Chapter 163 Are We Going to Be Caught?
Aunt Lin's soft profile was reflected by the swaying light of the oil lamp, revealing a kind of strong power.
He Jinglan was shocked and reminded weakly, "Well... isn't there a rule in the army that forbids us from leaving the village at this time?"
Aunt Lin seemed confident. "Discovering the enemy's fire attack is military intelligence. Conveying emergency military information is not within the rules. In addition, helping to put out the fire is our duty as military families."
"There is no retreat tonight."
As she spoke, she was about to get down the ladder.
Gu Xixi hurried to follow, "I'll go with you. I've done a field survey there before and I know where there's water nearby."
After getting off the roof, He Jinglan said in a panic, "Xixi, I want to go too!"
Gu Xixi said slowly, "Be good, wait for us in the village."
"If we go out from here, our safety will be in jeopardy. We are going to the area between the two armies. If we encounter some enemies, we must be ready to run for our lives at any time."
He Jinglan was eager, "I can!"
"One more person will help put out the fire, and I promise not to be a drag!"
Gu Xixi looked at her for a moment and sighed, "Forget it, there is no time to waste, let's go."
The so-called no time to waste does not only refer to fire.
The goal is to quickly gather those who are willing to go and rush out of the village as soon as possible before the sentries react.
Except for Mrs. Zhou who was still in confinement after childbirth, and two weaker women who were unable to move around easily, they had to stay behind to keep them company.
When the remaining people heard Aunt Lin say that the Beili people were going to burn everyone's orchard, and might also use the orchard to ignite the surrounding fields, causing the fire to spread and create a crisis for the Northwest Army.
Without saying a word, everyone picked up their own wooden buckets filled with water and left.
This action is done for both greater good and the self.
They are the families of the Northwest Army, and it is their duty to contribute in times of crisis.
They are themselves, and no one can easily destroy their Pinellia trees!
The second half of the night should be the time when the whole village is fast asleep.
By the time the sentry noticed, the women were only a few steps away from the village entrance.
They chased after them and tried to persuade them to return, but they could only watch as the group of women ran faster.
Gu Xixi and others rushed to the bottom of the Pinellia fruit forest, looked up, and saw that flames had indeed started from underneath.
Because of the long distance and the obstruction of the tree canopy, it is not clear when viewed from the village.
Fortunately, the wind was not strong at this time and the fire was not big, so it was still possible to control it.
In order to avoid being discovered by the Beili Army, none of them dared to make a sound.
Gu Xixi first led everyone up in the leeward direction, and quietly reminded them, "Water and fire are merciless, everyone must not resist head-on. Once the fire gets bigger, everyone must evacuate at any time, and no one is allowed to fight to the death. Remember!"
The women nodded.
Gu Xixi reiterated, "Think about how you feel when you are waiting for your husband to come home. Compared to these trees, our lives are the most important."
Everyone nodded with more determination in their eyes.
Entering the Pinellia fruit forest, everyone consciously divided into two groups.
Some of them had enough physical strength to run fast and followed Gu Xixi to fetch water, pouring water back and forth to put out the fire.
The other group, who were less physically fit, stayed behind to shovel up the sand piled on the edge of the woods and threw it far over the flames.
These piles of sand were originally dug from the riverbank by the Northwest Army who were commissioned by Gu Xixi to plant the trees, in order to use them as compost for the fruit trees in the future.
Who knew it would come in handy in putting out a fire?
The two methods of fire extinguishing, filling with sand and pouring cold water, were used simultaneously, and the results finally paid off for the women's hard work.
Aunt Lin smiled and whispered in Gu Xixi's ear, "All the open flames here have been extinguished."
"Spray it twice more and I guarantee it won't come back to life."
"I think it's almost done over there."
Gu Xixi nodded and said, "Go over there and help them clean up the mess."
"Quick victory, in a cup of tea at most, we will retreat!"
At this time, the sky in the east had already turned dark blue. If we delayed any further, it would be bad if we were discovered at daybreak.
Before leaving, Gu Xixi, Aunt Lin and He Jinglan counted the number of people respectively to make sure that no one was missing.
The fire was put out successfully, and everyone walking on the road had a proud smile on their faces.
The men charged forward.
At critical moments, these women can do the same.
Not only did they avoid the scourge of fire quietly, but they also saved their fruit trees.
On the way back, they walked more carefully, deliberately walking on the edge and choosing the route with tall grass and dense shadows.
However, before they had walked far, Aunt Lin, who had asked to walk at the end, suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind her.
Those footsteps were running, but lightly and swiftly, and the sound they made on the grass was subtle.
Experienced people can tell immediately that they are well trained.
Behind these footsteps, there were faint sounds of horse hooves and unclear shouting and cursing.
Aunt Lin's face turned pale instantly, "People from Beili, people from Beili are chasing us on horseback!"
Everyone immediately hid in the grass as planned.
Gu Xixi asked solemnly, "Why are you sure it's from Beili?"
Aunt Lin said, "I have heard Beili dialect, although I don't understand what they say."
If you don't escape now, when will you escape?
Everyone gave up taking the path outside and ran away in the grass, crouching down.
When reclaiming large areas of land, Gu Xixi intentionally left some grassland to protect the local ecological environment.
After reading the submitted plan, Huo Jiang agreed and said that leaving some grass would also have strategic significance.
Look, it came in handy again today.
Aunt Lin ran and panted, "There are some people ahead of Beili who are closer to us."
"They look like infantry. I don't know if they are ours or the enemy."
Gu Xixi held He Jinglan tightly with one hand, thinking, "I dare not gamble at this time. I'd better escape first. If I gamble wrong, it will be embarrassing to give Beili a head."
I don't know how long I ran, but beyond the grassland, the sound of horse hooves and the mumbling curses of the Beili people were already very close.
Although Gu Xixi didn't understand what they were saying, she could feel that they were angry and cursing very dirty.
At this time, the women dared not make any loud noise and could only crawl slowly on the ground.
Everyone was on high alert and no one noticed that several black figures in the same crouching position were quickly catching up from behind.
Gu Xixi was originally concentrating on listening to the movements of Beili people.
Suddenly she noticed that there was something strange about the breath beside her and she turned her head subconsciously.
Through a few blades of grass, the masked man in black on the opposite side happened to look over here.
When their eyes met, He Jinglan, who was next to Gu Xixi, was so frightened that her face turned pale, but she managed to hold it in and not scream.
He exhaled and said, "Xixi, we are going to be caught. Have we been caught?"
Gu Xixi looked into the eyes of the man in black, blinked, and said, "No."
He Jinglan was about to cry, "Why? Should we hold him back and tell everyone to run?"
Gu Xixi's tone was surprisingly calm, and even had a hint of strange coldness in it.
"Because you and I both know this person."
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