After docking, Zou Run left the boat behind as usual and went back to resume his duties. He took the people and horses to the shore in a small boat to look for the nearest market town.
After all, the territory of Dengzhou is quite large. After wandering around the coastline for so long, he didn't know where he would end up, so he had to go find someone to ask for the way to Dengyun Mountain. In addition, he went out in the morning, and now it was already afternoon. During this time, he only looked for a suitable island and did not use any dry food. His stomach was already growling with hunger.
The idea was good, but after walking on the country road with three or five followers for half an hour, he didn't even see an ordinary farmer, let alone go to the hotel in the market town to drink some wine and meat.
Just when Zou Run secretly cried out that he was unlucky, a follower behind him suddenly stood up from his horse. After looking into the distance, he pointed to a forest in the distance and said:
"Master, there is a big forest in front of us! There is still smoke coming from behind the forest. I think there is someone's house there."
Zou Run was refreshed. He was anxious to ask for directions back to the mountain, so he ordered to speed up immediately.
Move the time forward a few hours.
In Zhaoyuan County, Laizhou, next to a hotel on a village road close to a dense forest, two groups of policemen escorting two prisoners accidentally bumped into each other.
From the beginning when they were on guard against each other with their swords drawn, to later showing each other official documents to verify their identities, the two groups of police officers finally let down their guard and communicated with each other.
It turned out that one group of them came from Kaifeng Prefecture, and the other group came from Jingzhao Prefecture (in today's Xi'an). One of the prisoners escorted was named Ling Zhen and the other was named Pei Xuan.
The place where these two men were assassinated was also the prison camp on Salmon Island, which is known as a narrow escape from death!
Now the two groups of messengers looked at each other, saying that they had never been so destined before.
Since we are all so predestined, we are supposed to be on business trips, and the hotel is just around the corner, so there is no reason not to have a drink together, and then make an appointment to take care of each other before going out.
However, the two groups of police officers tacitly chose to pass the hotel without entering, saying they wanted to rest in the big forest ahead, and they also diverged in tandem and hurried on in tandem with each other.
In February, the earth is colorful, the trees have new branches, the flowers have new stamens, and the spring is warm, which makes people feel sleepy. There is a saying that looking at the mountains is like running to death, but in fact it is difficult to walk even looking at the forest.
They looked close, but were actually far away, so they hurried and walked slowly. When they reached the forest, the two policemen were already sweating profusely, with smoke coming from their mouths. Even the policemen escorting them were at this point, so how could they talk about prisoners walking in shackles?
As a martial artist, Ling Zhen originally had martial arts as his foundation, but along the way from Kaifeng to Laizhou, the two escorting policemen tortured him in various ways. He woke him up suddenly in the middle of the night, making him unable to sleep well, and stabbed him with a soft knife that killed people without showing blood. He just eroded Ling Zhen from a tall and arrogant man to the shabby figure he is now.
After finally arriving in the forest, Ling Zhen felt his feet go weak and immediately fell to the ground. He felt dizzy in front of his eyes, and his head seemed to be surrounded by a string of gold stars. He couldn't help but cry out:
"I can't walk anymore. I just passed by the hotel and didn't use any food. I'm tired and thirsty now. I think I'm going to pass out. It's easier to walk up and down. Please help me."
One of the police officers with a black face was furious when he saw this and cursed: "Go quickly! If you don't go, I will hit you with a big stick!"
The kinder companion came out to persuade him, "What are you doing? Even I am very tired. We are about to arrive in Dengzhou for delivery, so I just want to sleep in the woods for a while. I can't watch him die." It’s not easy for you and me to interact here.”
Even with the persuasion of his companions, the policeman was still a little reluctant.
"Hugh, he said, this guy was a military attache. If we were to fall asleep and let him escape, it would lead to a lawsuit for you and me. It's not right. It's better to get up and hurry up."
Seeing that one of the two people wanted to rest and the other was afraid of escaping, Ling Zhen struggled to get up and quickly said, "The villain is a good man. He has suffered a lawsuit and will not leave for the rest of his life. Since the eldest brother is worried, he can use a rope to tie him up." I'll just tie you up, and let's rest for a while before we go on the road, I will definitely not dare to delay you again."
Hearing what Ling Zhen said, the kind-faced gentleman smiled and said, "Listen, this guy is quite sensible, so why don't we tie him up?"
Another police officer also laughed, "Since he wants to be tied up, we will tie him up."
As the two of them spoke, they took out the rope from their waists, found a pine tree half as thick as a man, and tied Ling Zhen tightly to the tree with his shackles. During the process, Ling Zhen cooperated in every possible way, and when the two were tied, Ling Zhen was also prepared to express his gratitude.
Unexpectedly, the two men jumped away suddenly, picked up the water and fire sticks from the ground, and slowly approached, their faces also changed their appearance, and they each said ferociously:
"Every wrong has its owner, and every debt has its owner. Deputy Ambassador Ling, you must know that you have wronged Taiwei Gao. We escorted you all the way to Laizhou and let you live for so many more days. We have done our best to benevolent and righteous. Unfortunately, yesterday at Taiwei's Mansion Someone is here to send a message, Lieutenant Gao, if you die today, don’t blame my two brothers!"
"That's right, you will die anyway when you get to Salmon Island. Why don't you die today? It will be considered as a good deed and fulfill our brothers! Ling Zhen, close your eyes! Today will be your anniversary next year!"
After saying that, Ling Zhen couldn't help but beg for mercy. The two raised the water and fire stick high, gathered enough strength, and hit Ling Zhen's head hard.
Seeing that Hong Tianlei was dead in an instant, he could only hear a few muffled "boom boom boom" sounds as four featherless crossbow arrows were shot silently in the grass, hitting the two police officers in the back.
The two officials from Kaifeng Prefecture only felt their bodies shake, and their hands suddenly lost strength. The two water and fire sticks fell off each other, and their bodies fell to the ground. Within a moment, they lost their breath. They did not know what was behind them until they died. Who is the mastermind?
Those who harm others will always harm them. Zou Run was speechless and excited as he stepped over the two corpses on the ground. He did not expect that he was just passing through a forest and actually broke into a scene similar to a wild boar forest. Thanks to his entourage He carries a small crossbow with him all year round, otherwise he would not have been able to save Ling Zhen's life in such a timely manner.
But what makes Zou Run curious is why Ling Zhenhao, a deputy envoy of Jia Zhan Ku, became a serious prisoner sent to Salmon Island after a month of not seeing him?
Until Zou Run walked up to Ling Zhen, Ling Zhen still kept his eyes closed and helplessly waited for death.
After being awakened by Zou Run, Ling Zhen's eyes were still blank, thinking that his soul had returned to the underworld.
"Brother Zhou? It's you! I never thought that you and I would meet again under this Nine Springs. I see you were young, why did you die so early?"
Good guy, Ling Zhen's little mouth was like honey. Zou Run rubbed his nose helplessly and chose not to answer for the time being because Ling Zhen had not recovered from the stimulation.
He stepped forward and cut the rope around Ling Zhen's body with a knife, just as Zou Run was looking for the key on the ground to open the shackles around Ling Zhen's neck.
I could hear very familiar lines coming from a big tree not far away again.
"The two of us are just about to take a nap. There are no locks here. I'm just afraid that you will leave. If we want to be stable, we must be tied up."
Good guy...were all the lines for escorting prisoners in the Song Dynasty uniformly trained?
