Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 3: Suspicion in the dream and outside the dream
Of course the three assassins would not leave easily since they failed to succeed.
In a hurry, they didn't know whether there was an ambush behind Yingzizui, so they didn't dare to chase Wang Bing. They held the longbow across their bodies and drove their horses slowly towards the cliff.
Regardless of whether they saw his face clearly just now, Xu Huai still tore off a piece of cloth to cover his face. But just as he reached behind his head to tie the cloth, a sharp arrow shot towards his face with a "whoosh".
Xu Huai subconsciously moved his neck a few inches to the side, and felt a strong wind brushing past his face. Then he heard a "bang" and a feather arrow hit the pine tree behind him, and the arrow shaft was still vibrating.
"What a fast arrow!"
Xu Huai was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.
He had practiced martial arts since he was young, but before he regained his sanity, he was a little clumsy in everything he did. Apart from his extraordinary strength, he could never master the complicated boxing and sword techniques, and his riding and archery skills were also average.
Even after he regained consciousness, those deeply buried strange memories could not immediately transform his skills , but in addition to his sharper and clearer thinking, his eyesight was also different from before.
He just quickly tore off a piece of cloth to cover his face, but his eyes were still fixed on the assassins. Even if he was distracted, it was only for a short time, and the leading assassin seized the opportunity to shoot an arrow.
With such amazing speed and accuracy, I’m afraid even Uncle Seventeen is not as good as him.
Xu Huai didn't dare to slack off any longer and held the hatchet behind his waist.
He did not immediately pull out the hatchet behind him, which would have shown his weakness too early in front of the group of assassins.
Xu Huai then kicked down a basin-sized rock, which made a "crash" sound and rolled down the cliff wall.
Except for the gap of about ten feet wide in the middle of Yingzizui, the mountain ridge on the south is steep, which is difficult to cross even on foot, let alone on horseback; and not far to the north is a canyon nearly thirty feet deep, through which the Huai River flows.
Xu Huai kicked down the rock to warn the assassin not to try to force his way through the gap.
No matter how powerful these assassins are, anyone would feel uncomfortable if they were hit by a rock as big as a washbasin from a high place.
The three assassins stopped about sixty to seventy steps in front of the cliff. The leader stared at the cliff and asked with a gloomy face:
"Who is your eldest brother? Since he expected us to attack Wang Bing here, he must know who sent us, right?"
"Your murderous intentions have been exposed, but you still have the mind to ask questions. You are really bold. Aren't you afraid that the soldiers in the military camp will get the news and come to arrest you?" Xu Huai shouted in a rough voice.
"What kind of evil did we do in broad daylight that the inspectors from the military camp wanted to arrest us? Just based on Wang Bing's one-sided statement?" The leader laughed unscrupulously and said, "Wang Bing was convicted and demoted. Not to mention that he is still fine now, even if he was really beheaded in Tongbai Mountain, which county government would dare to investigate this case?"
Seeing that the assassin was so unscrupulous, Xu Huai was secretly shocked.
The short paragraph that flashed through my mind a few days ago said that Wang Bing died when he encountered bandits at Yingzizui Road in Tongbai Mountain. But now I think that all this might not have been covered up well by the assassin. The deeper reason is that the person behind the scenes was too powerful, so the county government dared not investigate further, and finally closed the case as an encounter with bandits?
To be honest, Xu Huai didn't know what kind of person Wang Bing was, but he knew that the position of Chief Censor that Wang Bing held before he was demoted was not to be underestimated. He was one of the few senior officials in the court who could be respectfully called "Xiang Gong". Ordinary officials were only qualified to be called "Lang Jun".
A "prime minister-level" figure was demoted, even if he no longer had a title, he could never be regarded as a commoner. He died violently in Tongbai Mountain, but the prefecture and county government did not dare to investigate the cause of death. Who was the person behind the scenes?
Xu Huai suddenly felt that it would be of no benefit to him to find out who was the mastermind behind the scenes, and he just hoped that the current matter could be quickly dealt with.
