The master said not to judge people by their appearance

On the way home, they couldn't keep walking in the wilderness, there would always be some towns they had to pass through, and walking was too slow on foot, so they had to get a horse.

For this reason, Xie Yunlan specially changed his attire. He dressed himself and Shen Fan as Yuanrong people, wearing thick animal skins and a leather hat on his head, which covered most of his face, and at the same time, he was speechless. Changed to Yuanrong dialect, only as if the two of them were Yuanrong merchants who came to the border of Daxia to do business.

His accent is very authentic. He talked with the horse seller in the market, but he didn't arouse the suspicion of the other party. He really thought he was a businessman from Yuanrong.

While picking horses, Xie Yunlan noticed that there was some commotion in the market. A group of Yuan Rong people were looking around. Their faces were very strange. They were not the group that had ambushed them before, but these Yuan Rong people would stop them whenever they saw merchants dressed as Xia people. Take a look below.

Xie Yunlan's expression remained unchanged, and he continued to talk with the vendor in Yuanrong dialect. He touched the mane on the horse's back and waved to the vendor: "It's too expensive, this horse is not worth the money."

He compared another price, which was almost half way down.

The trader naturally quit, he said: "This is not expensive! I have carefully selected good horses! Can you see which other horses can be better than mine? At least this amount!"

The two were bargaining, their voices were loud, and they didn't shy away from others at all. The Yuan Rong people glanced this way and saw that a Yuan Rong businessman was buying horses, so they didn't pay any more attention. When he found someone, he left again.

Xie Yunlan watched all this out of the corner of his eye, and after the Yuan Rong people left, he stopped the traders who were chattering about how good their horses were.

"20 taels is 20 taels." Impatiently, he threw the money away, got on his horse and left.

He found Shen Fan at the other end of the market, pulled Shen Fan onto his horse, then left the market without stopping, and hurried towards Da Xia.

He didn't take the same route he came. He took another detour, which took twice as long as the time he came, but fortunately, it was safe.

I also met other Yuan Rong pursuers along the way, but they were all fooled by Xie Yunlan's design. Five days later, they returned to the Daxia border.

In front of the checkpoint where people entering and exiting the customs are checked, the soldiers who guarded the checkpoint are still the same as before.

Yuanrong people have always been their key targets for interrogation, and they were about to stop Xie Yunlan and Shen Fan for a thorough investigation, but Xie Yunlan took off his animal skin hat, revealing his Xia people's face, and threw a token over at the same time.

After seeing the handwriting on the token, the soldiers guarding the gate changed their expressions and immediately knelt down to salute.

The Yuanrong people hunted them down outside the customs, but no matter how rampant they were, they would not dare to chase them into the territory of Daxia, and the Xia people who partnered with them, the people behind Zhao Xing, probably would not dare to act rashly in the territory of Daxia. Otherwise, they wouldn't spend a lot of time using rumors of ghosts haunting them to lure them out of the customs.

Xie Yunlan's revealing of his identity in full view of the public is to put himself on the bright side and make the people behind the scenes scruples. At the same time, he also wants to use this to find out the details of the other party.

Knowing that he returned safely, the other party will definitely make some moves, and if he makes a move, he will show his feet.

News of Marquis Xuanwu's arrival quickly spread throughout the checkpoint. The officials in charge of security at the checkpoint were alarmed and hurried over to salute, wanting to entertain him well, but Xie Yunlan refused to stay. Xie Yuzhen was still ill, so he wanted to hurry back.

After declining the banquet, he drove Shen Fan to Jeju with him.

Counting the days, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and if they rush all night, they will be able to return to Jeju on New Year's Eve, which can be regarded as the fulfillment of his promise to Xie Yuzhen, that they can spend a reunion year together as a family.

But on New Year's Eve, less than fifty miles away from Jeju, Xie Yunlan met an unexpected person.

Mu Qingyun waited on the official road with a team of people. When he saw Xie Yunlan, he waved from a distance and smiled, as if greeting him.

If it was normal, Xie Yunlan would probably speed up the horse and rush to meet and greet the other party, but now he stopped the horse and stopped at the same spot. He stared at Mu Qingyun for a long time, not knowing what he was thinking, and finally drove away. The horse walked over slowly.

"Brother!" When he got closer, Mu Qingyun rode up to meet him, and greeted him with a smile.

Xie Yunlan also responded with a smile: "Why is Qingyun here?"

"There are so many people with you?" He swept his gaze, and Mu Qingyun was followed by about twenty guards wearing long knives. A well-chosen player.

And, Yin Wang, the counselor who sent him the road map for leaving the customs earlier, was also there.

