Chapter 6: The Old Soldier's Reminder

  Ten young men had their right wrists tied with thin ropes, connected in a string, spaced more than ten feet apart, walking back and forth along the old road. Even Fangfang didn't get any special treatment, she walked at the very end, sobbing quietly, with Xia Qiu just ahead of her.

  It wasn't just her who burst into tears, under the influence of Tu Zi, more than half of the teenagers had tear stains on their faces. They never thought that one escape would bring so much trouble.

  The Xuanfu Army was even more terrifying than the legends, they were all adults, riding on horses made them look even taller, with long swords and shields on their bodies, occasionally colliding, the sound made the young men's hearts skip a beat.

  The only one of the Xuanfu Army who had made a sound was clearly the leader, with a red silk sash around his waist and a ribbon of the same color draped diagonally from his right shoulder.

  Xuán Fú Jūn was obviously not selected for his height, as he was the shortest among the eleven soldiers. However, this did not affect his coldness. Under his command, the young men had their wrists tied with thin ropes and walked between two groups of soldiers like prisoners.

  On the way back, they were all dispirited, especially Er Miao, who had suggested taking the small path. As a result, they were caught in less than a day and he regretted it extremely. If he could do it again, he thought he should have forced his companions to rush through the night instead of stopping to eat and rest, or simply taken Xia Qiu and Fang Fang back to Ye Lin Town. Looking at those all-black Xuanfu soldiers, Er Miao was more inclined towards the latter option, unfortunately, he had no way to choose again.

  "My dad will save me, it was him who reported the case in the first place, right?" Er Biao said softly to give himself some confidence and also to comfort his companions behind.

  "This isn't a big crime, is it?" Lengzi asked, walking behind Ershuang with a sobbing tone, "We'll just say... that Xia Qiu forced us to enter the forest."

  "It's unnecessary, as long as I can convince my dad... I can do it, you don't have to worry." Er Bing still hadn't thought of betraying Xiao Qiu at this time, despite his regret over helping him.

  Lengzi nodded dejectedly, "Father and mother will not rest until they've beaten me to death..."

  The depressed mood immediately infected the whole team, Baldy cried with his shoulders shaking non-stop, taking deep and shallow steps, almost unable to keep up with the people in front, "I don't want to go to jail, I... I want to pee."

  "Don't make a sound." The Xuanfu Army officer spoke again, clearly a very strict person. He rode his horse to the side of the road and watched as the young offenders walked by one by one. Under his command, the youths became extremely cautious, even their breathing was careful.

  As Xia Qiu walked over and glanced up, the panic in his heart had dissipated, and his observational ability was restored. Suddenly, he felt that this military officer with an icy voice didn't seem to be very old.

  The officer's face was hidden behind his helmet, and when he found that Xia Qiu dared to look up at him, he menacingly raised his whip.

  Xiao Qiu was even more certain that the officer was not an adult, and he felt surprised. How could a child be qualified to command ten fully armed Xuanfu soldiers? Then, he began to think of an escape plan.

  The red horse is still there, following quietly at the back. As long as they can untie the rope and ride with Fangfang, they might be able to shake off the soldiers' pursuit. Xia Qiu's plan has always been simple; he still doesn't intend to ask for help from anyone.

  The opportunity to untie the knot came soon enough.

  Two hours after departure, the group returned to the official road. The young men were surprised to find that they had walked for more than half a day yesterday, but actually hadn't entered the forest very far.

  The officer decided to stop and rest.

  One of the soldiers removed his helmet, revealing a weathered and resolute face. "Sir, we'd better keep moving. We have to get back to Xia'er Fortress before nightfall, no matter what."

  The officer said nothing and did not remove his helmet, staring fixedly at the soldier who had dared to express a different opinion, as if he had been deeply offended.

  The old soldier's face turned slightly red, but he still insisted on his own views, which was his duty. He lowered his voice a bit and bowed his head slightly, "The talisman master reminded me that this place is not safe and it's not suitable to stay for long. The Taoist priest I met yesterday also said..."

  "Ah, I know, and I know even more, don't worry, the demon won't dare to show up in broad daylight, and even if it really comes out, can't our mighty Western Subtlety Country's Xuanfu Army defeat it?"

  The young men laughed when the old soldier said that this place was "not safe". The biggest "troublemaker" in Ye Lin Town was these children, who were as obedient as chicks in the hands of the Xuanfu Army. Where did the danger come from?

  The old soldier yielded, nodded at the other soldiers, indicating that they could rest.

  The soldiers, on the other hand, were delighted and dismounted one after another, opening their helmets to eat the dry rations and water they carried with them, taking turns to go behind the thicket to relieve themselves, not exchanging a word among themselves, as if they were extremely afraid of that short military officer, trying their best to show their seriousness in front of him.

  The officer did not dismount, but looked down at the prisoners he had caught, as if they were the most abhorrent of rebels.

  The bald man was so furious that he was trembling all over. Xia Qiu plucked up his courage, lifted his head and said loudly to the officer: "I want to urinate."

  "I want some too." The bald man had endured for half a day, and even the fear of being locked up couldn't stop this feeling. A string of prisoners chimed in with the same plea, and Erliang even wanted a piece of dry bread; watching others eat was a kind of torture for him.

  "No noise." The officer said sternly.

  The young men did not dare to be presumptuous, only Xiao Qiu still stared at the military officer, "Prisoners also need to go to the toilet, we are about to suffocate."

  The officer fell silent for a moment, "Others can take turns going, you can't."

  "Why?" Xia Qiu asked in surprise, he was still thinking of taking this opportunity to get rid of the rope and execute his escape plan.

  "Because your crimes are serious."

