Not too far from the village, the two found a place surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the warmth of the sun.
Jiangyan worked hard with his knife and hands to dig out a hole about a foot long on the ground. He was so tired that his clothes were soaked. After taking a rest to catch his breath, he solemnly buried Uncle You's bones wrapped in wolf skins. After entering, he placed the broken horn bow beside its owner. He knelt in front of the grave and kowtowed several times, unwilling to get up for a long time.
"Little Stutterer, don't you plan to build a tombstone for Uncle You?" Ning Yue asked.
"So what if I set it up? If no one cares about me for the rest of my life, erecting a monument will only add to the sadness. As long as I can keep Uncle You in my heart forever, that's enough - he is my only relative in the world right now. , I have forgotten my parents and relatives, and I must not forget him too!"
Jiang Yan responded, but without stopping, he carefully and meticulously spread the dead branches and leaves scattered on the ground back onto the filled tomb. In an instant, the land became as if no one had ever been there. Generally speaking, even if others inadvertently break in, they have no way of knowing that there is a soul who died unjustly buried under this slightly raised mound.
Most of the day passed. As the sun set, Ning Yue put the little white fox in her arms down on the ground, and sat side by side with Jiang Yan on a large bluestone next to the tomb. She raised her head and enjoyed the sunlight falling on her face from the leaves. He closed his eyes comfortably:
"Little Stammer, if Uncle You and the villagers never told you what dangers there are on the hill, how did you recognize that strange bird as Gu Ying at a glance?"
Sweat dripped from the young man's temples, shining brightly. He pondered for a moment, and then murmured:
"I don't know. I just vaguely felt that it seemed to have been told in many strange and weird stories I had heard before, and I suddenly recognized it. When Brother Cui's wife was crying just now, I seemed to have seen it before."
"So, your memory is slowly recovering?"
"No. There are only some hazy shadows that occasionally flash before my eyes, but I can never see them clearly. Now I still can't remember the appearance of my father and mother, let alone where they are now..."
Seeing that he was a little sad, Ning Yue suddenly felt sour in her heart. She folded her legs in front of her chest and put her knees on her chin, as if to comfort her companion. As she spoke, she began to talk to herself:
"Little Stammer, don't be discouraged. Maybe after a while, you will be able to remember more things and find your relatives. It's great... your father will at least tell you so many stories, and My father would only look at others with a stinky face all day long... In the past, he would often go home to accompany me and make me happy..."
Jiang Yan felt that the girl beside him, who had always been as bright and hot as a flame, suddenly became a little melancholy at this moment. He turned his head, looked at the girl's face that looked a little dim in the sun, and couldn't help but ask:
"Yue'er, you never told me where you came from? That whirlwind before - do you really have no idea at all?"
"Little stutter, I can only tell you that I came from the sea. As for the gust of wind..."
The girl paused for a moment, as if hesitating whether to tell the other person about her life experience, but finally made up her mind and continued, as if she urgently needed someone to listen to her talk, "Actually, my father is the chief priest of the clan, so I was born My physique is different from ordinary people. When I am in a bad mood, a little temper will cause strong winds on the sea and huge waves. Now, I still can't control this power in my body, and I don't know whether this is God's blessing. It’s still a curse on me…”
The black-eyed boy listened to the girl's words with some vague understanding. He didn't understand what the profession of the archpriest was, and he didn't know what attitude he should show towards this powerful force in his companion. He just watched in silence. she.
Ning Yue raised her head and saw the astonishment on her companion's face. She instantly became as uneasy as a kitten abandoned by the roadside:
"Little Stammer, after you find out, will you not want to continue being friends with me..."
"No, how could it be?" Jiang Yan realized his gaffe and shook his head like a rattle.
"You are not allowed to lie to me - but I have felt from the beginning that you are a trustworthy person. Those words you just said will always be kept a secret, right?"
"Of course, I will keep my mouth shut! Anyone who violates this oath will be punished by heaven and earth!"
Jiang Yan nodded vigorously, watching the haze in the girl's blue eyes dissipate, and a smile appeared on his face again.
The two continued to sit for a long time, watching the sun sink to the west. The young man climbed down from the big bluestone, vigorously patted the dust on his buttocks: "There is nothing worth remembering here. I will go again Kowtow to Uncle You, and then let’s leave as soon as possible.”
As he spoke, his body suddenly stopped, and he put his index finger up to his lips, signaling Ning Yue, who still didn't know what was going on, not to make a sound. Then he raised his head, looking through the gap between the treetops to the person above his head. Looking from the sky——
At some point, without any warning, a large flock of birds that had just returned to their nests arose in the forest. The flock of birds gradually gathered into a deep black shadow under the twilight, chirping and passing over their heads, blocking out the sky and the sun.
