Chapter 137: Recognizing the White Horse, An Accidental Encounter
Countless raindrops smashed onto the ground like broken strings, splashing and colliding, the sky immersed in a dark, hazy expanse.
“Boss, the escort carts have all been pushed inside.”
“Very timely, well done,” Zhou Yan patted Liang Xiaowu’s shoulder.
At noon, the weather changed drastically. As the clouds pressed low, Zhou Yan and Huyan Lei found a spot in the wilderness to set up camp.
A considerable number of the escort team’s carts were carrying medicinal herbs, which could not get wet.
When traveling during the thunderstorm season, escort teams had corresponding defensive measures for different types of cargo.
For instance, goods like leather goods and medicinal herbs would be covered with felt.
Before the heavy rain began to fall, Zhou Yan, along with dozens of escorts including Liang Xiaowu, cut down trees in the forest, used local materials, and set up sheds covered with felt to protect from the rain.
When the torrential rain hit the ground, all the escort carts had already been pushed inside.
This location was less than ten li from the Yellow River crossing at Tong Pass. Zhou Yan and Huyan Lei’s original plan was to reach the Yellow River at dusk, rest for a night, and cross the river the next day. Now, it seemed very likely they would be delayed by this downpour.
“Brother Huyan, I’ll go to the Yellow River bank to take a look. If the water rises and the current is fierce, the escort team will camp here and wait for the weather to clear.”
“Alright.”
“Xiaowu, come with me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Both wearing conical hats and rain capes, they rode their horses straight towards the Yellow River bank.
Upon reaching the ferry crossing, they saw the great river shrouded in rain, waves rolling. How could they cross?
“Boss, it looks like we’ll be delayed for at least a day or two.”
“About that.”
“I wonder if the escort team over there is waiting to cross or just happened to come from Tong Pass,” Liang Xiaowu said.
Not far from the two of them, escorts and runners from an escort team were busy. Zhou Yan said, “Let’s go take a look.”
As they rode closer, still dozens of paces away, a loud voice called out, “Brother Zhou, we meet again.”
Zhou Yan recognized the voice. He was startled. It was Lu Beihe, the young master of the Zhenwei Escort Agency from Kaifeng Prefecture.
“I saw your ‘Night-Shining Jade Lion’ from afar,” Lu Beihe said, already striding over.
Zhou Yan dismounted, smiling, “This horse is easy to recognize. Brother Lu, where are you traveling to?”
“Taiyuan Prefecture. The weather changed as soon as we reached the Yellow River bank, so we rushed to cross. Fortunately, we all made it. Brother Zhou, where are you headed?”
“Xianyang.”
“With this weather, it will probably be delayed for a few days.”
“Fortunately, once we cross, it’s not far to Xianyang, so there’s no rush.”
“That’s true.” Lu Beihe invited, “I’ll also be camping here, waiting for the rain to stop before we can set off. We discussed martial arts in Kaifeng Prefecture, and I felt the time was too short and not satisfying enough. Shall we have a good chat again?”
“I couldn’t ask for more.”
“Excellent.”
“Please.”
There was an inn at the ferry crossing, but no guest rooms. Zhou Yan and Lu Beihe entered the hall and ordered a pot of tea. Looking out from the doorway, in the distant rain and mist, escorts and runners from the Zhenwei Escort Agency were setting up tents.
Zhou Yan withdrew his gaze and asked, “Is the escort route to Taiyuan Prefecture easy to travel? I haven’t traveled much to Fu’an.”
“It’s not difficult, but it’s not easy either,” Lu Beihe said directly without beating around the bush. “There are many who claim mountains as their territory. However, they are not like the bandits in the Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain areas. Most of them are descendants of the Righteous Army who once responded to General Zong Ze’s resistance against the imperial forces. But times have changed, and now they engage in robbery.”
Lu Beihe sighed, “But they are much better than the remnants of Great Qi or the bandits from Jiangxi. If you pay respects and offer gifts, they generally won’t cause trouble.”
“There are no peaceful roads in this world.”
“Indeed.”
After sighing together, their conversation returned to martial arts. As they spoke, three horses galloped over and stopped at the inn entrance. A young voice rang out, “Waiter, three guest rooms.”
