idyllic tranquility

There is no moon or star tonight, the sky is as black as ink, there is no light and no sound.

The ground shrouded in night is not as quiet as the night sky. After careful identification, one can vaguely hear the rustling sound in the woods that is different from the rustling of the branches and leaves in the wind.

A group of masters hiding in the night, like nocturnal predators, dodge, climb, and sprint quietly.When it was about to dawn, the night crawler who had been running all the way finally stopped at the edge of a forest.

Half of the people stayed behind and kept a close watch on their respective posts, not daring to slack off. The other half continued to pass through the cover of the woods and came to a high wall at the darkest hour before dawn.

"Meow~~Meow~Wow~"

"Wow~Wow~"

The feral cats in spring are very turbulent, and when they are in love, they sound like crying babies. When the cries subside, and at dawn, everything returns to calm.

But after a while, there was movement at the side door under the high wall. It turned out that someone was opening the door.

After the door opened for a while, an old man about 50 years old rubbed his eyes and came out. He looked like he was still asleep. He stood by the door and looked at the sky. When he realized that it was still early, he closed the door again. .The whole process was very natural, as if he didn't notice a few figures flying past him at all.

When the old man returned to the gatehouse and was about to go to bed and continue to sleep, he accidentally disturbed another young man who was watching the night together. "Hey, sir, what time is it, should the door be opened?"

Seeing that the boy was about to get up, the old man quickly dozed off and said, "Haha~ It's still early, and I can sleep for another hour. Hey~ It's good to be young, you don't have to wake up at night to sleep peacefully."

After all, the old man also lay down, pretending to continue to sleep, and the boy at the side heard that it was still early, pulled the quilt, and fell into a deep sleep in a daze.

In a remote room.

"My lord, please see Li Da."

"Let him in." Sitting at the table, Xiao Zhi poured a cup of tea to moisten his throat, but looked at He Ning, who was lying quietly on the couch, and saw that she was breathing calmly and showed no signs of waking up, so he didn't say much What.

"Li Hao, North Li Village, see General Xiao."

Li Hao was brought into the wing room, and he saw the figure sitting at the table drinking tea at a glance. He sighed in his heart that General Xiao was indeed as Confucian as described in the rumors; at the same time, he was surprised that the other party looked less than 20 years old. age.

"You don't need to be too polite. Today we will borrow the wing room in your house, and you and I will be called brothers."

This may sound like a polite statement, but the tone of the words cannot be questioned. Li Hao is not the kind of person who does not wink. Seeing that General Xiao is unwilling to reveal his identity, he took advantage of the situation and said, "It is an honor for my Li family to be able to come, Brother Xiao." .”

Xiao Zhi didn't like small talk, so he invited Li Hao to a seat, and then directly transferred to the issues he was most concerned about.

"Is the pre-ordered goods ready?"

"Yes, it's ready. Brother Xiao can inspect it at any time." Xiao Zhi's aura made Li Hao a little nervous, but he still controlled himself to be calm.

"Well, let Xiao Da take a look later, if there is nothing missing, we are ready to go at any time."

After Xiao Zhi finished speaking, the guard behind him punched Li Hao.

This mission not only requires concealment, but also urgency.The longer the time drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for one's own side.If the other party notices it after a long time and prepares for it in advance, then their trip will be meaningless.

"What? Leave so soon?"

Although the Li family was a stronghold to support them, Xiao Zhi's whereabouts plan was a top secret, and it was impossible to disclose it to the Li family.Moreover, before Li Nengfu left, he only asked his eldest son Li Hao to prepare the things, and he followed General Xiao's instructions for the rest.Therefore, Li Haocai was very surprised that Xiao Zhi and his party only stayed for one night.

But as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Li Hao realized that he had said something he shouldn't have said.They were hiding their identities and acting in secret, so their itinerary should not be disclosed, and what they said just now meant to inquire.Thinking of this, Li Hao's back broke out in a layer of cold sweat, and he quickly confessed his guilt before Xiao Zhi could speak: "I was the one who was rude, and I will take the guard Xiao to see the goods."

Li Hao was about to leave, but was stopped by Xiao Zhi, who pointed to the figure on the couch, and asked: "The man on the couch is said to be from your village, you go and find out his identity."

Following the direction of his fingers, Li Hao looked carefully, a delicate girl around ten years old?Eh~ No, it looks a little familiar, as if I've seen it somewhere.

Li Hao didn't know many people in Beili Village. When he was young, he was either detained at home by his father to study with the gentleman he invited, or he went to some banquets with his father, so he didn't have time to mingle with the boys in the village like his younger sister. .Even at the Watermelon Appreciation Conference held at home in the past two years, he only showed up when the awards were presented, and spent more time in the house entertaining guests.

Thinking of this, Li Hao seriously recalled the villagers he met at the Watermelon Appreciation Conference, and finally got some clues, but he was not very sure.

"It seems to be He Ning, the grandson of the He family who is a carpenter in the village. His family is the best watermelon grower in these two years, so I have seen him twice. But it has been a long time, and I am not sure. How about I ask Steward Li to come over and take a look?"

