Serdan set off after explaining to his son. He drove the sledge all alone and finally returned to the village after dark.
The village was quiet. Except for the dogs of each family who started barking when they found someone approaching, no one came out. As soon as Serdan walked to the door of his house, the firelight swayed behind him. He turned around and saw two soldiers holding torches walking out from the opposite corner.
"Are you Seldan?" an armored soldier shouted loudly.
"Yeah." Seldan decided to play dumb.
"Where were you during the day today? Where is your son?" the soldier asked.
"Sir, the villain and his son went to a friend's house in another village and came back with some dried fish. Who would have thought that the villain's son Elu actually fell ill with a fever and is still living in his friend's house. The villain plans to spend a few days Pick him up again." Serdan turned around and pointed to the bag on the sledge and explained.
After hearing this, the two armored soldiers did not raise any questions. They just said: "It's getting late now and Lord Zuoling has already taken a rest. You can go to the village chief's house to see Lord Zuoling tomorrow morning. He has something to ask you."
When Serdan heard this, he quickly bowed and said, "Yes, yes. The villain has taken note of it."
After the armored soldier finished speaking, he sneered and said, "I'm telling you, don't think about escaping. There are people guarding the whole village. If you dare to run away, you will be shot to death with random arrows!"
"Don't worry, sir. The villain's mother and wife are all at home. Why should I run away?"
"Okay, remember tomorrow morning." The two armored soldiers waved their hands, turned around and left from the opposite corner.
Serdan stood at the entrance of the courtyard until the two armored soldiers were gone, then led the horse into the courtyard. He didn't bother to take off the sledge, but tied the horse to the post of the stable, and hurriedly opened the door and entered the house.
In the house, there was a lamp like a bean. In the dim light, Serdan's mother, wife and little daughter were still awake. The three people huddled at the edge of the kang, looking at Serdan who came in with both anxiety and joy.
"Mom, are you okay?" Serdan turned around, closed the door and bolted it, then hurriedly walked to his mother and asked.
The old man grabbed one of his son's hands and shook his head.
Serdan's wife Dachun said nervously: "Today at noon, dozens of armored soldiers came to the village. They went door to door to check the population and asked us if Yalha had been back. But Genggen was frightened. .”
Gengen is Seldan's youngest daughter. She is leaning next to her mother with a worried look on her face.
Dachun looked at the door of the house and found that his son had not followed him, so he immediately asked: "Where is Elu?"
"I was just worried that something would happen, so I didn't let him come back together." Serdan frowned and thought for a while before asking, "What did the officers and soldiers do after they came today?"
Dachun said: "At first they called everyone in the village, stood at the door, and called the names of each house. After asking a few questions at other people's houses, they went back; when they came to our house, they asked where you were, eh. Where did Lu go? I just followed your instructions."
Before leaving, Serdan told his wife that if anyone asked, he would say that he took his son to a friend's house in the north to exchange for dried fish.
Serdan asked: "When we came to our house, was there anyone else besides the officers and soldiers?"
Dachun recalled for a while and then said: "The village elder's wife was following Master Zuoling. Why do you think she was joining in the fun as a woman?"
As soon as Serdan heard this, he immediately stood up and took off his big bow from the wall, and found the bag containing iron arrows from under the bed.
"What are you doing?!" Dachun asked in a low voice in surprise.
"Being targeted by officers and soldiers!" Serdan found the bowstring and prepared to string it.
"Ah! How could that happen?" Dachun and his daughter looked shocked. The old mother on the side looked at her son calmly.
"When I brought Yalha back that day, I was seen by the village chief's family. I was busy rescuing people and didn't pay attention. The two officers and soldiers just now asked me to go to the village chief's house tomorrow to meet Mr. Zuoling. I just Come to think of it, a few years ago the sister of the village elder’s wife married Mr. Zuoling as his concubine.”
"How did you know?" Dachun looked at her husband in surprise.
Serdan explained to his wife while hanging the bow string: "I heard them mention it when I went to Mucheng with Gesanda the year before last. No one else in the village knew about it. They said that our family rescued Yalha. I must know it, if I go tomorrow, I will fall into a trap."
"What should we do?" Dachun asked eagerly.
"You and Gengen quickly pack your things and be quiet. I'll go out and take a look."
After saying this, Seldan inserted the short knife into his belt. He took out an iron-tipped arrow from the sack on his waist and put it on his bow.
"Seldan." Just as he was about to open the door, he heard his mother calling him from behind, so he quickly turned around and looked over.
"Be careful. I'll help Dachun clean up." After the old man said that, he got up and went to the back room.
Serdan looked very guilty as his mother's back disappeared behind the door curtain, then turned around and gently opened the door, ducking down and walking into the yard.
In the dark night, several dogs and horses in his yard did not bark when they smelled their owner's scent, as if they were all asleep.
After Seldan squatted at the door for a while with an arrow, he felt that there was no one around, so he put away the arrow and put the bow on his back. He followed a large log leaning against the house and slowly climbed up to the roof of his house. This wood is what he plans to use to build a new house for his son this year.
After getting on the roof, Serdan lay down and moved his body slightly without making any sound. He climbed to the edge of the roof, raised his head and looked across the distance. I saw figures moving around in the courtyard of the village chief's house, and dozens of torches were lit.
At this time, at the village chief's house, Tuomo Huoguo, the leader of the Xiangyang Banner, walked out of the house and asked an armored soldier waiting in the yard: "He is the only one back?"
"Yes, sir. He is the only one. He said that his son is sick and is at a friend's house. He will be picked up in a few days."
"Didn't you ask where his friend lives?"
"I...I forgot to ask."
Tuomohuoguo was furious and kicked the soldier on the opposite side. The armored soldier was caught off guard, staggered back a few steps and fell to the ground.
