Chapter 201

"Lang Jun, how should we start?" Changing the position of the scimitar in his hand, Ah Jin faced Xu Yi and urged him expectantly in his eyes.

"Hold the knife securely." Xu Yi raised his face and smiled, adding gently, "It doesn't matter if it's not stable. It's all going to bleed anyway. It's just one more place to bleed."

He clicked until the finger was about to fall on the opponent . The inner side of the tied arm meridians indicated that Ah Jin could start.

The two of them cooperated so well that the bandit boss really thought he had been dealt with on the spot.

This time, he was really panicked.

Imagining that he would bleed to death bit by bit, the image would mercilessly break down his psychological defenses.

Just when Ah Jin was about to touch his arm with the scimitar, the bandit boss shouted hurriedly: "I say, I will say anything!"

Seeing this, Ah Jin chuckled and took back the scimitar.

"Say it." Xu Yi said coldly.

The bandit boss panted heavily with lingering fear, staring at the machete that was close at hand in horror.

But he was born with a bad nature, how could he compromise so easily, secretly kept an eye on it, and reported the location with fear and fear.

"The stockade is on Xitou Mountain. You can see a big tree when we are about to arrive. You can reach it by walking around it." The bandit boss said.

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows and asked him: "Are you lying?"

The bandit boss said quickly: "A hero is so brave, how dare I lie, otherwise, I will lead you."

Yan Quyue's eyes fell on his long beard On his face, he said with a sneer: "If you dare to lie, it won't be as simple as bleeding out."

The bandit boss lowered his head and said: "I don't dare, I don't dare."

Several people did not really believe what he said. Yi went to the carriage and came back with another piece of rattan silk.

Many rattan species can be woven into ropes, which are tough and strong. The rattan silk will shrink when exposed to water, making the tied prey and humans feel tighter and difficult to loosen.

The piece Xu Yi was holding was originally used by A Xu and A Jin to weave cages.

Once, he saw them twisting rattan strips into long strips, holding the medicinal materials that they had gathered when they came. After finding that they were stronger than hemp ropes and straw ropes, he asked A Xu to make more for backup.

Thinking of using it to kidnap bandits is another great use.

"Hero, why are you still kidnapping me?" The bandit boss was surprised and tried to get up, but Xu Yi punched him back.

He fell to the ground and was tied up by Xu Yi: "The rope is not tight, what if I let you go."

The bandit boss: "..." So cunning.

Xu Yi tied the man up and dragged him down to the carriage, asking Xiao Huang to come over.

Xiao Huang bared his teeth and walked back and forth in front of the bandit boss, looking extremely fierce.

Next to them, there were several other bandits who were unconscious. They had been drugged and their hands and feet were tied, so they couldn't run away.

When the bandit boss saw this, he secretly said with some reluctance that he was really in trouble this time.

"Axu, you stay and watch them, don't let them escape." Xu Yi said, "If you really dare to run away, you will kill them."

This time he said kill, not to scare people.

If these people run away dishonestly and recover from their injuries, they will still continue to harm the people passing by along the way.

If they hadn't all used their own tricks today, would they have had a chance to escape if they had encountered this group of murderous bandits?

But it is obvious that the other party will not give them a chance to escape. They will only want to burn, kill and loot. The men will be killed on the spot and the women will be taken back to enjoy.

After understanding this, Xu Yi knew that he should not be merciful when dealing with such people.

A Xu nodded solemnly: "Lang Jun, don't worry."

A Jin was a little worried about his brother, but seeing that the wound on his brother's arm had stopped bleeding and that he was fine, he picked up the knife and followed Xu Yi and Yan Quyue.

Xiao Huang was left to accompany A Xu to guard the bandits.

...

The clear springs in the mountain streams were gurgling, and they occasionally heard the singing of birds. Xu Yi and the others carefully stepped on the path under their feet, approaching the top of the western mountain little by little.

Yan Quyue asked: "Do you really believe what he said?"

"The top of the west mountain is indeed a high place." Xu Yi squinted and looked around carefully. The shadows of the trees overlapped, but most of the tree trunks were not thick. He wanted to find what the bandit said. The big tree in the sky is actually very easy.

