The little ancestor of the family

Chapter 374 The mysterious old man

The old man stopped digging the soil, reached out to grasp the hilt of the sword, and with a force, a sword wrapped in cloth strips was pulled out.

Due to their age, the cloth strips have rotted and will fall off with a slight touch.

The exposed scabbard was as rusty as the hilt.

The old man, however, gently stroked the scabbard as if it were a child, with a loving smile on his face.

"Old buddy, I'm sorry for letting you lie here and suffer all these years."

After he finished speaking, there was a "swish" sound, and a sharp sword was drawn out from the scabbard.

The sword blade gleamed brightly in the sunlight, forming a sharp contrast with the mottled hilt.

A breeze blew, and the old man's hair was blown onto the blade of the sword, and a strand of gray hair slowly fell to the ground.

"I'll take you out for some fresh air today. I haven't seen a scene like this in a long time!"

After saying this, the old man put the sword back into the scabbard, put it on his waist, and strode out the door.

He walked quickly along the street, and after passing two alleys, he saw the two girls who had asked for directions.

Ye Xinran and Ding Qiao walked carefully, looking around from time to time as they walked.

"Girls, why are you walking so slowly?"

The old man called out from behind.

Ye Xinran and Ding Qiao were startled, but when they turned around and saw that it was the old man from before, they felt relieved.

"Uncle, why did you come out?"

The old man took a few quick steps and said, "I'm afraid you won't be able to find the way. After thinking about it, I decided to take you there myself."

"Okay, then I'll trouble you!"

Ding Qiao pulled Ye Xinran aside and waited for the old man to leave first.

When the old man passed by them, Ding Qiao suddenly attacked and aimed a plum thorn at the old man's temple.

"who are you?"

The old man seemed startled: "Hey, girl, why don't you know how to appreciate kindness? I'm here to show you the way!"

"We are clearly dressed as men, how can you tell we are girls?"

Ding Qiao pushed the plum thorn forward, until the tip of the thorn almost pierced into the old man's flesh.

The old man waved his hands quickly and said, "Girl, don't be impulsive! You are so beautiful and speak softly, you can tell you are girls at a glance.

If you don't believe me, why don't you ask someone later to see if they can figure it out?"

Ding Qiao and Ye Xinran looked at each other. Neither of them expected that their disguise was so poor.

Ye Xinran sighed secretly: It turns out everyone can see it!

In the past, when I watched dramas, the women in the dramas could dress up as men and visit brothels. Once they combed their hair, no one could tell that they were women.

It turns out that they were all lying with open eyes!

"Aren't you an ordinary citizen? Why do you carry a sword?!"

Ding Qiao continued to ask.

"For self-defense!" The old man laughed and said, "This city is not peaceful! Girl, you have never lived here, you don't know how difficult our life is."

As he spoke, he deliberately looked around, "My sword is a little broken, but can't I just take it out and chop it up at the critical moment?"

Ding Qiao followed his gaze and saw that the sword at the old man's waist had been rusted beyond recognition, which made her feel a little relieved.

She didn't want to wrongly accuse an old man, nor could she take it lightly, so she pulled the old man's hand and tried it on his wrist.

The old man's wrists were limp and weak, showing no sign of being a martial artist.

After realizing this, Ding Qiao was completely relieved.

She put down the plum thorn and said to the old man, "I'm sorry for being so abrupt just now, but this is related to the safety of my master, so I have to be careful."

"Is this your master?"

The old man squinted and looked at Ye Xinran.

Didn't Ding Qiao always accompany Xiao Huaian? When did she change people?

This thought flashed through his mind, and the old man did not wait for an answer, nor did he continue to ask questions. Instead, he pointed to the road ahead and said, "We have to hurry up. After turning the corner ahead, we will reach their granary."

"it is good!"

Ding Qiao pulled Ye Xinran over, and the three of them walked forward together.

The three of them stopped when they reached the alley opposite the granary.

The situation was similar to what Ye Xinran had expected. There were many guards guarding the entrance of the granary.

"By the way, what are you two going to do in there?"

At this point, the old man remembered that he had not yet asked them the purpose of their coming here.

“Protect the food!”

Ye Xinran answered casually, but her eyes were fixed on the opposite side without blinking.

