They finally decided to split into three groups.
I don’t know how long the search took. They followed the long and narrow forest path, not even missing bugs. After searching for a long time, they found no other traces. Their faces and bodies were already wet and mixed, and they didn’t know whether it was rain or sweat. Together, several people were a little exhausted.
It doesn't matter to Ruan Xianbei and the others, but the young and strong boys can't hold on anymore. They are just young and strong. How can their mediocre bodies have the true energy of martial arts practitioners to protect them against freezing and starvation?
This happened to everyone before they even had time to eat breakfast. Only Hei Gou and Ruan Xianbei spoke, and no one else dared to speak, so they pushed Hei Gou out.
For the sake of his partner and his own belly, Heigou was very embarrassed and spoke to Ruan Xianbei. Only then did she remember that her stomach was indeed empty. She blew the whistle to contact Shen Xuan and Tong Chun, and decided to stop searching and go back first, taking a short rest before making the next step.
The rain still kept falling.
"It's been two hours since I left. It's almost noon. You're finally back! Are you hungry? Oh my goodness, I have a raincoat. It's already so wet. Go change your clothes first and I'll pour you a glass of hot water. Tea."
As soon as she walked in, Cheng Suisui was busy talking to her about her visits to various households.
Cheng Suisui didn't suffer much, there weren't many families in the village, and the questions he had to ask were very simple, so it didn't take him long to finish the trip.
"Basically, everyone said they didn't hear anything last night. Even the two families living next door said so."
"Which family is next door to theirs?" Ruan Xianbei went into the back room to get some clothes and came out. Cheng Suisui closed the door and waited for her to change before continuing to talk to her.
"One family is a lonely mother and daughter, and another family is a family of three. The family of three said that they were a little scared because it started raining in the middle of the night, so they couldn't sleep well. In the mother-daughter family, the mother had a cough, and the little girl took care of her. Mother didn’t sleep for a while until late at night.”
Ruan Xianbei's long hair soaked by the rain made her feel a little uncomfortable. If she didn't dry it in time, she would get lice and a headache. There was no hair dryer at this time, so wet hair would dry slowly. If she could smoke it and bake it in the church, now it's just I can wipe it myself.
Ruan Xianbei let his hair down and wiped it while asking: "So there was no dispute, Apple probably went out on his own?"
"That's what it looks like now."
"How does Apple behave in the village?"
"They are all very good. They said that their family used to be happy, but now that the father has died and his younger sister has been lost, Ping Ping's mother, Ms. Li, is also a little mentally disturbed and talks a little garbled. She said that she caught a cold yesterday and is now bedridden. I don’t dare to tell her about the lost apple yet.”
Ruan Xianbei frowned. There were so many families in the village, why did you choose this one? One is dead and the other two are alive and dead. Is there anything different about their family?
"Any other news?"
"That's about it." Cheng Suisui looked at her thin profile, clapped his hands and said, "Ahua has steamed the buns and brought them over. They are heating them on the stove. I'll get them to you."
Ruan Xianbei smiled. This family was quite attentive, "Okay, I'll eat outside."
"Suisui, where is Mu Ruojiao?"
"Oh, I heard she said that she saw the little girl from the house next door to Apple yesterday nearly falling into the well while fetching water. She was worried that the lonely mother and daughter would have nothing to eat, so she went to deliver food."
"What can she eat?"
"Senior Brother Xu and the others bought it."
Cheng Suisui came out with a basket of steamed buns and placed them on the table. Ruan Xianbei laughed and said, "It seems like we are freeloading if they do this."
"How can it be possible? Senior brother and Tongchun have no one to give you anything. You are the only one who is freeloading. I wonder if it's because you are too thin. It looks like you have been treated harshly?"
"If you fell off a cliff and lay down for half a month, you could still lose weight." Ruan Xianbei glanced at her.
"Hahaha, I can't bear it."
the other side.
Xu Pei sat on the chair and asked the two guards who came back together, "Did you find anything?"
"There are only a few traces, and the clues were interrupted in the mountains and forests." The guard reported truthfully.
"I know, thank you for your hard work."
Shen Xuan and the others had to change their clothes when they came back. Shen Xuan didn't say anything, but Tong Chun had a sad face, and he didn't look like a monk at all.
"I really hate rainy days." When they were alone, he didn't even say it as a monk. Others would laugh at him for showing off all day long.
Shen Xuan said, "Didn't you say you hated sunny days a few days ago?" He thought the sun was too hot on his bald head.
"Amitabha, the young monk only likes the most comfortable weather when the weather is sunny and windy."
"Quite picky."
"What do you think about this matter?" Shen Xuan asked after being quiet for a long time.
"I guess that person just wants to use this incident to drive us away. If she can't drive us away, she will be anxious. It is only a matter of time before we find her."