However, he knew that the bandit leader was cunning. If he was telling the truth, he might be hiding something.

For example...a trap.

Xu Yi and Yan Quyue analyzed: "He specifically pointed out the location of the tree to let us get closer. Maybe he set a hunting trap around the tree."

Yan Quyue's slightly heroic eyebrows wrinkled, and he looked a little confused . Chu was unhappy: "He should have been allowed to come."

Xu Yi smiled: "If he leads the way, he might lead us into another trap."

There are dangers on both sides, so it is better for them to explore by themselves.

As the sunlight above them tilted and scattered light and shadow, it wasn't long before they saw the big tree in the sky that the bandit leader had mentioned.

The tree was majestic and majestic, and it could not be hugged by a person. It seemed to be more than a hundred years old.

Yan Quyue and Ah Jin couldn't help but sigh when they saw the shade of such a tall tree.

"Lang Jun, what should we do next?" Ah Jin came back to his senses and asked Xu Yi quickly.

Yan Quyue clenched the scimitar at her waist and carefully observed her surroundings.

Xu Yi glanced across the shade of the tree to the ground. The tree was surrounded by thick fallen leaves. When he looked at it simply, he couldn't tell what was wrong.

He thought for a while and said, "Wait for me."

Xu Yi was busy looking for stones around him, picked up a few medium-sized stones, and threw them in several directions.

After a few muffled sounds and two "plops", strange movements were heard from their east and west positions at the same time.

All three of them raised their brows and became more alert at the same time.

After a moment, Xu Yi carefully stepped on the fallen leaves and approached, and saw a two-foot-wide hole exposed under the east side. There were several sharpened wooden knives buried inside, as if waiting for the destined person.

He frowned and looked to the west. This place was not a sharp knife trap, but a rope trap with an iron clip at the bottom.

"Hiss, this bandit is so hateful." Ah Jin was so frightened that he covered his chest and said, "It's so dangerous. Fortunately, Lang Jun has a way."

Although Yan Quyue didn't say anything, she looked at Xu Yi His eyes were filled with firm trust.

Xu Yi didn't speak, his attention was still on the surrounding area.

He was not at ease with only these two traps, so he planned to test it again using the same method. Later, he discovered that there were really only two traps.

Xu Yi: "..." He overestimated these bandits.

Even so, he still didn't relax completely. The closer they got to their nest, the sound of their walking became softer.

In an instant, they finally saw a wooden gate several meters wide.

Xu Yi and the others avoided sight and hid in the dark side of the trees, taking advantage of the dislocation to observe quietly.

At both ends of the wooden gate of this cottage are stone walls half a person's height. There is a secret sentry pavilion above, and a watcher stands there. Looking past him, one can see the low wooden houses scattered around behind.

There were several women whose faces were unclear, wearing tattered clothes, dragging the wooden boards on the ground, their movements were mechanical and numb, and they looked like they had been captured.

Xu Yi and Yan Quyue couldn't help but frown deeply.

Both of them had worries in their eyes. A woman like this who was captured by bandits would still die even if she was rescued.

There was no unnecessary expression on Xu Yi's calm face, but there was a hint of compassion in the eyes he looked at them.

He said: "We need to rescue them before the bandit suppression army arrives." He

then said to Ah Jin: "Actually, on the way we came here, there was a trail at the other end, which leads to the foot of the mountain below. If you can escape there, you can bypass the bandits and escape to the other side of the mountain."

Ajin pursed her lips. It took a moment to understand what Xu Yi said. She grabbed her arm and said, "What does Mr. Lang want me to do?"

"I'll lead you away? Drive them away, and you and your wife can take the opportunity to take away the women in the village," Xu Yi said.

Yan Quyue opened her eyes slightly and shook her head without thinking: "No, it's too dangerous for you to be alone."

"I can handle it." Xu Yi held her hand and looked at her, "On the contrary, you are competing I'm in danger. There are still many people in the village. Only some of them were led away by me, and the rest will be left to you."

