Before entering Qina Village, the villagers of Qina Village warned Skulucci not to walk around the village at will.
Because the villagers of China Village did not allow Skulucci to move around the village, Skulucci had no way of looking for Ogata and the others.
After thinking hard for a while, Skulucci could only sigh helplessly:
"We can only find someone to help us find them and pass on the message... Let Ayaka and the couple come to our camp to find us later... (Lucia)"
"Hello!"
Skuluch shouted to the two middle-aged men in front of him who were sent by the village chief Chepke to lead them out of the village:
"Can you speak Japanese?"
The two middle-aged men looked at each other for a while.
Then one of them nodded and said in broken Japanese:
"I can speak just fine."
"Can you go to the Ayakas and the two Japanese who entered the village at the same time as me?" Skulucci said, "Tell them that my camp is to the east of the village. If they have time tonight, I hope they can find me in my camp."
"I want to catch up with Ayaka, whom I haven't seen for a long time, and... I have a question for the couple."
When he said "I have a question for that couple", for some reason, Skulucci emphasized his tone.
After saying that, Skulucci took out a small knife from his arms and handed it to the middle-aged man.
"As long as you are willing to help, this will be given to you as a reward."
Skulucci unsheathed the knife, revealing its sharp blade.
Looking at the coldly shining blade and the beautiful scabbard, the middle-aged man swallowed.
After hesitating for only a moment, the middle-aged man succumbed to the beautiful knife and nodded vigorously: "Got it. I will help you find Ayaka and the couple and pass on the message for you."
"...Boss Skulucci." At this time, Afjie suddenly said, "The reason you want to find that couple is to inquire about the whereabouts of your benefactor?"
"Of course." Skulucci said without hesitation, "Besides finding the whereabouts of my benefactor, what other questions do I have to ask those two people I don't even know?"
…
…
Ogata was stunned for a long while before finally coming to his senses.
Before Ogata could say anything, the old woman suddenly put her arm around the shoulders of the girl with the orange headband standing next to her, and then spoke quickly in Ainu again:
“￥%#&*%￥#@%#￥. (Ainu language)”
Ogata looked at Ayaka for help again.
"The old woman said: This is her granddaughter, Yashili. She just turned 14 and is at the most suitable age for marriage."
Ogata turned his head and looked at the girl with the orange headband - that was Ashley.
Yashili's face was now as red as blood. She looked at her grandmother and then at Ogata, looking at a loss.
Yashili is a shy person who blushes easily.
I have no resistance to topics related to love between men and women.
Just listening to others talk about similar topics would make Yashili's face turn red.
Her grandmother suddenly recommended her to someone she didn't know at all, which made Yashili's face feel so hot that it seemed like smoking.
Not only Yashili was at a loss, but her three friends and her mother were also in a state of confusion.
"Mother-in-law! What are you talking about?"
Atachi, who was originally standing beside Ogata, suddenly "flashed" in front of Ogata at a speed as fast as teleportation.
He used his own body as a wall to separate Ogata, Yashiri and others.
"Why would you suddenly introduce your granddaughter to someone else for no reason and ask that person to be your grandson-in-law?"
Aiyaka translated Ating's words to Yashili's grandmother.
After Ayaka finished translating, grandma spoke a lot of Ainu language that sounded like a spell to Ogata.
"The old woman said: She has never seen a man with such a powerful spirit possession."
Ayaka translated word by word for Ogata and the others.
"This is the first time she has seen such a man in her life."
"She would very much welcome such a man to be her grandson-in-law."
"Possessed god?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
He had just heard from Ayaka what the so-called "possessed god" was.
——My possessed god is very powerful…?
Ogata couldn't help but touch the back of his neck.
He originally had no interest in the so-called "possessed gods".
But now, after learning from the old woman that his possessed god was very powerful, so powerful that she wanted Ogata to be her grandson-in-law without hesitation, Ogata couldn't help but become curious - what his possessed god was like.
"Aiyaka, can you help me ask my mother-in-law? Please ask him what my possessed god is like."
Ayaka nodded and translated Ogata's question to her grandmother, who nodded and answered quickly in Ainu.
“She said: Everyone’s possessed deity looks different.”
Ayaka translated sentence by sentence.
"Your possessed spirit is in the shape of a flame."
"She has seen a possessed god in the shape of flame before."
"But the flame behind you is obviously different from the others. The intensity of the flame alone is worlds apart from the other possessed gods who also have flame-shaped bodies."
"The raging fire behind you gathers into a towering pillar of fire, rising straight into the sky."
"You are the first person to reach this level of fire."
