Chapter 4 Fighting Partner

Xiaoqiu opened her eyes, her mind went blank, and she felt extremely sleepy. However, with the support of habit, she jumped to the ground, walked a few steps in a daze, and bumped into a stool before she remembered that this was not her home. Today He doesn't have to let go, but is going to a distant and unfamiliar place.

Granny Feng walked out of the back room, her back was a bit hunched, and she was a little staggering when walking, but she was extremely calm. Not only did she quickly plan a future, she even made all the preparations without making any sound: enough food for three days. Food, separately stored silver coins, a few changes of clothes, etc., have all been packed into two large bags. The note with the address was given to Fangfang for personal collection, and a set of saddles was even provided.

Fangfang changed into Granny Feng's old clothes, which were of moderate length and slightly fat. She didn't seem to be too sleepy. Her face was blank. She only showed reluctance and shed a lot of tears when she hugged Granny Feng goodbye. , jumped on the horse's back, bowed his head and said nothing.

Although she was grateful to Granny Feng for her care and guidance, Xiaoqiu was still very happy to leave here. There was always a questioning look in the old woman's kind eyes, which made Xiaoqiu dare not look at her.

The bay horse knew nothing about its future itinerary. After walking out of the yard, it naturally turned to the east of Yelin Town. It also wanted to go to the familiar woodland to graze. When Xiaoqiu corrected its direction, it did not object and walked silently on the road. .

The two set out early in the morning, and the sun soon became scorching. The bay-red horse walked consciously under the shade of the trees, always wanting to stop and graze. Xiaoqiu ran forward and back, urging it to continue walking, and occasionally raised its head to peek at the horse. Fangfang on the back.

It was too silent, and the monotonous sound of horse hooves made Xiaoqiu panic, "Grandma Feng." After an hour, he finally came up with something to talk about.

"Yeah." Fangfang still lowered her head, looking unhappy.

"She is so awesome. She has acquaintances in Xijie City and is kind-hearted. She has prepared so many things for us, including saddles. It seems as if she already knew that we... you would leave Yelin Town."

"She's fine." Fangfang whispered, her lips not seeming to move at all.

Xiaoqiu felt bored and didn't understand why Fangfang, who seemed excited yesterday, was so listless when she woke up. He jumped into the woods on the roadside, picked colorful wild flowers, and quickly made a garland.

He did these things unconsciously. It wasn't until he held the beautiful garland in his hand that he felt that only Fangfang could wear it. But he couldn't speak, and he was even embarrassed to make any hints. The little girl on the horse was so unfamiliar. , he didn't see her true appearance clearly now.

When it was almost noon, the wreath was still in Xiaoqiu's hand.

The official road turned a big bend not far away, turning from west to south. From there, the lush trees would gradually become rarer and transition into patches of wormwood as tall as a person.

Xiaoqiu ran ahead, still a few feet away from the corner. Xiaoqiu stopped and was attracted by a strange mark on the road.

It was a strip of floating soil across the road, like a tunnel dug by ants, but the soil was too rough and looked more like a child's work.

Fangfang caught up on horseback, reined in the reins, and asked, "What is that?"

This was the first time she asked a question all morning, but Xiaoqiu didn't notice it. Her mind was entirely focused on the floating soil, "It seems like someone drew the line. I don't know what it means..."

The two people immediately knew what it meant. A long rope, woven from tree bark, jumped out of the floating soil. It was followed by shouts from both sides of the road, which were heartbreaking and reached the sky. , startling dozens of nearby birds to fly away.

The two people and the horse were startled at the same time. Xiaoqiu instinctively jumped back a step. The bay-red horse raised its front hooves and neighed loudly. Fangfang fell to the ground with an ouch.

Things happened so fast, several figures rushed out from the grass on both sides. Xiaoqiu had no time to help Fangfang and faced the fastest ambusher. She also opened her mouth and let out a loud shout, never losing to the opponent in terms of momentum.

Xiaoqiu knocked down the first ambusher, and then fell into a siege and melee. There were people everywhere. There was no need to look for targets, they could just reach out and hit them. There was no way to defend, and the fists came like raindrops.

"Stop, stop fighting, stop it all!"

The melee stopped. Xiaoqiu's arms were entangled with one person, and her neck was strangled by another. There were two people beside her with their fists raised, ready to join the fight.

A few steps away, Er Shuan scanned the whole place majestically and found that everyone was obedient except for one person.

Bald Man was young and small in stature. He cleverly did not pounce on Xiaoqiu, but regarded Fangfang who fell on the ground as his opponent. At this moment, the two were still fighting, and Bald Man did not gain an obvious advantage.

"I said stop." Er Shuan raised his voice.

The bald man finally heard the leader's order. He was obedient and immediately relaxed all his strength. Fangfang pushed him in front of his chest with both hands. He moved his arms wildly and fell to the ground. However, he did not cry out in pain, but laughed.

"We are not here to arrest anyone," Er Shuan said.

All the teenagers let go of their hands, even Xiaoqiu let go. He saw two brothers, Daliang and Erliang, and somewhat believed Ershuan's words.

Xiaoqiu was even more confused and asked warily: "Aren't you here to take us back to town?"

