Chapter Thirty-Four: Savage Birth

  Under the moonlight, from the direction of the road, a small figure was moving towards this side. The figure was short and small, looking like a child. This child was holding a torch in his hand, so he was discovered by Wudangzi from a distance.

  Wu Danzi said: "It seems to be the little kid who sold us skewers of meat during the day!" He ran up and saw that it was indeed the same little kid who had been with the crowd.

  The child lifted his face and looked at Wukong, saying loudly: "Uncle Monkey is well!"

  Wu Danzi was taken aback, "I'm not surnamed Yuan either, why are you calling me Uncle Yuan?" He bent down and picked up the child, asking: "I don't have the surname Yuan, who told you I had the surname Yuan?"

  The child was also stunned and said, "Uncle, aren't you surnamed Yuan? Others say you look like a big monkey, just like a gibbon, so your surname must be Yuan!"

  Wu Danzi has long hands and feet, and his expression is always sneaky, looking around, he really looks a bit like a big macaque, but this can't be said that his surname is Yuan!

  He almost threw the child to the ground, Wu Danzi angrily said: "What a thing to say! What are you doing here?" He hugged the child and returned to the crowd.

  The child said: "Ah Da said that if you go to find the iron transport team, there will be danger, and there are bandits ahead! But they didn't say anything, I'm afraid Li Lang is in danger, so I secretly ran to tell him not to go any further!"

  The innocent voice echoed beside the bonfire, except for Tang Biao lying on the ground humming, all the soldiers did not make a sound, and they all showed a look of shame. A young child had received Li Qin's kindness and knew how to repay it, sneaking out to report the news, but this group of big men, however, let Li Qin go after the savage alone, and adults were no better than children.

  The children did not know what they were thinking in their hearts and asked: "Where is Li Lang?"

  Wu Danzi pointed ahead and said, "Go chase the robbers, not here."

  The child immediately struggled to get down, holding a torch and saying: "I'll go find Li Lang and tell him to come back quickly!" As he spoke, he opened his small legs and ran forward.

  Xu Xiaoni picked up his long spear and slung his helmet over his back, saying: "You all do whatever you want, anyway I'm going to go catch up with Qin Ge!"

  "Let's go together!" Jing Qi shouted: "To be a chivalrous and righteous person is what we should do, Brother Xu, let's go together!

  Shen Yidao said: "Shared fortune, shared adversity!" He looked at Wu Xiaosan.

  Wu Xiaosan didn't say a word, but instead picked up all the helmets on the ground and walked away. Shen Yi laughed and said, "Old Wu, I knew you weren't a coward!"

  Wudanzi rushed forward and picked up the child again, saying: "You walk slowly, I'll carry you, let's go find Li Lang together!"

  The soldiers of the Fu Jiao squad, none of whom had been pulled down, all went to find Li Qin. The other soldiers of the squads saw this and also picked up their long guns, wanting to follow along.

  Tang Biao endured the pain and shouted: "Whoever dares to follow me will be my sworn enemy, and I'll never let him off!"

  The soldiers stopped in their tracks, looking at Tang Bao and then at the retreating Fu Jiao soldiers, hesitating in their minds, not knowing who to help, after all, Tang Bao was their superior.

  Suddenly, a shout came from afar. Jing Qi shouted: "Tang's surname, my horse is injured! If you dare to ride it, I'll never end with you!"

  Li QIN rushed out of the three-mile distance, and then stopped the black horse, looking back at it, thinking: "My brother, I don't know how many will follow?" He turned over and got off the horse, sitting on the side of the road to wait. Although he knew someone would follow, he still had some worries.

  Not long after, flames appeared in the distance and figures were seen moving about. Someone was following them.

  Li Qinteng suddenly jumped up, counting the number of people in his heart: one, two, three, four, five... Ah, it seems like there's still one more?

  Xu Xiaoni flew up and shouted: "Qin Ge, we're here!"

  Li Qin strode forward, opening his arms wide and exclaimed loudly: "I knew my brothers wouldn't abandon me! Good brothers, I didn't misjudge you!" He reached out and hugged Xu Xiaoni tightly, patting him on the back.

  Jing Qi also ran up and shouted: "Shi Zhang, I'm here to help you!" Li Qin let go of Xu Xiao Ni and rushed forward to hug him.

  Shen Yi and Wu Xiaosan ran over, Li Qin embracing them one by one, saying: "Good brothers, good brothers, you are all my good brothers!"

  Everyone saw Li Qin's true feelings revealed, and they were also moved. Li Qin believed in them, and they did not disappoint Li Qin's trust.

  Wu Danzi was the last one to arrive, and the child in his arms cried out: "Li Lang, I'm here too! Tell him it's dangerous ahead, don't go!"

  Li Qin held the big and small ones in his arms, smiled and said: "They are all good brothers!" But immediately his face sank, he snatched the torch from Wu Danzi, put the child on the ground, turned him around, and slapped his little buttocks with a loud slap, shouting: "Since you know it's dangerous ahead, how dare you still come, and run here in the middle of the night, how can you be so reckless!"

  Jing Qi smiled and said, "Don't blame him for what he did. This little kid may be young, but he's got a big heart and is extremely chivalrous. I think when he grows up, he'll definitely become a good man, no less than us!"

  Li Qin turned the child around, pinched his cheek and asked: "You hurry back, lest the adults get anxious. By the way, your surname is Ma, what's your name?"

  The child looked up at him, rubbing his buttocks with both hands and said: "My surname is Ma, my name is Ma Chao. My family will not be in a hurry, usually I come out, they..."

