Su Ci curved the corners of her lips, then quickly retracted them so that no one could see. She had to maintain her image.
When she got home and got into the bed with her sisters, her elder sister Su Yan was still awake and waiting for her. She quickly opened the curtains to let Su Ci in and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Su Ci was in high spirits, but she thought that this matter was not easy to talk about, and it was too long. If she brought her lover into the explanation, it would be endless. It was already very late, and she would have to get up in the middle of the night to prepare for the journey. She didn't know if she could get a good sleep afterwards.
Forget it, I won’t talk about it for now. I’ll explain it in detail when I have the chance later.
"I'll tell you on the way."
Su Yan had no objection. She jumped out of bed and checked the doors and windows, especially the half-worn wooden window that faced the alley. She blocked it with something. Then she let her sister sleep on the outside of the bed, and she slept half sideways under the window to protect her sister inside.
The two sisters fell asleep quickly.
…
I got up at Chou time the next day.
Su Ci was in a good mood. She had slept for less than four hours but was full of energy. She quickly got up, washed, dressed, filled all the water containers she could take away, put them on her back and quickly rushed to the front yard.
Open the door and follow everyone to the foot of the mountain east of the town.
The entire military town was in motion.
There were footsteps, horses neighing, and dust flying. The sky was still as hot as ever. The brown earth absorbed heat during the day and released it at night, like a steamer.
However, Su Ci was in a very good mood. The dark blue sky with a hint of dark red and the yellow dusty earth were much more pleasing to the eye.
"Are you hot, Ci? Are you thirsty?"
Mother Chen wiped the sweat off Su Ci's forehead with a handkerchief. Su Ci hugged her mother's arm and acted coquettishly, "Yeah, mom, I'm thirsty."
Chen quickly opened the water bag she was carrying and gave her little daughter a sip. Su Yan came over and said, "Mother, you didn't even ask me. I'm thirsty too!"
Chen patted her eldest daughter's forehead and scolded her with a smile, "Isn't this what I'm going to give you?"
The mother, daughter and three of them drank half a bag of water together. Su Rong, who had been watching with a smile, stepped forward and said, "Mother, I'll go.
She also held a handful of used water bags in her hand. Everyone was seizing the last moment to drink water and fill up their kettles, and Aunt Bai and her three daughters were no exception.
Aunt Bai wanted to speak but was interrupted by Su Rong. However, Aunt Bai looked at Su Di who was busy with his adopted son Lin Yichu in the distance, and then looked at her biological son who was responsible for taking care of the female relatives like Su Yan, and she felt indignant and insisted on speaking.
But before she could open her mouth, she was interrupted.
Akang came over, bowed to Chen, and said that Yang Yanzong asked Su Ci to come up.
This time, he went ahead with Yang Yanzong and others.
Everyone was surprised. Su Rong's eyes flickered slightly: "This is..."
Everyone was confused and asked Akang, but he didn't say why. As one of the two personal soldiers that Yang Yanzong still had by his side, it went without saying that Akang was tight-lipped.
No matter how confused they were, of course everyone had no objection to Yang Yanzong's arrangement. Chen was a little worried and gave a few instructions. Su Yan patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, mother. I'll go with my sister."
Su Yan was carrying seven or eight large bags, but she was moving very fast. She had already fetched water from the water bag. When she heard this, she returned the water bag to her mother, and without saying a word, she went forward with Su Ci.
A Kang glanced at Su Ci, and when he saw that Su Ci agreed, he said nothing, turned around and led the way.
Su Ci raised the corners of her lips and whispered to Su Yan: "I'll talk to you later."
The two sisters walked quickly and soon arrived beside Yang Yanzong.
Then we set off.
In the distance, the entire military town had assembled. In the dim daylight, there were several thousand people, all soldiers. There were basically no family members. Except for special cases like Yang Yanzong and others, the families of the military households who had originally lived in the military town had already moved away in advance.
Without the worries of food and water, Yang Yanzong changed his plan and did not gather with the military garrison. Instead, he quietly hid on the other side of the mountain. He has many enemies, many of whom want to take his life.
Su Ci glanced quietly and saw in the distance, in the dust, at the front of the dark mass of soldiers, there were a few black-clad officers riding horses and carrying sabers. They were strong and sturdy, and looked powerful and imposing. She wondered which one of them was the rapist?