"Fire can bring destruction, but it can also bring warmth."
"Only those who are strong and brave, yet gentle and compassionate, can have a flame-shaped spirit possess them."
"So the men who can possess a flame-shaped god are basically good men picked out of a hundred."
"There is probably no one else with your fire power."
"Her granddaughter is just old enough to get married."
"So she really wants a good man like you to be her grandson-in-law."
"You shouldn't be much older than her granddaughter. You'd be a perfect match."
After listening to Ayaka's translation quietly, Ogata wanted to find a mirror to see what his expression was like...
Ogata had heard this type of news many times in his previous life: some elders, worried that their children would not be able to find a good partner, frantically sold their children to other people.
Ogata never expected that after traveling to the Edo period, he would encounter something similar—and he was one of the protagonists of this incident...
However, when Ogata learned from the old woman that he was possessed by such a powerful god, he felt surprised and a little happy at the same time.
As if he had won a 100 million yen lottery jackpot, Ogata's right hand unconsciously touched the back of his neck again.
It would be a lie if Ogata said he didn't feel happy and flattered to be praised and appreciated like that.
However, although he was happy, Ogata did not even think or hesitate for a moment. He bowed slightly to the old woman and said seriously:
"Thank you for your kindness. I am very happy to be appreciated by you. But I am already a married man. This girl is my wife. I can no longer be your grandson-in-law."
——Besides, your granddaughter and I are not suitable at all just from the perspective of age...
After he finished speaking, Ogata silently added this sentence in his mind, but he did not say it out loud.
According to what the old woman just said, her granddaughter just celebrated her 14th birthday - but Ogata is already 22 years old this year.
Although Ogata does not seem to be much older than her granddaughter, Akari, she is actually 8 years older.
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Ating, as if to assert her sovereignty, hugged Ogata's right arm in her arms in full compliance with what Ogata had just said.
Ating seems to be a little excited now.
In her eagerness to assert her sovereignty, she held Ogata's right hand in her arms too tightly, and Ogata's arm sank directly into the valley of Atachi.
The soft touch and the amazing elasticity that seemed to be about to bounce Ogata's arm away continued to be transmitted to Ogata's right arm.
However, because he had long been accustomed to this touch, Ouma's expression remained normal.
The three girls except Yashili noticed Ogata's arm trapped in the valley.
Although they tried their best to hide it, they couldn't help but cast a faint envy and jealousy towards the peak of Ating...
After listening to Ogata's translation, a look of obvious disappointment appeared on the old woman's face.
After sighing heavily, he looked at Ogata with eyes full of deep regret - it was as if he was looking at a huge pile of treasure that had been lost again.
…
…
Although the "marriage-recruiting incident" suddenly occurred, after Ogata told the old woman that he was married and had a family, the matter passed naturally.
Afterwards, Ogata successfully asked for clues about Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen from Akiri's family and Akiri's three friends who were wearing red, purple and blue headbands respectively.
The result was very unpleasant - none of them had ever seen a pair of Japanese people whose appearance matched the characteristics of Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen.
By the way, the girl named Yashili probably still hasn't recovered from the "marriage-seeking incident" just now. The blush on her face has not subsided, and she has not dared to look at Ogata's face openly.
He could only lower his head and glance upward at Ogata.
After asking about the whereabouts of Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen, Ating, who was quite interested in the matter of possessed gods, asked the old woman what her possessed god looked like.
The old woman looked carefully at Ating's back and said, "Your possessed spirit has the shape of a cat."
According to the old woman, only women are usually possessed by cat-shaped spirits.
Girls who are possessed by cat-shaped gods will never obey orders from others. They are very loyal to their own ideas and are not easily disturbed by the outside world.
Moreover, girls who are possessed by cat-shaped gods are generally not ugly.
After listening to Ayaka's translation of the explanation of the cat-shaped possessed god, Ogata felt that this old woman seemed to have some real skills.
What she just said is indeed very similar to Ating's personality.
A-Machi has always been a person who is very loyal to her own ideas - when she was in Shiranui, even though everyone else in Shiranui looked down on firearms, she still devoted herself to studying firearms.
It was precisely because she would never obey orders from others that she defected from Shiranui instead of returning to Shiranui obediently.
Ogata has always felt that cats are a perfect match for Atachi.
I can’t explain why, but Ogata feels that Atachi and cats are a good match.
When he learned that the god possessed by him actually had the shape of a cat, Atachi also showed a happy expression.
Although Ating prefers dogs to cats, she doesn't hate cute cats.
The cat-shaped possessed god - A-Ming thought it was okay, and according to the old woman's explanation, her possessed god was not a terrible one.
