Chapter 4 Chapter 4: Into the Mountains

Catkins are flying all over the sky, dusk is coming, and the sky looks extraordinarily confused and gloomy. A fast boat sailed into the territory of Chizhou Prefecture in Nanjing. The river flow in this area is calm, and the boat can't help sailing at night, but this remote river bay is extremely unsafe, and it is very dangerous to encounter violent people.The strange thing is that this fast boat entered from Jiangxi, but it actually berthed in a remote river bay six or seven miles downstream of Xiangkou, and never let it down.If you want to moor a boat for the night, why not moor a boat in Dongliu County, which is more than ten miles downstream?

What was even more strange was the sound of shouting and whipping from the boat.A few strong men were driving a group of male and female dolls off the boat. The dolls were like frightened birds, shivering, and hurriedly crawled to the shore. The last three boys who came down were a little older, about ten years old. One of them had his hands tied behind his back, and there were shackles on his feet. He was dragged off the boat by a big man like a dead dog, and fell headfirst into the snow. The sound of the whip was deafening, and the big guys waved their whips and yelled loudly: "Little bastard, hurry up and line up, hurry up!"Want to get whipped?

Twenty-one children lined up in a line, and a big man with a whip in his hand counted the number of people, and shouted in a loud voice like thunder: "Listen clearly, we have to walk sixty or seventy miles tonight, and the mountain road is blocked by heavy snow. If it's not good, you have to go. The mountain road is rugged, and if one stumbles, one's life will be lost. If anyone is not careful, cannot walk or is injured, he will be buried alive on the spot.Now, let's set off. Six big men escorted twenty-one male and female dolls, and began to stagger silently towards the snow-covered field to the east.

The snow is so thick that when you step on it, the snow is covered up to your knees. Even young and strong people would find it difficult to walk twenty miles, not to mention this group of dolls whose youngest is six years old and the oldest is only ten years old! After walking ten miles, some people began to cry, and some people called their parents and mothers. However, the six big men who were escorted were all men with a heart as hard as a stone, and they all brought leather whips, yelling, scolding, and whipping along the way without any mercy, urging the group of poor little lambs to go on their way.

Fortunately, there are only two six-year-old girls who can barely move around with the help of older children.Not to be left behind. ten miles, twenty miles It was midnight, and they arrived near a wooden house under a hill.The big man in the lead uttered two short howls, shaking the snow on the tree to fall down. There were two echoes, one long and one short, from the direction of the wooden house, and the big man threw his head and yelled: "The station is ahead, eat here before going on your way." A little boy dragged his numb legs with difficulty, wiped off the snowflakes on his face, and cried and said: "Master, I can't walk anymore, please have pity on me!"let me go

Bah!With the sound of a whip, the big man walking aside cruelly gave the little boy a whip, and sternly cursed: "Damn you bastard, you have to go if you can't walk, and if you talk too much, you will be beaten to death. Anyway, you are not too many, no one is there!" You are not one less. Another burly man seemed to be softening his heart, and said, "Baby, go slowly."You have to hold on. Uncle, my little boy called, suddenly pounced forward. The big man hurriedly stretched out his hands to help him, and said with a wry smile: Baby, you can't fall down! God!i am dying

As long as you don't want to die, you can't die if you grit your teeth and survive. The little boy walking behind with his hands tied behind his back gritted his teeth and shouted: Are you human?Why not help him go. A big man behind him swung him fiercely.Baba!He was given three whips.Cursed loudly: Damn puppy, how dare you The little boy suddenly took the opportunity to attack with his head, unexpectedly hitting the big man's belly, and the two fell into a ball. As soon as the big man rolled, he got out of the entanglement, waved his whip and roared angrily: "It's wrong, I have to take off a layer of your skin tonight!"

Before the whip could be swung, the leading man walking in the middle shouted: "Old five, stop!"enough. Brother, this little bastard I know, you know that he will resist, but you are careless and inattentive, who is to blame?We are in charge of transporting forty babies who have a solid foundation, traveling thousands of miles, day and night and going through hardships, and now there are only 21 dead. Now that we have seen the land, how many more do you want?forget it!old five. The five elders snorted and said angrily: The superiors have told us that we must bring the strongest dolls to report, and those who cannot stand the test can be eliminated at any time. Therefore, we are not allowed to show mercy, let alone help them.Let's talk about this little beast

This doll is the most tenacious and toughest candidate, we can't explain if you killed him. this Fifth, I know you have always disliked him.forget it!Don't forget that he is the person Zhao Ye valued the most, if he is killed, we will not be able to explain to Zhao Ye in the future. The second elder brother finished speaking coldly, turned to the little baby and said in a deep voice: Xin Wenzhao, we are almost at the end of the land, you have to behave yourself, no matter how unruly you are, you will be the one to suffer.Walk! The little boy Xin Wenzhao stared at the other party with resentful eyes, standing upright in the wind and snow, like a mountain standing tall.