Noticing that Xie Yunlan was looking at him, Yin Huang smiled and went forward to salute: "The banditry in Jeju has not yet been eradicated, there are still a small group of people running around in this mountainous area, committing crimes from time to time, the prefect heard that Lord Hou came back from Kunlun, Worried that Lord Hou would meet bandits on the way, he specially brought people to greet him."

"Yes." Mu Qingyun echoed. He pointed to the station by the road and said, "Brother, I have already ordered people to prepare food and drinks at the station. You have a hard trip to Kunlun, and I will welcome you!"

"So that's it." Xie Yunlan responded with a smile, he didn't ask Mu Qingyun about the loopholes in what he said, why didn't Jiefeng go to Jeju to meet the wind, but ran to the wilderness fifty miles outside the city, and didn't care about those strange, mysterious and unkind sword guards .

He just followed Mu Qingyun to the post station, chatting and laughing along the way, as usual.It's just that when he got off the horse, he used his body to cover up and whispered to Shen Fan: "Don't touch the food and wine on the banquet."

Shen Fan glanced at him and nodded in agreement.

A group of people came to the private room on the second floor, and the three of them took their seats one by one. Yin Wang and a group of guards did not retreat, but stood behind Mu Qingyun, Xie Yunlan just pretended not to see.

After being seated, Mu Qingyun picked up the wine glass to respect: "Brother, this job is hard work!"

Xie Yunlan also picked up the wine glass, but did not touch him. He looked at Mu Qingyun's hand holding the wine glass hanging in the air, and said in a joking tone: "It's really hard, why didn't Qingyun ask me if my business is going well?" ?”

Mu Qingyun's eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled and said: "By my elder brother's ability, no difficulty is out of the question. Besides, since my elder brother is here safely, this trip must be smooth."

Xie Yunlan said, "It didn't go well. I almost died on Kunlun Mountain."

"Oh?" Mu Qingyun looked surprised, "What happened to my brother, so dangerous?"

"It's a group of Yuan Rong cavalry. They planned to ambush us on Kunlun Mountain." Xie Yunlan looked at Mu Qingyun and said, "Does Qingyun know why they are doing this?"

"This..." Mu Qingyun slowly withdrew his toasting hand, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Maybe it's their old Talgu's department, who held a grudge against the elder brother who killed Talgu, knowing that the elder brother went Plan to ambush after leaving the pass?"

"Maybe." Xie Yunlan smiled, and before Mu Qingyun completely retracted his hand, he touched his wine glass with the other's.

After clinking glasses, Mu Qingyun raised his head and drank it, but Xie Yunlan didn't drink it. He looked down at the cloudy liquor, feeling a little emotional: "Is this Xinghua Bar?"

Mu Qingyun didn't pay attention to the type of wine. He sniffed the liquid remaining in the cup at this moment, and then responded: "Yes, it's apricot blossom wine."

"In the past, when we joined the army, there was a liquor shop next to the school grounds. The apricot blossom wine was the most famous in that liquor shop. When the lid was lifted, the fragrance could waft ten miles away. From time to time, people would sneak out of the barracks in the middle of the night. If you are caught drinking, you will be punished with a cane, but there are still people going." Xie Yunlan recalled the past, it was already ten years ago, but thinking about it now, it is still vivid in his memory.

"I've always heard people say that the apricot blossom wine is delicious, but I've never drank it. One night I couldn't hold it back, and I went over the courtyard wall."

At that time, Xie Yunlan was just fifteen years old, still young and energetic, and would go out of the barracks in the middle of the night in order to taste apricot blossom wine, but happened to be caught by his superiors on inspection, and was almost caught.

"Thanks to you for covering me." Xie Yunlan sighed, Mu Qingyun didn't participate in the buying of wine, but in order to help him, he was willing to risk being scolded to distract the inspectors for him.

Mu Qingyun also thought of this, and he said with a smile: "After escaping the inspection, my elder brother shared the apricot flower wine with me. It is indeed a good wine, no wonder so many people buy it."

Xie Yunlan said again: "Later we went to the battlefield and fought with the Yuanrong people. We almost died. On Pingyang Road, I was surrounded by the Yuanrong people. Everyone around me was almost dead. I couldn't hold on anymore. When I thought I was going to die, you brought soldiers here."

"After repelling the Yuanrong people, you fell to the ground and couldn't wake up. I thought you were dead, but when I took a breath, I found that you just fell asleep. I didn't know until after I escaped from danger. In order to help me, you The fast horse ran for three days and three nights, without closing his eyes for three days and three nights. And the time in Raoshui River... in the barren forest..." Xie Yunlan said one after another, all of which were between him and Mu Qingyun past.

Mu Qingyun had always had a smile on his face before, but now the smile gradually faded, revealing a little real silence.

