Chapter 17 Chapter 17 The Blizzard is Coming
"Hmm——" Fox Da weakly nudged Lin Xinghuo's left palm.
"Go to sleep." Lin Xinghuo gently rubbed its head. The little fox cub's beautiful fur was covered with gauze, and even its big tail was no exception.
It was a very dangerous day. Big Fox used his body to block two lead bullets for her and the two fox cubs, and they almost died.
Lin Xinghuo was mainly injured in his right arm and shoulder. The thief's gun was aimed at his head. Unlike the homemade "bird guns" used in the village to shoot rabbits, the bullets made by the thief intentionally increased their lethality: shotguns. The fewer small lead bullets in the bullets, the greater the lethality.
The two were so close at the time that Lin Xinghuo's instantaneous release of internal energy failed to stop the bullet. Fortunately, this buffer allowed Fox to survive. Although Lin Xinghuo escaped a hornet's nest of wounds, the healing process was still excruciating. The caracal, having squeezed out his spiritual energy to perform the ability to shrink the earth to an inch and then channeled spiritual energy to help rescue Fox and the others, remained limp even now.
"I want to break through and enter the Xiantian realm as soon as possible."
The caracal looked at her bound and immobile right arm and shook its long tail: "To enter the innate realm, you have to take some risks! The ancient cultivators had elixirs to guide and protect them when they entered the realm, but we don't have that." Breaking through the realm by force is not only dangerous, but also has hidden dangers. "The ancient cultivators would strengthen their bodies since childhood and try their best to purify the impurities in their bodies, so that when they enter the realm, it would be a natural process..." Others would strengthen their bodies first, and only when their bodies are clear to a certain level would they try to lead the spirit into the body. Lin Xinghuo's path is exactly the opposite, so he would miss the opportunity to use the spiritual energy to flush out the stubborn impurities when he entered the realm.
Furthermore, once you enter the stage of Qi Refining, it will be more difficult to purify the impurities in your body. They cannot be removed by physical training like before entering the stage.
The human body itself is like a dry sponge clogged with countless sludges. Body training is like dusting off the dust, and spiritual energy is like mist. Normally, one must first dust off as much dirt as possible before absorbing the mist. However, Lin Xinghuo is like a dry and dirty sponge that fell into a bowl of water and was forced to absorb water. Although he has gotten started, the sludge on the wet sponge is much more difficult to clean than that on a dry sponge because of the water.
But she didn't have that much time.
Lin Xinghuo struck with a single blow that day. The bandit leader was severely wounded, and two of his men were hit by shotgun fire, presumably dead. However, six remained, especially the cunning Dirty Beard, who escaped the fastest. Unresolved matters will inevitably lead to future troubles. This incident dealt a heavy blow to Lin Xinghuo. Hesitating would not only harm herself but also her family—to her, the fox cubs were no different from her family.
"There's no news from the station. Most likely, those guys went back to sort it out," Lin Xinghuo said. Their handling of the subsequent cover-up was both a good and a bad thing for Lin Xinghuo. The good news was clear, as evidenced by the fact that everything was calm at the Linchang Station, with no news of a major case in the provincial capital. But what about the bad?
Lin Xinghuo felt even gloomier. With such skill, one could imagine how many people they had harmed!
"I can't wait until these people recover and come looking for me." Before Xiantian, her agility and internal energy could block a knife, but not a bullet. She couldn't be sure there weren't other accomplices in the den besides those nine. If they were found, the villagers of Buxian Village might be implicated.
The caracal had previously planned to use the time it took to figure out and copy the entire technique on the token to have Lin Xinghuo train as much as possible, so that he could break through next year when Jingzhe's vitality was at its peak. But now the time was really pressing: "The bearded man who escaped had a sable. The last time they found you, it was probably related to the sable."
The sable might have other abilities, but the last time it smelled the scent of the caracal, it hid on Dirtybeard's body and didn't come out. The caracal saw the sable tail sticking out from Dirtybeard's bulging chest.
"This is the territory of that stupid dog. The smell is mixed and the sable won't be able to find it for a while, but I remember its stench." When it comes to holding a grudge, the caracal is never inferior.
Lin Xinghuo remembered that the caracal had sniffed her hand and said it smelled like a mink. In her mind, she had already regarded the mink as difficult to deal with as a demon pig, and her determination to break through the barrier became even stronger.
