Volume 1: War Dragon in the Wild Chapter 35: Two Runaway Slaves Without Worries

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  It's midsummer, and the rain has been pouring down for days. The water is overflowing, and the current is rushing. On both banks of the river, reeds are growing everywhere, from the shallow waters to the shore, dense and stretching up to the sky, swaying with the river breeze like waves. From time to time, some unknown birds can be seen flying in and out of the reed thickets, flapping their wings as if startled.

  A bird took flight from a thicket of reeds, and out came two people, one big and one small.

  The big man was about thirty years old, with a sturdy build and a ruddy complexion. His face had many pockmarks like burn scars, and he had a short beard that curled slightly at the edges. He wasn't very tall, but he was robust, wearing a left-buttoning foreign robe, with a sharp dagger at his waist.

  The young man was no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, with a thin face and eyes that were quite spirited. His round nose and thick lips gave him a somewhat wooden appearance. He wore a traditional Chinese hanfu with the right lapel overlapping the left, his hands and feet slightly trembling, his expression tense, occasionally looking around nervously.

  After a while, the young man slowly opened his mouth: "Uncle Meng... it seems that no one is chasing us, shouldn't we find a boat?"

  The burly man known as Meng Shu cautiously pricked up his ears to listen for a while, and after confirming it was safe, he let out a soft sigh of relief. His eyes fixed intently on the opposite bank, muttering: "Once we cross this river, it's that so-called 'Free City' of Hangou... Ah, girl, will you be there..."

  The young man waited for a while, but didn't see the strong man respond. He couldn't help but gently push him: "M-Mister Uncle, b-boat... how to f-find boat." This time it was clear that the young man had a stutter.

  Meng Shu finally came to his senses, rubbed his face hard, looked around and said: "In this foreign land, there are basically no bridges on the river. If you want to cross the river, you need to find a boat, but the boat must be at the right crossing point. Little horse, let's go upstream and see if we can find a boat."

  Two men, with their trousers rolled up to their waists, made their way west through the tall reeds that reached their waists. They trudged through the marshy grass, one foot sinking deeper than the other, their worn leather boots caked with black mud. From time to time, they startled small insects like cicadas and frogs, which scurried past their faces, startling the two men so much that they nearly jumped out of their skins.

  The incense had not yet burned halfway when a rumbling sound like thunder came from the northeast, and the two were so frightened that they did not dare to move. After a while, a dog barked, and Meng Shu and Xiao Ma's faces turned white. If they had dared to lift their heads and look around, they would have seen on the riverbank a group of no less than a hundred Wuhuan cavalrymen.

  More than a hundred Uwan cavalrymen, each with bows on their backs and knives at their waists, rode sturdy horses that were quick and agile, galloping in all directions, dispersing but not becoming disordered, clearly not an ordinary nomadic cavalry.

  After a while, the terrifying barking of dogs sounded loudly, and seven or eight Wumen people led by two hunting dogs, holding knives and bows, pushed out two people, who were exactly Meng Shu and Xiao Ma.

  The Wuhuan people pushed the two men in front of a Wuhuan knight riding a flower-patterned horse, and with a strong push, the two stumbled and fell to their knees, their hair disheveled, hanging their heads in silence.

  The leader of the Wuman knights was about twenty-five or six years old. Because he had been chasing after someone in a hurry, his bright forehead was covered with sweat and shone brightly in the sunlight. He had a round face, thick and short eyebrows, small eyes, but fierce eyes, black and dense beard, and a gold ring hanging from his left ear. His hair was tied up in two braids on both shoulders, his waist was big and round, his arms were strong and powerful, and at first glance, he looked like an expert archer.

  "Look up!" The voice of the Wumeng Knight was not loud, but it carried a chilling and deadly aura.

  Meng Shu and Xiao Ma looked at each other with lowered heads, then slowly raised their faces, which bore the marks of whips.

  "What's your name?" The Wumeng Knight pointed his whip at Meng Shu.

  Meng Yuan

  "What's going on?"

  "Bow maker."

  "Hmm?" The eyes of the Umaru Knight narrowed, a cold glint flashing across them. He pointed his whip at the young man, "What's your name? Where are you from?"

  The little horse's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth without answering. The Wumeng Knight was furious and was about to raise his whip when Meng Yuan hastily said: "Please calm down, sir. This young man has just been captured and doesn't understand the Huren language, so..."

  Wu Wan Knight snorted, his whip fell, and he slapped his palm repeatedly, saying lightly: "Do you know who I am?"

  Meng Yuan shook his head and said in a low voice: "I know, sir. You are Hou Menglin's subordinate..."

  "Anyone who can recognize this lord must be at least an old servant who has been in the department for more than five years." Neng Chen stepped forward and stared at Meng Yuan, "You are not only an old servant but also skilled in archery. The tribe should have treated you well, why do you want to escape?"

  Meng Yuan slowly turned his head to look south, and when he turned back, tears had already filled his beard. His voice choked as he said: "The treatment of the little slave is indeed not bad, but living alone in a tent, with the great lord's gift of a female slave as his wife. However...the little slave's original wife was separated from him for many years, and at that time she was already pregnant with their child. The little slave has thought about her day and night. Recently, he heard that the Han army had rescued a large number of Han slaves, and wondered if his wife might be among them. The little slave couldn't bear to think about it, so..."

  "It's like that." Nangong Zichen's face was expressionless, ignoring Mong Yuan's sorrowful look. "The escaped slave has been caught, do you know how to punish him?"

  Meng Yuan's body trembled slightly, and he said sorrowfully: "I know... trampled to death..."

  "Enough, I'll give you a chance to cross the river right now, under my very eyes. If you two can make it across safely, I'll let you escape, how about that?"

  Meng Yuan looked back, gazing at the rolling river water, his face ashen. The young horse asked several times before Meng Yuan translated what Nuo Chen said. The little horse gritted its teeth and said: "If that's the case, I'd rather entrust my life to heaven than be... be tortured to death by the Huns."

  Meng Yuan smiled wryly: "Thank you, Marquis of Xiping, for helping me complete this."

  The ropes on their bodies were cut off, and they stumbled towards the riverbank under the gaze of over a hundred pairs of cold eyes.

  River breeze is cool and refreshing, reeds are like waves, lotus flowers are like snow, fierce barking hastens the soul.

  Meng Yuan and Xiao Ma supported each other as they walked down the riverbank, looked down at Xiao Ma who was shaking all over, and asked: "Do you know how to swim?"

  The little horse shook its head.

  Meng Yuan bitterly smiled: "I'm also not good at swimming, I've splashed around in small streams before, but I've never swum in such a big river."

  The little horse lowered its head in distress: "It's all... my fault, if it weren't for... I told you about the Hango tribe's news. With your archery skills, even as a slave, you're still much better off than those who herd livestock for their masters... and yet, it had to end up like this..."

  Meng Yuan shook his head: "It's not your fault, I've been separated from Wa and her mother for too long, and I miss them too much. This time if I don't escape, after ten or eight years, when people get old, there will be no more courage and strength to escape. Alas! My escape to the Han Go department is just a slim hope, maybe Wa's mother has already... Never mind, dying early means being free from suffering earlier, and I can reunite with them in the underworld..."

  The little horse looked south for a while, then suddenly let go of Mong Yuan, tidied up his clothes, and knelt down respectfully. He faced southwest and kowtowed three times, silently saying: "Father, Mother, Elder Brother, Clan Elders... I'm leaving first..."

  Meng Yuan looked at him with a mixture of sadness and forced smile, saying: "Being a drowned ghost is better than being trampled to death by horses. It's already a blessing that we can die in front of our lord."

  If Meng Yuan were to hear what Nengzi said to his subordinates at this moment, he would probably be furious.

  "Good meat shouldn't be wasted, let them soak in the river water until they're half dead, then send people to pick them up, tie them to a horse's tail and drag them until they're almost dead, then feed them to dogs."

  The sun was scorching, but the river water was icy cold. With the shadow of death looming over them, Meng Yu and Xiao Ma couldn't help but shiver all over as soon as they stepped into the water, their teeth chattering loudly.

  "Little horse, it's better to suffer a short pain than a long one, go!" Meng Yuan lifted his clothes, revealing his dark and muscular physique, and with one hand grasped the little horse's frail body, just about to leap into the deep water, when suddenly a loud rumbling sound like thunder came from the shore, followed by the sound of galloping horses.

  Looking back, however, he saw several hundred Ulan cavalrymen galloping towards him, and the one who led them was none other than Abaoji's son, Emperor Taizong of Liao. The emperor dismounted his horse and knelt down to greet Yelü Ruan.

  Before long, two Ulan riders rushed to the riverbank and re-arrested Mong Yuan and Xiao Ma. It was only then that they discovered this group of Ulan cavalry had arrested nearly a hundred escaped slaves like them. What caught their attention in particular was that dozens of escaped slaves were pushing a huge cage cart, which was covered with black cloth, and no one knew what was inside. However, when Mong Yuan and Xiao Ma looked at the cage cart, they felt uneasy and had a creeping sense of fear. What exactly was inside?

  "Come quickly and pay your respects to Tudun." The Uighur man pushed Meng Yu and Xiao Ma before a young Uighur noble surrounded by many cavalrymen.

  Meng Yuan and Xiao Ma looked at the majestic young man in front of them with surprise. This, this is actually the great Wuduan, who rules over the three counties of the Wuhuan people?

  Duan's gaze swept over Meng Yuan and Xiao Ma, his voice low as he said, "Didn't I say to try and capture them alive?"

  Just now, the able minister who was still arrogant, is now respectfully kneeling on the ground and replied: "This escaped slave is a bow maker, if sent to the Han Ge Department, I'm afraid it will increase someone else's power."

  "What's the big deal about a mere bow maker, how much power can he possibly gain?" Ta Dun sneered coldly, "Right, I did say I'd send a grand gift to that Han warrior named Ma Xun, but whether or not he can handle it depends on his abilities."