The visitor is none other than Ye Kai, the pony thief who was let go by Yuan Feng last time. Compared with the embarrassment he was in at that time, Ye Kai looks radiant today. He wears a sheepskin jacket, a dog-skin hat, calfskin boots, and three new outfits inside and outside.
But there is a hint of gloom between his handsome eyebrows.
Yuan Feng turned over and dismounted, patted Ye Kai on the shoulder and said: "I promised you to arrive at noon on New Year's Eve, and I will definitely arrive. I promised to rescue you from the fire pit, and I will definitely do it."
"Great, I've been looking forward to this day for a long time." After hearing Yuan Feng's promise, Ye Kai's excited voice was choked with sobs, which made Zhang Tietou on the side very confused, thinking to himself, you kid, just let it go
If you don't do this promising job, why are you thinking about leaving?
Zhang Tietou’s idea is not surprising. Being a horse thief is really popular these days. God is the boss and they are the second child. They can rob whoever they want and kill whoever they want. They are very happy. Most people want to hang out with horse thieves and still make money.
There is no chance. But Zhang Tietou doesn't know that horse thieves are also divided into classes.
"Have you found out what you were asked to investigate?" Yuan Feng asked in a low voice.
"It's all confirmed. Today is New Year's Eve. The second master is celebrating the New Year at Widow Zhang's house in the north of the town. He brings two followers with him. The third master Shali Fei is from this town and goes home to spend the New Year with my mother. Brothers who have concubines will go to the concubine's house.
, If you don’t have a concubine, you’ll stay with the Fourth Master in the village. We’ve already bought twenty jars of sorghum, one cow, and ten sheep. We’ll definitely have a big party tonight.”
"Well done, you take us to touch the door of Widow Zhang and Shali Fei's house. Remember, you go in front and we go behind, and we just stop at the door."
So Ye Kai took Yuan Feng and Zhang Tietou into the town to hide their eyes from others. They hid their knives in the pockets next to the saddles and covered their faces with scarves. Fortunately, Huangcaopu was a big town.
There were also many people visiting relatives, so it was not surprising that there were two new faces on the street.
Ye Kai walked in front, and Yuan Feng and Zhang Tietou led their horses behind, twenty steps away, walking slowly in the town. Yuan Feng observed the layout of the town while walking. It was basically the same as ten steps.
Bali Fort is similar. It was also built with a border guard castle as the core. However, because of the rich water and grass nearby and the large amount of arable land, more than 500 households gathered together to form a large town.
The horse thieves had no sense of risk and had no manpower stationed at the city gates or commanding heights. This made Yuan Feng feel more at ease, and the attitude of the people in Huangcaopu towards Ye Kai made another of his judgments come true.
Everyone who saw Ye Kai nodded and knelt down and called him "young master", but when he walked over, he spat in disdain. A few people even secretly cursed: "Brother Rabbit, what are you pulling on?" These words all fell into place.
In Yuan Feng's ears.
Arriving at the door of a house in the north of the town, Ye Kai just squatted down to pick up his shoes when a man walked out of the door and said with a smile: "My dear husband, what kind of wind brought you here?" He was about to pinch Ye Kai's face.
.
Ye Kai jumped up and ran away. The man did not chase him, but looked at his back and laughed.
"This is the mistress of the second master." Yuan Feng said quietly to Zhang Tietou.
"That's right, it's Widow Zhang's house. Huangcaopu is famous for its broken shoes and secret prostitution. I know it." Zhang Tietou said.
After Zhang Tietou's confirmation, Yuan Feng was completely relieved. After the man entered the door, he led the horse and quietly passed by the door. This was a very ordinary northwest house with no mystery. He took a quick look and passed by.
After going around again, Ye Kai came to the door of a big house, squatted down again and picked up his shoes. It was said that it was a big house door, but it was actually just a few tiles on the roof, and the earthen wall was just a few inches higher than other people's houses. This yellow grass
After all, the shop is not as good as Lanzhou Prefecture, even the mother-in-law of the horse thief leader is nothing more than this.
After sneaking around for a while, it was already afternoon. Taking advantage of the opportunity to buy firecrackers in the market, Yuan Feng said to Ye Kai: "Go back first and come out to meet him when it gets dark."
Ye Kai nodded and went away. Yuan Feng took another look at the stronghold of the horse thieves from a distance. It was a deep compound with high earth walls and deep trenches outside. It occupied a large area and almost covered the northeast corner with yellow grass.