This also made Ating feel relieved.
She was quite afraid that the old woman would tell her that her possessed spirit had the shape of a caterpillar or something disgusting...
I have asked everything I should and wanted to ask. There is no reason to stay here any longer.
The light coming in through the window was already very dim.
Xu Xiang winked at Ayaka - let's go.
Aiyaka understood what Ogata meant by his look and nodded.
Just when Ayaka was about to say that they wanted to leave—
"Hello! Is anyone there? (Ainu)"
Suddenly there was a loud shout outside the house.
Ogata and Atachi didn't understand, so they looked confused.
However, Ayaka, Yashili and others looked puzzled.
Yashili's mother quickly got up, ran to the door, and lifted the straw curtain that served as a door.
Standing outside the curtain was a strong middle-aged man.
After the middle-aged strong man said something quickly to Yashili's mother, Yashili's mother's face changed.
After the middle-aged strong man said something to Yashili's mother, he left quickly.
After putting away the straw curtain blocking the door, Yashili's mother quickly returned to where she had just sat, and then said something in Ainu to Ayaka and others present.
As soon as Yashili's mother finished speaking, Aiyaka and others' faces suddenly changed, just like Yashili's mother just now.
"What happened?" Ogata asked Ayaka.
"…It's related to Skulucci." Ayaka said in a deep voice.
Ayaka told Yashili's mother... no, to be more precise, everything that Yashili's mother had just heard from the middle-aged burly man.
It turned out that Skulucci, who suddenly visited this China village, came to report news.
Skuluch told the chief of China Village that a group of Cossacks were planning to plunder everywhere and might set China Village as one of their targets, so he asked the chief of China Village to make preparations early.
The strong middle-aged man just now came to tell Yashili and her family - to be careful in the future and be ready to fight the enemy with a bow at any time.
And when you go out of the village to hunt or do anything else, you must also pay attention to safety.
Finally, Ayaka said in a deep voice:
"This is troublesome... If there really is a group of white-skinned foreigners planning to rob everywhere... then we need to go back to Kuma Village and tell the villagers to be careful..."
When Ogata learned that a group of Cossacks were planning to plunder everywhere, he couldn't help but frown slightly in surprise.
At this moment, Ogata heard the girl with a red headband sitting not far away say in an excited tone:
"Humph! If there really is a group of foreigners who don't know what's good for them and want to rob our village, then we'll let them see how powerful we are! (Ainu language)"
After saying that, the red-headed girl made a gesture of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow.
"Last year, when the gold diggers tried to rob our village, I didn't shoot any of them! (Ainu)" said the girl with the purple headband, "If there really is a group of strangers trying to rob our village, I will definitely shoot down even one of them this time! (Ainu)"
After saying that, the girl with the purple headband showed an eager expression.
"If a group of foreigners really come to plunder our village, that would be great! (Ainu language)" the girl with a blue headband said, "We can give the foreigners a head-on blow, and then people in other villages will know that although there are more women than men in our village now, we are not to be trifled with! (Ainu language)"
Among the four young girls, only Yashili, who was wearing an orange headband, had a look of slight worry on her face and said nothing.
Ogata didn't understand what the three girls were saying.
But just by looking at their movements and expressions, Ogata could roughly guess what they had just said.
Looking at the three girls, Ogata narrowed his eyes slightly, looking thoughtful.
Ogata and the others wanted to say goodbye and leave just now.
But their farewell was interrupted by the sudden interruption of the middle-aged strong man who came to report the news.
Ayaka picked up his words of farewell again and told Yashili and others that they planned to leave first.
Yashili's mother said some symbolic words like "stay for dinner", but Ayaka politely rejected them on behalf of Ogata and the others.
Ogata and the others stood up and walked towards the door of the house.
Just as he was about to leave the house through the door, Ogata suddenly stopped.
Before Aiyaka and A-Ming could ask Ogata what happened, Ogata said to Aiyaka:
"Aiyaka, I have something to say to my mother-in-law and the others."
"Can you translate for me?"
"What do you want to say?" Ayaka asked back.
"Just a simple sentence."
Ogata cleared his throat.
"Please help me tell them: Don't underestimate the white-skinned foreigners. They are very powerful and not easy opponents to deal with."
"The weapons used by the white-skinned foreigners are long, tubular weapons that can shoot farther and have greater power than bows and arrows. If you really fight them, don't be careless."
After hearing what Ogata said, Ayaka was stunned for a moment, then nodded, and then translated what Ogata said to Yashili and others.
Yashili and the others focused their gazes on Ogata with varying emotions.
