Ahead, Jiang Zhi and Xiao Man walked and stopped intermittently.
The two were carrying heavy loads, especially Xiaoman's large cotton quilt, which made walking through the woods very inconvenient.
Moreover, their physical strength was exhausted during the initial stretch of the journey, requiring them to put down their baskets and rest from time to time.
Xiaoman's face was covered in sweat, but his eyes were full of eagerness as he kept looking back.
In the spot where they had just passed, an inconspicuous kudzu vine was stretching across the grass.
It's really unremarkable on a mountain covered with vines.
The other end of the vine extended onto the cliff, where a wooden stick was wrapped around it, and the stick was weighed down by a precarious rock.
As soon as the vine moves, the wooden stick will fall off, and the stone will roll down without fail.
Jiang Zhi bit into a piece of grass root and sucked on the slightly bitter juice inside.
She knew without looking back that the people chasing her were getting closer; she had spotted them just as she rounded the hillside.
"Xiaoman, stand upwind for a moment, don't come over!"
Jiang Zhi took a package out of her waist pocket.
The damage caused by the stones is limited. If a person steps over the vines, the trap will become ineffective. Alternatively, a person can be agile enough to avoid the rolling stones in time.
To be on the safe side, Jiang Zhi asked Xu Dong for some medicines in the medical tent and had them ground into powder. They weren't deadly poisons, but they would cause people to sneeze uncontrollably due to the irritation.
As we all know, when a person sneezes, they are basically powerless to resist, and may even experience a brief period of paralysis. Moreover, the sneezing cannot be stopped in one go, and it is unbearable.
This situation would be a fatal problem if it occurred during a standoff.
Even though she had made preparations, Jiang Zhi still felt uneasy.
She looked up at the mountain, her brows furrowing slightly: What is Xu Errui doing?
As instructed, Xu Errui should have already appeared outside the village and made contact with the wounded soldiers.
But he had already walked a quarter of the way and still hadn't seen anyone.
Having spent more than half a year with Xu Errui and his mother, I know that the child is very filial, sometimes even to the point of being blindly obedient. His loyalty is beyond question.
There's no reason for them not to appear now, unless something's wrong on the mountain...
Jiang Zhi felt anxious.
At the medical shed, Zhang Juntou knew he was supposed to help make medicine. He asked about the approximate time he would be returning home, but then he disappeared without a trace. Otherwise, he would have definitely asked someone to take him part of the way.
Behind them, the sounds of voices and footsteps were approaching.
Jiang Zhi composed herself, knowing that what was coming had arrived.
She looked at Xiaoman, who was eager to try, and said, "Xiaoman, let's keep going!"
If you're going to set a trap for someone, you have to make it look convincing.
Xiaoman remained silent, casually tossed out a stone, pulled up two clumps of wild grass, slung her basket over her shoulder, and continued on her way, leaving clear traces of where the two had sat and walked.
Sure enough, just as the two got up, two refugees dressed in hemp clothing caught up from behind, panting. They saw Jiang Zhi and were overjoyed, shouting, "Stop!"
Jiang Zhi and Xiao Man seemed to be startled; they glanced back and then ran away.
Old Dog Zheng shouted urgently, "Stop right there! If you dare to run again, I'll break your legs!"
The more they shouted, the faster the people in front ran. The red silk quilt was like bait, firmly attracting their attention.
Old Zheng ran ahead, and behind him, the man with the sprained ankle tried his best to keep up, but his foot hurt terribly, and he ran with a grimacing expression.
As they ran, Jiang Zhi and the other person seemed startled by the words about having their legs broken, and stopped to look back.
The child had a strange expression on his face, not like he was scared, but rather like he was looking forward to something.
Before Zheng Laogou could react, he tripped and a kudzu root that was straddling his front came loose.
Old Zheng didn't sense anything unusual, but just then, the person behind him who had twisted their ankle suddenly exclaimed, "A rolling stone!"
Falling rocks are common on mountains.
When Zheng Laogou turned around, he saw a rock bigger than a washbasin rolling down the cliff to his right towards the two of them.