"Every time we return from victory, we must buy a pot of apricot blossom wine to drink when we go to Beijing. When we were married, when Yuzhen married you, we also used apricot blossom wine." Xie Yunlan shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly, " It's just that today's apricot blossom wine is no longer the same as before."

He raised his hand and poured out the wine in the glass. The liquid that should have been clear fell to the ground and caused a lot of white foam.

The guard behind Mu Qingyun's expression changed, and his hand was already on the handle of the knife. Yin Wang gave the guard a look, as if sending some signal, Xie Yunlan heard the sound of chaotic footsteps outside the house.

But he sat in his original position and didn't move, and Mu Qingyun didn't move either.

"Qingyun, I had a dream a few days ago. I dreamed that Yuzhen was looking at me with tears in her eyes. I asked her something, but she didn't say anything." Xie Yunlan's eyes were slightly red, He said to Mu Qingyun, "Is Yuzhen okay?"

Mu Qingyun remained silent and did not answer. The footsteps outside the house were getting closer and closer. Finally, before the footsteps broke through the door, he raised his head and said hoarsely, "She will be fine."

"Do it!" Yin Huang shouted sharply.

Countless long knives were unsheathed, the door of the private room was kicked open, and nearly a hundred guards with knives broke in from the door.

Xie Yunlan also made a move at the same moment, he overturned the desk with one hand, grabbed Shen Fan with the other, took advantage of the moment when the guard was blocked by the desk, and led Shen Fan to jump out of the window he had chosen long ago.

The window was directly facing the stables downstairs. Xie Yunlan turned over and got on the horses. At the same time, he cut off the reins of all the horses, and then cut the horses' buttocks with a knife. The horses fled in fright and refused to obey.

Xie Yunlan ran out with the only uninjured horse. It stands to reason that Mu Qingyun could no longer catch up with them, but Xie Yunlan heard the sound of horseshoes behind him before he ran too far.

There are thousands of them in a mighty way.

Xie Yunlan turned around, and saw an army running out of the wild forest behind the post station. They really made great efforts to ambush him, even daring to call in the army.

This also means that he must die, otherwise once the incident happens, it will be difficult to end the matter.

"Release the arrow!" Xie Yunlan heard Mu Qingyun's shout from behind, and the next moment, the sound of countless arrows leaving the string rang out.

Xie Yunlan drew his sword out of its sheath, danced the blade into a full moon, and blocked the incoming arrow, but soon the next round of attacks came.

"You sit in the front!" He switched positions with Shen Fan on the horseback, which made it easier for him to turn around to resist, and it was also convenient for him to protect Shen Fan.

He steered his horse into the woods while blocking the arrows. There were many branches and leaves in the woods, which blocked his sight and relieved the pressure of the arrows for him, but suddenly, there was a horseshoe in front of him as he was running.

There is more than one team of chasing soldiers, and there is also an ambush ahead!

Xie Yunlan realized this immediately. He immediately turned his horse's head and was forced to run out of the woods. When he landed in an open field, the arrow rain fired again. Moreover, because another chasing team joined, the enemy Xie Yunlan was about to face The number has doubled than before.

He is highly skilled in martial arts, and it is rare to meet an opponent, but after all, he is a mortal body. No matter how powerful he is, he can't stop these thousands of people from being rounded up by himself.

An arrow hit the horse's leg, and the horse neighed and wanted to stop in pain, but Xie Yunlan tightened the reins and forced the horse to continue running forward.

But soon, another arrow hit, this time it was Xie Yunlan.

Shen Fan heard a muffled hum from behind, he turned his head, and saw Xie Yunlan's long white-feathered arrow piercing Xie Yunlan's shoulder.

Xie Yunlan's face turned pale with pain, but he still smiled at him, as if trying to comfort him: "It's okay..." "Well..." He was shot by another arrow just after he finished speaking, this time it was abdomen.

Bloodstains were smeared on the front of his clothes, and the thick cotton robe was soaked with blood and sweat.

Xie Yunlan was still running forward on the horse, he had to run, he wanted to escape here with Shen Fan.

But this is a delusion after all. These people have already failed once outside the pass. This time they mobilized a large number of manpower and laid a net to kill him. They are doomed to have nowhere to escape.

After hitting an unknown number of arrows, the horse Xie Yunlan was sitting on staggered, couldn't hold it any longer, and fell to the ground.

Xie Yunlan also fell to the ground. The blood loss and pain had already made him lose his previous flexibility.

But he didn't even have time to cry out the pain, he didn't dare to stay after falling to the ground, and immediately got up and continued to run forward with Shen Fan.

The sound of horseshoes followed closely behind, like a death bell.

Maybe it was fate, he deserved to die today, running, Xie Yunlan found that there was a cliff in front of them, it was a dead end.

