The master said not to judge people by their appearance

The ground was shaking, like an earthquake, and like thousands of horses were running.

"Yuanrong people attacked the city!"

"Run! The Yuanrong people are coming!"

"Help! I don't want to die!"

Cao Jinyu woke up from the screams and cries of the crowd. He glanced around and saw the familiar Yazhou City again.

A beacon was lit on the city tower, and the soldiers defending the city were resisting the attack of the Yuan Rong army.However, this was doomed to be a futile struggle, and it was the most elite and powerful army of Yuanrong. The wolf eagle flag was waving on the ice river outside the city.

This is the king's division of Targu, led by the great Shan Yu Targu himself, and he is invincible. In the history of the war between Yuanrong and Daxia, this army has only been defeated by one person, and the one who defeated them People are not in the city right now, the defenders of Yazhou City cannot withstand such a powerful army, and it is only a matter of time before the city is broken.

The people ran around in panic in the city, and the Yuan Rong people would slaughter without distinction as soon as they entered the city.

Cao Jinyu also fled with the crowd. At the same time, he quickly searched for nearby places to hide. He didn't have much time, and the Yuanrong people would attack in soon.

The bottom of the bed is not good, and the pile of firewood is not good. Cao Jinyu suddenly saw a water tank placed in the yard of a residential house. He has not tried it here.

He immediately lifted the lid of the water tank, it happened that there was no water in it, he hid himself and then put the lid back as it was, then he remained motionless, shrunk in the water tank, not daring to let out the air.

He counted the time silently, and when the appointed time came, the gate of the city fell down as usual, and the iron hooves of the Yuanrong people stepped on the streets of Yazhou City, crying and screaming everywhere.

At the same time, he also heard the muffled sound of sharp knives piercing through the flesh, and the crying gradually died down, because the people who made these sounds turned into cold corpses.

Cao Jinyu shivered, the feeling of being pierced by a sharp knife was so painful that he would tremble every time he thought about it.

He hoped that he could succeed this time, and that the Yuanrong people would not find him. He waited for a long time with bated breath, until the cries of the people disappeared completely, and the sound of iron hooves disappeared, and there was only the sound of howling wind and snow outside. The city is as quiet as a dead city.

Cao Jinyu didn't know what time it was, whether it was dawn, but the Yuanrong people had probably left, because he hadn't heard the sound for a long time.

He opened the lid of the water tank with a small crack, and carefully glanced out. Just one glance scared half his life away.

Beside the water tank, stood a black armored warrior, his face was covered with iron armor, holding a black gold broadback wolf head knife, standing silently in the wind and snow like a statue.

Cao Jinyu couldn't see his face clearly, but he couldn't forget this person. He was so frightened that he didn't even have the strength to escape, so he just cried, "Don't kill me, please don't kill me again..."

The black armored warrior didn't answer, he was as cold as a snowstorm, the long knife was slowly unsheathed, and Cao Jinyu begged for mercy in every possible way, but the sharp blade pierced his chest again.

then……

wake up.

"The mutton soup is here, thank you sir for using it slowly!" The clerk at the station courteously brought over two servings of freshly cooked mutton soup, and placed a bowl in front of Shen Fan and Xie Yunlan.

Shen Fan took a sip, and accidentally ate the spices that had not been skimmed off the soup, which made his mouth taste bitter.

He frowned and put down the soup bowl.

"Is it hot?" Xie Yunlan noticed the change in Shen Fan's expression immediately, and at the same time he reached out to touch Shen Fan's soup bowl, it wasn't very hot, just like his own bowl, it was just the right amount of heat.

Shen Fan really shook his head.

"Then why don't you drink anymore?" Xie Yunlan asked strangely.

Shen Fan is very picky about food, he doesn't like things, or doesn't like things that much, he just tastes them and then stops eating them, but the cooks in this inn are very good at cooking, it is said that they got the secret recipe from a certain master chef, The mutton soup is delicious and delicious, which is a must.Shen Fan ate once when he checked in last night, and he thought it was good, so he ordered another one this morning.

But it was obviously his favorite dish, and the broth was not so hot that it was hard to eat, but now he suddenly stopped eating it.

