Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 54
Cerdan and his son set off after explaining.He rode the sledge all the way fast, and finally returned to the village after dark.

The village was silent, except for the dogs of each family who started barking when they noticed someone approaching, no one came out.Seldan had just walked to the door of the house, when the flames shook behind him.He turned around and saw that two armored soldiers came out from the opposite corner with torches.

"You are Seldan?" an armored soldier asked loudly.

"Yeah." Seldan decided to play stupid.

"Where have you been during the day? Where is your son?" the armored soldier asked.

"Sir, the villain and his son went to a friend's house in the outer village and came back with some dried fish. Who would have thought that the villain's son, Elu, fell ill with a fever, and is still living at the friend's house. The villain plans to spend a few days Pick him up again." Seldan explained, turning around and pointing to the bag on the sledge.

The two armored soldiers did not raise any questions after hearing this, but said, "It's getting late, and Lord Zuo Ling has rested. You go to the village chief's house tomorrow morning to see Lord Zuo Ling, and the Lord has something to ask you."

When Cerdan heard this, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Yes, yes. The villain wrote it down."

After the armored soldier finished speaking, he sneered and said again: "I tell you, don't think about running away, there are people guarding the whole village. If you dare to run, you will be shot with random arrows!"

"Don't worry, my lord, the villain's mother and wife are at home, what am I running?"

"Okay, remember tomorrow morning." The two armored soldiers waved their hands, turned and left from the opposite corner.

Cerdan stood at the gate of the courtyard until the two armored soldiers were gone, and then he led his horse into the courtyard.He didn't bother to unload the sledge, just tied the horse to the post of the stable, and hurriedly pushed the door into the house.

In the house, under the dim light, Seldan's mother, wife and little daughter still haven't slept.The three people crowded on the head of the kang, looking at Cerdan who came in with anxiety and joy.

"Emian, are you alright?" Seldan turned around and closed the door and inserted the bolt, then hurried to his mother's side to ask.

The old man grabbed his son's hand and shook his head.

Seldan's wife Dachun said nervously: "At noon today, dozens of armored soldiers came to the village to check the population from house to house and asked us if Yaerha had come back. But Genggen was terrified. ."

Genggen is Seldan's youngest daughter, leaning on her mother's side at the moment with a worried look on her face.

Dachun looked at the door of the house and found that his son did not follow up, and immediately asked, "Where's Erlu?"

"I was worried that something would happen, so I didn't let him come back with me." Seldan frowned and thought about it and continued to ask, "What did the officers and soldiers do after they came today?"

Dachun said: "In the beginning, they called everyone in the village, stood at the door, and called house-to-house. After someone else's house asked a few questions, they went back; when they came to our house, they asked where you were, eh Where did Lu go? I'll just follow what you taught me."

Seldan told his wife before he left that if anyone asked, he would take his son to a friend's house in the north to exchange dried fish.

Cerdan asked, "When you came to our house, was there anyone else besides the officers and soldiers?"

Dachun recalled for a moment and said, "The wife of the village chief is behind Mr. Zuoling. You say she is a woman to join in the fun."

As soon as Cerdan heard this, he immediately got up and took off his big bow from the wall, and found the throwing bag with iron arrows from under the bed.

"What are you doing?!" Da Chun asked in a low voice in surprise.

"I'm being watched by officers and soldiers!" Seldan found the bowstring and prepared to string it.

"Ah! How could it be?" Da Chun and his daughter were shocked.The old mother on the side looked at her son calmly.

"When I brought Yalha back that day, people from the village chief's family saw them, and they were too busy saving people at the time. The two officers and soldiers asked me to go to the village chief's house tomorrow to see Lord Zuoling. When I think about it, the sister of the village chief's wife married Lord Zuo Ling as a concubine a few years ago."

"How did you know?" Dachun looked at her husband in surprise.

While hanging the bowstring, Seldan explained to his wife: "I still heard them mention a word when I went to Mucheng with Geshanda the year before. No one else in the village knew about it. They rescued Yalha from our family. I must know, if I go tomorrow, I will be caught in the net."

"Then what should I do?" Da Chun asked eagerly.

"You and Genggen hurry up and pack your things, and be quiet. I'll go out and have a look."

After Cerdan said, he inserted the short knife into his belt.He took out an iron-tipped arrow from the sack at his waist and put it on the bow.

"Seldan." Just as he was about to push the door, he heard his mother calling him from behind, so he hurriedly turned to look over.

"Be careful. I'll go help Da Chun clean up." After the old man finished speaking, he got up and went to the back room.

Seldan watched his mother's back disappear behind the curtain with guilt, then turned around and gently opened the door, and came to the yard with a cat on his waist.

In the dark night, several dogs and horses in their yard smelled their master's scent and didn't bark, as if they were all asleep.

After squatting for a while at the door with the arrow, Seldan felt that there was no one around, so he took the arrow and put the bow on his back.He climbed up to the roof of his house slowly along a large log that was standing obliquely beside the house.This piece of wood is what he is going to use to build a new house for his son this year.

After getting on the roof, Seldan fell down and moved his body gently without making a sound.He climbed to the edge of the roof, raised his head and looked across the distance.I saw figures shaking in the yard of the village chief's house, and dozens of torches were lit.

At this time, at the village chief's house, Tomo Huoguo led Tomo Huoguo out of the house, and asked a soldier waiting in the courtyard, "Is he the only one who came back?"

"Yes, my lord. He is the only one. He said that his son is sick and is at a friend's house. He will be picked up in a few days."

"You didn't ask where his friend lives?"

"I...I forgot to ask."

Tomohogo was furious and kicked the opposing armored soldier with one kick.The armored soldier was caught off guard, staggered backwards a few steps, and fell to the ground.

