sin of nature

There was a big hole in one corner of the cabin, and the cool wind blowing in directly blew onto Xiao Ming's face.

What about people?

On the other side, the person who escaped from Xiao Ming just now shouted loudly, "Come on! Li Ran's rescuers are here!!"

Xiao Ming turned around again, knocking people unconscious.Fortunately, not many people were attracted, only two nearby people came to support with knives, but they were also knocked out by Xiao Ming before they could make a move, and with a muffled grunt, they fell softly to the ground.

Xiao Ming circled around the village, but he didn't see any figure of Li Ran.

Did that person lie to him just now, or did he escape by himself?

Xiao Ming couldn't make up his mind, so he climbed into the wooden fence at the outermost edge of the village.

The entire stockade is made of bamboo and wood. It stretches across a large area and is uneven. It should be built one after another around the original old stockade. Not only does it look different from the old to the new, but the craftsmanship of the construction is also very different. .

On the side of the main village of the Brown Clothes Party, there is no quiet mountain atmosphere at all, and the village is full of singing and dancing.They were urging each other to drink, drinking and punching each other with increasing interest, and the laughter of men and women mixed together. It was just like an ordinary place for pleasure in the city, and the lights were on all night.

This group of people really regarded this mountain as their own palace, Xiao Ming thought to himself.

Xiao Ming climbed up the bamboo ladder, which was not very eye-catching. Occasionally, a few came out of the village, and they were already drunk unconscious, but they fell down on the porch, and said in a daze. Talk dirty.

After a while, I heard a familiar voice yelling loudly, "Brother tells you not to continue!! If something happens later, how do you look like?!"

It was the irascible gray-clothed man who robbed the vault that day.

Xiao Ming walked around the pleasure-seeking room with several open doors, lest he be seen by the gray-clothed man.

Several rooms in succession were silent, and there were some gold, silver and jewels piled up in them—most of them were gold bars that were robbed by the gang that day.

Turning a corner, this side is far away from the sounds of pleasure-seeking.

There was the sound of someone talking in the nearest room.

Xiao Ming posted it, just in time to hear Li Ran's name.

"Brother, why don't you use Li Ran to blackmail them and ask them to hand over all the gold bars in the vault, so that the brothers won't have to take risks for the rest of their lives?"

No one responded to the speaker.

"Or kill him directly. Li City has no owner, and the guards are weak. It must be in chaos. Take this opportunity, brothers, why do you need to live on this mountain, and always be on guard against someone who wants to take us down? Why don't you return to the city with the treasure in a big way ?”

The people in the room sighed, and there seemed to be some helplessness in their tone, "You really think so?"

This voice is He Li, not like the day when he robbed the treasury with ease.

"Does elder brother want to live on this mountain for the rest of his life?" the voice asked.

"......"

"For me, it's a helpless move to become a bandit. If there is a chance, I still want to go back to Licheng."

After a long while, He Li finally said slowly, "Don't mention this to others."

"Brother imprisoned Li Ran like this, what is his intention?"

"I want him to submit to us."

The other person seemed to have taken a breath in astonishment, and asked, "Why?"

"No reason, just want to do it."

"He's the lord of Li City——is this...possible?"

He Li replied resolutely, "Nothing is impossible. After a long time, other people will naturally become the city lord. When he gives up his mind, he will be able to submit to us."

"It's not cost-effective to do this at all. Li Ran has a very high reputation in the city. If the guards find him, what if—"

"There is no chance," He Li interrupted forcefully, "Those people will be defeated without Li Ran, and no one will attack."

"Li Ran has been doomed to be the city lord since he was born, how can such a person submit to us?"

"If it's really not possible, there's no pity."

"Then why—"

That person was about to ask for clarification when a familiar voice sounded from behind Xiao Ming.

"Who is there?!"

It was the big man in gray.

The door in front of Xiao Ming was kicked open from the inside, and the big man rushed to him in a few steps.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Ming jumped off the other side of the porch, and fell straight down. This place is at least three floors above the ground.

The big man in gray shouted down, "Catch this man."

As soon as the words fell, a person hurriedly ran to the side and shouted anxiously to everyone, "The wine storehouse is on fire!"

At the same time, someone shouted from the basement of the village, "Brother! Li Ran is gone!!"

"The hayhouse is also on fire."

Xiao Ming landed firmly on the ground, only to see scorching flames all around, and for a moment he couldn't see where it came from.The outermost layer of the wooden fence also burned, and the flames swept upwards, hitting the green bamboos, and falling on the dense thatch on the top of the stockade.

Xiao Ming covered himself with a transparent water film around his body, and rushed into the flames without hesitation.

All the people in the village hurried down to the water storage pool at the back, holding all kinds of utensils and rushing to put out the fire, in a panic.