"What's wrong with these birds?" Ning Yue finally felt something was wrong in the atmosphere and whispered in the boy's ear.
"I'm not sure yet. Maybe it's the migration of wolves, or maybe some other beast is threatening to pass by. But looking at the direction of the birds, it seems that they are heading towards the village. Let's climb up the tree and hide first. Don’t act rashly!”
After Jiang Yan finished speaking, he nuzzled his lips towards a nearby big tree. But Ning Yue had just rolled up her sleeves and was about to climb up the tree, but when she turned around, she saw her companion's face changed, and she suddenly turned around and ran towards the village.
"What are you doing, little stutter?!"
The red-haired girl couldn't help but exclaimed.
"It's Baipi. My Baipi is missing. I'm afraid I accidentally dropped it in the village before. That's the only relic left by Uncle You to me. I can't just lose it like this! Yue'er, wait on the tree obediently. Me, please don’t come down!”
The young man reached out and touched the red rope at the back of his waist that should have been tied to the scabbard - the broken end of the rope was broken by teeth, perhaps worn out in the previous fights. Before Ning Yue could speak to dissuade him, He had already flown away and ran far away. Seeing this situation, how could the girl on the tree be obedient? She immediately picked up the little white fox and jumped down, struggling to follow behind.
However, the people in the village seemed to be frightened by the previous strong wind. They were hiding and hiding, and not even a single person could be seen. Just as the two of them were looking around, sweating profusely, they suddenly I heard Brother Cui’s surprised voice coming from behind:
"Why are you two back again?!"
Jiang Yan immediately turned around and saw that the other party was emerging from the wooden house alone, with a look of astonishment on his face. What he was planning to hide behind his back in a panic was the dagger he was looking for so hard!
"As expected, you picked it up. Return the knife to me quickly!"
The young man didn't want to tangle with the other party anymore, so he immediately went forward to grab it. However, before he could take action, he heard a series of dense hoofbeats, and in a short time, they were running from the forest. Village entrance.
It was this ten-man cavalry team that had disturbed the large flock of birds before. On the backs of horses that were taller than an adult, the warriors sitting upright wore black armor with falcon patterns and red robes. , wearing a feathered jacket, and his face covered with a bronze mask carved with a ferocious animal head. The cavalry arrived from afar, and the horses were foaming at the top and sweating through their heavy clothes.
Jiang Yan once heard from Uncle You that this special black armor was a protective gear worn only by Ye Guo Zhoushi. The cavalrymen didn't seem to care about the dispute between the three of them and just reined in their horses. He stood behind him and asked:
"We have been ordered by Duke Ye to pursue and suppress the rebellious bandits in the territory. Have any suspicious people been in this village recently?"
Hearing that the other party was just passing by, the black-eyed boy immediately wanted to make up a lie to deal with it. Unexpectedly, Brother Cui fell to the ground with a plop, and actually maliciously hurt him and Ning Yue:
"Fellow military lords, these two brats are the pirate accomplices you are looking for. That girl can also use magic to harm people, so you must not let them go!"
Jiang Yan never expected that the other party would bite back at such a time, and immediately reprimanded:
"How can you slander others randomly? Could it be that you failed to frame me before, and now you actually want to kill me, Tong Yue'er, through the hands of others?!"
Brother Cui spoke more and more righteously, and with a "swish" sound, he took out the Baipi in his hand, pointed it directly at the tip of Jiang Yan's nose and shouted:
"Now that all the military lords are here, how dare you pretend to be stupid! The reason why Orion You brought you to this secluded village of ours is obviously to avoid being traced by the officials! There is a strange tattoo on his back. Although he usually uses The clothes are carefully covered up, but I have seen it with my own eyes - it is the beluga pattern that only pirates can use! You brat was brought to the village by You Orion, and you practice with him all day long If he wasn't a comrade in martial arts, why would he bother so much?"
Hearing this, the young man couldn't help being shocked. He had indeed seen the lifelike white whale tattooed on Uncle You's back, and knew that what the other party said was true, but for a while he couldn't think of how to explain it. I had to clenched my fists hard.
Seeing that Jiang Yan suddenly became nervous, the black-armored cavalryman with pheasant tail feathers on his girdle immediately swung his sheathed saber, stabbed Jiang Yan on the waist with a "goo" sound, and shouted sternly:
"Anyone who takes action without mercy will be killed without mercy!"
The black-eyed child immediately squatted on the ground in pain, with a layer of fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. Ning Yue rushed forward to help him, but there was nothing she could do. She could only rush to Brother Cui He continued to curse:
"Shameless person! Fortunately, little Stutterer was soft-hearted and spared your life, but you, a villain, repaid kindness with hatred!"
