Chapter 385: Going through hardships (two chapters in one)
Li Tong was a member of a noble family after all, so he had naturally learned the Six Arts of a Gentleman, otherwise he wouldn't have carried a sword with him.
It's just that his body was heavily suppressed, but it was inconvenient for him to take out the sword with his hand. He was about to hold the scabbard with his backhand and thrust it back.
Unexpectedly, the person holding him down stretched out another hand and strangled his neck tightly, making him unable to breathe and rolling his eyes.
At the same time, someone else pounced on his hand and kicked over the fire, burning his face with sparks.
Before Li Tong could see who was behind him, his hands and feet were already tied tightly like four horses' hooves. At the same time, something unknown was stuffed into his mouth. The fishy smell made him almost want to vomit.
At the same time, the visitor wrapped his mouth with a piece of cloth, and finally tied a knot behind the back of his head so that he could not make any sound.
There was only a "clang" sound, someone half pulled out his sword, looked at it, and then said something he couldn't understand.
Hearing this accent, Li Tong's heart sank.
“Barbarian?”
The people who came here packed up all the things he had brought with him, and then put out the fire without leaving a trace, and then carried him away.
Although it was dark, it was obvious that these people knew the road in the mountains. They had many twists and turns along the way. It was unknown how long they had walked. Li Tong felt that his clothes had been scraped into tatters by the branches along the way, and even his face was stained. Burning pain.
A few people finally turned into a cave. There were several fires in the cave, and a group of people were sitting around each fire.
With so many people sitting inside, there is still a lot of space left. It can be seen that this is a very big cave.
Seeing someone coming in from outside, the people around the fire turned to look over.
Li Tong tried his best to raise his head and looked up, and saw that all those people had disheveled hair, reflected in the firelight, but their faces were hidden under the long hair, making it difficult to see their true faces, which looked extremely strange.
With a "bang", Li Tong was thrown to the ground. The shock caused all his bones to almost fall apart, and he almost vomited out his overnight meal.
But his whole body was tied tightly and he couldn't move at all. He just felt extremely uncomfortable.
Someone in the middle of the fire stood up, walked up to Li Tong, held his face with one hand, looked at him, and said something in nonsense.
When the others heard this, they all burst into laughter.
Facing the firelight, Li Tong finally saw his face clearly.
He has deep-set eyes and a hooked nose, a very typical face of a barbarian.
“Han people?”
This person asked in blunt Chinese, and at the same time asked someone to remove the cloth covering his mouth. It seemed that he should be a leader.
Except for the Hu people who often live together with the Han people, in general, except for the leader, no one in the Hu tribe can speak Chinese.
Li Tong quickly spit out what was in his mouth and took a few big breaths.
"Yes." Regardless of the soreness and pain in his neck, he tried hard to raise his head and showed a flattering smile, "This leader, I am from the Li family in Shuzhong. As long as you let me go, I can ask my family to send food. Come and exchange.”
After hearing this, the barbarian leader grinned, touched Li Tong's face and neck, and squeezed his shoulders, "No wonder the skin and flesh are so tender."
There is a greedy light in the eyes.
Feeling hands like old tree bark groping his body, Li Tong got goosebumps all over his body.
“You can tell me whatever you want, and I’ll ask my family to send it over.”
When Li Tong saw that the Hu leader did not answer his words, he thought that he had spoken too fast and the other party could not hear clearly. He suppressed the panic and discomfort in his heart and quickly slowed down his speaking speed and repeated.
“Then your people came over and captured us?”
The Hu leader slapped Li Tong on the face and said coldly, "How many people have you Han captured in the past two years? In order to escape your pursuit, we fled into the mountains."
“Who would have come back if we hadn’t run out of food? I didn’t expect that I’d been lucky these past few days and could catch such a tender lamb.”
He didn't say much, but Li Tong understood the horror in it. Before he could scream, the barbarian leader stuffed back what he had just vomited and tied it tightly with a cloth strip.
Even though Li Tong wanted to explain that the incident had nothing to do with him and that the evil-minded farmer was the instigator, they refused to listen to him and simply threw him into a corner.
There was a strong smell of blood in the corner. Li Tong turned over and saw an object hanging not far away, but the fire did not illuminate it, so he could not tell what it was.
The Hu leader walked back to the fire, and he didn't know what he said. He only heard loud laughter from the other side.
The cave is filled with a happy atmosphere.
Li Tong huddled in the corner, finally feeling regretful in his heart.
What does it mean to be sent to Nanxiang by your family?
What does it mean to be slapped a few times by my sister?
Dispatched to Nanxiang by his family, he was still the legitimate son and still had no worries about food and clothing.
After being slapped a few times by his sister, he returned to Zhuangzi. He was still the master of Zhuangzi. When all the servants saw him, they all bowed their heads and saluted.
If it falls into the hands of the barbarians, life or death is uncertain.
