All your life is gentle

It wasn't until the next afternoon that the four of them left with baskets full of fresh vegetables, dried fruits, glutinous rice cakes and bacon on their backs, amidst the warm voices of all the men, women and children in the village.

At dusk, I found a thatched pavilion where woodcutters had a rest.As soon as the fire was lit, Chang Sheng suddenly said: "Don't talk." He listened carefully, put out the fire with two strokes, stuffed the charred branches into the depths of the bushes, and grabbed a handful of soil and sprinkled it on the place where the fire was just lit.

"someone is coming?"

"Not only people, but also horses." Changsheng's face was serious.In fact, the worst thing was that he felt as if he had heard a long-lost local accent.

Zi Shi was surprised: the local mountain people never ride horses, who is riding a horse into the mountain at this time?

The four of them stood on one side of the thatched pavilion with a canopy in their hands, looking down from the cracks in the trees.

Sure enough, the sound of horseshoes in human language seemed to be not uncommon.The first few who appeared at the intersection were Xia soldiers.Immediately afterwards, what surprised the three brothers and sisters even more and made Changsheng extremely terrified: Following Xia Bing, riding staggeringly on their horses, was a small group of Xirong cavalry!

Ordinarily, the Xibing soldiers got on their horses, and the word "staggering" was completely impossible to apply to them.Helplessly, in this damn mountainous area, there are small trails, twists and turns, and bumps up and down.When I got to a narrow place, I had to get down and lead the horse, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable.They got off their horses cursing and kicking the Xia people who were leading the way.

Four hearts immediately lifted up.

Changsheng turned his head and looked: one side is a high cliff, the other side is a deep valley, with weeds, vines, and miscellaneous trees.It's not that there is no place to hide, but in the rush, without knowing the depth, maybe something will happen instead.Zi Shi squinted his eyes for a look, and said in a low voice, "At this speed, it will take a while to get up." After turning around in the pavilion, he suddenly leaned out, leaned on the railing, and tried to look down.

Chang Sheng hugged him by the waist, suppressed his voice and shouted in his ear: "Don't kill you!"

"Go down and have a look." Zi Shi pointed to the bottom of the pavilion, "I think there seems to be a place to treat people below, between two stones."

In the four-corner Maoting, two legs are supported by the side of the mountain road, and the other two legs are supported on two large stones protruding from the sky.Changsheng climbed the edge of the pavilion and turned down.After a while, he whispered: "Pass me the bamboo basket."

The three brothers and sisters worked together to pass things first, then people, and all were safely transferred.The two big rocks happened to face each other on a slant, and the bottoms were connected to form a triangular gap, and the four of them could comfortably shrink inside.

Xirong dialect mixed with standard or out-of-tune Xia dialect echoed in the empty valley and ravine, becoming clearer and clearer.The only information is enough to draw a conclusion: they went into the mountains to grab food.

Of course, to Changsheng's ears, the content is much richer: these Xibing soldiers are subordinates of Yu Liang, the leader of Qianhu who was assassinated by the rebel army last year.Although the eldest prince once swore with red eyes to avenge General Yu, after Yu Liang's 2000 men were dispersed and distributed to other ministries, they soon became motherless children, and their treatment dropped significantly.

Grain search in other places in Chuzhou was similar, and the higher ups had the idea of ​​mountainous areas, and almost all the people sent to the mountains to look for food were Yu Liang's old men.They were divided into several small teams, led by the local loyal and brave army (Fu Yang ordered the Xia army who surrendered to be organized into the "loyal and brave army", which means that they abandon the dark and turn to the bright, which means loyalty and bravery).When you encounter retail investors or small villages, you will be wiped out immediately.Those who cannot be wiped out, find out the path and come back with a large force.

This group of people was very upset, and after walking for almost a whole day, they still haven't seen the legendary village. Could it be that they have to spend a whole night in the wild in the deep mountains?Everyone was very irritable, screaming and jumping.Xia Bing, who led the way, flinched: "There is only one...one mountain."

Zi Shi said to Chang Sheng: "There is still time, you go back immediately and send a message to Patriarch Bao Weng."

Changsheng does not speak.Drilled out and looked at the rock for a while, and then came in again, already made a decision.

"Seventeen in total, five Xia soldiers, and twelve Xirong soldiers." Touching the quiver on his waist, "Let's settle it on the spot."

Zi Shi knew that he was worried about the three of them: "We hide here, we won't be discovered."

"Since the soldiers of the Western Army have arrived here, I'm afraid it will be more and more difficult to go in the future. Zizhou and Zigui have to practice. This number is not too much, and this opportunity is rare." Without looking at him, he said to the twins, "Zigui , you stay here and take charge of the first five Xia soldiers. Zizhou will follow me."

