"Ayi!"
Guan Yubai pointed to a half-hidden path in the bushes in front of the left and said to Xiao Yi: "From that direction, you should be able to overlook the Yanlai River. There is still a section of the downstream direction of the Yanlai River..." As he spoke, he pointed again. Pointing to the kraft paper in his hand, he signaled Xiao Yi to come and take a look.
Xiao Yi glanced at a blank spot on the kraft paper, and responded briskly: "Come on, let's go and have a look. After adding the lower reaches of the Yanlai River, the map in this direction is almost complete."
"The next thing is to go to the southwest..."
While talking, the two walked towards the path. Xiaosi temporarily handed over the young eagle Hanyu to Baihui and Baihe to take care of, and followed Guan Yubai like a shadow.
The path was full of bushes, Xiao Yi took out a short knife, and cut through the thorns and thorns to open the way for the two of them...
"You two sons, stay behind!"
At this time, a simple and honest voice came from behind them. Following the sound, a big man with a big bow on his back was striding towards them. The big man seemed to be in his forties, with a black chest and a beard. Hu, it was the Orion they saw just now.
Guan Yubai looked at the other party with raised eyebrows, and asked, "I don't know what advice, brother?"
The Orion had a naive expression, scratched the back of his head, and persuaded him kindly: "My lord, there are so many ferocious beasts infesting this mountain, I see you are powerless, so you better be careful and don't wander around. "
"Thank you, brother, for your suggestion." Guan Yubai cupped his fists.
Xiao Yi, who was a step behind, strode up to Guan Yubai, patted Guan Yubai's shoulder nonchalantly, and said with a smile: "Brother, don't worry, although my brother has no strength to restrain a chicken, but he The little guard also knows a little bit about martial arts, so no beasts can hurt him."
As he spoke, he glanced at Xiaosi with a half-smile.
Although it seemed that he was praised by this Prince Xiao, Xiao Si couldn't be happy at all. He glanced at Xiao Yi coldly, clasped his fists and said calmly, "Young Master Xiao has praised you."
The Orion with the beard sized up the three of them again, his eyes stayed on Xiao Yi's face for a moment, he lowered his eyes to hide the sharpness in them, smiled boldly, and said: "That's good, Young master, don't blame me for being troublesome. A few young masters are here to play in Yulan Mountain?"
Guan Yu smiled and said: "I heard that Yulan Mountain is beautiful, so I came here to have a look."
The Orion nodded, and said with a proud face: "Our Yulan Mountain and Yanlai River are both beautiful, that is, the location is a bit remote." After a pause, he said enthusiastically, "Since you are here, It must have been a while to get to the top of the mountain, our village is at the foot of the mountain, and it doesn't take half an hour to walk, how about going to our village to rest?"
Guan Yubai looked sideways at Xiao Yi: "A Yi, what do you think?"
"Alright." Xiao Yi nodded and said, "It's been a while since we've been away, so let's ask for a glass of water by the way."
"Don't worry, everyone, I don't dare to say anything else, cold water must be enough!" Orion laughed heartily, pointing to the southwest road, "Our village is right there. Young masters, do you want to call some of your friends? "
"That's natural, we'll bother Xiongtai." Xiao Yi clasped his fists boldly and thanked the other party, "Haven't you asked Xiongtai's name yet?"
While speaking, Xiaosi had already called Nangong Yue and others who were resting not far away.
"My surname is Zhang, and the bow is Zhang. Some of you will follow me."
The Orion enthusiastically led the way, and Nangong Yue, Xiao Yi and the others followed in twos and threes.
Zhang Orion led them to the southwest. After passing through a forest, they saw a rugged path that was walked out of the forest.
Zhang Orion introduced with a smile on his face: "Our village is at the foot of the mountain, so the people in the village often take this path up the mountain. As the saying goes, it is easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down. The young masters, walk carefully."
As he said that, Zhang Liehu took the lead to go down. He seemed to be very familiar with this path. He walked steadily down the mountain, and reminded them to pay attention to their feet from time to time.
Going down the dry yellow mud path, when you are almost at the foot of the mountain, you can see a small village below. There are twenty or thirty small houses with earthen walls and tile houses in the village. Just looking down from the mountain, the village looks Somewhat barren.
This feeling became more obvious when they were about to reach the entrance of the village.
The village is very quiet and still, making people feel lifeless, lifeless, no, or popularity.
