Chapter 49

As soon as they left the city of Chang'an, the outside world immediately turned into a white expanse, with the snow-covered landscape and the mountains draped in a white cloak, blinding the eyes.

The road to Lantian was long buried under the snow. If it weren't for the hoof prints left by the horses in the snow, it would be hard to find the right direction.

The north wind raged, and the bone-chilling cold was like a series of small knives cutting through the gaps in their clothing, piercing into their bodies. In such cold, even thick cotton robes were useless.

Zhao Chen curled up in the sled, wrapped tightly in tiger skins from head to toe. The four bodyguards sent by Old Qin were also wrapped in multiple layers, looking a bit awkward but much better off than the others.

In contrast, the others were already frozen to the point of having blue faces, huddled on their horses, trying to keep their shoulders warm, with their breath forming ice on their beards and hair.

Wei Hui seemed to be frozen stiff, his head hanging limply on his chest, wrapped in a large cloak, swaying with the horse, as if he might fall off at any moment.

Through the gaps in the tiger skins, Zhao Chen saw Wei Hui's miserable state and couldn't help but sigh. He really couldn't understand why Wei Hui was doing this to himself. Why leave the comfort of Chang'an to suffer in this icy and snowy place, making him suffer as well?

However, he had no intention of letting the old man onto the sled. This old rascal had caused trouble for himself and others; if he didn't suffer more, who knows what other mischief he might cause next!

Despite this, Zhao Chen still admired Wei Hui. If it were Old Qin or any other general, they would have squeezed onto the sled long ago. But Wei Hui never even glanced at the sled.

Zhao Chen felt that if Wei Hui had asked to get on the sled, he would have readily agreed. Unfortunately, Wei Hui never asked, so he didn't bring it up either.

He pulled the tiger skins tighter, yawned, and thought about the long night of drinking with Cheng Chumo. He hadn't slept well and decided to doze off for a bit as they still had a long way to Lantian.

In the white expanse, over two hundred people struggled forward against the wind. From a distance, they looked like a few drops of ink on a large piece of paper, appearing so small.

"Little Lord! Little Lord!"

Half-asleep, Zhao Chen heard Qin Ming calling him repeatedly. He opened his eyes, still groggy, and saw Qin Ming's bearded face, with ice on his stubble.

As soon as Qin Ming saw Zhao Chen awake, he grinned, but the smell of alcohol from his breath made Zhao Chen wrinkle his nose.

Before they set out, Zhao Chen had given each of the four men a bag of strong liquor to keep them warm on the journey. Now, smelling the intense alcohol on Qin Ming, Zhao Chen suspected that his bag might be empty.

The sled had stopped, and Zhao Chen thought they had reached Lantian. But when he poked his head out of the warm, tightly wrapped space, he saw they were still in the open countryside, surrounded by a snowy landscape.

"Why did we stop?" Zhao Chen asked Qin Ming, puzzled.

"Um!" Qin Ming looked a bit awkward and said, "Can Wei Zhanji squeeze in with the Little Lord?"

Wei Zhanji? Zhao Chen was startled. From Qin Ming's tone, it seemed something had happened to Wei Hui. Was he frozen stiff?

Just as he was about to ask, he saw Wei Hui being supported by two soldiers, his face blue, ice on his beard and hair, and his legs dragging on the ground, clearly numb from the cold.

Zhao Chen was alarmed and quickly got off the sled with Qin Ming's help, hurriedly helping Wei Hui onto the sled and lying him down.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Wei Hui was as cold as a block of ice, his limbs stiff. Zhao Chen quickly wrapped him in tiger skins, turned up the heat of the warm stove, and placed it in Wei Hui's arms. Then he turned to Qin Ming and scolded him.

"It... it was Wei... who didn't... want them to say it!" Wei Hui, wrapped tightly in tiger skins, struggled to stick his head out and stammered when he heard Zhao Chen blame Qin Ming.

"Yes, Little Lord!" Qin Ming continued, "I wanted to wake you up earlier, but Wei Zhanji insisted on stopping me. Even just now, when I tried to wake you, he stopped me!"

"Mr. Wei, that was wrong of you!" Zhao Chen was also annoyed. Clearly, Wei Hui couldn't bear the cold but still insisted on maintaining his dignity. Was his face more important than his life?

Zhao Chen scolded him harshly, "I'm young and don't know better, but how old are you? Why are you acting like a child, putting on airs in front of me!"

Wei Hui's face turned red with embarrassment, a flash of anger in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately sighed and closed it.

The sled was now too crowded. Originally, it could fit two people, but with Wei Hui on it, Zhao Chen had no space left.

Zhao Chen looked at Wei Hui's horse in the distance, feeling frustrated and not knowing who to blame. He wanted to scold Wei Hui but couldn't bring himself to do it when he saw how miserable Wei Hui looked.

"Little Lord, shall I help you onto your horse?" Qin Ming looked guilty. He was sent by the family to take care of Zhao Chen, but now he had made Zhao Chen suffer by not having a place on the sled.

Zhao Chen sighed, nodded, and walked to Wei Hui's horse. With Qin Ming's help, he climbed onto the horse and sat down. The group then continued their journey to Lantian.

Cold! Bone-chilling cold!

Lying on the sled, wrapped in tiger and bear skins, Zhao Chen hadn't felt the cold much. But now, riding on the horse, facing the biting north wind, he felt his blood freeze and his face sting from the cold.

"How... much further?" Zhao Chen leaned forward on the horse, shivering, and asked Qin Ming, who was riding beside him.

"Almost there, Little Lord! Just a bit more, and we'll see Lantian!" Qin Ming leaned closer to Zhao Chen, pulled out a wine bag from his chest, and offered it to him, "Little Lord, have a drink to warm up!"

"Un... unscrew it!" Zhao Chen struggled to sit up and shivered as he spoke. When Qin Ming unscrewed the wine bag, Zhao Chen took a big gulp of the strong liquor.

"Cough!" The strong liquor made Zhao Chen cough. It was a genuine, fiery liquor, sharp and pungent.

The liquor quickly warmed his stomach, and soon, the frozen blood in his body, stimulated by the alcohol, regained its vitality.

The two hundred soldiers sent by Li Er, seeing Zhao Chen's miserable state, didn't look down on him but rather admired him more.

These men were seasoned warriors, with simple minds. Initially, they had looked down on Zhao Chen for being comfortable in the sled. But now, seeing him give up the sled for Wei Hui and suffer alongside them, Zhao Chen's image grew in their eyes.

"Little Lord, we're here!" After what seemed like an eternity, Zhao Chen heard Qin Ming's voice, like a heavenly sound, as he felt he was about to turn into an ice sculpture.

He quickly straightened up on the horse and saw a dilapidated city in the white expanse, sitting on the snowy plain, blocking their path.

"Let's go, let's go!" Seeing the city, Zhao Chen came alive, urging his horse forward.

Qin Ming responded eagerly, took the reins of Zhao Chen's horse, and spurred it forward, racing towards Lantian.

Actually, no one needed Zhao Chen's urging. Upon seeing Lantian, everyone spurred their horses, galloping towards the city.

The horses neighed, their hooves flying in the snow, and the wind whistled in their ears, stinging their faces. But at this moment, they only thought of reaching the city as quickly as possible.

The city grew closer, and the broken walls became visible. The city, built in the late Sui dynasty, had been ravaged by war and was now in ruins.

However, as they got closer, Zhao Chen and the others' faces grew serious. They saw a crowd of people, men, women, and children, gathered at the city gates, pleading to enter. The city gates were tightly closed, and no matter how much the people pleaded, there was no sign of them opening.

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