Chapter 24 First Encounter

  The sky is overcast and gloomy, with cold winds howling.

  The further north you go, the colder it gets.

  The sky is overcast with dark clouds, looking like another storm is approaching.

  On the empty official road, a horse carriage was galloping forward at high speed. The coachman was a dark-faced big man, wearing a black cloak on his upper body, holding a whip in his hand, and constantly shouting to urge the horse pulling the carriage to accelerate its running. His face showed a hint of fatigue.

  "Master, this weather looks like it's going to rain, let's find a place to take shelter!"

  The burly man with a dark face, who was driving the horse-drawn carriage, looked up at the gloomy sky and then quickly turned his head around to glance at the curtain hanging on the carriage door, saying in a soft voice.

  "Lao Pei, let's calculate the time, we should be arriving at Yingchuan soon, right?"

  The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a young man with a handsome face revealed half of his body. This young man was Wang Can, who was on his way to Luoyang to seek office. At this time, Wang Can wore a blue long gown, with a wooden hairpin inserted in his hair knot, his eyebrows were like swords, and his bright eyes shone brightly. His high nose bridge was straight and powerful, his lips were thin, and his square face was handsome and elegant, giving people a feeling of freshness and elegance, yet still retaining the masculine vigor. Wang Can looked around at the surroundings and said: "This place is desolate and uninhabited, it's probably quite difficult to find a place to settle down!"

  The old Pei in Wang Can's mouth was naturally Pei Yuanshao.

  He went to Luoyang with Wang Can and was in charge of Wang Can's safety.

  Wang Can went to Luoyang to seek office, bringing only Pei Yuanshao with him. Zhou Cang and Lü Meng, among others, were left behind in Runan City.

  Although the Yellow Turbans in Runan City supported Wang Can, they also feared him. When Wang Can left Runan City for Luoyang, he couldn't let Runan City fall into danger, so he left Zhou Cang, Liu Cheng and Dong Fang to guard Runan City, to prevent accidents. This was not only to intimidate some people in Runan City who had ulterior motives but also to prevent the government troops from attacking the city.

  "Master, this is indeed within the borders of Yingchuan. With half a day's journey, we will arrive at the city of Yingchuan Prefecture. Although the road we are taking now has few travelers and no signs of human habitation, I am extremely familiar with these places. Just ahead, there is an old and dilapidated Taoist temple where we can take shelter for the night and resume our journey early tomorrow morning."

  Wang Can nodded and said, "Old Pei, how are you so familiar with Yingchuan?"

  Pei Yuanshao said, "In the past when Da Xianliang started a rebellion, Yingchuan was one of the main battlefields. Both Zhou Heizi and I have spent some time in Yingchuan, so we are quite familiar with it."

  Wang Cai hummed and stopped talking, his body shrinking back into the carriage.

  The wheels creaked and the carriage sped along, the biting cold wind cut across his face like a knife, Pei Yuanshao was blown by the wind with narrowed eyes, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes, this damned weather, really is detestable.

  "Hoo~hoo~~~" The dark sky was pressing down, a strong wind started to blow, raising waves of dust.

  "Sand... sand...... sand........."

  A strong gust of wind blew by, stirring up countless grains of sand. Suddenly, Pei Yuanshao, who was galloping on horseback, felt a chill on his face.

  "It's raining!" Pei Yuanshao sighed inwardly, and before he could even reach his destination, a heavy downpour started. The raindrops were as big as beans, falling from the sky, and in an instant, a mist rose from the ground, splashing onto the earth. A wave of dusty air rushed towards him, shrouding everything in a haze. The massive fog obscured his view ahead, and Pei Yuanshao's clothes were already drenched by the rainwater. At this point, he couldn't care less about his wet clothes, constantly urging the horse to run faster.

  "Ah~~~~ It's finally here"

  Pei Yuanshao looked far away and saw a dilapidated Taoist temple standing by the roadside in the rain.

  The Taoist temple had long been in disrepair, with its mountain wall collapsed and almost a complete ruin, but it was still usable for taking shelter from the rain.

  Pei Yuanshao drove the carriage to the entrance of the Taoist temple, Wang Can got out of the carriage and ran quickly into the temple. After Wang Can got off the horse, Pei Yuanshao led the horse to a nearby thatched shed, prepared fodder for it, and then rushed into the temple to avoid the rain.

  "This place is really desolate and few people come here, spider webs are everywhere."

