Under the sky

Chapter 178: People’s support ([-])

Village Chief Niu took advantage of the horse bandit's wishes and asked for his unknown thoughts.

"Isn't it agreed by everyone in Niushan Village to help them become good people?" Ming asked in confusion.

"Yes." Village Chief Niu hesitated, as if there was no reason to stop him.

"If the village chief is still worried, drive them away." Ming said vaguely: "Unlock the handcuffs and say that Niushan Village cannot accommodate them. Let them find another way to make a living."

"If they do evil..."

Ming shook his head uncertainly: "If they want to do evil, they can't stay, just give them some silver. At most, return the horses to them."

Village Chief Niu was thinking that maybe it would be a good thing to let them leave.Just let them go and let them fend for themselves.

He had just made up his mind when he heard Ming Ming say something unknown: "What's more, now they share weal and woe with the village. Whether the village is safe or not depends on their thoughts."

Village Chief Niu was stunned.

Unknown: "If they do evil, the village will suffer. Even if they don't come to invade the village, as long as they continue to be horse bandits, they will be caught by the sect."

Village Chief Niu heard his heart pounding and beating violently.

"Ask them to come out of Niushan Village and dig up the two bodies under the tree."

"Then..." Village Chief Niu swallowed, his voice already trembling: "What will happen."

This was a question he knew clearly, but he still wanted to ask.

"It was Miss Yueji who helped. It was you, the village chief, who buried the body. It was the whole village who concealed it. This is not as simple as coveting stolen goods."

Ming shook his head uncertainly: "The whole village is implicated, at least... a few leaders must die."

Village Chief Niu regretted that he dug the hole so deep for the body. He wished he could find another place to bury the body, somewhere where Fourth Brother Xue and the bandits couldn't find it.But how can we guarantee that when the disciples of the sect come to investigate, no one will leak anything?

Village Chief Niu knelt on his knees and shouted: "Master Ming, please help me find a way."

Ming Wuxiang thought for a while and said: "There is only one best way. Keep them in the village, treat them as a family, as one of our own, and believe that they have sincerely changed their ways. This is the best thing for the village chief, Niushan Village, and them." OK."

"What if you don't really change your mind?"

"It's best for them." Ming Wuxiang mused: "Otherwise, the village will always have something in their hands."

That night, Village Chief Niu summoned the whole village and told the villagers what Brother Xue was thinking. Everyone was silent.

It was Wang Shu who shouted first: "Why should we give them the land in the east of the village?" He shouted: "That is the village's land!"

"It's just a piece of wasteland." Village Chief Niu replied: "Does the entire mountain belong to Niushan Village? How much wasteland can be reclaimed will be appropriate."

Someone asked: "You mean, they will live with us in the future? And they will be shackled?"

Village Chief Niu said: "It is the village's agreement to help them learn to be good. Besides... what happened two days ago..."

Everyone was silent.

"After that, they help the village work during the day, and after noon, they are allowed to cultivate the wasteland."

"Where's the food?" A villager asked: "In the past, I was asked to work and take care of two meals a day. Now I only work for half a day, and I also have two meals?"

Village Chief Niu did not expect this problem. Not all villagers were generous.Life in the village has always been tight.But he didn't expect that the villagers who looked generous before would now become careless.

Wang Shu shouted: "The work has been reduced by half, but we still have two meals a day to support them in cultivating wasteland? This doesn't make sense."

Village Chief Niu said: "I will discuss this with them and see if we can finish the day's work in the morning. Or how to calculate it."

Another person said: "He used the land in our village to cultivate wasteland, and the food he cultivated cannot be all theirs."

At this moment, someone else echoed: "At least score some points for the village."

Another person said: "They can survive because of the convenience provided by the village. If you are not satisfied, then drive them out."

Village Chief Niu told Fourth Brother Xue what the villagers said, and Fourth Brother Xue gathered his men for discussion. Some of them were dissatisfied, but they were all suppressed by Fourth Brother Xue.