After entering the mountain, they bought bows, arrows and hunting knives from the mountain people, and the two children were also equipped with weapons.

The boy was nervous and excited, with sweaty palms and weak feet.Chang Sheng grabbed his arm and carried him up the cliff, and stopped while climbing a branch: "Are you willing to kill people or shoot horses?"

"what?"

"When it comes to killing people, it must be guaranteed that no one will be left alive. When it comes to shooting horses, it must be ensured that no one escapes."

Hearing Brother Changsheng's calm tone, Zizhou calmed down.This is neither the time to be excited nor the time to be afraid.Thinking about it: "Killing is definitely not good. I shoot horses. Didn't Brother Changsheng say that horses are human. If someone is holding them, if they miss the point, after suffering pain, they will most likely charge sideways. I will definitely not be able to run." ——In the deep valley on the side, the horse fell without physiology.

It really is a plastic talent.Changsheng nodded: "Go. Find a suitable place to hide, and pay attention to my gestures." Holding the rhino horn longbow in his hand, he felt a little regretful.This one is not bad, it is still much worse than the "Qingyi" I used before.It can hold up to three shots in a row, but I'm afraid it won't work with five shots.Had to trouble.

Below the Maoting Pavilion, Zigui was leaning on a slanted branch at the entrance of the cave, holding a bow and arrow in his hand, trembling slightly.

Getting closer.You can almost see the other person's face clearly.

Just about to raise his hand to shoot, Zi Shi patted her shoulder from behind: "Wait a little longer. Wait for the fish to swim over."

fish?Zigui's heart trembled.In the next moment, all he saw was the target.

This small-scale ambush battle only lasted for a while, and ended with the ambush side's overall victory.Although they are outnumbered, they do their mental calculations without intention, and take advantage of the right time and place. The three of them are strong enough, cooperate with each other tacitly, and play cleanly and beautifully.Seventeen soldiers and twelve horses were all wiped out.

Changsheng was afraid that some soldiers would recognize him, so he didn't show up at all, and fired twelve arrows in four rounds, which was too fast to cover his ears.Seeing that everyone fell down, he jumped over and made up for everyone who was not dead.Looking at the corpse on the ground, he said silently: "I'm sorry, I can only call you outcasts today." He pulled out all the arrows, wiped the blood on the corpse's clothes, and put them back in the bag.

Going back to the pavilion, he said, "It's getting dark, and no one will come. I'm going to the Miao village to report the news, and you stay here just in case." Then, he untied the quiver and handed it to Zi Zhou's hand, drilled out and disappeared.

The three brothers and sisters squatted quietly.The twins' heartbeats vibrated in the dark and narrow space, as if they were about to rush out of their chests.

"Zi Zhou, Zi Gui, stretch out your hand." Zi Shi said lightly.Put two pairs of wet and hot hands together in the palm, no longer speak.

Brother's hands are cool, dry and peaceful.The two children gradually calmed down, their thunderous heartbeats turned into steady and long breaths.They all thought at the same time: "I thought we were protecting Big Brother, but it turns out that Big Brother is protecting us..."

After more than two hours, Changsheng came back.Coming with him were half of the Miao Village, a total of nine adult men, holding torches, led by Patriarch Baoweng himself.

"Brother Gu, I didn't expect you guys to be so talented at such a young age!" The patriarch stretched out his thumb while directing the others to dig a hole in the valley.The dead soldiers had just started mopping up the mountains, and they hadn't grabbed any money yet, but their weapons were pretty good.Everyone took swords, arrows and long bows, and threw the body down to bury it on the spot.They dragged all the horses up again, disemboweled them on the spot, cut the horse meat into large pieces, put them in a basket, and took them back.

Chang Sheng pulled Zi Shi behind him, looked at the bloody mess in the pavilion, and frowned secretly.The one at the back obviously had a gloomy face, but he refused to stay calm, and stood up on tiptoe to interject: "The soldiers of the Western Army entered the mountains to grab food, and they have started, I'm afraid they won't let it go."

"We will be guarding this mountain pass in shifts from tomorrow." The head of the patriarch's family continued, "The Miao family is not easy to bully, he will definitely come and go!"

But Zi Shi directly said to Bao Weng: "Patriarch, today is just a small group of stragglers. If there is a large group of soldiers and horses, there are many women and children in the village. It is better to avoid the front."

"If that's the case, we can only move further into the mountains. Tomorrow, I will ask Dabao and Erbao to go to several other villages to investigate." Looking at the four of them, he sincerely invited, "You really want to go to the riverside Is it? It's too dangerous. Why don't you come with us..."

"Thank you, Patriarch. It's just... we have to go back to Mengjin to find relatives."

