Chapter 202 Protection
The next morning, Ji Heng planned to set off.

Wen Renyao had the largest luggage, Lu Ji and Jiang Li had little, not to mention Lin Yao.

The carriage was sent by General Wuwei. Knowing that Ji Heng was in Huangzhou, he specially found a large carriage and asked them if they needed soldiers to protect their safety along the way. Lu Ji politely declined.

The carriage was very spacious. Jiang Li and Wen Renyao were sitting inside, and Wen Renyao was holding Lin Yao. Lu Ji and Ji Heng were outside. It was unknown what they said to General Wuwei. When Wen Renyao opened the carriage curtain, General Wuwei curiously looked inside the carriage. He probably knew that there was a woman sitting in the carriage, but he didn't know who she was or what her relationship was with Ji Heng. He was just curious.

Wen Renyao lowered the carriage curtain, and soon Ji Heng and Lu Ji also got on the carriage. Zhao Ke and Wen Ji served as the coachman, and the carriage headed out of Huangzhou City.

After Wen Renyao coaxed Lin Yao to sleep, he lifted the curtain of the carriage, and Jiang Li also looked outside. I remember when I first arrived in Huangzhou City, the city was lively and clean, with many people entering and leaving the city. But now there is no one, and even the land seems to have turned black. The ground is full of scattered arrows and swords, and there are human bodies piled up randomly. I don't know whether they are from the city guards or King Cheng's men.

The bloody smell lingered for a long time, and the air was filled with a palpitating smell. Through what was in front of me, I seemed to be able to see the tragic night attack by Cheng Wang's troops that night. Although Huangzhou City was finally defended, it was by no means easy.

The atmosphere became a little heavy, so Wen Renyao put down the carriage, as if he wanted to find a happier topic. He looked at Jiang Li and said to her, "Hey? Second Miss Jiang, your face seems to be much better."

Jiang Li reached out and touched her face, and said, "It seems so."

The medicine that the couple gave her had gradually faded after such a long time. Except for a faint red mark when you look closely, it is not a big deal and can hardly be seen from a distance.

Ji Heng heard this and looked at Jiang Li. He smiled, but Jiang Li felt uncomfortable. He sat opposite Jiang Li, as if he could see through everything. Jiang Li avoided his gaze and lowered her head as if she didn't care.

"That's great," Wen Renyao said with great joy, "Seeing Second Miss return to her former beauty, I am truly happy for her from the bottom of my heart."

If such glib words were spoken by another man, he would probably be called a lecher. However, after spending a long time with Wen Renyao, she knew that he was just a chatterbox, and he was not a bad person at heart. Jiang Li could only laugh and cry.

"However," Wen Renyao looked outside again and said, "We shouldn't run into King Cheng's troops along the way, right?"

Jiang Li asked: "Didn't they leave already?"

"They may not be walking together. They may encounter scattered soldiers or something like that." Lu Ji said: "Zhao Ke and Wen Ji took a small road, so the possibility of meeting them is not high."

"No matter what," Wen Renyao said, "You asked me to come along, so you have to be responsible for my safety... and the safety of Miss Jiang Er, right?"

Lu Ji rolled his eyes at him: "Got it."

After that, the four of them were silent. Jiang Li could feel Ji Heng's eyes on her, with some scrutiny, which made her feel very uncomfortable. But there was only one carriage, and there was no way to avoid it. She couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If she had known earlier, she would have strongly requested two carriages, no matter who she was with, as long as she was not in the same carriage with Ji Heng. Ji Heng's eyes were too sharp, and he saw things too thoroughly. No matter how much Jiang Li tried to hide it, she was afraid that she would not be able to hide it for long. When he knew her secret feelings, she didn't know what would happen.

Besides, feelings are like the flower that a butterfly is lying on. The fragrance of the flower is irresistible. Others passing by can immediately smell the fragrance. How can it be concealed?

Fortunately, Ji Heng was a smart man, and his thoughts would not be easily known to others. If he did not speak out, Jiang Li would pretend not to know. Wen Renyao was a carefree person, and after a while he talked about other things. Lu Ji was more talkative than Jiang Li had imagined, and his words were full of wit. Even Lin Yao, who woke up later, was attracted by Lu Ji's words.

The journey back to Yanjing was smoother than expected.

