The firelight illuminated the faces of the robbers, and they who were still rushing forward stopped and stood there.
Looking at the situation in front of me, my eyes were full of horror. Now that the boss is dead, where should we go?
It didn't take a second for them to come up with the answer. They threw away the swords in their hands and immediately dispersed into the surrounding mountains and forests.
Compared with a group of people, it is easier to escape the pursuit of officers and soldiers if they work alone. If the boss is dead, there is no point in them getting together.
If I can escape this time, I will definitely wash my hands, marry a daughter-in-law, and live a stable life for the rest of my life.
"Fire the arrow!"
Following the command, an overwhelming barrage of arrows sprang out from the flames of the torches and flew toward the fleeing bandits.
"Report to your lord."
"explain."
"There are still a few bandits who escaped into the mountains and forests."
"Well, you, bring a team of men and horses to chase them. If you find them, you can shoot them directly! We must not let them continue to do evil."
"Yes! I obey my orders."
"Others, go see if there are any survivors in the village." The leader continued to give orders.
"Yes!" The crowd dispersed.
The leader hung the bow in his hand on the horse, then dismounted and walked towards Wu Xi who was lying in a pool of blood.
Just now he was the one who killed the man who was swinging his sword towards Wu Xi with an arrow.
Wu Xi had rested on the ground for a while. When the man squatted down in front of him, he struggled to hold himself up. Even though he was just standing, his body was still swaying.
Upon seeing this, the man immediately stood up and stretched out his hand to support Wu Xi, but Wu Xi opened his hand.
"I'm rude. I am Song Mingxing, the prefect of Qingzhou. I came here to chase these bandits. Their whereabouts were mysterious along the way. Thanks to the young hero's help and delaying them, we were able to catch up in time." Song Mingxing was not because of this. Wu Xi knocked off his hand and was angry, but politely thanked him: "May I ask your name, young hero?"
Wu Xi's body was still swaying, and he lowered his head and murmured: "Name? My name?"
In an instant, a large number of memories poured into Wu Xi's mind. Wu Xi held his head in pain and paced back and forth with extremely unsteady steps: "Name, name... Xie Le, Wu Xi, Xie Le..."
"Then I'm offended." Seeing Wu Xi's appearance, Song Mingxing wanted to step forward and help Wu Xi.
Just when he was about to meet Wu Xi, Wu Xi stood still and looked up at Song Mingxing with a firm tone: "Thank you Wule!"
Xie is his father's surname, and Wu wants to thank Wu Chengqu and his wife for their kindness. Le is the seventh uncle Liu's wish for him to have peace and joy in his life.
Having said that, without waiting for Song Mingxing's reaction, Xie Wule walked straight into the house and looked at Wu Xiangqu's shapeless body. Xie Wule's heart suddenly twitched, and he felt pain like a knife.
Xie Wule endured the pain, pieced together Wu Chengqu's body piece by piece, carried it to the door, placed it with the old woman, and knelt in front of them.
Feeling the soft quilt on his body and looking around at the unfamiliar decorations in the room, Xie Wule suddenly sat up.
"Sir, you are awake. I will inform the master right away."
When the maid on the side saw Xie Wule waking up, she bowed and exited the room.
Xie Wule looked at his naked body, quickly got up and put on his clothes, and walked around the house to observe.
"Seeing that Xie Shaoxia is so strong, I feel relieved." Just when Xie Wule walked to the door, the door suddenly opened and Song Ming walked in.
"Want to go for a stroll in the courtyard?" Song Mingxing invited Xie Wule to stretch his muscles.
Xie Wule also wanted to ask something and agreed.
The two of them sat under a pavilion in the courtyard. After the maid served them snacks and tea, Song Mingxing ordered them to leave.
Xie Wule was worried and didn't know where to start, so he could only keep playing with the teacup.
Seeing this, Song Mingxing took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "Put your salute in your room. Young hero must have seen it."
