xymnovel Chapter 573 Starting Again
Chapter 573 Starting Again
Before dawn, the wind outside the post station had already died down.
The oil lamp under the eaves had gone out sometime ago, leaving only a wick that was still slightly smoking, emitting a thin wisp of white smoke in the morning light before dissipating completely.
When the door was pushed open, the hinges made a dry, soft sound, as if they had cracked a few more times overnight.
Yunluan stood by the threshold, the hem of her robe still covered in the dust of last night. A thin layer of frost had formed on her sword sheath, but it had been blown away by the morning breeze, leaving only a faint, almost invisible watermark.
She glanced in the direction of the open field, then looked away and turned back to the main hall.
Jiang Zhaoyue was already packing her luggage.
She folded the map neatly, flattened the edges, and put it into her cloth bag. She checked the seals of the provisions and water sack again to make sure there were no leaks before looking up: "Shall we take the official road or the old road today?"
Qin Mu stood by the window, the morning light filtering through the thin layer of gray paper covering the window. It wasn't bright enough, but it was enough to outline the entire room.
He didn't answer immediately, as if he was estimating the distance and the weather. After a moment, he spoke: "Let's take the old route. The river valley Elder Yin mentioned, it takes two days to travel, bypassing the checkpoints, and it's actually faster than the official road."
Jiang Zhaoyue nodded, tied the bag and put it aside, then turned to find Yin Sutang to confirm the exact location of the route.
Yin Sutang has woken up.
She sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against the wall, her clothes neatly arranged. It was clear she wasn't truly asleep; she had only closed her eyes for a short while.
Hearing Jiang Zhaoyue's voice, she looked up: "The entrance to that road is hard to find, but it becomes easier once you reach the valley. At the end of the valley, there is a sloping road going uphill; once you cross it, you'll reach the wasteland on the border of Northern Mang."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on her folded hands, as if recalling details of walking that road many years ago.
After a while, she looked up and added, "But that slope is very steep, and the carriage can't get through."
Qin Mu turned around from the window: "Then let's ride horses."
He said it very decisively, as if this decision had been made a long time ago.
The horses outside the post station had been led out and were munching on a few clumps of dry grass on the roadside, their tails swishing idly and occasionally sniffing the ground.
The morning breeze blew across the open field, and the withered grass lay flat on the ground, then slowly stood up again.
The group gradually left the post station.
As Han Xin'er led her horse and tied her bundle to the back of the saddle, she looked up at the expanding sliver of light on the horizon—the sky was already bright, changing from gray-blue to a pale white with a hint of gold.
Lin Xiaolu stood beside her, clutching the grasshopper she had already wrapped around her neck. She gently traced it along the edge of the saddle, then stopped. "Sister Han, isn't taking the old road slower than the official road?"
Han Xin'er said, "It'll be two days slower. But it'll be safer."
Lin Xiaolu nodded: "That's good."
Xu Fenghua walked out of the post station, wearing a thin dark gray cloak and carrying nothing in her hands.
Jiang Zhaoyue had already packed up her luggage.
Yunluan had already mounted her horse, her hand on the hilt of her sword. Her gaze swept across the horizon, which was faintly visible in the morning mist. She didn't speak, but simply waited quietly for everyone to be ready.
As Qin Mu mounted his horse, the morning light shone down from behind him, casting a faint golden hue over the outline of his shoulders.
He tugged on the reins, and the horse circled halfway around before stopping at the crossroads: "Let's go."
Horse hooves shattered the thin mist as they galloped into the open fields of an autumn morning.
After leaving the post station, the withered grass on both sides of the road was gradually replaced by sand, and the soil became coarser.
The wheels made a dry, rustling sound as they rolled over the gravel, which, along with the sound of horses' hooves hitting the ground, carried far across the open plain.
The view on both sides was much wider than in the previous days. The sky hung low, meeting the ground like a gray-blue eave with a tapering curve.
Yin Sutang rode her horse at the front of the group, occasionally pulling on the reins to slow down, as if she were trying to find her way.
After walking for about half an hour, she stopped in front of an inconspicuous earthen slope and pointed to a depression at the foot of the slope, half-hidden by dry bushes: "That's it."
That road is indeed hard to find.
The entrance is narrow, with dry shrubs and weeds growing on both sides. If you don't look closely, you would just think it is a shallow ditch that has been washed out by rain.
But after parting the grass, the road was wider than expected. Although it was uneven, it was wide enough for a horse to pass through.
The group slowly descended along the depression, and the bushes on both sides gradually grew taller, blocking out most of the sunlight.
Occasionally, gravel would roll off the road and into the roadside ditch, making a soft rustling sound that was quickly drowned out by the wind and the sound of horses' hooves.
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the bushes on both sides gradually lowered, and a valley suddenly appeared in front of us. It was wider than I had imagined. Most of the riverbed had dried up, leaving only a thin stream of water in the middle, which shimmered like shattered silver in the morning light.
Yin Sutang reined in her horse and gazed into the depths of the valley: "If we keep going along this valley, we can bypass the checkpoint."
She paused for a moment: "Not many people travel this path, but it should still be passable. When I walked it before, there were old trail markers on the rock walls on both sides of the valley. I don't know if they're still there now."
Qin Mu rode up to her side, followed her gaze into the depths of the valley, and looked for a while before saying, "No rush. Take your time."
He spurred the horse's belly, and the chestnut horse began to stride forward, slowly making its way down the valley.
The morning light fell on the dry riverbed, giving the pebbles that had been washed by water for many years a soft sheen.
Occasionally, when the horse's hooves landed, they would kick up small pebbles, which would roll down the gentle slope into the narrow stream in the middle of the riverbed, making a short, soft sound before being swallowed by the water.