Chapter 397: 397
Yan Liqiang rode swiftly . They left the capital regions after just a day, traveling eastward toward Gan Province .
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The route Yan Liqiang chose to travel on was the very same one they used when they escorted Sun Bingchen back to the Imperial Capital . However, the journey through the provinces and counties was a lot more relaxing this time compared to back then since Yan Liqiang wasn’t on an escort mission .
By the ninth day of the seventh lunar month, it had been about half a month since Yan Liqiang and the other two had left the capital . They arrived at Lu Province which was several thousand kilometers away from the Imperial Capital, and it was also known as the capital of wine .
It was evening and the sun was about to set . Yan Liqiang rode along the Lu Province’s public road unhurriedly, with Hu Haihe driving the carriage beside him . After traveling for almost an hour, they unknowingly reached a three-way fork in the road by the time the sky had slightly darkened . Hu Haihe was about to take the right road when Yan Liqiang suddenly called out to him .
“Haihe, let’s take the left road…” Yan Liqiang said and lifted his gaze to look at the sun that had completely vanished beneath the horizon through his squinted eyes .
Neiiiigh…! Hu Haihe thought he misheard Yan Liqiang and abruptly pulled on the reins to stop the carriage . He looked at Yan Liqiang in surprise . “Young Lord, we will be able to reach our lodge in Rong County by tonight and Baishui Prefecture by tomorrow if we take the right road . This is the correct route back to Gan Province . Lord Sun also used this road back then . I think the left one probably leads to… Kun Province!”
“Listen to me, we shall take the left road!” Yan Liqiang didn’t provide further explanation . He just shook his reins and steered Snowstorm Cloud onto the left road . Hu Haihe wanted to say something else, but the glint in Yan Liqiang’s gaze shocked him . It instantly reminded him of the time Yan Liqiang fought with the Blackwind Bandits when they were escorting Sun Bingchen . Yan Liqiang’s strategy and decisiveness in making his kills had certainly left an indelible impression on all the guards .
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Hu Haihe could clearly recall Yan Liqiang’s eyes burning as brilliantly as they did now when he was preparing to ambush the Blackwind Bandits .
Hu Haihe remained silent as his relaxed face immediately tensed . He pursed his lips tightly and continued driving the carriage silently on to the left road behind Yan Liqiang . Upon seeing the latter bringing Snowstorm Cloud to a gallop, he also cracked his whip noisily in the air to spur the rhinodrake steed pulling the carriage to full speed .
“Uhm, did something happen?” Yu Qing’s voice came from inside the carriage .
“Nothing, we’re just trying to speed up on our journey . Hold on tight in there!” Yan Liqiang replied while riding swiftly on Snowstorm Cloud .
“Alright . ” The voice rang out from the carriage and died down .
The wheels creaked and the sound of iron hooves thundered as Snowstorm Cloud and the rhinodrake steed sped along the public road like roaring engines . This was the difference between rhinodrake steeds and normal horses . An ordinary horse wouldn’t have any stamina left to run after a whole day of travel, yet the two rhinodrake steeds were still running powerfully .
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The two men rode swiftly for about thirty kilometers on the public road . The sky had completely darkened by now and very few pedestrians were on the road . A mountain forest lied just a little further ahead of them . Although Lu Province was a flourishing province in the Great Han Empire and was less chaotic than the border provinces, that didn’t mean it was a peaceful place as there were still bandits and robbers in this vast province . Therefore, travelers and merchants would avoid passing through the mountain forest after dark . It wasn’t any better to travel along the public road as some might just be unlucky and run into a few nasty encounters .
The moment both of them rode into the mountain forest, it was as though all the pedestrians had instantly vanished . Both sides of the public road contained hills filled with dense and dark pine forests . Creepy cries that sounded like either the nightingales, wolves, or stray dogs rang out from the forest and echoed in the mountains .
After running for another few li along the road surrounded by hills, Yan Liqiang brought Snowstorm Cloud to an abrupt halt . Hu Haihe also stopped the carriage .
Yan Liqiang leaped off his steed and immediately retrieved his bow and quiver from inside the carriage . He carried them on his back and shut the carriage door . Pointing to the pine forest a few hundred meters ahead, he told Hu Haihe, “Move the carriage there first and wait for me by the edge of that pine forest . Do not make any noise . I will come back after a while . If you run into any danger, just whistle . I will hear you!”
Hu Haihe nodded, then took Snowstorm Cloud’s reins and tied it to the carriage . With a soft command, he drove the carriage and led Snowstorm Cloud into the pine forest a few hundred meters up ahead by the road .
Yan Liqiang didn’t turn around until he saw Hu Haihe enter the pine forest and extinguish the carriage’s light . He then ran two hundred meters back into the pine forest at the side and climbed to the top of the hill that was about fifty meters tall . He opened the bow bag and took out the twenty-picul Horned Python Bow from the Emperor . At the same time, he also swiftly grabbed three arrows from the quiver .
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Yan Liqiang took out three arrows at the same time in an extremely strange way . One was wedged between his index and middle fingers, the other between his middle and ring fingers, and another between his ring finger and pinky . The three arrows were neatly spaced apart as if three long fingers had perfectly grown out from the spaces between his fingers . Yan Liqiang then shut his eyes and waited in silence .
Sure enough, in just less than ten minutes, the sound of thundering hooves rang out from the public road beneath him . Three people that looked like traveling merchants appeared . Two of them were riding on rhinodrake steeds, carrying traveling merchant bags on their backs, while the other one was driving an ordinary-looking long carriage used to transport goods . The carriage seemed to be carrying some leftover empty sacks and ropes . They were riding along the public road with lightning speed .
Yan Liqiang’s eyes snapped open when the trio passed by the hill where he was at . Murderous intent flashed across his eyes like lightning as the three arrows wedged between his fingers were instantly nocked onto his bowstring . The twenty-picul bow was only half drawn before it was let loose, sending out three flying arrows all at once…
Over the distance of less than a hundred meters, three bloody flowers bloomed in the darkness on the trio’s chests almost at the same moment when Yan Liqiang loosened his grip . Short screams rang out simultaneously and the three fell to the ground from their rhinodrake steeds and the carriage…
The three riderless rhinodrake steeds, including the one that was pulling the carriage, rushed forward for another few tens of meters out of the momentum before coming to a stop on the road .
Yan Liqiang then ran down the slope with the quiver and bow on his back, reaching the three merchant-like people who had fallen victim to his arrows in just the blink of an eye . He bent down, touched one of the traveling merchants’ faces, then ripped the bushy beard off him .
The beardless face resembled the one that had been following Yan Liqiang a few days ago . However, this man was disguised as an escort with a slightly tanner appearance than last time .
After searching this person’s chest, Yan Liqiang found a bronze paiza that was for law enforcers from the Ministry of Justice!
“F*CK!” Yan Liqiang cursed . Although he had his suspicions, he never expected the people who had been tailing him ever since he left the Imperial Capital to really be from the Ministry of Justice . Without a doubt, these were definitely Gu Chunyi’s lackeys . It went without saying that they were up to no good since they were tailing Yan Liqiang and tracking his whereabouts .
Yan Liqiang quickly searched the other two bodies and found two more law enforcer paizas . He stashed away those paizas and disposed of the corpses in the ditch by the road before quickly heading back to the forest where Hu Haihe was hiding .
He put his bow and quiver back into the carriage, then jumped onto Snowstorm Cloud and said, “Let’s go!” Without saying anything, Hu Haihe drove the carriage out of the pine forest .