with a smile.

Zhao Ya waved his hand. "Go get some sleep."

Only then did Luo Feng and another escort hand leave.

The room was cold. Though Zhao Ya was unaffected by heat or cold, he still shut the doors and windows tightly before finding a chair and sitting down.

Zhou Hua simply found a corner and sat on the floor.

Neither of them spoke.

Since Zhou Hua said nothing, Zhao Ya could not be bothered to speak to him either. Instead, he reflected on what he had learned from his recent martial training.

Time passed second by second, and the room grew colder and colder.

The wind howled outside. Zhao Ya walked to the door and looked out, only to discover that it had begun snowing.

Goose-feather snowflakes quickly blanketed the ground in white.

Seeing the raging wind and heavy snow, Zhao Ya could not help feeling bitter.

If it snowed all night, they could forget about traveling tomorrow.

Just then, Luo Qiang arrived as well.

His expression was unpleasant.

This sudden heavy snow had completely disrupted his plans.

If they missed the delivery deadline, they would be in trouble.

"Anything unusual?" Luo Qiang asked.

Zhao Ya shook his head. "Everything's normal."

Luo Qiang made a round of inspection. After confirming that the seals on the escort chests were untouched, he too went to stand by the window.

"Ah, let's hope this snow stops. Otherwise, we really won't be able to leave tomorrow."

"Yes, let's hope it stops," Zhao Ya echoed. Then came a long silence.

"Uncle Luo, go get some rest. If Heaven wants to snow, there's nothing anyone can do. Worrying won't help."

"Mm. I'm going, then."

Luo Qiang had just turned to leave.

At that moment, knocking suddenly sounded from the inn's front courtyard.

Zhao Ya was taken aback.

Who would be knocking on a door on a snowy night?

Luo Qiang's expression changed even more.

"Guard the escort silver here. I'll go see what's happening up front."

"Alright. Be careful, Uncle Luo."

Luo Qiang hurried toward the front courtyard.

By then, the innkeeper had also been awakened. He went with Luo Qiang to the door.

"Who is it, knocking so late at night?"

A soft, delicate woman's voice came from outside.

"Innkeeper, I am a traveler. I lost my way and missed the next lodging stop, which is why I have disturbed you so late. Please open the door and let me in."

A woman?

And a woman traveling alone.

Both the innkeeper and Luo Qiang were surprised.

But for safety's sake, the innkeeper brought over a stool and peered outside through the small window above the door.

Sure enough.

A woman stood in the snow outside.

She wore a silver-white cloak, with a horse beside her.

Only after confirming that there was no one else nearby did the innkeeper cautiously open the door.

The woman entered and lifted the hood from her head.

At that instant, even the well-traveled Luo Qiang could not help but freeze.

The woman was simply too beautiful.

Especially those limpid eyes, so captivating that they made one forget the mundane world.

The innkeeper was similarly struck dumb, but quickly recovered.

"Miss, are you looking to stay the night?"

"Yes. Is there anything to eat? Prepare something for me first."

"And my horse needs to be groomed, fed, and walked. You will be paid well."

"Yes, yes, yes. I'll arrange it right away," the innkeeper agreed repeatedly.

The woman found a table and sat down, then placed the long bundle in her hand upon it.

Luo Qiang's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively glanced at her hands.

Her fingers were slender and fair as jade, without the slightest callus.

But Luo Qiang did not relax in the slightest. Instead, he became even more vigilant.

What ordinary woman would dare travel alone through a snowy night?

Still, Luo Qiang was a composed man. Though he harbored suspicions, he quietly withdrew.

After returning to the rear courtyard, he said in a grave voice, "Stay alert. Do not let your guard down in the slightest. We leave at first light tomorrow."

Zhao Ya nodded. "Understood."

He had actually heard the conversation out front as well and knew that a lone woman had come seeking lodging in the middle of the night.

It was no wonder Luo Qiang was so tense. The matter truly seemed suspicious.

Especially since Luo Qiang had previously said that when traveling the martial world, one must never provoke women traveling alone.

The prettier they were, the more this applied.

Since if such a woman dared to travel by herself, she must possess formidable skill.

Zhao Ya felt a heavy weight settle in his heart as well.

After this happened, Luo Qiang naturally could not sleep again.

The three of them, Luo Qiang, Zhao Ya, and Zhou Hua, stood guard in the room for the entire night.

But by morning, the snow had not only failed to stop, it had grown even heavier.