Shen Fan glanced at him, without explaining, just said: "Because my name is Shen Fanfan."

Xie Yunlan: "..."

Again.

It has been more than a month since he left Cangzhou. Xie Yunlan coaxed him many times in various ways along the way. one time.

Too many words, too many mistakes, after so many days, Xie Yunlan also summed up a coping method, that is, don't speak up, otherwise the topic will be endless, and it is his fault, after all, during the whole trip to Cangzhou, Shen Everyone thinks that Master Shen Fanfan is an honorific name, but they don't know that this "Fan" is not the other "Fan".

He lowered his head and continued to drink his bowl of mutton soup. The hot soup rolled into his belly, dispelling the chill of the early winter morning.In mid-November, it is not too cold in Jiangnan, but in Saibei, it is already necessary to wrap up in thick cotton clothes.

After breakfast, Wang Tai and the others went out to harness the horses to the cart. As soon as the door was opened, the wind gushed in. Wang Tai looked at the sky and turned around and said, "Master Hou, it looks like it's going to snow, let's go. ?"

Xie Yunlan also glanced at it. The sky was a bit gloomy, and it looked like a storm was about to come. It was normal for this season to snow. This year's first snow has come so far, and it is already late compared to previous years.

However, it doesn't look like it will snow immediately, and the road will be difficult to walk after it snows, and they don't know how long it will last, so they will have to be trapped in this post, wasting a lot of time.Although Shen Fan's theory of "if you find it, you will always find it, if you shouldn't find it, you will never find it" has some truth, but Xie Yunlan still feels that it is better to hurry up if you can, so as to influence their distance to the nearest Yazhou. The city is not far away. If you drive your horse faster on the road, you should be able to arrive before the snow falls.

Thinking of this, Xie Yunlan said: "Let's go, move quickly, and try to get to Yazhou City before the snow falls."

"Okay!" Wang Tai and his party quickened their movements. They really wanted to hurry to Yazhou City. Wei Chengzhi was in Yazhou City right now. Counting it, it has been almost a year since they saw each other, and they wanted to go to the city early to meet friends they knew for a drink.

Everyone moved swiftly without any delay, but Shen Fan was the only one who took his time. If he didn't drink the mutton soup, he would drink tea. Taking it easy, Xie Yunlan urged him three times before going out.

"You take the carriage, it's windy outside." Xie Yunlan lifted the curtain for him.

Shen Fan didn't get in the car. It's been almost half a year since he left Beijing. He has learned a little bit of riding skills, and it's not as uncomfortable as it was at the beginning, but bumps are inevitable. These days, Shen Fan is riding a horse. Swap the seat with the horseback, sit on the horseback when you are bored, and go to the carriage when you are tired from the horseback.

Having been bored in the station all night, Shen Fan didn't want to take the car now, he walked up to Xie Yunlan's horse and stretched out his hand, the meaning was self-evident.

Xie Yunlan took his hand, but didn't force it immediately, he asked, "Are you sure you want to ride a horse?"

Shen Fan let out a "hmm", and Xie Yunlan pulled him onto the horse.

A group of people set off in a team, the snow did not know when it would fall, Xie Yunlan drove the horse much faster than usual, Shen Fan drank too much tea in the morning, and after running, he felt the tea and snacks he ate in the morning dangling in his stomach Go, it made him a little nauseous, he couldn't help it after holding it for a while, he grabbed Xie Yunlan's clothes and asked Xie Yunlan to stop the horse.

"It's freezing?" Xie Yunlan thought it was because Shen Fan couldn't stand the cold wind, so he said helplessly, "Didn't I tell you that Feng Da sat in the carriage, why do you have to ride a horse?"

Shen Fan glanced at him, still did not explain, just said: "Because my name is Shen Fanfan."

Xie Yunlan: "..."

Shen Fan stood by the side of the road for a while, he still didn't want to ride in a carriage, but he didn't want to sit behind Xie Yunlan's horse either, so he walked up to Wang Tai and said, "I'll ride on your horse."

