There are no graves, no tombstones, no sounds of mourning and music, and no crying relatives.
Only a strong young man like a mud monkey added the last handful of soil and some withered grass to cover it.
Finally, the young man clasped his fists and said, "Uncles, let's go slowly. Maybe one day, I will come down to accompany you, so we can have some company, don't you think so?"
After saying that, the young man looked up at the sky, thought for a long time, and felt that there was nothing more to say or do. He let out a long breath, turned around and strode away, turned over and jumped on the horse.
With a pinch in the belly of the horse, and the horses neighing, one man and one horse galloped towards the south.
.....................
In the dark mountain forest, the light of the bonfire is looming.
Li Po sat comfortably next to the campfire, staring at the rabbit meat sizzling on the fire, swallowing his saliva from time to time.
After sneaking across the Great Wall, he did not leave the mountains and forests and headed south.
Even now, he doesn't know where he has gone or where he belongs now.
To be honest, he was living quite well in the mountains and forests.
For him, there is plenty of food here, and there are no people who think about killing and claiming kingship all day long. It is a rare piece of pure land.
If winter hadn't come gradually and he didn't have anyone who could take advantage of him, it would be a good idea to settle down here and become a wild man in the mountains regardless of the year or month.
But in fact, he really should get out of the forest as soon as possible.
Otherwise, when the mountains are closed by heavy snow, even he will not be able to eat any good fruits in the mountains.
In the mountains and forests at night, the unpleasant cries of night owls can be heard from time to time, and the howls of wolves are always accompanying them.
Wolves were the undisputed kings of the northern mountains and wilderness. Li Po rarely lit bonfires because he did not want to attract the attention of the most difficult hunters in these mountains and forests.
Today, his stomach and intestines couldn't bear it anymore, so he lit a bonfire and got some hot food to eat.
But it seems that he can't eat this meal today.
The strange noises in the surrounding forest made Li Po slowly stand up, and he also took out the short blade from his waist.
Among the rustling sounds, some black shadows emerged like ghosts.
They slowly approached the edge of the bonfire and hesitated.
The shadows were a little distorted under the firelight, giving off a somewhat terrifying flavor.
But Li Po breathed a sigh of relief.
They were people, people with sticks or other weird things as weapons.
This is a specialty of the northern mountains and forests, and the refugees...
Li Po had seen a lot of them along the way, and the footsteps of the war in the late Sui Dynasty became increasingly clear in Li Po's mind after these refugees appeared.
Not long after crossing the Great Wall, he actually already knew the origins of these refugees hiding in the mountains and forests. Most of them were from Mayi and near Yanmen. They were Sui people who hid in the mountains to escape civil service.
It is hard to say whether they are Hu people or Han people. Judging from their bloodline and hundreds of years of war, it is difficult for northerners today to tell clearly which ethnic group their ancestors belong to.
This can be seen from their appearance and details of their lives. They are a mixture of Chinese and Chinese, and it is difficult to distinguish each other...
But don't be fooled by the pitiful situation of these refugees. Once the refugees go into the mountains to avoid labor, they become criminals.
There is nothing pitiful about what they do in the mountains.
They look similar to those tribes on the grassland. The adult men are often rough and tough. In order to compete for food, they will do anything.
Cannibalism is very common among refugees.
If you even dare to eat people, what else can't you do?
Therefore, for travelers in the mountains and forests with few people and weak strength, the beasts in the forest are not actually scary. What is really scary is meeting these refugees.
Because refugees often lack the skills to survive in the mountains, they are hungry most of the time.
This makes them appear crazy and unscrupulous, and in the end, they can only become beasts without any moral bottom line at all, regardless of whether they are men, women, old or young.
This was the prelude to the war in the late Sui Dynasty, and Li Po had clearly smelled an ominous smell from these refugees.
Li Po had always avoided these hungry guys whenever he could. Like today, when his attention was attracted by the food and he didn't move away in advance, he had nothing to fear.
And words like pity and sympathy were never missing from his dictionary.
"Little brother, can you let us have a good time over the fire?"
A black figure laughed dryly twice, and the sound was inaudible compared to the night owl in the forest. The sticks they held tightly and the infinitely malicious eyes flashing in the darkness all foreshadowed
, such a request just shows that they barely have some sense left.
And when they are sure that Li Po is the only one here, only God knows what they will do.
There were still dark shadows emerging from the surroundings, mostly women and children. They were half-clothed and so dark and thin that if a gust of wind came, they would be blown away.
But their hungry and greedy eyes make people shudder.
Li Po didn't say any nonsense and rushed out like a leopard.
With just one blow, the man who had just spoken was knocked to the ground and his throat was slit.
The two men screamed in panic, but they rushed forward and struck down with their sticks with the sound of wind.
Li Po turned sideways to grab him, stabbed a man in the chest with his knife, grunted, lifted up the screaming man with one hand, and threw him out, knocking the other man to the ground.
After taking two steps, he placed a foot on the chest of the struggling man, and with a crunch, the sound of bones breaking could be clearly heard in the forest.
In the darkness, Li Po stabbed the opponent's neck accurately with a knife, ending his pain.
Three people were killed in an instant. In the darkness, Li Po held the knife in his hand, smelled the faint smell of blood, and frowned.
The cries of women and children made the place instantly noisy.
But the shock effect of death was so powerful that several other adult men did not dare to step forward. However, they were reluctant to leave after being tortured by cold and hunger for a long time.
Li Po gave them the final blow.
He grabbed three corpses one after another, threw them in front of them, and yelled, "Get out."
The refugees quickly dispersed and retreated into the dark mountains and forests. They took away three corpses. There would probably be no funerals. The fresh meat would keep them alive for a while.
Later, it may be children or women, and this situation will continue until they die or gradually adapt to life in the mountains and forests.
That's not something Li Po needs to worry about. Along the way, he has witnessed many tragedies in the world. As long as he doesn't leave this mountain forest, he will see many more.
In fact, he is now also a member of this forest where the jungle is strong and the jungle is strong, but he can still barely control his own destiny.
(I’ll update a few more chapters today. I’m going to attend the Qidian Author Salon tomorrow. I’ll have to stop updating for about a week. Book friends, please forgive me.)
This chapter has been completed!