Practice starts with skill points.

Chapter 9 There are bandits ahead

The appearance of the Zhong Lin brothers was not surprising. After all, many people fled in this way. The only difference between them was that they were not as embarrassed and not as pale and thin.

Although the brothers Zhong Lin and Zhong Shi look very thin, they are much stronger than those pale and skinny refugees.

Zhong Lin covered the cloth bag containing the meat with some old clothes with a wary look, and at the same time signaled Xiao Shitou with his eyes.

Little Stone was also very smart. He leaned his body sideways and pressed the food in the cloth bag under him.

Zhong Lin remembered the classic words of "Master He" in his previous life: the victims of the disaster were no longer considered human beings. As long as they had something to eat, they would do anything.

These foods are the basis for the survival of the two brothers, and they will not allow anyone to take them away.

Zhong Lin pushed the wheelbarrow silently and continued to move forward. His speed was faster than others, but it did not attract anyone's attention.

Unconsciously, there were fewer and fewer refugees around Zhong Lin. When he turned around, he saw that all of them had been left behind. Zhong Lin's pace did not stop, and he walked faster and faster.

Suddenly, a disheveled figure jumped out and pounced on Xiao Shitou like a vicious dog pouncing on its prey, or to be more precise, on the bag under Xiao Shitou.

"Second brother!"

Little Stone screamed, but still held the bag tightly.

Almost at the same time, Zhong Lin pulled out the hatchet that had been hanging on his waist and slashed it diagonally.

puff!
The hatchet was sharpened by Zhong Lin and the blade scratched the man's stomach, leaving a trail of blood.

"what!"

A shrill scream was heard, and then the refugee fell to the ground. A long wound was cut on his stomach, and the wriggling internal organs could be vaguely seen inside.

Zhong Lin did not continue to attack, but stepped forward, picked up Xiao Shitou and held him in his arms, pointing the hatchet in his hand at the refugee lying on the ground, ready to attack again at any time.

The refugee was lying on the ground screaming, which frightened the people around him. They were terrified and stepped back.

At this time, Zhong Lin also saw the man's face clearly. He was a young man, not very old, with deep eye sockets and chapped lips. It was obvious that he had been hungry for a long time.

After a while, the young refugee stopped screaming and lay motionless on the ground.

He was already on the verge of starvation, and was then slashed by Zhong Lin. It was naturally impossible for him to survive under such circumstances.

Zhong Lin narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced around. All the refugees who met his gaze were terrified and did not dare to approach.

"go!"

Putting the small stone on the wheelbarrow, Zhong Lin walked forward with big strides, crossing the crowd.

Little Stone held the cloth bag containing food tightly, like a little wolfhound protecting its food, baring its teeth at the surroundings, looking very fierce.

"Little brother."

Just as Zhong Lin stepped out of the crowd, he heard a shout from afar, followed by a middle-aged man approaching, bowing and greeting him. Zhong Lin also took a quick look at the middle-aged man in front of him. He was wearing a linen shirt, had a rough face, and was covered with stubble. He had a machete on his waist, and his arms were much thicker than those of an ordinary person. At first glance, he was not a refugee.

Zhong Lin calmly held the hatchet at his waist with his right hand, while his left hand reached for the cowhide bag containing stones.

"Is something wrong?"

The middle-aged man saw all of Zhong Lin's little movements and spread his hands to indicate that he had no other intentions. He smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, little brother. My name is Zhu Jie. I'm from Zhujia Town. I'm not a refugee. I'm planning to relocate to Heishan County with my tribe. I just saw you take action, little brother, and I want to team up with you to travel together and help each other. What do you think?"

Zhong Lin followed the middle-aged man and looked behind him, and then he saw four flatbed carts in the distance. Each cart was pulled by a yellow ox. The front and back carts were full of people. The two carts in the middle had four large wooden boxes on them, and there were children and women sitting on them.

There were six men surrounding the car, each of them holding a weapon, but they were all hunting knives, bows and arrows or something like that.

Zhong Lin understood that this group of people should also be those who fled to Heishan County, but compared with ordinary people, their families were better off and they would not suffer from the cold and hunger.

The reason for looking for Zhong Lin was probably because they were worried that other refugees on the road would become angry, and one more person meant more strength.

Zhong Lin didn't know these people and didn't want to cause trouble, so he directly declined: "Thank you for the invitation, but no thanks."

Seeing Zhong Lin's refusal, the middle-aged man hurriedly said, "Brother, don't refuse yet. To reach Heishan County, we still need to climb two hills. The hill ahead is infested with bandits, and mobs are blocking the road. It will be difficult for you to escape with a younger brother. I'm not kidding. There is a village called Funiu in the back. The people there were attacked by bandits on the hill ahead. They were massacred and no one survived."

Zhong Lin's eyes narrowed. Funiu Village? So that's how it was. It seems like yesterday's feeling was right. Something really happened in Funiu Village. No wonder there was no sound and no one in sight at dinner time. It turned out they were all killed.

"Little brother, not as good as you..."

"No, bye."

Zhong Lin did not continue to talk to the middle-aged man. He pushed the wheelbarrow away, leaving the middle-aged man standing there with a disappointed look on his face. In the end, he could only leave helplessly.

Zhong Lin glanced at the middle-aged man who was leaving. Although the bandits were scary, these people were not trustworthy either.

Zhong Lin joining them might really increase his chances of saving his life, but he might also be used as cannon fodder. If it was just him, it wouldn't matter, he could just run away, but it would be hard to say if he took Xiao Shitou with him.

Shaking his head, Zhong Lin quickened his pace. After passing a group of refugees, he turned a corner and entered the woods beside the road. He quickly shuttled through the woods and finally found a slope to stop.

"That's it! Go get some firewood, Stone."

Zhong Lin skillfully found some gravel to build a stove, then took out some bacon and brown rice from the package and put them into the pot, and then poured the water from the water bag into it.

He took out some dead leaves and started to light a fire, and Xiao Shitou quickly brought some dead branches picked up from the forest.

Soon the rice was ready. The grease from the bacon seeped into the rice. The salty taste and meaty aroma of the bacon blended with the fragrance of the rice, which greatly increased people's appetite. The two brothers began to eat happily.

In the past few days, both of them have been eating meat with every meal. Although it cannot be said that they are well-nourished, the oil and water are definitely enough, which has also made both of them start to gain weight. They are no longer as thin as a stick as before.

After filling their stomachs, they did not set off directly. Instead, they let Xiao Shitou watch Zhong Lin and began to take a nap. Two consecutive nights of vigil had left him severely sleep deprived. If he really encountered bandits on the road, he had to stay alert and be ready to escape at any time.

Lu Xun once said that if you encounter a tiger, you don’t need to run fast enough to escape, as long as you run faster than others.

(End of this chapter)