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墨書 Inktalez
What is going on? Ziyan's heart raced, sensing that something significant was happening in the village!
Curiously, she stretched her neck to look towards the source of the crying. In her memory, that was the Village Head's house: several rows of blue brick houses, with a yard also made of blue bricks.
Since Gu Yuxuan was leading Ziyan along a narrow path by the cliff, they were at a higher elevation, while the entire Red Mud Village lay on flat ground outside the cliff.
On the other side of the flat ground was the Official Road leading to County Town. The left side of the Official Road led towards County Town, while the right side led towards the town.
From their current position, they could see all of Red Mud Village clearly, and they could also see that many people were gathered in the Village Head's yard.
In the yard, there was a cart with a person lying on it. The painful and piercing cries that sounded like wailing were coming from a young man lying on the cart, while an elderly woman was kneeling beside it, crying out in anguish.
There was no need to think twice; Ziyan understood that the person lying on the cart must be Zhi Shunli, that good-for-nothing, and the one crying out in pain must be his mother, Liu.
At that moment, memories flashed through her mind: Gu Yuxuan appearing in her yard earlier with dew on his clothes and mud stains on his pants, and her previous worries when she asked if Zhi Shunli would die in that thicket, to which Gu Yuxuan had calmly replied.
Her gaze naturally turned to Gu Yuxuan. "Your handiwork? Did you bring this good-for-nothing back to the village this morning?"
"Should I have let you do it?"
Gu Yuxuan's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery before he turned and walked ahead. "Alright, let's get moving!"
Gu Yuxuan swaggered towards the Official Road. He wouldn't tell her that it wasn't him who brought that good-for-nothing back to the village but rather his bodyguard.
"This wicked guy!" Looking at Gu Yuxuan's back, Ziyan couldn't help but curse.
Soon, the two reached the Official Road and walked side by side.
Occasionally, there were passersby on the road. Before long, they heard discussions: "This Zilong Yue—the Village Head's name—what kind of immoral deeds did he commit in his past life? In this life, he gave birth to such a despicable son who deserves to be buried. Who knows what kind of heinous acts he's been up to outside? Otherwise, how could he end up like that? His whole body looks like it's covered in sores; I've heard that even what's in his pants has rotted—tch! What retribution!"
At the same time, they heard the sound of an ox cart approaching. Ziyan and Gu Yuxuan turned around to see Murakami's Zi Chengming driving an ox cart specifically for transporting guests.
A few young wives from Red Mud Village were discussing the Village Head's House.
Seeing those young wives laughing gleefully, Ziyan felt much better, thinking it was truly satisfying.
She couldn't help but look up at Gu Yuxuan with admiration. Receiving this information, Gu Yuxuan quickly nodded and smiled at Ziyan in agreement.
Then, he soothingly reached out to pat Ziyan on the head.
Immediately, Ziyan's face fell.
She secretly thought: When did our relationship become so close?
She glared at Gu Yuxuan and turned to walk ahead.
At that moment, an Ox Cart slowly came to a stop beside them.
Zi Chengming spoke first: "Are you going to County Town? If you want, I can give you a ride. It's not expensive, just two coins per person."
After a moment, Zi Chengming recognized Ziyan and Gu Yuxuan. "Oh, it's the Little Girl from Zi Lao Er's family and that young master from the Gu Family living in the mountains. It would take a long time to walk like this; why don't you get on my Ox Cart? There are benches inside, much more comfortable than walking."
Gu Yuxuan didn't respond, only looked at Ziyan.
It wasn't until Ziyan nodded in agreement that Gu Yuxuan approached Zi Chengming's Ox Cart, intending to reach out and take Ziyan's hand. However, Little Ziyan shook her head in refusal.
"Are you kidding? Letting him hold my hand to help me onto the cart? Who knows what those young wives in the cart would say behind my back or what rumors they might spread."
Ziyan silently thought as she climbed onto the Ox Cart by herself and sat down next to the three women.
Once Ziyan was seated, Gu Yuxuan also got onto the Ox Cart, sitting across from Ziyan next to a Farmer and a little boy. The Ox Cart then jolted forward towards County Town.
The three young wives in the cart occasionally glanced over at Gu Yuxuan.
Ziyan understood that these women were captivated by Gu Yuxuan's extreme handsomeness and proud demeanor.
Meanwhile, Gu Yuxuan wore an expression that seemed cold and indifferent, as if he had long grown accustomed to such attention.
On the way to County Town, the weather was clear, with a gentle breeze blowing.
The scenery on both sides was breathtaking: in the open fields, one could see countless different types of flying birds coming and going, and occasionally a couple of small wild rabbits darting through the grass. There were also small children picking wildflowers and chasing each other in the fields.
Beyond the fields, layers of lush green mountains stretched into the distance.
The ox cart moved steadily toward County Town. Ziyan thought about how this was her first time visiting County Town despite having grown up so much.
Her past days had been spent in the mountain valley deep within these mountains.
Now that she finally had the chance to explore County Town, or rather, to scout for business opportunities, she knew she would frequently visit County Town and even larger cities in the future.
To achieve great success, it was impossible to remain in this remote mountainous area forever.
Ziyan carefully recalled the route they had taken. After some consideration, she realized that from her home, turning right and walking straight would lead her to the village, about six or seven miles away. From the village to the official road was another two or three miles. This meant her home was roughly ten miles from the official road. At that moment, however, the ox cart took a left turn.
Sigh! Ziyan couldn't help but rub her forehead.
Thinking it over, it made sense; roads in ancient mountainous areas were usually built along the mountain valleys or on slightly flattened paths at the foot of the mountains. They had no concept of tunnel construction or similar engineering.
Thus, what should have been a relatively short journey ended up taking an exponentially longer time to reach.
Now, considering the route taken by the ox cart combined with her own route from home, she envisioned it clearly: they were making a large semicircular detour.
Damn—speechless!
Feeling slightly unbalanced, Ziyan looked up at Gu Yuxuan and asked, "Isn't there another direct path to County Town?"
Gu Yuxuan didn't respond, but a woman sitting close to Ziyan chimed in, "There is, but that mountain road is rugged and treacherous. Not to mention, there are fierce wild beasts in the mountains. Moreover, in the last couple of generations, some people have encountered something nasty and ended up dying a terrible death. So now, even the bravest person in the village wouldn't dare to take that route."
Ziyan responded with an "oh," thinking to herself: So that's how it is.
But inwardly, she couldn't help but scoff: Wild beasts might be possible, but something nasty? These ancient people are really superstitious!
At that moment, Zi Chengming turned around and said, "It's okay; if we keep going for about ten more miles, we'll get there. Just hang in there a bit longer, Miss Zi."
After saying that, he gave Ziyan a comforting smile and then turned back to whip the ox's rear end with force.
The Ox Cart seemed to speed up just a little, but it also shook and jolted even more.
Ziyan sighed inwardly, thinking that this damn Ox Cart was far slower than the slowest bus in the Twenty-First Century, let alone compared to high-speed trains or airplanes.
Feeling a bit bitter and regretful, Ziyan glanced over at Gu Yuxuan sitting across from her.
Huh! What's going on?
He was looking at her with an inscrutable expression, blinking his strikingly charming eyes.
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