Chu Zhaozhao was woken up by the clanging sound outside the house.
She opened her eyes drowsily, and the boy beside the bed was gone.
She looked out the window. The sky was slightly bright and it was still early.
She suddenly felt a little nervous. Could it be that the female bandit had evil thoughts again?
She put on her clothes in a panic, not even having time to put on her shoes, and walked quickly outside the house.
But as soon as the door opened, her footsteps stopped, and her anxious heart relaxed.
In the yard outside the house, Chu Qingxiao was hammering wooden boards into the soil with a mallet.
Chu Qingxiao also turned back to look at Chu Zhaozhao at this moment. He smiled apologetically and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Did I disturb you?"
Chu Zhaozhao shook his head subconsciously and walked over barefoot.
I don’t know how long Chu Qingxiao has been busy. In front of me, the wall built with wooden blocks around the house is already half-finished. Although it is crooked in some places, it can be seen that Chu Qingxiao has put great care into it.
"Why are you busy with this?" she asked a little strangely.
"Didn't my mother-in-law bring some chickens yesterday? They were kept in a cage all night and kept screaming, so I thought about building a wall to let them out." Chu Qingxiao said with a smile.
The smile on that clean face, which was not particularly handsome, and paired with the morning light, looked inexplicably pretty.
Chu Zhaozhao was stunned for a moment, and then she remembered the scene of the two sleeping in the same bed. She blushed, quickly turned away her head, and muttered: "It will take at least several months for those chickens to lay eggs. Do you really think that it will take them several months to lay eggs?"
I plan to stay here..."
Halfway through her words, she suddenly listened.
They really don't plan to stay here permanently, and have even begun to think about how to escape from here.
But the most important premise is to dispel the suspicion of everyone in Goshawk Village. The more they want the people in Goshawk Village to believe them, the more they will show their intention to settle here.
Chu Qingxiao's move was obviously very necessary.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but secretly admire the guy in front of her.
Quite smart.
She thought to herself, but her eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of some red and swollen fingers on Chu Qingxiao's hand holding the wooden board.
She frowned, and without much thought, she grabbed Chu Qingxiao's hand and complained: "Why are you so clumsy? You can catch the sword of that female bandit, nail him."
But you can smash the wooden stake with your hand?"
Chu Qingxiao was startled by Chu Zhaozhao's move. He was about to withdraw his hand, but saw the girl lowering her head and frowning.
He felt warm in his heart and said with a smile: "Methods like those in the Shura world can only be activated instinctively when I'm facing an enemy in battle, but not on ordinary days."
"Maybe it's because I haven't reached the state where I can freely relax myself."
After hearing this, Chu Zhaozhao raised his head and rolled his eyes at him: "Then you were so brave yesterday. If your Shura Realm hadn't opened up and the female bandit's sword finger, your hand would have been useless."
Chu Qingxiao smiled innocently and said nothing, just looking at Chu Zhaozhao.
Chu Zhaozhao was stunned, and then realized that she was holding Chu Qingxiao's hand. She was so excited that she let go of her hand as if she was electrocuted, and her face suddenly turned red.
The atmosphere between the two became subtle. Chu Zhaozhao secretly raised his head and glanced at Chu Qingxiao, but the guy just smiled stupidly. Apparently, he had no ability to break the weird atmosphere.
"I...let me help you." Chu Zhaozhao said, squatting down and trying to pick up the wooden board on the ground in a panic.
"Brother Qingxiao! Sister Zhaozhao!" At this moment, Fang Xuer's voice came from not far away.
The two of them looked sideways and saw the little girl jumping over.
"Did you get used to sleeping last night?" She came to the two of them and asked with a smile, showing her two iconic tiger teeth.
"Not bad." Chu Zhaozhao said, but as soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but yawn.
In fact, she didn't sleep well at all last night!
This was probably the stupidest decision Chu Zhaozhao had made in his life. She thought this in her heart, but quickly rejected the idea.
The most stupid thing was to use the Sword Observation and Nourishment Technique on that broken sword.