"Protecting the food?" The old man looked at the two of them with an incredulous expression: "Just you two?"

"Yeah!" Ye Xinran nodded.

The attitude towards the elderly does not care at all.

"Why don't you two come back with me?" the old man advised.

"why?"

"What kind of food are you two protecting? You can't rob them, and you can't move them away. The food can't be lost in the warehouse. When the main force arrives, they will find a way to deal with it."

"Why don't you go back first?"

Ye Xinran remained unmoved.

"Thank you for bringing us here, but what happens next may be dangerous, so please don't get involved. I'm afraid they will become desperate. We will find a way to deal with this matter ourselves!"

"Do you really have a solution?"

The old man stared at Ye Xinran up and down.

Although he didn't know Ye Xinran's true identity, he knew Ding Qiao.

This idea definitely wasn't proposed by Ding Qiao.

Where did this seemingly weak little girl in front of him get the confidence to think she could snatch food from them under the eyes of so many guards?

After asking this question, the old man turned his gaze to Ding Qiao again.

Although Ding Qiao is not smart enough, he is cautious and not rash.

Feeling the old man's gaze, Ding Qiao replied, "Master said there is a way, then there must be a way. Don't ask too much. The less you know about some things, the better."

After hearing what Ding Qiao said, the old man felt a little more relieved.

"In that case, I'll do you another favor! See that alley over there?"

The old man pointed to the alley across the street and said, "I'll go and attract their attention. You guys run into the alley and wait for me somewhere. I'll lead you in through the secret passage."

"There is a secret passage here? Do you know the entrance to the secret passage?"

Ding Qiao found it incredible.

"So what? I haven't lived here for nothing for all these years. When this was the county government of the Liang Dynasty, there was a secret passage. It's just that the barbarians don't know about it."

Hearing this, Ye Xinran and Ding Qiao were both very happy.

I didn't expect that I actually asked the right person for directions. This old man was so familiar with the place.

"How about I lead them away, old man? You take the master directly into the secret passage."

Ding Qiao suggested.

Since this old man is so capable, nothing can happen to him.

The old man sneered when he heard her words: "Don't underestimate me. I can escape from them here, but you may not. Take this for me!"

As the old man spoke, he took off the sword from his waist and handed it to Ding Qiao.

Ding Qiao took it and said sympathetically, "Old man, your sword is too old. I guess it can't even kill a chicken. After the battle, I'll buy you a good one."

The old man looked at Ding Qiao with a smile in his eyes: "Girl, you still don't know what's good!"

"Hey, you..."

Before Ding Qiao could say anything, the old man had already tugged at his clothes and walked out of the alley with a swagger.

Ding Qiao was stunned.

Ye Xinran asked: "What's wrong?"

She just came back to her senses.

"Oh, nothing. I just suddenly felt that this old man looked familiar, but I have never seen him before!"

The people on the other side had already spotted the old man. Two guards stepped forward and shouted, "Who is it?"

"Sir, Sir, I am a local citizen. I am just passing by. Please don't do anything!"

The old man tried to negotiate, but the people on the opposite side had already surrounded him and dragged him into the warehouse.

Ding Qiao seized the opportunity and pulled Ye Xinran to run to the other side.

Someone seemed to have noticed the presence here, and just as he was about to come over, the old man grabbed his clothes and said, "Sir, we are here today because we have news to tell you."

"What's the news? If you have something to say, say it now. If you dare to waste my time, I will chop you to pieces!"

The old man said quickly, "I heard from them that the Daliang army has already invaded Xueyue City, and the city lord Buduer is preparing to flee! They didn't inform you, are they planning to let you stay here as scapegoats?"

"Buduer is going to run away? Who told you that?"

The head of the guard grabbed the old man by the collar.

"My home is not far from the city gate. I heard someone say this when they were fighting."

The old man looked frightened.

"Then what are you doing here?"

The leader asked angrily: "I heard that they were going to run away, and I thought you were running away too. My family has been out of food for a long time, I thought..."

"Get the fuck out of here!"

The leader kicked the old man far away and said, "I'm telling you, even if I burn all the food, I won't leave a single grain for you. Just wait to starve to death!"