Finally, the old woman spoke first and expressed her gratitude to Ogata for the advice he gave them.
After leaving this reminder to Yashili and the others, Xubian didn't wait any longer and walked out of the house quickly.
After leaving Yashili and the others' house, Ogata couldn't help but look back at the house behind him.
Then he sighed softly.
Although he didn't understand what the girls had just said, he could roughly guess from their actions and tone that they were probably eager to try.
They felt that there was nothing to be afraid of the Cossacks who might attack, as they were as easy to deal with as the gold diggers who attacked last year. So they thought that they would be able to show their skills again this time and let the attackers and the people from other villages have a good look at how powerful their Qina Village was.
Their level of civilization was still at the tribal level, and their lives were quite isolated, so most of them didn't know how powerful the muskets used by those so-called white-skinned foreigners were.
They didn't know, but Ogata knew it very well.
Early firearms were indeed inferior to bows and arrows.
But times have changed.
Firearms have evolved rapidly, and now we have the Kentucky long rifle, which, if used by an expert, can accurately snipe targets over a hundred meters away.
And this rifle, as Vasily said before, is currently in service on a small scale among the Cossacks.
The Cossacks who planned to plunder everywhere probably also had such rifles.
The musket has evolved rapidly, but the bow and arrow is still the same bow and arrow.
Today's bows and arrows are no match for muskets.
Ogata couldn't help but remind the red-headband girls' overly optimistic and confident attitude - don't be careless.
This is the only thing Ogata can do to help them right now.
"Finally I found you two Japanese people. (Ainu language)"
At this moment, a strange voice suddenly sounded from beside Ogata and the others.
Ogata looked in the direction of the voice.
The person who spoke was a middle-aged man whom he had never seen before.
The middle-aged man walked slowly towards Ogata, and then spoke to him in broken Japanese:
"The red-haired stranger just asked me to bring you a message: his camp is located to the east of the village. I hope you can visit his camp if you are free tonight."
"He wants to catch up with Ayaka and has a question for you two."
Ogata raised his eyebrows in surprise, then nodded.
"Okay, I see. Thank you for the message."
After delivering Skulucci's message, the middle-aged man walked away.
Just now, Skulucci took a lot of effort to find Ogata and the others.
Because it was inconvenient for him to move around the village, Skulucci asked a villager who could speak Japanese to find Ogata and others for him and to give Ogata a message.
After watching the villager with the message leave, Ogata muttered:
"You got any questions for us?"
As far as Ogata knew, it seemed that he was meeting Skulucci for the first time.
He couldn't think of any questions that Skulucci could ask him.
"Ah." At this time, Ayaka suddenly said "Ah" softly, "Skulucci may want to ask you for clues about someone."
"To find out clues about someone?" Ogata gave Ayaka a puzzled look.
"I just remembered it too - Skulucci, like you, has been looking for someone."
"When they first visited our village a few months ago, they also asked our villagers about someone's news."
"But I forgot the name of the person he was looking for... I only remember that it was a Japanese..."
"That Skulucci is also looking for someone..." Ogata whispered, "What a coincidence."
"Do you want to go see that Skulucci now?" Ating asked at this time.
"…Let's go meet him." Ogata nodded. "We have to meet him sooner or later anyway. Since he has invited us now, let's go meet him."
Skulucci has some questions for Ogata and the others.
And Ogata also had questions for Skulucci.
Ogata wanted to ask one more question than Skulucci.
Ogata had originally planned to meet with Skulucci.
Skulucci might have valuable information related to Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen.
In addition to asking Skulucci for clues about Genzheng and Xuanzhen, Ogata also wanted to ask Skulucci about "purchasing muskets".
In order to buy the Kentucky long rifle for Skulucci, Ogata had been waiting for Skulucci's return for a long time.
…
…
Not long after Ogata and the others left, the girl with the red headband couldn't wait to say to Yashili's grandmother:
"Grandma, what are you doing? Didn't you say before that you wouldn't let Yashili get together with someone from another race? Why are you selling Yashili out so quickly?"
Red Headband had wanted to question her grandmother like this for a long time, but because Ogata and others were present, she couldn't do it.
Now that Ogata and the others had left, Red Headband could finally say whatever she wanted to say without any scruples.
"I did say that." Grandma said confidently, "But in addition to this sentence, I also added: If he is a good enough young man of a different race, I don't mind him marrying Yashili."
"The spirit that possessed that young man just now was really powerful. There may really be no other person who has such a spirit."
Grandma sighed heavily.
"It's such a pity... Such an outstanding person is already married."
