Among the four people who masterminded the conspiracy against Zhu Li, two of them lost their territories. Li Keyong was lucky because he still had the title of Jiedushi of Hedong. It should not be difficult for him to take over Hedong for the sake of justice.
But his father died at the hands of Zhu Li's men, which was not good. The hatred between the Shatuo people and Zhu Li was undoubtedly intensified.
As for Li Sigong, he could only wait until Emperor Xizong returned east and then find a way to gain territory.
Zhu Li had no way of knowing what was happening outside. After he jumped into the Wei River, he immediately left the place where he fell into the water, took off his armor in the water, and even threw away his steel spear and long sword.
Fortunately, when Wu Dao trained him, he always required extreme training. He was in the water, following the direction of the current, and sneaked desperately. When he couldn't hold it anymore, he just looked for places with water plants, carefully pulled away the water plants, only stuck his mouth and nose out of the water, took a deep breath, and continued to sneak along the current without going ashore or showing his head.
He sneaked like this non-stop. When he was thirsty, he swallowed the turbid and bitter river water. When he was hungry, he chewed the water plants in the river. When he was lucky, he would pull out some fish and shrimps. At this time, he didn't care whether the fish were raw or cooked, he swallowed them all whole.
He endured like this for more than forty days, still staying submerged in the water. At this time, he had already left the Weishui River and entered the Yellow River.
On a dark and windy night, Zhu Li was in the water and found a mountain on the north bank of the Yellow River. He quietly slipped up and dived into the mountain.
It was nearly August. Under the moonlit night, the mountains were high and there were many mosquitoes. The summer breeze was unpleasant and the air was stuffy and hot.
Zhu Li, who had long since taken off his full body armor, was left with only a single set of clothes sticking to his body. In addition, he had been soaked in water for more than 40 days, and his whole body was so white and tender that you could almost squeeze water out of it with one hand. How could he withstand the bites of these mosquitoes
After only a short while of walking, his appearance changed. His head and forehead were covered with blood blisters from mosquito bites, and he was even scratched by rocks and thorns. If someone saw him at this time, they would definitely be scared to death.
At this moment, he had disheveled hair, bloodstains on his face, and was wearing tattered white underwear. The exposed skin was extremely pale and horrifying.
In addition, he walked very fast and his figure was erratic. At first glance, he didn't look like a human being, but a wandering wild ghost.
A swaying light on the distant hillside caught his attention. Zhu Li was already anxiously bitten by mosquitoes on the mountain, so he didn't care about anything else. He ran barefoot with big strides towards the direction of the swaying light.
When I got closer, I found that this was a home. The small courtyard built with rocks looked very solid. Under the swaying lights in the courtyard, there was a faint smoke rising, and the fragrance of mugwort wafted in the wind, which was very refreshing.
There were fewer mosquitoes in the area where the fragrance was diffused, which made Zhu Li feel relieved.
But thinking back, it was quite funny. Facing thousands of troops, he never frowned. But this evil mosquito almost made him lose his mind. It was really ridiculous.
Just as he was about to knock on the door to ask for lodging, he suddenly paused. He thought to himself that he was now on the run, and if he was discovered by Tian Lingzi's assassins, he was not afraid of them. His internal injuries had already healed for the most part, and it should not be a problem for him to escape from those people's entanglement.
But if he entered this family's house and was discovered by Tian Lingzi's men, he would probably implicate the people of this family. Thinking of this, he instantly gave up the idea of staying overnight.
He slowly turned around and walked to a place near the house where the wind was blowing and the aroma of mugwort was stronger. He sat down and used the scent of mugwort and the smoke to avoid the mosquitoes in the mountains. He planned to stay here until dawn and then leave.
But sometimes, it's not others who bother you, but you do. Zhu Li had just sat down when the gate of this family's courtyard was opened from the inside.
A sturdy and ferocious man came out with a bow and a knife. It was obvious that he heard the noise outside and came out to investigate.
Zhu Li did not hide at all. He sat openly in the windward direction so that the man could see him at a glance.
In the eyes of the rude man, a black shadow with disheveled hair was huddled on the rocks. The breeze was blowing, his white clothes were fluttering, and he would occasionally squirm, looking very creepy.
Facing the dim moonlight, the big man could not see clearly, but such a strange image made him feel creepy and terrified. However, he still mustered up the courage and asked Zhu Li loudly, "Who is there in the middle of the night?"
In fact, when the gate of the courtyard made a noise, Zhu Li felt something was wrong and wanted to turn around and leave, but this rough man not only shouted at him, but also took off the bow and arrow from his shoulder and aimed at him. For a soldier who had experienced the battlefield for a long time, even if he didn't look back, he could feel the sharpness of the arrow. This discovery made him smile bitterly.