But this decision is also stupid!
She didn't know what she was thinking, but yesterday she watched Chu Qingxiao busy laying the floor and having to deal with waves of enthusiastic residents.
She felt a little distressed, and she made such an invitation in a flash of her mind.
Although Chu Qingxiao was spared the task of laying the floor, how could he sleep peacefully with a man and a woman crowded together on that small bed.
But Chu Qingxiao, on the other hand, fell asleep heartlessly after lying on the bed for a while!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but glare at Chu Qingxiao again.
Fortunately, Fang Xuer was simple-minded and didn't think too much. She took out a few steamed buns from her arms and handed them over: "Brothers and sisters haven't eaten yet? I made them, you guys have a try."
The two of them didn't refuse, they said thank you and took the steamed buns.
Fang Xuer looked around the half-built wall and said, "Brother Qingxiao is indeed a martial arts practitioner. Half of such a large wall was built so quickly."
"No wonder Sister Yue Jian wants to recruit you into the Goshawk Army."
"Goshawk Army?" Chu Qingxiao, who was eating steamed buns, asked with some confusion.
"It's Commander Pang's side. Their name sounds scary, but in fact they only have about thirty or forty people."
"Our village robs goods from the mountains. When we go to the city to buy and sell goods, it is the Goshawk Army who do it. Although it is a bit hard, the food and money we get every month are more than ordinary people." Fang
Xuer explained patiently.
"Can you go to the foot of the mountain to rob goods?" Chu Zhaozhao's eyes lit up when he heard this.
Being able to go to the foot of the mountain means there is a chance to escape. Thinking of this, she quickly asked: "What about me?"
"Sister?" Fang Xuer thought for a while and said, "It should be Sister Sanniang. She is responsible for picking wild fruits or helping to weave silk and satin on weekdays. These are relatively easy tasks."
"Don't you like it, sister?"
Chu Zhaozhao's expression changed when he heard this, and he almost couldn't help but curse the female bandit a few words, but then he thought about it and realized that this was common sense.
They had just joined the village, and the female bandit must still not trust them. She could think of going down the mountain to escape, and with the cunningness of the female bandit, she could naturally think of it.
One is going down the mountain and the other is going up the mountain, so they are keeping each other in check.
Thinking of this, Chu Zhaozhao put away the anger that was about to flood his face, and instead showed a look of resentment: "My husband and I were displaced and were hunted by Tianxuan Mountain. It's a great blessing to have a safe place to live."
Satisfied, if it hadn't been for Miss Yue Jian's help, my husband and I would have become desperate mandarin ducks, how could we not be satisfied."
"Whatever the copycat needs from us, we should go all out."
To be fair, Chu Zhaozhao's acting skills are indeed a bit poor.
If you use too much force, it will look artificial.
Fortunately, it was the young Fang Xuer who was watching this performance. When the little girl saw this, she did not doubt that he was there, but comforted her: "Sister, don't worry, Sister Yuejian is a very good person. You will definitely be happy when you stay in Gosying Village."
It's fine."
As she said that, she reached out and took Chu Zhaozhao's hand, her eyes shining: "Yesterday, I heard brother Qingxiao tell your story, and I felt so touched."
"Sister, please tell me how you and Brother Qingxiao met?"
"Is it love at first sight? Or is it love that grows over time?"
"Brother Qingxiao, have you ever been a hero and saved a beautiful woman? Sister, have you ever had an inner struggle?"
"Brother Qingxiao, do you have any childhood sweethearts who are innocent on the surface but have evil thoughts behind their backs?"
"Sister, do you have any rich and powerful young masters that you admire?"
"Did they interfere with it? How did you overcome the difficulties and dangers and come together?"
Chu Zhaozhao was confused by Fang Xuer's series of questions. She blinked and looked at the expectant girl in front of her with starry eyes.
After being stunned for a long while, a word came out of his mouth.
"ah?"
..."Where is the Goshawk Army! They are the most important and hardest-working group of people in our Goshawk Village."
