Zhang Xiaozu knew that the reason why so many people were sent back to deliver meat at one time was that, firstly, the large number of people could make them more courageous and there was no need to be afraid of the Shuanglonggou Gorge, and secondly, it was to prevent anyone from being jealous and committing robbery on the road.
Niu Dawa is strong and can fight, so it's perfect to send him back. Also, let him go home to see how his father's injury is recovering, so that he won't have to worry about it all the time.
With meat bones and bone soup, Zhang Xiaozhu happily ate four corn tortillas, burped twice, and touched his bulging belly. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had eaten such a full meal.
Because of the lack of water, Zhang Xiaozu had not taken a shower since entering the mountain. Even after the fierce battle at the mouth of the canyon, he only wet a towel with water and wiped the blood and mud on his body. So at this time, I heard that there was He couldn't wait to take a bath because he was sticky like a layer of paste and already stunk.
A trap had been set up by the stream, so Zhuangyuan and the others took Zhang Xiaozu upstream and found a place with a relatively open water surface. The water was very shallow, not even waist high, but very clear, and Zhang Xiaozu had a good bath.
Under the faint moonlight, Zhang Xiaozu's dark and compact skin reflects the bronze color, and his well-proportioned muscle lines are as if carefully outlined by an artist. The bulging muscles seem to contain infinite power.
The top picks looked at Zhang Xiaozhu's strong and plump body, and then looked at their skinny bean sprout-like body, and their hearts were full of frustration.
Zhang Xiaozu waved his fist and was pleasantly surprised to find that his strength had grown a lot. He even had a surging and endless feeling. This feeling made him have a bold idea. If he meets someone from a big family again, He can beat up ten of those bullies on the road.
The night is very quiet.
Zhang Xiaozhu had been in a coma for a day and couldn't sleep for a while, so he took the initiative to take up the responsibility of keeping watch and let the two people watching the night go to sleep.
I added some firewood to the bonfire and sprinkled a handful of yellow powder into it, and a fragrance suddenly spread in the air. This powder was specially formulated by the old village chief. It has a miraculous effect in repelling mosquitoes. If you sprinkle a handful of it into the fire, no mosquitoes will come close within a radius of dozens of steps. The effect can last for several hours.
After doing this, Zhang Xiaozu climbed up a big tree and sat on a thick branch. He leaned his back on the trunk, rested his hands on his hands, and looked at the stars in the sky through the gaps between the branches and leaves, with a smile on his lips.
Under the tree, the sound of snoring was loud.
Zhang Xiaozhu knew that everyone was sleeping soundly, because a big stone that had been weighing on their hearts for a long time was finally put down. The black forest did not disappoint them. There was water, wild vegetables and fruits, and prey here, allowing them to truly see hope of life. Feeling completely relaxed physically and mentally, and having a delicious meal with broth in the evening, everyone slept soundly.
Recalling the experience of the past two days, Zhang Xiaozhu couldn't help but feel in a trance, like a dream, not real at all, but the hunting knife lying across his legs truly told him that everything was real. Thinking of yesterday's life-and-death battle, for some reason, he felt only a little scared, but more excited.
Zhang Xiaozu felt like there was a ferocious beast in his body, and yesterday's battle awakened the beast and opened its cage. It couldn't wait to break out of the cage.
"Pawn, I'll be on guard, you go get some sleep." Li Dahe woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to change shifts with Zhang Xiaopou.
Zhang Xiaozu was indeed a little sleepy. He responded softly and was about to get down from the tree. Suddenly, a rustling sound came into his ears, interrupting his movements. He made a silent gesture towards Li Dahe under the tree, and pointed to the direction from which the sound came.
Li Dahe nodded, and he heard it too.
The sound was approaching at an extremely fast speed. Just a moment ago, it was a faint rustling sound, but soon it turned into a swishing sound, like footsteps, but it was unclear whether it was a human or an animal.
"What's the sound?" Zhang Youxiong woke up in alarm. As expected of an old hunter, he slept very alertly.
"I don't know if it's a human or an animal, wake up the big guy quickly." Li Dahe responded, and at the same time ran to wake up the sleeping people one by one.
