By noon, everyone was so hungry that they had to rest where they were and prepare to start again later.
Zhao Dexun was sitting on the roadside, leaning against a big tree, and shouted to Yang Yi and the others: "Hey! You guys, go find something to eat!"
Xue Peilin took a sip of water and said calmly: "Don't we still have dry food in the car? That's enough."
Yang Yi smiled sheepishly: "I'm sorry, Mr. Xue, our brothers will eat the dry food you brought."
"What?!" Xue Peilin couldn't spit out a mouthful of water, choking and coughing out tears.
Gu Qi crossed her arms and glanced around, then said, "The forest in front looks quite big. Let's go take a look. Maybe we can hunt some wild animals."
Yang Yi felt a little sorry and picked up the thick knife in the box. Three or four men also took out their swords and stood beside Yang Yi.
Seeing that his younger brother Yang Sheng stayed where he was, he walked over and kicked his butt again. Yang Sheng understood, rubbed his butt, turned around and picked up a handful too.
Yang Sheng dragged the knife and walked to Gu Qi, and said worriedly: "Master Pei, we brothers don't know martial arts. This prey won't be too big, right?"
Not far away, Zhao Dexun mocked: "If you meet someone bigger than you, just sacrifice yourself and become their prey."
"If you could stop saying a few sarcastic words, we can have something to eat now." Gu Qi stood there and looked at Zhao Dexun, hoping that he could go with him.
Zhao Dexun did not stand up, but picked up a piece of weed next to him, dangled it in front of his eyes and said: "Brother Pei, I'm not telling you, if we had taken down a few of them at that time, our dry food would not have been lost to them." Eat. Besides, it’s them who are eating dry food, not me. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, and I’m so hungry that my chest is pressed against my back, and I really don’t have the strength.”
Gu Qi was choked and speechless.
Yang Yi's face turned red and purple, and he walked up to Gu Qi: "Master Pei, it's us who can't help you. I'll ask the brothers to go with us. We will never let the adults go hungry!"
Gu Qi smiled helplessly: "That's fine. We can hunt some hares or something. It shouldn't be a problem."
Just as he was about to leave, Xue Peilin shouted on the spot: "Nonsense! What if there is a wild beast in the forest?"
Zhao Dexun said with a smile: "That's not good. When we come back from hunting a big guy, we have enough food for the past few days!"
Xue Peilin was so angry that he pointed at Zhao Dexun and cursed: "You little bastard! Pei Qihuan came to Tuzhou to control the water, not to hunt for you! His Majesty sent you here to protect his safety, but you did this! Indecent!"
Zhao Dexun and Xue Peilin didn't deal with each other. Xue Peilin's scolding angered Zhao Dexun even more: "Old man, don't brag at me and glare at me. Brother Pei said a few nice words, so I went. If you say this, I still can’t go!”
"you--"
Gu Qi had a headache from the noise, and was afraid that Xue Peilin would get angry, so she raised her hand and said: "Okay, okay, calm down. Mr. Wild fruits are also good to satisfy hunger.”
Yang Yi said loudly: "Don't worry, gentlemen, I will protect Mr. Pei."
Xue Peilin patted his chest to calm down and said to Gu Qi: "If you are in danger, come out quickly. It doesn't matter if you don't have anything to eat. You won't die of hunger."
"Well, let's go first."
Gu Qi waved his hand, and Yang Yi and his brothers followed him into the forest.
Although the forest is not big, it is like a maze when you walk in. Even though it is early spring, the grass in the forest is greener than outside.
"Brother, this forest is so quiet, there aren't really any wild beasts, right?" Yang Sheng raised his knife and asked Yang Yi from behind.
Yang Yi frowned and said, "Don't talk nonsense."
I don't know if it's because the forest is too dense, but the temperature in the forest is actually higher than outside.
After walking some distance further, the surrounding air began to feel damp.
"Brother, why is this forest so warm?" Yang Sheng asked again.
Yang Yi also looked surprised and shook his head: "Maybe it's an illusion."
"Not necessarily," Gu Qi said after listening to the conversation between the two brothers, "There should be a hot spring near here."
Yang Sheng leaned into Yang Yi's ear and asked in a low voice: "Brother, what is a hot spring?"
"Why are you so annoying!" Yang Yi glared at Yang Sheng.
Seeing that his elder brother was angry, Yang Sheng shut up with an aggrieved look.
After a while, Yang Yi came over and asked: "Pei, Mr. Pei, what is a hot spring?"
What is a hot spring?
Gu Qi was startled by Yang Yi's question.
In Pei Qihuan's treatise on water control, hot springs were never mentioned.
When I grew up in Yun Country, water was very scarce, and I had never heard of or seen hot springs.