Xu Huai said nothing, with one foot on the rock, his right hand tightly gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist. He looked as if he was not in a hurry to draw his sword, which actually gave the assassin a strong sense of oppression.
The three assassins all had beards all randomly stuck on. The leader had a very obvious scar on his left cheek, which was quite far away. The man narrowed his triangular eyes and stared at the cliff like a hawk. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Shall I reach up from behind?" said the thin-faced assassin on the right.
"Do you think the way he bends down and holds the knife looks familiar to you?" The scarred assassin's face darkened and he asked the other two.
"Yes, it is somewhat similar to the knife-wielding style taught by the Jingsheng Army. He was distracted just now, but he was still able to dodge Mr. Jin's arrow in a flash. His skills are not weak, and he is so tall and strong..." The thin-faced assassin pondered with some hesitation.
"More than 20 years ago, when Wang Xiaocheng was the governor of Tangzhou, he made great efforts to eliminate the bandits in Tongbai Mountain. Later, he was transferred to be the commander of the Jingsheng Army and incorporated many bandits into the Jingsheng Army. After Wang Xiaocheng's death, some old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army disbanded and returned home. It is not surprising that there are remnants of the Jingsheng Army in Tongbai Mountain. However, Lu Xiong, who is also a remnant of the Jingsheng Army, chose this route to escort Wang Bing to Bianyang after traveling thousands of miles. Things may be more complicated than we thought--" The scarred assassin frowned and pondered.
"Could it be that Lu Xiong joined forces with the remnants of the Jingsheng Army to protect Wang Bing in an attempt to overturn the old verdict?" Another person, who knew about the old relationship, took a breath and asked.
"Whether it is true or not, this matter is of great importance. Someone must return to Bian Jing immediately to inform the Prime Minister..." said the scarred assassin.
At this time, the sound of horse hooves came from the west, galloping towards this side. The faces of the three assassins changed drastically. After hesitating for a while, they turned their horses around and galloped eastward...
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Xu Huai didn't know about the past of the Jingsheng Army. When he saw Lu Xiong and several cavalrymen quickly rushing to Yingzizui, he thought the assassin was scared away by them.
Among the soldiers who came over, the leader was about thirty years old, wearing brown leather armor, with a strong body, thick eyebrows and leopard eyes, and a rough appearance. He held a shoulder knife in his hand, pulled the reins to stop his horse at the foot of the cliff, looked up and saw Xu Huai standing on the cliff, and asked:
"Xu Huai, weren't you injured by those horse thieves?"
"No - they ran to the east!" Xu Huai was truly relieved at this time. He greeted his seventeenth uncle Xu Wujiang, carefully looked for a place to stay, and slid down the cliff.
"How dare these dogs run to Huaiyuan and cause trouble? Let's catch them and skin them alive!" A young soldier with a fuzzy moustache on his upper lip, who was only one or two years older than Xu Huai, could still see the figures of those "horse thieves" at this time. He was shouting and cursing anxiously and wanted to take up his knife and spur his horse to chase after them.
Xu Wujiang reached out to stop the impulsive young soldier and said:
"Don't chase after desperate bandits. Besides, it's almost dark. Consider these bandits lucky today. I won't bother with them."
Although the sky was a little cloudy, it was just past noon. To say that it would soon get dark was such nonsense that even a blind person would not dare to say.
However, in Xu Wujiang's opinion, as long as Xu Huai and others are safe, it's enough.
How much salary do they get in a month in the military camp? Is it worth it to fight with these horse bandits who are living on the edge of a knife all day long?
Lu Xiong remained silent. He had experienced many vicissitudes of life and knew what the current soldiers and militiamen were like.
Not long after they escaped from Yingzizui, they met this team of Wuzui. They hurriedly said that they encountered horse bandits on the way and asked them to come and rescue the villagers trapped on the cliff of Yingzizui. Now that this team of Wuzui came and scared the assassins away, they were thankful. What else could he expect?
What he didn't expect was that the leader of this team of military soldiers was actually acquainted with the young man on the cliff.