The crowd started to move again, and soon, under the reception of five men in black, they filed into the warm cabin where the fire was blazing. A group of children huddled around the fire in the middle of the room, crying endlessly. Only Xin Wenzhao sat alone in the cold corner of the room, looking expressionlessly at the big men in black walking around the room. He was just a ten-year-old boy, thin and frail. Among these dolls who have traveled thousands of miles, which one is not clear and weak? Forty children set off, and half of them died. Just thinking about the death journey of thousands of miles makes people shudder.

Although he is thin and frail, his big sharp eyes can fully reveal the spirit of an adult.The lips were tightly closed, and the corners of the mouth showed a stoic and cruel expression. The host brought out the food, fragrant rice, and a big plate of hot meat. It was probably the first time for the dolls to get such an abundance of food. One by one, they forgot about their fatigue, cold, and pain. After eating and resting for a while, start on the road again, towards the white silver world, towards the unpredictable journey of life. Beginning to enter the mountains in the second half of the night.The mountains were blocked by heavy snow, there was no road at all, the vast expanse of whiteness as far as the eye could see, and every tree turned white. The wind is still blowing, the snow is still drifting, the universe is dead silent and empty! At the beginning of climbing the mountain, the two children formed a group, supported each other and struggled up, stumbled and suffered terribly. Just as they were walking, there was a sudden exclamation from the team, and the two dolls tumbled towards the ravine on the right, rolled five or six feet down and then slid down, screaming for help slowly. The two babies rolled straight down the foot of the 30-40 zhang mountain before stopping. After the sliding stopped, they could not hear the cry, and they lay motionless and straight at the bottom of the stream. A big man led a companion and ran down.Soon he called up: You go, I will bury them and follow. A big man called down: Are you dead?Need help? The ankle was twisted, and there was only one breath left, so it was useless!Buried for free.The people below answered loudly. Xin Wenzhao, who was walking behind, shouted angrily: "He is not dead, why don't you take him away?" Shut up!You give me less trouble.The big man behind him scolded angrily. Xin Wenzhao was not aggrieved, and shouted loudly: You also have children, and you are also human beings. Baba Baba!He received four whips. He was pulled down to the ground, kneeled up, straightened his upper body and gritted his teeth, shouting: If you don't take it, let me take it! How do you bring it?snort!You are a mud bodhisattva crossing the river, and you cannot protect yourself!The man who called the second brother approached and said coldly, stretched out his hand and dragged him away. He stood up straight and shouted: "Cut down two trees, make a sledge, and take two children. I can do it." As Xin Wenzhao said, he turned around and shook his bound hands behind his back, and said loudly: "Untie the ropes on my hands, and I will drag them." Untie you?Don't even think about it.The second brother shook his head and refused. He took a deep breath and said word for word: I promise you that you will not run away or hit anyone during this last part of the journey, and I agree. The second brother pondered for a moment, then nodded and said: "Okay, I trust you." Then he ordered two of his men to cut down trees to make sledges, and ordered them to carry the two little babies who had fallen unconscious. The two dolls that fell to the bottom of the ravine were a boy and a girl. The boy was nine years old and the girl was seven years old. The man's left foot was broken, but not seriously bleeding, and the woman only sprained her right ankle. It would be more appropriate to say that the two of them passed out from fright rather than falling down. The second elder brother sighed and said loudly: Brothers, let's help the little dolls walk, separate them, and each take two children. A big man said, "Second Brother, we were ordered not to help them." The second brother asked in a deep voice: Do you want us to report empty-handed? The big man said in a deep voice: Only the strongest can reach it. The second brother sneered and said: No one expected to encounter heavy snow. The big man stopped insisting and said, "Okay!"Anyway, you are in charge. Then you'll do as you're told.The second brother waved and said. With the help of adults, the forward speed more than doubled. Passed through three stations in total; one station at 20 li, and at the time of the next day, it entered a valley, and six big men in black joined them. Xin Wenzhao's feet were already unstable, his hands and feet were stiff, and he dragged the sled step by step stiffly. When passing through the mouth of the valley, he saw a large stone tablet erected at the foot of the mountain on the right, with four big characters engraved on the tablet: Big and small Luotian. I hope this is not hell.He screamed in his heart. He didn't know that this was not heaven, but a terrible hell, and he was stepping into the gate of hell step by step. The children lined up on the steps, and the big men waved their leather whips and kept shouting, not allowed to sit down. Except for the two injured people, everyone supported each other and lined up. Their faces were pale, their noses and saliva flowed together, and they were shaking, and their eyes showed extreme panic, terror and despair. Not long after the leader entered, a middle-aged man in a leopard-skin short jacket, leopard-skin hood, leopard head and