A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 444: Old Zhou Zhang Hurts Hong Hua

In order to avoid the eyes and ears of the Shadow Clan, Honghua and Lao Zhou disguised themselves as a commoner couple, hired a half-old carriage, and after a month of hard work they finally arrived at the western border of Xiyue Kingdom.

The western border is sparsely populated, with mostly passing merchants and pedestrians. The border tower stands tall in the yellow sand. The scorching sun of summer bakes the yellow sand Gobi, flashing a faint golden light. Endless vicissitudes and desolation spread across this land.

"Brother Zhou, Sister Zhou, I will take you to this city for now. But where are you going in this hot summer?" The coachman parked the carriage under a shady tree outside the city, then wiped the sweat from his face and asked into the carriage.

"I haven't been back for decades. I don't know if my home is still there?" While the coachman was asking this, Lao Zhou had already helped the trembling Honghua out of the carriage. She raised her face, which was still covered with red spots, and looked around curiously, then she lamented in a hoarse voice.

"Don't worry, let's stay in the city first. I'll ask around in the next two days." Old Zhou supported her and comforted her gently. He had been acting with her for more than a month, and he had gotten used to it without realizing it.

Then Lao Zhou took out a string of copper coins from his sleeve and handed it to the driver, saying with a smile: "Thanks to you, Brother Luo, we were able to arrive at Xiguan safely so quickly. Just consider these as extra hard-earned money, don't think it's too little."

"Oh, Brother Zhou, you are too polite. You should keep the money for yourself. This place is desolate and you can't avoid asking others for help." The driver had already collected the money for hiring the carriage. Seeing that the old couple were not a wealthy family, he did not want to take more. So he pushed the string of copper coins back to Old Zhou, and after giving him a few more instructions based on his experience in running, he drove back to the interior of the country.

"If you really want to just throw him into the carriage and leave, you're being so reluctant and it seems like you're teasing this kind-hearted young man." Looking at the carriage going away, Honghua straightened up and smiled at Lao Zhou.

"If you are giving money as a sincere thank you, you should act sincerely. How can you treat someone like a beggar when you give him reward? Also, if you have no knowledge, don't follow my nonsense words. It makes people laugh at you." Old Zhou frowned, glanced at her, and sneered.

Honghua was choked by Lao Zhou's words and was speechless for a moment. He just snorted coldly and turned around and walked into the city.

"You haven't come out yet, are you going to stop pretending?" Old Zhou couldn't help but mutter when he saw Hong Hua no longer pretending to be a sick woman.

"What? Are you addicted to taking advantage of me?" Honghua immediately turned around and glared at him, then left.

"Hey, this vicious woman, who is taking advantage of whom?" Being unexpectedly wronged by this woman, Lao Zhou's good mood was instantly gone, and he cursed with a gloomy face.

But even though the two of them bickered, they would never fight each other to the point of rage like they did in the past, like enemies holding a grudge against each other and fighting each other.

Although there were many people coming and going in the Western Border City, it was desolate after all and could not compare with the prosperity inside the Great Wall. Honghua walked through most of the city and still could not find a decent restaurant or inn. Finally, he could not bear Lao Zhou's nagging and making fun of his pretentiousness, so he had to compromise and go to a restaurant that looked relatively clean to eat.

"Your face?" As it was past noon, there were only two or three tables left in the restaurant. The two of them sat down against the west wall. They were surprised to see that the red spots on Honghua's face disappeared at some point and she returned to her original charming and beautiful appearance. They couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Don't make a fuss about nothing. Don't you think about my status? Just take the antidote and everything will be fine." Honghua raised her chin proudly, and a bit of contempt appeared in her charming eyes towards Lao Zhou.

Seeing that the woman was actually showing off her identity from the Poison Insect Valley in front of him, Lao Zhou snorted disapprovingly and ignored her.

"After we finish eating, let's find an inn quickly. I have to change out of this ragged linen clothes. It's very uncomfortable to wear!" Before the food and wine were served, Honghua pulled at his linen clothes and expressed disgust again.

"Oh, if you don't know, you would think that the Madam is some royal family." Naturally, Old Zhou would ridicule her whenever he got the chance.

Honghua was too lazy to pay attention to him and just picked up the tea on the table and took a sip.

"Madam, why do you care about your old man who doesn't understand romance? You'd better follow us, and we will make sure that you can wear brocade and silk every day and feel comfortable!" At this moment, the three big men at the neighboring table, who had already eaten and drunk their fill, suddenly stood up and surrounded Honghua, smacking their lips, and teased her ambiguously.

