The carriage circled most of Liao City and finally stopped in a forest.
Wei Dongling jumped out, walked forward to untie the reins of the two fine horses, and led them away to drink water and be fed.
Yu Zixi watched the young and charming girl walking in the morning sunlight, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.
Wei Dongling stroked the horses' manes and turned to ask, "If Tian Qi isn't at the teahouse, where could he be? Could he have been secretly sent back to the horse - training ground?"
"We'll know if we ask," Yu Zixi said. He lightly leaped onto a tree, stood firm on a branch, and looked up at the sky.
Just as Wei Dongling was wondering who he was going to ask, she saw Yu Zixi cover his lips with his hand and let out a clear and loud whistle. In a short while, an eagle flew across the sky and circled above Yu Zixi several times.
The eagle was not very large. When it flew in the air, its strong and agile wings flapped vigorously. It stared fixedly at Yu Zixi in the tree without blinking.
Oh my god! How cool!
Having grown up climbing trees to catch birds and going into the river to catch fish with her father, she had never seen such a cool - looking eagle!
Wei Dongling was smitten and quietly climbed towards Yu Zixi.
The eagle flapped its wings and landed steadily on Yu Zixi's arm. Its eyes were fixed firmly on Yu Zixi's face.
Yu Zixi opened his mouth and asked it, "Where's Tian Qi? Take me to find him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the eagle was startled by the suddenly approaching Wei Dongling. Chirping, it spread its wings and flew into the sky, disappearing in a blink of an eye.
Wei Dongling felt extremely embarrassed.
Yu Zixi was stunned for a moment and then helplessly jumped down from the tree.
Wei Dongling lowered her head and followed behind him, calling out, "I just wanted to take a closer look. I didn't mean to scare it."
Yu Zixi sighed and said, "Just wait here. Don't cause any more trouble." Then he got up and walked in the direction the eagle had flown.
Wei Dongling quickly caught up and said, "Hey, Yu Zixi, I was wrong. I won't cause trouble anymore! Young Master Yu! Young Master Yu! Don't walk so fast. Wait for me!"
They walked for a long time. By the time the sun was high in the sky, there were more and more pedestrians on the street. Smelling the fragrant snacks from the stalls on the street, Wei Dongling's stomach growled embarrassedly.
Yu Zixi bought a few sesame seed cakes to fill their stomachs. They walked and munched on the cakes.
Suddenly, Yu Zixi paused slightly while eating the cake and stared at a place across the street.
Wei Dongling looked up. On the opposite building, there were four gilded characters on the lintel: Xuyang Winery. It was very imposingly decorated, and even the main gate was inlaid with copper sheets.
Just as she was looking, the copper - inlaid main gate slowly opened. A tall and well - dressed man, surrounded by a group of servants, walked towards the carriage parked by the roadside.
The sun hat on the well - dressed man's head was pulled very low, so it was hard to see his face. Only his exposed hands and neck had extremely fair skin. He wore a jade - inlaid belt around his waist with a jade cicada pendant hanging from it, and there was also a sky bead on the pendant. As the well - dressed man walked, the pendant swayed back and forth between his legs, very eye - catching.
A servant lifted the curtain of the carriage, and the well - dressed man stepped in. The carriage gradually drove away.
Wei Dongling turned to Yu Zixi and asked in a low voice, "Who is this person?"
Yu Zixi wiped his hands carefully with a handkerchief and said, "I don't know." Then he suddenly said, "Tian Qi is in this winery."
Wei Dongling was secretly surprised and asked, "How do you know?"
Yu Zixi murmured, "His eagle is here."
Wei Dongling looked up and sure enough saw the eagle circling far in the sky. Its eyes were fixed on the ground as if it was looking for something.
The two looked at each other and then walked around to the back door of the winery. Wei Dongling quietly climbed up a big tree nearby. Taking a closer look, she was surprised to find that the Xuyang Winery was much larger than she had imagined. Moreover, there were many guards. The owner of this place was even more cautious than the Zhao family.
Wei Dongling glanced at Yu Zixi. What should they do?