Finally, it was agreed that from now on, all the work for the day would be done in the morning, and he would not be allowed to leave until he was done. This would only take care of two meals a day. After clearing the wasteland, the harvest in the fields would have to be increased by [-]% of the public grain.

"They all say they want us to settle in the village, but do they still regard us as their own?" one of the horse bandits said.

"Where can I settle down after leaving this village?" Brother Xue said very matter-of-factly. He was determined to be good: "We have to cultivate wasteland, accumulate food, and settle down, we have to have a place to rely on. Otherwise, we can only continue to be a good person. Horse bandits.”

"If we want them to treat us as their own, we have to hold back." Brother Xue said, "In a few years, if we marry a wife, have children, and establish a solid foundation here, these rules will eventually change."

So everyone worked harder after that, helping every household every morning. After noon, they came to the wasteland to the east of the village.It was full of weeds, rocks, a few trees, and hard ground.

We are still far from plowing the fields now. 19 people first moved big rocks, moved small rocks, and weeded. It would definitely be slow to pull out the weeds by hand, so they went to the village to borrow rakes and hoes.The villagers were a little hesitant to lend them these things. Widow Zhao had always been a good person and lent her the shovel she used to dig soil at home, and a few kind-hearted people gave them the hoe.As for the ax, Fourth Brother Xue asked the village chief to get it.

It was so difficult. After finishing the work in an afternoon, the wasteland seemed like it had never been plowed.There is no difference except that there are fewer weeds. How much land does it take to open up enough land for the few of them to live here?
"Come back tomorrow." Brother Xue said.

After a few days, it started to look a little different.The last small tree on the wasteland was uprooted.Although there were gravel everywhere, the grass was finally cleared away, and everyone was a little moved when they saw a large piece of land being freed up.

Reclamation opened up this wasteland so that they could live here peacefully.You can take off these shackles.

Gradually, they also put all their energy into reclaiming wasteland in the afternoon.

Their reclamation progressed faster than expected.But Fourth Brother Xue still thought a little wrong. Reclamation was more labor-intensive than ordinary farm work. Even if they were young and strong, they were all tired, especially since their hands and feet were shackled, making it difficult to move. It was extra strenuous to work.What's more, if you help in the morning, you have to finish the whole day's work in half a day.

There was a bang, and the broken clay pot drew a burst of angry curses.An overturned bucket in the room caused confusion.It was clearly agreed that the two bundles of firewood, mostly twigs, could not be burned, so these small quarrels were inevitable.

Xu Liang was very attentive. After clearing the wasteland every day, he would give some instructions to Xiao Shun'er while it was still dark. He didn't know what he was busy with. Sometimes, he would not go home even after Xiao Shun'er came home.

That is, something happened to Xiao Shun'er.It was getting dark that day, and Xiao Shun'er's parents couldn't wait for Xiao Shun'er to come home for dinner, so they asked Xu Liang. Xu Liang hesitated and taught Xiao Shun'er a few tricks, then let him practice, and then he came back. .

The villagers carried torches to look for her, and found Xiao Shun'er lying on the ground. Xiao Shun'er's parents' eyes suddenly darkened, and they hurriedly lifted the child up. When they touched his head, their hands were covered with blood.

Xiao Shun'er's mother grabbed Xu Liang and started crying and beating her, but Xu Liang didn't dare to speak.Xiao Shun'er was taken home and didn't wake up until the next day. As soon as she woke up, she vomited and couldn't stand up straight.Xiao Shun'er's parents were afraid that their son would be gone.Crying till the sky is dark.

It turned out that Xiao Shun'er wanted to learn Qing Gong and climbed up a tree by himself. The child had no idea about life and death, so he jumped up and down, knocking his brain out.

This leads to another question. Xiao Shun'er followed Xu Liang to learn martial arts. When he climbed the tree, where did Xu Liang go?
Xu Liang couldn't say anything either.After that, not only Xiao Shuner, but also several children in the village who wanted to learn martial arts were stopped by their families.