The caracal pondered, "I wonder what goodies that sable ate?" The wild boar had metamorphosed after digging through the mud and ate an ancient medicinal herb. The sable wasn't as powerful as the wild boar, but it must have had some luck. The caracal was looking for something good to strengthen Lin Xinghuo's foundation after he broke through the barrier, so he figured the sable hadn't eaten all its treasures yet, otherwise he could just stew it.
…
Just as Lin Xinghuo had guessed, Dirty Beard and the others had fled in panic, luckily avoiding the thief's blow. But when they turned back to finish him off, they discovered the thief had a serious neck wound, and two of his slower accomplices had been wounded in vital areas by the thief's bullets—but the girl they were supposed to deal with had vanished.
Dirtybeard slapped the wounds to wake his accomplices, but he couldn't get any useful information out of them. Baby Sable curled up in a ball and refused to lead the way. Dirtybeard looked at the boss's wounds and sneered for some reason. "Don't worry about anything else. Clean up this place quickly, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with the railway patrol when they come."
The two injured accomplices kept begging for mercy, offering countless benefits. Dirty Beard said, "If you want to blame someone, blame your own incompetence. You're seriously injured! You can't let us brothers take the risk of sending you to the city hospital? When you die, we'll leave a portion of your stuff for your family, don't worry..." As for the boss, he was cruel and ruthless, never caring about his brothers when he shot. Things have changed, and now it's his turn.
The two men and the bandit leader were stripped clean and thrown into the wild woods to feed the wild beasts. Dirty Beard then went with the others to find their other accomplices. They were a large gang of fifteen thieves, and while the loss of three wouldn't affect the group, the loss of the leader was a major concern. After many days of scrambling, Dirty Beard finally overpowered the others and became the new leader. His first priority was to find the girl and avenge the old boss, establishing his authority.
The man with the dirty beard held his right wrist and said fiercely: "Wait until a heavy snow falls, then we will do it. This time, not only that woman, but also her family members and neighbors, we have to wipe them all out - cut them open, otherwise we won't attract wild animals to come down the mountain!" If he is lucky, he will hear the good news that wild animals have wiped out a village in the early spring of next year.
"We have to find that woman first!" said the man who was not convinced of Dirty Beard's taking the position.
Dirty Beard sneered: "Don't worry, when the time comes, I will have my own way!"
Back in the shed, Dirty Beard opened the locked iron drawer and took out a small wooden box. He took out a lotus seed and shook it at Black Sable through the cage: "Wait a few days, when you have led the way well, I will give you one to eat."
The sable jumped desperately in the cage, but didn't dare to stretch out its claws towards the dirty beard. There was even a hint of human pity in Heidou's eyes, and he looked like he was very eager for lotus seeds.
Dirty Beard was satisfied, patted the cage, and locked the small wooden box in the iron cabinet again.
"Hu Zi, it's time to go to the meeting!" a coworker outside shouted.
Dirty Beard's expression changed, and he smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be there right away!"
"Hey, Hu Zi, why are you so energetic? Is this blind date going to be a success?" His coworkers teased him in the meeting room.
At this time, Dirty Beard was wearing clean and tidy work clothes, his chin was neatly trimmed, and there was not even stubble left - he had thick hair and a beard with sideburns, and sometimes when he was busy and didn't take care of it, he would look ten years older, so everyone gave him the nickname "Beard".
The provincial capital's railway station has been undergoing renovations and new buildings for the past few years, hiring many temporary railway workers. This conference room alone could seat hundreds of people. When a worker called out "Hu Zi," at least a dozen of them stood up and looked to see who was calling them. The workers all laughed, except for Dirty Beard, who craned his head to look at a small group of people in blue work uniforms and carrying backpacks at the front.
A coworker pulled him aside and said, "What are you looking at? She's a regular employee! What? You still want to be a regular employee? Hu Zi, if you really want to, just use the money you saved for marrying a wife to buy a regular job. You've already delayed it anyway. Once you become a regular employee, you can save up enough money for a few years and get married! I'm telling you, don't think about saving money to buy a job after getting married. You can't save like I did. It's impossible!"
