Chapter 4: The Horse Thief

  The night wind is getting cooler, the mules are gathered in a circle, restlessly moving slightly, from time to time emitting low and mournful whinnies. The starlight in the sky, with the deepening of the night color, seems to be getting brighter as well. The azure sky above, just like a deep blue lake.

  Xu Yifan sat on top of a train car, hugging his knees and staring blankly at the sky above.

  Until now, he still can't accept reality.

  I've really come to this era...

  The small fire sparks around, the night watchman is smoking a pipe. They occasionally talk and laugh in low voices. Not at all tense. Looking around, I see Wang Wu leading Er Dezi with torches patrolling around. The sedan chair of Fourth Master and Old Han's shop is quiet, but there are still faint lights inside. It seems that after being disturbed by them, these people are actually too tense to fall asleep.

  Xu Yifan only felt lonely, a loneliness that spanned centuries. The pawns of the Biaoju, Dashi's companions, were only thousands of miles away from home. Everything he was familiar with was in the distant future. Sitting on this vast and desolate Mongolian grassland at night, his mood was as empty and desolate as the sky and earth here.

  A low voice suddenly sounded from under the carriage: "Y...you're okay, right?"

  Xu Yifan suddenly woke up and saw the little beauty hiding in the shadow of the car, looking at him with a slightly apologetic face. Xu Yifan instinctively covered his nose.

  The little beauty bit her lip and silently handed him a handkerchief. Xu Yifan hesitated before taking it in his hands. It felt soft to the touch, apparently made of high-quality material. The little beauty seemed reluctant to let go, as if it was one of her treasures.

  He tore off the two pieces of rag from his nose and covered it with a handkerchief. He chuckled in a low voice, "Do you dare to come over? Seeing that, Er Dezi's fist as big as a sand pot came rushing towards me. It's nothing, what's the big deal about giving a beauty a slap?"

  The little beauty snorted, and quickly covered her mouth: "I've never seen anyone as oily-mouthed as you! Er Dezi is my brother, his name is Chen De... You speak without any reserve or restraint, if he doesn't beat you up, who will?"

  The girl raised her face, and the starlight seemed to be in her clear eyes. Seeing such a small white rabbit's eyes, Xu Yifan, who had also been through many battles at that time, couldn't help but skip a beat.

  "Was it your idea to gather the convoy? This prairie is so vast, and at night we're all gathered together like this... I feel more at ease than before. But isn't this going against the escort agency's rules? I wonder how Master Wu agreed to this."

  Xu Yifan smiled and didn't answer, only saying: "You care so much, Fifth Master will scold you for meddling again... Your brother is called Chen De, what's your name? How old are you?"

  When saying this, I couldn't help but sneak a peek at the plump chest of the little beauty.

  The little girl lowered her head and stepped on the green grass under her feet: "My dad said that girls don't need to have a big name... From childhood, everyone called me Er Ya. I really want to have a name, hold my head high and walk with my brother like a bodyguard. This time I finally came out, but no one wanted to talk to me on the road, saying something about tabooing yin people offending... If walking as a bodyguard is serving these ladies, I won't come again..."

  The little beauty was really depressed, and she would find herself talking to this little monk for no reason. Looking at the invincible beauty's depressed look, Xu Yifan's heart also softened. But in this era of great differences between men and women, what could he do? Tomorrow his own meal still didn't know where it was.

  To say, I'm more pitiful than this girl.

  Two equally depressed people were facing each other in silence, when suddenly a hurried horseshoe sound came from far away. Wang Wu, who was on patrol, immediately jumped onto the carriage. Chen De beside him also quickly climbed up to the high watchtower. In the distance, torches flickered and a faint voice grew louder: "Master Five... Zhao Zi! Zhao Zi! The main force's Zhao Zi!"

  Then came a loud gunshot, echoing far into the night sky. The night watchmen all scrambled up onto the carriage, looking in the direction of the gunshot. Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves grew louder, filling the edge of the night sky. The carriages were shaking slightly, and the flames from the torches inserted around the circle were burning fiercely, illuminating everyone's pale faces. The mules were getting restless.

  Xu Yifan also gazed into the distance, and the little beauty had climbed onto the carriage, standing beside him.

  The sound of horseshoes grew louder, and in the blink of an eye, almost all the scouts sent out by the four sides were seen fleeing back. The torches they held were sparse and flickering, jumping up and down in the distance. Behind these sparse torches was a sea of flames surging towards here. It's hard to know how many horse bandits are gathering here!

  Suddenly, someone in the team shouted: "Horse thieves, horse thieves are coming!" In response to this cry, a sudden burst of gunfire rang out, crackling and continuous. Roars, strange laughter, and whistling sounds were already coming from afar, echoing all around. Almost in the blink of an eye, the team was surrounded by countless horse thieves!

  The whole team suddenly became alert, even the four madams' carriages opened their curtains, and the maids' crying voices became even more shrill. Adding to the chaotic and tense atmosphere inside was a great deal of panic. Everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs: "Thieves! Thieves!"

  Xu Yifan stood at a high place with cold hands and feet, thinking to himself how miserable his life was. He had just crossed over and been rescued by someone, but tonight he encountered so many bandits coming to rob them! Looking at the scale, it's likely that there are one or two thousand people inside and outside the caravan. The group of people inside the caravan were already in a state of chaos. Could this mob really withstand the raid of so many bandits?

  The little beauty beside him had long been frightened out of her voice, and subconsciously grabbed Xu Yifan's arm. Just as the chaos was unbearable, a loud shout from Wang Wu with full momentum was heard: "What are you panicking about? You're not holding torches in your hands! With Brother Hui's men here, we can ensure your safety!"

  A thunderous roar, and all the voices were shocked down. Everyone's eyes turned to Wang Wu, only to see that this Fifth Master had already taken a big knife in hand, standing tall on high ground with an air of dignity. His whiskers stood on end, and the majesty of a great Jianghu master was revealed without reserve!

  Everyone fell silent, and then they heard the calm voice of Old Man Han: "Listen to Fifth Master's arrangement! Drive away the bandits, no matter which gang, twenty pieces of silver!"

  The calm attitude of the two men instantly calmed the hearts of the people in the vehicle. Wang Wu grasped his large knife and pointed at the surrounding horse bandits: "Hit them!"

  Suddenly, it was a chaotic sound of loading bullets. Xu Yifan saw that Ma Fei was still about 700 or 800 meters away from here. Letting Bai Duo shoot the rifle in such a disorderly manner would only cause chaos among their own ranks. At this moment, he didn't care about anything else and anxiously jumped up and down on the carriage: "Fifth Master! The bandits are coming with one mind, randomly firing guns will only help them gain momentum! Fire at close range, issue a single command, and open fire simultaneously! Concentrate firepower to kill them!"

  Wang Wu was indeed a bold and powerful figure in the jianghu, but when it came to using firearms and fighting, he had no theoretical knowledge at all! The bandits began their full-force charge from afar, aiming to seize the initiative under the cover of darkness. Although they outnumbered them, due to differences in horse strength, they had already opened up a distance between each other. Randomly firing guns couldn't form a dense firepower... unless they let them get close, these thugs and henchmen would be able to stabilize their aim when the bandits approached - that was really going to be a big problem!

  In modern warfare, the emphasis on shooting discipline for cavalry charges dates back to the Napoleonic era. Suddenly concentrating firepower to kill and wound, knocking down the first batch, and whether the subsequent horse bandits can continue to charge is a problem.