Another quarrel occurred when the old Lin family's rotten plow hit a boulder when the horse bandits were digging, and a large part of it collapsed.It seems that it is no longer usable.

Lao Lin lost his temper and demanded compensation. What could Fourth Brother Xue say?So I wrote him a note and paid it back later.

This also reminded the villagers of another thing: how many tools would be damaged to cultivate such a large area of ​​wasteland?
There was less work to do, more to eat, and the borrowed farm tools broke. Gradually, more and more dissatisfaction accumulated.After a horse bandit finished his work, he arrived at a family's house where they were having dinner. The family had started dinner early, and when he arrived, there were only some leftovers.After this happened once, it happened again and again, and even became a habit.

The people in this village have changed.Fourth Brother Xue didn't know why, but he noticed that the villagers had changed. Not only were they careless, except for Widow Zhao and a few other good people, everyone else was making things difficult for them in every possible way, whether it was because of killing the two sect disciples or because of themselves. Brother Xue couldn't figure out the reason for wanting to reclaim wasteland.

But he finally figured it out.

It was Xu Liang's fault.This guy... is young and energetic.When everyone thought about it, they realized that there had been clues for a long time, but how come no one noticed it?
That night, Xu Liang did not come back for a long time. This was not the first time. Every time Brother Xue asked him, he said he would take a walk around to relax.

Then came the furious voice of Village Chief Niu. He rushed out of the house in the opposite corner and shouted: "You bunch of bastards, what bad things do you want to do? Ming Daxia, Ming Daxia! Come and help."

This angry shouting caused everyone to come out to see. As soon as Brother Xue walked out of the door, he saw Village Chief Niu holding a kitchen knife in his hand and shouted: "They stole the key! They stole the key! They want to harm us! They Escape!"

This statement shocked everyone and hurriedly picked up their hoes, plows, axes, and kitchen knives. The women hid behind the door to protect their children, while the men stood at the door, each on guard.

Brother Xue asked: "What's going on?"

"You stole my key? Do you want to escape?" Village Chief Niu shouted: "The key to open the shackles is missing."

The village is small, and everyone only needs to shout a few times to arrive.The horse bandits stood beside Brother Xue, also confused.

Fourth Brother Xue said, "How do we know where you hid the key?" He raised his shackles and said, "If we stole it, why would we still have this thing hanging on our body, because it looks good?"

Of course, Village Chief Niu didn't believe it. He just saw Ming Wuxiang approaching and hurriedly called Ming Daxia to help him.

Ming unknown just glanced at it and asked: "Are everyone in the village here?"

After he spoke, Fourth Brother Xue realized that Xu Liang was missing. Village Chief Niu was also surprised and asked: "Rose, where did Rose go?"

A man and a woman were missing in the village, and they were missing a key. Everyone was in an uproar. Village Chief Niu was even more anxious: "Quick! Light the torch and go find my daughter!" He then gritted his teeth and said to Brother Xue, "You want me?" My daughter has three shortcomings and I will die together with you."

Everyone lit torches and looked around. After thinking about it, they said, "Go to the rooftop viewing platform and have a look."

The people in the village regarded Ming as a god. After hearing what he said, they hurriedly held up torches and went to the rooftop viewing platform. As soon as they arrived under the platform, they saw a pair of handcuffs and shackles on the ground.

Brother Xue was very surprised and asked, "How did you know you were here?"

Ming unknown replied: "Only the rooftop viewing platform can't be climbed with handcuffs and shackles."

Brother Xue was still puzzled. He heard Village Chief Niu raise his head and shout: "You son of a bitch! Get down here!"

After no sound for a long time, Village Chief Niu became suspicious and shouted: "If you don't come down, we will go up."

After a while, it was not only Xu Liang but also Yue Ji who poked his head out from the rooftop.The two slowly climbed down along the stone wall.

Yueji lowered her head and said, "Dad, don't be angry. I, I just want to take Xu Liang up to the rooftop to have a look. But the rooftop is high and steep. It's hard to climb up with handcuffs and shackles. I'm afraid you won't agree, so I I stole the key and came up..."

