Lunch was slightly better than before, with an extra plate of stir-fried vegetables, but it was a world of difference from what I had eaten before. Yan Shi felt that Xingqing had brought some snacks for the little princess, but that could not replace rice.
Yan Shi glanced at Hua Ling, the little princess was holding the rice bowl in one hand, trying to pull the rice into her mouth with chopsticks, seeing him looking at him, she gave him a nice smile.
Yan Shi felt even more uncomfortable, always feeling that the little princess was forcing a smile.
Yan Shi was the first to finish eating and said, "Brother Xu, I see that Guibao is mountainous, so I wonder if there are hunters in this village?"
"There are a few households," Xu Jing replied, "There are many mountains here, and there are many animals on the mountains, so there are a few households that prey."
"Brother Xu will take us to the prey's house later." Yan Shi explained, "I want to buy some prey." Since Xu Jing's house has nothing to eat, he just pays for it himself.
Yan Shi clearly felt that when he said to buy prey, the eyes of the little princess lit up.
Xu Jing is a smart person, so he naturally knew Yan Shi's thoughts, nodded and said, "Brother Yan, wait at home, I'll go and have a look."
"The left and right are free and have nothing to do, why don't we go with Brother Xu, it's all a walk, and we should take a good look at this place when we first come here." Yan Shi remembered that Xu Jing told them yesterday that they should not walk around in the village if they have nothing to do. I want to go even more.
Xu Jing paused for a moment and said, "Okay then, Brother Yan, it's just that you must listen to me."
Yan Shi and Qu Liushang looked at each other, what kind of secret is hidden in Xiaxi Village
When Hua Ling heard that there was meat to eat, she was very happy, and happily pulled Yan Shi along and followed Xu Jing out.
There are only a few dozen households in Xiaxi Village, and three Orion households. Unfortunately, none of these three households have prey to sell for the time being. Yan Shi held Hua Ling's hand tighter, and looked at the mountains in the distance: "Since there is no prey to sell in the village, why don't I go up the mountain and hunt some back."
Hua Ling was a little worried and said: "Brother, what can I do, what if I encounter danger."
Yan Shi whispered next to his ear: "Father goes hunting every year, and I have gone with him since I was a child, so there is no problem."
Hua Ling still couldn't believe it: "Really?"
Yan Shi nodded solemnly: "Really."
Only then did Hua Ling's heart sink: "Then I'll go too."
"It's fine for Ming Ting to wait for me in the village." Yan Shi said, "You don't know martial arts, and I'm afraid it's inconvenient to travel on difficult mountain roads."
Xu Jing interjected: "Brother Yan, you can't go to this mountain, and there are many dangers on the mountain. Not only are there fierce beasts, but there are also traps for the prey. If you get injured, it's not a good idea."
Yan Shi said: "It's okay, I have hunted before, and I have also walked through mountains that are more difficult than this." Yan Shi wanted to go to the mountain not only to hunt game for Hua Ling, but also to see what was on the mountain. When I entered the village yesterday, I saw a person on a mountain peak.
Qu Liushang also interjected: "Brother Xu doesn't know something, Brother Yan and I both know martial arts, so it's no problem to hunt wild game on the mountain."
Seeing that Xu Jing couldn't stop him, he could only compromise: "I will go up the mountain with you."
There is no bow and arrow in hand, and there is nothing in Xu Jing's house that can be used to make simple bows and arrows. Qu Liushang took out a few darts from the medicine box: "My lord, use this later."
Yan Shi put the dart in his hand and said thank you. Hua Ling looked at Qiqi and stretched out his hand to look at it, but Yan Shi didn't give it to him: "You hurt your hand carefully." Hua Ling had to take his hand back again.
Xu Jing took them to the nearest mountain. While walking in the village, they met many villagers, but they were all men, and they didn't see a single woman.
When they arrived at the mountain pass, there were actually a few men guarding there, looking at Xu Jing coming over and asking him with vigilant eyes: "Xu Jing, what are you doing here?"
"These are my friends, and they want to hunt some prey on the mountain." Xu Jing said, "Brother Zhao, it's convenient."
The man looked at Yan Shi and the others, then looked at Xu Jing and said, "Xu Jing, it's not like you don't know the rules in this village.
