Insufficient balance

  Mu Ke's horse trotted a few steps forward and caught up with Zhao Fu Bo.

  As usual, Muk remained silent, but Martin, who was behind him, spoke with a tone of regret and frustration.

  "You're really an idiot... Don't you realize that your plan just now would leave everyone homeless?"

  Zhao Fubo hadn't even had a chance to speak when Shu Yiner beside him expressed her dissatisfaction first.

  "Hey, don't you know that no one taught him these things? And you've forgotten, you're his teacher! You scolded him as a fool in front of others, are you proud of yourself?"

  Little John was also on the side with a pout, muttering a string of English in his mouth, similar to Shu Yiner's words.

  "Hey, he just lost his partner, and you're a heartless guy. I'm telling you, Martin, it's time for you to grow up!"

  Old Martin stared at Shu Yu'er and Little John with his eyes wide open, seemingly unsure of what to say, finally letting out a sigh.

  "Hmph, no wonder Confucius said, 'It is only the small man and women that are difficult to cultivate!'"

  As night deepened, the temperature of the wind sweeping across the desert grew lower and lower, and everyone wrapped their cloaks tightly around themselves.

  These thick cloaks wrapped in a roll and carried behind the saddle have many uses. They can block wind and sand, and when necessary, they can also serve as bedding.

  Shu Yu'er's little sleepyhead also snuggled into her warm embrace.

  The chariots that had been set on fire soon appeared before them, at this moment they were still smoking and were abandoned by the side of the road. Along with these remains, there were also several people who died in battle with Zhao Fu Bo, as well as those bandits who were killed.

  Throughout the battle, they lost a total of four people. One was Mamruq who died in combat, another was Shuying's personal maid, and two longbowmen who were killed by arrows during an ambush.

  Although up to now, Shu Yu'er still resents that when she was bullied by Da Lang under the city of Purple Cloud Villa, he abandoned her.

  But now seeing her once lively life turned into a corpse like this, I couldn't help but drop a few tears.

  "They're all dead, and the rest have run away!"

  Under the flickering light of the torch, Zhao Fubo gently poked at the bandits' corpses with the tip of his spear, thinking that if there were one or two survivors, he might be able to find out where their lair was.

  Unfortunately, however, all that was found underground were dead bodies, and it's feared that his wish for revenge may be difficult to fulfill.

  "De de de......"

  In the sound of horseshoes, Jack seemed to emerge from the darkness like a ghost. Muk, who was with him, remained silent, only nodding his head at Zhao Fubo, wanting him to follow.

  Jack's mouth made Martin almost laugh out loud. If Zhao Fubo wasn't in a heavy mood at this moment, he would have laughed at these uncultured guys.

  "Hi, Mr. Erlang, I've found their trail!"

  Jack had never known Chinese customs and thought "Erlang" was Zhao Fei's formal title or official position, so he simply gave a mixture of Chinese and Western styles.

  Jack and Mukk found the place where the traces were not far away, and there were several more bandit corpses over there. Apparently, they were incurable wounded people who were abandoned here.

  "These are the tracks of two groups of people. One group is heading in that direction, while another group with several horse-drawn carriages is going in the opposite direction..."

  Jack's words made Zhao Fu suddenly feel a sense of unease in his heart as he was still trying to intimidate the robber with the gun.

  Although he had almost made up his mind that the big brother was related to the robbers when they first met, the obstruction of others also made him somewhat confused. With his rough personality, he couldn't think of a reason for the time being.

  Whether it was Shu Yu'er following him or Little John, almost everyone came to that nearly unanimous conclusion. It's just that this was a matter of the Zhao brothers' infighting, and without solid evidence, no one wanted to easily pierce through this layer of window paper.

  "Those with cars are not robbers, let's chase them down the road! Jack and Muk will scout ahead, if they find them, don't alarm them! I reckon they're carrying wounded, they won't run far!"

  Martin silently observed the student who had just saved his life, although he was confused about some things, but had many advantages in other things.

  Looking at Zhao Fubo's back with a big gun, Martin shook his head.

  "This kid is totally a subject specialist! He's a muscle-brained guy with muscles but no brains!"

  Just as Zhao Fubo, who often went hunting, had guessed, the robbers hadn't gone far. At this moment they were resting and warming themselves around a fire, as was the custom of all nomadic peoples.

  The wounded were still groaning and screaming, while more people gathered around the bonfire. With his right hand constantly putting food into his mouth, he was also chatting non-stop, with topics naturally revolving around the day's battle.

  "What kind of weapon did that guy use today? His power was so great!"

  An Arab bandit with a long sword at his waist, eating roasted meat in his hand, kept talking incessantly.

  Also, the battle during the day left them with too many impressions. The strange power emitted by that weird large gun also made it impossible for them to understand.

  But they didn't know, this was their last discussion now.

  In the distant mountain pass, some people hid behind rocks to observe the bandits' behavior.