"Otherwise, even if I have to talk my mouth off, I will make that young man my grandson-in-law."
As soon as grandma finished speaking, Yashili's mother said to grandma with a slightly dissatisfied tone:
"Mother, even if the spirit possessing that person is very powerful, you can't just let someone who has never spoken to you become Yashili's husband."
"At the very least, we should communicate with that person for a while and confirm his character, right?"
Yashili's mother was somewhat dissatisfied with her mother-in-law's behavior of "seeing that the other party's possessed god was powerful, she wanted the other party to be her grandson-in-law."
She felt that her mother-in-law was a little too superstitious about possessed spirits.
Grandma shook her head:
"I think possession is pretty accurate."
"The young man just now is definitely a good man who is one in a million."
"Grandma, even if you are very accurate in predicting the presence of spirits, could you please give me a heads up next time, please?" Yashili said unhappily, his face still red.
Grandma nodded to show that she understood - but it was unknown whether she took Yashili's words to heart.
"This is also the first time I've seen grandma speak so highly of a man..." The purple-headband muttered, "Is that guy just now so powerful...Why can't I see how that young man is so powerful no matter how hard I look at him?"
As soon as the purple headband finished speaking, the red headband immediately responded:
"Yes, yes. I also think that person seems ordinary. He doesn't look like a big shot at all."
At this moment, a female voice suddenly sounded in a low voice:
"...Although he does look ordinary,...he seems to have a good heart."
"Before he left, he specifically reminded us to be careful if we encounter white-skinned foreigners who come to rob us."
The person who said this was Yashili.
Everyone present focused their attention on Yashili who had just spoken.
"Wow~~" Red Headband cast a malicious look at Yashili, "Yashili, you actually speak well of that guy? Are you attracted to him?"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Ashley said angrily, "I'm just speaking the truth! I was just praising someone for being kind, how did it become like I'm attracted to him?"
"Hahaha." The red-headed girl laughed heartily, "Sorry, sorry, I was just joking."
"I wonder what the other boys in the village will think after they know what happened today." The purple-headband laughed, "They will definitely be jealous of that Kazuto."
Yashili is the best looking woman of her age.
Not only her appearance, but her figure is also well developed, so she is quite popular in the village. Many young boys in the village admire Yashili.
Many families have proposed marriage to Yashili's grandmother and mother.
But they were all rejected by Yashili's grandmother.
The reason is very simple - Yashili's grandmother looked down on the spirits possessed by the young men in the village, thinking that their spirits were too weak and they were not good men worthy of entrusting her granddaughter to.
"Although that person has good intentions, he also warned us before he left not to be careless if we run into anyone who wants to target our village." The girl with the red headband said, "But I always feel like he thinks we are stupid people who know nothing."
At this point, the red-headband girl puffed up her cheeks with a slightly unhappy look.
"Don't be careless when facing the enemy. I understand this without him saying anything."
The red-headed girl once again made the motion of drawing the bow and shooting the arrow.
"No matter who the offender is, I will not take it lightly."
"Look, I will shoot down all the invading enemies with one arrow each."
"We haven't practiced the bow and arrow so hard in vain."
"That's right!" the girl with a blue headband on the side echoed loudly.
"Our bows and arrows are not to be trifled with." The man with the purple headband also looked confident.
…
…
At this moment——
Somewhere not far from Qina Village——
"Vladimir!" A burly man who rode alongside Vladimir said in a muffled voice, "Have you reached the village with many women you mentioned?"
"Don't worry, Alexei." Vladimir's lips curled up slightly, "It's not far ahead."
"If you dare to lie to me, I will not forgive you." The burly man - the burly man called "Alexei" by Vladimir curled his lips.
Alexei was the leader of one of the many expeditions sent to explore the Far East.
Not long ago, Vladimir suddenly found him and invited him to go plundering together.
Alexei couldn't remember the last time he went looting; he was itching to get his hands dirty.
So without further agreement, Alexei accepted Vladimir's invitation, and the two joined forces to form a large team of 82 people.
Vladimir and Alexei discussed for a long time which Ainu settlement to plunder.
In the end, it was Vladimir who made a suggestion that greatly interested Alexei.
Vladimir said that he had heard a piece of intelligence before that there was a village called "Qina". For some unknown reason, most of the young and strong men in the village disappeared mysteriously.
There are far more women than men in the village now.
And Vladimir happened to know where the village was.
After learning that there was such a village where women outnumbered men, Alexei's interest was instantly piqued.
Villages with many widows - these were the villages that interested Alexey the most.
And the small number of men means that the village’s combat effectiveness must be weak.
