Under the sky

Chapter 209

Just as I was about to go down the mountain, I went up the mountain again.

A group of horse bandits pushed aside the grass, walked around the miscanthus path to the back of the mountain, and turned deep into the dense forest.Seeing the steepness here, Shen Weichen thought that this village really knew how to hide. After walking through the woods, the gravel was bumpy and the horse was bumpy. Shen Weichen simply rested in Li Jingfeng's arms. Soon he saw a stone barrier erected on the edge of the cliff. It is about three feet high and is probably a sentry post. After passing the stone barrier, there are dozens of huts surrounding a large open space, all made of mud, stone and thatch.

Ma Qi led the two of them into the mountain stronghold and said: "Brothers are still hiding in the mountains. We are out to explore the way. We have to go back and inform everyone. It's getting late and we won't be able to come back until tomorrow morning. Mr. Li, you and your wife have a rest. You can choose which house to live in. The biggest one in the east is my residence. It is more comfortable inside. Whatever you need, feel free to use the cottages."

Seeing his generosity, Li Jingfeng quickly thanked him and said, "Master Ma Zhai will go and do his own business, so I won't delay you."

A group of horse bandits went away.Li Jingfeng rode around the village and saw a plaque hanging in a wooden hall at the back. It was dark and Shen Weichen couldn't see clearly, so he asked, "What's written on it?"

Li Jingfeng said: "It says 'Qiu Huotang'."

Shen Weichen thought: "The days are hard, I don't even talk about gathering righteousness, I just want a way to survive."

This village was smaller than Raodao Village. Li Jingfeng found the large thatched house in the east, helped Shen Weichen into the house, lit an oil lamp, and made a fire under the kang.It had only been a few days, but Shen Weichen felt as if he had lived a different world when he saw the heated kang and the roof. Just as he was about to sit down, he realized that he was covered in weeds and muddy, as if he had been scooped out of mud and water to dry - in fact, the same was true for those people. The horse bandits did not become suspicious.She came from a wealthy family and was always well-mannered. She felt that it was inappropriate to soil someone else's bedding, and she felt itchy and uncomfortable all over, so she said, "Jingfeng, bring me a bucket of water. I'll change my clothes."

Li Jingfeng heated up the fire, threw the ashes on the fire, and then got up to fetch water.Shen Weichen found some women's clothes in the house. After waiting for Li Jingfeng to return for a long time, he was about to ask when Li Jingfeng pushed the door open and entered.Shen Weichen saw the steam steaming from the bucket. It turned out that hot water had been heated. Before he could say anything, Li Jingfeng had already closed the door and left.Shen Weichen felt that the water temperature was suitable for washing, so he took off his clothes, boots and socks, wiped the bath, and rubbed out a bucket of mud. Then he put on clean clothes, folded the original clothes neatly and placed them on the bedside of the kang, and shouted: "Jingfeng, come in." "

Li Jingfeng came in and said, "Little sister, wait for me for a while." He left with the sewage in his hands.Shen Weichen didn't know why. After a while, Li Jingfeng came back with two buckets of hot water and said, "This bucket of water is for my little sister to soak her feet."

He put one of the buckets of water in front of the kang, picked up the other bucket and sat on the stone bench.Shen Weichen soaked his feet in the hot water and felt a warmth rising from the soles of his feet to his chest. The pores all over his body relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief. He went to see Li Jingfeng and saw that he took off his shoes and soaked his feet in the hot water. He also sighed. He was breathing heavily and had a relaxed look on his face, which made Shen Weichen laugh and asked, "Where did you learn this kind of enjoyment?"

Li Jingfeng smiled and said: "I saw Young Master Xiao soaking his feet every day in Songshan. The foot soaking water is boiled with medicinal materials. Mrs. Xiao also massaged his body, which was really enjoyable. I don't have any medicinal materials, so my little sister will make do with it."

Shen Weichen said: "When I was a child, I watched my father practice Xia Pan Kung Fu. When he was tired from practice, he would soak his feet with medicinal herbs. It looked very comfortable."

Li Jingfeng asked: "Little sister, haven't you tried it?"

Shen Weichen said: "My mother said that foot bathing at a girl's house is not solemn. If my feet are sore after practicing, I have a maid to help me apply a hot towel to push the uterus and activate blood circulation."

Li Jingfeng asked: "Are you comfortable?"

Shen Weichen smiled and said: "How about I help you push? You will know whether it is comfortable or not."

Li Jingfeng blushed and said, "My little sister has followed Dr. Zhu's example and made fun of everyone."

Shen Weichen smiled and said, "I am inherently bad. You just didn't know it before." After she finished speaking, she didn't know what she thought of. Her pale and sick face suddenly turned red, and she changed her words and said, "You are considerate and considerate."

