Accidentally dressed as an empress

Yunxiu fell asleep holding Zhong Yi in her arms. When she woke up in the morning, she found herself in his arms, being held carefully by him.

Although Yunxiu wanted him to sleep a little longer, she still gently woke him up.

The group continued to move forward in the direction Yunxiu pointed.

As the sun sets, the soft afterglow fills every corner of the mountain, shining with golden light, and contrasts with the clusters of orange flames emerging from the cracks in the uneven rocks on the ground.

When Yunxiu and others were walking on this road, the panicked horses stopped and were unwilling to move forward.

Yunxiu ordered the horses' eyes to be covered with black cloth and led along so that they would not be affected by the flames on the ground.

This is truly a strange place, as if it has been favored by the God of Fire. The earth seems to have been given life by the God of Fire. From time to time, blazing flames burst out from the ground, as if there is a fire dragon hidden in the earth's veins, ready to take off at any time.

Yunxiu was shocked when she saw this scene, and secretly admired the wonders of nature.

There must be rich natural gas deposits in the underground rock strata in this area.

Zhong Yi was extremely surprised by this strange sight and asked Yun Xiu beside him, "My dear wife, why are there flames here?"

Yunxiu smiled and said, "This place is located halfway up the mountain. The mountain is rich in natural gas resources. They are constantly leaking out from the cracks in the rocks, and when they encounter fire, they ignite, which is why this spectacle exists."

Zhong Yi's curiosity grew after hearing this, and he asked, "Natural gas, what is that?"

Yunxiu patiently explained, "Natural gas is actually a colorless and odorless gas that burns when exposed to fire. It can be used as fuel and is a gift from nature."

Zhong Yi's eyes sparkled. "Fire is constantly coming out of the ground. Doesn't that mean natural gas is inexhaustible?"

"Almost, you could say so," Yunxiu replied. It's just a shame that with current technology, there's no way to extract natural gas.

Yunxiu looked quietly at the scene in front of her. The ground was covered with blazing flames. These were natural fires. They used local materials and could save a lot of fire starters.

Yunxiu held Zhong Yi's waist tightly, then raised her head slightly and said to Su Da calmly, "It's just right, this place looks quite suitable, let's set up camp here."

Zhong Yi frowned and said with some concern: "Although there is fire here, the surrounding environment is unknown. Is there any hidden danger?"

Yun Xiu waved her hand gently and said calmly, "Don't worry too much. This flame can dispel some dangers in the dark. Besides, the guards are here. If there is any situation, they can respond in time."

Zhong Yi listened to Yun Xiu's words, thought for a moment, and nodded, "My wife is very thoughtful."

Su Da methodically directed the guards to move the grill and pot out of the carriage.

However, just as everyone was busy preparing to set up camp, a man in tattered linen clothes suddenly walked out from the side, and the man's figure seemed a little erratic in the light of the fire.

Seeing this, Yunxiu was about to step forward to negotiate with the man, but before she could take a step, the man retreated like a frightened rabbit and soon disappeared into the darkness.

Yunxiu frowned, thinking that the patrolling villager was probably going to give a tip-off.

Her eyes grew sharp, and she stood quietly there, waiting for them to come with more people.

After waiting for a long time, there was no sign of anyone else appearing except the crackling sound of the burning flames and the light breathing of the crowd.

Su Da was getting a little impatient. She walked over to Yun Xiu and whispered, "Could it be that I guessed wrong? That was just an ordinary villager who was scared away by us uninvited guests."

Yunxiu shook her head, her eyes still fixed on the direction the man had disappeared. "No, judging by his furtive appearance and quick departure, there must be something fishy going on. Let's wait and see. We must not take it lightly."

After a while, a noisy sound of footsteps could be heard from afar. Yunxiu's lips curled up slightly, "Here they come, everyone get ready."

The guards immediately stopped what they were doing and formed a semicircle, protecting Yunxiu, Zhong Yi, Zhou Jing and Lin Ziqi in the middle, with their hands on the hilts of their swords, ready for battle.

I saw a group of people gradually walking out from the darkness, led by a big man with a full beard.

The big man's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised high, and he glared at them, shouting, "Who are you? How dare you set up camp on our territory!"

