On the Road

The mule cart passed Li Family Village, and after another seven or eight li, several white-walled, black-tiled houses came into view under a large locust tree by the roadside, with a large wine character fluttering in the wind on the cloth banner in front of the houses.

It was past noon, the rain had stopped, but the clouds had not cleared, and the sky was much brighter.

"Old Niu, stop at the hotel ahead and rest for a while," Third Master said, lifting the curtain and speaking to the coachman.

"Alright," the coachman, Old Niu, cracked his whip, and the mule cart turned onto a side road, stopping in front of the flag-waving hotel in a short while.

This was a village roadside hotel, specializing in providing rest and food for passing merchants and travelers. There was a large courtyard in front of the hotel, paved with gravel, with several stone tables and benches on the side.

When Liu Yuanzhou helped Third Master out of the cart, he saw several carts already parked in the courtyard, some mule carts, some horse carts, and some ox carts.

Seeing that the stone tables were already full of travelers, Liu Yuanzhou asked Third Master, "Shall we go into the hotel to eat?"

Third Master stretched his back, wearily saying, "Let's not waste money on that. We have dry rations with us, so let's just eat something under the tree and get back on the road as soon as we're done."

The three of them walked to a dry spot under the tree, and Liu Yuanzhou opened the package, taking out dry rations to distribute to Third Master and the coachman, Old Niu. Third Master then asked Liu Yuanzhou to fetch some boiled water from the hotel to drink.

Liu Yuanzhou took the pot to the hotel to ask for boiled water. The hotel owner was a warm-hearted person and didn't mind whether they were spending money at his place or not, smiling as he filled half the pot with boiled water for Liu Yuanzhou, enough for the three of them to drink.

Liu Yuanzhou quickly thanked him.

The three of them ate their dry rations with the boiled water, and Liu Yuanzhou felt a sudden urge to relieve himself, asking Old Niu where he could do so.

Old Niu often ran the Crouching Tiger Slope to Yan Province City route and was considered a regular here. He pointed to a grove of trees to the east and said, "For a big one, go to the grove of trees in the distance. For a small one, just turn your back on the roadside, no one will see you." He laughed as he said this. He knew that young people like Liu Yuanzhou were thin-skinned and was deliberately teasing him.

Liu Yuanzhou's face turned slightly red, and he ran quickly towards the grove of trees in the distance. Even if his skin was thick, he couldn't bring himself to urinate in public.

The grove of trees looked close, but it was quite far to run there, almost two li away. Liu Yuanzhou entered the grove and walked deeper in before loosening his clothes and relieving himself comfortably.

Fastening his belt and tidying his clothes, Liu Yuanzhou was about to walk back when the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly rang out from his right front. He subconsciously turned his head to look and saw several figures darting between the trees, moving extremely fast, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Vaguely, the one in front was a woman in white, and the three men behind her were dressed in gray. Clearly, these people all had some martial arts skills.

Liu Yuanzhou found it amusing that he could encounter people with martial arts skills even when going to the toilet. On second thought, what did this have to do with him? He strode quickly towards the edge of the grove.

He hadn't taken a few steps when Liu Yuanzhou stopped again, seeing that the figures had returned and were rushing straight towards him.

Liu Yuanzhou quickly dodged a few steps to the right, but the woman in the lead changed direction, arriving in front of him in the blink of an eye, looking as if she was about to crash into him head-on.

In a moment of desperation, Liu Yuanzhou performed an Iron Bridge, falling backward, and the woman stepped over him, the corner of her skirt even brushing his nose.

With his feet rooted to the ground and his palms pressing against the ground in the opposite direction, Liu Yuanzhou straightened his waist, and his body bounced straight up, standing on the ground without moving his feet.

"Good skill!" the woman exclaimed. She stopped and turned to look at Liu Yuanzhou, quietly catching her breath.

The three gray-clothed men also stopped, their expressions uncertain.

Liu Yuanzhou was very depressed at the moment, being stepped over by someone, especially a woman, was unlucky enough.

"Robbers?" Liu Yuanzhou was puzzled, but he wasn't afraid because he could see that although these four had some skill, they hadn't reached the level of a Martial Master, and even their movements while running were far inferior to his own.

Turning his body to the side and turning his head towards the woman, Liu Yuanzhou said angrily, "Hey, why are you running into me?"

The woman winked at Liu Yuanzhou, then snorted coldly, "I should be asking you why you're blocking my way. Are you in cahoots with them? If you want to get the thing, step over my dead body first." As she spoke, she tightened her grip on a package she was holding in her left arm, took two steps back, and adopted an attacking stance with her right hand.

The woman was carrying a very important item, and she was already exhausted. Knowing that she couldn't escape this grove of trees, she changed direction and rushed towards Liu Yuanzhou, intending to hide the thing on him. She believed that with her skill, it would be very easy to do so.

Little did she expect that this seemingly ordinary young man was also a practitioner, and his skill didn't seem weak.

Liu Yuanzhou quickly shook his head and said, "Uh, don't talk nonsense, I don't know those three people. Okay, I won't pursue it, I'll leave first." After saying that, he quickly retreated.

He understood that these people were two opposing groups. The gray-clothed men were snatching an important item from the white-clothed woman. He didn't want to get involved, so he wanted to leave quickly.

The gray-clothed men weren't sure if Liu Yuanzhou was with the woman, so they just watched the two of them quietly, tensing up, ready to strike at any moment. Seeing that Liu Yuanzhou was about to leave, they didn't stop him.

A trace of anxiety flashed in the woman's eyes. Seeing that Liu Yuanzhou had retreated more than ten yards away, she gritted her teeth, raised her left hand, and threw the package in her arms towards Liu Yuanzhou, shouting, "We split up, meet at the usual place." After saying that, she turned and ran.

