Mo Junyang and Shi Qingxue came to the town Huwenbei.

Beyond their expectations, this small town with the most prosperous frontier trade became an empty town.

This town was located between two hills and blocked the cold wind and sand from the west and north, and it faced the wind, so the rainfall and temperature were much more livable than that in the same area.

In addition, Huwenbei was at the border between Mo Country and Liang Country, and the trade between the two countries was finished in this town, so it almost became magnificent scenery in the northwest.

However, now, after the three got off the horses and walked into Huwenbei Town with the horses, the street was cheerless, with no venders on both sides, and the shops around were closed, which made the street look empty and silent.

Shi Qingxue couldn’t help but tremble and feel scared. “Where did the people go?”

Even if there was a war between the two countries, they would avoid the bustling towns and villages, in case that the injuries and deaths aroused the popular discontent, so when Mo Country and Liang Country started wars in the past years, they wouldn’t choose to fight in Huwenbei Town.

“Are there ghosts?” Wei Zichao guessed randomly.

He said that casually, yet the listener took it to heart. Shi Qingxue instantly felt that her back was cold, and she ignored her horse, rushing to Mo Junyang while looking around alertly.

She comforted herself without a stop. “No, no way. How would ghosts show up at daytime?”

Her stutter couldn’t soothe herself, so she was so scared that she almost cried.

Girls were more afraid of ghosts. Moreover, the situation in Huwenbei was weird and made people imagine wildly.

Mo Junyang glanced at Wei Zichao, and the latter shut up at once, almost raising his hands to swear that he didn’t frighten Shi Qingxue intentionally.

“Don’t be afraid. I am here. We will be fine.” Mo Junyang enjoyed Shi Qingxue’s closeness, but he didn’t want his sweetheart to be scared, so he comforted her in a gentle voice.

His gentle and deep voice was really comforting, while he was a man who could give people a sense of safety.

Shi Qingxue was still afraid of ghosts, yet she wasn’t as frightened as before. She just grabbed Mo Junyang and refused to loosen her hand.

Mo Junyang was so happy and held Shi Qingxue’s hand, moving on.

The three came to the center of the town, and a three-storied hotel was in front of them, but the door of the hotel was closed, and it appeared that there was nobody inside.

Wei Zichao walked up first and knocked at the door, yet nobody answered.

After a while, he knocked at the door again. A long time later, a soft voice finally came out. “Who is it?”

This voice was so low that they could hardly hear it, while it was enough to make Shi Qingxue overjoyed.

She replied in a hurry, “We are passers-by, and it’s getting dark, so we want to stay in the hotel for one night.”

After another moment of deadly silence, the person inside said in a low voice, “This hotel is closed. Please go to another one.”

Shi Qingxue finally heard a living person’s voice, so she was unwilling to let him go. She softened and begged, “We have seen only one hotel in this area within hundreds of miles away. If we miss it, we will have to sleep on the street. Please do us a favor. We are merchants from afar, not bad people, and we won’t do harm to you. What’s more, we can pay the triple price.”

“Please wait a moment outside, and I will go back to ask the boss.” Afterward, there were footsteps inside. That man must have gone to ask the boss.

After nearly fifteen minutes, the door was opened with a creak, and a head popped out.

It was a young man around twenty years old. He looked the three up and down first. After confirming that they were harmless, he opened the door. “Hurry up and come in, please.”

As soon as the three came in, the young man closed the door in haste. He was in such a hurry, as if there were ghosts chasing them outside.

Shi Qingxue was curious but knew that the man was alert and it was not the right time to ask, so she just paid the triple price and booked two first-class rooms.

Seeing the silver, the young man finally showed a happy smile and led them upstairs hospitably.

They entered the room and then the young man started to introduce himself, “I am a worker in this hotel. If you need anything, you can tell me. You are tired on the journey. Shall I carry some hot water for you, so you can relieve your weariness?”

“Thanks. Please carry some hot water for us later.” Shi Qingxue rewarded him with a silver ingot.

The worker instantly looked happy and answered cheerfully, “It’s my pleasure. I am going to do it right now.”

Shi Qingxue stopped him in advance. “No hurry. I have something to ask you.”

The worker had accepted the reward, so he wasn’t restrained. “Madam, what do you want to ask?”

Madam…

He obviously thought that Shi Qingxue and Mo Junyang were a married couple.