He seemed to be very familiar with this feeling, so he blurted it out.
But I can't explain what a hot spring is.
"Master Pei?"
"Ah?" Gu Qi looked at Yang Yi, and they all looked at him blankly.
He coughed twice and said, "You will know when we get there."
Yang Yi said "Oh", Yang Sheng pursed his lips and stopped talking.
"Sir, there seems to be something over there!" a man from behind shouted.
Gu Qi turned around and looked in the direction he was pointing. The weeds half a man tall were making a rustling sound.
Yang Yi and the others held big knives and their legs began to spin.
Gu Qi stared at the grass, and her heart began to beat.
After a while, a "hum" sound came from inside, and a black thing came out of it.
"It's... it's a wild boar!" Yang Sheng screamed!
The wild boar bared two tusks and hit him directly!
"Get out of the way!" Gu Qi shouted, and the crowd was instantly dispersed by the wild boar.
The wild boar chased a man. The man was so frightened that he dropped his knife, ran straight to a big tree, and climbed up the tree two or three times.
The wild boar changed its target again and chased three or four people one after another. They all found a nearby tree and climbed up.
Yang Sheng hid behind Yang Yi, who was holding a knife in both hands, with cold sweat pouring from his forehead.
Gu Qi turned her back and held the dagger firmly in her hand. She kept her eyes on the wild boar's movements and was ready to defend.
The wild boar stood there and grunted twice. It seemed that it saw the knife in Yang Yi's hand and turned around to attack Gu Qi!
Yang Yi shouted from the side: "Master Pei, be careful!"
At this time, the wild boar had already rushed over. He was standing there so nervously that he could hear his heartbeat.
When he was only two feet away from him, Gu Qi stood up on tiptoes and turned to the side, passing by the wild boar. The dagger also touched the side of the pig, making a long gash, and bright red blood flowed out.
The pig howled twice, turned around, and received another wave of impact!
Gu Qi dodged past again, took the dagger to his chest, and stared at it.
Yang Sheng was so frightened that he dropped his knife and grabbed Yang Yi's clothes with both hands.
Yang Yi yelled: "Let me go, let's go together!"
After saying that, he rushed forward, but Yang Sheng was dragged backwards.
When the wild boar saw the strong man running towards him with a knife, he spread his hooves and ran to the side. Yang Yi missed.
At this moment, the wild boar hit Yang Sheng!
Yang Sheng was bending down to pick up the knife. When he saw the pig rushing towards him, he was so scared that he closed his eyes and squatted on the ground.
"Be careful!" Gu Qi rushed over, and as soon as he reached Yang Sheng, the pig bumped into him.
I didn’t expect this wild boar to be injured and still have so much strength!
Gu Qi was knocked into the air and fell to the open space two feet away. His bones seemed to be broken, and the pain in his heart became even deeper.
Seemingly displeased, the wild boar actually let go of Yang Sheng in front of him and charged straight at Gu Qi!
Gu Qiqiang stood up, took a deep breath, and when it got closer, he jumped up and inserted the dagger directly into the wild boar's eye.
The pig screamed miserably, shook its head vigorously, and threw Gu Qi out!
His back hit the tree trunk directly, and he spit out a mouthful of blood when he landed.
"Master Pei!"
Yang Yi hurriedly chased after him, and when Yang Sheng saw this, he also picked up a knife and ran over.
The brothers took advantage of the wild boar's injury and chopped it off on its butt and belly!
The pig howled in pain and ran around in circles.
Several people in the tree took a look, quietly climbed down, picked up the knives on the ground, and swarmed up...
The wild boar's wails became smaller and smaller, and it fell to the ground, twitching, and died soon after.
"Master Pei, are you okay?" Yang Yi ran over and helped Gu Qi.
"No..." His vision went dark, and he didn't know if the words had come out.
In the haziness, water came to his mouth. Gu Qi swallowed hard, and the burning pain in her throat eased slightly.
"I told you to go but you didn't go. Why did His Majesty send you here? To ask you to be the uncle? Ah? You are talking! If something goes wrong, how can I explain to His Majesty!"
In the groggy state, I heard Xue Peilin's voice.
Gu Qi slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was lying on the ground. Xue Peilin was scolding Zhao Dexun in front of her eyes. Zhao Dexun blushed and lowered his head without saying a word.
"Master Pei? Master Pei, you are awake!" A voice came from above.
He looked up and saw that it was Yang Yi.
Xue Peilin and Zhao Dexun in front heard Yang Yi's voice and turned their heads. Seeing that Gu Qi had woken up, they hurried up.
"Master Pei, you are finally awake!" Xue Peilin looked worried.
Zhao Dexun's face was full of guilt, and his fair face was now red: "Brother Pei, I can't help you! You were so seriously injured!"