"Of course not. I just guessed that old crazy woman was lying, so I stayed here waiting for you."

"Then why are you doing this?" Xiaoqiu pointed to the rope on the ground. The other party's behavior was more like interception than help.

"I'm afraid you'll run away." Er Shuan seemed to think that this matter was so simple that no further explanation was needed.

Daliang said hurriedly, "It was my idea. I thought you might run faster when you saw... Ershuan, but I didn't let them jump out to fight." Daliang glanced at Lengzi angrily. He just failed to stop him.

There were eight teenagers blocking the road. Except for the brothers Daliang and Erliang, the other six were Ershuan's gang. If Xiaoqiu saw them, she would have jumped on the horse and ran away with Fangfang. "Why did you help me?"

"Because you did a good thing." Ershuan turned to Fangfang, his voice solemn and a little pretentious, "Fangfang, I apologize to you on behalf of the Shen family. I hope I can make up for it."

Ershuan's transformation was unexpected. Xiaoqiu and Fangfang were stunned. They looked at each other, half believing and half doubting. Xiaoqiu finally saw Fangfang's appearance.

Not quite the same as the little girl in his memory, Fangfang had changed a lot in just a few years. Only one thing was the same as before: there was always a look of panic in her big eyes, as if she would be called out to speak in front of a group of strangers at any time.

She gave the power of decision to Xiaoqiu.

"I don't believe you." Xiaoqiu said. Although the brothers Daliang and Erliang were there, he still found it difficult to accept the change of Ershuan and his gang.

"I can make you believe me." Ershuan was very confident and paused, "Where are you going?"

"None of your business."

"Anyway, you have to take the official road. I tell you, you can only go to Linhe Town at most. If you go any further, you will be arrested. My father sent someone to Xiaoerbao to report to the authorities. The Xuanfu Army has already laid a net, and you can't go anywhere."

Xiaoqiu was shocked. He had seen the Xuanfu Army once when he was seven years old. He was extremely impressed by the soldiers covered in black armor. He was full of awe. He never thought that there would be One day he would become their target, but he refused to admit defeat, "I have my own way to escape."

"What if I can't escape? Fangfang will still marry my brother. My father doesn't like her anymore. And you, my father is furious and said he wants to beat you to death."

Xiaoqiu was a little discouraged. He knew almost nothing about the world outside Yelin Town and had no way to escape the Xuanfu Army. He looked at Fangfang, who was even more confused than him. He looked at Daliang again, and Daliang nodded, obviously convinced by Ershuan.

"Okay, I believe you." It was very difficult for Xiaoqiu to say this, but once he said it, he felt relieved. It was always very easy for a young man to hate and forgive someone. "We are going to Xijie City, there... there are acquaintances there."

"Xijie City!" The young men exclaimed in unison. Like Xiaoqiu, they only had a vague concept of their country's capital and felt that it was a place far away.

Ershuan was the only one who didn't show a surprised look. "Xijie City is good. You can hide well. My uncle's family lives there. I once lived there for a few months."

The expressions of the teenagers when they looked at Ershuan changed. He was the tallest, and now he looked even taller.

"Do you have a way to avoid the Xuanfu Army?" Xiaoqiu asked.

Ershuan nodded, "You can't take the main road. You have to take the small road."

Xiaoqiu had never walked on the main road, and of course he didn't know the small road, so he could only nod.

"I have a map at home." Ershuan's words completely established his position as the leader. The brothers Daliang and Erliang took a breath, and even Xiaoqiu couldn't help but open his lips slightly. They had never seen what a map looked like.

Ershuan squatted on the ground and picked up a long pointed stone. He first drew a circle, followed by several horizontal and vertical lines. com "Our Yelin Town is in the east, and Xijie City is in the southwest. In fact, the distance between them is not too far, but there is a big mountain and a large forest in the middle, and the official road becomes far away all of a sudden. My plan is to take a shortcut, enter the forest and follow the river to the southwest. I estimate that I can get out in five or six days, and then turn to the official road, and Xijie City will only be a few days away."

Ershuan said it so confidently, as if he had taken this shortcut before, so no one raised any objections. On the first day away from home, they felt all excited.

"Okay." Xiaoqiu completely believed Ershuan, "Let's take the small road, you help me delay time, don't let the Xuanfu Army catch up."

Ershuan stood up and shook his head vigorously, "Let's go to Xijie City together, I'll lead the way."

Xiaoqiu still didn't fully understand, "Why... do you want to help us?"

Ershuan rubbed his head twice, "Just because I said yes, my father beat me up yesterday and said I was a traitor. I want to show him what it means to be a traitor."

That was it. The teenagers who had just been fighting with Xiaoqiu became partners in the blink of an eye, and came up to him one by one to pat his shoulders.

Only one boy hesitated a little, "Is the forest safe? I heard that demons and monsters like to live in deep mountains and old forests. A Taoist priest came to the town the day before yesterday. My father said that he was not here to catch children, but demons."

"What are you afraid of?" Ershuan straightened his chest, "Let's go together and beat the demons to their knees and beg for mercy."

Ershuan took a big step and was the first to walk into the forest that the boys knew nothing about.