  Wang Cai muttered to himself, picked up a stick from the ground, and cleaned up the spider webs inside the Taoist temple. Pei Yuanshao walked in and helped Wang Cai clean the temple. The two of them spent more than half a day cleaning the main hall, and even found thick straw to spread on the floor as bedding.

  "Rustling sounds~~~"

  In the main hall, Pei Yuanshao took out a lighter and picked up some dry firewood from the Taoist temple, lit a bonfire, and instantly, a strand of bright red flames danced wildly on the fire heap.

  Wang Can rubbed his cold hands and moved closer to the bonfire, feeling the warmth emanating from it. He looked at Pei Yuanshao, who was shivering like a wet chicken, and said, "Old Pei, this weather is so cold that it's easy to catch a chill. Quickly take off those wet clothes and change into a new set."

  Pei Yuanshao hummed, changed into a new set of clothes, and hung the wet ones on a wooden rod to dry by the fire. After finishing these tasks, Pei Yuanshao took out some flatbread that he had prepared earlier from his bundle, handed some to Wang Can, then pulled out a jug of wine, chuckled, and began eating the flatbread while drinking the wine.

  Watching Pei Yuanshao eating pancakes and drinking wine, Wang Can felt a twinge of envy in his heart.

  Bai Yuanshao, a simple-minded person, lived a carefree life, but such thoughts were immediately suppressed by Wang Can. He had already embarked on a path of his own choice, with no room for retreat, and could only charge forward with all his might.

  Wang Cai took a big bite of his pancake and laughed: "Old Pei, you can't drink alone when there's wine, give me a sip!"

  Pei Yuanshao scratched his head and said, "I thought you didn't drink wine?"

  In fact, Wang Cang has been here for almost two months since he crossed over. He hasn't had a single drop of alcohol because Wang Cang hopes to keep his mind clear at all times.

  Wang Can took over the wine jug and smiled: "Although drinking is a mistake, it's okay to drink occasionally."

  Gulp, gulp, Wang Can raised the wine jug to his mouth and took several big gulps before handing it over to Pei Yuanshao. The strong liquor went down his throat, and suddenly a warm current rose from his belly, making him feel much warmer all over.

  "Wine, such fragrant wine!"

  Just as Wang Can was handing the wine jug to Pei Yuanshao, a slender and somewhat weak young man ran in. The young man's high nose twitched constantly, his bright eyes darting back and forth, sizing up Wang Can and Pei Yuanshao. The young man stared at the wine jug in Pei Yuanshao's hand, his body unconsciously moving towards him, his eyes shining with intense joy, as if he had seen a beautiful woman undressing.

  The young man smiled and walked over to sit down beside the bonfire.

  He reached out to brush away the wet hair on his forehead, his eyes fell on Pei Yuanshao, and he smiled: "It's so cold, this damn weather, it's actually pouring rain, eh, we're all drenched. Can I have a drink of wine to warm up my body?" The young man leaned closer to the fire pit, rubbed his hands together, and looked expectantly at Pei Yuanshao.

  Pei Yuanshao's heart skipped a beat, and he was extremely reluctant.

  He is also a lover of wine, but does not want to give his good things to young people.

  Wang Can sized up the young man in front of him, feeling a bit out of place. The young man gave him a very casual impression, as if they were old acquaintances, but the young man's eyes were clear and bright, with an unwavering gaze that exuded confidence. He spoke casually, but his tone was extremely comfortable to listen to.

  This young man is not bad!

  Wang Canshen evaluated it in his heart, nodded and looked at Pei Yuanshao: "Old Pei, meeting is fate, besides this brother's body is weak, if he catches a cold, it won't be good. You take out another jug of wine and bring some pancakes for him. Drinking on an empty stomach hurts the body, with these pancakes to drink, the harm to the body is not so great." After a pause, Wang Canshen said: "Also, take out a set of clean clothes from my luggage for him to change into."

  "Master, you?"

  Pei Yuanshao was taken aback, his eyes showing a puzzled expression. Isn't he just a sickly youth? Does he deserve to be treated so well? However, catching Wang Can's unfavourable gaze, Pei Yuanshao shrunk back and reluctantly took out another jug of wine and some flatbread from his bundle, handing them over to the young man. Then, he retrieved a set of clothes from Wang Can's bundle and handed it over to the young man, humming: "Consider yourself lucky, running into my young master."

  Wang Can saw Pei Yuanshao's expression and shook his head.

  No matter what identity the young man in front of him is, when going out, who can't have embarrassing moments, and whoever can help will help.