. "
Xu Jing said with a distressed face: "But my friends rarely come here, and I don't have anything to eat at home, so I hope the elder brothers will be accommodating." After finishing speaking, Xu Jing bowed to them.
The man was still about to say something, when a man who was with him came over and whispered a few words to him. The man nodded after hearing this, glanced at Yan Shi and the others and said, "You can go hunting in the mountains if you want, but one of them must stay."
"This..." Xu Jing still felt a little embarrassed.
The man said: "Xu Jing, don't make it difficult for us, we have already let you into the mountains, so you should show some sincerity."
Qu Liuzhang thought about it, come on, this is still his own business. So without waiting for Xu Jing to say anything else, he stood up and said, "Brother Xu, I'll stay. You can take Brother Yan and the others into the mountain."
Xu Jing had no choice but to keep Qu Liushang.
The road into the mountain was difficult, Xu Jing opened the way ahead, Yan Shi and Hua Ling followed behind him. Hua Ling whispered to Yan Shi: "Brother, what's going on? Why don't you even let us enter the mountain? It feels like we're being imprisoned."
Yan Shi held his hand even tighter: "Don't think about it, there must be something else." Naturally, Yan Shi was extremely puzzled, there were strange things everywhere in Xiaxi Village, but he didn't want to tell Hua Ling about it. lest he worry.
There are many animals in the mountains, and when we got there, we saw a few pheasants. Yan Shi quickly hit the pheasant's vitals with the dart given to him by Qu Liushang, and the pheasant lost its breath immediately. Hua Ling cheerfully ran to pick up the pheasant, and brought Lao Gao back to show Yan Shi.
"Brother, you are awesome, you hit three." Hua Ling's eyes and face were full of admiration.
Yan Shi smiled and took the dart off the pheasant, wiped it with the dry leaves on the ground and put it away again.
Xu Jing was also stunned by Yan Shi's move. He thought that Yan Shi was just like him, just a hard-edged scholar, but he didn't expect to be able to do this trick. He was amazed at the moment: "Brother Yan is really good at it."
Hua Ling was very happy to hear that, even more happy than complimenting him: "That's natural, my brother is the best."
A few people walked forward again, Yan Shi shot down a few hares with darts, Hua Ling felt very happy looking at the things in his hand. Yan Shi saw that although these things seemed to be a lot, they were actually eaten up in a few meals, and he could still hold them in his left and right hands, so he walked deeper.
While walking, suddenly a brown shadow flashed in front of his eyes, Xu Jing exclaimed: "It's a deer!"
Yan Shi also saw it, but darts are not so effective for deer. Yan Shi looked at the deer with an expression of eagerness in his eyes. In the past, when hunting, the deer could only be hunted by the emperor, and he had never hunted a deer before.
"Ming Ting, you and Brother Xu are waiting for me here, and I'll come back as soon as I go." Yan Shi said as he stepped on the branches and flew away.
Hua Ling naturally understood what the deer meant to Yan Shi, and did not stop her. On the contrary, Xu Jing was a little worried: "Brother Hua, will it be dangerous for Brother Yan to go?"
A smile slowly emerged from the corner of Hua Ling's mouth, and his eyes followed Yan Shi's figure: "He will get what he wants."
Not long after, Yan Shi came back with a deer on his back.
Hua Ling greeted him in surprise: "Brother, you are amazing!"
Yan Shi put the dead deer on the ground and tightened Hua Ling's collar. Xu Jing walked over with his mouth wide open, his eyes full of shock: "This... this... Brother Yan is really amazing."
Just now, Yan Shi also took advantage of the deer hunting to take a general look at the situation on the mountain, and there was no one there. It seems that the person who saw the mountain yesterday should only be there.
Yan Shi thought about it carefully, that mountain peak is the one closest to Xiaxi Village, standing there, if anyone wants to come to Xiaxi Village, they can see it from far away. But this Xiaxi Village is just a small village, and it is not a military important place. Why do they monitor the road leading to Xiaxi Village
Yan Shi was still thinking about it, Hua Ling and Xu Jing on the other side were already chattering around the deer, and they were studying how to stew the deer when they went back. When Hua Ling talked, his saliva almost flowed down.