Li Jingfeng said: "I used to be a waiter in a shop, so I'm used to serving people."

Shen Weichen smiled and said: "Who else is so lucky to be taken care of by Daxia Li?"

Li Jingfeng said with a smile: "Brother Yang was poisoned at that time. He was much more difficult to take care of than my little sister. He had to cook rice and decoction, and he had to change a large tank of water every few days."

Shen Weichen pouted: "It turns out it's not just me. You have to be injured and sick to get this benefit. I thought it would be better to be sick more often so that I can be so careful and considerate."

Li Jingfeng frowned: "Young lady, what are you talking nonsense? It's a bad idea." He added, "The water is cold. Young lady, please rest early." After that, he wiped his feet dry and poured two buckets of foot soaking water outside the house.Shen Weichen also wiped his feet and lay down on the bed, saying coquettishly: "Master Li, help me cover myself with a quilt."

Li Jingfeng only felt that meeting the little girl this time was a bit strange, so he didn't ask much, covered Shen Weichen with a quilt, and said: "Little sister, don't tease me all the time, just call me Jingfeng, what a hero, it sounds awkward." "

Shen Weichen smiled and said, "Are you dissatisfied that you are not impressive enough today?"

Li Jingfeng was silent for a while, then shook his head and said: "I would rather not be able to show off my power for the rest of my life than see my little sister in danger."

Shen Weichen knew that he must have been very worried these days, and said with relief: "It's not dangerous. Didn't I escape later? If it weren't for your good eyesight, no one would have found me. I just need to rest in the mountain for a few days. You can go down the mountain to meet Mr. Xie on your own, so you don’t have to worry too much."

Li Jingfeng said "Yes" and said: "I believe in my little sister's ability, but I have to be more careful next time. Ask Doctor Zhu for more gold wound medicine and seal it with oil paper so that you don't worry about getting wet."

Shen Weichen's heart moved, and he felt that no amount of sweet words could match the warmth of this sentence. He stretched out his hand from the quilt to grab Li Jingfeng's hand, and whispered: "You have to be careful outside."

Li Jingfeng smiled and said: "I am a desperado, running for my life every day, but be careful."

Shen Weichen was startled again, his hands resting under the quilt for a long time.When Li Jingfeng saw that she was silent, he just said that she was tired. He took another quilt, turned off the oil lamp and lay down under the kang.

Shen Weichen looked into the darkness and said, "Jingfeng, go to Shileizi tomorrow and see if you can find the whereabouts of Mr. Xie and the others." Li Jingfeng agreed, and the two fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Shen Weichen woke up and found that Li Jingfeng had already gone to Shileizi. He said that he was too far away and could not find any trace. He only found that there were people from Huashan on the other side of the river.Shen Weichen did not believe that Xie Gubai would really withdraw his troops, but he was not familiar with the terrain in Jinzhou and had to rely on the locals.

Just after noon, Ma Qi led a group of horse bandits back together with their relatives. Li Jingfeng was afraid of disturbing his little sister, so he closed the door and went out to greet her. Shen Weichen listened in the room to the excitement outside. Many people were talking and asking questions. Li Jingfeng shouted He wanted to find a doctor, but after a while he led a short middle-aged man into the house.The doctor checked his pulse and said he was suffering from injuries and fatigue. He kept the medicine for wound healing and prescribed some antipyretic medicine.There was a shortage of medicinal materials in the village, so Shen Weichen whispered to Li Jingfeng: "Please ask the owner of the village to send someone to buy medicine, and ask for information along the way, not to mention that it has anything to do with Qingcheng.

Li Jingfeng asked Ma Qi for help. When Ma Qi asked, Li Jingfeng only said that he was concerned about the war and asked someone to bring Amao.After that, they sat on the edge of the bed. The two chatted and talked about their relationship after goodbye. Shen Weichen felt sleepy and fell asleep. When he woke up, Li Jingfeng was still sitting on the edge of the bed to take care of him.

This was repeated several times until it turned dark. Li Jingfeng lit the oil lamp and suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. When he opened the door, he saw a man standing outside the door with a child with missing ears and buck teeth.The man carried a package of medicinal materials and bowed to Li Jingfeng: "Master Li, I have bought the medicinal materials. You can keep them and tell me if you need anything."

Li Jingfeng took the medicine and thanked him. The child walked in the door with a big bang. After Li Jingfeng closed the door, he gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice: "You idiot, you left me in Jinzhou, where he was investigating spies, and you called someone who didn't know the details." If you don’t want me to follow you, just make it clear that you don’t want to be tricked like this!”

Li Jingfeng said apologetically: "I didn't know it would take so long."

The child said angrily: "You idiot, you don't know anything!"

Shen Weichen heard the child curse when he opened his mouth, sat up and said with a smile, "You are Amao, right?"

