The uncle borrowed some merits, and the princess drew the talisman fiercely

Separated by the stone bridge, it seems like two different worlds.

There are many shops on this side, all of which are two- or three-story buildings. There are clusters of short trees over there, and even if there are houses, they are low and gray.

Now there are a few lights lit up there.

Faintly one could hear a mother calling her children to come home.

If it were normal, it would be a lively place. But now it does look a bit deserted.

Lu Zhaoling glanced at the sky again.

It is now completely dark and the moon has risen.

They traveled day and night all the way and had no idea that there would be any changes in Lishan on July 14th.

However, she had already agreed with her second junior sister that if there was any change in the capital, she must be notified.

I haven't received any letter for such a long time, maybe everything is okay?

She thought about it and decided to go over there to take a look.

But just as she was about to step onto the stone bridge, an old man carrying a basket passed by on the opposite side.

The old man looked gray-haired, with a weathered face and a slightly hunched back. He must have lived a poor life.

He saw Lu Zhaoling, was stunned for a moment, and called her almost without thinking.

"girl."

Lu Zhaoling stopped.

The old man put down the bamboo basket, took something out of it, and walked towards her.

Walking up to Lu Zhaoling, he handed the thing in his hand to her.

"Girl, you don't look like someone from our area."

The old man's eyesight is quite good.

Lu Zhaoling looked at the thing in his hand and was stunned. It was actually a little rabbit? And it was still alive.

"Uncle, I'm not from here, I just want to go over and take a look."

"I saw it right away. From a distance I saw someone standing by the stream for quite a while."

The old man looked at her and seemed to stay here for a while before he made up his mind to walk onto the stone bridge.

"Look at your attire. You must be a girl from a wealthy family. Why are you here alone? Girl, I caught this rabbit and gave it to you to play with. Go back quickly. It's not safe after dark."

Lu Zhaoling listened to his words and suspected that the old man thought she was depressed and wanted to commit suicide.

"It will be very cold here at night. Hold this little rabbit to warm your hands. Let's go back."

When the old man said this, his expression became somewhat conflicted, and he looked back.

"But it's already night, you go back alone..."

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke, "I'll take you back, girl."

Before Lu Zhaoling could even say a few words, the old man had already made the decision. She saw the old man's hesitation.

Something happened in this small town, everyone should know about it.

The old man was probably a little scared at night, but he still wanted to send her back.

After this send-off, he would have to walk back by himself later.

Lu Zhaoling looked at his face carefully and suddenly sighed.

"Uncle, you don't have to send me back. How about letting me stay at your house for one night?"

The old man was stunned.

"You're not going back? Won't your family be worried?"

Lu Zhaoling shook her head. "It's okay. I told them when I came out. I'll go back tomorrow."

When the old man heard this, he thought she had used some excuse to deceive her family and told them not to look for her today. She came out to commit suicide, and it would be too late for her family to look for her tomorrow.

He noticed that there seemed to be a light mist floating around, and his expression changed.

Forget it. If he sends her back now and something happens on the way, he, with his old bones, may not be able to protect her.

It would be better to let her stay at home for one night.

"In that case, girl, please come home with me."

The old man quickly took Lu Zhaoling across the stone bridge, picked up the bamboo basket, and took her home.

Walking into this area of ​​houses, I found that it was indeed where the poorer people lived. The alleys were narrow, and the houses were small and old. Some of the doors looked broken and banged when the wind blew.

It was dark all around, and they all walked into the alley with the weak light of a small lantern at the entrance.

The old man must be used to walking there and is familiar with it.

He was afraid that Lu Zhaoling couldn't see the road, so he walked very slowly and reminded her to pay attention to her steps from time to time.

"arrive."

We arrived at the door of a small house. The gap in the door was so large that we could see a faint light coming through the window paper.

The old man knocked on the door.

"I only have one grandson left in my family now, his name is Xiaoyu."

While the old man was waiting for the person inside to open the door, he said to Lu Zhaoling, "That child might be a little impatient, don't be offended, young lady."

There were hurried footsteps from inside, and someone ran out and opened the bolt.

As the door opened, a young man saw the old man and shouted.

"You came back even later today! Master, don't you think about your age? I told you to come back earlier, why didn't you listen? If something happened to you..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw Lu Zhaoling behind the old man and was stunned.

"Xiaoyu, go in first."

The boy stepped aside.

Lu Zhaoling had sensed something was wrong when she heard his footsteps just now. Now seeing him take two steps back, she thought to herself, as expected.

The boy has a bad leg.

Some have different lengths of legs.

She followed the old man in.

The gate was closed again and bolted.

Lu Zhaoling took a look.

The old man put down the bamboo basket and took out a small piece of pork and a handful of wild vegetables.

"Let's go into the house."

There were a lot of miscellaneous items piled up in the small courtyard.

"Master, who is she?" Xiaoyu didn't move and looked at Lu Zhaoling.

Lu Zhaoling also looked at him.

The boy was about thirteen or fourteen, with a pale face, uneven legs, and was also quite thin.

He looked alert, wary, and a little repulsive, as if he wanted to drive her out at any time.

Lu Zhaoling looked at him, who was obviously about to die a violent death, and sighed.

If she didn't take action, the young man named Xiaoyu would have suffered a serious bloody disaster tonight and would have died tragically tomorrow morning.

Just now she looked at the old man's face, and it was the face of a lonely man with no relatives and all descendants dead.

But the old man met her and felt kind-hearted.

"I just met this girl outside. It's dark now. She's not from our city. I think she got lost. Let her stay at our house tonight. I'll take her back to her family tomorrow."

The old man looked at his grandson.

"Why do you just bring someone home so casually? How do you know if she is a good person or a bad person?" Xiaoyu's face still looked unhappy, but he still walked towards the main room with one step higher and one lower.

The old man glanced at Lu Zhaoling and felt a little embarrassed.

Lu Zhaoling followed them into the house.

This family can be said to be penniless.

She had thought there was a candle lit in the room, but when she came in she found that it was not the case. There was an earthen stove next to her with a fire burning in it, and the light was coming from there.

There were no oil lamps or candles at all.