Yan Shi chuckled and asked them to take away the hares and pheasants that had been hunted at the beginning, while he resisted the deer, and they went down the mountain.
Yan Shi held the deer on his shoulders, supported the deer with one hand, and held Hua Ling with the other. The weight of this deer seems to be about the same as that of a grown man, but Yan Shi looks very relaxed as if he is carrying a chicken.
Xu Jing was amazed when he saw it, and kept praising Yan Shi, but Yan Shi didn't feel anything, but Hua Ling's chest stood out even higher.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw Qu Liushang sitting on a chair, chatting happily with the people around him, just like a protagonist.
Xu Jing was amazed again: "Brother Qu is really amazing."
"Are you back?" Qu Liushang saw them at a glance, patted his buttocks, stood up from the chair, and walked towards Yan Shi.
The men were excited when they heard that Xu Jing and the others had returned, and they were slightly dissatisfied, but when they saw the prey they were holding, they all came over with their eyes wide open, pointing at those things and saying: "That's it!" So many things came back in such a short time? And a deer!"
Yan Shi threw two hares towards them: "Thank you, big brothers, for taking care of my brother."
Those men didn't bother too much when they got the benefits, and their attitudes were much more enthusiastic than when they entered the mountain just now.
"Little brother, I will often come to the mountains to hunt in the future."
Qu Liushang took the deer that Yan Shi was carrying and carried it on his body, and clicked his tongue twice: "This deer is really fat, enough to eat for a long time."
Xu Jing's mouth opened again: "Brother Qu's strength is so great!" Obviously everyone looks similar, but why are they carrying the deer so easily one by two. On the other hand, looking at the few things in my hand, I was a little tired after walking for so long.
After returning to Xu Jing's house, several people had a clear division of labor, the one who boiled the water, and the one who plucked the hair.
Hua Ling followed Yan Shi to watch him dismantle the deer into pieces, occasionally saying that it was so loud before wiping off his sweat.
Fortunately, this meat can be frozen outside in winter.
After Yan Shi finished dividing all the venison, Xu Jing and Qu Liushang had already prepared dinner.
Everyone sat around and ate the most sumptuous dinner here. It was getting dark after the meal, and Xu Jing went out to wash the dishes. Qu Liushang suddenly whispered to Yan Shi: "I just saw Xu Jing secretly filled a bowl. The meat is hidden."
Yan Shi rubbed his chin: "That's very interesting." He could tell that there must be someone hiding in that warehouse.
Qu Liushang heard that there was no movement of washing dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, put his index finger between his lips and said "shh", then walked out with a light footstep, and Xu Jing was no longer outside. He opened the door a crack, and saw Xu Jing holding the bowl of meat, looking around, then took out a key, unlocked the barn and went in. He came back almost as soon as he entered, and when he came back, he had Hold an empty bowl.
Seeing that he came back, Qu Liushang hurried into the room and told what he saw again.
Yan Shi nodded, he had to think about this matter. There was indeed someone in the barn, but judging from the situation, that person didn't seem to be locked up by Xu Jing. If he was forced to lock him up, how could he be so calm and silent? And looking at it like this, the people inside are also eating normally, it seems that the person is also careful inside, not letting people outside know his existence
Of course, these are all Yan Shi's guesses, and he doesn't know what the truth is, so he decided to investigate again tonight.
It was getting dark, Xu Jing lit the oil lamp, and several people sat in the room chatting.
Suddenly Xu Jing changed the subject and looked at Yan Shi and said, "Brother Yan, you are not ordinary farmers, are you?"
Yan Shi was not surprised when he asked this question: "Brother Xu, why did you say that?"
Xu Jingdao: "I don't want to talk about Brother Yan's appearance, but the temperament exuded by his gestures is not comparable to that of ordinary farmers. Brother Yan and others are very talented in literature and martial arts, which also shows that Brother Yan is not an ordinary person. .”
Yan Yi smiled
Nodding: "Brother Xu is really smart, so tell me who I am?"
Xu Jing shook his head: "I can't guess this, but brother Yan's family background must be very powerful."
Yan Shi smiled and said: "If my family background is really very good, will brother Xu have quarrel with me?"