"Don't make fun of my sister. I'm old and can't stand your teasing." Honghua's eyes moved and she smiled charmingly. She looked at the three people around her. They were not very old, but their faces were greasy and they were vulgar. If she hadn't been concerned about being in a crowded city, how could she tolerate such people getting close to her.

"Cough cough..." Hearing Honghua's pretended weakness, Lao Zhou was so scared that his mouth twitched and he almost spit out the half sip of wine he had just mouthed.

"Sister, you are still as charming as ever, and you are still as beautiful as a fairy. We brothers are so touched when we see you that we can't bear to make you sad." However, Honghua's sweet words made the three big men feel itchy all over. One of them even boldly raised his hand and touched Honghua's shoulder, continuing to speak sweet words to her.

"I'm warning you, if you don't want to die, stay away from her. She is a vicious woman." Although Honghua had a smile on her face, her eyes revealed a hint of murderous intent. Seeing this, Lao Zhou hurriedly frowned and scolded the three ignorant idiots.

Although the border area is a mixed bag and murder and robbery are common, and the three people in front of him are not good people, Lao Zhou would not feel sorry even if they died. However, they came here for important things to do, and he could not let this woman cause trouble.

"Bah! This is the first time in my life that I've seen such a loser who doesn't cherish his own woman. He really doesn't know how lucky he is. In this case, just give her to us!" Lao Zhou's kind reminder was taken as jealousy by the three lustful men, so they instead provoked and cursed.

"Why do you ask him for help if you love me? I can decide who to be with and who not to be with. I haven't signed a body contract with anyone!" Honghua glanced at the three people with anger, but suddenly stood up and said with a smile: "Today is a chance, and I am also very bored. Why don't you go with your sister to find a place where no one will disturb you to relieve your boredom?"

"Stop messing around!" Seeing that the woman was really going to attack, Lao Zhou hurriedly tried to stand up but was forced back by a big man. Honghua ignored him.

Afterwards, the three big men chased after him like dogs smelling meat, grinning and thinking that they could have a good meal that day.

At this time, the waiter had already walked out of the kitchen with dishes. He took a look at the bustle outside and was about to speak when he saw Lao Zhou put down a few pieces of silver, picked up his bag and ran out, cursing:

"This crazy woman is still thinking about playing at this hour. I am so unlucky to have met such a crazy woman!"

The people watching the fun in the store were dumbfounded for a long time and then couldn't help laughing. They shook their heads and smiled bitterly. The world is going downhill. It's ridiculous for a wife to flirt with other men in front of her husband.

People were coming and going outside. When they saw three frivolous men escorting a charming middle-aged woman out of the city, they pointed and talked curiously.

Although Lao Zhou was anxious, he did not dare to stop the woman directly. He was afraid of being misunderstood and embarrassed in front of everyone, so he had to follow them out of the city from a distance.

"Good sister, it's so windy and sandy outside, it's really an eyesore. Why don't you come back with us? There is a place for you in the city!" Several people came to the outside of the city, and a strong wind carrying yellow sand blew straight towards them. The three big men squinted their eyes and shouted at Honghua who was still walking forward.

"It's feasible here, and it's also convenient to bury it." Honghua turned a deaf ear to the voice behind him, walked straight to a big tree, and then waved to the three people behind him while muttering.

Although the three big men were worried that it would be difficult to act outside, they were willing to give up with the fat meat in front of them, so they continued to follow.

Papapa

However, as soon as the three of them approached the tree, they were knocked unconscious one by one by Lao Zhou who came over. Honghua came out from behind the tree and saw this, and felt that he had lost interest. He was about to get angry at Lao Zhou, but he was beaten to the punch by Lao Zhou and shouted angrily:

"If you make trouble again today, I won't care anymore. I will find a carriage and go back to Jingsong Kingdom!"

Although Lao Zhou said this in anger, it really frightened Honghua. She then obediently took the poison in her hand and then muttered aggrievedly:

"You've seen it too. It was clearly these three toads who provoked us first. They're not good people anyway. They're just..."

"What if there is someone behind them? It's not easy to hide from a shadow gate all the way, how much trouble do you want to cause? No wonder your sister was implicated by you at such a young age. If it wasn't for you..."

Without waiting for Honghua to finish, Lao Zhou continued to scold her, but in his anger he accidentally said something hurtful. He quickly stopped talking when he realized what was happening. He looked at her guiltily as her face gradually turned pale. Just as he was about to apologize again, she chuckled and said calmly as if nothing had happened:

"I'll leave these three people to you. I'm going back to the city to find an inn."

After Honghua finished speaking, she walked away without waiting for Lao Zhou's response. Under the wind and sand, her eyes were already filled with tears.

Looking at the lonely figure, Lao Zhou wanted to say something but stopped, and finally could only sigh.