The pursuers behind him obviously noticed this too, and the sound of horseshoes slowed down.

Mu Qingyun stopped the horse, looked at the two people who had been forced to the edge of the cliff, and said coldly: "Brother, accept your fate."

Xie Yunlan looked at Mu Qingyun with a strange expression that he had never seen before, or, he had never really understood this brother before.

Mu Qingyun held a longbow in his hand, and the quiver behind him contained the white feather arrow that hit Xie Yunlan's shoulder. There was obviously no love between them at all.

Xie Yunlan is not afraid of death, and he has never begged for mercy from the enemy in order to survive, but he said at this moment: "Mu Qingyun, because of our past love, let him die."

He was talking about Shen Fan who was blocked by him. He knew that he would die, but Shen Fan had nothing to do with this power struggle. His life and death were actually irrelevant to Mu Qingyun.

He gave up his face, he didn't care about anything else before he died, and he only hoped that Shen Fan could live in peace.

But after a moment of silence, Mu Qingyun replied: "Fire the arrow!"

He wasn't going to leave any of them.

Thousands of arrows were shot at the two men on the edge of the cliff, enough to pierce every inch of their flesh and blood.

With his last breath, Xie Yunlan turned around and hugged Shen Fan, trying to protect him with his broken flesh and blood.

But the answer is obvious, at such a short distance, a sharp arrow would pierce through his chest, and even take Shen Fan behind him.

Xie Yunlan also knew that he couldn't protect him, but his consciousness had already been blurred due to blood loss, and his action at this moment was more like an instinct, just like in the dream of Yazhou, he was still trying to stuff the milk cat before he died. Like hiding it in your bosom.

Shen Fan looked at all this indifferently, it was clearly a matter of his life and death, but he remained indifferent like a bystander from the beginning to the end.

He saw thousands of arrows piercing the sky, approaching them inch by inch, and also saw the flame in Xie Yunlan's soul weaken a little bit, even if those arrows missed him, he could hardly hold on due to massive blood loss up.

He was dying.

This is not a dream. After dying in reality, his soul will return to reincarnation, and after undergoing the baptism of Wangchuan water, he will become a brand new individual, no longer the individual named Xie Yunlan.

Death is such an ordinary thing, it is so ordinary that it happens every moment, and it is so ordinary that Shen Fan has witnessed it tens of thousands, even hundreds of billions of times in the past years.

But this moment seems a little unusual, because it means that there is no such human named Xie Yunlan in the world.

Shen Fan thought of the gradually cooling corpse in the dream. After death, Xie Yunlan would not give him any response, would not coax him with snacks, would not warm him with his embrace, and would no longer try to protect him beyond his limits.

At that time, he was squatting next to Xie Yunlan's body like a milk cat, and an inexplicable emotion was surging in his heart. At this moment, he couldn't tell what it was and where it came from, but he clearly knew I know, he doesn't want Xie Yunlan to die.

For the first time in thousands of years, he cared so much about the life and death of a mortal.

Thousands of thoughts flashed through Shen Fan's mind, but it took only a short moment to land in reality. The arrow was still in the air, only the last few inches away from them.Xie Yunlan passed out completely due to blood loss, he fell on Shen Fan, Shen Fan reached out to catch him, he hugged this mortal.

The cold light of the arrow reflected in his eyes, and he slowly closed them.

At the same moment when he closed his eyes, it was as if someone pulled a huge black cloth to cover the sky, and the sky that was clear just now suddenly became dark, so gloomy that no light could penetrate.

The pursuers surrounded by the cliff were startled by this change, and raised their heads with screams. Mu Qingyun also looked at the dark world in surprise. At this moment, he suddenly saw two lights appearing on the horizon.

It was golden, as bright as a torch, but at the same time it was chilling, as if being stared at by something terrifying.

What eyes are those!Mu Qingyun realized it, and he raised his head in a daze. The eyes of this thing were as huge as the sun and the moon. It was almost unimaginable how terrifying its real body shape would be.

Under the gaze of this giant beast, he only felt that he was extremely small. Even with the thousands of soldiers and horses behind him, he was just an ant that could be trampled to death at will.

But after the giant beast glanced at them coldly, he didn't do anything. He seemed to turn around and leave. When he left, he set off a frenzied air current, and everyone felt a gust of frantic wind blowing, accompanied by countless people who were blown back by the wind. The arrows were the ones they had just shot.

In the dark world, the crowd screamed in panic under the attack of the gust of wind and arrows. After a while, the sky was bright again. This darkness was short like an illusion, but when Mu Qingyun looked back, Xie Yunlan and Shen Fan were no longer on the edge of the cliff. , only a piece of chaos.