"Hide!"
These stones always take a few seconds to roll down. Old Zheng ran forward, then tumbled and fell to the ground.
The person following closely behind him didn't react as quickly. His ankle was already swollen, and although his upper body was turning and running, his feet had their own ideas and refused to stay still.
Misfortunes never come singly, and the stone rolled over his ankle, crashing down the hillside with a loud thud.
At the same time, there were screams.
The man rolled on the ground, clutching his deformed leg, crying, "Ah, my leg is broken! Zheng Laogou, you're blind! You pulled the stone down!"
Old Dog Zheng quickly got up and went back to help the person who had twisted their ankle and broken their leg, but Xiaoman and Jiangzhi had already returned.
To strike while the iron is hot, to gain advantage of someone's unintentional actions—that's exactly what's happening now.
Xiaoman ran ahead, waving a wooden stick as she charged forward. Zheng Laogou quickly dropped the man on the ground and drew a knife from his waist to meet her.
knife!
The refugees gathered in Xujia Village were not allowed to carry knives; they were all searched. These people were deliberately hiding.
Jiang Zhi immediately tensed up!
This was also Xiaoman's first time facing an enemy head-on.
Old Zheng wasn't very old, in his thirties, in the prime of his life. Moreover, he hadn't lacked food on the journey of fleeing famine, and his face, full of fierceness, was covered in thick flesh.
A greenhorn, fresh out of school and striking while the iron is hot, is up against a seasoned adult, and the difference in skill becomes immediately apparent in just one round.
Xiaoman brought down her stick, but Zheng Laogou dodged it.
But it also hit Zheng Laogou's shoulder, causing him to yell in pain and swing his knife back at him.
Xiaoman was agile and quickly dodged, but was still grazed by the tip of the knife.
The torn sleeve was hanging down in a large section, but thankfully no blood was visible.
Just as Zheng Laogou was about to strike again, Jiang Zhi, who was a step slower, arrived: "Xiaoman, get out of the way!"
Like a venomous sorcerer, she casually tossed out a packet of medicinal powder.
Xiaoman immediately covered her mouth and nose and stepped aside.
Zheng Laogou, who was swinging his knife, was caught off guard and hit squarely, his entire face covered in powder.
As soon as the powder was released, a strange, bitter smell enveloped the space.
This herbal powder is finer than chili powder; it floats in the air for a long time without dispersing, and even penetrates deep into the alveoli with each breath.
Inside the hood, Zheng Laogou coughed and sneezed, his nose and eyes were running, and he curled up like a shrimp, desperately trying to breathe fresh air.
Seeing that something was wrong, the person on the ground braced himself and reached for a stone on the ground to throw at the person.
Jiang Zhi also gave him a handful of medicine powder, which caused him to cough and sneeze.
Xiaoman was standing very close to the other person, and inevitably some of their fluids got on her, causing her to immediately sneeze loudly.
Still furious after narrowly avoiding a blade, he kicked the man on the ground, breaking his leg. The man immediately rolled on the ground in pain.
In his pain, he lost his footing and tumbled down the hillside, leaving behind a long string of screams that echoed through the valley...
The three people on the slope had no time to care whether the man was dead or alive; Old Dog Zheng had already managed to stand up.
Xiaoman sneezed: "Achoo! Auntie, these people... Ah! Ah! Achoo!"
Old Dog Zheng, still sneezing with his head up, didn't forget to utter a harsh threat amidst his busyness: "I, Qiu... am going to kill you!"
Jiang Zhi said with a dark face, "Don't blame me for being ruthless. I'll do whatever you think in your hearts!"
"You're still being stubborn!"
Xiaoman struck him on the head with a stick, and the man immediately bled, clutching his head and squatting to the side.
What to do with this person has become the immediate issue: should he live or die?
Just then, a sinister voice came from behind, gritting its teeth: "You little brat, I see you've got a tough tongue. You're about to die and you still dare to be arrogant!"
Following the screams and sounds of fighting, the two bearded men arrived!
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