They were all packed inside, but there was still no one standing guard on the gate tower, and the sound of shouting and fist-fighting could be heard from a distance.
Yuan Feng smiled disdainfully, led the horse and walked out of the town, Zhang Tietou followed closely. At this time, there were very few people on the street. It was freezing cold and it was New Year's Eve, so the people hid early.
Went to have a drink on the kang.
The two of them walked through the empty street, and as soon as they turned a corner, a drunken man with an open dog-skin waistcoat and a gourd in his hand passed by Yuan Feng. He suddenly stopped and shouted: "That's not right, this horse
Why does the horse look so familiar?"
Yuan Feng felt bad. These horses were all seized from horse thieves. They naturally looked familiar. Fortunately, the man was drunk and before his mind could turn around, Yuan Feng stepped forward quickly and stretched out his right leg.
The man's left leg took advantage of the situation and he knelt down. The drunkard's lower body was already unstable, but he was suddenly attacked and fell to the ground. The back of his head hit an ice lump on the ground, and he fainted.
Although Yuan Feng was small, he had strong hands. After quickly observing the situation around him, he grabbed the drunkard by the shoulders and pulled him to the corner next to him. Zhang Tietou was already frightened and stood there dumbly at a loss.
"Come and help!" Yuan Feng had already dragged the drunk man to the corner and said in a low voice.
Zhang Tietou walked over tremblingly and said, "How to deal with it?"
Yuan Feng pulled out a dagger from his boot, made a slash on his neck, and said, "Wipe it off."
"This... this is murder." Zhang Tietou took the dagger but did not dare to strike.
"What do you think we are here for? Hurry up, he will wake up if you don't do anything!" Yuan Feng urged.
Zhang Tietou had no choice but to press the dagger against the man's neck and cut it with all his strength. As the dagger shot back and forth, the man suddenly woke up. His two frightened eyes were wide open. He wanted to fight and call for help, but his throat was blocked.
It had been cut off, no sound came out of his mouth, and blood foam came out of his neck. The man's eyes gradually went blank, and his feet were still twitching, like a chicken that was not dead.
Seeing the glory of life disappearing from the man's eyes, Zhang Tietou was at a loss. He held the bloody dagger and didn't know what to say. Without a word, Yuan Feng pulled down the firewood next to him to cover the body, and used hay to cover the body.
After wiping away the blood and making sure that there were no mistakes, he said: "It will be easier to handle if it's the first time. I was just as scared as you when I killed someone for the first time. It's okay, let's go quickly."
Back at the earthen fort where the teenagers lived, they had rested for half a day and had recovered somewhat. However, some of the teenagers had blood blisters on their inner thighs due to long-distance riding, and it was very painful to walk around. This small injury
The pain did not affect the enthusiasm for the battle at all. The brothers were sharpening their knives, cleaning their guns, and several people were practicing slingshots. The atmosphere was very lively.
Seeing Yuan Feng coming back, the brothers quickly gathered around and asked, "Jiulang, how did you go when you stepped on the spot?"
Yuan Feng said: "Check the weapons and take action when it gets dark."
Suddenly, Zhao Ding'an noticed that Zhang Tietou's face was pale and asked hurriedly: "Tietou, what's wrong?"
"It's okay, I'm okay." Zhang Tietou hesitated.
"If Brother Tietou hadn't taken advantage of the opportunity and killed a horse thief, neither of us would have been able to come back." Yuan Feng said.
"Tietou, you can't tell, it's yours." Zhao Ding'an hit Zhang Tietou on the shoulder with a hammer, his face was full of envy and admiration, Zhang Tietou's pale face gradually turned rosy, facing everyone's
He was both proud and ashamed to praise him, and he couldn't help but cast a grateful glance at Yuan Feng.
At the end of the twelfth twelfth lunar month, it got dark very early, and it didn’t take long for the lights to go dark. The moon was hidden behind the clouds, and only a few stars were blinking. In the distance, Huangcaopu Town was dotted with the lights of ordinary people’s homes. Today is the New Year
At night, people don't go to bed so early, and they come out to set off firecrackers at midnight to celebrate the New Year.
Yuan Feng and his party quietly walked towards Huangcaopu, and when they reached a mile outside the town, Ye Kai came to meet them.
"Brother Feng, the horse thieves are drinking. They probably won't finish in an hour or two." Ye Kai said.
"Okay, let them drink first, and let's go greet the second master."
