Ming Na knew she was in trouble and didn't dare to say anything anymore, but when she heard the footsteps of the soldiers getting closer and closer, she couldn't help but feel anxious. There is no cover here. Although the alley is not a dead end, it is long and deep, and there is no exit except at the end. What should I do? Grandpa runs very fast. Can he reach the end of the alley before those people arrive
Suddenly, her eyes flashed. She was held by her grandfather and moved back more than ten feet, soared into the air and climbed into the wall next to her. They were also lucky. On the other side of the wall was a shop owned by a Noga man. The layout was similar to that of a branch. It also had a front store and a backyard. They happened to be in the passage between the wall and the fence of the backyard house, and the people in the store Everyone gathered at the front door to watch the expulsion of their foreign colleagues, but they were not found.
To be on the safe side, Xiao Tianjian let go of his granddaughter as soon as he landed and took out his sword to be on guard. Mingna took the initiative to cover her mouth tightly with both hands and stood motionless on the edge to avoid making any more noise. Her heart was beating fast, and her body was trembling slightly as she recalled the bloody head she just saw in her mind from time to time.
The officers outside the wall couldn't find anyone, so they searched back and forth. They saw several Noga people poking their heads in the nearby shops. There were also women and children among them. They thought the noise was from them, so they didn't go into details and took the soldiers with them. They went back.
Hearing their footsteps moving away, Ming Na felt a little relieved, but saw that her grandfather was still listening carefully to what was going on outside, so she continued to stand there blankly.
It seemed that the bloody scene just now had an effect. The businessmen from all over the world who had been noisy all shut up and stopped fighting with the Nuojia soldiers. They couldn't help but feel sad when they thought of the lost property. The group of people left the street under the escort of the soldiers, and there was a faint sound of choking in the team.
After Ming Na heard those people leaving, she wanted to urge her grandfather to go out quickly. Unexpectedly, everyone gathered at the front door came back, and some people entered the backyard. In broad daylight, once you climb over the wall, you will be easily discovered by those people. At this time, there are sounds of people and carriages moving around outside. It seems that many people are moving things. She had no choice but to continue to stay with her grandfather. In order not to be noticed, she quietly moved to a corner and blocked her figure with a few rotten wooden boards.
They waited until dark. People in the shops closed their doors when they saw that there was no business to do. Some of the shop assistants left and went home, while those living in the backyard started cooking. Xiao Tianjian took advantage of someone's unpreparedness and pulled his granddaughter back to the wall. He pointed at her neck. Ming Na knowingly put her arms around him. In order to reduce his burden, she kicked him up while he was jumping up. , although the effect is not great, it also makes Xiao Tianjian feel more relaxed. They quickly climbed up the wall. Xiao Tianjian smiled at his granddaughter with satisfaction. Seeing that there was no one outside the wall, he climbed out.
The streets are deserted. Most of the shops here are opened by foreign businessmen. Now there are only a few shops owned by Nuojia people who are closing their stalls one after another. At a glance, there were no pedestrians on the street. The doors of the shops whose owners had been driven away were all open, and scattered goods were scattered everywhere, as if they had just been looted.
Taking advantage of the darkness, Ming Na followed her grandfather along the alley to the back wall of Xiao's branch, and climbed into the wall using the old method. There was no one inside the branch, and the front door was open, but people outside couldn't see what was going on in the backyard, so they were still safe. Reflecting the bright moonlight, Ming Na looked around and found that the wine jars and packages of goods originally stacked here were gone, and the wine jars placed in the room had also disappeared, and the door panel of the warehouse fell to the ground. , the stable is empty, the courtyard is full of broken straw ropes and damaged sacks, there are also some fragments of tea sets and vases, a few copper plates are scattered near the courtyard door, and a few feet away from them, there is another silver.
Ming Na felt as if she was in a dream. The place she left just a few hours ago had turned out like this.
A woman's voice came from the front door. Ming Na sounded like a cook hired by the branch. Knowing that she was fine, she ran out happily. However, she was hugged by her grandfather, covered her mouth and retreated to a room next to the kitchen. In the hut, close the door. Ming Na looked at her grandfather in confusion, Xiao Tianjian winked, and she calmed down obediently.
The person who came in was indeed the Nuojia cook. She brought six or seven strong men and three or four women, and held a torch into the backyard. It can be heard from the conversation that those are her family and relatives. The cook directly called a few people into the kitchen, while others went to search in various rooms. Soon, the people who entered the kitchen brought out several bags of flour, two baskets of nuts, half a smoked pig, a ham, a cage of chickens, and a lot of oil, salt, soy and vinegar. There were small bags of clothes and shoes, and they laughed and discussed which ones could be worn by which people, and which ones could be sold for money.