What Li Hao said was very different from what Xiao Da asked yesterday, Xiao Zhi didn't want to publicize this matter, so he didn't ask Steward Li to identify him.However, Li Hao said that "she" is the grandson of the He family. Could it be that she is really a man?I also have a day of being blind? !

Xiao Zhi couldn't believe it, but he didn't show any emotion on his face. After inquiring about some more things with Li Hao, he terminated the meeting between the two parties and asked his subordinates to go down to recuperate and recharge their spirits.

When there was no one in the room, Xiao Zhi no longer sat at the table, but got up and sat on the couch where He Ning was lying, his eagle-like sharp eyes sized him up motionlessly.

Under such scrutiny, He Ning's body gradually stiffened, knowing that he had been exposed and could no longer pretend, so he slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing that this was really the case, Xiao Zhi laughed back angrily: "Hmph, you're pretty good at pretending, but I don't know if you started pretending at the inn, or did you wake up on the way?"

"Would you believe me if I said I just woke up?"

He Ning knew that this kind of thing could not be explained clearly. Although the other party didn't get angry, it made him feel more dangerous.

"You can wear men's clothes but make people mistaken for women. With such a disguise, what can I trust you?"

When saying these words, Xiao Zhi stared closely at He Ning's eyes, not letting go of any emotion that the other party leaked.Although this person's identity was perfect, without any loopholes, and there was the eldest son of the Li family as a witness, but the preconceived notions in the inn made it difficult for Xiao Zhi to accept the other party's identity setting.

Just imagine, how could a smart and handsome "strange woman" come from a peasant family who can barely read big characters?

But at this time, He Ning is more incomprehensible than Xiao Zhi. What is "dressing men's clothes and pretending to be women"?Is it because I read too little and my brain circuits have shrunk?

He Ning felt that this question was poisonous, and he didn't know how to answer it, so he could only ask: "I am a man, what should I wear if I don't wear men's clothes? (Women's clothes?)"

Relying on animal instinct, He Ning didn't dare to ask the last three words.

"You are a smart person, you should know your current situation. If you know what you shouldn't know, it doesn't matter whether you have pretended or not."

Xiao Zhi is a person who distinguishes between public and private. Although he has a little affection for He Ning, the two have only known each other for a short time, and they have such a big oolong in gender.Most importantly, He Ning is an uncertain factor.He didn't know how much the other party knew about their identities, and he didn't know if releasing him would reveal their whereabouts.

"I was brought here by you inexplicably. I don't know anything about you, and I will not pose a threat to you at all. If you are still worried, I can stay here for a while and leave after you come back."

He Ning defended himself as much as possible, but at the same time he knew in his heart that the other party could not let him go just because he was an innocent person involved in misfortune.After all, he already knew that Landlord Li's house was one of their strongholds, and it was also a witness that they had stayed here.If you want to blame, you can only blame yourself for insisting on going to the backyard to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. What's more terrible is that you are still completely dizzy, and it's even worse if you wake up halfway.

In fact, if He Ning really had a weak body with no power to restrain the chicken as he showed, after being hit by Xiao Da, he could really faint for a whole day, and there would be no embarrassing situation of waking up halfway out of a faint.

"It seems to make sense. But... don't say whether the Li family's defensive capabilities are credible, I heard that Miss Li's family has some friendship with you, do you think, if you were me, would you agree to let the Li family guard you? ?”

He Ning's proposal was full of loopholes in Xiao Zhi's eyes, and while it was ridiculous, he was not in a hurry to deal with it. He wanted to see what reason this "wonderful woman" could use to convince himself to let him go.

"You don't trust me, it's just that you don't trust me, and you are afraid that I will ruin your business. But what if we become grasshoppers on a rope?"

In the current situation, confronting the other party is speeding up courting death. Only by finding a way to become a member of the same camp and embodying one's own value can one gain a chance of life.As for what the other party is doing and who he is following, it is no longer He Ning's choice.At least from the fact that the other party didn't order him to be killed immediately, instead leaving him alive, his character might be worth a gamble.

"A grasshopper on a rope? Huh, by you? A farmer with no money or power."

These words are a bit harsh, but they are also the reality of Chi Guoguo.

"I have neither money nor influence, but I have the ability to help you!"

When he said this, He Ning had already sat up from the couch, staring seriously at Xiao Zhi's eyes.At the same time, he raised his left hand slowly, but he didn't see him move, only heard a whoosh, and a shadow shot out from his cuff, directly into the wooden door ten steps away, and even the trembling buzzing of the arrow tail nothing.Because, the arrow tail is less than two inches long and exposed.

Xiao Zhi, who had witnessed the whole process, squinted his eyes when he looked at the arrow tails on the wooden door. With such a sleeve arrow, it would not be a problem to hit a target thirty steps away!

"General!"

When the guards in the dark heard the movement, they hurriedly broke the door (/window) and entered. In their desperation, they forgot Xiao Zhi's explanation and directly called out "General".

He Ning took a deep breath, feeling that he was really wronged, he was really not in a hurry to know about the identity of the other party, at least he didn't want to know in this situation!