When they first came out, Xie Yushu told Pei Jie to leave him a five-pointed star mark.
Logically speaking, Pei Jie's army started from the border and their route should intersect with theirs in this area. So, starting from here, Xie Yuzhu walked a distance and then wove a five-pointed star out of a twig about the length of a chopstick and hung it on the twig. She also carved a small arrow next to it to indicate the direction.
When they came across a place without trees, they used stones to build a five-pointed star shape with an arrowhead so that Pei Jie's army could easily spot it and catch up.
On this vast grassland, it is extremely difficult to search for someone aimlessly, so Xie Yushu and her companions walked along, observing the surrounding environment and the traces on the ground.
The Tatars were defeated and their supplies were burned. They would definitely have to flee back to their base camp. In their hasty escape, they would not have been able to leave no trace.
Therefore, whenever they were near a water source, Xie Yushu and her group would deliberately split up to check.
As they searched, they found traces of a campfire, though it had been deliberately covered up, with only a few scattered pieces of charcoal remaining. It was likely that the Tatars were also on guard against the Qi people coming after them.
Xie Yushu then arranged the stones into a five-pointed star to mark Pei Jie's location, and followed the scattered traces.
They thought they were close to catching up, but after two days of intermittent pursuit, they still hadn't seen a trace of the Tatars. Nanxing was panting heavily and cursing under his breath.
"That guy surnamed Su is fast enough, is he born in the Year of the Rabbit? It's only been a few days, and he's already disappeared with those remnants of his army?"
This grassland is so vast, it stretches to the horizon! Where are we supposed to find someone here?
Xie Yushu looked at Si Nan as she spoke.
“Sukhbaatar’s surname is not Su. These four characters are actually one word, which means tiger.”
Nanxing pursed her lips upon hearing this.
"A fierce tiger? It turned into a stray dog, running away with its tail between its legs!"
If he's so capable, he shouldn't run away! He should fight to the death!
And we had to travel all this way to find him.
Xie Yushu listened to Nanxing's rambling, smiled helplessly, and remained silent.
Looking around, all that could be seen was withered yellow, and apart from them, there wasn't a soul in sight. They'd been out for six days already, and it was getting dark soon; this was the only way. So Xie Yushu said...
"Let's find a place to rest first. We're probably not far from them. Be alert!"
"yes!"
Qingfeng responded and sent out several small teams to spread out in the surrounding area to find suitable places to spend the night, while Xie Yushu and the others sat in place waiting for news.
About half an hour later, the members of several teams returned one after another, each telling the others where their teams had found suitable places to rest. In the end, Xie Yushu chose a low-lying area about four or five miles to the west.
After choosing a spot, the group went there, harvesting dry grass, branches, and other things that could be used for firewood. Fortunately, there were many of them, so each person could collect a bundle, and they ended up with a large stack as they went.
Once it was completely dark, a few people would gather together, light a fire, set up a pot, and start making pancakes and simmering soup.
The flatbread is cornbread, and the soup is either chicken soup or rabbit soup, because these are the only two things that are easy to catch and commonly found. If you happen to come across them, it's just a matter of one arrow.
In the evening, chop some meat, sprinkle some salt, and simmer two pots of fragrant, hot meat soup. Eat it with cornbread, and half of your fatigue will be gone.
After eating, the fire was extinguished, the ground was heated, and this process was repeated in several groups taking turns. The campfire around them was kept burning, and they were able to get a good rest throughout the night.
When Nanxing first arrived, he thought that sleeping on the cold, icy ground at night would be incredibly painful. But when he lay down on the warm ground, pulled his hat down to leave his nose and mouth exposed for breathing, and then slept soundly while holding Xie Yushu!
Although it can't last too long, I can still fall asleep after three hours.
So, although they had traveled for six or seven days, apart from their clothes being a bit filthy, their spirits and physical strength were still quite good.
Just when they were at their wits' end, things began to take a turn for the better.
Early the next morning, the brothers on night watch found a small dog not far from their camp and brought it back.
At first they thought it was a wolf cub, but when they picked it up, it turned out to be a wolfhound.
Fat Cat said that these are sheep-guarding animals raised by herders. They are usually second or third generation wolves and dogs, possessing both the ferocity of wolves and the loyalty of dogs. The one they caught looked to be only two or three months old, a tiny creature, and it was shivering all over, whether from the cold or hunger, no one knew.
Xie Yushu seemed to like it quite a bit, so she took it and fed it a small, crushed cornbread.
After watching it show off, I put a leather wristband from my sleeve on it.
It was just before dawn. After everyone had eaten some flatbread with hot water, Xie Yushu and the puppy had become quite familiar with each other.
Such a small puppy couldn't have run far on its own. It was estimated that its owner was nearby. So, Xie Yushu put it on the ground and let it go home, intending to follow it to find out who it was and hopefully get some information.
At first, it refused to leave and kept circling around Xie Yushu. However, Xie Yushu repeatedly signaled it to run ahead. Finally, it probably understood what Xie Yushu meant, turned around, and with its short legs, trotted off in one direction.
However, the little thing was too small. After running for about half an hour, it lay down on the ground and refused to move. However, since they knew the general direction, they didn't need it to lead the way, so Xie Yushu just picked it up and left.
I thought we'd find some people soon, but it took another half a day before we finally saw a few yurt-like tents. There were also several large fenced sheep pens nearby.
Xie Yushu put the puppy down, and sure enough, the puppy trotted over there.
Although it looks like a herder's home, it's best to be cautious during this special time.
So Xie Yushu sent Daozi and Pangmao with a small team to scout out the situation. The two knew some basic Tatar language, so they could see if they could get any information out of them, and also be able to react to any situation that arose, making them safer.
The others waited where they were.
As a result, they came out the same way they went in, and even the little dog came out with them, tumbling around Xie Yushu's legs.
The two little paws clung to Xie Yushu's boots.
Xie Yushu asked
What's the situation inside?
Daozi said expressionlessly.
"Your Highness, there was a fight inside. Seven people died and have frozen. There is a lot of blood on the ground. We didn't see a single sheep in the sheep pens. The only living creature is this one."
My guess is that Sukhbaatar's men passed by and looted the place!
This family was probably unwilling to give, so they were beaten to death.
Xie Yushu frowned upon hearing this and gave the order.
"Then let's check the traces and see which way they went."
"Go over there and cover the body up."
In the dead of winter, the soil was frozen solid, so digging was definitely out of the question; this was the only option.
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