So the two of them hit it off and decided to make this village, where there were more women than men, their target of looting.
We officially set off for this "widow village" - that was three days ago.
Just now, Vladimir kept telling Alexei: We are almost there, we are almost at the village.
And I haven't seen it until now.
This made Alexei, who already had a short temper, a little anxious.
Just when Alexei wanted to ask Vladimir again, "Have we arrived yet?", Vladimir finally said to him in a joyful tone:
"Alexei! Look! We are here! That is the village of China!"
Alexei looked quickly ahead.
They were now on top of a fairly high hill.
Looking down - you can see tiny dots of light, like fireflies gathered together.
This is the firelight of the village.
"Finally." Alexei let out a sinister smile. "I've been holding it in for so long, and I can finally let it out. That idiot Skuluch didn't even join us, so he's at a big disadvantage."
"Don't mention that guy with a mental problem." Vladimir sneered, "I invited him to join us with good intentions, but I didn't expect that my enthusiasm would be rejected."
A few days ago, Vladimir met Skuluch by chance.
Vladimir invited Skuluch to join because he thought that the number of people might not be enough if he only cooperated with Alexei's team.
But he was ruthlessly rejected by Sculucci.
After parting with Skuluch, Vladimir never found the rest of the Cossack expedition and was therefore unable to expand his team again.
"Tell the guys," Vladimir said to a confidant behind him, "Get ready for battle!"
…
…
Skulucci had a dream.
He saw events from the past in his dream.
A past event that I don’t really like and don’t really want to recall.
I want to fight back from this dream, but I am helpless.
Various images appeared and then disappeared.
Soon after, one of the scenes remained in front of my eyes, and then slowly took on a clear outline.
Sculucci immediately recognized the scene before him: this was what happened when he and his mother said goodbye forever.
…
"Skulucci, my Skulucci, just hide here and don't come out! Mom will be back soon!"
…
A series of horse hoofbeats were approaching.
…
"Yes! That's right! Child, just hide here and don't move! As long as you stay here and don't move, mom will buy you your favorite cake later!"
…
The sound of horse hooves is getting closer.
In addition to the sound of horse hooves, there were also some screams mixed in...
…
"Little ghost, why are you alone? Don't you have any other relatives or friends?"
…
"Forget it, let me introduce myself first. My name is Genichi Kinoshita, a samurai from a distant eastern country. It's your turn, kid, tell me your name."
…
…
"Boss! Boss Skulucci!"
Afjie's voice suddenly exploded in Skulucci's mind.
Afje's sudden voice also woke Skullucci from his dream.
Skulucci suddenly opened his eyes.
The white tent roof came into view.
Memories flooded back like a tide, and he quickly recalled how he fell asleep - he had just climbed into bed to take a nap because he felt a little tired.
Unexpectedly, I had a dream about reminiscing about the past.
After rubbing his head, Skulucci sat up in bed.
"Boss Skulucci! Are you awake?" Afjie's voice sounded again from outside the tent.
"Yeah, I'm awake." Skulucci said , "What's wrong?"
"Boss Skulucci! Ayaka and the Kazuto pair are here!"
"Oh!" Skulucci stood up quickly, "Finally they are here, bring them over!"
"yes!"
After a while, Skulucci saw Ayaka and the couple - Ogata and Atachi, lift the curtain at the entrance of the tent and enter.
After receiving the invitation sent by Skulucci, Ogata and others, who also wanted to meet Skulucci, immediately set off for their camp.
Skulucci and his men set up their camp outside the village of Qina.
Perhaps in order to avoid causing displeasure to the Qina Village, Skulucci's camp was set up a little distance away from the Qina Village.
After leaving China Village, Ogata and his companions saw the light coming from their camp to the east of the village.
After approaching the entrance of the camp, Ogata and others saw two guards guarding the camp entrance.
The two guards were holding Kentucky long rifles, looking around and keeping watch.
Ogata and his companions were asked to wait outside the camp for a while, and then they were taken to Skulucci's tent.
Looking at Ayaka who was the first to open the curtain and enter the tent, Skulucci said to Ayaka enthusiastically:
"Aiyaka! It's been such a long time!"
Although Ogata had heard Skulucci's Japanese before when he first met Skulucci at the entrance of China Village.
But after hearing Sculucci's Japanese again, Ogata couldn't help but be surprised at Sculucci's Japanese level.
Skulucci's Japanese is very standard. If you just listen to his voice and don't see him, you wouldn't be able to tell that he is a foreigner.
Skulucci came close to Ayaka and patted Ayaka's shoulder affectionately.
