Chapter 23: Li's Ambush

  Yang Zhao hid in the grass on the side of the road, looking worried and frustrated as he gazed out at the magnificent pass city built into the distant mountains, at a loss for what to do.

  The famous pass that lies within sight is Jianmen Pass, which controls the throat of two rivers and screens off the fertile plains of Bashu for a thousand miles. The old name of this pass was Jiameng Pass. During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei accepted the invitation of Liu Zhang to enter Shu and resist the separatist regime of Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, and stationed his army at Jiameng. Later, after Liu Bei took Yizhou, Zhuge Liang abolished the old pass of Jiameng and established Jianmen Pass, also setting up Jianmen County to govern it. Because it is located on an important transportation route between north and south, although the county town is small, it is very prosperous.

  If they can enter the city smoothly and find the local county magistrate, it will be of great help to their plan to continue south to Minjiang to find the Tian Shenbing Yinyangling.

  Unfortunately, although he knew this, Yang Zhao was fundamentally unable to enter the city at present. Because in this era, entering the city required paying an entrance tax. At this moment, not only was his purse empty, but he was also literally penniless and without any belongings. The clothes he had been wearing on his body had already been burned to ashes several days ago during his training in the Dark Seven Heavens, by the uncontrolled eruption of the Ice and Fire energies within him, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.

  That is to say, the current Yang Zhao is wearing nothing but "The Emperor's New Clothes".

  It's really embarrassing. No matter before or after crossing over, Yang Zhao had never thought that he would have a day where he would have to run naked. In the past when watching TV, those transforming heroes at least still had a pair of underwear on, right? How come when it's his turn, he doesn't even get to keep a piece of cloth to cover his privates?

  Alas, trekking in the mountains, being naked is just being naked. Since no one sees it, it's not a big deal. But now... what to do? Can't possibly run naked into the city, can I?

  Honestly, if I were to do this, even with the guards at the gate, another hundred or so would not be able to stop me. The problem is, as the King of Henan appointed by the imperial court, how can I possibly run naked in broad daylight? If this gets out, will I still have a face to show? Even if I don't care about my own face, can the dignity of the Sui imperial family also be ignored?

  What a headache! Yang Zhao sighed and squatted in the bushes, constantly tapping his forehead with his fingers, trying to come up with an idea like Ah Qiu and Shang. But reality is reality, cartoons are cartoons, wisdom isn't something that can be squeezed out by force. As the sun slid from overhead to the west and even began to set, Yang Zhao still couldn't think of a good solution.

  As he was worrying, suddenly the sound of horseshoes echoed from afar, coming from the direction of the big road in the north. Yang Zhao's heart stirred slightly, and he quickly jumped onto a tree by the roadside, hiding among the dense leaves, only exposing his head to peek outside. Since his Dark Heaven Great Success, his five senses had strengthened more than tenfold. At this moment, although he heard the sound, the distance between them was still very far. It wasn't until after five or six minutes that the shadow of horses and carriages appeared at the end of the road. As they drew closer, it became clearer that it wasn't just a single horse carriage, but rather a long procession with people in front and back, surging forward majestically.

  At the front was a robust and majestic man. He rode a sorrel horse, with a pair of gleaming steel short spears hanging from his saddle, and his martial arts skills seemed to be quite impressive. About half a horse's length behind him were two other sturdy men in similar attire, each equipped with weapons. Closely following them were two elegantly decorated carriages. On top of the carriages were small flags, but they were blown by the wind and fluttered about, making it impossible to discern what patterns they bore. After the carriages passed, at least twenty or so spirited men followed closely on foot. Yang Zhao looked on, muttering to himself, "Could this group be...?" He focused his ears and listened intently.

  The team was originally rushing along with their heads down. At this time, they saw the Sword Gate Pass in the distance and couldn't help but become excited. The big man at the front pulled on the reins of his horse, turned his head and shouted: "Brothers, let's hurry up a bit! Up ahead is Sword Gate County, the little girls inside the Welcome Spring Pavilion are still waiting for us!"

  Everyone who heard this burst out laughing. The man with the pointed face, somewhat resembling a fox, who was riding a horse with a blue flower pattern, immediately added with a smile: "Don't worry, Chief Escort, as they say 'a hero matches a beauty', that little girl Mo Yu has already been captivated by you. Not to mention delaying for just two or three moments, even if it were a year or half a year later, Mo Yu would still be sitting obediently in her boudoir waiting for you."

  The burly man riding the black horse next to him shook his head repeatedly and said in a low, humming tone: "You're outdated. Mo Qiqi may have been popular once, but she's just an ordinary courtesan after all. I heard last month that a songstress who sells her art but not her body has arrived in Sword Gate County, known for choosing people based on their talent. Whoever is favored by her will become her patron. Our great leader is invincible and unparalleled in talent, so this time we must make a good impression."