Amao glanced at Shen Weichen: "I found him and took advantage of him. Is she now your wife?"

Li Jingfeng hurriedly explained: "It's just Congquan. You also know that dragons and snakes are mixed in the village and it is easy to collide."

"Bah! Just laugh when someone hits me!" Amao scolded, "It's just because of sex!"

Li Jingfeng smiled bitterly: "Sir, it's fine if you don't collide with others. You're still afraid of them. Have you heard anything in Jinzhou for a few days?"

Amao walked to the table and sat down, poured a glass of water and drank it. He snorted and swayed with his little feet, obviously still having a temper.Li Jingfeng ignored him and just waited. After a long time, Amao said, "I heard that Huashan captured two girls. I thought they were the ones you were looking for."

Shen Weichen stood up in surprise, felt dizzy and sat back down, trembling: "It's Sister Gu and Sister Xia!"

Li Jingfeng looked solemn and asked, "Where are the Qingcheng people?"

Amao said: "They all ran away. They ran away from the small road to the west of Jinzhou. When the people from Huashan arrived in Jinzhou, they chased them all the way to the small road to the west. I heard that they chased them for dozens of miles, and they are still guarding the intersection now."

Li Jingfeng thought that the capture of Gu Qingshang and Xia Lijun would be a disaster. He was afraid that Shen Weichen would be sad and didn't want Amao to continue talking, so he said, "Amao, go get a bucket of water and help Miss Shen make medicine."

Amao made a sound and cursed: "Why didn't you ask whether those two girls were dead or alive? You didn't care about them being stripped naked and hung on the bow of the boat to dry their bodies, right?" Shen Weichen heard this and his blood surged, His eyes went dark, he raised his head and fell down, and suddenly felt his shoulders tighten.Li Jingfeng shouted anxiously: "Little sister!" and then said, "Amao, are you telling the truth?"

Amao said: "I said you don't care, and I didn't say that's the case. Why are you anxious?"

After hearing this, Shen Weichen calmed down and asked anxiously: "Are they okay?"

Amao said angrily: "I'm being held captive on a boat by Yinghu Lake, and my body hasn't been laid yet."

Li Jingfeng said sullenly: "Amao, is this a joke?"

Amao turned his head and didn't answer.

Li Jingfeng felt strange and asked, "How did you know they were on the boat?"

Amao said angrily: "I thought the one who was arrested was the girl you were looking for! You stupid donkey who won't look back after being hit to death must have gone to rob the prisoner. I'll find a good place to see if you're dead. If you're going to die, I'll do it myself." Walk!"

Li Jingfeng heard that Amao went to inquire about the news because he was worried about him, so he smiled bitterly and said: "Amao, if you are angry with me, just take it out on me. Don't say such unpleasant things to make others uncomfortable."

Amao scolded: "Who is angry with you? Who cares whether you live or die? I already knew it. If you just lie down and don't care about the cold, you will die sooner or later!"

Shen Weichen looked at Li Jingfeng and their eyes met. Li Jingfeng shook his head: "My little sister must be at least [-]% better. Let's make plans again."

Shen Weichen knew that it would be difficult for him and Li Jingfeng to rob the prisoner alone, not to mention being injured, so he nodded helplessly.Li Jingfeng stood up and said, "I'm going to make some medicine. Amao, you help Miss Shen change the medicine." He picked up the medicine bag on the table and left.He knew that many of Shen Weichen's wounds were in embarrassing places, so he left with an excuse, leaving Amao to change Shen Weichen's dressing.

Amao sat for a long time, just staring at Shen Weichen sideways, and finally got up to help.Shen Weichen heard her curse constantly and smiled and said, "I'm sorry." She had injuries on her chest and back, so she took off her shirt. Amao saw her nails peeling off and blood oozing from the edges. He was shocked and asked, "No Does it hurt?"

Shen Weichen said: "It hurts." After a while, he added, "But it's not as painful as what you just said."

Amao said: "What, you want to settle a score with me?" As he said this, he applied medicine and bandage.Shen Weichen saw that her technique was very neat and said, "Are you often injured? You must have suffered a lot."

"Bah!" Amao scolded, "How can I take care of my injury so easily? Just wipe it with saliva and still hit and smash it! You and that stupid donkey are the only ones who are so particular about it. Don't use the knife if you're afraid of pain!"

Shen Weichen said: "Your brother Jingfeng is often injured?"

Amao said: "You are so polite everywhere? Ordinary encounters involve life and death. A month without red is a lucky month! Damn it, I don't know what kind of bloody luck you have, and you are following a wanted criminal!"