But anyway, it’s one of them.
There was also a young man in dark red clothes who was looking around anxiously in the direction of the group of soldiers and the military town, as if he was looking for someone.
Of course he wouldn't find Su Ci.
She took a look and quickly looked back.
Hey, bye!
…
At Yang Yanzong's command, more than a hundred people set out quietly, earlier than the main force, and headed towards the southeast.
After walking for about an hour, it was already light, the sun came out, and the temperature soared. We had entered the mountains and there was some shade, but unfortunately most of the trees were dry and leafless.
The mountain road is not easy to walk on, but the Dongling Mountains are the best choice. This is the only place where you can still see some green. Other places are brown and yellow and have been plowed by the victims. There is little hope of getting food and water.
The mountains are actually the best choice.
But even so, it is not easy.
All you can see are fallen grasses, ferns and vines, and most of the small trees and bushes are dead. Almost all the edible things in the outer mountains have been picked clean, leaving only a few withered and half-fallen ones hanging. In many places, even the fern roots have been dug out clean, and dust flies when people walk on them. It is a vast expanse of withered and yellow leaves, with only sporadic green spots coming from big trees and a few species of tenacious grasses, but they are basically half yellow and half green and look half dead.
The sun was scorching and we kept on walking. Sweat was pouring down like rain. Our chest and back were soaked through. Water was quickly lost. But we would not take out the water bags from our bodies and take a sip until we were very thirsty.
Things are different now than before we set out. Drinking water is extremely precious. Some people even don’t dare to drink a sip all morning.
As it was almost noon, Su Ci began to notice the green plants on the ground. When she said the southeast direction was the best, she was not talking nonsense. She and Su Yan hid in Dongshan for half a month before being brought back. She saw it with her own eyes, it was true.
Although it was very hot, Su Ci's high enthusiasm did not diminish much - after successfully bidding farewell to the two-wolf combination of the jackal and her lover, even the scorching sun was not so dazzling to her.
People are in high spirits when good things happen, and her luck was also overflowing. After walking a few steps, she saw a very suitable place.
Not every place with puff grass will have enough groundwater to form puddles. You also need to observe the terrain and location, and determine the direction of the water veins and the location of their accumulation in order to have the best chance of digging out water.
Su Ci immediately set her sight on the stone wall behind the big tree. The stone wall was vertical and hard in texture, and there happened to be a depression in the mountain here, with a large patch of fluffy grass growing on it. When she dug up the grass, she could see that the roots accounted for two-thirds of the area.
Su Ci turned around and glanced at Yang Yanzong.
Yang Yanzong was riding on a horse, his lips were pale and his face was flushed, probably more from a fever than from the sun. However, he kept his back straight and controlled the horse with one hand, sitting as steady as a rock, without any sign of weakness.
He understood, nodded, and glanced sideways at Akang.
Akang immediately brought seven or eight people and started digging with shovels and hoes. After digging more than two to three meters down, they soon dug out water.
The turbid water slowly overflowed and soon gathered into a large puddle. Seeing that it was almost done, Akang threw in some alum. The mud and impurities in the water settled and the puddle gradually became clear.
Su Ci had sharp eyes and saw that a large patch of dead leaves behind the thorn bush looked a bit like water taro leaves. She was delighted. That place was sunken and obviously dry, and before it dried up, there was a large shallow swamp. It was normal to have water taro!
She took three steps at a time, lifted her cotton skirt and waded through the sharp thorn bushes. She squatted down, picked up a leaf and looked at it, then dug a little deeper with her fingers and said happily, "Come quickly, there are a lot of taro here!"
Water taro is a kind of weed. The plant looks 70% similar to taro. Most of them grow on the water surface, usually in large patches. However, the rhizome of this thing is nothing compared to taro. The largest one may be only as thick as two or three thumbs.
But it’s edible! It's still edible even when it's dried up, it's non-toxic, and it doesn't matter if it's small, a little bit adds up to a lot, and this large piece is enough for their whole group to have a meal!
Yang Yanzong pinched the dried taro, broke it open and threw it into the horse's mouth, then ordered people to come and dig.
Everyone went out to dig, some used shovels, some used hands, and they dug for half an hour under the scorching sun, and soon all the taro was dug up.
Wrap up the extra ones, dig a new puddle of water to throw the rest in, wash them, and pour them into the big pot. With a bubbling sound, the aroma of food soon emerges.
