Not even three minutes later, the afternoon sun was warm but not too bright.
At this time, in a dense forest less than two kilometers away from the back cliff of Tieguzhai, Bai Jiahe and his party were leaning against a big rock to replenish their strength.
"Here, I still have water in here."
Bai Jiahe handed the water bag in his hand to his companions who were traveling with him, and came to the side of his senior brother Xu Zuo.
She followed Xu Zuo's gaze towards the cliff in the distance and said casually: "Brother, there seems to be a medium-sized force on that cliff."
Xu Zuo's eyes kept falling there, and even when Bai Jiahe opened his mouth to speak, he didn't move at all.
His eyebrows were furrowed, and he pointed at the cliff and said: "That cliff was dug out. It used to be called Panjun Mountain, and the force on the cliff was called Tieguzhai. Their group of people were leaning on it. The favorable terrain of Panjun Mountain directly created an opening in the commercial road."
Bai Jiahe thought for a while and said, "Even if they set up an opening on the cliff side next to the business road, the dense forest under the cliff behind us should not cause any conflict with them."
Xu Zuo shook his head: "Junior sister, you don't know. Before you arrived at Stone City, I followed the master's instructions and kept exploring the road in front of you, just to understand the forces along the way."
"Just a few days ago, when I was passing through the dense forest here alone, I saw a bald eagle hovering over the cliff."
"Bald eagle?"
Bai Jiahe turned his eyes and his expression gradually became serious.
Xu Zuo nodded and said: "Yes, you should know that raptors like bald eagles are basically captured and domesticated by the military for the purpose of transmitting messages. I guess this village should be related to the military over there in Suzaku City. Relationship, because the raptor eventually returned in that direction, and the armies of other small towns along the way simply did not have the ability to tame such raptors."
"I have been wondering before, what is the person following us waiting for? He keeps hiding and staying far away, and does not lead others to attack us actively."
"But when I got here, something suddenly dawned on me."
"My intuition tells me that the other party is following us slowly, putting pressure on us invisibly, urging us to have the idea of getting rid of the other party immediately, but he never seems to be in a hurry and is happy for us to keep moving forward."
"The rhythm control is so relaxed and well-organized. I think the other party wants us to be in a restless state of mind all the time and unable to calmly think about the reasons behind it."
Bai Jiahe has experienced many consecutive escapes, and he is quite familiar with Tianshou's behavior. In the past few years, the opponent would pounce on him and bite him as soon as he noticed the slightest fishy smell, but now he is more inclined to take the long term to catch big fish.
She frowned, looked at the cliff through the dense branches above her head, sketched the surrounding terrain in her mind, and said quickly: "It seems that their master is not satisfied with their previous actions. If it is true, As you said, senior brother, this shows that the other party wants to catch us all."
"Brother, just in case, it seems that we split up and went in two directions. Otherwise, we will be easily discovered if we act together. If the situation is as bad as imagined, we may even end up here."
Xu Zuo narrowed his eyes, and there was already a trace of murderous look on his hard and cold square face.
He took off the long sword attached to his waist, nodded and said, "I'm going to take the business road. I'll draw the other party's attention. You can pass quickly along this mountain forest."
Bai Jiahe looked anxious and said quickly: "Senior brother, no, you are going to die directly."
Xu Zuo smiled and explained: "Junior sister, you are wrong. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place. I bet that if the other party is really prepared, then the hole set up by Shang Dao will definitely still be there. There are not as many people ambush in the dense forest ahead."
"The situation is very clear now. If we are just overthinking, we can safely pass the checkpoint by not provoking the other party with your brother's strength. If the other party is really waiting for us, then I can just take the initiative to distract them and wait until If there is a big commotion, the people in the dense forest under the cliff here will definitely come over the mountain to support you. There will be a time difference. After you safely pass through the dense forest, I will quickly get away from them."