Xiao Tianjian has been watching from the side, and the anger in his heart gradually rose. Just now, he was worried about the large number of soldiers, the people from the branch fell into the hands of the Nuojia people, and he had his little granddaughter beside him, so he didn't face those people head-on. Otherwise, with his skills, what could those people do to him? But now these greedy and stupid guys are openly stealing his property in front of him, how can he bear it? He clenched his fists, veins popping out. He just thought that it would be easy to kill these people, but if he alarmed others, he could still find a way to escape in the city, but his little granddaughter didn't have that ability, so he had to swallow his breath.
Ming Na looked at the cook's excitement and found it incomprehensible. Isn't this stealing something? That aunt was obviously very nice to her and spoke kindly. Why would she bring someone to steal something while no one was in the store? !
Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of the children's clothes one of the women was holding, and her eyes widened. They belonged to her! It's a shirt made by Winnie, and it has flowers embroidered by her mother herself! Hearing the woman laughing and saying to others that this dress could be altered to make a vest for her daughter, Ming Na couldn't help but blush. She wanted to rush out and grab the dress back immediately, but thinking of the trouble she had caused before, she couldn't help but blush. I looked at grandpa and saw that he had no intention of taking action, so I had to grit my teeth and endure it.
Seeing the group of people returning home chatting and laughing, both the grandfather and the grandson felt uncomfortable. At this moment, another group of people came outside, but it was another local maid from the branch who specialized in cleaning. She brought a dozen or twenty young and strong men with her, and met the cook and her group at the door. Big eyes stare at small eyes.
Both parties knew each other's purpose, nodded to each other, and the cook left with the people. A middle-aged man following the servant woman said reluctantly: "If we let them take away so many things, wouldn't it be in vain for us to come?"
"What are you afraid of?" The servant woman didn't care, "There are a lot of good things, but they are all rubes and don't know what they are selling!"
She led everyone into the backyard and directed them to separate. Ming Na hid in the hut and saw through the crack in the door that they had not let go of anything as small as sewing knives, cutting candlesticks, oil lamps, bowls and basins, or as large as tables, chairs and cabinets. They had loaded all the things onto several carriages parked outside the door. Apparently, It was already planned. The man walking at the end noticed the copper plates and silver coins on the ground with sharp eyes, and secretly picked them up when no one was paying attention.
The backyard returned to calm and darkness, Xiao Tianjian and Ming Na quietly opened the door and walked out. I just discovered that the place where they were hiding was a woodshed. Two groups of people came to get things, but no one thought to come in and take a look. Mingna looked at the empty yard and empty room, then looked back at her grandfather: "Why did the two aunts take away the things? Isn't this stealing?"
Xiao Tianjian suppressed his anger and shook his head: "I don't know, what's wrong with this country?!" He hasn't been to the hinterland of Nuojia for more than ten years. At most, he only wanders around the border. In his impression, this is a country where the people are simple. It is a straightforward country with tough men and cheerful women. It claims to be the descendant of the hero in the legend of "The Blade of the God". In addition, the country has many mountains and winds, so it is known as the "People of the Wind". Although life is not considered rich, the folk customs have always been very good. What happened in the past twenty years? This country has become almost unrecognizable to him.
Ming Na looked sadly at how empty the room she had lived in for two days was now. Her new shoes, new shawl and new felt hat had all been taken away, and the magic book she had read in the morning and forgotten to put away was taken away. It was thrown on the ground, an overturned ink bottle fell on top of it, the table was stained with ink, and a pen broke in half.
She squatted down at the door and stared into the room, her mouth flattening, and she felt very uncomfortable in her heart.
Xiao Tianjian sighed when he saw this, and advised: "It's useless to look at it anymore. Grandpa will buy you new ones in the future. Now carefully search everywhere, maybe there are still useful things left."
Ming Na responded with a dull sound, stood up, moved around, and went to other rooms. Because she was afraid of being discovered, she could only use illumination to emit small light spots, and finally found an old quilt, some thick curtains, and two complete bowls. There was also a pot of tea in the restaurant. She was thirsty early, so she took two sips and gave it to her grandfather to drink.
She found Xiao Tianjian in the room where she was in charge. Seeing him knocking here and there on the floor, she asked, "Grandpa, what are you doing?"
"I'm looking for a secret room." Xiao Tianjian didn't look up. "As long as the Xiao family store is bought as a branch, there will definitely be a secret room in the manager's room, and there may be something in it." That is a store that has both a treasury and a shelter. double effect.
Soon he found it. There was a movable brick on the ground under the bed. He opened the brick and there was an iron chain inside. He pulled the chain and the mechanism started. An extremely heavy old suitcase next to the bed slowly slid open. , revealing the hole below. Ming Na opened her eyes wide and used a lighting technique. She stretched her head and looked around. She saw a narrow stone staircase leading down. It was so dark inside that she couldn't see anything clearly. She walked down the stone steps, and as the light spot on her hand gradually enlarged, she could see what was going on in the cave.