  Li Qian nodded, bent down and asked: "You are called Ma Chao, is your father called Ma Teng? Where is he now?" I really didn't expect that this yellow-haired kid whom I had met three times would actually be Ma Chao.

  This little kid is indeed Ma Chao, but now he's still young and Ma Teng hasn't prospered yet, so he's just a poor little brat. Ma Chao exclaimed, "How did Li Lang know my father's name? He went to seek his fortune, didn't he say that last time?"

  Li Qian pinched Ma Chao's small chin with one hand, carefully looking at this kid. This was the first celebrity he had seen since coming to the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period. Unfortunately, it was just a little doll!

  Haha, Li Qian said: "Good, you have a kind, growing up, must be a heroic name that shakes the world!" He gave Xiao Ma Chao a thumbs up!

  Ma Chao was flattered and, like all the children of his age, became excited, grasping Li Qian's collar with both hands, twisting his body back and forth with joy, saying: "Will I be a hero like Li Lang?"

  "Exactly! Exactly!" Li Qin picked him up again and put him on the saddle of the black horse, saying: "Hold tight, you will become a great hero in the future, so you must learn to ride this horse."

  Turning around, Li QIN said to the soldiers: "Brothers, follow me!" With one hand holding the reins and the other hand holding a gun, he walked at the very front.

  More than ten miles away, beside a large forest.

  The bonfire illuminated the terrifying face of Shiluo, a long scar from his left forehead, cutting through the bridge of his nose, extending all the way to his right chin, his lips were split into four pieces, unable to close, revealing the white teeth inside!

  Jialuo Zhan was the most famous warrior among the Di people, in his prime, having experienced a hundred battles. He once charged alone into a large group of Xiongnu people, beheading four Xiongnu warriors and capturing two fine horses. Later, under the pursuit of over a hundred Xiongnu cavalrymen, he successfully escaped. For this feat of bravery, he was celebrated by various Di tribes and given the nickname "One Knife Two Segments", saying that with one swing of his knife, he would surely cut his enemy into two segments.

  Zhe Luo Zhan sat beside the bonfire, with a thick-backed curved knife across his knees, and said in a gloomy tone: "Those two Han soldiers who came earlier were riding horses, which means there must be a large Han army behind them. We've been spotted!"

  This group of Di people is what the Han people call "raw barbarians", and they are the kind that specializes in robbery for a living. Not to mention the wealth of the Han government, even the Xiongnu tribes on the grasslands, slightly smaller ones, they dare to rob, extremely ferocious.

  This time they made a move, seizing the pig iron being transported to Fuping County. After the fact, they killed people and destroyed evidence, but let one go. However, the person who was let go was not the Han soldier that Li Qin encountered, but another one. That Han soldier hid well, became a fish that slipped through the net during the battle, and wasn't discovered, otherwise he would have been silenced as well.

  The deputy of the general, Bao Zhen, was also a brave warrior, with dozens of lives on his hands, not much less than General Sha Luo. He said: "Is it that Han person you let go who brought the news, that guy who claimed to be the son of the Governor of Liangzhou?"

  The scar on Sha Luo's face suddenly turned bright red, and he snorted, saying: "That guy is good at talking nonsense, after a string of lies, I was actually deceived by him! I thought letting him go would be a good deal for me, but now that I think about it, I've been taken advantage of!"

  People said one after another: "Next time we see him, let's just kill him directly and not give him a chance to brag and talk big again, so as not to be cheated again!"

  Bao Zhong said: "When dawn breaks tomorrow, the Han army will surely come in large numbers. What should we do now?"

  "Those Han soldiers who dare to chase us must not be cowards, we should be careful in responding. Leave five men with me to guard the rear. Bao Er, you take the carts and leave now, don't go too far, twenty miles will do. At dawn, send back five brothers, I'll hold them off first, when the brothers arrive, I'll hold them off again. Even if the Han soldiers are strong, killing a few of them will scare them off, then I'll catch up with you."

  He hesitated for a moment and said: "What if there are many Han soldiers and we can't hold them back?"

  "Then there's no way, let's meet up and leave immediately, return the Sheng Tie to them, once they get it back, they won't chase us again."

  Baotou nodded, as a professional thief, he naturally knew the danger of being stared at by a large group of Han soldiers. The iron could be stolen again, but if they were chased by the Han soldiers and their lair was discovered, it would be disastrous. This small tribe was able to roam freely because their lair was secret and easy to defend. So as long as the lair was safe, no matter how big a deal they made, they could recover from it after some time.

  The robbers acted swiftly as planned, and immediately took the people away, driving the horse carriage to a distant place, leaving only five people for Shi Luo Zhan.

  After a brief commotion, the area around the bonfire returned to calmness. Sha Luo shouted: "The Han soldiers must have already found out that we are here and will wait for dawn to attack. They won't come again tonight. Let's sleep and recharge our energy, tomorrow we'll kill them!"

  The robbers responded in unison, lying down to sleep together. They were confident that their combat strength far surpassed that of the Han soldiers. If the Han soldiers wanted to attack, they could only rely on their numbers, and when the large numbers came, there would definitely be a commotion. When the time came, jumping up and killing people would still be in time, so they didn't even leave anyone to keep watch at night, and all of them went to sleep.

  ——

  The last day of the month has arrived, wishing everyone a happy National Day, having fun and good food. Thank you all for your support to Ping An, I'm very grateful. Wishing brothers and sisters a happy holiday! Finally, seeking recommendations, seeking collections, seeking support, thank you all!