"I just don't have enough time." Shen Xuan said. He came back last night and told Tongchun about Sangzhu. Tongchun was quite surprised who caused the Sang sisters to fall into trouble. It was really surprising that this happened this morning. I don’t know if the other party is provoking them or intimidating them.
The villagers were also panicked at first, but Tongchun obviously gave the villagers a shot in the arm after showing off his dazzling golden light.
If they don't even believe in eminent monks, who can they believe in? This young and handsome little master can definitely drive away the filth for them!
They didn't know what kind of medicine the other party gave Sangzhu and what he was going to do. Shen Xuan felt strange in her heart. There were a lot of things that they didn't even know about the target's actions, characters, and objects. They had been racing against time for some time. He thought of the arrow feathers he picked up when he was ambushed before, and he hadn't figured out the pattern thoroughly yet. Junqu Pavilion
One by one, I have to go back to the mountain and ask the master when this matter is over.
"That's right." Tong Chun saw him deep in thought and asked, "Doesn't Taoist Priest Yuan Zhen know how to divination? Do you want to do divination too?"
Shen Xuan frowned and looked at him: "I don't know how. My master is going to pass this on to Master Yueyin and let him continue to pass it on. He didn't ask us to learn it."
The master said that he had no talent, and he did not like to learn divination that could predict or calculate.
He looked at Tong Chun, one of Master Yueyin's young disciples: "Don't you know how? Master once said that you are more suitable."
"How can I know it? Your master hasn't even taught me how to master it."
...
Xi'er brought a bowl of Qiuli ointment and fed it to her mother. Xi'er's mother no longer coughed all night long and looked better today than yesterday.
"Xi'er, you can't take this Qiuli ointment tomorrow. Do you know if you can take it again later?" Mu Ruojiao said.
"I know, Sister Mu." Xi'er treasured the small jar and put it away carefully. Sister Mu said that this was much better than ordinary pears.
Mu Ruojiao waved to her, "Come on, eat the buns first."
"I'll take it to my mother-in-law first."
Mu Ruojiao looked at Xi'er and didn't know why she felt compassion for this little girl.
Maybe it was because her thin shoulders were carrying a heavy burden that was inappropriate for her age that made her feel sad.
Girls of this age should play carefree. Even children from poor families have their parents to support them, but Xi'er, mother and son can only rely on Xi'er herself.
In the past, Xi'er's family would have neighbors help out, and that family would help out. If things didn't work out, they would still have chickens from the hens to eat. But what happened today is that everyone is too busy to take care of themselves. How could they have time to take care of their orphans and widowers? I couldn't bear to eat eggs. I was about to go out to find some wild vegetables and borrow some rice to make rice soup when I saw Mu Ruojiao coming.
What Mu Ruojiao brought herself was paid by the villagers to let them make them. She was not used to eating buns, pancakes and other things, so she didn't eat too much. She thought that Xi'er might be out of food, so she brought some over.
She took some food and told Xu Pei. Xu Pei agreed without asking any questions and just told him to be careful. He sent a guard to accompany her and wait at the door.
She came to take a look and found that Xi'er's house really had no food.
It's strange that she can recover from illness after such a hungry and full meal. She doesn't know how to do anything else. She can only help Xi'er fetch and boil water.
In fact, this is enough. Xi'er has to stand on a stool to fetch water and pour it into the pot. It's much more convenient with her.
Mu Ruojiao saw that Xi'er's eyes were vaguely black and blue, as if she hadn't slept well and asked, "Xi'er didn't sleep well last night?"
When she asked about Xi'er, she yawned, immediately covered her mouth and said apologetically: "It rained last night and I felt a little uncomfortable. I kept watch for a while."
"Sister Mu, please go back. I'm fine here." Xi'er stood up and pushed Mu Ruojiao out. "Sister Mu, you've worked hard too. Go back and rest."
Mu Ruojiao didn't sleep well last night when she saw Ruan Xianbei and the others were so alert. Seeing that Xi'er really had nothing to do alone, she was leaving.
"Okay, okay, I think I'm in your way." She joked.
"No way, Sister Mu, you are a noble person. If you hurt yourself for us, it will be my and my mother's fault." Xi'er said with a smile.
Xi'er walked her to the door, and the guards came up to her with umbrellas. Mu Ruojiao thought about Apple's loss today and told her, "Just stay at home and don't run around."
"Yeah, I understand." Xi'er replied obediently.
After leaving the house, Mu Ruojiao looked back at the house that was still dilapidated in the wind and rain, and thought of the stories that she had longed for in her childhood, about heroes who fought for justice and joyfully took revenge. This is the first time he sneaks out to travel around the world and sees the suffering in the world.
In the storybook, it is written that a hero rescues an orphaned mother and daughter to prevent them from freezing to death due to hunger and cold, but what will happen next? If you can save it for a while, can you save it for a lifetime? The power of an individual is limited. Why is there no mention in the storybook of what will happen after the hero is gone?