Dirty Beard actually had this in mind. He became the boss in part because he was the only temporary worker at the station among his accomplices. But temporary workers weren't as well-informed as their former bosses, who were regular employees. Some information was only circulated internally. But Dirty Beard couldn't afford a job like the previous bosses, who had taken over and slacked off. He'd have to work hard and show his skills for a while...
While Dirty Beard was hesitating, the leader had already come on stage and started speaking.
“Is the summary meeting so early this year?”
"The weather's unusual this year. It's already the second half of the tenth lunar month, and we've only had a few snowfalls. Provincial meteorologists say the cold is slow this year, shortening the cooling process. So..."
"Hey, stop being so pretentious and speak human language!"
"Silly! What they mean is that it's going to get really cold soon, maybe even snow hard, and the higher-ups are afraid of trapping people outside in a deserted construction area, so they're holding the meeting early. Well, we're going to have to take ten days off early this year, and we're going to have to be tight on money for the New Year!"
"This awful weather will affect next year's harvest!"
Dirty Beard frowned and touched his wrist. His hand was not fully healed yet. It would be fine if the heavy snow came a few days later.
"I'm afraid it will be difficult to survive the first heavy snow. During these two days, I would like to ask every household to check on their own houses again. Don't sleep too deeply at night and pay attention to the situation outside. Each young man in the patrol team will be given two taels of wine every day, and patrols cannot stop at night!" The old branch secretary's face became more haggard, and his age was clearly visible.
This year's rice harvest is not as good as in previous years, and the old Party secretary is worried that unfavorable weather will affect next year's crops.
"Isn't two taels a bit too much?" Huang Dazhuang said. This year wasn't a good year, the brigade hadn't saved much grain, and there wasn't anyone in the village who knew how to make wine. This wine was all exchanged from the commune. Use it sparingly. Winter wine can sometimes save lives!
Although their village, Buxian Village, was nestled against a mountain with abundant wildlife, hunting wasn't easy. Huang Dazhuang remembered that during the first two years after the educated youth arrived, some villagers would report that they had embezzled collective property for catching a pheasant or rabbit in the mountains. Things were better now, but everyone was still on edge. The autumn fishing season was the only time of year when the higher authorities approved the practice of meat. This year, thanks to the Little Fairy, not only did each household receive a generous share of meat, but the meat they handed in also earned them grain rewards from the county and the commune, filling the gap in the public treasury.
The old Party Secretary shook his head. "The commune says the temperature could drop by ten or twenty degrees Celsius. There would be strong winds and heavy snow. If the patrols catch up, I'm afraid they won't be able to survive without a drink to warm themselves. Then they'll get cold and become seriously ill."
"Hongzhong brought Xiaolin's high school diploma from the county yesterday and told me that his comrades reminded him to be careful, fearing it might be a blizzard. The commune's barefoot doctor training was even notified to start early, which shows we can't be optimistic this time." It's winter here for almost half a year, and they see heavy snow a lot, but blizzards are no joke. Some houses that are not facing the right direction may have their doors and windows buried in snow in a short time. If the people inside are not alert, the Xu family will lose their lives in the snow.
Huang Dazhuang agreed and asked about Lin Xinghuo's arm: "What's wrong? It was suddenly injured that day and was hung up." Maybe he had a fight with a tiger in the mountains?
The old Party secretary was also shocked when he saw it, and he still feels it now: "She lives alone, with no one to look after her. I don't know when she got hurt. I only found out when I went to tell her about the county primary school exam. Chunfeng also told me not to scold her. Xiaolin also finished the test paper with her left hand."
Huang Dazhuang didn't dare to respond. He didn't dare scold the little fairy anyway. "Then I'll ask someone to send the diploma over and take a look at it while I'm there."
The old Party Secretary snorted and tapped his pipe: "All of you, cover for her! This girl hasn't been seen in two days since she came back from the county... I'm worried, so I'll take her to her myself!"
Huang Dazhuang quickly helped him put on his dog-skin hat: "I'm going too!"
At the foot of Nanshan Mountain, the caracal no longer squatted with its big furry tail, but walked around on the ground with its short legs, and from time to time pricked up its ears to listen to the movements in the house.
As night falls and the sun and moon shine together,
"Boom——" The caracal's ears moved, as if it heard some sound. At the same time, a wave of air surged out with the house as the center.
Done?!
The author has something to say:
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The walking caracal: Giving birth?!
(Just kidding)
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