Zhao Ke said that if they travelled during the day without rushing, they could arrive on the seventh day. The first two days passed without incident, and on the third day, the carriage continued to move forward, with no difference from the previous day.

From Huangzhou to Yanjing, except for the city gate, there were fewer and fewer people. In addition, in order to avoid King Cheng's troops, Zhao Ke and his companions took a small road, almost going into the mountains. On the third day, it was almost completely a wilderness, with no village in front and no store behind, nothing.

Wen Renyao looked outside for a while and said, "I'm afraid we'll have to stay in the mountains today."

Jiang Li didn't feel anything.

Seeing her indifferent look, Wen Renyao asked, "Second Miss Jiang, you are staying in the mountains tonight, why aren't you surprised at all?"

"There are no other inns here. There are people living in the mountains, but they may not be found. It's easy to get lost if you keep looking for people. In comparison, living in the mountains is a good choice." Jiang Li replied: "It's just that it's too dangerous to light a fire at night. I'm afraid it will attract bad guys. I'd better rest in the carriage."

She didn't feel it was hard at all, instead she spoke very naturally, which made Wen Ren Yao look at her strangely, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Ji Heng smiled, as if she understood. When they were in Tongxiang, Xue Fangfei had gone hunting in the mountains with Xue Zhao. Sometimes when they were done, they couldn't go home, so they would light a fire and sleep under a tree for the night. There were no bad guys in the mountains of Tongxiang, only wild beasts, and they lit a fire just to drive away those wild beasts.

At this moment, Lin Yao's stomach growled, and Lin Yao said, "Sister Jiang, I'm hungry."

Jiang Li took out some dry biscuits and water from her bag and handed them to him, saying, "Eat some."

It was already noon, but there was no inn in front or behind. It seemed that even if we walked a long way, there would be no inn. We definitely couldn't eat in the inn today, we could only eat dry food. Jiang Li distributed the dry food to Lu Ji and others. Zhao Ke and Wen Ji also stopped the carriage and rested here for a while and ate something.

Everyone got off the carriage. Ji Heng also had a dry biscuit in his hand. Jiang Li originally thought that someone as picky and delicate as him would not touch this dry food. Jiang Li wanted to see what he was eating, but he didn't expect him to pick up the dry food directly and put it to his mouth and eat it slowly.

Jiang Li was stunned.

This man's elegance is engraved in his bones. Even when he eats a piece of dry food, he is calm and leisurely, as if he is eating some kind of delicacy. Jiang Li stared at him and forgot to eat what she had in her hand. Ji Heng noticed her gaze, looked over, was startled for a moment, and suddenly smiled. He said, "What are you looking at me for?"

"Nothing." Jiang Li lowered her head to eat her own food.

Wen Renyao ran over from the bushes and complained, "This dry biscuit is too unpalatable. Is there anything else to eat?" He suddenly thought of something and said, "Hey, Miss, you know how to roast venison and make beggars' birds. There are many rabbits and birds in this mountain. Why don't we go hunting and you roast it?"

Wen Renyao was probably the pickiest eater among the group, even pickier than the kid Lin Yao. Thinking only of eating better, Jiang Li said, "There are no bows and arrows for hunting here, and we are on our way now."

"Wen Ji and Zhao Ke are very skilled. I'll go ask them. Or I can go dig out the bird nests and catch some sparrows. My dear sister, you have such great skills. Don't waste them."

He even said "good sister", which shows that he has no shame. Jiang Li was helpless. Lu Ji sat under the tree, eating dry food leisurely, and gave Wen Renyao a contemptuous look. Ji Heng ignored him at all. Wen Renyao said "I'll take it as your consent" and ran to Zhao Ke and Wen Ji. However, the two guards did not seem to agree with Wen Renyao's plan. Jiang Li watched Wen Renyao dawdle for a long time, and finally stood up dejectedly, as if he was unwilling to give up, and went to the bushes next to him.

Is he going to catch birds by himself? Jiang Li looked at Ji Heng: "He's alone... won't be in danger, right?"

Ji Heng smiled and said, "No."

Jiang Li didn't know what was so trustworthy about Wen Ren Yao, after all, Wen Ren Yao didn't seem to have any martial arts skills.

