937 Astonishing (6)
If they did not see it with their own eyes, Hui Xiang and the others would not have believed that a rich young lady like Shen Miao could walk with them in the dark for the entire night in such a desolate forest. Hui Xiang and the others had undergone special training, so they naturally did not feel tired. Even Luo Tan, who had practiced martial arts, was already very haggard with sleepiness written all across her face, but Shen Miao still looked fully awake.
Hui Xiang and Cong Yang both wondered if this madam was actually a martial artist too, which was why she had a strong will.
In fact, they were thinking too much. It was just that when Shen Miao was in the cold palace, sometimes, Consort Mei and the other consorts would make things difficult for her. There was no lack of people in the palace hitting her when she was down. This was how she gradually built up her will power to survive the hardship.
“How far have we gone?” Shen Miao asked.
“Madam.” Cong Yang said, “We’ve walked for a night. However, according to the marks we left along the way, we didn’t seem to be walking in circles.” He continued, “It seems like we were deceived by our eyes previously and blindfolding really worked.”
“But everything in this forest still looks identical,” Luo Tan said weakly.
“Let’s continue.” Shen Miao said, “We’ve already walked so far. We’ll eventually reach the end.”
Hui Xiang was stunned for a moment, but this time, she did not say anything. Last night, they had also tried to stop Shen Miao a few times. Not only did Shen Miao not listen to them, but she was probably annoyed by them and even reprimanded them sternly.
The few of them continued to follow behind Shen Miao. Luo Tan was a little dispirited. No matter how much she practiced martial arts, she was still inferior to Hui Xiang and the others. She was not like Shen Miao, who had suffered before. Now, she forced herself to open her eyes wide, trying to find something to distract herself.
As soon as she looked around, she felt that something was wrong. She grabbed Shen Miao and said, “Eh? There are flowers here. I didn’t see any along the way.”
Everyone walked over to take a closer look. As expected, they saw small flowers hidden in the bushes.
Mo Qing suddenly frowned. “I think there’s the sound of poultries.”
Ba Jiao and Cong Yang pricked up their ears to listen and said excitedly, “That’s right.”
“Why is there the sound of poultries?” Shen Miao pondered for a moment and said, “Could it be that there’s a house ahead?” She said, “Stop looking. Let’s go. Since there’s a sound, the exit shouldn’t be far. We’ll be out of this forest soon.”
When everyone heard that they could walk out of the forest, they were all in high spirits and immediately set off. This time, they were lucky. After walking for a while, they felt that the gap between the branches was getting wider and wider. Previously, the forest was dense, but now, it was much sparser. The more sunlight shone in, the more comfortable they felt.
“It seems like we’re really reaching the end.” Luo Tan’s sleepiness was swept away. “Let’s go quickly!” Before she could finish her sentence, she saw that there was a small path at the end of the forest. Everyone looked at each other, and Shen Miao walked over first.
At the end of the path, there was farmland. On this farmland, there were flowers, plants, and vegetables planted. It looked very messy, as if it was not taken care of.
However, even so, there was still a house standing solitarily on the farmland.
The house was made of thatch and was on the verge of collapse, as if the roof would be blown away by the wind in the next moment. Everyone walked forward. Ba Jiao ran in first, then shook her head and came out. She said, “Madam, there’s no one inside.”
No one? A trace of disappointment flashed across Luo Tan’s eyes. “How can there be no one?”
Shen Miao said, “The flowers and plants are still there. It doesn’t seem like it’s uninhabited. Let’s wait here.”
Before she could finish his sentence, she heard a hoarse voice. “Oh, a distinguished guest is here. Sorry for not coming out to receive you.”
Everyone turned around. When Shen Miao saw the person’s face clearly, she couldn’t help but be stunned and cry out, “It’s you.”
Ba Jiao asked, “Madam… do you know him?”
The middle-aged man who came with a smile and wearing a tattered Daoist robe was the strange Daoist priest who gave Shen Miao a fortune-telling in Putuo Temple in Ming Qi.