Xie Wule was overjoyed when he saw Song Mingxing taking the initiative to open the topic. He looked up at him and was about to speak when he was interrupted again.
"Don't worry, Mr. Xie, we haven't opened it." Song Mingxing thought Xie Wule would be suspicious and immediately added.
When Xie Wule saw Song Mingxing acting like this, he couldn't help but smile and let go completely: "I don't care, the prefect, you are serious. I just need you to call me by my name."
"Hahaha, okay. Then don't call me "adult". I only took office last year, and I am only twenty this year. We should be about the same age. It sounds weird."
"Brother Song, I want to ask about Wuling Village." Seeing that he was so free and easy, Xie Wule directly called him Brother Song.
"I knew you were going to ask about this." Song Mingxing's face became serious when he talked about this: "In Wuling Village, there were 49 people from 17 households in the village and no one survived."
"That day you knelt on the ground and fainted. I asked my people to say that they were all buried on the mountain. I also found a suitcase in the house when you came out. There was a white horse behind the house. I guess it might be yours. Even you Brought it back together."
When Xie Wule heard that Wu Chengqu and his wife were buried, he felt relieved. He breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to salute Song Ming: "Thank you, Brother Song."
"Brother Xie, what are you doing? Sit down quickly, this is my job, it's my turn to thank you." Song Mingxing also stood up and put Xie Le back on his seat.
Xie Wule sat down and thanked him again: "Brother Song, I don't know, but there are people close to me in Wuling Village. Thank you very much for burying them for me."
Song Mingxing accepted Xie Wule's thanks this time. If he didn't accept it, Xie Wule might continue to struggle with this. Of course he knew about this. The people Xie Wule was talking about must be the two people Xie Wule knelt down to worship that day.
"What happened to those bandits?" Xie Wule asked.
"The thief, named Yang Wanjiang, has more than 70 subordinates. They occupy the mountain as king, plunder people's property, rob people's girls, and treat human life as nothing." At this point, Song Mingxing put down the teacup in his hand and clenched his fist tightly. .
"They have been doing evil for some time. The former Qingzhou magistrate arranged people to encircle and suppress them many times, but they never succeeded. Their whereabouts became more and more secretive."
"There was an opportunity to kill him, but due to the law, we did not kill him. We only left scars on his face and let him escape."
Xie Wule nodded. It turned out that this was how the scar came from, but he was a little confused: "Decree?".
"Yes, the law. Brother Xie doesn't know something. The law requires that criminals be arrested and brought to justice, and then punished according to the crime."
Xie Wule nodded.
Song Mingxing continued: "The law must be more than that. It also mentions that when a person resists fiercely and may affect the safety of the people, he can be killed. However, we have always lacked evidence."
Xie Wule didn't know much about the laws of this country, but after listening to Song Mingxing's words, he had a feeling that people who could perfect the laws in such a way were definitely not ordinary people, although there were still some loopholes.
"So, I really want to thank Brother Xie this time." Song Mingxing said again.
"Where." Xie Wule said with a smile.
"Master." The two talked for some time, and a maid suddenly came to interrupt.
"Brother Xie, I'm sorry, I have something important to do now and I have to say goodbye first. I haven't been so happy for a long time and I forgot about the time. Just stay here for a few more days and talk to you another day." Song Mingxing, touching He touched his nose and smiled.
After Song Mingxing left, Xie Wule sat alone in the pavilion, admiring the flowers and trees in the courtyard. Of course he could understand that Song Mingxing was only two years older than him, and he was already the prefect of a state. His ability was obviously extraordinary, and it was natural that the prefect had many official affairs.
Kang State has four states and twelve counties. The state is one, and the affairs of the entire state are ultimately handled by the prefect; the county is composed of a county town and several small towns. Unless there is an extremely important matter, the lord of the small town can exercise autonomy.
After drinking the cup of tea, Xie Wule put the cup on the table and returned to his room.
It’s a good time to stay for a few days. I don’t know where to go now, so I’ll settle here first.