The waiter smiled apologetically, “Guest, I’m sorry, but our inn is already full.”
A woman’s voice said coldly, “You run an inn, what kind of inn is it if you have no guest rooms?”
“Please calm down, guest. This heavy rain is delaying travelers, hence the crowd.”
“Forget it, forget it. Let’s take shelter in the hall first.”
Hearing this, Zhou Yan gave a wry smile. The three people who had just spoken were a medicine boy, Mei Chaofeng, and Huang Rong. He had long known that Huang Rong would cause trouble for the Yellow River Gang, but he hadn’t expected to run into her again at the Yellow River crossing.
Lu Beihe saw Zhou Yan’s expression and asked, “Brother Zhou, do you know them?”
“Yes.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Rong rushed into the hall. She saw Zhou Yan and was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, “Why are you here in Tong Pass again? Where is the ‘Night-Shining Jade Lion’?”
“What a coincidence, I’m traveling with an escort team. The horse is outside.”
Huang Rong was still dressed as a man, but the rain had slightly revealed her true appearance. She had rushed in to take shelter and hadn’t looked closely. Hearing Zhou Yan’s words, she glanced outside and indeed saw the snow-white horse among the escort team not far away.
The escort team had already lowered their escort flag. She mistook Zhenwei for Fu’an and withdrew her gaze, walking in. The medicine boy following closely behind said joyfully, “Lord Zhou, we meet again.”
“Yes,” Zhou Yan replied, then turned to the waiter and said, “Waiter, add a table and chairs, and bring some dishes.”
“Certainly, please wait, guest.”
Huang Rong sat down, and the conversation became more lively. She asked Zhou Yan where he had gone after leaving the palace in Lin’an. She also mentioned how the palace guards had surrounded and killed Ouyang Ke and others, and how they had fled out of the city like stray dogs. When she spoke with enthusiasm, her expression was quite proud.
Time slowly passed in this rhythm until dusk.
…
“Giddy up, giddy up…”
The rider galloping on horseback had a steel knife on his back. The horse ran extremely fast, kicking up mud and water into splashes. The rider arrived at a large family’s residence not far from the wharf, dismounted, and ran inside.
“Master, the main target has arrived.”
“Taking over the nest,” the monk drinking tea in the hall asked, “Are you sure?”
“No mistake, and the main target’s horse is easy to recognize.”
The monk, over thirty years old and burly, stood up and said to the more than ten people in the hall, “Kill them all without mercy.”
“Naturally,” everyone agreed.
The monk took his conical hat and walked out of the hall. The others followed. From various directions of the residence, dozens more people emerged, quickly disappearing into the rain and mist.
…
“Where are you going now?” Zhou Yan asked Huang Rong in the inn’s hall.
“To the Yellow River Gang’s stronghold, of course!”
“Do you know the address?”
“Naturally,” Huang Rong nodded. “And you, where are you escorting your goods to?”
Just as Zhou Yan was about to speak, a scream tore through the wind and rain outside. The sound was heart-wrenching and tragic.
“Robbery!”
The desperate shouts of the Zhenwei Escort Agency’s runners suddenly erupted in the rain-soaked twilight.
Lu Beihe’s expression changed. He reached down, grabbed the twin pistols under the table, and rushed out of the inn like an eagle.
Zhou Yan followed closely behind.
Before they reached the escort team, in the dim daylight, Lu Beihe saw the well-built monk turn his head. Then, the monk smiled sinisterly, revealing white teeth. His kasaya billowed, and his entire body seemed to turn into a phantom as he charged forward.
Lu Beihe roared and attacked with his twin pistols.
Behind the monk, a black-clothed man broke through the rain curtain, mud and water splashing around his feet like blooming lotuses. As the distance rapidly closed, the man suddenly exerted force, leaped up, and swung his long knife with thunderous power towards Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan agilely advanced, preempting with a move called “Dragon Fighting in the Wild” to the man’s abdomen, forcefully stopping his momentum in mid-air. Blood instantly welled up from the corner of the man’s mouth. The moment the black-clothed man landed, Zhou Yan grabbed his arm with his right hand and executed a fluid, powerful over-the-shoulder throw.
With a “bang,” the man slammed heavily into a large tree outside the inn, hanging upside down.