It is only about ** square meters in size and only two meters high. It is made of stones and the ground is very clean. Next to the wall were two large wooden boxes, a pile of palm-sized black cloth bags, four rattan baskets filled with food and water bags, two thick quilts and a large package. Minna opened one of the black cloth bags and found that it was full of gold coins. There were twenty in each bag, and there were at least one or two hundred bags here. She couldn't help but gasp.
Xiao Tianjian had already jumped down. When he saw the situation, he knew that he was in the right place. He looked at the label on the rattan basket and found that the water was changed two days ago, which was a pity. According to the rules of the trading house, the water in the shelter is changed every three days. It was probably due to a sudden change today, and the steward had no time to change it. After smelling it, it was still edible, so he handed a piece of bread to his granddaughter: "Are you hungry?" ?There’s something to eat here.”
Mingna took the bread and ate it, and asked in a low voice: "Grandpa, what are we going to do now? Do we want to find a way to leave?"
"I want to inquire about the situation first and see what happened. Why did the palace suddenly issue an expulsion order and kill people? I heard that the dead king was a good man and there was no reason for him to do this. Branch's I'm going to find out where people will be driven." After a pause, Xiao Tianjian sighed inwardly, the target he was following probably had to give up. With the chaos outside now, he'd better leave as soon as possible.
Ming Na nodded silently, hurriedly stuffed the whole bread, took a sip of water, and then grabbed the corner of his clothes: "I'm full, we can go."
Xiao Tianjian looked at her and smiled: "You should stay here. It is safer here. Grandpa will come back after asking for the news."
Ming Na thought for a moment, shook her head and said, "I don't want to stay..." her voice trembled slightly.
"Are you afraid?" Xiao Tianjian was a little surprised, "You have always been very courageous, and you persisted in the face of monsters. You have lived alone in the forest for several days, and you have never been afraid. There are residential buildings on both sides of this place, and it's you again. What are you afraid of if you've lived there before? If you're afraid of being discovered, just sleep in the secret room. I'll close the door from the outside." He glanced at the ventilation hole in the corner of the ceiling: "People can live here, it's just a little dark, so you're not afraid. Black, right?”
Ming Na slowly blushed. Of course she was not afraid of the dark! Just like what grandpa said, she lived alone in the forest for several days and was never afraid. Why couldn't she stay? If he follows grandpa, he has to take care of himself, which is really inconvenient. So, she agreed.
The door of the underground cave gradually closed, and the room was dark. Mingna immediately used a lighting technique. For some reason, she always felt a little confused, so she got up and spread out the quilts, using one as a mattress and one as a cover. She went through her baggage again and saw that they were all clothes for adults and men in Nuojia style, so she threw them away. . Looking at the two boxes, she crawled over and opened them. They were filled with gems and gold ornaments, as well as a large box of pearls and corals. She was dazzled by the sight and quickly closed the boxes. The light spots from the illumination technique had disappeared.
She had already cast lighting spells several times, but her magic power was somewhat insufficient. After thinking about it, she simply opened a box and used the faint light of the jewelry to illuminate it. She crawled back onto the bed and closed her eyes. Her mind was filled with her rolling head, tossing and turning, but she couldn't fall asleep.
She finally fell asleep, but in a daze, she heard a noise outside. When she opened her eyes, she saw the officer who had killed someone appeared in the secret room, holding a knife and forcing her to hand over gold coins and jewelry. When she refused, he slashed her neck with the knife.
She suddenly woke up in a cold sweat. A few rays of white light came through the vent, indicating that it was the next morning. Xiao Tianjian still hasn't returned.
After wiping her sweat, Ming Na gasped and sat up. Knowing that she was having a nightmare just now, she cheered herself up. It was just a dream. With grandpa here, how could those bad guys chop off his head
Thinking of this, she felt better. She is the granddaughter of an epic hero. How could she be frightened by such a dream? !
Her stomach growled, so she got out of bed, pulled out a basket, picked out a piece of bread and ate it. She felt that the taste had changed and frowned. At this time, there was a sound outside, and she felt happy, thinking that her grandfather must be back, and she jumped up.
Although she said she wasn't afraid, she still felt very uncomfortable leaving her grandfather.
However, the noise coming from the ceiling showed that there was more than one person outside, and there seemed to be the sound of rummaging around with things and shouting and cursing. Although she couldn't hear it clearly, Minna also knew that it was definitely not her grandfather.
Her heart tightened, and she quickly pushed aside the bedding, baskets and other items, covered the jewelry box, and huddled in a corner, staring closely at the cave door.
There was still noisy outside, but the cave door had not been opened. She gradually breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that others would probably not notice.
At this moment, the door of the underground cave slid open quietly, and there was a burst of cheers from outside, and then a man's voice: "Sure enough, there is a secret room! There must be a lot of treasures hidden here!"
Ming Na's heart tightened. She would never forget this voice. Its owner was the officer who killed someone.
The next second, he appeared on the stone steps. He spotted Ming Na almost immediately and showed a playful smile: "Oh my, there is a little mouse."
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