  Xiao Qiu was furious, the surrounding Xuanfu army didn't look as majestic and tall as they initially seemed. He had already picked up his own stubborn temper again, "Fang Fang doesn't want to marry into the Shen family, is this also a crime? You adults, must you force a little girl?"

  The officer snorted disdainfully, "The marriage of a civilian woman is none of the Western Xiao Kingdom's concern. You, on the other hand, let fourteen official horses go and stole one, which is a serious crime."

  Xiao Qiu opened his big mouth, the horses he pastured all belonged to the Shen family, but he didn't know that the Shen family was raising horses for the government.

  The other boys heard this and let out a sigh of relief, and the silly boy immediately spoke out his thoughts, "It was for the sake of the official horse, that has nothing to do with us, the horses were all set free by Xiao Qiu."

  "You are all culprits." The officer was not polite at all, "and will be punished."

  The word "punishment" that was rarely heard scared the young people, they would rather accept "education", "correction", but did not dare to imagine how terrible "punishment" would be. Two soldiers began to untie the ropes for the prisoners under the indication of the officer, only Xia Qiu was still tied up, staying within the sight range of Xuanfu Army.

  When it was Fangfang's turn, she shook her head and refused to untie the rope, still tied together with Xiaqiu.

  Xiao Qiu's first plan had yet to be implemented when it was already a failure, so he could only think of another idea.

  "What is a demon seed? Why are you so afraid? Our Wildwood Town has all kinds of seeds, but we've never heard of a demon seed."

  The officer grunted again, not expecting the prisoner to have such a big nerve, daring to ask him questions. He refused to respond and instead ordered: "Tie him up tighter." A soldier walked over and pulled the rope on Xia Qiu's right wrist even tighter, only stopping when it was almost cutting into her skin. "And her," the officer said, pointing at Fang Fang with his whip.

  "What does it have to do with her?" Xia Qiu blocked in front of Fang Fang.

  "Because your mouth isn't honest." The officer was savoring his own authority, a hint of complacency in his voice, "This is just a little punishment."

  The soldier pushed Xia Qiu aside and also tied the rope on Fang Fang's wrist tighter. The man's strength was a bit too much, and Fang Fang cried out softly. Xia Qiu glared at the officer but didn't dare to speak again.

  The boys who went into the jungle to relieve themselves came back one after another. The officer counted silently, "One is still missing."

  The silly boy pointed at the woods in a fluster, "Baldy, he...he's taking a dump."

  The officer turned his head in disdain, the rough language of the young man was particularly piercing to his ears. However, after waiting for a while, the last prisoner still didn't come out, he became somewhat impatient, "Call him out, set off immediately."

  "Baldy." Lengzi shouted.

  "Baldy!" Er Biao shouted loudly.

  It was just before or after noon, the branches drooped low, even small insects were too tired to make a sound, and the thicket was eerily silent.

  The officer was enraged and ordered, "Bring the offender here and give him five more lashes."

  "Baldy, get out quickly." The young men shouted together, hoping he could still avoid the whipping.

  A soldier strode towards the thicket with big steps, very unhappy about this mission. Even without an officer's order, he was determined to teach that young boy a lesson.

  The soldiers entered the jungle, and the swaying of the branches quickly stopped, but there was no sound coming from inside.

  The young men looked at each other in dismay, and Baldy's audacity was beyond their expectations.

  The Xuanfu Army had a different idea. Nine soldiers almost simultaneously drew their long swords and took down their shields from the horseback, standing shoulder to shoulder, facing the forest.

  The officer seemed to be seeing this formation for the first time and was slightly tense, pulling tight on the reins and turning his horse around in a circle. "Two more people will go."

  Two soldiers took orders and set off, proceeding with caution, about seven or eight steps apart. They had just taken a few steps when they stopped again. A small face appeared in the gap between the trees in the thicket, which was that prisoner who refused to come out.

  The bald man smiled and looked at the crowd, not saying a word, just nodding constantly, as if beckoning his companions to come over and watch something interesting. He didn't take the Xuanfu Army soldiers seriously at all, with an air of nonchalance.

  This is not the bald man in the memories of young people.

  The officer saw the man and his panic suddenly disappeared, replaced by a burst of anger. "You dare to offend me, don't you want to live?"

  The old soldier turned his head and said to the officer: "Something's off, be careful..."

  The two soldiers in front continued to approach the jungle, holding a shield in their left hand and raising a long sword high in their right hand, as if facing a great enemy.

  The bald man still had a smile all over his face, nodding more frequently, he was encouraging the soldiers to approach.

  Two soldiers vanished quite suddenly, as if something had given them a violent tug, and they flung their arms open and plunged into the thicket, their swords and shields falling to the ground.

  "Monster!" a soldier shouted loudly, and without waiting for the officer's order, the soldiers immediately took action, with swords striking shields, marching in unison towards the thicket, their target not being the smiling bald man, but rather a place more than ten steps away from him.

  Behind them, the officer reined in his horse and backed away, calming down only after a few steps, drawing his long sword and raising an oval shield, but not daring to advance.

  The young men in the village of Ye Lin didn't quite understand what "beast demon" meant. That was clearly Baldy, someone they all knew well, and he had just been with them in the forest too - where did this "demon" come from?

  Xiao Qiu's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly remembered the Daoist priest's warning by the bridge - stay away from demons.

  Just as the young men were unprepared, the demon really appeared. A huge snake head emerged from the jungle, and it obviously knew that its trail had been exposed, so it abandoned its tricks and directly confronted the Xuanfu soldiers.

  The snake's head hung high in mid-air, its yellow eyeballs gazing down at humans, the two giant fangs in its mouth almost as long and sharp as Xuanwu Army's swords.

  In a flash of an eye, Xia Qiu felt that she saw a green light flashing in the snake's eyes.