"Oh, I thought it was a big deal," Gu Qi reluctantly sat up, and Yang Yi stretched out his hand on her back to gently support her body.
Seeing everyone's worried faces, Gu Qi smiled and said, "Isn't this good? It's okay. It's okay."
Xue Peilin frowned, pointed at the wild boar not far away and said: "Is it okay to be hit by a wild boar? We are in the middle of nowhere, and we don't even have a doctor. When we get to Tuzhou, we must check it out carefully. .”
Gu Qili made a fist and saluted Xue Peilin: "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Xue. It's not in the way."
Zhao Dexun lowered his head, as if crying.
Gu Qi smiled bitterly and rubbed her stomach: "I'm a little hungry now, and I don't know who knows how to cook barbecue..."
When Zhao Dexun heard this, he wiped his tears with his sleeves, stood up and said, "I'll get it!"
Xue Peilin looked at Zhao Dexun's back and sighed deeply: "I don't want to plead for him, but he is Zhao Yu's child after all..."
Gu Qi smiled: "Don't worry, Mr. Xue, Your Majesty won't know about this."
Xue Peilin looked at Gu Qi carefully, pointed at Yang Yi and said, "This child scared us when he carried you back. Are you feeling uncomfortable in any way? It's not internal injuries, right?"
Xue Peilin looked worried, but Gu Qi wanted to laugh when he looked at it.
If he had said this before begging for mercy, he would still believe Xue Peilin's sincerity.
It's a pity that these words were said after asking for mercy. To some extent, it's all a little pretentious.
No wonder, as Xue Peilin said, Zhao Dexun is Zhao Yu's son after all.
Although he was not born to a daughter of the Xue family, he was still related, so their relationship was naturally much closer.
"Master Pei?"
Xue Peilin called softly, and Gu Qi came back to his senses, covered his chest and smiled: "It's just that my chest is a little tight, it's not a big deal. I think it'll be fine if I take a little more rest."
"I'll go and boil some hot water for you. It will make you feel better after drinking it."
"Thank you, Master Xue."
Behind Gu Qi, Yang Yi shouted to the men around him: "You guys should go help too, don't just stand here stupidly!"
Yang Sheng glanced at Gu Qi hesitantly, as if he had something to say.
He raised his eyes and looked at Yang Yi. Yang Yi winked, but did not speak after all. He called to the other brothers: "Let's go, don't disturb the adults' rest."
Everyone around them dispersed, leaving only Gu Qi and Yang Yi.
"Master Pei, do you know martial arts?"
Gu Qi paused and looked around cautiously to make sure they were all busy in the distance.
She pretended to be calm and asked with a smile: "What do you mean?"
Yang Yi hesitated for a while, then slowly said: "When I saw you fighting in the forest, you didn't chop like us, you seemed to have a way. Besides, when I carried you back, even though you were unconscious, the weapon in your hand was still there. But the dagger is held tightly."
Gu Qi still stared at the crowd not far away, and her tone was a little cold: "Who have you told this to?"
"No one said anything. If you don't want others to know, I will just rot in my stomach."
Gu Qi turned to stare at Yang Yi, with a hint of suspicion and murderous intent in his eyes.
Yang Yi swallowed nervously, but his eyes never averted.
He stretched out his hand and handed over the dagger.
Gu Qi took the dagger, lowered his head in silence, then raised his head and smiled: "You misunderstood, I don't know any martial arts, I just stabbed it in a hurry, using the force of being knocked away."
Yang Yi was noncommittal and helped Gu Qi to sit upright.
He pulled himself out, knelt on the ground solemnly and kowtowed!
"What are you..."
"Master Pei, we are just a group of country folk, our lives are like straw. But I didn't expect that in a critical situation, you would risk your own safety to save my brother. Our Yang family owes you a favor!" After Yang Yi finished speaking, he kowtowed again. Ring your head. The voice lowered slightly: "From now on, my brothers from the Yang family will follow Master Pei to the death. If there are any second thoughts, we two brothers will not die happily!"
Gu Qi looked at Yang Yi and fell into deep thought: Am I a die-hard loyalist?
I don’t know whether Yang Yi’s words are true or false.
Gu Qi suddenly remembered Yuan Zhe's words: "Until you reach the realm of life and death, your friends cannot be trusted."
For Yang Yi, meeting a wild boar is a matter of life and death, but for him, they are not friends yet.
Killing him is the best choice!
Gu Qi clenched the dagger in his hand and looked at Yang Yi coldly.
Yang Yi, however, looked sincere and his eyes were firm.
What if he is sincere...
Gu Qi sighed and put the dagger into his sleeve: "Get up, Brother Yang."