He knew that what they experienced today may be difficult for them to experience again in their lives. thing.

I also know that they chose to go against the bandits, which sounds more like fighting with an egg against a stone. Now that they have found each other's lair, it's time to give it a try.

Xu Yi was afraid that they would be scared, so he added: "Just now at the foot of the mountain, the bandit leader led seven or eight people, but did you see the guy who was following him? He was only a teenager. In other words, there are not many young men in the village. There are too many."

Yan Quyue and A Jinjing reminded him, and they also noticed something was wrong.

The boss took his brothers to ambush at the foot of the mountain, but there were no sentinels around. How convinced they were of their boss's strength that they could be so relaxed.

They didn't even notice that they were approaching the outside of the stronghold.

Thinking of this, the two became more confident in their next actions.

They divided into two groups. Xu Yi first moved over from the left and came to the foot of another tree. He took the wooden bow from behind and shot the wooden arrow into the wooden pillar of the surveillance booth.

This movement soon aroused vigilance in the village.

"Dang, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong,"

the gong was beaten inside, and the women who were still working just now were chased into the wooden house by the bandits who ran out of the house in a panic.

Xu Yi took the opportunity to reveal his position and shot another arrow.

This time, several crooked melons and jujubes, old and young, ran out of the village. They held iron knives and wooden sticks in their hands and ran towards Xu Yi babbling.

"Catch him."

"Don't let him run away."

"Quick, quick, go down the mountain and call big brother back."

"..."

Xu Yi reluctantly heard some useful news in the noisy voice.

He glanced at the people who were approaching in front of him and dived into the woods behind him without looking back.

Even though he was extremely unfamiliar with this forest, the positions Xu Yi chose every time were very interesting. He took advantage of the snake-repelling medicine he carried to lead the people who were chasing him deeper into the place.

Soon, these people were a little scared when they saw each other running further inside.

"Uncle, are we still chasing him?" one of the young bandits asked quietly.

Before the older man could speak, he was hit in the left shoulder by a wooden arrow shot from the forest in the distance.

"Ah——" He screamed in pain, covering the wooden arrow that had penetrated an inch deep, and broke out in cold sweat.

He endured the pain on his shoulders and gritted his teeth and said, "What are you chasing after? That man has a bow in his hand. Take me back to the village quickly..."

...

On the other side, Yan Quyue and A Jin saw the wood of the village. The gate opened and several people ran out to chase Xu Yi.

They observed the situation inside and saw that there were only a few bandits guarding the stockade. Without saying a word, they rushed into the stockade with machetes in hand.

In the village, the remaining bandits were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the young lady.

Yan Quyue and Ah Jin first killed the bandits guarding the stronghold, and then threatened the elders to release the women inside.

Soon, all seven women in the village were taken away by Yan Quyue and the others.

One of the women cried and wanted to stay, saying that her child was still in the village. Yan Quyue couldn't bear to see her and asked her to take the infant child away with her.

The two of them took the women who had been imprisoned for a long time and went to the trail where Xu Yi told them.

It took less than two quarters of an hour.

Among the women following behind, some were unable to walk.

Ah Jin saw her face covered with cold sweat and her hands were cold, so he checked her pulse worriedly.

"What's wrong?" Yan Quyue came over and asked.

Ah Jin shook his head: "She is injured inside her body and can't walk away."

Yan Quyue raised a cold eyebrow and asked the pale young woman: "Did they beat you?" When

the women present heard this, They all shook their shoulders in fear.

They looked helplessly at the two young ladies who suddenly fell from the sky. They didn't know what to do. They had a long road ahead, as if they couldn't find their way home.

After a while, someone whispered: "Those people have human faces and animal hearts. How could they not hit people?"

"But... can we really escape?" Someone spoke, and someone in the crowd asked timidly.

"Of course I can escape." Yan Quyue shouted firmly.