Mu Ruojiao felt a blockage in her heart. When she took a parting glance, she saw that there seemed to be something dirty in Xi'er's tied up hair. She wanted to remind her to wash her hair, but Xi'er had already gone in and closed the door.
When Mu Ruojiao went back, she wanted to go find Xu Pei, but after thinking about it, she decided not to go. The guards sent her to her yard and she went back.
She saw Ruan Xianbei leaning on a chair and drying her still semi-wet hair, and she accidentally reached out and touched it.
Cheng Suisui glared at her, "What are you doing?"
Mu Ruojiao was a little dazed and murmured to herself, "Why is there dirt on her hair?"
Twenty taels of silver was a bit too small, but in modern times it was still around eight thousand to ten thousand yuan.
At present, an ordinary soldier in the Yu Dynasty can only earn one tael of silver per month at most, and a centurion can earn three taels of silver per month.
Maybe he will accept it.
In addition, Qin Hu is also planning to draw a big pie for Li Xiaokun. After all, Qin Hu used to have money.
Now it depends on whether he and Qin An can survive the night.
"Little Marquis, I may not be able to survive. I'm so hungry, my hands and feet are frozen with cold." Qin An said in a daze.
"Xiao Anzi, Xiao Anzi, hold on, hold on, you can't stay still, get up and run, that's the only way you can survive."
In fact, Qin Hu himself is in trouble. Although he was a special soldier in his previous life, this body is not what he used to be. All he has now is a perseverance.
"Wait!"
Qin Hu's eyes were like cold stars, and he suddenly shouted in a low voice. A reflection and a rustling sound that appeared just ten meters away from the camp aroused his alertness.
With the professional sense of smell of a special scout, he felt that it was the enemy.
But should we notify Li Xiaokun?
Qin Hu hesitated a little. What if he saw it wrong? You know, his current physical condition is completely different from before.
If a false alarm causes night terrors or camp roars, and someone gets a handle on it, they will be killed without mercy.
"Xiao Anzi, hand me the bow and arrow."
Qin Hu crawled under the carriage and whispered.
But Qin An's next words scared him so much that he almost jumped up.
"Bow and arrow, what are bow and arrow?"
What, there are no bows and arrows in this era?
Qin Hu looked around and found a wooden stick with a sharpened top placed under the wheel. It was two meters long. It was thick at the handle and became thinner as it went up.
The more I look at it, the more it looks like a weapon.
Wooden gun, this is the iconic building of the cannon fodder.
"Come closer, come closer..." After a few breaths, Qin Hu was sure that he was right.
The other party may be the enemy's scouts, called scouts in this era. They are trying to enter the camp and conduct reconnaissance.
Of course, if conditions permit, you can also poison, set fire to, or perform a beheading operation.
"one two three……"
He and Qin An lay motionless on the ground until then, he suddenly jumped up and threw the wooden spear as a javelin.
"puff!"
It was impossible for the scout to wear armor because he had difficulty moving, so the shot pierced his chest directly.
Following Qin Hu, he picked up the wooden gun belonging to Qin An, jumped out of the carriage, and chased in the opposite direction desperately.
For the reliability of intelligence, the scouts are required to monitor each other and are not allowed to act alone, so there are at least two.
After a few moments, Qin Hu threw another black shadow to the ground.
Then he strangled his neck with a wooden gun. There was a crisp sound and the man's head hung down.
"Hoo, hoo!" Qin Hu was sweating profusely and almost collapsed. He lay on the ground gasping for air. His body was really too weak.
Just to break the enemy's neck, before he could just use his hands, but just now he had to rely on the power of a wooden gun.
"Qin An, come here and help me search you."
Qin Hu is familiar with the rules of the battlefield. He must collect all the trophies from these two guys as quickly as possible.
"Two daggers, two horizontal knives, a level, seven or eight taels of broken silver, two grain bags, flags, kettles, two sets of cotton-padded clothes, two pot helmets, bacon..."
"Qin An, brother, hurry up, hurry up, eat something quickly, you are saved..."
Qin Hu tremblingly grabbed a handful of fried beans from the grain bag and stuffed it into Qin An's mouth, then filled him with water and put on the captured cotton-padded clothes.
.
Before daybreak, Qin Hu cut off the scout's head before the sentry on duty arrived, carried it into Shi Chang's camp, and reported what happened yesterday.
This was done to prevent others from taking credit, and he knew what kind of environment he was in now.
"Thirty taels of silver for one head, you are rich."
The chief's name was Gundam. He was a tall, muscular man with a beard.
At first, he didn't believe it until he saw the trophies captured by Qin Hu and the two corpses.
At this moment, his eyes were full of envy, jealousy and hatred.
"It's not me who gets rich, it's everyone who gets rich. This is the result of the ten of us."