Village Chief Niu scolded: "Why did you take him up there?"

Yueji blushed and lowered her head.He glanced sideways at Xu Liang.

Bao Erfu roared, and rushed forward to hold Xu Liang and beat him. Xu Liang did not dare to resist, and protected his head and face with his hands. Yue Ji quickly pulled Bao Erfu and shouted: "Why are you beating him? Why are you beating him?" "

The head of Niu Village had a livid face and grabbed his daughter: "Are there no men in this village? He is a horse bandit. Are you looking for death because you fell in love with a horse bandit?"

Yue Ji said anxiously: "When they open up the wasteland, they will no longer be horse bandits."

Village Chief Niu said angrily: "Horse bandits are horse bandits. If you follow horse bandits, you are committing a crime."

As soon as these words were said, the expressions of Fourth Brother Xue and others changed drastically.

Xu Liang couldn't beat Bao Erfu and shouted: "If you don't stop, I'm going to fight back." Bao Erfu paid no attention to him, Xu Liang pushed him away violently, but Bao Erfu punched hard and fell lame. With one leg and an unbalanced body, he staggered back a few steps. The road leading to the rooftop was a road close to a cliff. His foot was missing and he fell down the cliff.Village Chief Niu hurriedly stretched out his hand to catch him, but before he could catch him in time, Bao Erfu screamed and fell down the cliff.

Soon after, amidst everyone's exclamations, a silver light like an arrow wrapped around Bao Erfu's wrist. It turned out that it was unknown and unbelievable, and wrapped around Bao Erfu's wrist, pulling him up from the cliff.

Bao Erfu was so frightened that his legs went weak.Kneeling on the edge of the cliff, unable to stand up.

The head of Niu Village looked at Xu Liang fiercely. If it weren't for the unknown, this Niushan Village would have lost a life in vain.He lifted the shackles and walked towards Xu Liang.

Xu Liang did not dodge and allowed him to be handcuffed and shackled.

Brother Xue understood that the people in this village might be kind.But in their eyes, he will always be a horse bandit.They would not accept horse bandits living with them.The deaths of those two disciples made them feel that they had become accomplices of the horse bandits.

They don't want to open up wasteland themselves, and they don't want their own group of people to live here. They just don't dare to let themselves go, and maybe they are coveting the labor of their own group of people.

I can't stay here.He was a little sad, he thought.

Brother Xue took Xu Liang away. They lived opposite the house of the head of Niu Village. Only then did Xu Liang and Yue Ji get close to the water. So the head of Niu Village drove him, Xu Liang, and Ye You to live elsewhere.They crowded to the east of the village, near the wasteland.

Clearly or unknownly, the war is about to begin.

Early this morning, he came to the rooftop viewing platform and found that in addition to the battalion parked on the other side of Xiaoshui River, the garrison on Lengshuitan began to move.

■

"Kill!" Ying Chenghu led the disciples of Lengshui Sect to take the lead. They wanted to regain the city they lost in their hands.

Bows and arrows were flying, and the powerful disciples pushed the cloud cart. The huge stones from the catapult flew down on the Lingling city wall like meteorites.

"Bows and arrows! West! Bows and arrows!" Hardclaw Huangbai commanded.

The ladder was still three feet away from the city wall. The disciples who were better at lightness skills had already jumped onto the city wall. Huang Bai rushed forward and killed two Hengshan disciples with a series of claws.

A sharp crack of wind struck from his side.Are you a master from Hengshan?Huang Bai ducked to avoid it, only to see that the man was more than eight feet tall and wielded a three-pointed two-edged sword. This was a weapon that could lock people's weapons, but Huang Bai's weapon was ten sharp fingers, and the tiger claws suddenly went to grab the opponent's weapon. blade.