"The three generals are easy to identify."
"The fat one is called Pang Pang Zhuang, and he is a bit naive. Ever since I arrived here three years ago, he has been clamoring to get a wife, but he is still a bachelor after all these years."
"The tall and thin man's name is Guan Zijin. His wife lives on the east side of the village. She has a daughter who is so naughty that one day she burned a pile of the witch's insect-feeding grass."
"The man who doesn't like to talk is called Huang Quxiang, but sister, despite his fierce appearance, he is the nicest person. He single-handedly raised four or five orphans in the village."
Walking in Gosying Village, Fang Xuer kept chattering in Chu Zhaozhao's ears like a chatterbox.
After breakfast, Chu Qingxiao was busy continuing to repair the yard, and Fang Xuer volunteered to take Chu Zhaozhao to get familiar with Goshawk Village.
For Chu Zhaozhao, who wanted to figure out the layout of the village and plan an escape route, this was naturally a dream come true.
It's just that the little girl probably hasn't seen anyone from outside for a long time, and she kept chattering along the way. But thanks to this, Chu Zhaozhao also had a general understanding of the situation in Gosying Village.
Along the way, Chu Zhaozhao clearly remembered the layout of Cangying Village, every road and exit, but as she looked at it, she suddenly frowned.
"Xu'er, why are there so many guys missing arms and legs in our Goshawk Village..." Chu Zhaozhao asked.
Along the way, she felt something was wrong. As a stronghold of bandits, Gosying Village was clean and tidy, and the number of old, weak, sick and disabled seemed to be too much.
This is somewhat abnormal for a village that survives by robbing families and homes.
"Taixuan Mountain has nearly a hundred peaks, large and small, and each peak is occupied by one or several groups of bandits."
"Among them, the Ghost Crow Village on Huangxuan Peak is the most powerful. They look after the entire Taixuan Mountain. We, the small villagers, have to pay them money or silver per person every month. Once there is a village that cannot provide these things, they will be at the mercy of others.
He would kidnap the residents of the stronghold, or at worst, he would massacre the entire stronghold."
"Competition among the various cottages is cruel. Most of them will ignore those who have no cultivation or are old, weak, sick or disabled. If you meet a village owner with some conscience, they may give you a way out and let you leave the cottage to fend for yourself. And some without conscience
, just kill them directly or raise them like domestic animals... When there is no surplus food in the village, donate them to Ghost Crow Village in exchange for food."
"Only Sister Yuejian is willing to take in us old, weak, sick and disabled, and that's why Goshawk Village is here today."
"Because of this, there are indeed more old, weak, sick and disabled people in Gosying Village. Although we have tried hard to help everyone and done a lot of things within our capabilities, it is still far from enough."
"Most of the burden still falls on the shoulders of the Goshawk Army and Sister Yue Jian." Fang Xuer said this, her eyes full of admiration for Yue Jian, and a little self-blame for not being able to help.
.
Chu Zhaozhao did not expect that the female bandit whom she hated had such a side. She frowned and asked: "What is the origin of that Ghost Crow Village? Why do they need to exchange strangers for food? What do they need so many people for?"
"
Mentioning the Ghost Crow Village, Fang Xuer's expression changed obviously. She said: "I don't know, either. I heard that the owner of the Ghost Crow Village seems to have practiced some kind of magic skill and uses living people to increase his cultivation."
, some people say that they like to treat living people as objects here..."
"Anyway, the living people who were sent there are almost never seen again on Mount Taixuan."
"And because the prices they offer are very high, some copycats will even take the initiative to help Ghost Crow Village rob living people! They rely on this to maintain the operation of the copycats."
After saying this, the little girl paused, hesitated for a while, then looked at Chu Zhaozhao and said somewhat mysteriously.
"I've heard people say it."
"Gui Ya Village requires so many living people, but they are actually used for sacrifice."
"The leader of the village is over a hundred years old this year, but he is as lively as a man in his thirties."
"It was obtained by using a living person to worship an evil god."