Seeing the woman throw out the package, the gray-clothed men no longer hesitated. The three of them attacked Liu Yuanzhou together.

Liu Yuanzhou thought to himself, I've fallen for that woman's trick. He wanted to explain, but seeing the gray-clothed men's fists and feet were already close, he had no choice but to parry first.

The leading gray-clothed man had the highest skill, and his pair of iron fists were the first to bombard Liu Yuanzhou's chest.

Liu Yuanzhou's fists came, and he was faintly excited, without a trace of timidity. He raised his arms in a Iron Chain Across the River stance. Peng, the four arms intersected, and the leading man felt a great force coming, and he staggered back a few steps. His arms felt like they had been struck by iron rods, and the pain was excruciating.

Liu Yuanzhou repelled the leading man, and the attacks of the other two gray-clothed men also arrived. He kicked sideways with his left foot, and chopped down with his right hand. The gray-clothed man on the left was kicked in the chest and flew out, falling to the ground. The gray-clothed man on the right had already rolled his eyes and fainted, because Liu Yuanzhou's hand blade had struck his nape first.

At this point, in one exchange, two of the three gray-clothed men had lost their fighting power.

The leading man stared at Liu Yuanzhou with a look of fear. For a moment, he had the intention of retreating, but thinking of that key item, it must not fall into the hands of outsiders.

He hardened his heart, ignoring the pain in his arms, and roared as he rushed towards Liu Yuanzhou, then raised his leg, and a Tiger Tail Whip swept towards Liu Yuanzhou's waist. This was his hidden skill, secretly practiced to turn the tables.

Liu Yuanzhou easily repelled the three gray-clothed men, and he felt a little proud in his heart, and he couldn't help but look down on the gray-clothed men.

Seeing the leading gray-clothed man attack again, he still planned to save some strength and fight a few more rounds to increase his practical experience.

Liu Yuanzhou jumped upwards, and the leading man's whip kick missed. He then twisted his waist, and another leg flew up and struck Liu Yuanzhou's face again, the speed was more than twice as fast.

Liu Yuanzhou was in mid-air with nowhere to borrow strength, so he could only protect his head with his hands. The next moment, pa, the whip leg hit his shoulder, Liu Yuanzhou was knocked away, his body hit a tree trunk, his arms were numb, and he couldn't lift them for a while, and his chest was also in severe pain.

Liu Yuanzhou hadn't taken a few breaths when he saw the leading man's whip leg coming again. He quickly dodged, and quickly rushed out seven or eight steps, turning to face the leading man, with a look of vigilance.

The leading man suddenly had red eyes, and roared again, rushing towards Liu Yuanzhou, repeating the same trick, another whip leg. It was just that the package happened to be at Liu Yuanzhou's feet at this time.

Seeing the leading man kick again, he didn't dare to underestimate him. He channeled his strength into his fists, using the Plum Blossom Fist's killing move, Twin Flower Kill, striking first, his fists hitting the leading man's soles. This time, he used all his strength, and the leading man flew backwards, falling heavily to the ground with a thud, unable to struggle for a while.

Liu Yuanzhou also took two steps back to dissipate the reaction force, leaning against the tree trunk, gasping for breath.

It seems like a long story, but in reality, the four of them had only exchanged blows for half an incense stick's time. At this moment, Liu Yuanzhou felt short of breath and weak. This was partly due to the strenuous physical activity, and also related to his excitement and nervousness, after all, this was his first real combat with a martial artist since he started practicing martial arts.

Once Liu Yuanzhou's breathing had stabilized, he bent down, picked up the package, and threw it to the leading man without looking at it, patted his hands, and said in a deep voice, "You guys attacked me first, I was forced to fight back. Also, I really have nothing to do with that woman, and I don't want to know about your affairs, so let's say goodbye." After saying that, he turned and left.

The leading man sat up. His body was fine, except that one leg was temporarily numb. He grabbed the package, opened it, and inside was a pile of the woman's odds and ends, where was the thing they were looking for.

"Damn it, she tricked us." He was furious, and threw away the package in his hand.

The leading man limped, helped up his subordinates, and the one who had fainted had also woken up, and asked, "Brother Ma, the thing is lost, what should we do?"

The leading man pondered for a moment, and sighed: "We can only go back and report to the young master as soon as possible, and clear the clues ahead of time."

Liu Yuanzhou ran back to the hotel courtyard, and saw Third Master standing by the mule cart waiting for him, and quickly apologized: "I've kept you waiting."

Seeing that Liu Yuanzhou hadn't returned for a long time, Third Master was really worried that something might have happened. After all, Liu Yuanzhou was brought out by him, so he had the responsibility to protect him. Now that he saw that the person had arrived, he was relieved, but he complained, "What happened? Your clothes are all wet?"

Only then did Liu Yuanzhou realize that in the battle just now, his clothes had been soaked by the rain. He scratched his head and quickly got into the mule cart to change his clothes.

In the hotel courtyard, in a carriage not far from Liu Yuanzhou's mule cart, two women were talking quietly.

One of the women was indeed the white-clothed woman who had fled earlier, but at this moment, she had changed into a servant's outfit, restyled her hair and makeup, and looked beautiful. If you didn't look closely, you really wouldn't recognize her.

Suddenly, she gave a soft exclamation, "He's actually here too?" Through the gauze window of the shed, she saw Liu Yuanzhou talking to Third Master.

"Who?" the woman sitting opposite her asked.

"Captain, he's the man we met in the woods earlier," the servant-dressed woman said.

"Oh, very good." The woman's face was cold and indifferent, she only glanced casually out the window, not paying much attention, and then said, "This time you don't have to feel guilty, he came out on his own."

"Yes." The servant-dressed woman nodded, feeling a sense of relief in her heart.