"Okay..." Wang Tai was about to respond, but happened to see Xie Yunlan's eyes, and he was so frightened that he changed his mouth abruptly, "Okay, I don't seem to be very good at it! Master, I am not good at riding, and I don't know how to lead people. You should sit Master Hou, let's go behind."

Shen Fan wanted to find other people again, and the others all said that his riding skills were too poor to lead people. There were about twenty people in the whole team, and they all seemed to be heroes with high martial arts skills. No, Xie Yunlan was the only one left for Shen Fan to choose.

Shen Fan was caught in a tangle, and after a moment of tangle, he finally chose to take a carriage.Before getting into the car, he specifically told the guards driving to slow down.

It's just that whether the speed is not determined by the guard driving the car, it depends on the speed of the entire team. The guard asked Xie Yunlan with his eyes, Xie Yunlan watched Shen Fan get into the carriage, and when the curtain fell, he could no longer see his figure .

He sighed and said, "Slow down."

The group of people slowed down, probably because they were unlucky. Xie Yunlan originally expected that the snow would only fall in the evening. Even if they walked slowly, they would still be able to enter the city in time. Unexpectedly, just in the afternoon, a howling north wind blew past , The sky is full of snowflakes.

The snow came quickly, and within a short period of time, it turned from light snow to heavy snow. Xie Yunlan led the team to walk against the wind and snow for a while, and soon it was difficult to move.

Wang Tai covered his face with his hands to prevent the wind and snow from pouring into his mouth. He shouted: "Master Hou, let's find a place to hide first?"

Xie Yunlan responded, and there happened to be a ruined temple in front of him, so he led the team over.

The ruined temple was overgrown with weeds, and it should have been abandoned for a long time, and the doors and windows were also damaged, but fortunately, the main walls were still there, covering the whistling wind and snow outside.

After entering the house, Xie Yunlan patted off the snow that fell on her body, and then helped Shen Fan to pat it.Shen Fan had been sitting in the carriage, but just a short distance from the carriage to the temple, a layer of snow fell on his shoulders.

"Is it cold?" Xie Yunlan asked.

Shen Fan shook his head. After winter, he changed into thick clothes with everyone, and he was not particularly afraid of the cold.

But Xie Yunlan doesn't think so. Wang Tai and the others, including himself, all have internal strength, can resist freezing, and Shen Fan... Although inhuman races are difficult to speculate with human concepts, Xie Yunlan always feels that the other party will Afraid of the cold.

He asked Wang Tai and the others to find some firewood to light a fire, then returned to the carriage and brought out some things.

He first put a hand stove in Shen Fan's hand, then shook off the folded cloak, and put the silver-white fox fur that he bought earlier on Shen Fan's body, wrapping Shen Fan tightly before giving up.

Wang Tai and the others quickly came back with firewood, and put wooden boards on the damaged doors and windows. After the firewood was lit, the temperature in the room began to rise, and everyone gathered around the fire to keep warm.

Wang Tai looked at the snow outside while warming the fire, and said, "Master Hou, the snow will probably last for a while."

"Yeah." Xie Yunlan also looked outside the house, "I'm probably going to spend the night here tonight."

This time, he spoke in one word. It snowed all afternoon, and the wind was still blowing. Wang Tai and the others went to find some more firewood to prevent the lack of firewood at night.

It was dark and early in winter, and it was snowing heavily today. In the evening, around You, when everyone was making their beds for the night, another group of people suddenly came to the ruined temple.

There are a total of ten people and a dozen horses, but the horses are not used to carry people, they all carry large bags on them, like goods.Most of the ten or so people were dressed as simple handymen, only the middle-aged man in the lead wore a slightly more luxurious clothing, wearing a warm sheepskin jacket.

This is probably a caravan.Xie Yunlan judged that Yuemo encountered the snowstorm just like them, and only got to spend the night in this ruined temple.

The leader was not surprised to see a group of people already in the ruined temple. He saw the horses parked outside from a long distance away. He sized Xie Yunlan and the others a little. Powerful, with a weapon on his waist, he is either an official or a bandit.

The leader's heart skipped a beat when he saw it. Their merchants were most afraid of encountering bandits, not to mention their goods being robbed, but they would lose their lives if they encountered cruel ones.

