The morning in the mountains is slightly cold, the forest is shrouded in a thin mist, and occasionally some dew drops drop from the leaves.

At this time, a dozen figures were staggering forward in the forest.

In the vast sea of ​​trees, I don’t know where I am or where I should go.

One, two, three... a total of eighteen people. Ji Shu counted them carefully and sighed.

Because of Hua Xiong's surprise attack last night, Sun Jian's army was in chaos. Many soldiers could not find their generals due to the melee at night, so they had to break out individually. Ji Shu and others gathered hundreds of soldiers and horses to attack one corner, but in the end they could only

Eighteen people survived.

After a night of running around, the soldiers were very tired, but what was even more tired was their hearts.

After losing the battle, their morale was naturally low, and they had to worry about the pursuers who might appear in front of them at any time. Ji Shu was sure that if there were pursuers who could catch up with them, they would probably be doomed in their current situation.

"Who!" Qingshan suddenly shouted, leaped several steps away, and slashed behind a tree with his big knife.

"My lord, spare your life!"

An old woodcutter had already been paralyzed there with fear, and Qingshan's knife was placed on his neck.

"Qingshan, don't do anything."

Ji Shu was secretly happy and quickly stepped forward to help the old woodcutter up.

"Don't be afraid, old man. We are General Sun Jian's subordinates who are here to defeat the traitor Dong Zhuo. We will not attack the common people."

"My brother just mistakenly thought that Dong Zhuojun's craftsman was hiding here, and that's why I frightened the old gentleman. Please forgive me."

When the old woodcutter saw that Ji Shu and the others were not as fierce as Dong Zhuojun he had seen in the past, he felt relieved a little, waved his hands and said, "You're welcome, sir. When the little old man saw so many people suddenly appearing in the mountains, he was frightened for a moment.

Then I hid, not daring to blame this official."

Everyone smiled. Ji Shu and Huang An helped the old woodcutter sit down. Huang An asked: "Old man, we are in a hurry to join the large army. I don't know how to go to Chenliu?"

Yes, there is a local who knows how to get back! When the soldiers heard this, they immediately became energetic.

The old woodcutter saw that these officials were all very polite to a small person like him, which was very different from Dong Zhuojun, so he couldn't help but return a salute: "Come on, all the officials will go down the mountain with the little old man. When you get to the village, you can see the officials."

Alright, go east along the official road to reach Chenliu."

Everyone was overjoyed and quickly helped the old woodcutter carry the firewood and asked the old woodcutter to take them down the mountain.

······

A few wisps of smoke drifted from the small village on the mountainside.

Under the big tree next to the village entrance, Ji Shu and others sat on the ground, wolfing down the steamed buns one by one with a bowl of cold well water.

"My dear fellow villagers, the life-saving grace I will never forget."

After wiping the corners of his mouth, Ji Shu stood up, clasped his fists, and bowed deeply. Everyone also followed suit and bowed.

The people in the mountains are hospitable. Ji Shu and others don't have the airs of big shots. After a period of contact, everyone is no longer as divided as before.

Seeing everyone saluting, the uncle standing nearby laughed and became anxious at the same time: "How much are these buns worth? Look at you, you're out of business now!"

"Come on, sit down and continue eating. Seeing you makes me think of my son. Seeing you eating happily makes me happy too!"

"Uncle, where is your son? Why is he missing?"

The uncle's face froze slightly, he lowered his head and said softly, "He's dead. Not only my son, but Aunt Li's son who brought you water just now is also dead. They were all arrested as slave laborers under Dong Zhuo's order. I don't know why.

Just die."

Everyone couldn't help but fell silent for a while and looked over.

Huang An was from a Jingzhou family. He didn't know that the people were suffering so much. He hesitated for a while and couldn't help but ask: "How many people in the village were captured by Dong Zhuo and failed to come back?"

The uncle sighed and said coldly: "It's too much to say. As soon as Dong Zhuo entered the capital, more than a dozen people in our village were arrested, saying they were going to serve as soldiers for Dong Xiangguo. The one who just took you down the mountain

Old Man Zhao's grandson was also captured at that time. As a result, he fought with Ding Yuan and was killed and disabled. The few who survived were released. That day, Old Man Zhao almost cried to death."

"Later, Dong Zhuo defeated Ding Yuan and wanted to build a palace. Four more people in our village were arrested and did hard labor. As a result, they all died inexplicably. I originally wanted to seek justice for my son, but in

The county government was beaten and kicked out."

