Heroes of the Fantasy World

Chapter 9 Fragments
(4)

Glittering little stars scattered densely in the sky, illuminating the path of the two walking under the full moon.They walked through the deep alley where they fought fiercely just now, and walked into the inn they wanted to reach.Tuoba Chong, Tuoba Kuang, and A Bian had already gone to bed and fell asleep, but Bai Feng and Zhao Kuo didn't even eat dinner.

Zhao Kuo and Bai Feng sat by the window, and the former shouted, "Come here!"

"Hey, the little one is here." The waiter sitting on the chair dozing off straightened his clothes, draped a yellowish white rag over his left shoulder, and hurried to Zhao Kuo's side, wiping the table while saying. : "Guest officer, you're finally here! Prefect Xu specially instructed the shop to entertain the heroes of this city. What would you like to eat?"

"Uh... what's the most famous dish in your shop?" Zhao Kuo asked.

"The shop's 'sauce beef' is famous far and near."

"Then give me two pounds!"

The waiter turned around and went to the kitchen to urge the dishes to be served. Then Zhao Kuo said to Bai Feng, "How can you eat beef without good wine, wait for me to find a pot or two."

"Brother Zhao, I don't have to." Bai Feng said.

"You don't drink? What do you do with a gourd all day?"

"That gourd is a very important thing to me... Besides, the gourd is just a container, and it may not be used to hold wine."

"Tsk. Brother Bai, how much did you hide from me?"

"When the time is right, I will tell you naturally."

"Okay, I'll drink it myself!" Zhao Kuo left his seat to look for wine as soon as he finished speaking.When he came back, the "sauce beef" had also been delivered, so the two chatted while eating.

Zhao Kuo took the lead and asked: "Brother Bai, you see that I have reported myself to my family. If you don't say something about yourself, will you be sorry?"

"Okay..." Bai Feng took a sip of tea and said, "Do you know why I recognize the sores on Miss Jiang's hands?"

Zhao Kuo was puzzled: "Why?"

"Because my righteous sister died of this disease."

"Sister righteous?" Zhao Kuo filled a bowl of wine in a palm-sized pottery bowl, drank it all at once, and said, "Why do you have a righteous elder sister?"

"On the way to Yangcheng, we once passed the wreckage of a village, which is Xiangyang Village in the west of the city. I used to live there."

Zhao Kuo was slightly drunk and said, "This... I know this. Your behavior at that time was too abnormal. What about your parents?"

Bai Feng looked at the bright moon and starry sky outside the window, squinting his eyes, tears lingering in his eyes, and said, "Six years ago, Xianbei iron cavalry attacked Xiangyang City and leveled Xiangyang Village. Both my parents died tragically at the hands of soldiers. Trying to save each other, I'm afraid I'll go with my parents too."

Zhao Kuo's face, which was relaxed because of drunkenness, became serious after listening to that paragraph, and said sympathetically, "Bai...Brother Bai, are you alright..."

"Heh." Bai Feng sneered: "Every time I see Miss Jiang, I always think of my righteous sister. If it wasn't for me to survive, she would never have that incurable disease."

"Um... what have you been doing for the next six years?"

"I met my master, and the flute and gourd belonged to his old man."

Zhao Kuo said suddenly: "No wonder you always take them with you." Then he put a piece of beef into Bai Feng's bowl and said, "Brother Bai, eat slowly."

"Stop drinking, I have business to do tomorrow."

"Okay, I won't drink anymore." Zhao Kuo said, wiping away the remaining drops of alcohol on the corners of his mouth.After a while, the two went back to their rooms to rest after talking and eating.

The next day, Bai Feng and Zhao Kuo arranged their appearances early in the morning and planned to visit Wu Yi, the militia coach.After arriving at the place instructed by Xu Taishou, they set out to find Wu Yi's whereabouts.

Inside the stone-built outer wall stood three earth-built tile houses. In front of the largest tile house in the middle stood a row of various long spears: some long, some short, and some with ornate dragon patterns. , with red tassel.And they all have one striking thing in common - the gun body is spotless, and the gun head is shiny.Presumably because of the loving care of their owners.The two smaller tile-roofed houses were on both sides, and there was a large space between the three houses, where Wu Yi, the militia coach, should practice martial arts on weekdays.

Bai Feng and Zhao Kuo went straight to the house in the middle, because its door was open.When I got closer, I saw a woman in plain clothes cleaning the house.Zhao Kuo stepped forward and asked, "Does the militia coach Wu Yi live here?"

The woman raised her head to see the two young people with unfamiliar faces, and replied in a panic, "You are..."

"It was Prefect Xu who asked us to come." Bai Feng cupped his hands and said.

"Oh, I'll call him out now!"

After a while, a fine-looking man in a cyan single shirt came over.He opened his mouth and said, "Two young heroes, Wu Yi really lost his way."

Zhao Kuo replied, "Don't be too polite, do you know what I asked Prefect Xu about?"

Wu Yi said calmly: "I understand. To be honest, in fact, I have been keeping in touch with the guards who went out to conquer the city through 'flying pigeons'. So I can roughly understand what their situation is."

"Brother Wu, please let me know quickly."

"At present, they are camping fifty miles south of the bandit camp, forming a stalemate with the bandits. But in terms of military strength: the enemy has 500 men and more than 100 horses; we only have 400 men, and the horses are only the commanders and spies of various ministries. Yes, there are only thirty horses at most. So we are at a disadvantage in terms of strength. However, I have good news and bad news..."

"Let's talk about the good news first," Zhao Kuo said.

"The good news is that we rescued more than 100 captives from the bandits a few days ago, and some of them may be the one you are looking for." Wu Yi coughed and cleared his throat, and continued, "The bad news is that, More than 100 people means that a part of the force must be allocated to protect them, which makes the battle situation even more unfavorable."

"Can't we first withdraw the people back to Yangcheng?" Bai Feng asked.

"It's too risky to do this. The bandits sent mobile cavalry sentries around the camp. If a part of the troops were to protect the people to retreat, the enemy would take the opportunity to attack the camp, and we, who were already at a disadvantage, had little chance of winning; if the entire army retreated If we do, our army will be forfeited, and the bandits will only become more rampant!" Wu Yi looked at Bai Feng and sighed, with a helpless expression on his face.

"Can you take us to the camp?" Zhao Kuo said eagerly.

"Young Master Zhao is kind, I can understand. But the post on the road is very dangerous and has no humanity at all. When they see a man, they will kill them, and if they see a woman, they will bring them back for their rape!"

Zhao Kuo looked at the ground and said sadly, "Is there really no way..."

Seeing that Zhao Kuo was so depressed, Wu Yi said decisively: "There is a small road away from the main road. There may be no sentries on the road. I can take you there. However, there should be as few people as possible. Otherwise, the risk will be even greater."

Zhao Kuo and Bai Feng looked at each other for a while, then nodded to each other.

"When are you two going to leave?"

Bai Feng said jokingly, "I think Mr. Zhao definitely can't wait for tomorrow."

"Let's go now!" Zhao Kuo said with resolute eyes.

"Then when the two of you are ready, we will gather in the north of the city."

After Bai Feng and Zhao Kuo left Wuyi's house, they went directly back to the inn to explain the situation to Tuoba Chang, Tuoba Guang, and A Bian, and finally decided to let Tuo Ba Guang and A Bian stay in Yangcheng to protect them. of personal belongings.On the other hand, Tuoba Chong accompanied Bai Feng and Zhao Kuo.

The three of them walked in the morning market, and they saw many vendors and pedestrians on the street: vegetable farmers selling vegetables, butchers selling meat, hunters selling skin and meat of animals in the mountains, and artisans selling various handicrafts.It was completely different from what Bai Feng and the others saw when they first arrived.The three walked and chatted with great interest.

"Yangcheng is worthy of being an important commercial center in the south. The abundance of goods and the prosperity of people are far beyond my imagination." Zhao Kuo said.

"After all, this place was also the capital of the country. The desolation we saw that day should be because people were afraid of the 'Black Wind Three Demons'." Bai Feng responded.

Tuoba Chong sighed in his heart: Such a prosperous street scene was once destroyed by his own clansmen, and now it will be in jeopardy... For him, who has long been tired of war and killing, he is not willing to let history repeat itself.

Just as Tuoba Chong was thinking to himself, Wu Yi, who was in front of him, was waving to Bai Feng and his party.He was wearing armor, gauze on his wrists and ankles, a goggle on his chest, two short spears on his back, and a dragon-patterned long spear in his right hand, as if he was going to fight on the battlefield. .

"Young Master Zhao, put on these scales!" Wu Yi held three sets of worn scales in his hands, which seemed to be able to withstand only one powerful attack.

Bai Feng and Zhao Kuo put on their armors one after another, but Tuoba Chong refused.

"The leather armor I'm wearing is enough."

"Well then, I haven't asked for your name yet," Wu Yi asked.

"Tuoba Chong."

The four of them walked for more than ten miles on the main road, then turned and walked into the trail.The trail is very narrow, with thorns and ferns. If you are not careful, your skin will be scratched, and you can only pass one person at a time, so it is difficult for thieves to find or set up an ambush.The crowd was moving steadily along the way, and the surroundings were surprisingly quiet, as if the sound had been frozen.Bai Feng, Zhao Kuo, and Tuoba Chong had no idea of ​​the terrain, so they could only follow the path Wu Yi had walked all the way, and it was difficult to pay attention to the things around them.

"Listen, there is the sound of water flowing." Wu Yi finally relieved his tense nerves and said, "As long as you pass the wooden bridge in front of you, you will soon be able to reach the camp."

After all, everyone quickly walked out of the trail and suddenly became enlightened.In front of him, a bridge made of broken wood spanned the two banks, and the width was just enough to accommodate one person, and two or three feet below the bridge was a rush of water.The sound of the water hitting the stones and the two banks filled the ears of the four.

They crossed the bridge in turn, with Bai Feng walking last.Suddenly, a cold arrow was shot from the opposite bank and hit Bai Feng's spleen.Bai Feng suddenly felt weak in his limbs, lost his balance and fell under the rapids.

Wu Yi threw his short spear in the direction of the arrow, only to hear a scream, and a Han bandit fell from the bushes.Zhao Kuo and Tuoba Chong eagerly shouted Bai Feng's name, but Bai Feng, who was hit by the arrow, was washed farther and farther by the water, until there was no trace.The two had no choice but to give up and follow Wu Yi to speed up the pace to go to the camp to discuss countermeasures.

Bai Feng, who was swept downstream by the current, was in a coma for a long time, and out of nowhere a crisp bell sound awakened his consciousness.He opened his eyes and saw a slender figure in yellow-green clothes with a string of copper bells tied to his feet.Then, exhausted, he fell asleep again.

(End of this chapter)