C8

The next day.

Sunlight filtered through the paper windows and dappled the floor, rippling into rivers of light. Xie Zi Mo who had just woken up was lying beside her, looking closely at her. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she slowly opened them. When she met his gaze, there was a trace of surprise in her eyes.

Kui Xue was stunned for a moment. She looked at the face that was very close to her, and the smile that was not a smile. How could she explain that she was in his bed?

Just when Liufangxue was feeling a little awkward, Xie Zimo spoke first, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Very good." Thinking that the topic of conversation would probably be led to another place, Kui Xue replied with the word 'very good'. However, Xie Zimo was a scoundrel who liked to tease others. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect that you would want to get back together with me so quickly. It's both surprising and exciting …"

"…" Baili Yu Xue felt that she had been made a fool of. She glared at Xie Zimo, threw back her blanket, and got out of bed to leave.

"Aiya, why is my head so painful?" Xie Zimo suddenly touched his temple, pretending to have a splitting headache. Even he himself believed in such realism.

Kui Xue frowned, then hurriedly went back to the bed and took his pulse. As soon as her hand touched Xie Zimo's pulse, she was pulled backwards into her arms.

"So besides playing the zither, you also know how to cure illnesses?" Xie Zimo sniffed her hair, took a deep breath and said, "I wonder if you would order anything else besides healing? "For example, serving men?"

She could not stand being teased by a man the most. As she lifted her leg, her red skirt was lifted, but her ankle was grabbed by Xie Zimo and pressed down.

"You were rather concerned about me just now, why did you suddenly kick me?" Xie Zimo smiled like a scoundrel, his face and mouth almost touching the fragrant snow.

"I hate it when people lie to me." Fifty miles of fragrant snow stared at him. At a close distance, Xie Zi Mo looked more beautiful than most men, especially that pair of amorous peach blossom eyes. However, Kui Xue did not like this feeling, it was like being eaten.

"If I'm not lying to you, you'll probably just leave, right?" Xie Zimo kissed her forehead, "I just want to see if you will turn back. This is not a lie."

With that, Xie Zimo released her and got up to tidy up his attire.

The last time they came back from Flower Bird Valley, the two had reached an agreement. Xie Zimo intended to take back what belongs to him, while Baili Kuangxue wanted to enter the palace to look for someone. As there was not much conflict between the two targets, the two decided to use each other.

"We're going somewhere today." When Xie Zimo had tied up his waist, he turned around and said to Baili Kuangxue.

The place they were headed for was called You Wu. It was the desolate place closest to the mountains in the country of Liu.

At sunset, the two men on the same horse stopped in front of a dilapidated memorial archway. On the memorial archway were two fragmented words: "You Wu".

The reason why it was said that this was the most barren land in that country was because there was almost nothing here. Those who lived here were mostly refugees from other tribes and countries, as well as some warriors from the previous dynasty. Almost everyone who did not have any status had gathered here, living like ants.

Xie Zimo pulled the reins, and the horse moved forward into You Wu. Compared to the capital, this place was more dilapidated and filled with dilapidated houses. There was no vegetation on the ground, and sand was flying everywhere. The people squatting at the end of the street were mostly beggars in ragged clothes, and only a few houses had smoke trays rising from them.

Horses walked along the road covered in yellow sand and garbage, and from time to time they could see the street vendors. Most of them were small toys that he had picked up from the capital, and even the food they ate was very coarse. There didn't seem to be any decent inn here, so it was difficult to occasionally see someone who was dressed a little better.

"What if one day, this place is as prosperous as the capital? Will people also be greedy and ignorant for having a better life? " Xie Zimo pulled the reins and whispered into Baili Kui Xue's ear.

They were the most eye-catching existences in this broken land. They were riding fine horses, and they wore noble and beautiful silk clothing. They looked like people from the heavens.

"A man's desires are endless. When he is poor, he wants to be warm and full. When he is warm and full, he wants to be rich. But when he is rich, he wants more." Kui Xue laughed coldly. It was the same for her. When she was about to die, all she wanted was to survive. After living, she wanted to live a better life. She wanted to find her friends and rebuild her home. Actually, there was no difference between her and Xie Zimo. Xie Zimo wanted her to regain her status, and she had also thought of using him to rebuild her homeland and the Huyu Clan.