But if you look closely at the behavior of these people, although they are sitting around the fire with a relaxed posture, they also show a sense of discipline, and there is a young man in a silver-white fox fur in the crowd, this silver-white fox fur is In Bian County, which is rich in fur, it is a rare commodity, especially this fox fur has not even a single hair of mottled color on it, it is the top grade among the top grades, at least it is worth a thousand taels of gold.

The bandits can't afford such things, and they can't afford such a handsome appearance. The leader reassured a little, he smiled, and cupped his hands at the group in front of him: "Excuse me, brothers, it's snowing too much outside, can you Allow us to shelter from the wind here?"

Although this ruined temple is a land without an owner, first-come-first-serve is the rule in Jianghu, and this group of people is not easy to mess with at first glance, so it is always right to be polite.

"Please." Xie Yunlan replied.

The leader was a little surprised when he saw that it wasn't the young man in fox fur who answered. He realized that Xie Yunlan was the one who called the shots in this group of people.

He was curious in his heart, but he didn't ask any questions on his face. He just ordered his men to go down and put the horses and goods in order, and went out himself. After a while, he came back with a bag of things. He came to the fire of Xie Yunlan and his party, smiling Passed the package out and said, "This is the walnut and melon seeds from my hometown. It is fate to meet in this snowy day. Brothers, try it."

Xie Yunlan opened the package and took a look. It was indeed a pack of walnut and melon seeds, and he also brought a few persimmons with frosted sugar. He handed the persimmons to Shen Fan, and the walnut and melon seeds to Wang Tai and others, and he started talking to the businessman himself.

"What's the name of the shopkeeper?"

"My surname is Cao, and my name is Cao Jinyu, the gold and jade of gold, silver and jade." Cao Jinyu laughed.

"This name is very expensive at first glance. The shopkeeper Cao is also doing big business?" Xie Yunlan also said with a smile.

"Hey, if it's a big business, let's do some small business." Cao Jinyu sat down in the vacant seat by the fire, pointed to the walnut and melon seeds that everyone was eating, and said, "I just bring some walnut and melon seeds from my hometown. Go to Guanguan for takeout of tea, exchange some fur medicinal materials with those Yuanrong people, and then transport the fur medicinal materials back to Yunzhou, and earn some hard money all year round."

It has been a year since the final battle between Xie Yunlan and Yuan Rong. Although the two clans have blood feuds, people can't get along with anything, not money. The worthless materials inside the customs can often be sold at sky-high prices outside the customs, and the fur and medicinal materials outside the customs are much cheaper than those inside the customs. Many traders will go to the inside and outside the customs to make a little difference, just like the shopkeeper Cao in front of him. .

The shopkeeper Cao does not have a big business. He only sells small commodities such as walnuts, melon seeds, and tea, but he probably makes a lot of money. Xie Yunlan noticed that although the sheepskin jacket Cao Jinyu was wearing was a bit worn out, it didn't look very valuable, but it was under the jacket. The lining is silk and satin, which ordinary small businessmen can't afford to wear.

"Shopkeeper Cao is from Yunzhou?" Xie Yunlan asked.

"Yes, I came from Yunzhou and planned to go to Yazhou to leave the customs. I could have arrived in Yazhou today, but who would have expected to encounter such heavy snow." Cao Jinyu said.

"Coincidentally, we also went to Yazhou, and we were also trapped here by the wind and snow." Xie Yunlan echoed, and said, "I heard that the second prince in the court was sealed off to Yunzhou not long ago. What happened to Yunzhou recently? Change?"

"No big changes. If I have to say it, the prince punished a few landlords who had a bad reputation and oppressed the people a while ago, and the people are saying that the king of Yunzhou is a good man." Cao Jinyu grabbed a handful of melon seeds, While eating and talking.

It can be said that Xie Yunlan had a lot to do with Yuan Yi's demise in Yunzhou. Although this was not his wish, whoever said that the second demon happened to be in Cangzhou, and it was Yuan Yi's mother's family who committed the crime.

Xie Yunlan exposed the case only for the sake of justice, but in Yuan Yi's view, he may not be suspicious that he is secretly standing in line with the prince, deliberately finding fault with himself.