"When I went to your Kuma village with my brothers some time ago, the villagers said that you and other people in the village went to hunt a pair of bears that ate people."
"Since you have time to bring two Japanese friends to this village, that means the pair of man-eating bears have been killed, right?"
"That's right." Ayaka turned sideways and looked at Ogata and Atachi standing behind him. "It was these two friends I just met who killed the man-eating bears."
"Oh?" Skulucci raised his eyebrows. "Aiyaka, help me introduce these two new friends of yours."
Ayaka briefly told Skulucci the whole story of how he met Ogata and Atachi, and the fact that Ogata and Atachi were looking for someone.
"…It is because my two friends are looking for two people right now that I brought them to this Qina Village today."
As soon as Ayaka finished speaking, Skulucci immediately praised:
"You two are really skilled. You were able to kill two man-eating bears in a row."
"Even if I were assigned a partner, I wouldn't be able to guarantee that I could kill two man-eating bears in a row."
After saying that, Skulucci gave Ogata a very standard Japanese bow.
"Oh, come to think of it, I haven't formally introduced myself to you yet."
"How rude."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Skulucci Dovnar. You can just call me Skulucci."
"My name is Majima Goro." Ogata returned the greeting.
"My name is Ating."
"Don't stand." Skulucci sat down on the bed behind him carelessly, "I have quite a few chairs here, just pick one and sit down!"
"Aiyaka just said that you two are looking for two people now."
Skulucci shrugged and smiled.
"Who are you two looking for now? Tell me about it. I might have seen the two people you are looking for."
Ogata had already asked Vasily, Skuluch's second-in-command, about Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen.
Vasili said: He had seen a pair of Japanese people whose appearance was very similar to Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen, but he could not remember where he had seen them.
When Vasili saw the Japanese couple, Skulucci might have been present, and Skulucci might remember when and where he had seen the Japanese couple.
Ogata quickly told Skulucci the appearance characteristics of Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen.
After listening to the series of physical characteristics reported by Ogata, Skulucci touched his chin, raised his head and looked at the top of the tent above his head, as if in deep thought.
Then—he shook his head.
"I don't seem to have any relevant impression. I'm not very good at remembering other people's faces."
Ogata couldn't help but feel a little disappointed - he didn't expect that Skuluch, the leader of a Cossack expedition team, didn't have any clues related to Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen.
"What a coincidence."
Skulucci suddenly continued.
"I happen to be looking for someone right now."
"The reason why I invited you two here is actually to ask you if you have seen the person I am looking for now."
"The person I'm looking for now is also a Japanese, just like you."
Ogata just heard from Ayaka that Skulucci is also looking for someone.
As soon as Skulucci finished speaking, Xu Fang immediately said:
"What does the person you're looking for look like and what's his name? Maybe I can help."
Ogata was quite happy to help Skulucci and do him a favor.
He had always planned to buy a Kentucky long rifle from Sculucci.
Doing Skulucci a favor would help him buy a gun from Skulucci later.
"I don't know what he looks like now."
Skulucci gave a wry smile.
"I've been separated from him for too long."
"If he were still alive, he would be in his 60s now."
"At this age, he might be dead."
"His name is ..."
Before Skulucci could finish his words, his expression suddenly changed.
Not only Skulucci's expression changed, but Ogata, Ating, and Ayaka's expressions also changed suddenly.
Because - they heard the sound of horse hooves.
There was a lot of horse hoofbeats.
…
…
Qina Village——
The girls with red, blue and purple headbands were about to leave Yashili's house and go back to their own homes when they all heard the sound of horse hooves becoming louder and louder.
"What happened?" the red-headband girl shouted as she rushed out of Yashili's house with a little confusion on her face.
Yashili and others followed closely behind.
Many people, like Yashili and the others, became suspicious when they heard the sound of horse hooves and rushed out of the house to check what was going on.
Most of the people in the village were standing outside their houses at this time, looking in the direction where the sound of horse hooves came from.
Soon, they understood what had happened.
"It's a white-skinned foreigner!"
Someone shouted loudly.
"There are a group of white-skinned strangers riding towards us!"
As soon as this shout fell, another shout from another person followed:
"Everyone, take out your bows and arrows! Everyone, take out your bows and arrows!"
Last year, the group of gold diggers who targeted their village allowed the villagers of Qina Village to accumulate a lot of experience in dealing with incoming enemies.
Without much instruction from others, everyone took action.
Those who were unable to join the fight, like Yahili’s grandmother, hid in secluded areas of the house.
Those who were able to join the battle took out their bows and arrows, and spears, and took their positions.
