Chapter 123: Do You Know How Far It Is From Here to Yun City?

Mo Jinnan wanted to chase after her, but Xiang Xinyao’s voice came from ahead.

“Mr. Mo, please take good care of my family.”

“Alright.” Mo Jinnan had no choice but to agree, leading the guards and the Xiang family down the mountain via a different path.

“Yao’er, be careful!”

“Take care, Yao’er!”

Behind them, Xiang Xinyao’s family urgently called out their reminders.

“Don’t worry! I’ll meet you on the main road soon,” she shouted back.

After riding for a while and confirming that no one could see her, Xiang Xinyao sent her horse into the space and began running downhill.

When there were no paths, she dove directly into the forest, guessing the direction towards the main road.

The snow kept falling relentlessly, and Mo Jinnan and his group could barely make any progress.

At this moment, Mo Jinnan regretted his decision. Had he known the snow would be so heavy, he wouldn’t have suggested taking the mountain road.

If everyone got stuck in the mountains, the consequences would be dire.

Xiang Xinyao didn’t dare to delay, spending over half an hour running down the mountain before finally finding a small path that led to the main road.

The snowstorm raged on, and there were no signs of anyone on the main road.

Xiang Xinyao concentrated and summoned horses and three carts from the space. She also took out two ropes.

She tied the three carts together with the ropes, hitched them to the horses, and led them to a large, thick tree to wait.

Though Yun City wasn’t too far from here, it would be impossible to make the round trip quickly.

How could she explain her speedy return to her family?

After thinking for a while, she still couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation.

However, it seemed like the heavens were helping her. She waited and waited, but Mo Jinnan’s group still hadn’t arrived at the main road.

She started to worry. Could something have happened to them?

She looked around, but there was nowhere nearby to shelter from the heavy snow.

The only place she could get a little cover was under the thick tree.

Though it wasn’t the cold from the snow itself but from the melting snow that made the air bitterly cold, the temperature was still unbearable.

Afraid that her horses would freeze, she hurriedly took out some spiritual spring water and mixed it with cornmeal to feed the horses.

The horses shook off the snow from their fur and looked up at her.

Xiang Xinyao gently patted the horse’s head, mixed more cornmeal, and made little lumps to feed the horse.

After waiting for a while, Mo Jinnan and his group still hadn’t shown up.

Xiang Xinyao grew anxious. Could something really have gone wrong?

She untied the reins, planning to return the horses and carts to the space and go find Mo Jinnan when, in the distance, she heard the sound of hooves.

Quickly, she pulled her horse into the middle of the road and jumped onto the cart, urging it forward.

The sound of hooves grew louder. It was indeed Mo Jinnan and Xiang Yanlin riding towards her.

When they saw Xiang Xinyao, both of them froze.

How could she have arrived so quickly?

Xiang Yanlin exaggeratedly said, “Sister, did you fly to Yun City? How could you move so fast?”

Xiang Xinyao gave him a mysterious smile. “Guess.”

“I can’t guess. You have to tell me,” he replied.

“Hehe, I took a shortcut. Look at my horse, it’s steaming from the heat,” Xiang Xinyao said with a grin.

Mo Jinnan and Xiang Yanlin looked at the horse, which was indeed emitting steam, still finding it unbelievable.

The journey down the mountain wasn’t easy for them. It had taken over an hour just to get to the foot of the mountain, and then another half hour to get onto the main road.

Yet, within this short time, Xiang Xinyao had managed to descend the mountain, go to Yun City for the cart, and return?

By any calculation, it was impossible to complete such a round trip so quickly.

But the carts had clearly appeared before them, so whether they believed it or not, they had to accept it.

Moreover, the horses were indeed steaming, which further added credibility to Xiang Xinyao’s claim.

Mo Jinnan and Xiang Yanlin quickly dismounted their horses, untied the two carts from the back and hitched them to the two horses they had ridden.

Xiang Xinyao secretly sighed in relief. She hadn’t expected that by feeding the horses some spiritual spring water to prevent them from freezing, it would result in such an effect.

A lucky coincidence!

Ah, I’m so clever!

Hehe…

When the three carts reached the side of Xiang Taifu and his family, they had been shivering from the cold for a while.

Although their clothes had been dried by Mo Jinnan and his companions using their internal energy, standing out in the snow for so long, it was no wonder they were still cold.

When the carts stopped, Xiang Xinyao looked at her shivering parents and sister, and the corners of her mouth twitched.

There wasn’t a brazier in the space, and the next town was the closest place to get one.

This wretched weather would be unbearable without a brazier in the cart.

After getting into the cart, Xiang Xinyao quickly wrapped her parents and sister in blankets.

Only then did they feel a little better, at least their teeth stopped chattering.

Xiang Xinyao called Mo Jinnan and the three brothers over, then reached into her sleeve and pulled out a few packets of sleeping powder from the space.

“Take these with you. If you run into any assassins, just sprinkle the powder. I want to see how tough these assassins really are.”

Mo Jinnan raised an eyebrow and asked, “What is this?”

“It’s a strong sleeping powder. Hehe, I used this when I went up the mountain to hunt wild boars.”

Mo Jinnan shot Xiang Xinyao a somewhat reproachful glance. “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? If I’d known you had such a powerful sleeping powder, I wouldn’t have suggested taking the mountain road.”

“Isn’t it because you said the mountain road would get us to Bianjing faster? Is it my fault?”

“True, it would’ve been faster to reach Bianjing, but your father, mother, and sister don’t know martial arts. If they took the mountain road, they’d suffer even more.”

Xiang Xinyao rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, every advantage comes with a disadvantage. Put the powder away and let’s hurry up. If we end up sleeping outside tonight, it’ll be a real trouble.”

The group quickly boarded the cart, and the guards urged the horses to continue their journey through the snow.

In another cart, the three Xiang brothers were chewing on dried meat, still discussing how unbelievable it was that Xiang Xinyao had managed to return so quickly to get the carts.

All three of them felt like they were dreaming. They couldn’t figure out how Xiang Xinyao had done it.

If there really were a shortcut, they didn’t know about it, and Mo Jinnan certainly wouldn’t either.

They had already spent the whole day traveling, yet Xiang Xinyao had managed to go to Yun City, retrieve the carts, and return in just two hours.

And that was for a round trip!

What a wasted day!

This question also puzzled Mo Jinnan, who was sitting in the same cart as Xiang Xinyao.

He had been racking his brain but still couldn’t make sense of it.

Finally, unable to figure it out, Mo Jinnan spoke up. “Xinyao, do you know how far it is from here to Yun City?”

Xiang Xinyao, who had been nibbling on some dried meat, froze for a moment. She silently cursed Mo Jinnan for asking so many questions.

How would she know how far it was to Yun City?

Xiang Xinyao blinked, smiling awkwardly. “Actually, I didn’t go back to Yun City.”

“Then what about this cart…?” Mo Jinnan asked, puzzled.

Without skipping a beat, Xiang Xinyao lied smoothly, her face not flushing in the least. “I had someone deliver it to me. Yesterday morning, I sensed the weather was about to change, but wasn’t sure. So just in case, I spent some money to have them send the cart to Beiling City.”