eyes around him took four entourages out and stood on the steps, holding a roster in his hand. Scanning the lambs in the mouth of the tigers below the steps. After a long time, he said to the second elder brother who was standing respectfully by his side: What's the matter?Just these people? The second elder brother smiled, leaned forward and said: Yes, Master Zhao handed over a total of forty people, and only sixteen are down. His subordinates have tried their best. Why are those two sitting?The master pointed to the two injured boys and girls beside Xin Wenzhao, with a very sharp and deep tone. It's hard to walk on the road, I fell and hurt my foot nonsense.Why did you bring your injured foot?Why not deal with it. this Xin Wenzhao said loudly: I brought them here. puff!With a sound, a big man kicked him on the rear, kicking him down in the snow. Don't hit him yet.The master called urgently. Xin Wenzhao got up in embarrassment, wiped off the snowflakes on his face, clenched his hands into fists, wanted to rush but held back. The second elder brother hurriedly told about the two little ones who fell to the foot of the mountain by mistake. The master snorted and said: You have listened to what he said, how unreasonable!You know that big and small Luotian’s ten-year plan to cultivate people does not allow anyone to fill it in. Every man and woman who go out is a perfect talent. Bringing a person with a broken leg is not to shirk responsibility and perfunctory an act of rebellion? The second elder brother shivered, and said in panic: This subordinate knows his mistake, and he is willing to remove these two people from the list, and the subordinate will take them out of the village to deal with them. snort!The person has already arrived, so why worry about it. Subordinate Shut up!Do you still dare to argue? The second elder brother shut up obediently, said yes, took a step back, and breathed a sigh of relief. The host opened the roster, glanced over it, and then looked at the pale-faced children below, shook his head, and said rather dissatisfied: These are the best-qualified boys and girls near Zhongzhou?hell!In terms of physique, it is simply inferior to the southerners, it is extremely poor. After speaking, he stepped down the steps, began to roll the names, and looked at each one carefully. When Xin Wenzhao was called, the little guy just snorted and stared at him fiercely, like a cub in the corner. The master rushed up with anger, but held back. Turning to the second elder brother who was following behind, he asked: Why did you put him in shackles. The second brother smiled wryly, and said embarrassingly: "This little beast is very naughty, and he has practiced martial arts before. His hands and feet are agile, his skin is thick and he is not afraid of beating and scolding. He injured three of our brothers successively and escaped eighteen times. He bound his hands and feet in shackles. That's it, his hands and feet are not free, he is still restless, his temperament is extremely violent, he is a fierce wild horse that cannot be reined. Why isn't his detailed background recorded on the roster? It's like this, originally, for any boy or girl, Mr. Zhao sent people to various places to investigate and pay attention to it a year ago, and after a year of observation, he decided to choose it. And this little beast was accidentally discovered by Mr. Zhao in a temple fair when he was passing through Zhengzhou. At that time, he was fighting with five local ruffians. The bastard moves, rolls and crawls. Therefore, Mr. Zhao took pity on his talents and brought him here.Before leaving, Mr. Zhao also explained that he was specially told to train him well. The master let out an oh, and looked at the stubborn little doll from head to toe. Xin Wenzhao did an eye for an eye without fear, raised his head and chest, and stared at the other party. This kind of demeanor showed disrespect and unyielding, which was easily disgusted. The master snorted heavily and asked: Where is your home?Who else is in the family? Xin Wenzhao ignored him, still staring at the other party with resentful eyes. Why don't you answer?asked the master sharply. Xin Wenzhao remained unmoved, his body straightened. Snowflakes fluttered on his face, and he didn't even notice it. Bah!There was a loud slap in the face. Xin Wenzhao fell on his back, turned around and got up, his cheeks twitched. The second brother took a step forward and shouted urgently: He is going to act wild Before he finished speaking, Xin Wenzhao rushed forward like a leopard hunting. The master was startled, then dodged to the left, clasped Xin Wenzhao's right forearm with his right hand, and threw him around. Xin Wenzhao flew straight away, fell down on the snow with a bang, rolled forward suddenly, turned over and rushed out, and ran towards the gate inside and outside. Huh!The master cried out in surprise. The shackles restrict the feet, and the snow on the ground is more than a foot deep. How far can you run? Two feet away, I accidentally stumbled and fell down. As soon as he turned over and got up, a big man caught up and jumped down to capture him. The little guy was thrown down, turned over with all his strength, overturned the strong man who was pressing on him, got up and fled again. It was too late, the owner had already arrived beside him, stretched out his feet, and he fell down again. The heavy thick-soled boots stepped on his belt, and he fell into the deep snow, struggling desperately for a moment, and lost his resistance. His eyes turned black, his internal organs squeezed into his mouth, his waist was bent, and the wave of pain covered him. He didn't know where in the world, and the feeling of suffocation made him feel that his body was