When Xu Huai carefully climbed down from Yingzi's Beak, he saw that the boy was only about fifteen or sixteen years old, and Lu Xiong was even more surprised.
Apart from his sturdy build, which was half a head taller than most soldiers of normal height, he looked like a complete country boy. Even his movements while climbing down the cliff were a little stiff and not flexible enough.
He was wearing a tattered short shirt, with the collar and sleeves torn in several places by branches and rocks; he had a straw rope tied around his waist, and there was actually a hatchet stuck behind his waist, which was covered in spots of rust!
He and Mr. Wang Bing were saved by such a young man today?
Lu Xiong saw that the Wuzu leader did not know their identities, so who was the "big brother" that the young man had just mentioned? How did he know that they would pass through Yingzizui and arrange for the young man to wait there?
Of course, exposing the assassin's secret would do no good except to provoke Cai Ying to send people to persecute even more brutally.
Lu Xiong was full of doubts and puzzles, so he just kept his mouth shut and didn't ask any more questions. However, the look in his eyes when he looked at the young man was still full of gratitude.
He was strong, but Wang Bing, his grandparents and his wet nurse were unarmed.
He knew that in this mountain path with no room for maneuver, without this young man to hold back the assassin, even if he was willing to sacrifice himself for justice, he would not be able to protect Wang Bing and his grandchildren.
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…
When Xu Huai heard that Xu Wujiang and Xu Xin'an had rushed over and regarded those people as "horse thieves", he knew that Wang Bin and his men did not tell the truth when they met Xu Wujiang and Xu Xin'an.
Now that he had a clear mind, it was not difficult for him to understand why Wang Bin and the others acted as they did.
Of course, he didn't want to be involved in these troubles that he couldn't afford to offend. He glanced at the "coachman" beside Wang Bing, but didn't go over to greet him. He rode on the same horse with Xu Xin'an and followed Xu Wujiang and others towards Huaiyuan Town.
When they were still four or five miles away from Huaiyuan Town, Xu Huai saw the shabby carriage that Wang Bin was riding in parked on the side of the road.
Wang Bing, dressed in a blue shirt, and Deng Gui, the Huaiyuan Inspector, were standing beside the carriage and talking, surrounded by a group of soldiers.
Huaiyuan Town belongs to Biyang County, but it is about 130 to 140 miles away from Biyang County by mountain roads.
Deng Gui, the inspector who represented the government and was stationed in Huaiyuan Town, was the highest-ranking official in Tongbai Mountain. Xu Huai naturally recognized this short and strong guy with a face full of flesh.
The girl who had opened the car window curtain when passing Yingzizui and gave Xu Huai a stunning glance was now sitting at the front of the car, looking at him with concern.
As if stimulated by this scene, dozens of beautiful faces flashed through Xu Huai's mind. They should be some women who were deeply remembered by later generations, but none of them could be as beautiful and bright as the girl in front of him.
It’s so strange, how come these picture memories pop up for no reason?
Of course, Xu Huai has not yet figured out his own situation, and he doesn't know whether the flashing of these images has no warning significance.
Besides, on the Eagle's Beak Cliff, the distance was so far that it was unlikely that the assassin could see his face clearly. He should have escaped directly from the back cliff. Now that he thought about it carefully, it was that inexplicable strong emotion that finally prompted him to decide to help Wang Bing and the others escape first.
What are those mostly forgotten memories, the occasional flashes of fragments, and the sudden inexplicable emotions?
Am I actually a lonely soul from the afterlife, who occupied this body when I was young and grew up in a daze for sixteen years?
Xu Huai was sitting on the horse with his heart in turmoil, and he even forgot to get off the horse. But the girl thought he was staring at her stupidly, so she turned her face away embarrassedly.
"You fool, you know how to stare at girls!" Xu Wujiang felt a little embarrassed. He poked Xu Huai with the handle of the whip, got off the horse and threw the reins into his hand, "Hold the horse for me."
"Ah!" Xu Huai came back to his senses and saw Xu Wujiang and the "coachman" walking towards the inspectors Deng Gui and Wang Bing...