After saying that, he said to his men around him: "Go ahead and check out the situation to see what they are planning. If they dare to leave me behind to be a scapegoat, I will fight them!"

After hearing this, the subordinates ran away immediately.

Seeing the opportunity, the old man got up and ran away without a trace.

……

After Ye Xinran and Ding Qiao entered the alley, they immediately found a hiding place and hid in a pile of garbage in front of someone else's house.

The surroundings were so eerily quiet that the passage of time slowed down even more.

"Master, what if he doesn't come back?"

Ding Qiao was a little worried.

"The two of us can't find the entrance to the secret passage."

"hold on!"

Ye Xinran peeked outside through the gap in the bamboo basket, "If he doesn't come back after half an incense stick, we'll find a way to get in ourselves."

The two waited for a long time and finally saw a hunched figure stumbling in.

"Here here!"

When Ding Qiao saw someone, he immediately jumped out and waved.

When the old man saw the two people, he finally stopped and took a breath with relief.

"I'm so exhausted. I'm so exhausted."

The old man shook his head and gasped for breath.

"Why are you so tired? Are they chasing you?"

Ding Qiao looked behind the old man worriedly.

The old man straightened up and waved his hands, "No, no, I was afraid that they would find me, so I took a long detour to come back."

"Then let's find the entrance and go in now!"

Ye Xinran said.

Seeing that she was still so calm at this time, the old man felt a little more appreciative: "Let's go in now."

As the old man spoke, he led the two men into an alley.

The alleys were filled with low, dilapidated houses that looked as if no one lived in them.

The old man walked to a door, took out the key from his pocket, opened the door, then turned to the two and said, "It's right here."

"You go in first!"

Ding Qiao protected Ye Xinran behind him.

Why does this old man seem to be getting more and more mysterious? He is so poor, but he still has another house.

The old man smiled and said, "Then you two should follow closely."

He walked into the yard, and without looking back, he went straight to the well.

After Ding Qiao entered the room, she turned around and locked the door from the inside, and then walked forward with Ye Xinran.

The old man came to the well and said with some embarrassment: "This well is quite deep, does the girl dare to go in?"

He was referring to Ye Xinran.

"I have no problem."

There was no fear on Ye Xinran's face and she nodded firmly.

"it is good!"

After the old man finished speaking, he first came to the mouth of the well and climbed down along the edge.

"Master, I'll carry you down."

Ding Qiao said.

"No need." Ye Xinran refused.

"The well is so small that even two people can't get down!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a climbing rope from his sleeve. A fixing device was tied to one end of the climbing rope.

She fixed the fastener to the edge of the well, then grabbed the rope, pushed the wall with her feet, and slid down quickly.

The old man was surprised when he saw this scene in the well.

He didn't expect Ye Xinran to have such good skills.

"Why didn't you tell me you had the rope?"

He complained, "Oh my goodness, I just slipped and scraped my arm."

"The old man didn't ask me!"

Ye Xinran raised the corners of her mouth and smiled sweetly, "If the old man asks me, I will definitely tell you."

Seeing her like this, the old man twisted his mouth in dismay: What a little fox! She is upset because I just said she is not good enough! She will take revenge for every grievance, she will take revenge for every grievance!

Ding Qiao then climbed down from above.

The bottom of the well is very dry, without any moisture at all.

It seems that when the well was dug, it was just a show.

Ye Xinran put away the rope and asked the old man, "What should we do next?"

The old man pointed to the smooth wall of the well and said, "Here!"

As he said this, he stretched out his hand and pushed, and the well wall that had been tightly closed actually flipped over like a door.

Ye Xinran and the other two quickly passed through the crack in the door, and the well wall closed, returning to its original state.

Behind the well wall is a spacious secret passage, wide enough for three people to pass through side by side.

The old man took out a tinder from his arms, blew it, and a little flame illuminated the small space in the secret passage.

"This secret passage is very solid, it doesn't look like it was dug out temporarily."

Ding Qiao touched the walls of the secret passage, which had been fixed with granite.

"This was originally the place where the previous county magistrate secretly hid and transported treasures. It took some effort to repair it."

The old man answered as he walked.

"How come you know everything?"

Ye Xinran couldn't help but be curious, "Uncle, were you from the county magistrate's mansion before?"