Yu Zixi's face darkened. Tian Qi's life or death was unknown, and they couldn't afford to delay any longer.
The back door of the winery opened. Some farmers brought in two carts of sorghum for making wine. The people inside opened the back door wide and carried the two full carts of sorghum into the winery.
The two quietly sneaked into the winery along with the two carts of sorghum. They climbed onto the eaves one after another, looked at each other, and then separated to search.
Wei Dongling tiptoed to peek through the windows and searched each room one by one. She didn't even miss the storeroom, the bedroom, the kitchen, or even the toilet, but she didn't find Tian Qi's figure. She looked up at Yu Zixi's side and it seemed that he had also found nothing.
In the sky directly above, the eagle was still circling. But where on earth was Tian Qi?
From afar, she saw Yu Zixi quietly waving at her. Wei Dongling quickly crouched down and walked quickly on the eaves towards him. Then she followed him into the wine - making room.
In the wine - making room, a group of servants were busy spreading out piles of sorghum grains. The fermentation tanks were shrouded in mist. The two quietly searched the large wine - making room but still found nothing.
In the innermost part of the wine - making room, there were more than thirty large wine jars for distilling wine. Yu Zixi was not willing to give up. He stretched out his hand and gently tapped each wine jar.
Could Tian Qi be hidden in the wine jars?
Wei Dongling was a bit confused but still followed Yu Zixi to look. They tapped each wine jar one by one. When they tapped the fifth one, the echo was obviously different from the other jars.
This one was hollow!
Wei Dongling leaped up at once, forcefully pushed open the jar seal, and saw a black - clothed man with a blood - covered face lying inside the jar. It was Tian Qi!
Yu Zixi noticed something strange on her side and quickly came to help. Seeing Tian Qi in such a miserable state, his heart tightened. He quickly jumped down to lift Tian Qi up, and the two of them dragged Tian Qi out together.
Wei Dongling gently felt Tian Qi's pulse on his neck and suddenly shivered. His heart had already stopped beating!
Yu Zixi noticed that Tian Qi had stopped breathing. His whole body trembled, and he slumped weakly on the ground. His eyes were slightly red.
Wei Dongling panicked and laid Tian Qi flat. She vigorously pressed on his chest one after another for twenty or thirty times. She was so anxious that the sweat on her face was streaming down.
"He's dead," Yu Zixi said dejectedly, sitting on the ground with a low voice.
Wei Dongling didn't have time to pay attention to him. She pried open Tian Qi's mouth to give him artificial respiration, and then pressed hard on his chest, continuing with the cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Yu Zixi called out sorrowfully, "Wei Dongling, what are you doing? He's already dead!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tian Qi, who was lying on the ground, suddenly twitched violently, and his breathing recovered.
Wei Dongling was so exhausted that she was sweating profusely and completely soaked, as if she had just been fished out of the water.
Just as Yu Zixi was looking at the unexpected change in surprise, he suddenly heard someone shouting not far away, "Who are you?"
Wei Dongling didn't even have time to rest. She picked up Tian Qi at once and turned to flee.
Yu Zixi reacted, drew out his dagger, and closely guarded her side. The two ran for their lives all the way.
In their haste, they didn't have time to hide. Wei Dongling burst out of the door with Tian Qi in her arms. A large group of guards at the back door of the winery all looked over at once. Seeing their appearance, everyone's expressions changed instantly, and they surrounded them from all sides.
"You go first. I'll hold them off," Yu Zixi said as he flashed forward and fought with the guards. His moves were sharp, and his knife was stained with blood with each strike.
Wei Dongling didn't dare to hesitate. With a few quick jumps, she took advantage of the chaos and slipped out of the back door of the winery.
In her panic, she looked back and saw that Yu Zixi was outnumbered. A man behind him was stabbing a long spear hard at his back.
At that moment, Wei Dongling's heart almost stopped. "Yu Zixi—"
With a tearing sound, the long spear stabbed hard into Yu Zixi's body, piercing him through.
Wei Dongling's nose felt sour, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly.