Chapter 2 Drink plenty of water

  That little boy, with a clear and elegant appearance, seemed to be smiling but not quite. His left hand held a hard bow that was almost as tall as him, while his right hand pinched a feathered arrow between two fingers. Judging from his face, he looked around ten years old, still without a hair tie, and although not short in stature, had an air of quiet reserve beneath his clear expression that seemed to be coldly proud. His feet stood unevenly, his body straight like a young pine tree that had yet to reach the sky.

  A ten-year-old boy holding a somewhat worn and damaged hard bow stood on the official road, blocking seven or eight robust men in their prime. Logically speaking, it should have been quite comical, but for some reason, Wu Lailu, Li Sanfu, Liu Xiezi and others only felt a thread of absurdity followed by shock, and a hint of unspeakable fear. Seven or eight sturdy men, afraid of a ten-year-old boy?

  It's just like this, so it seems quite strange.

  The son of a tiger and leopard, although still young, already has the air of devouring an ox.

  Wu Lai Lu was somewhat fearful because he could recognize the origin of that bow at a glance. It was a step bow carefully crafted by the craftsmen from all over the country during the Kaihuang period when Emperor Gaozu Wen of the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Southern Chen Dynasty. At that time, it took three years to manufacture only a few thousand bows. Others did not recognize it, but he did.

  "Young man, why are you blocking our way?"

  Wu Lailu calmed down and asked.

  He asked politely, although he was shocked and terrified in his heart, but he was confident that if he wanted to knock down the child, the child wouldn't even have a chance to draw his bow. That year... forget it, that year's affairs were just a nightmare.

  The young man raised his chin: "I'm not blocking your way, just delaying you for a while. There's water on the road ahead, don't splash it all over you."

  Wu Lailu furrowed his brow, unable to understand why Tie Fotou would send a child to block the pedestrians behind if they were going to rob those three horse-drawn carriages. With the bandits' methods, did they need to be wary of these seven or eight farmers? Suddenly, it dawned on Wu Lailu.

  "Thank you, little brother, we'll head back and find an inn to stay in, and then continue on our journey early tomorrow morning."

  The young man smiled, very pretty and very clean.

  "You're a clever person, I like clever people. However...I don't like you staring at my hand, it's obvious that you recognize this bow and must be guessing whether or not I can draw the two-stone step bow, right? You think I'm just pretending to be fierce, so you're not really afraid, but you're actually a bit scared in front of a young man like me. In reality, you're thinking that if you use that wooden stick to attack me, I won't even have the chance to draw my bow, right?"

  The young man smiled confidently: "Your shoulders are sinking, your footsteps are one step forward and one step back, looking at the way you hold that stick, it's more like holding a knife. This is the standard Da Wei Fu Bing pre-war alert posture, and besides, you're used to using your left hand."

  Like a ghost, the young man broke through Wu Lai Lu's secrets one word at a time: "If you're not a scout sent by the Imperial Guard, then you're a deserter. The latter is more likely, I suppose?"

  Wu Lailu's eyes turned cold, and his face changed. He couldn't believe that the secret he had hidden for many years would be seen through by a child of just over ten years old. The military law of the Great Sui was ruthless, and the fate of deserters was only one - to be beaten to death and bring disaster to their families. Although he wasn't a deserter, the young man had already guessed not far off, and for the first time in his life, someone had guessed the secret he had hidden for many years after escaping with great difficulty. So, he had the idea of killing him, although his opponent was just a child.

  "Don't even think about laying a hand on me, now that it's out in the open, I'm not afraid of you resorting to violence."

  The young man gestured to Wu Lai Lu's height: "Although you look as sturdy as a cow, I guarantee that one arrow will kill you, absolutely no need for a second arrow. Moreover, my archery speed is absolutely faster than you think."

  His smile was radiant, with a hint of... shyness?

  Yes, when praising oneself, one should at least show some modesty.

  Wu Lailu's face turned a bit pale, and he tightened his grip on the wooden stick before loosening it again: "Young fellow, we'll head back now. Thanks, by tomorrow noon we definitely won't be heading north."

  After finishing speaking, he solemnly clasped his fists together in a salute to the young man.

  Liu Wuzi didn't know why Wu Lailu was being so polite to that young man at first, but when he heard the young man say that Wu Lailu was from a military household, his heart skipped a beat. The military households of the Great Sui were all from a higher social class than ordinary farmers. Wu Lailu's family had moved to Fangcheng Village from elsewhere only four or five years ago. Usually, it seemed like the old lady wasn't like an ordinary rural woman, her demeanor and behavior more like that of a wealthy household's mistress. Now it seems that perhaps the young man's casual words were true.

  How much reward can be obtained for reporting a deserter?

  Liu Wuzi thought for a moment and felt a headache.

  Wu Lailu nodded to the crowd and turned to leave. As he turned around, his eyes caught a glimpse of the boy's right hand holding the bow relaxing, seemingly letting his guard down. At that moment, Wu Lailu's eyes suddenly became icy cold. His feet twisted violently, the sole of his cloth shoes scraping against the ground with a piercing screech, and his body shot out like a cannonball towards the boy.

  At the moment Wu Lai Lu turned around and rushed over, he suddenly saw that the boy's mouth corner twitched.

  The left arm that had been hanging down was raised, the right hand holding the feathered arrow was placed on the bowstring, drew the bow, the bow was full moon, the arrow flew out, the arrow was like a meteor. The distance between the two people was less than three meters, and Wu Lai Lu was confident that he could sweep the boy's neck with his stick in one breath, his strong left arm had already been raised, the wooden stick was raised.

  The stick was raised, and his movements had to come to an end.

  In less than a breath of time, he completed the actions mentioned above. However, the young man shot an arrow. The young man's shooting of an arrow did not stop his movements, his right hand lifted up, and with movements as smooth as flowing clouds, he drew out a second feathered arrow from the quiver behind him, pulled the bowstring, and took aim.

  The second arrow did not shoot out, and was pointing directly at Wu Lai Lu's throat as he raised his left arm.

  With a "thud", the first arrow was inserted into the solid official road surface behind Wu Lai Lu, and the arrow feathers were still humming, three inches deep in the ground.

  Wu Lailu subconsciously lowered his head, and he saw that the water bag hanging from his waist had a hole in it, with water dripping down, and the first drop of water happened to fall on his foot.

  The boy tilted his head: "You've killed people."

  He said.

  "And you want to kill me."

  The young man's brow furrowed in a very mature manner: "Unfortunately, you can't kill me. Moreover, you've already stirred up my desire to kill. Although you're not someone worth killing, I really don't mind using you to break my killing streak. If you still think about silencing people by killing them, I don't mind shooting you."

  A ten-year-old boy saying such words would always seem strange.

  Wu Lailu was not an ordinary farmer, nor was he just a simple deserter. At the time of the Great Sui's southern expedition, he was only a young man, not much older than the young archer. His family had been ruined, and he followed his mother to Hebei to seek refuge with relatives but was rejected at the door. He wandered to the northern border and only settled in a small village called Fangcheng a few years ago. If his past were to be uncovered, it would surely lead to another disaster. Although many years have passed, Wu Lailu did not want to gamble with his own life.

  Looking at Wu Lai Lu's expression, the young man sighed and said: "Not convinced?"

  He casually placed the bow and arrow in his hand by the side of the road, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Come on, let's try again."

  Wu Lailu raised his hand and then weakly dropped it back down.

  "I think I know who you are now. The young master of Tie Fo Pavilion, indeed a young hero."

  He gritted his teeth and said a sentence, then turned around and left.

  The young man flashed a set of pearly white teeth and smiled: "Wait a minute."

  Wu Lailu stopped and turned around, asking: "What else do you want?"

  The young man untied his own water bag from his waist and threw it to Wu Lai Lu: "I shot through one of your water bags, so I'll compensate you with one. You're leaving by the way you came, that's also giving me face. One thing for another, we don't owe each other anything."

  Wu Lailu reached out and grabbed the water bag, neither thanking nor speaking, and tied it to his waist before striding away. The men from Fangcheng Village exchanged glances, ultimately following in Wu Lailu's footsteps as they walked back. From the time they left until they arrived at a simple inn on the side of the road in the small village they had passed through earlier, Wu Lailu did not utter a word. Liu Laizi thought about approaching him to ask questions several times, but looking at Wu Lailu's stern and cold eyes, he was afraid and didn't dare speak up. Everyone ate dinner in silence, then buried themselves in their quilts, feeling frustrated, stifled, and with some unspoken and inexplicable emotions.

  Wu Lailu sat on the edge of the kang, habitually picking up his water bag to take a drink.

  The water bag wasn't his, it looked a bit dirty, but compared to the original one, it was much more exquisite. High-quality cowhide water bag, with some twisted and curved Tujue text. Wu Lai Lu didn't recognize those Tujue texts, but he recognized eight big Chinese characters. These eight characters were written in modern cursive script, with bold and powerful strokes.

  Drink plenty of water every day and urinate frequently.

  Under these eight characters, there is another line of small words written in beautiful cursive script, neat and elegant, which seems more like a woman's handwriting.

  Grandpa Mao's good child - Li Xian