"Thank you two ladies for rescuing me today. It's a pity that I'm not very lucky. I'm afraid I won't be able to escape." Xi Niang smiled bitterly, raised her head and pulled up her hair, and said softly, "I was kidnapped to the village when I was sixteen. It has only been three years, and the world has changed. From their mouths, I learned that my parents died at home two years ago in order to find me. Now I am afraid that everyone is dead at home."

She sobbed silently, causing others to wait for her words. The women were all sobbing.

Yan Quyue and Ah Jin had never seen such a scene before, and for a moment they didn't know what to do.

"Don't cry." Yan Quyue shouted, "It's not your fault that they were kidnapped. You should be happy to have escaped now."

A woman said: "We are already in ruins, so what can we do if we escape? Can your family accept me?"

"It's better to die than to be humiliated." After saying this, some people wanted to commit suicide by hitting a tree.

Yan Quyue had quick eyes and quick hands, and was able to stop the person.

"It is important for women to be chaste, but women do not live only for their husbands. Women in the dynasty can establish their own families and still live without men. If they think you have lost your virginity, why couldn't they save you when you were kidnapped?" Yan Quyue had always thought differently, so she said to them, "Don't let this man who can't protect women go away."

At this time, Xi Niang supported her weak body and shouted: "Sisters, please don't do stupid things. What this lady said makes sense, if they think we are dirty, then we will live our own lives."

They didn't stay here for long, and soon, Xu Yi followed the direction.

When a man approaches, they huddle together in fear.

Xu Yi said gently: "Ladies, don't be afraid. I'm here to take you away."

"This is my husband. He was the one who lured the bandits away earlier." Yan Quyue said.

With Yan Quyue's words, those women were no longer so afraid.

They helped each other down the mountain. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw a group of soldiers waiting for a long time.

A Xu came and said that they had detained the bandits, and these people were staying to wait for Xu Yi and the others.

The leader of the army saw Xu Yi and said with a smile: "My husband has a bright future. He went up the mountain with his two young ladies to attack the stronghold. He is more brave than us who are waiting to become soldiers."

"It's just a little trick. It's just a fluke." Xu Yi shook his head and said modestly.

The two complimented each other a few words. When the leader of the army saw the rescued women, he wanted to take them back for resettlement.

Xu Yi looked at the timid women, faced their frightened eyes, and asked them where they were going.

As a result, only three of these seven people still have homes to return to.

Xu Yi was worried about them, so he asked the military master if there was any way to arrange them.

The military master said: "Don't worry, Mr. Zizhou. There is a nursing home in Zizhou Prefecture. You can live there temporarily."

Although the economy is developed nowadays, there are extremes of poverty and poverty, so there will naturally be poor beggars with no fixed abode in the city. Therefore, The imperial court also issued some official benefits. Among them is the "Law for Supporting Beggars". The beggars mentioned here, in addition to poor people begging, are also included in the scope of benefiting from common people who cannot survive on their own, such as old women, old men, disabled people, etc.

And these women were displaced and suffered such disasters, so they were naturally within the scope of support.

Xu Yi felt relieved knowing that these women had a place to stay.

Before parting, Xu Yi thought about it and felt that they should have some money with them, so he packed a few gift bags and stuffed two small denominations of Jiaozi into them.

He asked Ah Jin to hand it over to them, and warned: "Don't let others see it."

As for Xi Niang, who suffered serious internal injuries, Xu Yi diagnosed her pulse and prescribed peach kernel soup for her.

This peach kernel decoction is mainly used to remove blood stasis. It uses fifty peach kernels, two or five qian of Glauber's salt, one or two or three qian each of angelica root, cassia root, and licorice, and 20 each of horseflies and leeches. [Note 1]

These horseflies and leeches are insect medicinal materials. Xu Yi prescribed them when he was treating patients with internal injuries. At that time, A Xu bought some and later specially kept some of them.

The part left behind can be put to good use now.

Xu Yi prescribed a prescription and ordered Ah Jin to grab the medicine, while he told Xi Niang how to cook the medicine soup.

Xi Niang had just received Xu Yi's favor, and now she was healed. She cried with joy and knelt down weakly to kowtow in thanks.

Xu Yi quickly helped her up and said pitifully: "Ms. Xi Niang doesn't have to be like this. Now that she has escaped, she must live for herself."