The Orion in the front sighed, and said: "You guys laughed at me. When the Nanliang people called me a few months ago, the people in the village fled and died. Now, only me is included. Six of them still live in this village."
He looked up at the village in front of him, his brows were deeply furrowed, and he sighed softly, "My whole family died in the war, and I was the only one who survived... Sometimes when I think about it, I really wish I could go with them, hey , but as the saying goes, a good death is worse than a bad life, don’t you think so?” As he said that, the Orion’s eyes were already blurred with tears, and his eyes were red, which made people feel embarrassing.
Baihe said angrily: "The Nanliang people are really hateful! I don't know how many innocent people and soldiers in my southern Xinjiang have been ruined and their heads have been destroyed! If I run into Nanliang people, see if I don't kill them. .”
During the speech, everyone also looked at the village. It was already noon at this moment, but at a glance, there were only two or three families lit up with smoke, and there were few and no one.
"This young master is still a hot-blooded person." Zhang Orion cupped his fists at Lily with deep emotion, and then changed the topic, "Please, gentlemen, my house is right ahead." As he spoke, he pointed Pointing to a room not far from the entrance of the village that was emitting smoke, he said, "Now I'm living together with my cousin. He probably has to cook dinner. If the young masters don't mind, how about some light meals at my house?"
Guan Yubai and Xiao Yi glanced at each other, and finally Guan Yubai smiled slightly, cupped his fists and said, "Then we should be respectful rather than obedient, and disturb your brother."
"My lord, you are too polite." Zhang Orion laughed heartily, "Although it is simple food, it is better than the game I just hunted from the mountains yesterday. The meat of the pheasant and hare is delicious and strong. It's delicious to cook a soup or something... "
Zhang Orion talked endlessly, and during the words, several people came to the house that Orion had pointed to before.
The outside of the house is surrounded by a wooden fence. As soon as you enter the yard, you can see a small vegetable field, but the vegetables grown inside have been dry and yellow. There are some sieves, baskets, and stone mills scattered in the yard... Look De Baihui and Lily frowned slightly.
Zhang Liehu scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, and said, "I made everyone laugh. We two men are big and thick, and we can't clean them up..."
The face that was almost covered by the beard showed a bit of embarrassment.
Fu Yunhe said with a smile: "Brother Zhang, you are too polite. We men are not girls, so we don't stick to trifles!"
At this time, a rough male voice came from the room: "Cousin, are you back?"
As he said that, the owner of the voice had already come out of the house. He was a man in his thirties, of medium build, dark and thin, with a long horse face, and his appearance was very ordinary. He cast suspicious eyes on Zhang Orion behind
"Dachun." Zhang Liehu hurriedly replied, "I happened to meet these young masters on the mountain. They wanted to come to our house to rest and beg for a drink. I thought you happened to be cooking, so why don't we go By the way, treat these young masters to a light meal."
Da Chun was stunned for a moment, and immediately responded enthusiastically: "The meal is almost ready. Come in, everyone! It's just that the house is simple, so don't be disgusted." Since people from Nanliang called, our village has had very few guests, so today is a rare day, so we can have some fun."
The main room is empty, with only a square table, a few benches, and a few large jars in the corner. Although the interior is simple, the smell of hot food coming from the kitchen is mixed with the smell of meat. It fills the room, making those who hear it salivate.
"Several please sit down, you are welcome."
With a smile on his face, Zhang Orion invited Xiao Yi, Guan Yubai, and Nangong Yue to sit down at a simple and rough square table, and then dragged out a few benches from the back room, and politely asked Xiaosi and Ren Zinan to sit down as well. down.
"Brother Zhang, you sit down too." Xiao Yi asked that Orion Zhang to sit down as well, and asked casually, "There are not many people in this village, why don't you just move to another place? There are only six of you living here , it’s not a long-term solution.”
Zhang Liehu smiled bitterly and said: "I grew up in this village, and I only know how to hunt. Hey, although Yanding City is safe, a villager in our village has visited it. It is tightly closed and cannot enter and exit at will. If we are trapped in the city, what do we rough people rely on to eat? Even if we don’t starve to death, we still have to be pale and emaciated from starvation... Anyway, we only have a few low lives, since God luckily let me get my life back, so I must not be in a hurry to take it back!"
That Orion was open-minded, and he laughed first as he spoke.