  "Hmm, these guys don't look like robbers at all. Look, they've set up camp just like our Mamluk cavalry!"

  Muk remained silent, but with just one glance, he had already seen through the origins of those so-called "bandits".

  Following Muk was a mule named Mamuruk that Martin had bought. Compared to Muk, he couldn't help but talk too much.

  In the dark night, his brown hair was slightly reddish in the firelight, and his brown eyes were deep in their sockets. He was called Abdul-Jamal (meaning: Servant of the Powerful), 17 years old, a bit older than Muk and Zhao Fubo, and had also received full Mamluk cavalry training.

  He should be able to sell for a good price, but listening to him speak, you can tell that he's a defective Mamluk.

  "I'm hungry, do you think Erlang will give us food in a while?"

  Muk put down the binoculars in his hand and looked at him with a strange gaze from his green eyes. He had already begun to suspect that this guy was disguised as a foreigner, would a Caucasian man look like this?

  "Hey, what do you like to eat? I love eating meat. There was a guy in our camp who didn't eat meat, so I told him to give all the meat to me... Your eyes are green, my eyes are brown..."

  Abdul-Jabbar roughly speaks without caring whether others listen or not, speaking completely out of a certain hobby.

  Mu Ke seemed to have understood this point and no longer stared at him with his eyes, but instead focused on observing the situation in front of him.

  On the other hand, Jack, who was standing beside him with a telescope in his hand, shook his head and said something.

  "Has this guy always been so talkative?"

  Naturally his English was met with the same lack of response from Muk. Abdul-Jamar didn't let that deter him, he just shook his head and continued on his own great journey of speech.

  "Look at that Crusader's eyes, they're brown too, but I think they look a bit reddish. I wonder how his mother gave birth to a son with such eyes! Hey, what color are your mother's eyes...!"

  At this moment, Zhao Fubo is arranging the attack, and Martin is more convinced of his judgment by listening to his arrangement.

  "We'll set up ambushes and traps along the road without making a sound. Then I, Mukk, and Zhelma will use horseback archery to lure them over, while Yuer, Jack, another longbowman, and Little John hide in secret and get ready with bows and arrows."

  If they want war, we'll lead them on a merry chase around here. While we're leading them in circles, you shoot arrows at them.

  "If he wants to run, ride and shoot to chase. If they turn back, continue to bring them around here. Don't run far away, I estimate it won't take long, they will be finished!"

  Martin contentedly stroked his white beard a couple of times, feeling that he hadn't appreciated it when he didn't have one before, and now that he had one, not stroking it from time to time seemed somehow ungrateful.

  "This little guy's fighting skills are not bad, he actually understands the 16-character mantra! Look at this setup, enemy advances I retreat, enemy camps I harass, enemy tires I strike, enemy retreats I pursue, all included."

  After everything was arranged, Zhao Fubo rode onto the horse, looking at Martin with some unease. The latter's task was to start the mechanism, and Zhao Fubo worried that he couldn't ride steadily on the horse.

  "Teacher Martin, when the time comes, your fire will shine brightly, and then you can find a safe place to hide yourself!"

  Martin knew his situation, but he didn't want to be told by his student. He flipped his grey eyes and showed a dissatisfied expression.

  "Mind your own business!"

  At night, the wind sweeping across the vast desert became fierce and cold. The person responsible for luring the enemy rode a horse with an arrow placed on the bowstring.

  Zhao Fubo raised his head, in the moonless sky, the stars twinkled like diamonds embroidered on a black velvet cloth, shining with a dazzling light.

  "Little Black Coal, I'll avenge your death and make the one who killed you pay with their life!"

  With a movement of his legs, he urged the horse to start trotting forward, at this time Abdul-Jabbar-Zhemaer, despite being about to throw himself into battle, was still talking non-stop.

  "It's so cold outside, if we could have a drink, everyone would warm up. I remember in our hometown, there was a drunkard who would hug his sister after getting drunk..."

  Zhao Fubo unexpectedly gave the guy a glance, previously he was only responsible for pushing Marten's wheelchair with another Mamruk, and he didn't think this guy loved to talk so much.

  Abdul Zema met Zhao Fu's gaze, shrinking back a bit, and even habitually shrunk his neck, bowing his waist as if preparing to be flogged.

  After waiting for a while, he didn't get hit by Zhao Fubo's whip on his back, and his mood improved, so he talked more. Fortunately, due to long-term training, the sound of his speech did not exceed the sound of horse hooves.

  "May I speak, my lord? Ah, you're a good man! The officers in my old unit weren't as nice as you. That guy had a pair of beady eyes... heh heh, the kind that look inward..."

  At this time, the horse started to trot slowly, and Zhao Fubo's bow in his hand slowly tightened, a pre-battle tremor filled his whole body.

  Muk who had been silent all along suddenly said a sentence.

  "Murder on a Moonless Night!"