After finishing bandaging, she sat back on the stone bench and couldn't help but look at Shen Weichen.Shen Weichen was in a state of confusion. He was worried about Gu Qingshang and Xia Lijun, and also wanted to know where Xie Gubai had taken the Qingcheng people. He would find a way to save them and reunite them when he was in better health.

Li Jingfeng opened the door, walked in with a bowl of soup and medicine, and said: "Little sister, drink the medicine."

■

"This is the last medicine. If it doesn't work well, I will dig your grave for you." Zhu Menshang put away the medicine bowl and asked, "We have been hiding for five days, do we still want to hide?"

Xie Gubai lay on the quilt, looking at the roof of the tent and thinking.

After the Battle of Yinghu Lake, Xie Gubai led his army to the West Road. This is a mountain road over Daba Mountain. It is narrow and difficult to navigate. Thirty miles west of Yinghu Lake, you can return to Dazhou by crossing the river.

After leaving 500 men behind to block the passage, he pretended to retreat, led his men and horses to the mountain road, and ordered the team to go into the mountains to take shelter. There was no fire at night, and they broke camp before dawn and hid their whereabouts. At the same time, he ordered a team of five people to supervise each one, and one person Anyone who strays from the team will be killed, and they will wait for the pursuers to retreat.

Huashan was obviously not so easily fooled. After defeating the [-] Qingcheng disciples in Duanhou, he still led his army to pursue them all the way to the west bank of Yinghu Lake. Even after confirming that Xie Gubai had left a floating bridge there as a suspect, he still did not relax. Be alert and send people to block both ends of the exit.

This is another trouble. If Qingcheng's team is really discovered hiding in the mountains, it will be a trap in a urn, with no way forward or retreat.Even Zhu Menshang, who did not understand the art of war, knew that the situation was deteriorating faster than Xie Gubai's condition.

"There is something else I need to tell you. If I don't tell you, Ji Shaoguang will." Zhu Menshang said, "We have no food."

Xie Gubai nodded: "I know."

Marching with baggage is not easy, let alone fleeing. The team abandoned the baggage along the way, and the food they brought was only five or seven days' worth, and now five days have passed.

Ji Shaoguang opened the curtain and walked in, sat next to Zhu Menshang, and said, "Huashan has not retreated yet, and is still searching."

"Will we be discovered?" Zhu Menshang asked.

"I don't know." Ji Shaoguang said, "But if they burn the mountain, we will be forced out."

Zhu Menshang was horrified: "Would they do this?"

"I don't know." Ji Shaoguang said, "There is one more important thing..."

"Consider two days' worth of food as four days' worth of food." Xie Gubai said.

Ji Shaoguang said: "Let the disciples hunt on their own and find wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger..."

"No." Xie Gubai interrupted, "It's easy to be discovered."

Ji Shaoguang was silent for a while, letting Xie Gubai recover well before saying goodbye and leaving.Zhu Menshang could see that there were many doubts in Ji Shaoguang's eyes. He had no confidence, but he had no better suggestions.

"Honestly, what are our chances of winning?" Zhu Menshang said, "If something happens, where should I run?"

"It's not high, but it's not impossible." Xie Gubai said, "It takes some luck."

"Damn it, don't talk about luck, you don't have this luck!" Zhu Menshang was so angry that he wanted to throw the medicine bag at Xie Gubai's face, opened the curtain and walked out.

Outside the tent, Qingcheng disciples sat scattered in groups of five, all of them looking impatient and anxious.There are many insects and ants on the mountain, and we have to set up tents after nightfall. Before that, we could only hide among the miscanthus and gravel.Just a few miles away at the foot of the mountain, the Huashan disciples were searching. Everyone was out of breath. Zhu Menshang knew how irritated he was, and these disciples would only become more irritated.

He didn't even feel worried about Shen Weichen, let alone Gu Qingshang and Xia Lijun.They couldn't send out spies, and they still had no news about these three girls. They didn't know whether they were alive or dead.

Even if we survive the Huashan search, how can we get to Hanzhong without food?Zhu Menshang didn't dare to think about it anymore. He got a headache just thinking about it.

Fortunately, it hasn't rained in the past few days. Xie Gubai's body, everyone is hiding in this place. If it rains heavily, tents are not allowed to be set up during the day. If it is so cold at night... Zhu Menshang shivered, it is really unimaginable.

Suddenly, my face felt like it was hit by something, it was wet, bird shit?Zhu Menshang wiped it on, took it to his nose and smelled it, but there was no smell.

No way?He raised his head, and a bigger drop of water hit his face. Only then did he realize how big a dark cloud covered the gloomy sky.

"I hope it's just a light rain." Just as he turned away from this thought, heavy rain poured down. "Fuck you, for God's sake!" Zhu Menshang gritted his teeth. At this moment, he finally understood a little bit of Yang Yan's grief and anger when he pointed at the sky and cursed.

(End of this chapter)