While talking, Zhang Liehu's cousin named Dachun served them several bowls of cold water, and smiled courteously: "Everyone is thirsty. We don't have any tea here to entertain everyone, just a few bowls of cold water."
Ordinary hunters in this wilderness naturally couldn't produce any decent utensils, that is, seven or eight large celadon bowls, some of which even had small gaps, but luckily these bowls were washed well. Clean, the cool water in it is crystal clear.
Xiao Yi took the celadon bowl, didn't drink it, but said with a smile: "This elder brother is too polite. In my opinion, the most thirst-quenching thing is the most ordinary clear water."
Nangong Yue pulled Han Qixia's hand indiscriminately. Han Qixia was no longer the simple and ignorant noble lady of the royal capital. She smiled slightly and sat still.
Seeing this, Zhang Liehu smiled, motioned Dachun to put all the bowls on the table, and said, "Does your lord dislike the dirty bowls in our house? I have washed this bowl several times, and the water is also clean."
Guan Yubai picked up the celadon bowl on the table, said with a faint smile, "There is one thing that I'm concerned about, can I bother Brother Zhang to answer it."
Zhang Liehu hurriedly said, "Sir, please tell me."
Guan Yu said with a smile: "I just saw a muddy path in the mountains, with a lot of footprints scattered around, and I don't know where it leads."
Orion Zhang's eyes flashed, and he said with a smile: "I don't know which trail the young master is talking about. There are so many beasts on Yulan Mountain. Orions from our village and other nearby villages often go up the mountain to hunt, and it is inevitable that some of them will be left behind." Footprints." As he spoke, he picked up a celadon bowl in front of him, raised his chin, drank it in one gulp, then wiped the corners of his mouth with his cuff, and said to Dachun next to him, "Dachun, go give it to me again." I pour a bowl."
Dachun responded, took the bowl, and was about to turn around and go into the kitchen.
With Xiao Yi's wink, Ren Zinan took a step forward and stopped Da Chun, but he didn't say a word.
"Why are you blocking my way?" Da Chun angrily turned up his voice, and quickly exchanged glances with Zhang Orion.
Xiao Yi stroked his sleeves, twitched the corner of his mouth, smiled brightly like a peach blossom, and said slowly and meaningfully: "You two, don't waste your energy, 'nobody' will come."
Having said all this, Zhang Orion didn't know that he was showing his face. He stood up abruptly, trying to escape, but a cyan figure flashed in front of him, and Xiao Si appeared in front of him with a blank expression on his face. The silver dagger touched his neck, and he said a few words neatly: "Our son has not finished speaking, sit down." The cold blade of the dagger pressed against Orion's skin, and his whole body was stiff.
Although Lily has never liked Xiaosi's dead face, but at this time, he has to admit that Xiaosi is quite reliable and pleasing to the eye...
Zhang Orion's eyes were rolling, at this moment, the direction of the gate was dark, and a figure appeared at the gate...
It must be one of them! Zhang Orion was overjoyed, but when he saw a strange man in black walking in, his heart sank: Oops! He thought he had led Xiao Yi into a trap, but could it be that he himself led the wolf into the house
Thinking of this possibility, Zhang Orion was almost terrified.
It was Xiao Ying who came.
Xiao Ying was still holding a string of bells in his hand, shaking them intentionally, the bells made a crisp sound, but the faces of Zhang Orion and Da Chun became even uglier.
Xiao Ying clasped her fists with a smile and said: "My lord, apart from these two people, there are a total of eight Nanliang people lurking in this village, and my subordinates and Ah assassinated six, captured two alive, and throw them out now." Ah An is guarding the yard." After a pause, he added, "These Nanliang people are also very interesting. They buried these bells at the back of the house to communicate with each other. Fortunately, the subordinates responded quickly and sent their news truncated...”
It turned out to be from Nanliang! Han Qixia, Baihe and the others shrank their pupils, and at this moment they vaguely understood that the real purpose of Guan Yubai's trip was probably to target these Nanliang people. And his picture should not be just a few people in this area!
Now, without Xiao Si threatening anything with a dagger, Zhang Orion sat down softly, sweating profusely, feeling extremely cold: the communication network they deployed in the village was cracked by the other party! There were indeed ten people lurking in this village, and they were all dealt with by the other party!
how so!
Xiao Ying still had a smile on his face, but he sneered in his heart. These Nanliang people think that they have laid out the bell line so that they can send messages to each other if there is a situation, but they don't know that this biggest weakness is also revealing their own positions.