Out of the Shu region, to the northwest is the Hu region. In recent years, many people from the north have come to Shu, and even the legends of the Hu people from the north have also spread to the Shu region.
Besides, many Hu people have been captured in Nanxiang in the past two years, and Li Tong also knows some of the customs of the Hu people.
Women who live in barren lands will become tools for the barbarians to raise children, and men who live in barbaric lands will become sheep and cattle slaves, that is certain.
I heard that the Hu people would use people as food rations when they were short of food, and even their skulls would be polished into drinking utensils.
I don’t know if it’s true…
Thinking of this, Li Tong felt extremely frightened, his whole body was trembling, and he felt even more regretful.
If he had to do it again, he would not dare to leave Hanzhong alone even if he were killed.
The night gradually deepened, the voices on the other side became softer, and the flames of the fire became lower. It seemed that everyone was beginning to fall asleep.
Li Tong felt numb and painful, cold and hungry, plus a huge sense of fear in his heart, but he didn't dare to close his eyes.
Even if his eyelids droop, as soon as he closes his eyes, he will suddenly wake up again.
I don’t know how long it took for him to be in such a daze. Just when he closed his eyes, he seemed to hear a scream. He thought it was because he was too tired and had an auditory hallucination.
Unexpectedly, someone started shouting in the cave. Taking advantage of the coals of fire that had not yet been extinguished, I saw people standing up one after another, holding sticks and other objects in their hands.
But before they could rush out, there was a sound of breaking through the cave entrance, and at the same time there was the bang of a bowstring being pulled.
Then the people in the cave screamed several more times.
A loud shout came: "Those who abandon their weapons will not be killed!"
Then he said it again in nonsense.
The barbarians in the cave screamed in surprise, and many of them were visibly stunned.
Some people rushed out desperately, but soon there was another scream.
Li Tong in the corner had his eyes watered when he heard this familiar accent. He squirmed and struggled hard. For the first time, he felt that Chinese was as beautiful as celestial music.
The battle started suddenly, but ended even faster.
The Hu people, who had killed or wounded more than a dozen people, looked at the Han army outside the cave entrance, which was filled with strong bows and crossbows. They finally dropped the crude weapons in their hands and retreated one after another.
At this time, Li Tong discovered that there was a faint white light outside the cave entrance. It turned out that it was already dawn.
He saw first a few torches thrown in from outside, illuminating the cave brightly, then several Han soldiers holding shields walked in carefully, and finally there were soldiers holding weapons.
After confirming that the Hu people had no sense of resistance, the soldiers from outside rushed in and drove the Hu people away like cattle and sheep.
Li Tong was in the corner, scurrying back and forth like a maggot, making "woo-woo" sounds in his mouth, trying to make some noise to attract the attention of the soldiers.
It's a pity that he was tied too tightly, his mouth was sealed too tightly, and the movement he made was too small, so no one noticed him.
“Light the torch and see if there is anything missing.”
After all the barbarians were driven out, the leader said something.
After a while, someone finally came to this corner holding a torch and said, "Hey, there is something else here."
“It’s a person.”
The soldier holding the torch put it close to Li Tong's face, looked at it carefully, and turned around and shouted, "Chang Qu, there is a Han here."
“Are you alive?”
“Alive.”
“This boy is very lucky. He can survive a night in a barbarian’s den.”
The music director came over to take a look and said, "Yes, the one tied like this is the one from last night. Please help him untie it quickly."
Hearing this, Li Tong felt very angry. When he was caught last night, were they following him?
But after what happened last night, he was much more careful and did not dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction on his face.
“Hey, what’s this hanging about?”
The soldier holding the torch saw something hanging next to him, so he brought the torch closer and turned the thing over.
“Don’t look!”
Qu Chang hurriedly shouted at Li Tong.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Li Tong just took one look and felt his stomach churn on the spot. He made a "vomit" sound and everything in his stomach surged up.
At the same time, there was a look of extreme fear in his eyes, as if he had seen the most terrifying thing in the world. He used his hands and feet to crawl away, trying to get away.
It’s a pity that he had just been untied, and his hands and feet were sore and numb, and he couldn’t use any strength. He could only scream “Uh-huh” and couldn’t even speak.
Qu sighed and shook his head, and said to the soldier, "Take off that..., find a place to bury it, and see if you can still find the skull in the hole."
Speaking, he helped Li Tong up and walked out of the cave.
When he got outside and smelled the fresh air greedily, Li Tong believed that he was alive.
He didn't even dare to look back at the cave, as if it was the underworld.
That pale, headless corpse with no arms, no head, and only one leg left will be his nightmare for a long time to come.
"Qu Chang, that one just now..." The soldier who had buried the corpse came over. Even though he had seen many dead people, his face was still pale from fright, "What's going on?"
"Meat and food for the barbarians." Qu Chang's face was extremely ugly.
