The two had only walked a few miles when the howling of wolves grew closer, and they were already exhausted and hungry.
The stone kept looking around.
Zhao San sighed, "Don't bother looking. The people who killed Ba Wan must have run away long ago. They wouldn't be staying here."
Stone licked his wrinkled lips and muttered, "If only they could come and kill us again!"
He would rather die by human blades than be torn apart by wolves.
Thinking of his distant homeland, Shi Tou blinked, trying to hold back the tears from his dry, sore eyes.
He cried and made a fuss when he was first captured on the grassland, but the more he cried, the harder he was beaten.
He stopped crying after that.
But at this moment... Stone felt his hands and feet were ice cold, his whole body was weak, and his hope was gradually being extinguished.
He thought about how he and Uncle Zhao had been looking for a chance to escape all these years, and how they had been beaten countless times but never given up. They were taken to the mule market by their master and sold many times. Finally, they came to the Mida River Valley with the Dongyue tribe.
Hearing that there were Wu Chao people in the Wuda army, he tried to escape from the Dongyue tribe and went to join the Wuda army.
Before they even left Dongyue, they were given as a gift to the Pingshan tribe.
After much searching, they learned that the mission was to launch a surprise attack on the Wuda tribe. Shi Tou and Zhao San were overjoyed. As long as they could reach the Wuda tribe, they would surrender immediately.
But fate is so cruel. Just a day's journey from the Wuda tribe, he and Uncle Zhao were injured and abandoned.
Tears welled up in Stone's eyes.
Just one day, if I persevere, I can return to Broken Gold Town and see my father and mother.
But this one day has now become incredibly long, or perhaps forever.
Zhao San's legs are now red and swollen. At the beginning of the march, they were in pain, but now they are only numb.
He pinched his thigh hard until he felt something, and he knew something was wrong. If he didn't stop and rest, he would be a cripple even if he survived.
Seeing the despair on Shi Tou's face, Zhao San mustered his last bit of strength.
If he dies in his forties, he'll die anyway, but Shi Tou is only fifteen. This is his chance to escape his misery. If he misses it... he'll either die or be forced back into slavery by the Di tribe.
It was completely dark, and the howling of wolves was almost upon us, all waiting for those ahead to fall.
Zhao San was completely unable to move. Shi Tou took off his belt, tied him up, and dragged him across the snow with all his might.
Although he was thin, his long-term labor had given him strength and a strong physique, except for a few bites of horse meat frozen solid.
Having not eaten for over a day, coupled with his shoulder injury, he was now experiencing blurred vision and a dizzy mind, having no idea where he was.
He had only one belief in his heart: to go to the Uda tribe.
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from behind.
Shi Tou suddenly woke up and quickly shook Zhao San: "Uncle Zhao San, listen, isn't that the sound of horses' hooves? Is someone coming?"
He was worried that he had fainted from hunger and misheard!
Zhao San had started to have a fever. He struggled to open his eyes, pressed his ear to the ground, and listened intently. Then he looked up at the stone and said, "Quick, strike the flint! The flint is in my crotch!"
They found the flint by chance a few months ago.
These are ordinary white pebbles found on the riverbank, but they are rare to find on the Dilu grasslands, especially since these slaves are forbidden from possessing fire.
Zhao San carefully preserved the flint he found.
Shi Tou took out two pebbles that were still warm from his body and began to strike them hard with trembling hands.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The crisp sound of striking objects carried far away, mingled with the sound of the wind, and the occasional sparks broke through the dark night.
At this moment, even if Song Liyun, who was using night vision binoculars, didn't speak, everyone else could see the scattered lights in the distance.
Balin pulled on his horse: "Young Madam, there really is someone there!"
Lin Qingyuan rubbed his face, which was numb from the cold: "Old Qian, you guys go take a look, be careful, it might be some kind of will-o'-the-wisp!"
Old Qian responded, picked up his knife, and gently urged his horse forward.
Song Liyun said irritably, "There are only two people there. You should go and see what's going on, Balin."
Of all the people, Bahrain has the best horsemanship and can escape in time in case of any accident.
Lin Qingyuan did not object, and Lao Qian returned to his side, but everyone remained vigilant and wary.
They encountered Song Liyun on their way back to camp before dark.
After learning that Song Liyun had killed a scout and that the camp could no longer be visited, they decided to return to the tribe overnight, but unexpectedly encountered people on the way.
Bahrain returned quickly, carrying a dying man in his arms, with another man trailing behind his horse.
"Young Madam, they are from the Wu Dynasty, and they say they are slave soldiers abandoned by the Ping Shan tribe..."
The prefab house was erected again, and beside the warm campfire, Balin and Lao Qian were examining Zhao San, who was in a coma.
Someone brought over the cooked rice porridge: "The young mistress said to drink the porridge first, and take the medicine as well. If the wound is not infected, don't touch it. Just wash it with hot water and bandage it."
The warm porridge was poured into Zhao San's stomach, followed by a fever-reducing pill. All that was left was to wait.
Zhao San's leg was crushed by the snow, which was originally just a muscle injury and would have healed after a few days of rest.
But now, on the march, and given that these slave soldiers' lives are worth less than a sheep, not only is no one taking care of them, but after running around in the freezing cold for a day, they get fevers.
Inside the small prefab house, the young slave soldier, wrapped in a thick cashmere blanket, held a wooden bowl and gulped down rice porridge, oblivious to the scalding heat.
Lin Qingyuan tried to sit as far away as possible, pinching his nose, and mumbled, "Explain yourself clearly: which part of the Wu Dynasty are you from? How did you get to the grasslands?"
He saw the brand on the young slave soldier's face, a mark only tribal slaves had.
No matter how much the little soldier asked, he wouldn't say a word. If he hadn't mentioned being from the Wu Dynasty, one would have thought he was mute.
Shi Tou made up his mind that he could not tell the truth until Uncle Zhao was sober, so he just kept his head down and ate.
He left Suijin Town at the age of nine, and the people he came into contact with were mostly Di people.
Even when they did encounter a few people from the Wu Dynasty, they were all wary of each other.
Uncle Zhao said that one cannot casually say where one comes from or how one got there.
The origins of slaves are all shady; slave owners...
The hope is that slaves are just working animals who don't speak.
If he ever felt that these slaves were a problem, but didn't want to cause trouble, he would kill them all to silence them, or cut out their tongues.
Therefore, learning to shut up is the survival strategy for slaves.
On the other side, Song Liyun was holding a small pebble in her hand, deep in thought.
The stone was found in the crease of the little slave soldier's clothes.
These are small pebbles with white stripes, found everywhere in the town of Broken Gold. After being rubbed by people for a long time, their surfaces are shiny with oil.
Stone?
Stone!
"Little stone!" Song Liyun murmured.
The young soldier suddenly stopped drinking his porridge.
His subtle movements caught Song Liyun's eye, and she couldn't help but scrutinize him closely for a few moments.
Song Liyun suddenly stepped forward, disregarding the filth, lifted the braid of the little slave soldier, which had turned into a greasy mess, and looked down at the back of his neck.
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