Bai Jiahe thought for a moment, and although she felt that Xu Zuo's words made sense, she still shook her head and said, "No, at least there is cover in the dense forest in the back mountain. If you want to pass through the business route, your whole body will be exposed to the opponent's attack." Within the range, those who are from the military will use crossbows, but it is still too dangerous."
Xu Zuo had a sad face. This team was still led by Bai Jiahe. She refused to agree, and she really had to listen.
The discussion between Bai Jiahe and his senior brother Xu Zuo was not hidden, so all the twenty or so people traveling with him were attracted.
One of the tall chivalrous ladies walked out first and asked Bai Jiahe, "Sister, is this really happening?"
Seeing Sister Fanrou who had taken good care of her along the way, Bai Jiahe stepped forward and took her hand, shook her head and explained with a smile: "It's just that there may be a situation like being ambushed. Sister and everyone don't have to Too worried."
"My current arrangement is for everyone to group into groups of three to five, keep a certain distance apart, and quickly pass through the dense forest in front."
She raised her hand forward and explained: "In this way, the body will not be exposed due to too many people acting together, and it can coordinate both offense and defense from a distance."
Bai Jiahe saw everyone's worries in her eyes. Along the way, she had already known everyone's specific strength and strengths. In just a moment, she divided the twenty-two people into five groups evenly.
Seeing that Bai Jiahe did not put him in the same group as her, Xu Zuo said anxiously: "Junior sister, I want to be in a group with you!"
Even the rest of Xu Zuo's group said: "Yes, princess, just let Brother Xu join your group. Our lives are not valuable. If anything happens to you, we guys are really speechless." Go back and face your friends."
Bai Jiahe's eyes became wet. She bent down deeply towards the crowd and bowed slowly: "The little girl is a fugitive and a guilty person. She is no longer a princess of the dynasty. Thanks to the care of all my brothers and sisters, I There is really no repayment. As far as I am concerned, there is no distinction between high and low in human life. For the sake of your respective relatives and friends, and for the sake of being able to be together in the future, please work hard to live."
"this……"
People at the scene deeply felt that Bai Jiahe's words were true, and no longer tried to dissuade him, they all responded in silence with fists clasped.
"Junior sister, you are too stubborn!"
Xu Zuo patted his forehead and sighed.
Lu Fanrou looked at Xu Zuo's helpless look, covered her mouth with a smile, then held the sword in her right hand, clasped her fists with the courtesy of Jianghu and said: "Brother Xu, you don't have to worry too much about the safety of Sister Jiahe, I will do my best to protect her."
During this short journey, Xu Zuo's honest appearance and wise and delicate character actually gained her a lot of favor.
Bai Jiahe stood aside and accidentally noticed the unusual look in Sister Fanrou's eyes when she glanced at her senior brother. He laughed and said, "Yes, senior brother, Sister Fanrou is the 'Qingfeng Heroine' who has long been famous in the world. With my junior sister, I We are both at the fourth level, so you can rest assured that she and I will join forces."
Xu Zuo curled his lips, knowing that his further persuasion was useless.
He first clenched his fists at Lu Fanrou seriously in return, then turned to his stubborn junior sister and said firmly: "Then let me take the lead. If we are really ambushed, you don't need to worry about me and stay away quickly."
"Well, okay, senior brother, you have to be more careful!"
…
There is a one-foot-tall archery tower next to the Tieguzhai Commercial Road checkpoint, and Lin Pan and Lin Wen are standing on it.
Lin Pan patted the guardrail in front of him and said with a depressed expression: "Second brother, do you think it's too obvious for us to do this?"
Lin Wen smiled helplessly and said: "Brother, this is such a clever thing. We don't dare to offend Tianshou, and we can't offend Suzaku City. What else do you think we can do?"
