Jade is made up into a tall tree, with thousands of green ribbons hanging down.
Such lush willow trees should not grow on the wilderness mountain roads.
Such a willow tree should grow beside clear flowing water and winding banks, accompanied by beautiful scenery and pleasant sounds, rather than standing alone on this low loess hill.
In the distance, there could be faint sounds of wheels turning and horses' hooves hitting the ground.
A group of more than twenty people, driving several horse-drawn carriages and wooden carts, passed by here, some sitting and some walking.
At this time, the sun was high in the sky, there was no wind, and the willow branches were shaking gently.
When a few people saw the willows, they all praised their beautiful colors.
Some female relatives lifted the carriage curtains, looked carefully at this rare touch of color during the long journey, and whispered to their companions.
"Hey!" A big man with a sharp knife and messy beard suddenly jumped out from the bushes on the side.
The female member of the family was so frightened that her hands began to tremble, and she quickly lowered the curtains. The others also became alert.
Many burly men suddenly emerged from the half-man-high bushes on both sides of the road, holding weapons and surrounding the group of people.
After a careful count, there were actually nineteen people.
There were only eleven or twelve strong men in the passing convoy, and the rest were either masters and ladies sitting in the cars or maids and old women.
"This road is blocked--" one of the big men sang.
"Hand over your money--" another person sang.
They turned out to be bandits who robbed people on the road.
"If we hand over our money, will this man let us pass?" An old voice came from one of the carriages.
An old man with gray hair, dressed in silk and satin, and with a beard, probably in his fifties or sixties, walked out of the carriage.
"Hmm?" The leading bandit looked him up and down, sneered for a moment, and said:
"That depends on how much money you have to pay to redeem your life."
The old man led him to a cart, ordered the servants to untie the ropes that bound the box, and then opened the box himself.
One box contains gold, silver and jewelry.
Another box of silks and satins.
The last box of antique calligraphy and paintings.
"All our money is here. Please let us go."
The bandit leader paced around the cart, occasionally picking up items with the tip of his knife, then throwing them up and grabbing them in his palm, in no hurry to collect the property.
The old man no longer begged him or urged him, and his heart gradually sank to the bottom.
"What's that in your hand?" The bandit leader rolled his eyes and pointed the tip of his knife at the old man's finger.
The old man looked at his fingers, quickly took off a few rings and placed them on the cart, and then took off a string of beads from his neck and placed them together.
Another plea.
"Please let me go, good man."
The bandit leader stared at the old man's face and suddenly grinned: "They have a lot on them, right?"
The tip of the knife pointed at the carriage carrying the women.
There was a slight cry of panic.
After a moment.
A pile of gold and silver jewelry was handed out from the carriage.
It was still warm, obviously having just been picked.
"We are penniless, please let us go," the old man bowed and begged again.
"You old man, why are you in such a hurry?"
When the bandit leader was speaking, none of the other bandits dared to interrupt.
"Where are your girls? Why don't they even show their faces? Do they look down on us?" said the bandit leader, looking at Zhou Er's men.
The bandits then dared to speak up and agree: "Yes, yes, do you look down on us brothers?"
"It's been a while, and you haven't even shown up!"
The old man knew something was wrong and said quickly: "My daughter is plain-looking and I am afraid she will hurt the eyes of the heroes..."
“Get out of the way!”
Before he could finish his words, he was pushed away by the bandit leader and fell onto the loess and gravel.
A servant hurried forward to help.
The bandit leader walked straight towards the female sedan chair, pulled open the curtain and looked inside.
There was a panic in the carriage.
The bandit leader grabbed one of the women by the arm, and the captured woman was so scared that she tried to hit him, but he ignored her and just dragged her out.
"Hahahahahahaha!" After dragging the person out of the carriage, he immediately picked up the woman by the waist and laughed out loud.
"Daddy! Daddy!" the woman screamed repeatedly.
"Beast! Put her down!" The old man who had been able to keep his composure before suddenly became furious. He shook off the servants and rushed forward.
"Go away, old man!" The bandit leader just stretched out his hand and flicked the old man to the ground again.
The old man's head happened to hit the gravel and he fainted.
"Brothers, there are still many beauties in that car, why not enjoy them?"
"Hahaha..." The bandits burst into laughter.
The servants who were originally stunned reacted instantly, tightened their weapons, and rushed forward without any plan to stop the bandits.
Naturally, they were knocked down by the bandits like chopping melons and vegetables. They still had some reservations and most of them held their breath.
The bandit leader ignored their fight and went into the bushes carrying the woman in his arms.
The situation was almost one-sided. Soon, the dying servants were thrown aside, and the women in the carriage were dragged away by the bandits with a grin.
All this happened close to Yang Liu.
The tree was supposed to be insensitive.
But now, there is a spirit living inside.
Unable to move, unable to speak.
I can only watch everything in front of me.
The servants were piled together, blood was pouring down the ground, and there were broken limbs and several of them had quietly died.
The grass shook in several places and there were sounds of painful howls and pleas.
