Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen.little guy

After several upheavals, Wanjialou no longer had the mighty glory of the past.Although the tall stone building still stands in the eyes of travelers, and although the seven intertwined willows outside the north gate still foreshadow the harmonious multiplication of this clan, the fact that three patriarchs fell in a row in just a few years, People of all ethnic groups in Wanjialou couldn't help but feel depressed. When Mr. Wan Jinbiao was alive back then, needless to say that the Yeludang area was peaceful, even in the northern counties, the masters of the rivers and lakes had to look at Wanjialou's eyes and listen to Mr. Wan's tone first, or else , You must have blue eyes, swollen nose and somersaults.As soon as Mr. Wan fell down and the new soil on the grave was not dry, the bad news came out that the old Liuhe Gang had been wiped out. Take off the dead face? !Now that the incident had broken out, only Wanjialou came forward to clean up the mess. At that time, most people still laughed at themselves and thought: Maybe the seizure of the private sector was just to take advantage of the new news of the patriarch of Wanjialou, who was busy with the funeral, so as to save it in the future. Once the master is in the right position, there will be no such troubles.

It's not unreasonable for all clans in Wanjialou to value the young Bao Ye. They generally think that Bao Ye is smarter than Zhen Ye in terms of planning, more decisive in dealing with things than Ye Ye, and even better than Gu in terms of marksmanship and bravery. Master Bao is slightly better. With a young and promising patriarch like Master Bao, Wanjialou should have a new look.That's right, the Wanjia Building in the hands of Mr. Bao can indeed follow Mr. Wan's wishes during his lifetime, clear up the grievances of the wronged people, resolve disputes in the rivers and lakes, and even give a hand to many sloppy bums. Umbrellas, so that they have a shade when they enter the wild reeds.

No matter how painstakingly the young Baoye manages, people with a little foresight from all ethnic groups in Wanjialou will see that Wanjialou, which is regarded as a prince of hundreds of miles, has lost its prestige for a year.The northern land was trampled into a vast barren land under the horseshoes of the Beiyang army. Soldier, plague, flood, drought and famine repeatedly tortured the innocent people. Wanjialou could no longer protect the refugees who came thousands of miles away. , During several spring famines, Master Bao also released food relief, but the hungry stomachs and intestines of those refugees were a leaky pot, and Wanjialou could not save them with their own efforts.A variety of man-made disasters made the bandits rampant, and the Yeludang area was not peaceful.

Judge Zhu Si swept up the Wanjia Building at night and shot Bao Ye down, which was the beginning of a greater misfortune.Everyone can see that among the few young elders in Wanjialou, it is difficult to find someone like Bao Ye who can keep the foundation while striving to develop it. In the hands of Mr. Ye, the momentum of Wanjialou has become the setting sun slowly falling to the west. Mr. Zhen went to Shahekou, and Mr. Gu, who led the gun team of various ethnic groups, tried his best to protect himself, making the prosperous West Road a rare place in the past. The deserted roads and the business transactions in the city streets also showed a scene of withering.But God seems to have intentions not to bless Wanjialou, even a kind and honest person like Yeye can't escape the fate of being shot black, and the dead body is bound with iron in the wild pond, which shows that the murderer has precise calculations and long-term premeditation. Who is the one?After Master Ye's body surfaced, Master Young Gu lost his irritable old temper, gathered the gun team at night, shouted loudly to arrest the murderer, but he couldn't arrest the murderer, so Master Young Gu sent all his anger to Judge Zhu Si from Yangjiao Town, Matun, and his gang went to the head.