I opened my bag and found a few taels of silver, a banknote, and some sundries. Xie Wule opened the dark layer based on his memory and took out a letter. Why haven't I discovered this dark layer before? strangeness.
The envelope was white on both sides, without any marks. When I opened the envelope, a scent of ink came to my nostrils, similar to the smell in Uncle Liu's study.
Pulling out the letter paper, it felt soft and tough, very familiar. Some memories were brought back, and Xie Wule's eyes were moist.
Xie Le, Yu Cheng:
I wonder if you two are in good health.
I don’t know if you two can find this letter. If you do, I should be long gone by the time it is opened.
"I'm not in good condition today. I'll read it another day." Xie Wule made an excuse at random, closed the letter and stuffed it back into the envelope, put it back in the dark, and didn't read any more.
"Dong dong." There was a knock on the door.
"Here we come." Xie Wule hurriedly wiped his eyes with his hands a few times before opening the door.
Seeing Xie Wule's eyes turning red, Song Mingxing touched his nose awkwardly: "I don't think I came at the right time."
Xie Wule grabbed Song Mingxing who was about to retreat and said, "No, no, I'm just a little homesick."
Xie Wule smiled after finishing speaking. He didn't lie or speak too clearly.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect Brother Xie to be such a sweet-tempered person." Song Mingxing smiled and said, "Actually, I came here this time to tell you that I have something to do tonight and can't entertain you in person. I will give instructions. The servants brought you food. Please forgive me."
"It's okay, it's okay, just do your thing."
"Then I'll get to work first."
After saying this, Song Mingxing left. Looking at his steps, Xie Wule could also tell that he was in a hurry.
After dinner, Xie Le lay on the bed, closed his eyes and sorted through the recent events.
He was so fast that he could knock many people away with one punch, which was not something he could do before. How is this going? What happened to your body?
In this regard, except for the soreness in the muscles that can be felt today, there is no other trace of Xie Wule, even just a little clue.
The next day, early morning.
With Xie Wule's consent, the maid brought him a basin of hot water. After seeing him put it away, she said, "Sir, I invite you to have breakfast with me. Please come with me."
Xie Wule put down the bronze mirror and put his left hand down from his left eye. The scars from so many years really disappeared! In my many years of medical practice, I have never seen a drug that works so well. It’s incredible! It's just a pity...
Thinking of this, Xie Wule's mood became obviously depressed. He looked up and saw the maid still waiting by the door, so he followed her sheepishly.
"Brother Xie, morning." Song Mingxing greeted Xie Wule after seeing him seated under the guidance of the maid.
"Brother Song, morning."
"I've already asked my servants to do the chores. Let's have a good chat today. What do you think, brother Xie?"
"Hahaha, of course there is no problem. In fact, Brother Song, you are too polite. If you have something to do, you don't have to take care of me like this."
"Hey, Brother Xie, why are you so alienated? You really treat me like an outsider."
When Xie Wule heard this, he couldn't help complaining in his heart, "We can count the number of times we have met on one hand, and we seem to know each other very well."
Of course, complaints are complaints, but Xie Wule is still full of gratitude to Song Mingxing in his heart. Moreover, this person has no airs at all when it comes to treating people and receiving guests, and he is also considerate of others. He is undoubtedly a person worth getting to know.
After the two had dinner, Song Mingxing made an invitation gesture to Xie Wule and led him to the study.
Xie Wule was a little surprised: "Brother Song, wouldn't this study be inconvenient?"
Song Mingxing saw through Xie Wule's thoughts and smiled slightly: "It's okay, there is nothing important here. And yesterday evening, I smelled the fragrance of ink in your room, and I wondered if Brother Xie was good at calligraphy and painting, so I invited you Come here."
Xie Wule nodded, feeling surprised in his heart. He had only opened the letter for a while yesterday, and he could smell it clearly only when he was close. He didn't expect that he could smell it just by standing outside the door for a while. It seems that this person still needs to be more cautious!