But since Ji Heng had said so, Jiang Li naturally had nothing to say. Lin Yao was squatting on the ground, eating dry biscuits while looking at the ants on the ground. Children from ordinary families were not as picky as Wen Renyao. Instead, they were very sensible and well-behaved.

When everyone had finished their dry food, Wen Renyao had not returned yet. Jiang Li felt a little uneasy, so she asked, "Should we go look for Master Wenren? It's been so long..."

Before she finished speaking, she saw Ji Heng's expression change slightly. She was surprised and heard some rustling sounds in the bushes. Wen Renyao appeared in front of her with sweat all over his forehead. When he saw Jiang Li and the others, he shouted, "Run!"

But before he could finish his words, a louder noise came from the bushes, and someone followed him!
Wen Renyao ran to Lu Ji in a panic. Lu Ji, Ji Heng, Zhao Ke and others did not move, as if they did not see Wen Renyao's appearance. Then, several people appeared from behind the bushes, all dressed as soldiers. This place was far away from Huangzhou City. They could not be the Wuwei General's men, nor the city guards. They must be the soldiers of King Cheng.

The reason was that King Cheng's troops were traveling on the main road and were travelling faster than them, so they did not expect to run into him here. It looked like he was a lone straggler, probably someone who had fallen behind King Cheng's troops.

There were five people in total, all of them were tall and had some violent aura after killing someone. When they saw Jiang Li and his group, the leader asked, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Soldier," Lu Ji said with a smile, "We are merchants coming from Yongzhou and happened to pass by here. We originally wanted to go to Huangzhou, but the gates of Huangzhou were closed, so we had to go back to Yongzhou. We heard that there was a lot of chaos outside, so we took the mountain road."

When Lu Ji said this, he had a flattering smile on his face, but he didn't look like a scholar at all, but a timid merchant. Zhao Ke and Wen Ji didn't talk. They were dressed as coachmen, so there was nothing wrong with them.

"The carriage stays here," said the leading soldier, "everyone else get out!"

Jiang Li heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, these people did not use knives. They were carrying a child. Jiang Li and Wen Renyao had no martial arts skills. If they really faced these people, they would be helpless. This was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that if these people attracted the Cheng Wang troops who had not yet left, so many people would come together. Even if Ji Heng was very powerful, he would not be able to defeat four people with two fists.

Those people looked at them: a child, a young man, a timid-looking merchant, and two coachmen. Ji Heng's appearance was too gorgeous, but when he concealed his dangerous aura, he was just a handsome young man who was a little too handsome, nothing special.

The officers and soldiers' gazes stopped at Jiang Li, and one of them said, "The women should stay too!"

Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat. As the man spoke, the soldiers' eyes became fixed on Jiang Li. The red spots on her face had almost completely healed, and she looked like a slender and pretty girl. In the hands of these people...

Wen Renyao was the first to shout, "Soldier, this is not good. If you want silver... we have plenty... I hope you can be more generous."

One of the soldiers suddenly drew out his knife and shouted at Wen Renyao: "Get out of here if you don't want to die!"

Wen Renyao was startled, and Lin Yao, who was hiding behind Lu Ji, burst into tears. The soldiers were upset by the crying, and one of them walked towards Lin Yao and his men with a knife in his hand. The other two walked straight towards Jiang Li.

Their eyes were greedy, staring at Jiang Li like wolves seeing their prey. Jiang Li's hand touched the scissors in her sleeve. It was the day when she was rescued by Ji Heng and lived in Huangzhou City. She took them out of the basket on the dressing table. They were probably the scissors left by the previous owner of the house. The scissors were exquisite and she had been hiding them in her sleeves. She thought she would never use them, but she didn't expect to use them here.

She couldn't help but look at Ji Heng. Ji Heng was still smiling, just looking at her, with no intention of taking action. Jiang Li knew that he would not let what happened happen, but her heart was still slowly lifted as the two people approached.

Just when one of the soldiers approached her and his hand was about to touch Jiang Li's face, Jiang Li suddenly pulled out the scissors from her sleeve and stabbed the man in front of her viciously. However, the next moment, she only saw a red shadow flashing in front of her, and the red robe wrapped around her, and someone spoke in her ear.

His voice was low and soft, but with a hint of coldness. He said, "Don't be afraid."

(End of this chapter)