Although it was very hot, tiring and sweaty, everyone had a smile on their face, filled a bowl with food and let it cool under the shade of a tree, then gulped it down.
Su Yan brought two bowls over, one for her sister and took a sip herself. It was quite fragrant. She poked Su Ci with her elbow and said, "You're amazing!"
She spoke softly, looking proud.
Su Ci chuckled, glanced at her sister, and raised the corner of her lips.
That’s right, she was very popular back then!
After a good start at noon on the first day, everything went smoothly afterwards.
After resting during the day to avoid the hottest part of the sun, the group continued on their journey and did not stop until the evening.
The further you go into the mountains, the more food you can eat. There is also a lot more greenery than on the mountainside, and it is easier to find water than before.
Su Ci began to find mountain rat holes, which contained mountain rats. These small animals were the most tenacious, and mountain rats eat all kinds of dry and wet fruits, grass seeds, bamboo shoots, etc., and their meat is very clean.
Moreover, when digging up a mountain rat hole, in addition to catching a nest of mountain rats, there are often other harvests, such as piles of hazelnuts, chestnuts, and walnuts, mixed with a small amount of pine cone rhizomes, which are plump, complete and very well preserved.
Animals are more sensitive than humans. Mountain rats start to get busy early. A rat's nest often has several large pits filled with food.
In addition, Su Ci also found many edible plant roots and rhizomes, including the long kudzu root, wild cassava, ground bamboo shoots, wild yam and so on. They are all things that can fill your stomach. Many of the vines on the ground were withered and fallen, or even eaten clean by wild animals. Su Ci could recognize them just by looking at the tiny stubble.
After three or four days like this, Su Ci thought: Can I leave with peace of mind now?
…
Yang Yanzong never strayed too far from the main military garrison, following closely behind.
He has always been aware of the situation over there, and he also has a personal soldier named A Zhao, who is responsible for contacting his trusted subordinates over there.
Su Ci thought this was normal. After all, it was not certain whether she could work or not. If she didn't, there were still 800 military horses over there.
Thinking of horse meat and horse blood, especially drinking raw horse blood, Su Ci shuddered. Fortunately, it’s okay.
Now that we are sure that she can do it, can we go without any worries?
Only when she completely distanced herself from each other and went her separate ways, would she feel at ease!
The last ray of afterglow disappeared over the mountain top. The bonfire had been lit, and the orange flames were crackling.
Yang Yanzong was sitting under the shade of a tree while Su Ci was cleaning his wound. In such a hot day, the wound had to be cleaned more than ten times a day.
The skin on his wrist was still slightly hot, but his eyes were still indifferent and sharp. Azhao was standing to one side with his hands hanging down, reporting the situation over there in a low voice.
"...The garrison troops deviated from the original eastward direction. Commander Liang sent out several scouts to search for traces of us...but they had not found any until my subordinates returned."
Yang Yanzong snorted coldly and did not comment.
Yang Yanzong had arranged special people to clean up wherever they went, and Su Ci knew this.
She cleaned it several times with strong liquor, and finally re-wrapped it with a thin layer of gauze and fixed it with a boiled and dried splint.
Without stopping, Su Ci secretly glanced at him. The bonfire was flickering, with shadows flickering between darkness and red. The man's profile was cold and sharp.
Just as the two of them finished talking, Azhao retreated behind Yang Yanzong. Su Ci showed a slightly frightened expression and whispered, "Then can we leave without worry?"
Yang Yanzong didn't speak immediately, so she quickly added: "There's more food to eat in the mountains, and the streams probably haven't dried up yet!"
There was less fear in her voice, and she probably gave away a hint of wanting to leave. Yang Yanzong looked at her, and Su Ci quickly made up for it: "When my sister and I were hiding from people, we once went into the mountains. There were a lot of water and wild animals, but we were very scared and came out quickly."
Well, I got carried away.
Fortunately, the conversion was quick and nothing was exposed.
Su Ci looked at Yang Yanzong expectantly.
Unexpectedly, Yang Yanzong turned his head and told Ah Zhao: "Send the message and ask Zhao Da and the others to try to lure Liang Shen over."
……What?
Not leaving?
And let someone bring a large force over here? !
Su Ci: “???”
Su Ci: "!!!"
He was looking at me, "Brother, what's wrong with you?"
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