"After those barbarians with the habit of cannibalism catch a person, they will hang him upside down while he is still alive, cut off his ears, slit his neck, and let the blood drain to death. After death, the body turns white and looks like Aries, this way it tastes less bloody."
“Ugh!”
Li Tong on the side heard this and retched again.
Everything in the stomach was vomited out. When there was nothing more to vomit, he began to vomit yellow-green bile.
A gust of mountain wind blew by. Li Tong was exhausted physically and mentally, and after vomiting bile, he finally couldn't hold on anymore and fainted.
When he woke up, he found himself lying on the ground with a layer of dead leaves under him.
"woke up?"
A young general in armor came over, leaned over and asked, "Can you understand what I'm saying?"
Behind him was the Qu Chang who saved him.
“Where is this?”
Li Tong asked with difficulty.
"In the mountains of Yinping, we are preparing to go to Yang'an Pass. Who are you? How could you run into the territory of the barbarians alone?"
The young general looks quite kind and his smile makes people feel comfortable.
“Going the wrong way, lost in the mountains.”
"Oh," the young general nodded and asked again, "You haven't said who you are yet. If you don't tell me your roots, then I will count you as a barbarian. It's worth seventy cents to say the least. Woolen cloth."
Li Tong replied, "My surname is Li and I am from Jincheng. I came from Hanzhong and am going to Jincheng to deliver a message. Are you a militia group?"
"I also know about the militia, it seems that he is a well-connected person." The young general chuckled, "We are not a militia, we are soldiers from Yang'an Pass, patrolling the border. We saw some barbarians doing evil, so we dealt with them easily."
“Thanks to Mr. Lang, I heard from those men that they found a barbarian’s lair last night and gained a lot.”
"I also heard what they said. It was too dark at night to take action, so I had to wait until dawn before taking action. Unexpectedly, Li Langjun suffered all night."
"But don't blame them. When encountering something like this, everyone has no choice but to accept their fate. If you can't make it through the night, it's a bad fortune. If you can make it through, it's a good fortune."
The young general has a slightly apologetic and sincere smile on his face, which makes people feel good at first sight.
"By the way, you said your surname is Li, and you came back to Jincheng from Hanzhong. Could it be that you came from Nanzheng?"
An imperceptible light flashed in the young general's eyes.
“No, from Nanxiang.”
Li Tong shook his head.
Hearing what Li Tong said, the young general's face finally relaxed and he asked the last question, "How do you prove your identity?"
Li Tong glanced at the sword on the young general's waist and said, "I have a sword that fell into the hands of a foreigner. There is a word "Li" engraved on the sword. Just take this sword to Nanxiang and ask Mrs. Mu of Nanxiang. Mrs. Mu will tell you. Will prove it.”
“Nanxiang Mu Niangzi?”
The young general raised his eyebrows with a hesitant look on his face, "Li Langjun is familiar with Madam Mu?"
"no no!"
Li Tong shook his head repeatedly. How dare he accept such a thing? At this time, he had no face to return to Nanxiang. "My master is the old housekeeper of the Li family. I am the son of the Li family. How dare he say that he is in love with Mrs. Mu?" Familiar?"
"You are a son of the Li family? How can you get such a good sword?"
The young general accidentally let the question slip.
"That's it. Your Excellency made great contributions back then, so the head of the family rewarded him."
At that time, the old housekeeper in the family was indeed rewarded with a sword. Li Tong did not lie.
"I see."
The young general touched the sword at his waist and sighed, "That's really a pity."
Li Tong glanced at the sword at his waist again and asked, "What's the pity?"
It's a pity that you are not familiar with Madam Mu, we are just children from the same family.
The young general smiled and said, "I'm not going to hide it from Li Langjun. When Li Langjun fainted, they were rushing in a hurry and accidentally lost the sword. It's really a pity."
“I also have a package that fell into the hands of the Hu people. The package contains some clothes, some soft goods, and a few pieces of dry food.”
Li Tong held back his breath and said.
His appearance was seen by others, and the young general became more and more sure that he was just a small role, and continued to sigh pretentiously.
“Oh, so that package also belongs to Li Langjun? It’s really unlucky. I lost a lot of things on the road yesterday, and here is Li Langjun’s package...”
Li Tong took a deep breath, resisting not to look at the sword at the opponent's waist, touched his chest, and twitched the corners of his mouth, "Did I also lose the jade pendant on my body?"
The young general nodded, his face a little unnatural, and he coughed dryly and said, "There is nothing we can do, the soldiers under my command are all rough-handed."
Speaking, he turned around and kicked Naquzhang, and shouted, "I told you to be more careful!"
“Yes, yes, the villain is wrong.”
The Qu Chang said with a sad face, "I'm sorry Li Langjun. The brothers rushed to the field to meet General Jiang in a hurry and didn't notice your things. I'm really sorry!"
Li Tong closed his eyes and sighed, "Forget it, it's just an external thing, it doesn't matter..."
Jiang Shu smiled with satisfaction.
(End of this chapter)