"A few days ago, I heard that Sun Taishou defeated Dong Zhuo's army. I was so happy that I drank a few sips of wine, thinking that the revenge of my stupid Zhu Zhu would be avenged. Unexpectedly, just a few days later, Sun Taishou was also defeated.

.”

"Hey, this was originally a big village, but now everyone has escaped. There are only about 20 households in the village. There is not much good food for you. Just don't blame me. Just eat quickly and finish your meal.

Run for your life."

Ji Shu opened his mouth, and after a while, he said seriously: "Old man, don't worry, although General Sun was defeated today, there are still more than a dozen princes who will attack Luoyang sooner or later. Dong Zhuo is exhausted."

"That would be great!"

The uncle stroked his beard and smiled.

······

Half an hour later, more than a dozen people found a high-lying bush to hide on the official road on the west side of the village.

"Master, how can we run back?"

When Huang An was with the army, he brought ten bodyguards from his family to protect his An. They were all very good at kung fu. Now there are only three people left, and the one who spoke was one of them.

Huang An did not answer, but glanced at Ji Shu beside him. Ji Shu nodded knowingly, and in order to reassure the soldiers, he explained to everyone in a low voice.

"Hua Xiong has twice as many soldiers and horses as General Sun, but he has been pinned down by General Sun in Hulao Pass and dare not come out. Now that he has finally defeated General Sun, how can he give up? He must be eager to pursue thousands of miles and hit Chenliu

Go. So there must be pursuers behind us, but we don’t know how far away they are from us.”

"We were wandering around in the mountains and ravines, not afraid that Dong Zhuojun would find us, but we had no food or water, and sooner or later we would be dead. If we wanted to eat, we could only walk along the road, where there are people, and Dong Zhuojun naturally followed us in this way.

.But we are tired and hungry, how can we outrun them?"

"Let's hide for the time being. When they continue to pursue us, we will follow them. As long as we are careful not to let them discover us, when we find our people, we can go into the ravine and find our way back to our military camp."

Seeing everyone suddenly enlightened and nodding in agreement, Huang An patted Ji Shu's shoulder and said with a smile: "You're my brother after all, good idea!"

Ji Shu felt the fragrance of books enter his nose, and his heart trembled, and then he got goosebumps all over his body.

Could it be that you have been with a bunch of big men for too long? Danger! Danger!

After everyone hid for an unknown amount of time, a team of more than a hundred people rushed towards them on the mountain path.

"Captain, there is still no trace of Sun Jian's defeated army, but we found a village ahead," the scout reported back.

"Damn it, these bastards ran so fast. They chased for so long without even seeing a shadow." A dark-skinned man with a scar on his face cursed angrily, "Let's go and check out the village ahead first."

"Yes" the soldiers responded weakly.

Scarface looked at the weak looks of all his men, and couldn't help being stunned, he chuckled and said:

"You bastards know how tired you are! Let's stop chasing after you. Let's go to the village and rest for an hour. Eat and drink well before we leave. The women in the village can do whatever you want. When the time comes, don't tell me that your legs are weak.

As long as they can't walk, all the men will be killed. The old rule is that if you cut off your head this time and return to life, you will say that it is Sun Jian's general. Keep your eyes open and don't want the heads of those old men, so as not to be seen through."

"The commander of the village is wise!"

Sergeant Dong Zhuo was immediately in an uproar and became energetic. Some people were already discussing with lewd smiles.

······

Dong Zhuojun's soldiers had already passed by in a hurry.

But no one moved or said a word.

An unspeakable silence enveloped everyone.

Ji Shu's eyes went dark, as if he had returned to that night and that nightmare.

There was blood at the corner of the old man's mouth. He hugged a yellow turban thief tightly and shouted desperately:

run!

do not stop!

Keep running!

Stay alive!

"Let's, run away... We, these few people, have nothing..." A trembling voice spoke in a trembling voice.

Are you going to run again?

But why are the feet so heavy?

Ji Shu felt like there was another person behind him and put a pair of hands heavily on his shoulders.

"Everyone, listen to me."

Ji Shu stood up and interrupted the trembling voice.

"My family fell into poverty and almost died, but a man from the village saved my life. Then the Yellow Turban bandits came and we were all arrested."

"Later, the officers and soldiers also came after us, and the Yellow Turban thieves were in chaos, so we took the opportunity to escape. In order to create an opportunity for us to escape, the old people in the village used their lives to hold off the Yellow Turban thieves who were chasing us."

Ji Shu turned around, faced everyone, and gritted his teeth.

"At that time, I ran away."
To be continued...