Martial Arts Crossover: It All Started with Hijacking Li Canghai

Cheng Ying stared blankly as Qin Han's figure disappeared from sight.

Seeing Cheng Ying's infatuated look, Ruan Xingzhu chuckled and teased, "What's wrong? My little niece, are you already reluctant to let your lover leave?"

Cheng Ying snapped out of her daze, her face flushed, and said reproachfully, "Auntie, you're teasing me. I didn't mean it..."

Her voice carried a girlish shyness, which softened the heart of Ruan Xingzhu, an experienced woman.

"Alright, alright, you didn't, you didn't, I must have been mistaken." Ruan Xingzhu smiled and took Cheng Ying's hand. The two of them walked together toward the carriage that was already waiting on the shore. "You must be tired after sitting on the boat for so long. Today, I'll accompany you back to the Ruan family home to welcome you back. Later, I'll send some capable guards to take you to the Lu family manor."

"Yes, I'll do whatever Auntie says." Cheng Ying nodded obediently, letting Ruan Xingzhu pull her into the carriage.

As the carriage curtain fell, Cheng Ying leaned back on the soft cushion, her mind still filled with the image of Qin Han's departing figure. Recalling their acquaintance, friendship, and eventual union, a sweet smile appeared on her face.

……

the other side.

After asking a local for directions to the Tianshan Mountains, Qin Han spurred his horse and rode straight towards the Tianshan Mountains.

Sichuan is located in the southwest, bordering the Liao and Jin dynasties. Further north lies the Tianshan Mountains, which stretch across the border between the Liao and Southern Song dynasties. The Tianshan Mountains are towering into the clouds and covered with snow all year round.

It was December, and winter was already near.

The further we went beyond the pass, the colder the weather became. Not long after leaving Sichuan, a few snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Qin Han was only dressed in a silk outfit, and although he was not afraid of the cold, he was now feeling somewhat annoyed.

"That was too hasty!" I couldn't help but mutter a complaint under my breath.

I had only casually asked about the general direction of the Tianshan Mountains in the Sichuan region before confidently setting off on my own.

They thought that once they left Chuanzhou, they could find Tianshan by heading northwest.

But reality is often far-fetched...

Once Qin Han left the prefectural city and entered the rolling Sichuan Basin, he realized how wrong he had been.

The terrain here is too complicated!

Main roads, side roads, forks in the road, mountain paths... crisscrossing, he plunged headlong into the seemingly similar woods, completely losing his sense of direction.

You might see a wide, straight road ahead, but as you walk, it turns into a narrow, winding path. You think you're on the right track, but after going around in circles, you find yourself back where you started.

As darkness gradually fell...

The snow was falling heavier and heavier. Only after realizing I was almost out of Sichuan and approaching the border did I belatedly realize I'd taken the wrong path!

"I'm lost?!?"

Qin Han was on the verge of tears, never expecting to be defeated by such a basic mistake as "getting lost".

Left with no other choice, he reined in his horse, turned it around, and prepared to return to Sichuan by the same route, thinking that he could still recognize the way back.

After returning, I decided to spend some money to hire a horse-drawn carriage and find a local who was familiar with the roads to be my guide.

The black steed beneath him snorted, exhaling a puff of hot air. They'd been running for most of the day before realizing they were going the wrong way. It was a good thing the horse couldn't talk; otherwise, it would have probably exchanged a few words with Qin Han…

The cold wind whipped up the withered leaves on the ground, and the snow gradually thickened.

Qin Han noticed that his horse was moving slowly. Looking up at the darkening sky, he felt even more helpless.

I never imagined that I would one day become directionally challenged.

Just as he was riding back, a rumbling sound reached his ears.

Qin Han's spirits lifted, and he looked back.

In the snow curtain to the northwest, a carriage came from the north, its rolling wheels leaving two clear ruts as it rolled over the thin layer of snow and damp ground.

"Finally, I can see living people!" Qin Han was overjoyed.

The horse beneath him looked rather tired. With his light-footed skills, he could still move swiftly, but he was afraid that his terrible sense of direction would flare up again, and he might not even be able to find his way back to Sichuan Prefecture by nightfall.

He flicked the reins, turned the horse around, and galloped towards the carriage, intending to stop it and ask the people inside if they were male or female and if they would mind giving him a ride back to Sichuan Prefecture.

They were getting closer and closer to the carriage.

Qin Han then saw clearly that the driver was a burly man with a thick beard, a robust build, and sharp eyes.

The coachman's eyes lit up when he saw Qin Han approaching alone on horseback.

"Who goes there?!"

The burly man with a thick beard shouted, his eyes fixed warily on Qin Han. In the dead of night in the desolate wilderness, the sudden appearance of such a young man would make anyone wary. He assumed that he had encountered some ignorant bandit again.

Qin Han reined in the reins, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Brother, please don't misunderstand, I am not a bad person."

He then turned his gaze to the carriage, "My name is Qin Han. I intended to travel to the Tianshan Mountains beyond the Great Wall, but I am unfamiliar with the route and have lost my way in the forest. As it is getting dark, I wonder if you, my friend in the carriage, could do me the favor and give me a ride?"

As Qin Han spoke, he took out a gold ingot from his pocket and waved it in his hand. This gold ingot was not given to him by Su Xinghe, but by his dear wife, Cheng Ying. Cheng Ying was, after all, the third wife of the number one imperial merchant in the world. Her aunt was very generous to this niece, which made Cheng Ying quite a wealthy woman.

Qin Han admitted that he did indeed live off a woman in this way, but he claimed it was earned through his own abilities. (Said with righteous indignation)

"I am willing to offer double... no, ten times the price as a reward."

The burly, bearded man riding the horse glanced at the gold ingot in Qin Han's hand, showing no sign of greed. Instead, he adopted a "keep away" attitude: "My young master has no shortage of money, and it's inconvenient for him to give strangers a ride. You'd better go back yourself. Please make way!"

The burly man's voice was cold, clearly indicating that he was a seasoned veteran of the martial world, well aware of the principle of not flaunting wealth. Qin Han's direct pulling out of the gold ingot made it hard for the bearded man not to suspect that the other party had some other intentions.

Qin Han frowned, about to speak again to try and persuade them, but if all else failed, he feared he would have no choice but to reveal some of his strength...

In truth, he wasn't indiscriminately killing innocents just because he was strong. He was already somewhat reluctant to leave Cheng Ying behind before heading to Tianshan. The route through Sichuan was so complicated, which inevitably made him a little angry. If the coachman wouldn't listen to reason, then he would have no choice but to resort to physical force.

Right now, I just want to find someone to guide me back to the city, and tomorrow I'll find someone else to guide me to the Tianshan Mountains.

Suddenly, a man's voice came from inside the carriage, "Meeting is fate, and to meet in this snowstorm is a rare kind of fate. There happens to be some wine in the carriage. If this young man doesn't mind the simple carriage or my rambling, why not come in and have a drink to warm himself up?"

Upon hearing the people inside the carriage speak, the burly man with the bushy beard immediately jumped down from the carriage, stepped aside to make room for the door, reached out and opened the wooden door, then gestured for Qin Han to enter, and said in a deep voice, "Please."