exploding. Seeing that he was about to faint, the weight of the thick-soled boots on his waist increased dramatically. Save him!Shen shouted loudly. Hearing the sound, the master moved his foot away, grabbed Xin Wenzhao by his back, dragged him back to the original place like a chicken, threw him on the ground, and bowed to a middle-aged man in fox clothes who was walking down the steps slowly. : Fifth Lord, this little bastard is surly and stubborn, so I can't keep him. The middle-aged man had big ears, a big mustache, sharp eyes, a slender figure, and was quite majestic. He said coldly: "Boss Gan, you should understand that what we need here is this kind of person. Alert, agile, and iron-hearted dead men, do not submit to shrewd and well-behaved minions. However, he may be difficult to submit It doesn't take long for people like us, who are big and small, to change their temperament, let alone a mere yellow-mouthed child? Manager Gan stopped talking and stepped aside. The fifth master turned his back and glanced at the disciples for a moment, then he said in a calm manner: My children, when you get here, you have finally come to the end of your hardships and made it through. Don't ask where this place is, and don't think about your past relatives and friends, you will be too busy to think about it. Here, food, clothing and housing are all top-notch, but those who can't stand the temper, walk in alive, and carry out dead.I am the owner of this place, and this is Manager Gan who is in charge of taking care of you. Now Manager Gan will take you to settle down. In about three to five days, when your companions from all over the world arrive, you will be busy. After finishing speaking, he walked close to the pale-faced Xin Wenzhao, and said again: My son, remember what I said, those who cannot stand the test will come in alive, and carry them out dead. It is very bitter here, but those who have perseverance and do not want to die can survive. Here, you are just an object, not a person. You are not your own from head to toe. You cannot control your words or actions. No one can resist, and resistance can only lead to death. There will be more than 300 children of your age here, there are not many if you are there, and there are many if you die. People will be added at any time, and some people will have no chance to come in.If you keep my words in mind, you will live a very happy life, and your prosperity and wealth will be limitless in the future. If you are still so stubborn and ignorant, I guarantee you will not survive.It doesn't take three or two days.Your dead body will feed the ants, and human life is worthless here.Well, think about it for yourself!A living ant is better than a dead lion. The back garden is very wide, and there are not many flowers and trees planted. It is actually a training ground. There are three courtyards and four rooms on the east side, and houses of the same pattern on the west side, with a back garden in the middle, and the distance between the two is more than a hundred feet. Boys were housed at the east end and girls at the west end. There are many dormitories at the end, where many adult men and women live. The owner of the villa is right, the food, clothing, and housing here are all top-notch. Every two people are assigned to a room with brocade quilts and tents, and each room has an inner room, and bamboo poles are used to guide the mountain spring to the inner room for washing. Some people sent clothes, shoes and socks, all made of high-quality cotton cloth, inner and outer clothes, including cotton jackets, and there were as many as eight pieces of jackets alone, and other items were more abundant. After they settled down, someone led them to the large warm bathroom, where they thoroughly washed off their dirt and fatigue in the large hot pool. The food is served in the room, and there are servants who send it directly to the room. The big fish and meat are delicious. The person who shared the room with Xin Wenzhao was Liang Zhihao, nine years old, from Shandong, and spoke Mandarin with a strong Shandong accent. He arrived two days earlier than Xin Wenzhao. According to Liang Zhihao, his father's name is Liang Xian, the king of the sword, and he used to be a bodyguard in the Weiyuan Escort Bureau of the capital. In the Shandong area, the king of the sword is a household name. He inherited his family's learning since he was a child, built his foundation at the age of six, and began to learn the method of regulating Qi and luck at the age of eight. He has cultivated both internally and externally, and has a solid technical foundation. Two months ago, he encountered bandits on the way to Mount Tai with his relatives and friends, and was taken captive to the south. There were as many as 60 people with him, and they traveled day and night to prepare for hardships. The bones of the twelve companions were cold early. The death journey is like a nightmare, and the thought of it makes the heart tremble and shudder. Food, clothing and housing are very satisfactory, but unfortunately, they are only allowed to walk within the courtyard, and it is strictly forbidden to go out of the surrounding squares. Anyone who dares to come within a hundred steps of the fence will be killed. In fact, no one dared to approach the gate wall. The gate wall was three feet high, and it should have a radius of eight or nine miles. Every half a mile, a wooden house was built for the guards to stay. There were more than ten giant vicious dogs, even if they could escape the guards Even eyes and ears cannot escape the sharp teeth of vicious dogs. For three days in a row, two or three groups of new partners joined every day, from all over the world, and even a group of Mongol children from Hetao.