"Of course not." When Xu Jing said this, his face became serious. He seemed to have something to say, but he opened his mouth but closed it again. Yan Shi didn't urge him. After several times like this, Xu Jing Jing finally said, "If brother Yan encounters something unfair, what should he do?"
Yan Shi looked into his eyes with a very earnest look: "Of course we have to take care of it. There are too many injustices in this matter. Although I can't take care of everything, as long as I meet him, I will take care of it. To be honest , Our status is indeed either rich or noble." Yan Shi saw that Xu Jing had something to say, but he didn't know what to say, so what he said was equivalent to giving him a reassurance.
Xu Jing was really moved when he heard this, the hesitation in his heart was gone at this moment. Xu Jing straightened his back even more and said: "Brother Yan, to be honest, I need your help with something. In my warehouse..."
"Xu Jing! Xu Jing!" Xu Jing's words were interrupted by a sudden voice from outside.
Yan Shi frowned, the voice was somewhat familiar, he thought about it carefully, and finally knew who the owner of the voice was - it was one of the four people who visited the family last night.
In the blink of an eye, three men entered the room, one was the one who said last night that men and men could get married, the other was the one who didn't believe that men and men could get married, and there was a man Yan Shi had never seen before, not the four from last night. One of the men.
"Brother Sun, Brother Zhou, Brother Wang, you are here." Xu Jing greeted him with a smile on his face.
"Xu Jing, I heard that you have guests at your house, so I came to have a look." Sun Si said, he was the one who said that men and men could get married, and stretched his neck to look behind Xu Jing while talking.
The two people who came were called Wang Yong and Zhou Da, and this Zhou Da was the one Yan Shi had never seen before.
Yan Shi protected the little princess behind him, walked over and clasped his fists at the three who came: "I am Xu Jieyuan's friend, I don't know how many brothers have come to welcome you, so please don't be surprised."
Wang Yong and Zhou Da's eyes were straightened when they saw it, while Sun Si's face was full of complacency. When Yan Shi entered the village, he saw them on the side of the road.
"No... not to blame... not to blame..." Zhou Da even spoke in a stuttering voice.
"Yo, who is here?" Qu Liushang also walked over from behind with strides.
Seeing him coming, Wang Yong and Zhou Da's eyes were a little surprised again.
Xu Jing bit the bullet and introduced several people to each other.
"Good! Good! Good!" Zhou Dalian said three good words, and suddenly saw Hua Ling hiding behind him, and asked, "Xu Jing, who is that?"
"My name is Hua Ling." Seeing that she was seen, Hua Ling came over and stood beside Yan Shi, and gently tugged at his sleeve with one hand.
As soon as Hua Ling came over, the eyeballs of Wang Yong and Zhou Da were about to pop out, they just stared straight at each other, unable to even speak.
Xu Jing hurriedly coughed lightly: "Brothers, what are you busy with now?"
Only then did Zhou Da regain his senses: "I didn't do anything, I just stayed there. It's winter and there's nothing to do."
"Xu Jing, Li Er's family hasn't been found until now. You really haven't seen her?" Although Sun Si's words were directed at Xu Jing, his eyes were directed at Yan Shi and the three of them, anyone could tell He's looking for something to say.
Xu Jing said: "Didn't everyone in the village come and search, and I didn't find anyone here."
Sun Si nodded: "I know, I just want to remind you again that the wife of the old Li family has run away, and he is upset now. Although you have cleared the suspicion now, you should avoid hanging around in front of him, lest he take you leak."
Xu Jing was very humble: "Thank you, Brother Sun, for reminding me."
Yan Shi heard some information from these words, looked at Sun Si and asked: "Brother, dare you
What happened to this person running away? Could it be that he went back to his mother's house? "
Sun Si smiled at Yan Shi, this smile had a bit of creepiness in it: "You will know soon."
Hua Ling pursed her lips unhappily, and shook Yan Shi's sleeve: "Brother—"
Yan Shi understood, and said to Xu Jing: "Brother Xu, you guys chat first, it's getting late now, I'll take Ming Ting to rest first."
Wang Zhou's eyes followed Yan Shi until he could no longer see him.