From the Bird

Hong Liangyu went out of the Xiaoxi Pagoda, and took advantage of the drowsy moonlight to drive on the road. The old dry trees on both sides of the official road continued to have a fork and forks. At first, some mountain deer and wild deer could be seen. There were crows circling in the sky from time to time. The trail disappeared. Going forward, there were some charred bricks and broken tiles. From time to time there were large black bloodstains on the ground, but no corpses could be seen.

The mud and debris on the official road suddenly trembled, the hay shook, and there were more than 30 horses galloping towards them.

A bit of biting cool wind penetrated into Hong Liangyu's neck. He lowered his head, staggered his left and right hands into his sleeves, and his neck shrunk into a ball, silently yielding to the side of the road.

Unexpectedly, the leader saw a big man standing beside the road, blew his whistle, and immediately reined in the reins, and the cavalry stopped one after another and stopped on the official road.

The leader was about forty years old, with dark skin and tight flesh on his face, a warm hat on his head, and a round-neck jacket with cotton wool. In addition to the bird gun on his back, there were two foreign-made grenades on his left and right waists.

"Big man, how far is it to Xiaoxi Tower?"

Hong Liangyu raised his head according to the words: "Eight or nine miles."

The leader asked again: "There is a gentleman named Xiao Donghe in the town, do you know where his family lives?"

"Master Jun, you are walking along the official road, and when you see two jujube trees to the west, there is a door plaque with Baye Chuanfang hanging at the door."

"Well, you understand what you said..."

Hong Liangyu replied without being humble or arrogant: "The villain is originally from Tangjiazhuang, and he works in the Xiaoxi Tower to burn charcoal. Xiao Donghe is the owner of my house. During the day, the family sent a letter saying that my mother was seriously ill, and the owner granted me two days of sick leave. Dare to delay, then hurried on the road."

The leader nodded in satisfaction, whistled again, and the cavalry hurried away.

Seeing that this team of officers and soldiers left, Hong Liangyu stepped up his steps unconsciously, and after another thought, he simply gave up the official road and went into the vast wild forest.

After about half a stick of incense, the leader of the cavalry on his way suddenly pulled the reins, and then everyone, all veteran horsemen, followed suit.

A ride beside him asked in a low voice, "Sir, what's wrong?"

"It's not quite right. Ordinary people have always avoided seeing officers and soldiers, but the big man just now didn't change his face, and his answer was eloquent. Tangjiazhuang was hit by a disaster, ghosts and ghosts are full of ghosts, and you can see live corpses in the daytime. He dares not walk alone, but he dares to walk more than twenty miles at night, I don't think he is kind, maybe he is a spy of the Xiang Army!"

The squire remembered that the man just now was not afraid when he saw the officers and soldiers, and also felt that what the leader said made sense: "Would you like to turn around and chase?"

"I'm waiting for a military mission. It's not good to have extra troubles." The leader called out two horsemen from the team: "You two go back, catch the man just now, and meet at the Xiaoxi Tower. Be careful on the road."

The second cavalry responded and turned the horse's head to catch Hong Liangyu, but after walking along the official road for a long time, he could not see Hong Liangyu's shadow, so he could only come back empty-handed to report the letter, not to mention it.

All the way to Tangjiazhuang, I saw that all the doors were closed, the streets were deserted, and no lights were on, but every household had yellow talismans and gossip mirrors to ward off evil spirits. The water has already formed ice ballast, although it is not auspicious, after all, you can see some popularity.

Hong Liangyu identified his brother Tang Yao's home, but only saw a burned-out roof truss, thinking that it was the revenge of the believers who received money from the Gospel Association, and his face changed color.

He quietly stepped into the courtyard next to Tang Yao's house, touched the bedroom, poked the window paper and looked inside, only to see four heads sleeping on the bed, a couple and two and a half children, not Tang Yao. Yao sister traced the traces, and walked around for a long time, confirming that there was no one else, and finally couldn't hold back. He kicked open the firewood door of the bedroom, and before the four people on the bed could react, the hatchet knife touched the neck of the main man.

"Don't make a sound!"

The man shivered and was speechless. He just kept begging for mercy, but the woman who wrapped her two children tightly under the quilt calmed down and asked hesitantly, "A Yao, are you A Yao?"

Hong Liangyu said coldly, "Sister-in-law of the Mo family, you took my money, but where did you take my sister?"

"Injustice! Your sister left with Xiangjun in the daytime. She left voluntarily. I can't stop it. She doesn't want most of the 20 taels of silver you left behind. If you want, take it all."

Hong Liangyu hurriedly asked: "Why did you leave with what Xiangjun, please elaborate!"

After speaking, he shook the rusted hatchet in his hand.

"A few days ago, a rebellious Xiang army came to Wuzhou, and it fought fiercely with the officers and soldiers. A few days ago, two gangs of soldiers came here, and the ground security regiment was killed by the Xiang army. Xita escaped. By the way, the Xiangjun also killed all the landlord Hu’s family who collected money from your family. Your Tang family’s great revenge has been avenged. Don’t be the priest of the Gospel Society who ran away with an iron machine in the chaos. They also put food, and if you are willing to join the incense army, you can get an extra portion, and your sister also left with them because of this, saying she will rebel."

Hong Liangyu was furious: "I've never heard of a woman rebelling! If you didn't treat my sister badly, how could she run away for food and irrelevant people? You must have treated my sister harshly and forced her away!"

"Injustice! Injustice!" The woman repeatedly shouted aggrieved: "The Xiang Army is indeed accepting female soldiers. I have seen it with my own eyes, and there are hundreds of them! I took your money and bought it carefully. I don't need to say the cost of food and clothing. I also pay for it. A dowry was added to her, and the rest of the money was clearly packaged. Now it's buried under the ashes of the kitchen stove. When landlord Hu's servant came to the door blowing his beard and staring, I sent Yingying to my husband's house to bite him to death, which is also an offense. His! You have wronged your sister-in-law for nothing, you have lost your conscience."

The woman spoke quickly and urgently, in a well-organized manner, not like a fabrication. Hong Liangyu remembered that she had just searched the house, but there were quite a few things that her daughter had at home, and she believed it seven or eight points in her heart.

He threw down the knife dully, took a few steps back, and gave the woman a bow.

"Just now, I have lost my mind and talked indiscriminately. Don't take offense, sister-in-law Mo."

The woman stared at Hong Liangyu hesitantly, as if she knew him for the first time. She felt a little more at ease, and only said: "Xiangjun only left today during the day, heading south, I heard that they are going to be buried in the living fish valley. They are crowded and can't walk fast, maybe you can catch up. I I don't think I'm optimistic about Yingying, so you should also take the money from the stove."

Hong Liangyu shook his head: "If it's as you said, Yingying keeps the money with you, and my sister-in-law's family can use it with peace of mind. If I go here again, Old Tang, I'm afraid I won't come back."

He wrote down the name of the living fish valley, turned over and walked out of the courtyard gate, and disappeared into the night after a while.

Until this moment, the man lifted his head and looked around: "Then, is that the Tang family's nephew?"

The woman pondered for a while and shook her head: "It doesn't sound like it."