The man wielded the knife with both hands, changed his chops into thrusts, and stabbed Huang Bai in the chest.Huang Bai was also surprised by the speed of this change of moves. His skill was only slightly inferior to that of Ying Chenghu.Immediately concentrate on receiving the move.

Luck was on Huang Bai's side. The disciples who had followed the man up the city wall had been slaughtered. The Dian Cang disciples surrounded the man and killed him with a flurry of swords.He was feeling proud when a huge boulder flew towards him.Huang Bai quickly pounced to the left, and the boulder hit a corner of the city wall, missing him by three feet.

The Western offensive has been blocked, but the crisis remains. "Hold!" Huang Bai shouted: "To the east, the fighting team! The fighting team!"

The fighting teams, each armed with weapons, ran toward the east.A hail of arrows came and shot down seven or eight disciples.Huang Bai took a round shield on the spot to protect himself.Listen to the sound of arrows hitting the buckler.

"Is Yin Molan still not moving?" Lan Shengqing, who was sitting in the Chinese army tent, asked.

"No, they are still watching from the other side." Ying Chenghu replied.

Didn't you say that as long as Lingling is attacked, they will help?Lan Shengqing's face was livid. He had put Yin Molan back, but Yin Molan never crossed the river.

"Does he hate me for putting him under house arrest?" Lan Shengqing thought.When the leader comes back, he must report to Li Xuanxuan that Yin Molan delayed the military flight.

■

Yin Molan didn't know why he didn't cross the river to help in the battle.

He felt something was wrong. Lingling City was too quiet, but he didn't know the reason?He has always been a steady person, and he will not act rashly before thinking clearly.

He is nicknamed "Quiet Tiger", but many people don't understand that tigers are not scary, the most terrifying thing is "quiet".

He has been thinking about the reason why Lingling City did not send troops again.Is it because they are afraid of the more than 1 soldiers and horses in Lengshuitan?
No, this is unreasonable. Lengshuitan is gathering troops. The longer we wait, the more troops and horses will gather at Lengshuitan.And if Dian Cang wants to advance towards Hengyang, he must control Lengshuitan and Qiyang, and control Yongzhou.Sooner or later they would have to face the army at Lengshuitan.There was no reason to wait for them to gather their troops.

So what are the people in Lingling City waiting for?Waiting for reinforcements?
Didn't see it, Yin Molan kept sending spies to investigate, and there was no one from the south of Lingling who came to rescue.Even after acquiring Lingling, Diancang already had enough rice and grain, and even grain trucks were nowhere to be found.

How many men did it take for Diancang to capture Lingling?Ying Chenghu said that there were five thousand disciples garrisoned in Lingling at that time, and there might be more than [-] people attacking Diancang. Yin Molan felt that this was Ying Chenghu shirking his responsibility for losing the city, exaggerating the number of enemies and covering up the situation. own dereliction of duty.

Why are they standing still?
Yin Molan felt that he had to figure this out.

The city gate opened, and the fighting team led by Huang Bai's junior brother Zhou Ciji rushed towards Ying Chenghu's siege team. They burned a ladder, but the raid did not achieve much. When Zhou Ciji retreated, he was hit by a stray arrow and was killed by Ying Chenghu. Hengshan's morale was immediately boosted.

This battle lasted for a long time. After seven days of fierce attacks, Lingling could not hold on.There were over a thousand casualties on both sides, and the east wall of Lingling City was half collapsed.

Huang Bai was hit by an arrow in his waist and stabbed twice on his body. He could only lie on the hospital bed. Gu Dongcheng, the leader of the Lingshan Sect who was responsible for guarding Lingling, sent Zhou Ciji's brother Zhou Xunzhi to command and supervise the battle.

The situation is not optimistic. Lingling's city wall has been damaged during the last attack. After Hengshan's fierce attack, the east wall will soon collapse.

Gu Dongcheng braved the bow and arrow to reach the city wall. He remembered that the deputy head asked him if he could hold on before leaving.He has to hold on, and if he holds on, he can win.When he came to the west wall, he saw a group of troops on the other side of Xiaoshui River from a distance.He couldn't help but frown.

