Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 351 Thunder strikes from the sky
"Even if others don't know this, Xiao Baoyin must know it. He will definitely tell Xiao Zong not to be reckless." Song Jingxiu continued on the galloping horse:
"Besides, Xiao Zong has a treasure hidden on him. I don't think he will act rashly. He will definitely try to get to Hulao Pass as stealthily as possible."

"That makes sense." Yu Tianmin nodded.
"Xiao Baoyin is a demigod, but he has to be so careful?" Chen Baxian couldn't help asking.

"That's not the case. Only demigods can contend against demigods. Current intelligence shows that there are only two demigods left in the rebel army, Ge Rong and Du Luozhou, and the rest have been killed by government troops. The two have recently turned against each other and will not join forces again. Even if Xiao Baoyin can't do anything to Du Luozhou, he can come and go freely." Song Jingxiu replied.

"Then he will most likely come to pick up Xiao Zong... Even if not for Xiao Zong, he has to make this trip for the jade seal, right?" Yu Tianmin frowned.

"That makes sense." Everyone gasped. If Xiao Baoyin came, they would not be able to take back the jade seal, and their lives would be in danger.

"It doesn't matter. General Chen said that he will deal with Xiao Baoyin." Ren Yuan said in a deep voice: "I believe Xiao Baoyin also understands this, so he will not take action personally until the last moment."

"We feel relieved now that General Chen said that." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

He put aside his worries about Xiao Baoyin and began to plan how to hide his identity and catch up with Xiao Zong and his group as soon as possible.

~~
The next day, the pursuit team crossed the Huai River.

The Huai River is also the natural dividing line between the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Although the Northern Dynasty is currently in civil strife and the Southern Dynasty is strong, as long as the Northern Dynasty does not lose Shouyang and Pengcheng, even if the Southern Dynasty army crosses the Huai River, it can only plunder at most and then have to retreat.

However, if Yuan Faseng did this, Xuzhou would most likely fall into the hands of the Southern Dynasty, and the Northern Dynasty would be wide open, allowing the Liang army to come and go as they please. No wonder the Northern Dynasty was so angry that it decided to dispatch the army fighting Ge Rong in Shandong to the south to quell the rebellion, regardless of the corruption in the country.

But at least for the pursuit team, the approaching army was not a bad thing. Yuan Faseng was frightened and withdrew his troops into the city. Ren Yuan and his party moved quickly, and as a result, they passed through Xuzhou without even a fight.

The rebels' territory is ahead... well, the rebels' territory is behind me too. Now the entire Northern Dynasty is a paradise for all kinds of rebels, so it's no wonder that an old monk like Yuan Faseng wants to follow the trend and start a rebellion.

~~
The deeper the team went into the north, the more shocking the scene became. They were in the fertile land of the Central Plains, and it was the spring farming season with lush grass and singing birds, but they didn't see a single civilian along the way.

Wild grass grew in the farmlands, and only ruins remained in the villages. No crowing of chickens or barking of dogs could be heard within a hundred miles. The only things that could be seen were crows and vultures everywhere, pecking at the corpses lying in the grass.

Ren Yuan couldn't remember how many villages he had seen that had been looted along the way.

Since the rebels moved south, they have been burning, killing and looting everywhere, destroying the last bit of vitality of the Northern Dynasty.

This reminded Ren Yuan of the locust plague in Xiejia Village, except that the rebels' 'big locusts' ate people...

Ren Yuan didn't want to confront the brutal rebels, so he ordered his men to rest during the day and travel at night. He carefully avoided the rebels who were robbing everywhere, and followed the traces left by Xiao Zong and his party.

They passed through towns where rebels were stationed one after another, and dealt with waves of rebel interrogations and harassment. Of course, they suffered a lot, but they didn't dare to bleed a lot. Everyone knows that wealth should not be shown off. It would be troublesome if the rebels saw the wealth and got greedy.

In this way, we arrived in Yucheng a few days later.

~~
On the other side, Xiao Zong and his group were just like Ren Yuan and his group, being very cautious along the way and not wanting to cause any trouble.

But the difference is that they had done their homework beforehand and claimed that they were fleeing from Pengcheng and going to seek refuge with Feng Tietou, a general under Du Luozhou.

When the rebels heard that they were Feng Tietou's family, they became more wary. In addition, they looked very difficult to deal with, so they were able to travel unimpeded and advanced more than 200 miles safely. However, everything has its pros and cons. When passing through Yucheng that day, Xiao Zong and his party were stopped. No matter how much they tried to persuade them, the defenders would not let them enter the city.

"Why?!" the red-bearded old man asked indignantly at the foot of the city.

"Because you are Feng Tietou's men, our general cannot coexist with him!" The soldiers on the top of the city shouted, "Leave quickly if you know what's best for you, or you'll be killed in vain!"

"..." The red-bearded old man was suddenly speechless. How could he have imagined that there were so many conflicts within the rebel army?

Well, this time I shot myself in the foot.

"If I had known earlier, I would have said that I came here to seek refuge with Du Luozhou." Someone whispered.

"Nonsense." But his companion denied it: "Even if the identity is fake, you can't make it up, otherwise it will be exposed."

"Yes, Feng Tietou is really my cousin." A retainer named Ma under Xiao Zong said, "Du Luozhou has nothing to do with me."

"Forget it." Xiao Zong looked at the dark clouds in the sky and the smell of rain in the air. He didn't want to argue any more and ordered, "Let's stay outside the city for one night and then find a way to change our identities and pass the customs."

In fact, it means to bribe the other party to turn a blind eye.

"This is the only way." The subordinates nodded in response, and then surrounded the prince and retreated to an abandoned fort outside the city.

The old man with a red beard went to think of a way to arrange the route, while the others simply tidied up the main hall and assisted Zu Geng in setting up the teleportation array. Then they cut down the doors and windows to make a fire, and took out some dry food to heat up to fill their stomachs.

Xiao Zong sat by the fire, looking at the dancing flames, listening to the crackling sound of raindrops outside, and humming a little tune with enjoyment.

"Your Highness is in a good mood." The Mermaid handed him the baked pancake.

"Hmm." Xiao Zong took it with a smile, took a bite of the hard and dry pancake, and felt like he was eating delicacies from the land and the sea. He took a deep breath of the unpleasant air and said, "This is the breath of freedom."

"What do you mean?" Jiao Xiaonu was puzzled. "Wasn't the prince also free when he was in the Southern Dynasty?"

"No, I was a prisoner in the south. I could only recognize the thief as my father and live with someone else's identity. Every day was just acting." Xiao Zong shook his head and said seriously: "It's different now. Although I'm not a prince anymore, I can walk in the world with my own identity."

"No, there is one last thing I haven't given up, and that's my name!" After a pause, he suddenly raised his voice and said, "I've decided that from now on I will no longer use the name Xiao Yan gave me. I want to return to my roots and call myself by my own name!"

"What's the prince's name?" Jiao Xiaonu blinked curiously.

"Xiao Zan, courtesy name Dewen!" Xiao Zong said the name he had already chosen.

Before he could finish his words, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, destroying the entire hall!
(End of this chapter)