About ten hours later, Yan Li arrived at the cave where Tang Sanghua had slept when the sun was slightly leaning towards the west and the temperature in the dense forest was comfortable.
He followed the remnants of the tragic aura and traces and replayed the process of the battle in his mind bit by bit.
"He's already seriously injured." He frowned slightly and then relaxed. "It's getting late. Savage Valley is at most two hundred miles ahead. There's still a glimmer of hope. If I can't make it in time, then that's your fate. It also proves that I'm nothing much. "
After identifying his surroundings, he hurried down the mountain.
He walked out of the dense forest when the sun was setting in the west. After another two hours of travel, he saw a small village in the distance.
At this time, most of the villagers had already rested.
There was a muddy fragrance mixed with the fragrance of rice on the small road in the fields. Jingzhou was located in the southeast of Great Xia. Its climate was more pleasant than Qing and Bing. However, it was only the beginning of spring and was not suitable for sowing. Only irrigation ditches were dug, so there was a smell of rotting plants. It was not very smelly, but it was not pleasant either.
Yan Li was not used to this smell, so he quickened his pace.
There was no sound in the village except for the whispering of snakes, insects, ants, and rats in the wilderness. It added to the heat and the smell of smoke. However, there were still a few houses with lights on. Yan Li knocked on one of the houses. The person who opened the door was a white-haired old man in his seventies. He asked in surprise, "You are?"
Yan Li smiled. "I'm Yan Li, a traveler passing by. I missed my lodging and would like to stay at your house for a night. I wonder if that's convenient?"
"This …" The old man was somewhat hesitant.
"Of course, this is a small token of my appreciation." Yan Li took out a silver ingot that weighed about twenty taels and handed it over.
The old man's doubts were cleared and he invited him in. A person who was willing to spend twenty taels to stay at a lodging house would not harm their lives, nor would he be a petty thief in the wilderness.
"Old woman, there's a guest. There's still some hot water in the pot. Scoop some water for the guest's feet. — Guest, please take a seat. When you travel north and south, you have to rely on your own pair of feet. Once you're hot, it's more effective than any panacea. I guarantee that you won't delay your journey. "The old man invited Yan Li to take a seat at the table.
The structure of the house was simple. The living room was the dining room, the kitchen was on the left, and the bedroom was on the right. There were two rooms opposite the door, and they were only covered by curtains. Yan Li noticed that one of the curtains was covered with dust. It was obvious that no one had lived there for a long time.
"Thank you, sir."
"You're too polite." Only then did the old man completely relax. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, "Oh right, have you eaten? If you don't mind, I still have some … "
"There's no need. I just need to warm my feet." Yan Li waved his hand.
"The hot water is here." An old lady came out of the kitchen with a basin of water and placed it at Yan Li's feet. "What are you doing here? You look so young. Where are you going? "
"Someone asked me to go to the border village to do something." Yan Li took off his shoes and socks and immersed his feet in the water. The water was not very hot, but it was very comfortable.
"Going to the border village? You can't do that. It's dangerous. Our son went there and never came back. "As the old lady spoke, her eyes turned red and tears fell down.
The old man's face was full of anger as he scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about in front of a guest!"
"It's okay." Yan Li pointed to the room that had not been lived in for a long time. "Was your son conscripted? It looks like it's been a long time. "
"Ten years." The old man let out a long sigh. "Today, the people of Jingzhou will donate money if they have money. Those who have food will donate food. Those who don't have either will donate it to others."
It was at that time that the two tribes of the Wilderness started the war. It had been more than ten years since then.
The old lady wiped her tears and said, "In the first few years, we could still receive letters. Later on, it was cut off. Zhang, who went with us, came back and told us that he died in the war. He was dismembered by the damn Desolate Man …"
In the past ten years, in the three prefectures of Jing, Bu and Yuan, villages were often slaughtered by the Desolate Man. It was not uncommon for them to be cooked and eaten.
Speaking of her son, the old lady did not stop. "We still haven't received the pension!"
"There's such a thing?" Yan Li was shocked.
"Guest, don't listen to her nonsense!" The old man glared at her. "What does a woman know? In the second year, the Emperor issued a decree that the parents and children of those who died in the war would be exempted from taxes for life. Isn't that more generous than the pension for a single transaction? "
The old lady said angrily, "We only have one son. What's the use of exempting him from taxes after he died? Every year, we get less than thirty percent of the original amount! "
Less than thirty percent of the original amount. It was even worse than when they were not exempted from taxes.
However, Yan Li understood the difference. The reason was, of course, the only able-bodied man in their family. Although the able-bodied man was exempted from taxes, there was no one to do the work in the fields. They could only ask others to help. Wasn't the final harvest decided by the people who did the work?
However, Yan Li understood that their family was only a unique example. There were tens of thousands of families who had benefited from it.