He and Xiao An followed the vine, and easily dug out the hidden pile.
Xiao Yi smiled and put down the celadon bowl in his hand, handed it to Zhang Orion, and said kindly: "Look at you sweating so much, are you thirsty? Drink more water!"
There was more cold sweat on Zhang Orion's forehead and back, and his clothes were almost soaked in sweat.
He stared blankly at the celadon bowl in front of him, not daring to drink it. Others don't know, but he knows best that he added "ingredients" to the water, but he is sure that the "ingredients" are colorless and odorless, and it is impossible for anyone to discover them.
He really wanted to convince himself this way, but when things developed to this point, what he was "sure about" disappeared in an instant.
Before, when he happened to meet Xiao Yi on Yulan Mountain, he still thought that his luck was really good. This dignified son of Zhennan Prince went out without a few guards, and there were a few of his entourage. Angry, it looks like a woman disguised as a man.
At that moment, Zhang Liehu was disdainful in his heart. He only thought that the heir of the Zhennan Prince was nothing more than that, and that he was not as famous as meeting him. Now that the war is still going on, he is like a swinger, who wants to take a few girls on a tour.
Such a person turned out to be the commander of tens of thousands of Southern Border Army, it seems that Southern Border is within reach!
However, for Zhang Orion, this is really a great opportunity.
He has been trapped in this village for several months. If he can kill Zhennan Wang's son in one fell swoop this time, the morale of the Southern Border Army's hard work will be defeated in an instant. The Nanliang army can take back Yanding City, Yongjia City, and even Huiling City in one fell swoop. Then my own credit is ironclad, and I can skyrocket all the way from now on!
With just a snap of his fingers, Zhang Orion made a decision, determined to seize this great opportunity to lure Zhennan Wang Shizi to their village, and then let them decide, even if he didn't kill Xiao Yi, he would still be a very expensive chips...
Seeing the wealth and glory in front of his eyes, Zhang Liehu never expected that after returning to the village, the development of things completely exceeded his imagination. The prince of Zhennan knew that he was from Nanliang, and even his The subordinates also found hidden piles lurking in the village.
Then, even if the other party knows what he put in this bowl, it is not unusual, but he is so stupid as to think that he can play tricks on the other party...
Seeing the change of Orion's expression in this picture is really wonderful, Nangong Yue's lips curled up on the side, and she simply took the opportunity to give him another blow to completely defeat his defense: "It is colorless and tasteless, but there is a faint fragrance of rice, This should be 'Thousand Gold Potion'. As far as I know, one drop of 'Thousand Gold Potion' can stun ten tigers. It is an extremely rare drug... "
"You..." Zhang Orion's pupils narrowed sharply, and it felt as if something in his heart shattered for a moment.
The other party actually knew everything, everything, as if they had been watching each other's every move recently, as if they had been manipulated by the other party long ago!
Guan Yubai smiled slightly, his eyes twinkled, and said, "Since brother doesn't want to drink water, let's continue chatting."
Guan Yubai looked at Zhang Orion in a gentle manner, "I think they have been guarding Yulan Mountain in rotation, probably because of something valuable?"
Both Zhang Liehu and Dachun lowered their heads halfway, neither of them spoke.
Guan Yubai didn't want to hear any answers from the other party, so he continued: "It's a path leading to Dengli City, right?"
This time, the pair of "cousins" reacted, Zhang Orion clenched his fist, and the big Chun instinctively glanced at Zhang Orion.
Even without looking at the other party's reaction, Guan Yubai already knew the answer. According to the map, Dengli City is not far behind Yulan Mountain. The last time he, Xiao Yi, Fu Yunhe and his party came to Yulan Mountain, one of the purposes was to check if there was a road leading to Dengli City on the mountain.
That trip, they didn't come in vain.
After returning, he and Xiao Yi picked a day and quietly went to Yulan Mountain again, groped along a small path, carefully avoiding people's eyes and eyes, and didn't even damage the shrubs along the way.
Although the path has been carefully cleared, anyone who walks there will inevitably leave traces. In addition to some messy footprints, they also found some blood stains in the bushes and weeds, and even A few corpses that were carefully buried... After going down the mountain along the path, both of them were overjoyed.
Guan Yubai's guess is correct, there is indeed an unknown path leading to Dengli City on Yulan Mountain.
Then those traces that were deliberately concealed became more meaningful.