And no matter what the motive is, judging from the results, Xie Yunlan is the culprit who caused Yuan Yi to miss the throne. A prince, waiting for an opportunity to rebel.

He intends to inquire with Cao Jinyu about Yuan Yi's movements in Yunzhou, but Cao Jinyu can't say anything, only that everything is the same as before. His actions will not be known to him.

The two sides chatted for a while, and Cao Jinyu's subordinates suddenly called him to do something, so Cao Jinyu and Xie Yunlan's group cupped their hands and went back to their side.

"Is there something wrong with him?" After Cao Jinyu left, Xie Yunlan asked Shen Fan.

When he talked with Cao Jinyu just now, he didn't forget to pay attention to Shen Fan. He noticed that Shen Fan stared at Cao Jinyu for a while, not for a long time, but Shen Fan rarely cared about others, let alone staring at others .

"His soul fire is very weak, and it looks like he will soon die." Shen Fan said.

Xie Yunlan was taken aback, and he couldn't help but glanced at Cao Jinyu again. He had noticed Cao Jinyu's haggard look when they were chatting just now, and he thought it was the result of the other party's exhaustion from the journey. For a person in his early teens, how could his soul fire be so weak that it won't be long before he dies?

Everyone has their own destiny, life and death are impermanent, Xie Yunlan has long been used to seeing death on the battlefield, he and Cao Jinyu just met by chance, a few words of friendship, and it can't be said that they are sad for each other, at this moment, they just sighed , then forget about it.

It was completely dark, Wang Tai and the others set up a pot on the fire, took some snow outside to boil, and then soaked dry food in water to eat.

Shen Fan didn't eat such crude food, Xie Yunlan took out the dim sum bought from the county town he passed by before, put it on the fire and handed it to Shen Fan.

After the group had dinner, they began to make their beds and prepare for sleep.

The two groups occupied each side, Cao Jinyu was very kind, and gave Xie Yunlan and the others the side sheltered from the wind, while his group shrank to the other side of the ruined temple.

Although it is sheltered from the wind, this ruined temple is full of holes, so there is no place where the wind can't blow. Xie Yunlan's side is slightly better.

Xie Yunlan found straw and spread it on the ground, and then laid several layers of clothes, trying to make the temporary bed softer. He also chose the warmest and closest to the fire. After finishing, he motioned for Shen Fan to lie down, Then he lay down on the straw next to Shen Fan to protect him from the wind.

As the night darkened, everyone fell asleep one after another. Apart from the sound of wind and snow coming from the hole, there was also the sound of snoring one after another inside the ruined temple.

Shen Fan turned over and couldn't fall asleep.

This dilapidated temple is no less than a big shop. Although they can't sleep next to each other, the sound is not blocked at all. This is the first time Shen Fan found out that men are so noisy when they sleep.

He has only slept with Xie Yunlan, and Xie Yunlan sleeps very well, he doesn't snore, and he doesn't have the hobby of wrapping things up.

Xie Yunlan was fast asleep, he was already used to this, which tent in the barracks didn't snore at night?Some snores were so loud that they could be heard outside the camp.

But even if he fell asleep, because of the vigilance he had cultivated over the years, some strange sounds would wake him up again at any time, and at this moment he woke up because of Shen Fan's tossing and turning voice.

He yawned, and asked in a low voice without disturbing the volume of others, "Why don't you sleep?"

Shen Fan glanced at him, still did not explain: "Because my name is Shen Fanfan."

Xie Yunlan: "..."

Unable to escape any longer, Xie Yunlan realized that it was useless not to continue, this Qiu Shenfan would remember forever, so he still had to take the initiative to solve it.

Xie Yunlan put on an attitude of negotiating, and said in a good voice: "What are you going to do to not hold grudges?"

He also bought a lot of snacks, and he tried all the methods he could coax.

"I don't hold any grudges." Shen Fan said.

Xie Yunlan: "Then why do you keep mentioning that sentence?"

"Because my name is Shen Fanfan." Shen Fan said expressionlessly.

Xie Yunlan: "..."