This decree was issued in the second year after Ji Tiansheng ascended to the throne. At that time, she was only seven years old.
However, what shocked Yan Li even more was that the old man, who looked like an ordinary mountain man, could say words like "decree". This was because Ji Tiansheng had consciously passed on the 'law' to the people, so that every commoner could understand the law and use it to protect themselves to the greatest extent. Even though his son had died, and even though his days were getting more and more difficult, the old man still loved and protected Ji Tiansheng.
Throughout the ages, which ruler could be supported by the people from the bottom of their hearts? Even the highly reputable Spirit Emperor couldn't do this.
"Woo —"
At this moment, a strange roar came from outside. It sounded like a human but not a human. It sounded like the howl of a wild wolf, but it lacked a bit of mournfulness.
"This is?"
"The savages in Savage Valley," the old man said calmly. "Guest, don't worry. Savage Valley is far from our village."
Yan Li immediately realized why she had come. "Ahem, I've long heard that there's a Savage Valley here. Are there really savages inside?"
"Yes!" The old granny said. "Many years ago, probably before my son joined the army, more than ten hunters in our village went there. Two of them escaped and said that there were big snakes and savages. Since then, no one has dared to go there."
"Guest, are you going to search for treasures?" the old man asked worriedly.
"Could there be treasures inside?" Yan Li asked with a smile.
The old man said, "It's still early today, and the sun is still shining brightly. There are eight or nine people who look very scary. They came to the village to ask about Savage Valley. They used to work for large families in the city. Old Zhang's son said that they look like people from the pugilistic world who specialize in treasure hunting."
"Are they wearing the same clothes?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Guest, do you know them?"
"A little, but not much more than Old Zhang's son," Yan Li said with a smile.
That night, Yan Li rested at the old man's house. Before the sun rose the next day, she left behind fifty taels of silver and quietly set off for Savage Valley.
…
Drip!
A drop of water fell from the rock wall and landed on the exquisite and alluring body of a naked young girl. The morning dew at this time of the year was still very cold. The girl shuddered and woke up with a start. She looked around at a loss and quickly realized that it was not a dream. Her face gradually dimmed, but she quickly pulled herself together.
This was a crack in the rock between the valleys. Not only was it narrow, but it also hurt to lie down.
Tang Sanghua tried to sit up, but this slight movement made the new wound on her back hurt so much that her face turned pale and she sucked in a breath of cold air.
The chewed herbs that were applied on the wound fell off, revealing the last bit of Gold Wound Ointment. Fortunately, it had stopped the bleeding.
She took off the wet clothes that had been hanging on the crack of the stone and put them on again. The wet and cold feeling made her shiver again.
But she knew that her body temperature would soon warm them up, and they would be inseparable.
She was very gratified. If she had not washed away the blood, she would not have had this chance to breathe. The wet and cold feeling was a kind of encouragement and stimulated her desire to live.
Then, she looked at the bandage on her left hand. The itch inside clearly told her that the wound was infected.
She opened it and sure enough, some of the flesh on the wound had already rotted.
She takes out the Heaven Silkworm expressionlessly and removes the rotten meat little by little. She is as skilled as a butcher removing the meat from a cow's bone. Only the bean-sized sweat drops rolling down her face can show a hint of pain.
She did not stop this cruel work until the bright red blood gushed out again.
She grabbed the remaining herbs, put them in her mouth, chewed them, and applied them to the wound. Then, she tore a new clean cloth from her body and used all her strength to bind the wound with her teeth and right hand.
"It's time to go, Tang Buluo. Go and welcome the new sun, even if it doesn't rise tomorrow!"
She picked up the things scattered on the ground and climbed up the cliff along the old vines that hung down naturally. She quietly lurked for a while and found that there was no movement. Then, she walked in a direction.
But after running for about ten steps, she suddenly stopped and quickly climbed up a tree. She saw a group of black-cloaked Judicial Department court officers searching step by step. They did not let go of the trees, the cracks in the rocks, and even under the soil.
They were professionals in searching.
"A group of stupid pigs. I've searched too much!" Tang Sanhua smiled to herself, and then she took a deep breath before leaping down from the tree and pouncing into the fray like a bolt of lightning. Shrill cries immediately resounded, and along with a mournful and unique whistle, a new round of slaughter began.
Without any superfluous words, the heavenly silkworm knife cut off the head of a judicial officer. When the blood soared into the sky, she had already rushed to the next judicial officer. The heavenly silkworm knife pierced through his chest and the pneuma attached to the knife blasted a hole in his heart. Tang Sanghua's eyes met the eyes of a judicial officer behind the hole.
Like the stare of the God of Death, the judicial officer was suffocated in an instant. Originally, he was ready to risk his life to rush forward, but unexpectedly stopped.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
