My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 105 Startled Horse

As dawn broke, Lin Ziping and Cui Lizheng headed down the mountain together, planning how to solve the problem of the soft foundation in this section.

Unexpectedly, a hurried shout of "Get out of the way!" broke the tranquility of the construction site.

Lin Ziping looked up and saw a carriage speeding towards him out of control, about to crash into him.

"Get out of the way!" Lin Ziping shouted immediately, alerting the surrounding villagers.

Upon hearing Lin Ziping's voice, Cui Lizheng hurriedly stood up and told the villagers who were repairing the road to disperse.

As the carriage came galloping towards them, Lin Ziping nimbly jumped to the side.

The carriage drove past Lin Ziping, the curtain was rolled up, revealing a terrified face inside.

The carriage looked like it was about to crash into the cliff.

In that critical moment, Lin Ziping drew his sword, galloped a few steps, and slashed fiercely at the frightened horse. The horse, in pain, reared up, and Lin Ziping seized the opportunity to stab it several more times. The horse, writhing in pain, galloped wildly, and Lin Ziping released his grip in time. The carriage finally stopped a few dozen meters away, but then overturned with a crash.

Lin Ziping's heart tightened as he recalled the scene he had just witnessed inside the carriage. He rushed towards the carriage and saw the horses lying in pools of blood, the carriage twisted and deformed. He lifted the curtain and found the passengers inside were unconscious.

"Cui Lizheng, there's someone inside! Come help!" Lin Ziping shouted, trying to rescue the injured person, but found that he might have used too much force and his arms were too weak.

"Ziping, are you alright?" Cui Lizheng rushed over with his men.

Lin Ziping pointed to the carriage: "There are three people inside. I'm fine. I must have used too much force just now. My hands are too weak now, but I should be fine after a while."

Cui Lizheng nodded and arranged for the villagers to rescue the people.

Lin Ziping stood out to make it easier for others to operate.

The villagers cut the reins and moved the horse away.

Lin Ziping stepped forward to check and found that his sword had been broken in two, with one half stuck in the horse's neck, blood gushing out. The horse stared wide-eyed, panting heavily, making a "ho ho..." sound.

"This horse is doomed."

Lin Ziping turned his head and saw that it was Zhang Xiaohu.

Zhang Xiaohu held the other half of the knife in his hand and plunged it into the horse's neck. The horse died shortly afterward, which was a quick death for it.

The villagers carefully rescued the people from the carriage and placed them in a rest shed built nearby.

Inside the carriage were two men and a woman. Although they had fainted and looked somewhat disheveled, their clothes were of exquisite quality, suggesting they were not ordinary people.

Lin Ziping walked over and saw that although the three men were disheveled, they were well-dressed and clearly wealthy. His eyes swept over their faces, and they looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen them before. Seeing that they had no obvious injuries, he felt somewhat relieved.

Stepping out of the shed, I saw Cui Lizheng squatting next to the horse, seemingly inspecting something.

Lin Ziping stepped forward and asked, "Village Chief Cui, what are you looking at?"

“Look here,” Cui Lizheng said, pointing to the horse.

Following the direction Cui Lizheng pointed, Lin Ziping saw white foam flowing from the horse's mouth and asked in confusion, "What's this?"

"This is poisoning," Cui Lizheng said calmly.

Lin Ziping was stunned. Poisoned? No wonder the horse was acting like a madman, charging forward recklessly. What a waste of all that flesh.

"How are those people doing?" Cui Lizheng asked.

"They're still unconscious. I haven't seen any external injuries, but we'll have to wait until they wake up to know the rest." Lin Ziping thought for a moment and then lowered his voice to say, "Those three people are dressed in unusual clothes, so they're probably not ordinary people. And now the horse is poisoned..."

Cui Lizheng pondered for a moment: "I'll go take a look."

The two arrived at the shed, just as He Shun's mother came out and said, "The girl has woken up."

Cui Lizheng nodded almost imperceptibly and went inside. The young woman had delicate features, but her bright eyes were now filled with wariness as she looked at Cui Lizheng and Lin Ziping with suspicion.

“I am the village head of Xinping Village next door, and this is Lin Ziping, a yamen runner from the county government,” Village Head Cui introduced. “Your horse went out of control, and this official saved you.”

The woman looked the two men up and down. After learning that they were her saviors, her attitude softened and she said, "I am grateful to the village head and Lord Lin for saving me."

Cui Lizheng said to the woman, "Where are you going? Now that your horses are gone, leaving might be troublesome."

The woman seemed lost in thought, remaining silent for a long while, and the room fell into silence.

"Hmm—" A muffled groan came from the side; it was the two men waking up.

"Sixth Brother, are you alright?" The woman quickly got out of bed and went to one of the men's sides, asking anxiously.

"Qiongying, I'm fine, how are you?" The man slowly sat up and reassured her.

"Ah—hiss—" came another man's cry of pain.

"Xiao Chunzi, are you alright?" the man called Sixth Brother asked anxiously.

"Young master, I—I'm fine—" the man replied haltingly.

Xiao Chunzi?

Lin Ziping stepped forward and examined the face closely. The face before him gradually overlapped with the one in his memory. So many years had passed, and the boy who used to be with Xiao Fuzi had grown up. He was already good-looking before, but now his eyebrows and eyes had matured, making him even more handsome. Now, because of the pain, his brows were furrowed, which added a touch of broken beauty.

"Xiao Chunzi." Lin Ziping hesitated for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Xiaochunzi carefully examined Lin Ziping, and after a long while hesitated, asked, "Young Master Ziping?"

Lin Ziping nodded in surprise, as if he wanted to say something.

"Cough cough—" Cui Lizheng coughed twice.

Lin Ziping instantly snapped out of his daze; now was not the time for reminiscing.

Looking around, the woman and the man called Sixth Brother stared at Lin Ziping and Xiao Chunzi with inscrutable expressions.

“He’s from my hometown, we’ve known each other before,” Lin Ziping explained dryly.

Cui Lizheng didn't speak, but stepped forward to check on Xiaochunzi and said, "His leg is broken."

The sixth young master rose and bowed to Village Chief Cui, saying, "My name is Gao Chi, and this is my younger sister, Qiongying. My sister and I were traveling to study when we were attacked by villains. Xiaochunzi was injured protecting us. Cough cough—cough—"

"Sixth Brother"

"Young Master"

Before Gao Chi could finish speaking, he coughed violently, causing the woman named Qiong Ying and Xiao Chunzi to look at him nervously.

Upon seeing this, Cui Lizheng frowned and said, "You can rest here for a while," before leaving.

Lin Ziping glanced at Xiao Chunzi and then followed her out.

"Cui Lizheng, what about them...?" Lin Ziping hesitated, unsure of what to do.

"Sigh." Cui Lizheng sighed deeply. "Let's find someone to take a look at them first, and then figure out a way to send them away."

Lin Ziping felt a little uneasy, as if he had gotten into trouble. He stammered, "Village Chief Cui, have I caused trouble for the village?"

“Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise [1]. Whether it is a blessing or a misfortune, there is no way to avoid it. It was already destined when they embarked on this path. Ziping doesn’t need to take it to heart.”

Lin Ziping looked at Cui Lizheng with a puzzled expression, not quite understanding the meaning behind his words.

Cui Lizheng took a deep look at the shed, then turned and left.