Seeing their resolute attitude, Bao Weng said: "If you go back to Mengjin, there is a small road in this mountain. But there are few people walking, so it will be a bit harder. You guys have skills, so it must be no problem." Saying, Call the second child over, "You go to Wuhang Village, just drop by, and give them a ride."

"Second Brother Youbao leads the way, that's great." He added with a smile, "It's the three of them who know kung fu, not me."

By the time the scene was cleaned up, it was already midnight.The men carried bamboo baskets on their backs and had to rush back overnight.Before leaving, Bao Weng led the crowd to thank the four benefactors, took out something from his pocket and handed it to Chang Sheng: "It will keep you safe all the way. When other Miao people see you, they will know that you are friends."

Changsheng understood that he could not refuse, so he took it solemnly.It turned out to be a palm-length ox horn, carved with complicated patterns, with silver edges chiseled on both ends, and a red string threaded through a hole on the edge.The ox is a mythical animal of the Miao family, and the horns of the ox are regarded as sacred objects.Knowing that this is a very important token, she turned her head and held it to Zi Shi.Zi Shi smiled and said: "The patriarch gave it to you, so he can trust you. Besides, this thing is just right for you."

The others left, but Er Bao stayed behind and walked with them.

Mao Ting can't wait any longer, and the people who will come to watch during the day will continue to clean up.Er Bao led the four of them to find a nearby cave and set up a fire to roast the horse meat.The twins couldn't wait any longer, so they took out the dried fruit and gnawed it.The tense mood of the two children was really relaxed at this time, and they felt tired and hungry immediately.In general, the second murder was much stronger psychologically than the first.

Zi Shi first gave two pieces of dried fruit to Erbao, and then took two pieces and put them in Changsheng's hands.

"You don't eat?"

"Not hungry."

Alas, nothing.You can't always seal the acupoints and force him to swallow, it will also hurt your body.Thinking about it, he got up and grabbed a handful of green cabbage hearts and bean sprouts and threw them into the pot, saying, "I'm going to fetch water."

"There's still some in the water bag—heigulongdong, where to call? Let's talk about it in the morning." Zi Shi didn't finish speaking, the other end flashed away and disappeared.Seeing Erbao's strange expression, he could only explain: "This...cough, it's probably because there are too many dead people along the way. I can't eat when I see blood, especially meat, and I vomit when I eat..."

"No wonder you go to the table to drink and not eat food." Er Bao suddenly realized, and glanced at him, "That's right, you look like you, you have to be fed with refined rice and fine grains in the deep house."

Zi Shi knew that he would be ridiculed by the working people if he spoke out about his faults, so he was obedient and no longer defended himself.Zigui felt aggrieved for the elder brother, and said, "Eldest brother is not afraid of anything. No matter what dangers he encounters, he is calmer than us..." Zizhou also chimed in.

Seeing the two silly children defending his image very seriously, Zi Shi sat aside silently with a smile in his eyes.

When Changsheng came back, the two children were talking about Erbao throwing away his armor and surrendering, shouting, "I'm really not trying to make fun of your eldest brother, but to tell the truth..."

When I asked why, I laughed too.Put the pot on the fire, and yelled at the one watching the fun: "Come here and do it yourself." Peeled another piece of glutinous rice cake and put it into the soup.

Zigui was pleasantly surprised: "Isn't this rice cake soup?" After Zi Shi took out a bowl, he shook his head and said that there was no need to add more. The girl cut up a lot of bacon slices and put them in it.Immediately, the aroma overflowed, making people salivate, and even Erbao couldn't help but drink two bowls.

After traveling northward for three days, we stayed one night in Wuhang Village.The location of this stockade is even more hidden, and no trace of Xi Rongbing has been found yet.

Er Bao left a message and accompanied Zi Shi and the others to walk for two days.Turning over the unknown number of hills, pointing to a small stream flowing out of the crevice in the stone, said: "This is the source of the Sister River, which flows until Hongfendu enters the Lianjiang River. You follow it and arrive at the Ghost King Mirror—" ——It’s a white flat stone, turn northwest, turn over Fenghuang Ridge, and go straight down to Huimengjin. The Eighteenth President is on the westernmost side of Huimengjin, next to Sumeng Cliff of Juling Mountain.”

Pausing for a while, I still couldn't help asking: "Your relatives, do you really live in that kind of place?" Then he was relieved, "You guys are so powerful, relatives are not ordinary people. Hehe, pretend I didn't ask." He Zi Shisi People bid farewell.

As the saying goes: "People are worried about the red crossing, ghosts are afraid of returning to Mengjin."

Hongfendu and Huimengjin are the two westernmost ferries of Lianjiang in Chuzhou.Although the water in the former is fast and dangerous, no matter whether it is upstream or downstream or crossing, experienced and skilled boatmen can still go.The latter is a hundred times more dangerous: when the water is high, the waves are turbulent, and the eddies and torrents are unpredictable;Ordinary boatmen, let alone crossing the river, might not be able to bear even a glance.