However, Jiang Yan knew that it was useless to cry out for injustice at this time. He endured the pain and raised his face, and said word by word to Brother Cui in front of him:
"Brother Cui, you and I are much more familiar with this mountain forest than these soldiers. It's not too late to escape together now!"
Seeing that the young man with black eyes was about to die, he actually said such words. Brother Cui immediately laughed out loud:
"Run away? Why should I run away? Now that I have weapons in my hands, I won't be afraid of you! I will subdue you two little pirates with my own hands without the help of the military men! In this way, they will definitely reward me with a large silver reward. With this money, I can take my wife and children to leave this barren place forever, leave that nagging old witch, and start a new life!"
"Idiot, hurry up and put Baipi away! If these soldiers think that I am a pirate, it will be impossible for you and other villagers to get away with it!"
Jiang Yan still wanted to continue persuading him, but suddenly he saw two cavalrymen behind him riding their horses forward. The breath of the war horses sprayed on the back of his neck, making every nerve in his body tense.
The young man quickly stretched out his hand to push Ning Yue out of the siege, but the war horse moved too fast and had already blocked the retreat of the three of them. It was like trying to catch a turtle in an urn.
"Jun-jun ye, you guys, are you making a mistake? I want to help you!"
Seeing this situation, Brother Cui suddenly panicked, and forced a stiff smile on his face. However, the leading cavalry general did not want to hear another word from him. I saw a cold light flashing in the air, Brother Cui. His body and head are now in a different place.
The head flying high hit the ground and rolled away. The wide-open eyes on the head still revealed the endless confusion and fear that Brother Cui had before his death. On his still standing body, there were signs of self-consciousness. Stream after stream of blood spurted out from the wound on the neck. The headless corpse gradually lost its support and fell limply to the ground.
"Pass my order to escort all the people in the village and those related to the pirates back to the Zhihedu Camp to await trial. Anyone who disobeys or resists arrest with weapons will be killed on the spot without mercy!"
The knight on the horse said coldly. Seeing that Jiang Yan was still in a defensive posture and refused to give in, he immediately moved his horse forward and swung his long sword towards him without hesitation!
The black-eyed boy hugged Ning Yue, who was too frightened. He ducked and avoided the sharp edge of the cavalry blade, but his back was still scratched by the sharp edge of the blade. But Jiang Yan had no time to check. He was injured, so he rolled on the spot and picked up the Baipi that Brother Cui had dropped. He turned around and faced the opponent's long blade that was slashing at him again!
"ah--!"
Ning Yue's screams echoed in the mountains, startling a large group of nearby birds that had just landed on the treetops.
The young man originally only intended to make a desperate struggle, but he never thought that the weapon in his hand was actually a sword that could cut iron as well as clay. There was only a crisp "clang" sound, and the cavalryman's long sword was blocked in an instant. Cut off. The sharp broken blades flew outwards with the inertia, and immediately scratched the belly of another nearby war horse.
The cavalry commander never expected that the seemingly weak boy in front of him could actually receive his full blow, and even directly scrapped the weapon in his hand. The war horse under his crotch also stood up due to fright, and turned its back The owner was thrown to the ground hard.
One of the cavalry's feet was caught in the stirrup, and he was lying on his back but had nowhere to use his strength. He could only let his mount drag him in the direction of his coming. The other horse, which had its belly scratched, could no longer stand still. His legs went weak, directly pressing the knight on his body firmly to the ground, making it difficult for him to escape.
"Don't force me! I'm not afraid of killing people!"
Jiang Yan stood in the circle covered in blood, roaring angrily. The blood oozing from the wound on his back gradually flowed down through his clothes, and gathered on the tip of the knife clenched in his hand along his arm. Another drop fell on his feet and hit the muddy ground. Small dark red pits appeared one after another.
He turned his head and glared hard at the faces of the remaining eight or nine cavalrymen. Wherever he looked, the horses neighed, and he seemed to be frightened by the fierce light in his dark eyes, as if they were about to fight a trapped animal. .Seeing that a mere young man opened a gap in the encirclement in the blink of an eye, the cavalrymen all froze on the spot and did not continue to draw their swords to attack.
And in this brief moment, Jiang Yan pulled up Ning Yue, who was also standing on the spot, and rushed straight from the gap into the dense forest outside the village. He knew that he had only been able to escape from the knife edge with just a trace of Luck. Even if he is not seriously injured at the moment, if there is a head-to-head fight, one person alone will never be able to defeat the opponent.
The cavalrymen on the horse also reacted one after another. They shouted loudly and drew their swords out of their sheaths. They fiercely clamped their horses under the belly and chased after the two of them. While running, Jiang Yan glanced at the side and staggered. , Ning Yue, whose face was as pale as paper, resisted the severe pain in her back and squeezed her hand hard:
"Horses can't run fast in the woods, let's hide on Leiyin Mountain!"