He patted Lin Pan's shoulder and comforted him: "Don't worry, although it's hard to tell the brothers about the dangers involved, I revealed some contents to Lao Ba and the others, and they should know how to exercise discretion. As for Mu Qing, even if He knows that we are plotting against him, so what can he do? As long as he still wants us to escort the caravan, he will have to hold his nose and admit it. Maybe he will really fight with the opponent and both sides will lose, and we can just capture him."
When Lin Pan heard this, he looked regretful and said, "I should have listened to you and captured him while he was unconscious. I have to be kind as a woman and take into account my reputation as big as a raindrop."
"Report!!!"
At this moment, one of his men ran under the archery tower and raised his head and shouted: "Traces of the thieves have been found in the dense forest under the cliff behind. Master Geng asked the village leader to lead people to quickly contain and support."
Lin Wen and his eldest brother looked at each other, shook their heads and smiled: "It seems that the remnants also know that if they want to cross here, there will only be arrows waiting for them, but there are no surprise moves."
Lin Pan nodded: "Well, Geng Jie said before that there are only about twenty people on the other side. I guess he won't split his troops into two groups and pass through here. Then let's go to support quickly. It's enough to leave twenty people here. .”
…
It was not past half hour, and the sun was setting in the west.
The wall stands thousands of feet tall, and the layers of forest will be dark.
I don't know who scared the bird away, and the entire dense forest was as quiet as a ghost.
Bai Jiahe arched her body and walked gently through a bush. She could hear the short breathing of herself and her friends.
The first four groups had already entered deeper into the dense forest, and apart from the birds that had just been roosting in the distance being frightened away, there was no more movement.
"Are you and your senior brother feeling nervous along the way? Were you too disappointed?"
Bai Jiahe's mind was up and down, and he looked around, but the surroundings were still quiet.
"Keep walking!"
She gestured to her friends behind her to continue moving forward.
Suddenly, the dense forest that had been quiet for a long time suddenly erupted with a harsh sound that broke through the air.
Fallen leaves were whirling, and the sound of "shoo, swish, swish" of bows and crossbows was endless.
"Hide quickly!"
"There's an ambush!"
"ah--"
Bai Jiahe didn't have time to respond. In a flash of lightning, she lay on the ground and rolled behind a big tree.
Three consecutive arrows were fired at the tree trunk, and the shaking force even shook off a large number of leaves.
She opened her mouth wide and exhaled a breath, and then she had time to look towards the place where the sound came from.
At this sight, her heart stopped for a moment.
At this moment, the fallen leaves are falling slowly, but the blood is surging like a fountain.
The companion who was following him just now was directly pierced by the short steel arrow glowing with blue light. His originally energetic body was like tattered paper, twitching and collapsed to the ground.
“Tuk tuk tuk”
The sharp arrows that penetrated the flesh continued to strike, and finally shot into the trunk of the tree, knocking off a large number of leaves.
Looking at his companion not far away, hot blood was still pouring out of the thumb-sized hole, and Bai Jiahe's heart felt like it had been shot through.
"no no……"
She was about to rush out and pull her fallen companion back to a safe place, but she was stopped by a weak voice.
"Princess, don't come here!"
"Let's go!"
Lu Fanrou, who was in the same group as Bai Jiahe, was lucky and only got one arrow.
But this arrow shot directly from her back into her chest and pinned her to the ground.
At this time, her face was full of pain, but she still stretched out her finger tremblingly and pointed in the direction of safety.
Bai Jiahe's cheeks were covered with tears. Although this experience had happened many times in her short life, every time she experienced it again, the scars would be cut open and sprinkled with salt powder, making her heart hurt even more.
"elder sister……"
"sorry!"
"I don't want to run away this time."
Bai Jiahe heard the sound of fighting not far away becoming more and more intense. He bit his silver teeth and used the "Green Leaf Lost Trace" movement technique, and ran directly to the battlefield ahead.
She has already had enough of living on the run. She doesn't want everyone to sacrifice her life for her to survive. She wants to fight with everyone!
Sure enough, too many lives were owed, and living would become painful, so it would be better to die happily.
