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Marquis Xuanping left the tea stall still marveling at how friendly the locals were; they didn't even charge for tea.
The tea stall owner had been running his business here for at least eight years, and this was the first time he had ever seen such a stingy customer!
Unbelievable!
Torrential rain showed no sign of letting up, making traveling on such a day both dangerous and inconvenient.
Of course, that was only true for others.
Marquis Xuanping, as a warrior who had faced worse weather on the battlefield, wasn't easily deterred.
Marquis Xuanping, wearing a thick straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, rode his tall and spirited horse.
He patted its neck and looked at the pouring rain, saying, "That old thing is about to breathe his last, but we can't just let him die peacefully, can we?”
The horse, seemingly able to sense its master's determination and fierceness, neighed, lifted its front hooves, and charged into the pouring rain.
On the other side, after a full day of traveling, Xiao Heng finally arrived at the tea stall where Marquis Xuanping had once been.
The tea stall was closed at night, but due to the heavy rain, customers couldn't leave, and the owner couldn't go home.
The tea stall was packed to the brim, and prices for tea and food had skyrocketed. A bun that used to cost two wen now cost ten.
Riding in the rain, Liu Quan, wearing a straw raincoat, could hardly open his eyes in the downpour, saying, "Liulang, there's a tea stall over there. Want to take a break?"
Xiao Heng replied, "Uncle Liu, sorry to trouble you but please continue driving ahead."
Liu Quan tightened the reins, "I'm fine, I'm worried about you! We've been traveling all day, how are your injuries?"
Xiao Heng said, "I'm fine, so let's keep going."
"Alright."
"Wait." Xiao Heng suddenly said, "Stop."
Liu Quan halted the carriage, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Heng looked at the map in his hand and then at the fork in the road ahead, "There are two roads ahead, which one do you think he took?"
Both roads could lead to the official road near Xishui Village, but the road conditions were different, and the time spent on the road would also vary.
Xiao Heng knew this from studying the geography of the State of Zhao, but Marquis Xuanping hadn't been to Liang Wang's territory and might not know which road was shorter.
"Let's ask at the tea stall." Xiao Heng suggested.
"Alright!"
Liu Quan drove the carriage towards the tea stall.
The tea stall owner was boiling water when he saw a carriage stop nearby and said without thinking, "It's full, there’s no space left. You’d better keep moving, there's a post station ten miles east."
Xiao Heng parted the curtain, and through the thick rain, he looked towards the direction of the tea stall owner, asking, "Excuse me, I'd like to ask about someone. Have you seen a tall, good-looking man in his early thirties today?"
Marquis Xuanping wasn't in his early thirties, but he looked incredibly young, seemingly in his early thirties who exuded the mature demeanor of someone older.
The tea stall owner added some firewood to the stove and casually replied, "Several men came today, which one are you asking about?"
Xiao Heng wanted to say the most handsome one, but as a grown man, he found it a bit hard to say the word 'handsome,' so after thinking for a moment, he said, "The really stingy one?"
"Ohh! You mean him!" The tea stall owner instantly got animated, unleashing a torrent of complaints like the relentless flow of the Yellow River!
"He's the stingiest person I've ever seen in my years of running this tea stall! Just a copper coin! A single copper coin, can you believe it?"
"Even beggars give me more than that!”
“.....”
Xiao Heng endured the ranting that someone of his age shouldn't have to face.
"So where did he go?" Xiao Heng asked.
"That way!" The tea stall owner pointed in a huff.
"Thank you." Xiao Heng lowered the curtain, spread out the map, and said, "Uncle Liu, let's go."
The tea stall owner was dumbfounded.
Hold on, did you just ask for information for free?
At least buy two buns before you go!
"Stop!" The tea stall owner called out to Xiao Heng's carriage.
Xiao Heng parted the curtain, "Is there anything else?"
The tea stall owner grabbed two steamed buns and handed them to him, then raised his palm and flipped it over.
That meant two fives, which was ten in total.
Xiao Heng wasn't in the mood to eat and didn't really want them, but the tea stall owner insisted. In the end, he reluctantly accepted.
He took the steamed buns and waved back at the tea stall owner, "Many thanks, goodbye."
And then he left.
The tea stall owner again: "..."
He looked at his outstretched hand and the steamed buns that had been taken away.
Did I friggin’ look like I was waving at you?!
……
The downpour was so intense that the horse couldn't run and could only move slowly.
"Uncle Liu, if it has been raining this heavily all along, he should only be arriving here now." Xiao Heng pointed to a small village on the map, "Yangliu Village."
Liu Quan didn't understand this as he had never been to the Prefectural City of Pingle. Xiao Heng had been directing him the whole way.
He asked, "Is the location of the incident far from there? If it's too far, maybe he won't make it before the landslide."
Xiao Heng said, "Anyone else wouldn't make it on this road."
But he was Marquis Xuanping.
No matter how dangerous the path ahead, he would find a way to reach Liang Wang Mansion.
Liu Quan sensed Xiao Heng's worry. He let out a sigh and asked, "Can we catch up?"
It was hard to say.
This was the possibility Xiao Heng derived after analyzing each road in the map.
"Let's take another road." Xiao Heng said.
"Alright." Liu Quan steered the carriage onto a smaller path.
On the map, this road appeared to be farther than the one chosen by Marquis Xuanping, but it was smoother and had better road conditions.
Even so, a journey that usually took four hours took them an entire night.
Thankfully, Xiao Heng had swapped for the strongest warhorses from the imperial guards in advance. Otherwise, although they would be fine, the horses would have been exhausted to death.
Daybreak came, but the torrential rain continued, leaving the Prefectural City of Pingle almost completely dark.
Xiao Heng frowned, "We haven't reached Yangliu Village yet."
Marquis Xuanping was faster than them. At this rate, they wouldn't reach the incident site by midnight.
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