  This big, dark man had a very loud voice, and everyone in the team could hear him clearly. On the spot, there was a burst of laughter, and people shouted in a mess: "The head of the escort is a hero, it's only right." The head of the escort touched his chin with his short beard, seemingly quite pleased. But at a glance, he saw the carriage behind him, and immediately put on a serious face again, saying in a deep voice: "How many pounds does old Qin have? Can't I know myself? It's okay for everyone to talk nonsense at home, but if others hear it, they'll laugh their teeth off. Let's go, let's hurry into the city." With a light kick on the ground, he urged the horse to move forward. The crowd laughed and followed slowly from behind.

  Yang Zhao's mind moved quickly, and he silently cursed the heavens for having no way to help those in desperate situations. He quietly jumped down from the big tree, hiding in the grass and casually picking up a small stone, taking aim at the draft animal pulling the front carriage. With a flick of his finger, the stone shot out. In the midst of the faint sound of the wind being broken, the pack horse's neck was hit, and it immediately let out a long, pained whinny, standing up on its hind legs and dancing around wildly. The entire orderly procession instantly fell into chaos. Yang Zhao took advantage of this opportunity when everyone's attention was diverted to display his lightness skill, using the "Swallow Returns" technique to slip under the last carriage in the procession. He tightly hooked his hands and feet onto the wooden frame, holding himself in place, and held his breath, becoming as silent as a ghost.

  The commotion outside lasted for a while before subsiding, and the sound of horseshoes echoed as the carriage continued on its way. Before long, the group arrived at the outer gate of the city wall. The soldiers guarding the gate asked a few routine questions, such as who they were, where they came from, and where they were going. Yang Zhao perked up his ears to listen carefully, and it turned out that this group was an escort team from the Wu'an Escort Bureau in Daxing City. The leader of the team was named Qin Wu'an, and the other two escorts were Hu Jing-shui, who had a fox-like face, and Tuoba Wen-zheng, a burly black man. This time, they were not transporting any valuable goods, but rather escorting someone to Chengdu at the request of a wealthy family in Daxing City. As for the name of the wealthy family, Qin Wu'an did not mention it, and the soldiers did not ask further questions. After collecting the entrance tax, they waved their hands and let them pass.

  Jianguan Pass is the first magnificent pass in the world, with a very grand scale. The guards walked for about five minutes from the entrance to the gatehouse before leaving the city and entering Jianguan County. As soon as they entered the county, people's voices came from all directions, and Yang Zhao looked out of the carriage and saw that the streets paved with bluestone were crowded with people coming and going, bustling with noise.

  The Wu An Escort Agency had been traveling back and forth between Guanzhong and Bashu for many years, and was very familiar with the more important towns along the way. After walking for a while, they left the main road in the city and turned into a horizontal street, stopping in front of a guest house. The escort Hu Jing Shui went into the store first to greet the shopkeeper. Soon, the shopkeeper brought out a young waiter with a smile on his face to welcome them, leading everyone to drive their horses and carriages into the courtyard. The head of the escort Qin Wu An got off his horse, walked to the side of the carriage with a smile, and said: "Li Ye, the rooms are all ready."

  That Mr. Li responded with a low "Hmm", the carriage door opened wide, and a pair of exquisitely crafted small calfskin boots stepped out. The owner's footsteps were heavy, but as he walked, almost no dust was raised. Yang Zhao felt a chill in his heart, knowing that this person's martial arts skills were at least not inferior to those of Yang Xuan, Yuwen Huaji and others whom he had met on New Year's Eve. However, the other party seemed to be unaware of the extra guest under the carriage and walked to the front of the other carriage with courtesy, saying: "Lady Mingyue, you must have had a tiring journey. Would you like to come down and rest for a while?"

  The car door opened from the inside out, and a soft, gentle voice said, "Miss, be careful." The first to land was a pair of small, exquisite embroidered shoes. Then there were another pair of shoes with an even more delicate design, adorned with gold silk laces, which wrapped around a pair of slender feet that stepped down elegantly. The woman stood still in her original position, seemingly bowing to Mr. Li, and said in a soft, pleasant voice, "Thank you, Mr. Li."

  Mr. Li seemed to be taken aback, let out a soft sigh, and then composed himself, saying sincerely: "It's my good fortune to be able to offer some slight assistance to the esteemed Moon family. Please, this way." He led the woman into the inn.

  Led by Qin Wu'an, the head of the escort agency, everyone else swarmed into the house. However, two or three runners stayed behind to take care of the horses, arrange the carriages, and attend to other miscellaneous tasks, bustling about for half a day before finally settling everything and dispersing to their respective rooms.

