books44 Chapter 345: Going to Lone Pine Ridge Again
Chapter 345: Going to Lone Pine Ridge Again
Jinglan blushed and said, "No...it's not like that..."
Zhang Hou said, "Miss Jinglan, if you hadn't saved us just now, we would have definitely died at the hands of that black and white devil. Although Adou is very capable, he has to admit that he can't beat that guy."
Ah Dou said: "That's right, I can't beat him."
Jinglan stopped talking to Zhang Hou.
When Chu Xiaomu heard Jinglan mention Huang Jieshi, he immediately remembered what he said to him outside the east gate of Bicheng, "The Nanding army will march south soon, little brother, please find a place called Bujian Peak in the Beast Mountain as soon as possible", "This matter is closely related to the people of the world, and it is no joke". From the information inadvertently revealed by General Bi Ye when he was talking to Yan Zhua, Bujian Peak should be not far from the Black Miasma Ancient Road.
He said, "Brothers, we are still soldiers of the Nandu Camp of the Nanding Army of Bicheng. We still have our duties. We cannot go to Shisantai now, we have to go to Gusongling!"
Wangang said, "Xiaomu, you are right. We are still soldiers of Bicheng. Deserting the army is a serious crime. If we are caught, it will not be as simple as a few beatings. Besides, you are the captain. You have the final say in our team. We can go wherever you say."
Lin Zhen, Su Mishun and others also nodded in agreement, and Zhou Weide did not insist on returning to Yancheng.
Zhang Hou sighed and looked extremely disappointed.
Jinglan lowered her head quietly, her hair fluttering in the breeze on the grassland, and her expression could not be seen.
Chu Xiaomu waited until all the brothers stopped arguing, then asked Yang Dou and Jing Lan what they were going to do. Yang Dou said he wanted to go back to look after the general, while Jing Lan said she needed to learn more skills from her master, so they both had to go back.
Chu Xiaomu had already guessed this, so he didn't say much.
Everyone has made up their mind and decided to set off immediately.
Jinglan suddenly walked in front of Chu Xiaomu again, as if she had something to say, but hesitated.
Chu Xiaomu asked hurriedly: "Miss Jinglan, is there anything else?"
Jinglan seemed to have made a great decision all of a sudden. She gently took off the hairpin from her bun and put it into Chu Xiaomu's hand. She said, "Brother Xiaomu, I don't know when we will meet next time. I hope you can...you can...remember me."
The three words "Remember me" were spoken so softly that no one else heard them except Chu Xiaomu.
Chu Xiaomu realized at this moment that Jinglan was confessing her feelings to him, and he didn't know what to do. Although he had a general understanding of love between men and women, he was actually quite dull and didn't know how to express it or how to respond.
He just stood there blankly, unable to utter a word.
Jinglan's face flushed red. She waited for Chu Xiaomu for a while, but when he didn't say a word, she turned and walked to her horse without even looking at him.
Chu Xiaomu calmed down, said goodbye to Yang Dou and Jinglan, and led the other eight people towards the vast grassland in the east.
When Chu Xiaomu turned around to look at Yang and Zhou, he happened to see Jinglan looking back as well. The two of them looked at each other, and it seemed that they had a thousand words to say... At this moment, time seemed to freeze.
The nine people traveled eastward, and on the way they saw herdsmen herding sheep and horses, milking and shearing wool, killing insects and cutting grass... everything was still quiet and beautiful.
The herdsmen were very friendly to the soldiers from Bicheng. Seeing that they were a group of young men who were very tired from the journey, they offered them mutton, dry biscuits and other food. They had lost their spears and bows and arrows, and could not hunt along the way. Fortunately, they did not starve because of the hospitality of the herdsmen.
Whenever Zhang Hou met a family with young women, he would always find an excuse to stay for half an hour longer, and everyone had to drag him onto the road.
After walking for nearly four days, the group of nine finally arrived at the foot of Gusong Ridge.
When they arrived at the camp, they saw that the tents, which were originally in good condition, had been full of holes bitten by wild beasts that came to steal food. They were all very angry.
It was still early in the morning, and the sun was not as scorching as it had been a few days ago. Chu Xiaomu said, "Why don't we go to Dongxi Village again?"
Everyone thought of the villagers in Dongxi Village who were killed by them. Although they knew that they had all become Yinshengya's Yinsheng children and could no longer be restored to normal people, they still felt deeply remorseful and guilty. Chu Xiaomu said that he would go to Dongxi Village to take a look, which was exactly what everyone thought.
Dongxi Village was not too far from the camp, only about twenty-five or twenty-six miles away. They rode their horses at a trot from time to time, and arrived in more than half an hour.
Standing on the top of the hillside planted with round-leaf wheat grass and looking down, 17 or 18 tents are still scattered on the gentle hillside, and the small stream flowing through the middle of the village is still gurgling...
There was no one walking in the village, but the sounds of insects and birds chirping could be heard from time to time, which was very different from the strange and terrifying situation a few days ago.
They rode down the hillside and saw a large and pointed tomb behind the two large tents. In the middle of the tomb stood a wooden sign covered with a black cloth. When they uncovered the sign, they saw the six words "Tomb of a Villager in Dongxi Village" carved with a sharp knife.
Everyone was sad and ashamed, and they knelt in front of the tomb and bowed silently six times. Zhou Weiyi was so sad that he sobbed.
When they came to the open space where the Dongzhong Army soldiers were tied up, they saw eight spears, five bows and arrows, and a sheathed black iron sword scattered around a nearby tent. These were the things that belonged to Chu Xiaomu and his nine companions. They were overjoyed and picked them up one after another, rubbing them in their hands. They guessed that the Dongzhong Army soldiers were in a hurry when they left and forgot the weapons they had collected and thrown aside.
The crowd also found a lot of dry biscuits, mutton and other food in the villagers' tents, packed them in cloth bags and loaded them on the horses' backs - the villagers were all dead, and the food would go bad if left here, so it would be better to take it back and use it as military rations.
Zhang Hou and Wu Sheng pulled out two thick woolen felts from the tent and prepared to take them back, saying that they would be useful in spring, autumn and winter. Chu Xiaomu thought about it and said nothing.
Everyone slowly returned to the camp, it was almost dark. Chu Xiaomu climbed to the top of the mountain and saw that the firewood piled in the middle of the circle surrounded by stones was filled with oil grass and thick fur grass. It was only a pile of ashes left, and it was obviously burned a few days ago. It was estimated that the soldiers of the Dongzhong Army also guessed that it was the Chisha people who killed the villagers of Dongxi Village, so they lit a beacon here to report the news to the Nanding camp and Humuguan.
At night, Chu Xiaomu took out the "Guixing Fa Jue" and urged everyone to practice it. However, everyone was depressed after returning from Dongxi Village. They couldn't even muster the energy to eat, let alone practice this boring "Guixing Fa Jue". After chatting for a while, they all fell asleep with snoring.
Chu Xiaomu practiced according to the formula, and gradually his mind became clear, as if he had entered a boundless and ethereal space, with countless stars in front, behind, left, right, above and below his head...