And this was a place that made people despair. The desperate places will be filled with people who want to be reborn in adversity, people who might be useful in the future. This was perhaps the reason why Xie Zimo wanted to come here.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the dilapidated passageway, followed by a man dressed like a thief from the mountains rushing out to intercept the horse in front of them.

"Big brother, they look like they came from the capital. They might be rich families." The bearded man said to the burly man beside him. The man carried a large blade and sized up the two people on the horse. He then said to the brothers beside him, "Bring them back. Tell them to write a letter to our family and use one hundred taels of gold to redeem them."

A group of men rushed forward to arrest him. Xie Zimo pulled out his folding fan and opened their hands.

"If a gentleman doesn't say anything, you will lead the way. We will follow you." Xie Zimo spread out his fan, smiling faintly.

Those men could tell that Xie Zimo was not ordinary, so they did not dare to fight again for fear of suffering a loss.

"You two lead the way with your horses, you guys follow behind." After the man said this, he got his horse to lead the horses and walked in the direction of the village.

The mountain behind You Wu had quite a few strongholds, which were all hiding places for bandits. It was said that they were not friendly among themselves, and often fought over land and money. A few days ago, the three great strongholds were occupied by a man called Han Palace, who specifically robbed merchants and strangers that passed by You Wu.

The stronghold was located in a rather remote area, and they had actually taken the underground passage. Xie Zimo and Baili Qiangxue dismounted from their horses and followed the Mountain Bandits into the underground passage. Torches were lit in the passage. There were many mechanical buttons on the wall as if to prevent outsiders from sneaking in.

As he passed through the tunnel, a light pierced his eyes. This mountain stronghold was extremely large, and it was built in a circular valley. From the outside, it was impossible to see the exact location of the stronghold. The Han Palace seemed to have merged the three villages into one, making the entire valley look like a huge palace. There were sentries in the high stands, and guards between the buildings as well. It could be said to be three steps, one guard, five steps, one sentry.

"You two brats, what are you carrying!" The man's rough voice sounded from not too far away.

Xie Zimo looked up as a young man with something in his arms bumped into him. He leaned forward and fell to the ground. The thing he held in his arms began to cry. It was a baby still swaddled in swaddling clothes.

"Yu Xuan!" Another youth ran over and stood in front of the one holding the child. He gnashed his teeth as he looked at Xie Zimo and the other men.

The two youngsters looked exactly the same, as if they were twins.

"Bastard, where are you going to get that child? Quickly throw it away!" The man behind him picked up the boy on the ground and reached for the child in his arms. The other teenager rushed over and bit on his arm.

The man screamed and pushed the young man to the side.

"Yu Wen!" Yu Xuan, who was holding the child, shouted. He wanted to run over and see if his brother was hurt by the fall, but he couldn't protect himself right now.

"Do you only know how to bully weak children?" With a flick of her finger, Baili Xiang Xue pinched the stone in her hand, and it hit the man's wrist. When the man's hand loosened, Yu Xuan rushed over to Yu Wen and asked if he was hurt by the fall.

Yu Wen shook his head and the two of them looked at the baby. The baby was no longer crying.

"You two, come over to us." Xie Zimo smiled, unfolding his fan and gently pushing it. Yu Wen and Yu Xuan glanced at each other and seemed to have found a safe haven. They both ran over and hid behind Xie Zimo and Mo Li.

"Why are you making things difficult for the two children?" Xie Zimo put away his fan. The expression in his eyes changed, and he used the folding fan in his hand to beat down several men who wanted to use violence.

"Didn't you want money? I have a bag of gold here. I don't know if it's enough to buy these two, but no, these three people. " Xie Zimo took out his purse and threw it to the bandits.

The bandit opened the silver bag and saw that it was filled with gold. After weighing the pros and cons, they accepted the gold and abandoned the two people who had originally been having a leisurely meal here.

"Since you want those two pieces of trash, then I'll give them to you." The man put away the money bag and looked at the two teenagers with disdain. Then, he ordered his subordinates to take them to the guest room.