  Yang Zhao listened intently for a while, until he was sure that there were no more people moving outside. Only then did he quietly crawl out from under the horse carriage. After all the commotion, the sun had already set completely, and the moon had crept up onto the night sky. With the help of a ray of light shining down from the skylight on the roof, Yang Zhao was able to see his surroundings clearly. It turned out that they were in a large warehouse. The two horse carriages were arranged side by side, with shiny marks on the carriage shafts, as if some kind of symbol had been painted on them with gold paint. Young Master Wang's curiosity got the better of him, and he went over to take a closer look. It turned out that it was a pattern featuring a tiger at the bottom, with the character "Li" written above it.

  Yang Zhaowei was shocked. It turned out that the tiger and Li character pattern were actually the family crest of the current Tang Dynasty's Duke Li Yuan's family. The Li family claimed that their ancestors were Taoist immortals, but they actually rose to prominence three generations ago. At that time, the Tuoba clan's Northern Wei split into two halves, east and west. Western Wei established a country with eight senior generals. The first one was called Li Hu, who was Li Yuan's grandfather. Therefore, from then on, the Li family used the tiger pattern as their emblem to show respect for their ancestors.

  It turns out that the current head of the Li family, Li Yuan's mother, also surnamed Dugu, is actually the sister of Yang Zhaozu's grandmother, Empress Dugu. When Yang Guang meets Li Yuan in private, he still has to call him "cousin". The person who just got off the carriage wearing small leather boots doesn't sound too old, but shouldn't be younger than Li Yuan's eldest son, Li Jiancheng either. He should be a relative of Li Yuan's generation (Li Hu had eight sons). If Yang Zhao meets him, she might have to call him "uncle". If we go out to find him now...

  The idea had just emerged, and Yang Zhao shook his head with a bitter smile, extinguishing it. Comparing hearts, when one is walking on the right path, suddenly a poor beggar who can't even afford pants comes out and says I'm your relative, please help me out in times of need. Joking, who would believe that? Don't think about these useless things, the top priority is to find a way to get some clothes to cover up as soon as possible.

  Yang Zhao pushed the carriage door open a small gap, and looked inside. The interior decoration was unexpectedly simple, and it was empty, with no luggage at all. Yang Zhao couldn't help but feel greatly disappointed, but in an instant, he turned his gaze to the carpet laid on the floor of the carriage. As they say, when there's no fish, meat is also good. Little Prince Wang sighed, and casually grabbed the carpet, tearing it lightly into two halves. One half was wrapped around his waist, and the other half was draped over his shoulders. Although it still looked strange and not quite decent, it was much better than running naked.

  After taking care of his face, it's time to take care of his stomach. Speaking of martial arts, Yang Zhao is now a second-rate master, but he is still far from the state of being able to absorb wind and dew, and not eating at all. In recent days, he has been running around in the mountains and forests, living on wild fruits, and his mouth is really dry and cracked. Moreover, wild fruits are not easy to find. He didn't dare to take risks and eat wild mushrooms, so from yesterday noon until now, except for a few sips of water, he hasn't eaten anything, and he's already starving.

  At this moment, it was just dinner time outside. The aroma in the kitchen wafted out, making Yang Zhao's mouth water uncontrollably. Finally able to stop running naked, he felt great, and with his stomach growling, he didn't think much and turned towards the main door of the warehouse. Just as he was about to reach out and pull the door open, suddenly, the door creaked open from the outside. As the light shone in, a young girl, only 13 or 14 years old, dressed in yellow clothes, stood at the entrance, holding an oil lamp.

  It happened suddenly, and neither of them expected to run into each other. For a moment, they stared at each other in surprise. Under the lamplight, Yang Zhao was only wearing two tattered pieces of cloth, his hair and beard disheveled, looking as if he had carved "I am a bad guy" on his forehead. The little maid was frightened and instinctively let out a loud cry: "Thief! Someone come quickly!"

  A shrill cry immediately spread far and wide in the guest house, estimated to be at least 90 decibels or more. Yang Zhao was shocked by her, his ears buzzing, and after all, he had a guilty conscience, so he didn't bother to explain, using his lightness skill to brush past the little maid, rushing out into the night. Just as he ran a few yards, he suddenly heard someone shouting in a low voice: "Where is the thief?" Immediately afterwards, the sound of breaking wind was loud, and a flash of silver light flew from the side, with great momentum, almost piercing Yang Zhao through!

  ——————

  Firstly, when watching cartoons, the protagonist's incredibly powerful martial arts skills would never damage their clothes, or even if they did get damaged, at least their pants would still be intact. This is extremely unreasonable. As a member of the "Reasonable Party", I just can't tolerate this kind of "nonsense".

  Secondly, Da Qin Wu An Jun, Jing Shui Hu Li and Tuo Ba Ye, the three dragon set parties, come on stage... You will die miserably later, I'll show you then...