After the death of Duyi Dao, there were no more horse thieves. The four masters were divided into two factions and fought openly and secretly. They only thought about fighting for power and profit, and no one really wanted to avenge Duyi Dao. This is why Shibali Fort can still maintain peace for nearly a month.
.
The fourth master, Cao Shangfei, went out without permission to attack the Shibali Fort. He stole the chickens but failed and lost the rice, not to mention his life. He also lost more than a dozen brothers. After hearing the news, the second master and the fifth master were overjoyed.
They thought about annexing the power of the third master after the New Year and then slowly take care of the little swordsman. They never expected that the people from Shibalibao would actually come to kill them on this New Year's Eve.
The second master's martial arts skills are very average. He has only achieved status for a few days by following the one and only sword. He is the type with no ambitions. He doesn't have many hobbies. He can't live without these two things: wine and old ladies.
No, on New Year's Eve, I left my brothers to hang out with a shabby shoemaker. Zhang Cuihua from the north of the town was also a well-known shabby widow. She was in her thirties and was pretty and flirtatious. She winked at everyone she met. The second boss was fascinated by her.
No, I already know what his last name is. Today I specially brought two followers, carried half a pig, and brought two sheep over to spend the night with Zhang Cuihua.
The second master was happy, but his two followers were not. They were squatting in the cold and cold side room, drinking wine, and listening to the flirting in the main room. They were really full of complaints. One guy drank too much and went out cursing.
After peeing, I walked to the base of the wall and saw a dark shadow turning over there. My brain was numbed by alcohol and was slow. Before I could shout out, I felt a chill in my heart. My mouth was covered by a palm, and I couldn't even hum.
Just die.
Zhao Ding'an confirmed that the body in his arms was not breathing, then he released his palm, gently put the body down, and gave a thumbs up to Yuan Feng who was hidden by the door of the compartment, indicating that the task was completed. In the night, Zhao Ding'an grinned proudly and silently.
Smiling, only a mouth of white teeth could be seen on his face that was blackened by pot ash.
Yuan Feng leaned against the door and signaled Ye Kai to knock on the door of the wing. Ye Kai bravely went over and knocked twice. An impatient voice came from inside: "What are you knocking? Are the second masters sleeping with the lamp on?"
"
He thought it was the man outside who was calling him. He listened to the window. He put down his wine glass and came to open the door. The room was bright and dark outside. Before he could see anything, he felt his eyes blurred. A long knife came up from underneath and stabbed in diagonally.
In the pit of my heart, I subconsciously wanted to open my mouth and scream, but when I opened my mouth, a walnut-sized clay ball shot out, suppressing the scream.
This knife was stabbed by Yuan Feng. It was accurate and cruel. It went straight into the heart from below. The person died on the spot. After entering the house and confirming that there was no one else, Yuan Feng stepped out and raised his eyebrows at the brothers who were ambushing around the yard.
Thumbs up means everything is going well.
In the main room, Zhang Cuihua was babbling and singing a ditty, and from time to time the sound of the second master's voice could be heard. It seemed that he had drunk a lot of wine.
Yuan Feng made silent gestures and asked several brothers to approach the main room. He took out his knife, cheered up, rushed up, kicked open the door and slashed with his knife, and the other brothers quickly rushed in.
The second master's martial arts skills are not very high, so Yuan Feng dared to confront him head-on. After coming in, he would just kill people without saying a word. This was seriously different from the routine in the arena. How could a person with a name in the arena do such an unscrupulous thing? Even if
Even if it is a vendetta, it must be known by name and beheaded before it is too late. How can there be such an unruly person as Yuan Feng?
So the second master was stunned for a moment, but after all, he has been a swordsman for many years. He woke up before the long knife hit him. He rolled off the kang like a lazy donkey, reached out to draw the knife, and moved the kang table.
Next to her, Zhang Cuihua opened her mouth and screamed.
It was too late, but soon, Yuan Feng's sword changed its direction and slashed diagonally, cutting off the second master's hand that was holding the handle of the sword on the spot. At the same time, Wang Xiaoga, who was following closely behind, slashed with the back of his sword.
Widow Zhang hit her on the head and knocked her unconscious. She tilted her body and brought the kang table to the ground. The floor was covered with wine and meat. Widow Zhang's snow-white breasts were exposed outside the floral cotton-padded jacket, but no one in the room was in the mood to look.
Yuan Feng's knife was pressed against the second master's neck. The second master was covering his severed hand, blood spurting out uncontrollably, and his face turned pale.
"Good man, there is money in the cabinet, please don't hurt my life." The second master begged.