When Lao Ma went to that village, he usually set out early and rushed back before nightfall. It was already past ten o'clock. If he set out now, it would be dark when he returned. The nights in these places were not as safe as imagined. Even Lao Ma, for so many years, had always carried some self-defense medicine and a knife.

What to do now? Go back to the autonomous county and check the remittance again? Of course, there is no need to do that.

Zhou Linwu discussed with Lao Ma and planned to pay him more to accompany him, but Lao Ma refused. He was a very responsible postman and would not accept money from Zhou, nor did he plan to change his schedule. However, Lao Ma still introduced a local young man to Zhou, who could be a guide for 50 yuan a day.

Captain Zhou trusted Lao Ma very much, so he agreed.

Civil servants have subsidies for business trips. Generally, the four of them take the train, but in special cases, such as this time when the case is urgent and the journey is long, they can apply for a plane. In addition, there are fixed daily meal and accommodation subsidies. This money is basically just enough to spend, and the cost of renting a car is not reimbursed. Fortunately, the prices here are really low, accommodation costs are only a few dozen yuan, and meals are also cheap, so each person can probably save a few hundred yuan, which is used to rent a car and rent a horse and hire a guide.

Yunnan horses are a type of southern horse with good endurance, short stature, and good load-bearing capacity. They are basically used in the track without any pants left, but they are hardworking, tough, and thick-skinned, and are the main force of transportation here. Most importantly, these horses weigh only 600 to 700 kilograms and are less than 1.6 meters tall, and are extremely docile and slow, so four novices can still ride them.

The local guy introduced by Lao Ma is a member of an ethnic minority, and his Han name is Ma Zhiyuan. It must be said that when the locals here give Han names, many of them have the surname Ma.

Xiao Ma is 24 years old this year. He has been doing small business here since he graduated from junior high school. He also works as a tour guide and speaks Chinese quite well.

Due to the war that year, many nearby villages were left behind by people who had taken refuge at that time, many of whom were Han people. The village that Bai Song and his friends were going to was mainly inhabited by Han people.

After a brief meeting with Xiao Ma, Ma Zhiyuan suggested that they set off after having lunch early and stay in the village at night. He knew some villagers there and could stay overnight in their homes.

This is the only other solution, and Captain Zhou doesn’t want to waste another day.

Ma Zhiyuan brought eight horses with him this time, two of which were also carrying goods, and six horses were used for riding. Although there were only five people, he still brought one more horse. The four of them also had their own backpacks, carrying some food and forest medicines prepared in the county last night. They all wore long sleeves and long pants, had a full meal, and then Captain Zhou found a place with signal, called the detachment, and set off.

Along the way, the road was not uninhabited and muddy as I had imagined before, but more like a road made up of compacted roads and cobblestones, and I would see a few horses or people every distance.

Riding a horse is less bumpy than riding a ox cart, but it still causes back pain. The four people who are not familiar with the nature of horses were almost scared to death when passing some narrow sections. They could only listen to the pony, lower their bodies, and let the horse walk through.

After walking for nearly two hours, the horse team rested in an empty place.

The journey was going smoothly until halfway through, but both the rider and the horse were very tired and needed a rest. After two hours, the novelty of riding a horse had long gone, replaced by pain in both thighs and back pain.

While we were resting, we heard shouting from the road ahead, which came from far away and then got closer. A minute later, a group of three people and three horses came out from the path.

Two police officers and one suspect.

I guess this is the only place in the country that has this kind of feature, where people are arrested and given horses, and the police can't ride on the same horse with the suspect because the Yunnan horse is not big enough. The suspect was handcuffed and holding the reins with both hands. His horsemanship was obviously much better than Bai Song and others. He was still able to ride steadily with his hands handcuffed. Two policemen, one in front and one behind, sandwiched the suspect's horse in the middle. The police behind also tied a rope to the suspect's horse to prevent him from escaping.

There were two cages tied on each side of the horse's buttocks on the two horses in front and behind. Two of them were empty, and the remaining two were covered with cloth, and it seemed that there was something inside.

The policeman was also nervous when he saw five people here, but then he felt relieved when he saw Ma Zhiyuan. There were so few villagers and residents in this area that almost everyone knew each other. Xiao Ma, who ran around here every day to do business, naturally knew them.

"Brother Liu, Brother Sun, have you caught any poachers again?" Ma Zhiyuan took the initiative to greet them.

"Yeah." The policeman called Brother Sun nodded without saying much. There were outsiders here and he didn't want to cause trouble.

Captain Zhou walked forward alone, took out his police ID and showed it to Officer Liu, and briefly explained his purpose. Officer Sun saw this situation and realized that they were actually colleagues. Policemen in this world are one family, so of course he can trust his own people. Besides, the four of Bai Song had the temperament of policemen at first glance. He and the policeman called Brother Liu got off the horse together, greeted everyone, and passed cigarettes to each other.

There weren't many plants or trees in this resting area, so there wouldn't be any hidden dangers as long as the cigarette butts were extinguished. As they smoked, they became closer and started chatting.

Sun Yi is a policeman in the police station in this area, and Liu Tianhua is an auxiliary policeman. Both of them are not the policemen in the police station of the common public security police station, but the policemen in the police station of the forest public security. They set out early today to chase a poacher, and are about to return now.

"This kid is a bad boy. He has never done anything serious since he was young." Sun Yi dragged the poacher off his horse and said, "You kid, you are in front of the police and seniors. I have to say a few more words to you. You caught these two animals this time. You can only sell them for a thousand or eight hundred yuan here. You can be imprisoned for several years. Is it worth it?"

The young man who was arrested lowered his head very low. He grew up with Ma Zhiyuan. He was one year older than Ma Zhiyuan and they went to the same junior high school. They were familiar with each other. He felt even more uncomfortable when Ma Zhiyuan saw him committing a crime.

"I'm sorry to make you laugh." Sun Yi turned to Captain Zhou and said, "We don't have many people here, unlike in big cities. Sometimes we arrest these few people, stupid boys who don't repent. When they are shot, it will be the end."

"It's the same over here. We still have a long way to go in training detainees," Captain Zhou said with emotion.