After going around several times, Xiao Ming finally managed to recognize a familiar figure in the firelight.With his back turned to him, the man was throwing a jar of wine down a steep slope, and then threw over a burning leaf, which immediately engulfed in flames.

The figure in white suddenly brightened, and was completely enveloped in the flames.

"Li Ran!"

Most of Xiao Ming's voice was covered by the roaring burning sound around him, even he could hear it himself.

But the figure suddenly froze and turned around.

That face was still warm and calm as usual, but the heat from the flames made him look more desperate than usual.

"Why are you here?" The expression on his face was somewhat startled.

Xiao Ming came to his side in a few steps, and surrounded him in his own circle of fire protection.

"I'm here to find you." Xiao Ming said logically, "Everyone in the house is waiting for the general."

Li Ran was stunned, and suddenly felt the coolness that cut off the scorching temperature when he was close to Xiao Ming, but he didn't ask much, just looked down at him slightly, and said, "It's too dangerous for you to come up rashly like this."

Xiao Ming dragged Li Ran through the fire and walked down the mountain, saying, "It's too dangerous for my lord to set fire rashly where I am."

Li Ran smiled indifferently, and explained, "In the past, they were always able to stop the fire attack at the foot of the mountain quickly, and they couldn't catch it at all... This time, they will not be able to prevent the fire attack in their base camp. If you run up, you will only be completely surrounded by fire, and you will find yourself dead. If you run down... At this time, the bottom should be full of guards—they will be caught as soon as they go up."

"I know," Xiao Ming replied, "just now I saw the instructions on the white silk under the horse's body—your lord has already planned it, otherwise why would you often take the horses and horses to run outside the city every day? They're all waiting for them to take you away, right? And your lord knows that their leader will not do anything to you."

Li Ran nodded affirmatively, and said, "Since you knew that I was kidnapped deliberately, why did you come up to rescue me?"

"How can my lord not know that fire attacks are extremely dangerous, and if you are not careful, you will burn yourself, so what should you do at that time? If I am not mistaken, there must be a letter written by my lord on the table in the bedroom, and I will arrange everything after the death." Are you clear? If you can't go back to the house tonight, tomorrow the servants will be able to see the letter when they are cleaning again."

Li Ran's expression froze, as if he hadn't expected that the person in front of him who had just known each other for a short time and hadn't talked much would know his arrangements so clearly, with a movement in his heart, he felt a certain sense of stability.

Xiao Ming suddenly thought of the people who were crying before he left the mansion, and said, "Everyone is waiting for your lord at home... If your lord can't go back this time, the cook probably won't make sweet-scented osmanthus wine anymore."

Li Ran nodded, looked at the figure who was a head shorter than him beside him, and suddenly burst out laughing.

? ?

Xiao Ming looked at him puzzled.

"I just suddenly remembered that when I hugged you under the bridge at the beginning, I never thought that such a day would come. Thinking about it this way—" He looked at Xiao Ming, and the smile on his mouth seemed to melt. a great blessing."

Xiao Ming smiled, and replied sincerely, "It's the same for me. If the lord hadn't brought me back to the mansion, I don't know where I'm lying now. I still look half dead."

"I heard people say that you were abandoned by your family?"

"No." Xiao Ming shook his head, "Those people still say that I am the adult's illegitimate brother."

"Well, haven't you already admitted this to them?"

"Um...that's my random nonsense."

"Yeah." Li Ran didn't bother with this issue, and continued to ask, "What is that for?"

Xiao Ming avoided his gaze, lowered his head and continued walking forward, as if he didn't want to answer this question, so he was silent for a while.

Li Ran was about to say that there is no need to force it, but Xiao Ming said slowly, "I am not considered abandoned by my family... but I really don't know where I should go. My lord, have you ever felt that feeling? ...that is - something you are used to, suddenly turned upside down one day...Suddenly you find that you can no longer be the same as before. But you have never understood other things ...I don't know where I should go, or what to do... So I lay there, thinking that if I can figure out where to go, I can start again, but I haven't thought about it until my lord Take me back to the house."

Li Ran nodded solemnly, and said, "I think the sweet-scented osmanthus wine has enlightened you."

Xiao Ming: "..."

“Actually still not thinking about it”

"Ok?"

"But if you think about it and get up again, you may never get up."

Li Ran nodded clearly, and asked, "Then what are your plans for the future?" After asking this sentence, he suddenly felt a little lost in his heart.

Xiao Ming thought for a while, and asked solemnly, "My lord...can I help the cook feed the chickens? I think I am quite handy. If I am at home, I will never eat a lot, and neither will the sweet-scented osmanthus wine. And then secretly drink your lord's. So... can you keep me?" He raised his head and looked at Li Ran uncertainly.

The little disappointment in the latter's heart was swept away, and turned into an uncontrollable smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Okay."