On the eighth day, Hengshan continued to attack. Lan Shengqing walked out of the Chinese military tent and looked at Lingling City in the distance. He ordered a fierce attack to the east. Although it was difficult, he was confident of taking back Lingling City.He saw the cloud chariots approaching one after another, and the boulders launched by the catapults kept falling on the Lingling city wall.

Just when Lan Shengqing felt relieved and thought he was determined to win, he saw Dian Cang's flag appearing in the east.A troop raised up dust all over the sky and rushed toward the central military tent.

Why is it there?Lan Shengqing was stunned.

How did they appear here without telling anyone?Did Guiyang also fall?
When he saw this troop, Yin Molan finally understood.Dian Cang's reinforcements did not come from the south of Lingling, but came from Guilin and crossed the Nanling Mountains, hiding it from the eyes and ears, and took the mountain road to support.It is to cooperate with the defenders of Lingling City to attack Lengshuitan.Because this road is extremely difficult to travel, we arrived as late as now.

"That damn dwarf!" Lan Shengqing gritted his teeth. He wanted to call back the front troops, but it was too late. The cavalry had already rushed into the battlefield, cutting him off from Ying Chenghu on the front line.

The gates of Lingling City were opened, and the morale of Dian Cang's disciples was high. They were about to turn their defense into an attack.

The cavalry stepped through the military tent and chopped down the Hengshan flag, marking the conclusion of the biggest battle since the Shaosong War.

■

If those two disciples had not died, they would have found the Sky Observation Platform to be a good place.Maybe they will notify the higher-ups to send people to watch the battle.

So here, he could see the Dian Cang troops crossing the mountains and advancing towards Lengshuitan. They still had two days to report back to the local sect, notify Hengshan to be alert, or even lay an ambush.

But they died, silently dying here.Although two days ago another sect disciple came to ask if he had seen these two disciples?But they did not come to the rooftop viewing platform, nor did they enter the village to search. Village Chief Niu said that the two disciples had been here but left that day, and they left without asking any further questions.In such a village, there is really no reason to murder the disciples of the sect.

But it was enough to scare the villagers into a cold sweat.

Only Ming and Wuxiang knew that this Niushan Village and these horse bandits had silently changed the fate of the Lengshuitan War.

So, how will the war in the village end?
The day after Xu Liang's secret meeting with Yue Ji was discovered, Brother Xue came to see Ming Wuxiang.

"We are leaving Niushan Village." Fourth Brother Xue asked Ming Ming unknown: "Can Ming Daxia help us with this? We swear that we will never trouble Niushan Village again. We don't want those horses or silver anymore. I just ask you. Take us away."

"I will stay in Niushan Village for a few more days." Ming Xiang thought for a while and said, "I can't take you away."

"Then untie these shackles for us and let's go on our own." Brother Xue said.

"The village chief won't let you leave." Ming answered unclearly.

Fourth Brother Xue understood that perhaps at the beginning, as a horse bandit, he did not understand the thoughts of these "simple" villagers, but when the two disciples died in Niushan Village, and when all the villagers in Niushan Village became accomplices, starting from that day, he became an accomplice. As a horse bandit, he can understand the thoughts of "criminals".

Village Chief Niu would not give him a chance to inform him, nor would he believe him.If you insist on leaving, there will definitely be conflicts.

"You have endured it for almost two months. How many more days can't you endure it?" Ming asked uncertainly: "On the day I leave, I will wait for you outside the woods outside the village. You come out in the dark, and when you get outside the woods, I will untie your hands. Shackles, set you free."

"I will wait for you until dawn. If you don't come, I will leave."

Brother Xue nodded.

After the battle at Lengshuitan, Ming unknown came to see the head of Niu Village and said that he would leave tomorrow.Village Chief Niu was surprised, but he also expected that Ming and Wu could not live here.

As for whether Ming Ming will report the matter, Village Chief Niu doesn't mind, because if he reports, he will involve himself in it. After all, he is not a desperado like the horse bandit.