No one escaped.
Why willow?
Why would it be willow?
Not even a branch could be waved.
Nothing can be done.
I hate it so much! I am so angry!
He was so hateful that he gnashed his teeth and so angry that he lost his mind.
Yang Liu remained motionless.
﹉
A moment later, several bandits and the bandit leader walked out from the bushes, tying their belts and looking very satisfied.
A bandit came over and said to the bandit leader anxiously: "Boss! We found a letter, inside..."
"What's going on inside? Tell me!"
"It has an official seal inside!"
The bandit leader was stunned, his eyes rolled around, and then his face turned fierce: "Then we can't keep them alive, kill them all!"
"Boss, but those girls..." A bandit next to him hesitated.
"If you don't want to be wiped out by the government, then do it without leaving any trace. What girl? Where have you seen such a girl?" the bandit leader said tyrannically.
The twenty-three people were chopped to death one by one, including the old man, servants, maids, and female relatives. No one was left alive.
They dug a pit nearby and buried the body.
The sun sets and the sky becomes dim.
After cleaning up the place, the bandits happily returned to the stronghold, leading their horses and pushing their carts.
Yang Liu watched them leave quietly.
He looked at it carefully.
Nineteen people.
Nineteen.
A strong wind blew, and the willow branches danced in the wind, like the devil's claws, waving in the air, making a shrill sound.
﹉
The willows became greener and their branches and leaves looked like jade.
Absorbing the blood of the dead was not something unbearable.
Especially after it can move, the roots and branches can gradually move independently... and absorb blood, it also enjoys it.
The bodies in the pit were dragged one by one by the willows' movable roots and placed under the roots, but they did not move again, only absorbing the blood that splashed on the land.
The willows are working hard to grow their roots.
On the ground, the tall, lush green willow trees, with their branches and crowns, only occupy a diameter of more than ten meters, but their roots underground have grown wildly for more than five hundred meters.
If you look closely, you can find that the roots of willow trees do not spread out in a circle, but grow in the same direction.
That is the direction of the bandit stronghold.
The place where the willows grow is very close to the village.
A distance of several thousand meters.
For a creature that can move, this distance is nothing.
But for plants that cannot move on their own, it seems like another world.
Fortunately, willows are no longer ordinary plants. Not to mention thousands of meters, even tens of thousands of miles cannot stop him.
According to the normal growth method of plants, it is too slow and the blood-stained area has been absorbed cleanly.
In order to grow as quickly as possible, the roots dig into holes in the ground. Voles, rabbits, snakes...
All of them turn into nutrients for the willows.
Even so, the willows had to remain silent after their roots grew only more than two hundred meters long and caught all the small animals living underground.
﹉
The sky is high and the weather is sunny. It is another good day.
A dozen armed men ran down the mountain, found a place with dense grass, and lay down one by one to hide.
How similar to the scene three months ago.
The willow branches a few hundred meters behind the bandits swayed, then calmed down.
no.
We can't do it now.
The roots are not strong enough to fight so many people at once.
Don't alert the enemy.
Once they become alert, it will be difficult to find them.
But this scene is too similar to my memory.
If...if it happens again...no matter if it alerts the enemy or not, we must stop them!
The ground shook slightly.
The sound of galloping horses gradually approached.
Two black spots came closer and closer.
It turned out to be two people riding galloping horses.
The leader was riding a tall, red horse, wearing a fiery red shirt and a gold ribbon on his head. His face was as flawless as white jade, his lips were small and bright red, the corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, and his flying eyebrows made him look sharp and charming.
As he galloped on his horse, his clothes fluttered.
The one who was slightly behind was riding a black horse, wearing a blue shirt and white inner garment, with clear features and a gentle temperament.
"Hey!" The bandit jumped out from the bushes with a knife.
"Whoa~" The heroic woman riding the chestnut horse in front quickly reined in her horse, and the man behind her also slowed down and walked over.
"Who are you! How dare you stop even your aunt?" Before the bandit could jump out and shout, the heroic woman asked sharply.
The bandits lying in the bushes on both sides came out and surrounded the two men.
"This road is blocked--" one of the big men sang.
"Hand over your money--" another person sang.
"Ha! Robbers?" The heroic woman sneered. "Bandits?"
"Hand over your valuables if you know what's good for you!" a bandit shouted.
The bandit leader mingled among the bandits, inconspicuous and silent.
"Oh! Hand it over to pay for your medical expenses?" The heroic woman said as she took off the long whip hanging next to the saddle, and without any greeting or warning, she swept towards the bandit who was speaking.
"Ah!!" The bandit was hit by the whip tail and immediately covered his bleeding eyes and screamed.
There were barbs on the tail of the whip.
"Bitch! How can you be so cruel? You don't accept my toast, so you have to drink a forfeit. Brothers, come on!" The bandit leader finally shouted.
The bandits raised their weapons and rushed forward.
The author has something to say: This chapter's poems are quoted from "Ode to Willow" by He Zhizhang
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