Shi Qingxue blushed after hearing this form of address, but she still continued to ask, “We are from the south and want to do business in the north. We are not familiar with this place. Is it Huwenbei here? Did we come to a wrong place?”

If there were no preparation, the worker would surely be alert, yet she said that fluently and easily made him believe that they were merchants from afar, so he answered joyfully, “You didn’t make a mistake. This town is Huwenbei.”

“Why is it…? I have heard that…” Shi Qingxue furrowed her arch eyebrows slightly and looked as if she wanted to say something, but she was worried that he would be offended, so she couldn’t say anything.

The worker instantly understood what Shi Qingxue meant and asked, “Madam, you want to ask why it is different from what they say, right?”

Shi Qingxue pursed her lips and smiled shyly. “We have heard that the commerce in Huwenbei is developed, so we came here from one thousand miles away, but we have been in the town for so long, while there is nobody on the street. Till now, we have seen only one person, you. What happened?”

The worker sighed and answered helplessly, “Madam, you know what? Our town was prosperous as they say two or three months ago, yet after the war’s influence for three months, the common people in the town fled and hid themselves. Nobody dares to do business outside, so it became so cheerless.”

“The war?” Shi Qingxue looked surprised and was unwilling to believe the worker’s words. “Did you cheat me? The buildings and streets are well, and they are not damaged.

“Moreover, we didn’t see soldiers on the way. Why is there a war?”

The worker was talking excitedly, but Shi Qingxue questioned him, so he felt that he was challenged. He shouted, “Many things are not like what you see. You may not know as you are from the south. Not long ago, two armies had a battle here indeed.

“Many people died then, and the common people were frightened. Many young men fled out of the town and have never come back later. Till one party was defeated and surrendered, the war stopped gradually.”

Shi Qingxue looked nervous after hearing that, and she was almost unable to sit still, but Mo Junyang raised his hand and put it on the back of her hand, restraining her restlessness.

The worker didn’t notice their petty action. He started to talk about the war vividly, as if he had seen it and even joined it.

Mo Junyang asked indifferently, “Who are the two parties?”

One question made the worker spiritless.

The worker opened his mouth for a long time yet was unable to answer it, so he said in depression, “I didn’t see their generals. How could I recognize anybody? The soldiers had a war, but the common people like us suffered. However, it’s fine now, and the war has ended, so everything returns to normal. After a storm comes a calm, our town can be prosperous as before.

“Since you want to do business in the town, you’d better wait a few more days. When the time is right, you can naturally do a lot of business.”

“Thanks for telling us these. Otherwise, we will know nothing.” Shi Qingxue restrained her complicated emotions and expressed her thanks in a soft voice.

The worker responded hurriedly, “You are welcome.” When he turned to leave, he suddenly thought of something and then looked back at them with a serious expression. “There is one more thing that I need to tell you in advance.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Here is the thing. Our town is surely safe, but you can’t go to the valley in the north.”

Shi Qingxue was nervous and asked, “Why?”

The worker immediately kept his mouth shut and didn’t reply after Shi Qingxue asked him several times. He just said, “Anyway, you can’t go there. Otherwise, you won’t keep alive. I don’t dare to talk about anything else randomly…

“Please have a good rest. I am going to bring hot water for you.”

Afterward, he ran away, and nobody could stop him.

This worker said so much, while he didn’t answer Shi Qingxue’s questions but made her more confused, and her restlessness spread like a storm.

“Junyang, who do you think the two parties he talked about are? Are Father and his people in them?” Shi Qingxue was almost sure about this conjecture.

Shi Junhe led the Shi Army to chase the rebel army to Huwenbei Town, and the two parties had a battle in the town, but they came too late and didn’t see the situation on the battlefield and what happened next.

However, Shi Qingxue was certain about one point.

“Father will never surrender.”

The Shi Army would rather die on the battlefield with glory than surrender in disgrace.

“This worker must have lied to us. Right…”

Shi Qingxue murmured, yet it couldn’t make her feel relieved. On the contrary, because she wanted to know Shi Junhe’s current situation, she was more anxious.

“What should we do? Father must be in trouble. What should we do…”

Mo Junyang covered her mouth with his hand gently, as if it could block her anxiety.

The man smiled and stated in a low voice, “Don’t be afraid. I will take you out tomorrow to have a look. We can surely find General Shi.”

What he said was like a basin of warm water which was poured into her heart, making her calm gradually.

“Okay.”