Neither are the people in Niushan Village.The residents of Niushan Village are all simple farmers. They should not have collaborated with the horse bandits. It is only their fault that they were soft-hearted and sheltered this group of unrepentant villains.

I left Niushan Village at an unknown date, walked through the woods outside the village, and waited there.

Fourth Brother Xue informed the other brothers of the plan very early.Everyone is waiting.The villagers treated them more and more coldly. Not only did they have fewer meals, but they were also unwilling to lend them farm tools.They can only clear the wasteland with their bare hands.Fourth brother Xue found an excuse, saying that it was convenient to reclaim wasteland, so it was better to let his group live together in the broken house in the east of the village where they were previously detained.The villagers also wanted to keep them under centralized supervision, so they agreed.This was exactly what Fourth Brother Xue wanted. He didn't want to have to wander around the village looking for companions on the day he left.

They also don't believe that the villagers will be willing to let them take root here.In the eyes of the villagers, they will always be horse bandits.It would be better to leave.Everyone was happy to know that Ming Wuxi was willing to help.Just waiting a little anxious.

The most anxious person is Xu Liang. He has not seen Yue Ji for several days. He really likes Yue Ji, and he knows that Yue Ji also likes him.

He wanted Yue Ji to go with them, but he didn't dare ask Brother Xue.

With great difficulty, he finally got a chance. When Niu Village Chief Gong came out, he leaned outside the window and asked Yueji to elope with him.

"We will leave Niushan Village on an unknown day." He didn't have time to tell all his plans, and only said a few important words.Listening to Yueji's mother's voice, she immediately ran away.

Yueji struggled for a long time. She tested her father, but Village Chief Niu obviously would not betroth her to Xu Liang. That was impossible.

On the day Ming unknown left, Village Chief Niu convened a meeting with all the villagers.They also sent people to guard outside so as not to be overheard by the horse bandits.He was afraid that his daughter would reveal the secret, so he asked someone to watch his daughter at home.

Yueji was left at home, so she pretended to be sulky and hid in her room. She packed up some belongings and prepared to elope with Xu Liang.She also thought about helping Xu Liang steal the key, but since the last time the key was stolen, her father kept the key hanging on his waist at all times.Never leave your body for a moment.

The villagers soon gathered together to discuss one thing: "How to deal with those horse bandits?"

"Kill them." Wang Shu quickly suggested. He felt that this was the idea of ​​most people in the village.

"Master Ming is gone. If this group of people does evil in the future, no one can stop them. Do we really want to contain these horse bandits?"

"They used to bully people based on their martial arts skills. Will they continue to bully us when the handcuffs are removed?"

Widow Zhao was frightened and holding the beads in her hand, she just kept chanting "Amitabha".

That brings us back to the old question, how to kill?Who will kill?

"It's just killing people." You Baijin said, "It's like killing a pig. A sharp knife goes in and a red knife comes out."

Village Chief Niu said: "I have a plan. They are all sleeping in a broken house in the east of the village. We lock the door from the outside while they are sleeping. Pile firewood outside and set it on fire."

Widow Zhao was so frightened that her eyes blurred and she fainted.

Everyone thinks this is a good idea.Of course, there are some kind-hearted people who all urge to let them go, but in the end they can't resist the large number of people.

"Tonight everyone goes back and prepares firewood, bundle by bundle, put some extra straw on top, pour some lamp oil on it, and wait until they fall asleep, then we will start tonight. The earlier they die, the less they will waste on rice and food."

Everyone nodded in agreement and made an appointment to start at midnight. Then they went home to prepare and rest early.

"We will leave when they are ugly." Brother Xue said, "We have to wait until they are all asleep. Only then can we move easily. If they are discovered, something will happen."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but Xu Liang was the only one who was still worried.I wonder if Yueji will follow him.