Some climbed onto the roof of the house.
Some lurk in the gaps between houses.
After learning that the attackers were white-skinned strangers, Yashili and the others immediately took off the bows and arrows on their backs and climbed onto the roof of Yashili's house.
By the way – Yahili’s mom also does archery.
She hurried back into the house, took out her bow and arrow, and then followed her daughter and her friends to climb onto the roof of their house.
"We were just discussing these white-skinned foreigners. We didn't expect them to come tonight." The girl with a purple headband lying on the roof was amazed.
Lying on the roof of the house, they could clearly see that in the north, a ball of fire was rapidly approaching their village.
This is the light from the torch.
Some of the white-skinned strangers held torches for lighting.
It is a cloudy night and there is no moonlight to provide illumination. Without a torch, it would be pitch dark.
"Come on." The red-headband took out an arrow from the quiver behind him, his face full of fighting spirit and excitement, "Look how hard we'll beat you..."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
Before the red-headed girl could finish her words, a series of noises like something exploding suddenly rang out.
This series of strange noises came from those white-skinned foreigners.
As soon as this series of strange sounds ended, screams followed.
“Aa ...
"My hand! My hand!"
“It hurts!”
…
The people who made these screams were the villagers of Qina Village.
Yashili and her friends looked confused at first.
Then the look of confusion turned into a look of horror.
"What happened?" the red-headband girl screamed, "Are we being attacked?"
"But those white-skinned foreigners are still very far away from us!" Purple Headband was no longer as calm and eager as before.
Those white-skinned foreigners were still out of the range of their bows and arrows!
The sudden change left Yashili and the others at a loss.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
That strange sound rang out again.
Then there were screams again...
More and more villagers who were crouching on the roof were knocked to the ground.
…
…
"Charge! Follow me!" Vladimir took the lead and personally led his subordinates to charge towards the China Village ahead.
Alexei and his men were not far behind.
Staying in the safe rear and waiting for the subordinates to wipe out the enemy - such a thing was disdainful to be done by Vladimir and Alexei who claimed to be brave.
So Vladimir and Alexei rushed to the front, waving their Cossack sabers and shouting orders to the subordinates behind them.
The vast majority of Cossacks grew up on horseback.
For many Cossacks, launching accurate shots at the enemy while on horseback and reloading ammunition while on horseback are just a piece of cake.
They shot in groups.
One person shoots while the others help reload.
In this way, the barrage can be guaranteed to continue.
Those who are responsible for shooting are all sharpshooters without exception.
Many of them could even use their Kentucky long rifles to accurately shoot at targets dozens of meters away.
One barrage after another swept towards all the villagers who appeared in their field of vision.
Before rushing into the village, Vladimir heard a lot of screams coming from the village.
Hearing the screams, Vladimir couldn't help but let out a hideous smile filled with excitement.
Vladimir loved to make enemies with these backward natives.
Because they have advanced weapons, they can enjoy the feeling of crushing the enemy.
Vladimir and others were riding their war horses very fast.
Finally—they rushed into Qina Village.
The villagers of Qina Village finally got the chance to fight back.
"Damn it!" The girl with the red headband cursed loudly while taking an arrow from the quiver on her back.
He drew his bow, aimed, and shot—but he missed the enemy.
Vladimir and the others were all on horseback and moving at high speed, which made it difficult for them to aim.
Yashili and her friends are very lucky.
In the waves of barrage just now, no one was injured.
After Vladimir and his men rushed into the shooting range of the villagers of China, the villagers of China immediately launched a counterattack.
Although the Qina Village lost a lot of combat power and even its morale suffered a certain blow in the previous wave of barrage, they still bravely fought against these invading enemies.
The arrows used by the villagers of Qina Village were all poison arrows used for hunting. The arrowheads were smeared with their special poison.
They don't need to hit the enemy's vital points, they just need to let the arrow hit any part of the enemy to kill him.
Under the attack of poison arrows from the villagers of China Village, Vladimir and his men finally began to suffer casualties.
Yashili and the others kept drawing their bows and shooting arrows, one arrow after another at the enemy.
However, their current record is -0.
So far, they have not hit any of the enemies.
The reason for this is that their minds are in chaos.
The barrage of comments just now gave them a great shock.
The excitement, confidence and eagerness to try that were there before were no longer on their faces.
Now there was only heaviness and... a hint of fear on their faces.
After rushing into the village, Vladimir drew his sabers and started killing anyone he saw - but only men.
If they killed too many women, they would have less fun later.
The sounds of blades slashing and rifles firing alternated, forming a bloody symphony...