After a while, the sound became much closer. Zhang Xiaopou squatted on the tree and heard clearly. It was the sound of human footsteps stepping on dead branches and leaves, mixed with low cursing and faint crying. The sound is messy and cannot be heard clearly.
"It should be people. There are about six or seven footsteps approaching us." Zhang Xiaozu told the people under the tree his judgment.
"Well, they are people, seven." Zhang Youxiong said. The tone was very sure, and it was obvious that he had clearly identified it.
"Cheer up and be careful! If you wander around in the deep mountains and old forests without finding a place to rest in the middle of the night, there must be something wrong." Li Dahe reminded. After the battle at the mouth of the canyon, he gained new knowledge. One person versus ten people, the loser is not necessarily the one who loses. So no matter how many people are on the other side, it’s always right to be careful.
With Li Dahe's reminder, everyone picked up their hunting knives vigilantly.
After a while, the voice got closer to a hundred steps away. Although the figures could not be seen clearly in the dark night, their voices could already be heard.
Only one person was heard shouting excitedly: "Look, there is fire ahead! Haha, there is someone, we are saved!"
"Haha, there is no perfect way!"
"It's saved! It's saved!"
"hurry up!"
Seeing the fire in front, several other people were also very excited. Listening to their conversation, it seemed that they had encountered something dangerous and were fleeing.
"It's them who are the bastards!" Zhang Xiaozhu suddenly yelled.
"Xiao Pou, did you see it? Who is on the other side?" The person under the tree asked curiously. I don't know who is on the other side, but it made Zhang Xiao Pou so angry.
"It's too dark to see clearly, but I recognize the voice of one of them." Zhang Xiaozu responded, "It's the bastard at the mouth of the canyon who jumped out to report and expose us in order to please the bullies who blocked the road!"
After saying that, Zhang Xiaopou jumped down from the tree and faced him with his hunting knife.
When they heard that it was that person, the people of Zhangliu Village, especially the people of Zhangjia Village, felt angry. In their view, the reason why things developed into an irreversible and bad situation was all because that person came out and added fuel to the fire. Otherwise, no one would be injured, and no one would die tragically.
"Damn it, I'm going to chop that bastard to death!" The champion yelled, and rushed out with the hunting knife, unable to hold it back.
"Don't be impulsive!" Zhang Youxiong hurriedly followed. Although he was very angry in his heart, he still didn't want to see the two sides fighting with knives. They were both struggling to survive in the cracks, so why bother hurting each other.
Li Dahe ordered several people to follow him with torches, while he and the remaining people stayed where they were, guarding the equipment and dry food.
Zhang Xiaozhu was indeed so angry that his reason was obscured. He thought of stabbing the man a few times when they met, and then making him kneel on the ground and kowtow to admit his mistake. If he dared to say even half a word "no", he would be killed with one knife. However, when the seven people on the opposite side appeared in his field of vision, he couldn't help but froze, and his anger gradually receded.
The angry number one scholar and others who followed him had the same reaction as Zhang Xiaopou when they saw the seven people on the opposite side. Because the situation of the seven people on the other side is so miserable, so miserable that people can't even get angry.
The seven people in Daqiao Village, headed by He Xiaoren, were covered in blood and mud from head to toe, and their clothes were in tatters, as if they had been torn by wild dogs. What was particularly eye-catching was that each of them had countless wounds, big and small, especially There were bone-deep wounds on the legs and arms. The skin and flesh were turned out and bleeding.
After He Xiaoren recognized people from Zhang Xiaozu and Zhang Liu villages, he was stunned for a moment, then knelt down directly in front of Zhang Xiaozu, crying and begging: "My lords, help me!"
"Adults, please save us!"
"Please, save us!"
"Woo-"
The other six people also knelt down, some begged, and some lay on the ground sobbing loudly, unable to speak.
Several elderly men lay on the ground and cried loudly, crying into tears, which made people feel sad.
"What's wrong with you? Where are the others?" Zhang Youxiong asked.
"Dead, all dead." He Xiaoren said.