"You idiot! Now I don't even know the whereabouts of his son, he must be with that Yarha!"

The armored soldier struggled to stand up, not daring to make a sound.

A Ghoshha next to him said: "Master, the slave will go to him and ask again."

"Ask your mother!" Tomohogo scolded angrily. "I'll ask you later, he's already made up a lie."

After scolding, he pointed to the three armored soldiers standing in the yard: "You guys, go and bring back that Seldan now. This officer will interrogate him overnight. Remember, don't disturb the villagers."

"Why don't I accompany him? I have a good relationship with him, and he will believe me." The village chief leaned aside and said.

Tomohogo shook his head, turned and entered the room.

Seldan had slid off the ridge at this time and slipped down the wood to the ground.He walked to the stable and quickly untied the reins of the other horse and hurriedly put it on the sledge.

Several dogs in the yard let out a low growl, seeming to know that the owner was about to leave.Seldan was afraid of the dog barking, so he quickly untied the dog's rope.

Mother, wife Dachun and daughter Gengen came out of the house with several packages in their hands and put them on the sledge.After Seldan helped his mother to sit on the sledge, he whispered to his wife: "After leaving the village, go northeast, don't stop! When you reach Suifenhe, go south and go to the seaside village to find Hengji, and Elu also There. Do you remember how to get there?"

His wife Dachun nodded while holding the whip.She had been there with her husband many years ago and still had some impressions.At the juncture of life and death, the two of them didn't care to say anything else, Seldan squeezed his wife's hand tightly.

"Ama, you are coming, we are waiting for you." Geng Geng, the youngest daughter, sat on the carriage with a puppy and said softly.

Seldan nodded and stopped talking. He let go of his wife's hand and turned to open the courtyard gate made of tree branches.Once again, he has disappeared into the darkness.

When Dachun led the horse out of the yard lightly, there was a faint light of fire not far away, and the dogs of several nearby homes began to bark.She hurriedly sat on the sledge, shook the reins, and the two horses trotted quickly, pulling the sledge easily and heading towards the north of the village.Several dogs followed closely behind.

"Who?!" A voice sounded from the roadside, and under the firelight, three armored soldiers suddenly appeared from the roadside.

An armored soldier held a torch and was about to take a few steps forward to stop the horse, when the bowstring sounded not far away, and a black iron-headed arrow shot into his face like lightning.

The armored soldier fell to the ground without saying a word, and the torch in his hand fell to the ground.Da Chun shook the reins again to urge the horse, and the sledge flew away quickly, splashing a piece of ice and snow.

"Be careful!" Another armored soldier exclaimed. He hurriedly threw away the torch in his hand, and pulled his companion to bow his head and head back towards the way he came.The fellow soldier, the armored soldier, raised the conch number on his waist and blew it hurriedly.

But this armored soldier just blew twice, and the bowstring rang again not far away.Before the companion had time to remind, an iron arrow had penetrated deeply into the forehead of the armored soldier blowing the snail horn.

The remaining armored soldier was so frightened that he hurriedly fell to the ground.At this time, he didn't care about the snow on the ground, and only asked the other party not to shoot himself again.He knew that the person who was shooting arrows had superb arrow skills and eyesight, and he could actually hit his comrade in the head in such a dark night!
Tomo Huoguo, who was drinking at the village chief's house at this time, heard the sound of the conch horn, and thought to himself, "Damn!" He got up quickly, but fortunately he didn't take off his cotton armor, grabbed the waist knife beside him, and rushed out.

"Which side is the snail horn blowing?" At this moment, the sound of the snail horn had stopped, and Tomohogo asked Goshha, who was approaching.

"North."

"Let's go! Seldan wants to escape!" Tomohoguo shouted, and he greeted the twenty or so awakened armored soldiers who had just come out of the wing.These 20 people went to bed very early, and were going to take over from the companions on duty in the second half of the night.

"Quick, quick, get the torches." Goshha said anxiously to the armored soldiers.

When Tomohogo led a group of armored soldiers, holding a torch to the door of Seldan's house amid the barking of dogs, the courtyard door was wide open.When I got closer and looked again, the horses and dogs in the yard were gone.

"Sir!" At this moment, a person emerged from the darkness.

When Tomohogo turned to look by the firelight, he saw the man's face covered in mud.He carefully identified by the firelight that it was the armored soldier under his command.

"Why are you the only one? What about the others?!" Tomohogo shouted angrily.

"Sir, that man's arrow was fast and accurate, and the two brothers were shot dead!" said the armored soldier with a sad face.

"You motherfucker! When the two of them are dead, your dog will be fine." Tomohogo scolded.

It was too late and then too fast. In the dark of night, a bowstring sounded behind the armored soldiers, and a dark shadow came straight to the back of Tomohoguo's head under the firelight.Tomohogo heard the bowstring, but did not dodge.He turned around abruptly, raised the waist knife in his left hand, and at the same time raised his right arm against the back of the knife.

"Clang!" With a crisp sound, the black iron-headed arrow smashed a small hole in Tomo Huoguo's knife and fell to the ground.

At the same time, two musketeers in the armor lit the arquebus, raised their guns and fired back in the direction of the arrow.

"Tom! Tom!" The sound of muskets caused the dogs in the village to bark, and the horses neighed.

Tomohogo put down his arm, he didn't look at the arrow on the ground, and through the smoke of the musket, he shouted coldly not far away: "Seldan, you can't escape!"

Tomohogo had heard of this bear hunter with six iron-headed arrows, and they all said that his archery was amazing.When I saw it today, it really lived up to its reputation.

Immediately, he shouted to the armored soldiers beside him: "All surrounded by me, he doesn't have many arrows."

At this point, Cerdan's iron-headed arrows had three remaining.

(End of this chapter)