"You idiot! Now he doesn't even know the whereabouts of his son. He must be with that Yalha!"
The armored soldier struggled to stand up, not daring to say a word.
A Goshiha next to him said: "Master, I will ask him again."
"Ask your mother!" Tuomohuoguo scolded angrily. "If you ask me now, he will have already prepared a lie."
After he finished cursing, he pointed at the three armored soldiers standing in the yard: "You guys, go and bring that Seldan back now. I will interrogate him all night. Remember, don't disturb the villagers."
"How about I go with you? I have a good relationship with him, and he will trust me." The village chief leaned aside and said.
Tomohuoguo shook his head, turned around and entered the house.
Cerdan had already slipped off the ridge of the roof and slid along the wood to the ground. He walked to the stable and quickly untied the reins of the other horse, and hurriedly put it on the sledge.
Several dogs in the yard let out low growls, as if they knew their owners were leaving. Serdan was afraid of the dog barking, so he quickly untied the dog's rope.
Mother, wife Dachun and daughter Gengen came out of the house with several packages in their hands and put them on the sledge. After Serdan helped his mother to sit on the sledge, he whispered to his wife: "After leaving the village, walk northeast and don't stop! When you reach Suifen River, go south and go to the seaside village to find Hengji. There. Do you remember how to get there?"
His wife Dachun nodded while holding the riding whip. She had been there once with her husband many years ago, and she still had some impressions. At the critical moment of life and death, the two of them didn't care to say anything else. Serdan shook his wife's hand tightly.
"Amma, you are coming, we are waiting for you." The youngest daughter Gengen said softly while sitting on the carriage holding a puppy.
Serdan nodded and stopped talking. He let go of his wife's hand, turned around and moved away the courtyard door made of tree branches. In another flash, he disappeared into the darkness.
When Dachun gently led the horse out of the yard, there was a faint light of fire not far away, and the dogs from nearby houses began to bark. She hurriedly got on the sledge, shook the reins, and the two horses trotted quickly, pulling the sledge easily towards the north of the village. Several dogs followed closely behind.
"Who?!" A voice sounded from the roadside, and under the firelight, three armored soldiers suddenly appeared from the roadside.
An armored soldier held a torch and was about to take a few steps forward to stop the horse when a bowstring rang not far away and a black iron-tipped arrow shot into his face like lightning.
The armored soldier fell to the ground without saying a word, and the torch in his hand fell to the ground. Dachun shook the reins again to urge the horse, and the sledge flew away quickly, splashing a piece of ice and snow.
"Be careful!" Another armored soldier exclaimed. He hurriedly threw away the torch in his hand, pulled his companion down and walked back towards the way he came from. The fellow armored soldier raised the conch horn on his waist and blew it quickly.
But just as the armored soldier blew twice, the bowstring sounded again not far away. Before his companion could warn him, an iron arrow had already penetrated deeply into the forehead of the armored soldier who was blowing the conch trumpet.
The remaining armored soldier was so frightened that he quickly fell to the ground. At this time, he didn't care about the snow on the ground and just asked the other party not to shoot him again. He knew in his heart that the archer's archery skills and eyesight were superb, and he could actually hit his companion's head in such a dark night!
At this time, Tuomohuoguo, who was drinking at the village chief's house, heard the sound of the conch horn and thought to himself, "Oh no!" He stood up quickly. Fortunately, he didn't take off his cotton armor, grabbed the waist knife beside him and rushed out.
"Which side is blowing the conch horn?" At this time, the sound of the conch horn had stopped, and Tuomohuoguo asked Goshiha who was coming up to him.
"North."
"Hurry up! Seldan wants to escape!" Tomohuguo shouted, and he greeted the two dozen awakened armored soldiers who had just come out of the wing. These twenty people went to bed early and prepared to take over from their night watch companions in the latter half of the night.
"Quick, quick, get your torches." Goshiha said anxiously to the armored soldiers.
When Tomohuoguo led a group of armored soldiers and held torches to the door of Serdan's house amidst the barking of dogs, they saw the courtyard door wide open. When I got closer and looked again, the horses and dogs in the yard were gone.
"Sir!" At this time, a person emerged from the darkness.
When Tomohuoguo turned around and looked through the firelight, he saw that the man was covered in mud. He carefully identified it by the firelight, and it was his armored soldier.
"Why are you alone? Where are the others?!" Tuomohuoguo shouted angrily.
"Sir, that man's arrow was fast and accurate, and those two brothers were shot to death!" the soldier said with a sad face.
"Damn you! The two of them are dead, but you, the dog, are fine." Tuomohuoguo scolded.
Soon enough, in the darkness of the night, there was a sound of bowstrings behind the armored soldiers, and a black shadow came straight to the back of Tomo Huoguo's head under the firelight. Tuomohuoguo heard the sound of the bowstring, but did not dodge. He turned around suddenly, raised the sword in his left hand, and at the same time raised his right arm to press it behind the sword.
With a crisp sound of "Cang!", the black iron-headed arrow made a small crater in Tomohuoguo's blade and fell to the ground.
At the same time, the two musketeers among the armor soldiers lit the match ropes, raised their guns and fired back in the direction from which the arrows came.
"Tum! Tum!" The sound of muskets caused the dogs in various houses in the village to start barking and the horses to neigh.
Tomohuoguo put down his arm. He did not look at the arrow that fell on the ground. Through the smoke of the musket, he shouted coldly not far away: "Serdan, you can't run away!"
Tomohuoguo had heard about this bear hunter with six iron-tipped arrows, and everyone said that his archery skills were amazing. When I saw it today, it certainly lived up to its reputation.
Then he shouted to the armored soldiers beside him: "Surround them all, he doesn't have many arrows left."
At this time, Serdan had three iron-headed arrows left.