There was no choice but to turn around and bow. But before he could open his mouth, he saw the big man looking at him. His eyes suddenly widened, and his big furry mouth opened instantly, which was more than enough to fit a fist.
His face turned pale, and his body began to tremble. Even the bow and arrow in his hand seemed to be shaky due to the trembling of his body, and he could hardly hold it.
"Oh my god! It's a ghost! I saw a ghost." The man screamed at Zhu Li, with such a horrified look on his face that he almost didn't know how to take a step.
He looked at Zhu Li in horror, and at a loss, he stretched out a hand and waved it wildly in the direction of the courtyard, shouting, "Xiao Qian, Xiao Qian, come quickly, come and help me, I'm possessed by evil spirits, I've seen a ghost."
The noise outside, especially the wailing and screaming of the strong man, immediately alarmed the people in the yard. A woman's voice immediately rang out from the yard, and she roared with impatience and disdain: "What are you yelling about? It's the middle of the night. What if you scare the children?"
"Xiao Qian, come quickly, I really saw a ghost." Seeing that the woman seemed not to believe him and had no intention of coming out, the burly man was almost scared to tears, and even his voice was hoarse.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He looked at himself helplessly in the moonlight and had to say, "Brother, I'm not a ghost. I'm just a poor man who wandered into the mountains."
When the sturdy man saw Zhu Li speak, his expression was still uncertain and cautious. He looked at Zhu Li again and said tremblingly: "You, you, you are really not a ghost?"
Just as the strong man was hesitant, a fierce woman suddenly walked out of the yard.
The hair under his nose and mouth was clearly visible in the moonlight. He was holding a kitchen knife in his hand and strode out of the courtyard gate. He said angrily, "You damn ghost, what are you shouting about? Where is the ghost?"
While scolding the sturdy man, she followed his gaze and glanced in Zhu Li's direction. With just one glance, the fierce woman instantly turned into a frightened deer. She trembled all over and threw the kitchen knife in her hand far away. She turned around and rushed into the yard at a faster speed than when she came. An even more shrill scream followed: "Ghost, ghost, damn ghost, run, run."
However, at this time, although the strong man was still very nervous, he was somewhat convinced that Zhu Li was not a ghost. With the help of the hazy moonlight and a cool breeze, he could vaguely see heat coming out of Zhu Li's nose and mouth, which calmed him down.
The strong man consciously put away his bow and arrow, bravely walked towards Zhu Li, and said: "Brother, if you are not a mountain ghost, why did you come to my door in the middle of the night?"
Zhu Li was relieved when he saw the strong man's actions. He sighed and said, "I was stranded in the mountains. I didn't expect there were too many mosquitoes in the jungle. I was bitten and wanted to find a place with fewer mosquitoes."
"Brother, they are burning mugwort in your yard, and the scent of mugwort is wafting around. There are fewer mosquitoes here, so I'll stay here. I apologize for disturbing you." Zhu Li said apologetically.
When the sturdy man heard this, he immediately believed it. He was a hunter in the mountains, so he naturally knew how fierce the mosquitoes were in the jungles in the mountains in the middle of summer. So he completely let down his guard and bowed sincerely, "I'm sorry to make you laugh, but your appearance almost scared a rough man like me. It's really scary. Well, if you don't mind, please come in and have a seat."
Zhu Li hesitated for a moment when he heard that, but finally followed the burly man into the yard. Beside the fire in the yard, a woman was standing trembling with fear. Her sturdy body was shaking, and she was holding a rolling pin in her hand. When she saw Zhu Li enter the yard, she looked at Zhu Li carefully and cautiously in the light of the light.
Seeing the woman like this, Zhu Li secretly felt amused, but the burly man could not hide his anger anymore. He put on a fierce beard and pretended to be majestic and said, "You are ignorant. Look how scared you are. You can be scared like this by a living person. It's really shameful."
However, when he said this, he forgot what he looked like before. He was almost scared to death just now.
But these two were an old couple. After the woman was sure that Zhu Li was not a ghost, she refused to believe him and glared at him, saying unhappily, "Am I the only one who was scared like this? I don't know who it was just now. I almost cried."
With the help of the lamplight, the woman looked at Zhu Li carefully again and found that, apart from his disheveled hair and torn clothes, he was still a very heroic young man, if not counting the traces of mosquito bites. She was immediately relieved, muttered to herself, and put down the rolling pin in her hand.
The woman's rebuttal made the man even more embarrassed. In order to avoid embarrassment, he quickly changed the subject and said, "Now I realize that my brother is a handsome young man. Alas, in this world, since the young man has fallen to this point, I'm afraid he has never had food. Xiaoqian, go get some food."