Yueji packed up Xinruan. For some reason, her father was pacing back and forth in the living room today, refusing to sleep. She waited until Haishi, worried that Xu Liang would leave first because he couldn't wait for her, so she pretended to be asleep.Take the baggage to meet Xu Liang at the broken house in the east of the village.

At midnight, everyone in the village carried bundles of firewood, as well as torches, sickles, shovels, and rakes. They walked silently to the broken house in the east of the village, and piled the wood into a hill outside the broken house.Village Chief Niu tiptoed and locked the broken house door with a lock.Then he took the torch.

Let's just burn all those dishonorable things in Niushan Village.

He threw the torch at the pyre, and the fire burst into flames.After a while, I heard the shouts of the people inside, as well as "dong dong" banging on the door, and chaotic curses.

This group of horse bandits must have died long ago.

However, he didn't expect to hear his daughter's cry for help.

"Dad! Help, help!"

That was indeed Rose's voice. How could Rose be in it?Before he went out, he took a look at Yueji's bed and didn't come forward to disturb her. Why did he bring his daughter to watch the excitement after doing such a thing?He didn't know that the daughter he saw on the bed was just Yue Ji using some clothes and pillows to disguise herself.My daughter came to the broken house as early as Haishi, but Brother Xue left only when he wanted to be ugly, so he waited in the house.By the way, I shared with Xu Liang the pain of missing each other.

His daughter must not be burned to death inside. Village Chief Niu rushed forward in anger, took out the key and unlocked the door.

No one expected that Yue Ji would be inside, so they couldn't help but froze. They didn't stop it for a while, and no one went to put out the fire.

Just after unlocking the door, there was a bang, the door was knocked open from the inside, and Village Chief Niu fell to the ground.Fourth brother Xue was pressing on him, and a dozen horse bandits hurriedly escaped from inside.Many people fell to the ground because of their shackles.

"Stop them quickly." someone shouted.So someone picked up a shovel and a sickle to cut the grass.Those who did not bring farm tools hurried home to look for weapons.

A shovel hit the head of a horse bandit who fell to the ground, penetrating his forehead and making him unable to survive.

A horse bandit who had no time to dodge was cut on his thigh by a sickle.

"Key, the key is here!" Brother Xue shouted. He took the bunch of keys from the village chief who was pressed to the ground and handed them to Xu Liang beside him. Xu Liang tried them one by one.

Although the horse bandit is good at martial arts, his hands and feet are restrained, making it difficult to dodge.There are many people on the other side, but they are horse bandits. They have fought in team battles and know how to cooperate with each other. Three or five people gather in a circle to look after each other.Relying on a fierce resistance, they protected Fourth Brother Xue and Xu Liang.

The villagers also knew that today either you would die or I would live, and they kept attacking with all their might.

The youngest Ye You, who lived with Fourth Brother Xue, was struck in the thigh by a rake and fell to the ground. He was then hit with a flurry of sticks, which left him with broken bones all over his body. He vomited blood like a ball of flesh and died.

"It's open!" Fourth Brother Xue shouted, untying the shackles in his hands. He was the best in martial arts and used the shackles as weapons to break Wang Shu's Tianling Cap.

After a while, the shackles on Brother Xue's feet were also opened. This time, he was like a tiger entering the flock, driving away a group of villagers. Xu Liang took the opportunity to open the handcuffs of another companion.

One of the horse bandits wrapped a chain around the neck of Village Chief Niu and strangled him hard.Yueji screamed and passed out.

One of the horse bandits had no time to break free from the handcuffs and was struck in the back of the head by the broken plow with its edge missing.

Bao Erfu pounced on Xu Liang, but Xu Liang had already untied him. He took the sickle from Bao Erfu's hand and thrust it into his chest with his backhand.But was stabbed into the waist by You Baijin's butcher knife...

The fire in the broken house became more and more intense.

■

He waited outside the woods for unknown reasons, and when the fire burst into the sky, he still waited.When the fire went out, he still waited.

When the sky turned white and the appointed time came, he saw no one coming to see him.

So he mounted his horse and left Niushan Village.

(End of this chapter)