Upon hearing this, Xi Niang agreed with sobs.

...

Xu Yi and the others did not go back with the Zizhou Army. They stayed for a while to tidy up the surroundings, and then slowly set off again.

A Xu's arm was injured and he went into the carriage to rest.

Instead, Ah Jin was driving outside.

She changed out of her colorful clothes and put on a simple blue blouse with a waistband. She tied her hair into a high bun with a wooden hairpin and put on a square scarf to dress up as a low-key envoy.

In the carriage, separated by a screen, Xu Yi and Yan Quyue quickly changed their clothes and put the soiled clothes in separate cages.

By the time their vehicle arrived outside Zizhou City, it was already dark.

But the city gate was open, and torches were burning high on the wall, so the road could be clearly seen.

Xu Yi and the others drove the donkey cart into the city, passing through the noisy streets, the market lights were dim, and the gatherings were bustling and lively.

Soon, they found an inn to stay.

Everyone was already ravenous with hunger, and when they smelled the aroma of delicious food floating in the inn hall and the scenes of guests feasting on delicious food, their stomachs began to growl at an inappropriate time.

Xu Yi laughed and said: "Shopkeeper, please bring some plates of well-stewed meat and some plates of fruits."

The shopkeeper jokingly wrote it down and asked with a smile: "Do you want anything else from the ladies of the government?" ? The signature whitebait bream in our store is so delicious~"

The "whitebait bream" he refers to is actually pickled fish, similar to bream.

Thinking that none of them had tasted the whitebait bream from Zizhou Prefecture, Xu Yi ordered one.

There are people coming and going in the inn, but the food is served at a slow pace.

After a short wait, the waiter came over with a plate and placed the meat and vegetables on the table.

Then he went and came back again, bringing back several plates of fruit.

They had been together on the road for several months, and Yan Quyue had an easy-going temperament. On weekdays, they always gathered at the same table to eat together.

Tonight's dinner was no exception. No one had any taboos. After Xu Yi finished speaking, he moved his chopsticks and everyone started eating without ceremony.

Among the meats served, there are pork, duck and chicken.

Pork is cheap and has a strong pig smell, making it difficult to cook well.

The pork plate served by the store was made from plump pork belly, which was slowly simmered for two hours. When stewed until tender, cut into slices with a sharp knife, pour on the melted salt water, add dogwood leaves, fried peppercorns, and use the hot soup to make toppings.

The pork cooked in this way has no fishy smell and tastes soft and rotten. It has a rich aroma of oil at the tip of the tooth, is salty and spicy, and is fat but not greasy.

Another dish is salt-braised duck meat.

"This salt-braised duck meat is even more delicious than what I had in Zhaohua." Yan Quyue picked up a piece of duck meat and ate it, her eyes showing joy.

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows and took a piece of it.

The salt-braised duck meat is cooked just right, not soft or rotten, and has a bit of chewiness to it, but not too chewy.

The duck skin on the outside has a shiny sheen, and the sauce is fragrant, which is as good as the exquisitely made white-cut pork.

Compared to the two of them, A Xu was more interested in the "whitebait bream".

He couldn't tell what kind of fish was used, so he just took a piece and ate it. He found that the fish was surprisingly salty at first, and then it was fragrant and spicy that was hard to ignore.

"It's delicious, this fish is delicious!" A Xu couldn't help shouting in shock.

Ah Jin and Er Qing, who were sitting next to him, saw it and took out a piece with their chopsticks to taste it.

After A Jin finished eating, he looked at Xu Yi with shining eyes and shouted happily: "Lang Jun, this fish is amazing, it can taste several flavors."

After tasting it, Xu Yi agreed: "It's very good. Yes, there are probably a lot of spices used here."

A Xu said, "Lang Jun, I want to try how to make this whitebait bream."

"I'm afraid it won't be easy." Xu Yi narrowed his eyes. He encouraged, "If you make it, we will all be blessed."

With Xu Yi's words, A Xu wanted to make this whitebait bream even more.