It's still snowing heavily in Shenjia Village today.
Huge snowflakes fell, leaving a series of deep pits on the ground for pedestrians, making walking very difficult.
Thirteen men carrying small packages and wearing shabby cotton-padded jackets walked into the village. Along the way, they not only had to look at the road under their feet, but also kept busy observing their surroundings.
Very busy.
"Third Master, are we really going in without weapons?"
"You don't have anything in your hand, so why do you feel so uneasy?"
"I've carried the knife with me for three years, and I'm still not used to it being away from me."
"If there is really a master in this village, it would be more convenient for us to bring a knife. If not, then we can still grab some food!"
Without weapons, it would be a bit useless to do anything.
Strangely uncomfortable.
"Shut up."
The third master glanced at several people, and their heads hurt from their noise.
"When you enter the village, call me Brother Zhuang. We are victims of the disaster who came from the north. Remember?"
As for the food in the village?
Don't worry, what's theirs will always be theirs.
Let’s get some information today, and then bring the guy next time.
"Yes, yes, listen to the third boss."
"We are disaster victims!"
"What third boss? It's Brother Zhuangzi!"
"Hey, Brother Sandang Zhuangzi, is that the aunt in front of you?"
The Third Master raised his head and looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough he saw a villager who had wrapped himself into a ball and moved slowly in the snow.
Why do you say aunt?
Firstly, the person's height was not outstanding, and secondly, the cotton-padded jacket on that person was embroidered with old-fashioned flowers, and she looked like an elderly woman with her rickety body.
"Go, follow."
The third leader took the lead and sped up to stop the people in front.
"Auntie, auntie?"
"Young man, call me. Whose family do you belong to? Why do you look so blind?"
"We came from the north and passed by here, and wanted to ask you for directions. How to get to Lin'an Mansion?"
"You want to go to Lin'an Mansion? It's not the right time. You can't go."
"Why? Our hometown was hit by a disaster, but we managed to get here. Why can't we go?"
The man panicked and looked horrified.
"Hey, Lin'an Mansion stopped allowing outsiders to enter a month ago. Even people from our village are not allowed to enter, especially those of you who come from the north."
The woman looked at several people, her eyes filled with regret and pity.
"Come to escape? You must have suffered a lot along the way! But there is nothing we can do if the city gate is not opened. I think you should go forward."
"What, you are asking me if there is any vacant house in the village? How many days do you want to stay? No."
"Ah? Is anyone here? A few people came a few days ago. They robbed the food in our village and took away the eldest daughter of the old Lin family. Where did they go? They left the next day. !”
The aunt simply knew everything and told them everything they wanted to know in a few sentences.
The aunt is back on the road.
The 13 bandits also went back on the road.
There seemed to be a lot of people in this village. Along the way from the east to the west of the village, I met three aunts who came to visit, and they all asked about it without exception.
The story is so consistent that it’s hard not to believe it.
"So Da Liu and the others are really gone?"
"Then why don't you go back to the village?"
"He also took away someone else's eldest daughter, everyone in the village knows about it!"
"Strange, so strange!"
The Third Master stood in the snow for a moment in silence, believing most of the ladies' words, but he was even more confused about the whereabouts of the eight elders.
Could it be possible that he really went somewhere else?
Near noon, smoke was rising from several houses. When he saw this, he turned around and walked back with his people.
"Go back to the village first."
"Third Master, why don't we bring some food back?"
"What should we bring? There are many people in this village, and we don't have any weapons."
Come back another day!
The group of people walked back with difficulty until their figures disappeared into the vast whiteness.
The scarred eight-man group who were thrown behind the stone wall and gagged with socks looked desperate. As their figures got further and further away, the hope in their hearts was gradually extinguished, and tears flowed out.
Shen Xingluo, Cheng Xi, and the patrol team headed by Shen Manyun were beside them, watching the 13 people come in and leave together throughout the process.
Behind them, several ladies shook their bodies into sieves.
"Mantun, what did you just say? They are bandits?!"
"For God's sake, was I talking to bandits just now?"
"They still call me auntie!"
Yaoshou, they are so close to the bandits!
The problem is, he is still alive and well.
All limbs are intact and no injuries at all!
The three of them didn't know whether they should be grateful that they had escaped the disaster or resentful that Shen Mantun kept it from them. Their limbs were shaking unsatisfactorily, and they didn't know whether they were scared or angry.
"Ahem, Aunt Cuihua, I didn't mean not to tell you."
He pointed at the group of heavily armed people behind the stone wall, and he suddenly felt confident.
"Look, we are all here. The bows and arrows in Zheng Shan's hands are not for nothing. If they dare to take action, they will be shot to death!"
It was a bit risky, but they were still sure to protect the three of them from danger.
It just scares people so much.
Guilty sin.
Aunt Cuihua and the other three: "."
Neither is it when you are angry, nor is it when you are not angry.
It's very frustrating.
but
"This bandit is not as ferocious as I thought?"
"That's right, the one in the lead talks like a little sheep."
"Are you quite polite?"
Shen Manyun: "."
Patrol: "."
Behind the stone wall, only the eight people with Scarface looked shocked when they heard this.
Who, who looks like a little sheep?
Are they three in charge?
You really dare to say it!
***
That night, the patrol team discovered that someone was quietly approaching Shenjia Village.
No one expected that the third master would be so powerful and return after three hours.
"How many people did they bring?"
"About fifty or sixty people, all armed with weapons."
Facing a powerful enemy again, Shen Manyun gathered the women, children and elderly people in the village in the cellar under the ancestral hall, and hid behind the stone wall with a patrol with resistance.
This time, we really need to go under the knife!
Facing bandits and facing wolves gives people a completely different feeling, everyone can feel it.
Compared to before, they were even more nervous!
After all, killing animals and killing people are not the same concept.
"I'm a little panicked."
"Why panic! There are so many of us, what are we afraid of what they will do!"
There are 100 people in the patrol team and only about 50 bandits. In terms of numbers, it is simply an overwhelming victory.
However, sober people know that there is no relationship at all between the two.
Compared with Henjin'er, we lose here, but compared with actual combat experience, we still lose here!
Cheng Xi stood beside Shen Xingluo, "There are more than 50 bandits, and the third master still thinks highly of us?"
Don't underestimate the more than 50 bandits. Although they are only one-sixth of the strength of the village, it is a big deal to face a peasant village.
(End of chapter)