As he spoke, he waved the stick in his hand, the flesh on his face shaking constantly, and he looked very aggressive.

Yunxiu calmly stepped out from among the guards, a relaxed smile on her face. She looked at the big man calmly and said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone, "We are just travelers passing through. We saw the fire here and thought it would be safer, so we wanted to stay here for the night. No offense intended."

The big man looked at Yunxiu and the others suspiciously. His eyes kept scanning everyone. He then looked at the well-trained guards around them and frowned. "Hmph, I'm afraid you have bad intentions. Who knows if you're coming for us?"

Yunxiu tilted her head slightly, the smile on her face growing even wider. "We just want to stay for one night and will leave early tomorrow morning. If we've disturbed you, we can compensate you."

However, the big man suddenly jumped up, roared, and attacked Yunxiu with a stick in his hand.

Yunxiu's eyes instantly became sharp. She tapped the ground with her toes and her body lightly flashed backwards. The stick fell to the ground with a whistling sound.

The big man missed the first attack and became even more angry, so he swept forward again.

Yunxiu did not retreat but advanced. She dodged the sweeping stick by leaning sideways, and took advantage of the momentum to move forward, her palm like a knife, slashing towards the big man's wrist.

The big man quickly put down his stick, and Yunxiu immediately spun around and kicked the big man in the abdomen.

The big man staggered back a few steps, steadied himself, and then rushed forward like mad, raining down sticks on Yunxiu.

Yunxiu dodged left and right, moving through the gaps between the sticks. She spotted an opening, grabbed the stick with both hands, and pulled it hard. The big man staggered, and Yunxiu took advantage of the situation and hit him in the chest. The big man groaned and fell to the ground.

After Yunxiu kicked the big man in the abdomen, his originally red face turned pale in an instant, and his facial features twisted in pain.

His mouth was wide open, as if he wanted to shout, but because of the severe pain, he couldn't make a complete sound. Only a low "woooo" sound squeezed out from the depths of his throat.

His eyes were wide open, as if his eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets. Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead and slid down his cheeks. They were cold sweat caused by the pain.

His eyebrows were twisted into a ball, and the flesh on his face trembled. His expression was filled with shock and disbelief. It seemed that he had never expected that Yunxiu had such sharp skills and could deal him such a heavy blow under his fierce attack.

Suddenly, more than ten or twenty villagers in sackcloth clothes surrounded the bearded men. "You bandits! Robbers!"

The villagers all had their eyes wide open and were waving simple farm tools, such as hoes and sickles, as weapons.

Their faces were filled with resentment, as if they had a deep hatred for these bearded men.

One of the old villagers, with gray hair, pointed at the big man on the ground with a trembling finger and said sternly, "You have been doing evil things in this area all day, stealing our food and hurting our relatives. Today, we can't let you get away again!"

The big man lay on the ground, clutching his stomach, trying to endure the pain. He said viciously, "How dare you, you unruly people, attack us? When our boss gets here, you'll be in big trouble!"

Yunxiu and others watched this scene quietly from the side, wondering about the origins of these people.

At this moment, Su Da quietly approached Yun Xiu and whispered, "Master, less trouble is worse than more. Should we retreat?"

Yunxiu pondered for a moment and said, "Let's wait and see." Yunxiu's eyes swept back and forth between these villagers and the big man and others.

The old villager said, "My friend, you helped us fight off the bandits, so you are now a friend of our village. Come and rest in our village."

Yunxiu didn't refuse and nodded, "Okay."

When the villagers took Yunxiu and others to the village entrance, they saw that the village entrance was surrounded by people. The villagers in this village were all holding fruits and vegetables, standing outside to welcome the strange guests.

The moment Yunxiu and Zhong Yi stepped into Dihuo Village, they were surrounded by enthusiastic villagers.

"Welcome to Dihuo Village!" The villagers greeted them warmly and handed fruits to Yunxiu and Zhong Yi.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Yunxiu responded with a smile and took the fruit.

"You're welcome." The villagers' simple faces were filled with warm smiles.

The people here are very hospitable.

"Welcome to Dihuo Village. I am the village chief." An elder came over and introduced himself.

"Hello, village chief. We are a caravan traveling for business. We are very happy to be here." Yunxiu said with a smile.