Nie Yun selected twenty men, all soldiers he trained with, and used ropes to tie Niu San up and drag him behind the horse.
Niu San said to Lü Tu, "Sir, it's in Hejia Village, about 30 li outside the north gate of Wuchuan."
"Let's go!" Lu Tu instructed Liu Yang and the others to stay behind, and then led everyone on their way.
He heard the name Hejia Village and suddenly felt that it sounded familiar. After a while, he remembered that it was from the Naizi Mountain stronghold that day.
There was a pitiful woman named He Hua. Before she died, she asked Lü Tu to pass on a message to her family, saying that she had married far away.
I have to keep my promise since I've been entrusted with it. This trip to Hejia Village is a good opportunity to fulfill my commitment.
After traveling for a short while, Niu San could no longer bear it. He kept wailing from behind, "Sir, can I ride the horse for a while? There are still more than 20 li to go, and I really can't walk anymore."
He was a traitor to begin with, so why would Lü Tu give him a kind look? What he wanted was to torture him both physically and mentally.
Only when people are in this mental state do they have no time to think, and only then are their words highly credible.
Lu Tu snorted coldly: "I heard you were quite enthusiastic last night when you were stirring up trouble and questioning me, how come you couldn't hold on for long?"
"My lord, to be honest, I am already in poor health, and since being demoted to a military slave these past few days, I haven't had a proper meal. It's truly..."
Nie Yun lashed Niu San's back with his riding whip, immediately silencing him. "Should I have a few people carry a sedan chair for you to ride in?"
Niu San gave Nie Yun a vicious look, then quickly lowered his head and followed.
Nie Yun took the rope binding Niu San and brought him to his side, urging, "If you waste time, I'll take your life!"
An hour later, Lü Tu and his men finally arrived at Hejia Village.
After observing from outside the village for a while, I was surprised to find that the scenery here seemed quite good; at least in the morning, smoke was still rising from the chimneys of many houses.
The presence of cooking smoke means they can still eat breakfast, which is much better than most villages in Wuchuan.
Lu Tu whistled a unique tune, and Nie Yun and the others secretly became more vigilant upon hearing it.
As soon as the group appeared at the village entrance, an arrow struck in front of Lü Tu's horse, startling it into a neigh.
Nie Yun and the others all took out their bows and arrows and aimed them forward. At this moment, five burly young men walked out from behind a dilapidated thatched hut.
Each of them was a burly man with a fierce appearance, just like their physique. Two of them even had scars on their faces, clearly not ordinary villagers.
The leader shouted, "Who are you? What brings you to our Hejia Village?"
Lu Tu stopped Nie Yun, who was about to speak, and asked loudly, "Is there anyone named He Hua in your village?"
"He Hua?" The leading man frowned upon hearing this. After exchanging a few words in hushed tones, the group shouted, "What happened to He Hua?"
Since He Hua is here, everything is easy to discuss. Lü Tu urged his horse forward, saying, "I want to see He Hua's parents."
Upon hearing this, the men opposite immediately drew their bows and shot arrows at Lü Tu.
This was truly a close call; even Lü Tu hadn't expected the other party to actually make a move!
The moment the enemy made a move, he dismounted and crouched behind his warhorse, barely managing to avoid the first wave of arrows.
Nie Yun and the others behind him roared in anger: "Save our leader!"
In an instant, more than twenty soldiers trained by Lü Tu returned the attack with a volley of arrows, and a cry of pain came from the enemy!
The commotion immediately attracted the attention of the villagers, and a cacophony of footsteps and shouts could be heard.
Without pausing, Lü Tu watched as his warhorse, riddled with arrows and writhing in pain, was instantly filled with rage.
Although his original intention was to retrieve Zhou Taishan's property, he had already told He Hua about it. How could the other party still make a move?
He didn't have time to analyze that much; all he wanted to do now was eliminate the men opposite him, and he had to use swift and decisive measures to suppress them, otherwise he would soon be surrounded by the villagers who had come to his aid.
With his long legs swinging, he burst forth with all his might and charged toward his opponent, who, under the pressure of arrows from Nie Yun and the others, dared not show himself for the time being.
This gave Lü Tu time to get close. As he approached the group with his sword, shouts came from behind him from Nie Yun and the others: "Kill!"
Only then did the burly men realize they had encountered a formidable opponent. After just one exchange, they fearlessly drew their swords and engaged Lü Tu in fierce combat.
As Lu Tu fought, he became increasingly alarmed. He was not alarmed by the skill of his opponents, but by their immense strength, which far exceeded that of ordinary border soldiers.
Moreover, they have one thing in common with the border soldiers: their courage!
Border troops are notorious for their cunning, but these guys seem to possess a reckless spirit reminiscent of the Wuhuan people, which is quite intriguing.
Although they have some skills, they only have two bristleless brushes.
Even with superhuman strength, none of them could match Lü Tu's power. Moreover, Lü Tu's skills and rich combat experience were far beyond their reach.
Within a few rounds, Lü Tu had killed two people. Nie Yun and the others arrived and surrounded the leader. Lü Tu slashed the man's ankle with a single blow, severing his Achilles tendon. The man cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.
At this moment, the villagers of Hejia Village also rushed out. To Lu Tu's surprise, they were not holding farm tools and hoes, but long spears!
"Damn it, retreat!" Lu Tu issued the wisest order in the shortest amount of time.
There were at least several dozen adult men rushing out, and they were all armed with long guns. How could we possibly fight them?
Although Lu Tu was confident he could kill a few, these villagers were clearly not the usual cowards. He didn't want his men to take risks, or even lose their lives because of his decisions.
Nie Yun was also stunned by this scene. Even the border troops did not have such strong combat power. His side was clearly wearing the border troops' protective gear issued by the Commandant's Office.
The fact that a group of peasants dared to charge at them with long spears clearly meant that they were not peasants, but rather rebels!
Lu Tu grabbed the man whose Achilles tendons had been severed and ran backwards.
After they had run some distance, they suddenly discovered a strange scene: the villagers of Hejia Village did not continue to chase them, but stood at the village entrance, staring at them with malicious intent.
Lu Tu had seen that look before, not from the border soldiers and the Wuhuan people, but from a woman imprisoned in that Naizi Mountain stronghold!
He Hua's name reappeared in Lü Tu's mind. Knowing that she was going to die, she deliberately sent Lü Tu to Hejia Village to die.
If he really does say that he'll come to inform us whenever he has time and happens to be passing by, he'll probably be riddled with bullets as soon as he enters the village!
What a vicious woman! What a strange village!
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