The entire Huimengjin section of the river is collectively called "Fengci Beach".The so-called "Eighteen Generals" refers to the [-] small bays along the coast that can barely park ships.The local people rely on these [-] small water bays to transport the wood bamboo felled from the mountain to Hongfendu to find buyers.For generations, this is what makes a living.Among them, Shibazong is located in the west, next to the cliff of Juling Mountain facing the river.

From ancient times to the present, for thousands of years, people have dreamed of sailing upstream, crossing Fengcitan, and entering Shuzhou by water from Chuzhou.However, no matter what season, what method, in the end, a torrent in the middle of the river will always be thrown into the cliff, and the boat will be destroyed and people will die.Therefore, this cliff is called "Broken Dream Cliff". A little further west of "Broken Dream Cliff" is the narrowest part of the Lianjiang River.In Tianfu, Shuzhou, this canyon is called "Tianmen".

Coming down from Fenghuangling, it is facing Huimengjintou and the second president.Further to the west, the mountains along the river gradually become steeper, reaching a section where it meets the Broken Dream Cliff, it is almost inserted straight into the water.Zi Shi and the others walked carefully along the plank road hanging in the air on the mountain wall.The plank road flies in the air, and the waves below are rough.The waves crashed against the rocks, turned up monstrous snowflakes, and roared back to the center of the river.Splashing water droplets fell on the body like raindrops, and the clothes were quickly wet.The sound of the waves was stirring in my ears, and a few people would yell loudly when they spoke occasionally, and the iron chains by the crossbars under their feet seemed to shake along with it, which made people's hearts tremble.

Such natural dangers and manpower are really uncanny workmanship.Being in the middle, I just feel that I may be swallowed by nature at any time.

A group of four people, with Zi Shi in the front and Chang Sheng at the end, the more they walked, the more thrilling they went.Zi Shi firmly grasped the vines hanging from the cliff, stood still against the mountain wall, turned his head and said loudly: "Remember, don't look down!"

When it comes to the mighty power of nature, Changsheng has experienced a lot since he was a child: strong winds in the desert, flying sand and rocks, scorching heat and extreme cold... This is the first time he has fully experienced the power of water.Although I heard him say not to look down, there was an uncontrollable arrogance in my heart, and I just stared at the river for a long time, and only looked back when I was really uncomfortable.

After walking not far, we met a group of mast drivers.

Wooden bamboos flow downriver from the upper reaches. In order to prevent them from rushing to the middle of the river or getting stuck on the rocks, someone has to pull them back with a long penny with an iron hook on one end.Therefore, from the eighteenth to the seventeenth, there is a mast driver standing on the plank road every few feet.The first mast driver hooked all the drifted wood and bamboo into the small water bay and waited for the colleagues above.Then everyone lined up again in the next section, and continued to pass through to the Sixteenth General Assembly.In this way, like running a relay, the goods were sent to Touzong, and then they were tied into wooden rafts and rowed to Hongfendu to exchange money.

The first mast driver was staring at the river and concentrating on his work.Zi Shi took advantage of the slight looseness in his hand, and asked in a moment: "Uncle, do you know where Third Master Wu lives?"

The man quickly raised his head to look at them: "Who are you? What do you want him for?" His subordinates did not slack at all, and their movements were swift and precise.

As soon as he turned his face, Zi Shi saw that he was also a boy.Because he has been haunting the river for many years, his skin is tanned, but his eyes are surprisingly bright.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Zi Shi apologized, and said again, "Hero Qu Buyan Qu introduced us here, and we came here specially to pay a visit to Third Master Wu."

"Go forward, until you reach the end."

After waiting for a while, there was no more text.Zi Shi knew that most of these strangers had weird tempers, so he waved his hand and told the first three to keep quiet and move on.After asking a few more mast drivers, he finally said something more specific: the young man was at the Seventeenth Chief, and when he walked to the end of the plank road, he was the Eighteenth Chief.Inserting it from the crack in the cliff next to the Eighteenth Headquarters, turning into the mountain road, the last house in the valley is the yard of Third Master Wu.

When the four of them finally left the plank road and set foot on the ground again, they all let out a sigh of relief.

Chang Sheng suddenly said: "We should have met that person just now."

"Which one are you talking about?"

"First."

"When you say that, it seems a little familiar."

Zizhou and Zigui also started to think back.

Changsheng reminded them: "Last summer, Xianxia Town..."

The next moment, the three brothers and sisters said in unison: "Ah! He is that thief!"

——This black mast-driving boy was actually the thief who stole their dry food by the pond outside Xianxia Town that day.