I know those thieves, if they don't loot Wanjialou, they will not die.Little Guy said: Even if the sky falls on me alone, I still have to meet them!I'm sure that Ye Ye was killed by them, and the reason they brought back to Yangjiao Town is that they planned to kill Bao Ye with peace of mind, and murdered Ye Ye, the same method. In fact, everyone guessed this way, and for many years, only Judge Zhu, a bandit like this, dared to plot against Wanjialou openly. The two thought about it.The young Gu Ye of the second room may not be a good patriarch to keep his foundation firmly, but Gu Ye killed bandits and fought tough battles, but he was as fierce as an unruly bull. You rely on Gu Ye to come forward and avenge Ye Ye who died in vain.Gu Ye's mention of this was exactly in response to the wish of the Wanjialou family, and the gun teams of each family immediately rallied, wishing to wipe out the group of people entrenched in Yangjiao Town immediately.

Yanshi was trapped, and although there had been rumors about the northward transfer of the Jiang Defense Army, it was left out in the cold in Wanjialou. They can't forget the blood debt of Baoye Yeye's dead body, the gunshots and the candlelight that night Judge Zhu Si was involved in Wanjialou, they are eager to remove the thorns in their eyes, and they want revenge ! Guan Baye, who was wounded in a gunfight with Judge Zhu Si in Yangjiao Town, happened to come to Wanjialou at this time.For a period of time after the rainstorm, the sky was gloomy and slightly chilly, Guan Baye was still thinking about meeting Little Guy from time to time on the sickbed.

Gu Ye already knew that Ba Ye had come to town, and the old accountant Cheng Qingyun said: Gu Ye also said: He will come to visit you as soon as he has free time.However, there has been a lot of buzz in the town these past few days. Someone from the gun team ran into Judge Zhu's scouting horse at the Xiaohuangpu in Sanliwan, and the two sides fought fiercely; Let's deal with it! Exploring horses? !Guan Baye was obviously in great confusion, and said in shock: I am about to face Gu Ye face to face, this fire must never be taken over.The four judges have already passed away, the guns in Yangjiao Town, just waiting for the news from my side, will be pulled down to rescue Yanshi, they will never destroy Wanjialou again, I can guarantee that they will not touch Wanjialou Gu Ye must have misunderstood a piece of brick.

The old accountant furrowed his brows deeply, and looked at the other person's face in a trance through the smoke curling up from the hookah. Does he understand someone like Guan Baye?A few months ago, Judge Zhu Si went to Wanjialou at night, and he led a group of brothers from Liuhe Gang to fight to the death, and forged a deep hatred with Judge Zhu Si.Judge Zhu Si followed the whereabouts of the Liuhe Gang all the way, and wanted to get rid of him, but he went straight to Baoyangjiao Town, humiliated Judge Zhu Si to death, and subdued that fierce bandit. What is the reason for this? ? !

In any case, he suffered a serious gunshot wound and turned into a goshawk with broken wings. None of the gangsters from the Liuhe Gang who followed him earlier were by his side. How many thrilling fights were there? Behind him, how many torments of life and death hang on his brow?Don't say that he is a mortal, even the gods in the upper realm should be tired, but he doesn't!Although the pain of the two wounds gnawed at him day and night, although the festering place sucked his flesh and made him unable to stand, and piercing through such a huge pain, his heart was still flying in the place of suffering, not for a moment. pause.

Ba Ye, if you have something to say, I'll go talk to Gu Ye Chen.The old accountant said: When Wanjialou was in distress, you risked your life to lend a helping hand. I believe that if you need Wanjialou's help, Master Gu will not shirk. Then I'll trouble you to make another trip and tell Master Gu; I'm wounded by Guan Ba's gun, so I can't visit him at home.Guan Baye said: "I only hope that Gu Ye will spare time and come to Wanliang shop. I have something to say so that I can tell it face to face." When the old accountant went out, he found that the North and South Avenues were full of gun teams carrying ammunition bags and guns, and the street corridors were also full of tied horses. Some people saddled and tightened the girths of the horses, the sounds of people and the pulling of guns, and the sound of hooves and honking of animals made the air in the whole street stiff with tension.Obviously, Gu Ye gathered so many people with guns, and he was going to pull them out to attack Yangjiao Town!

When the old accountant thought of Guan Baye's words, he couldn't help becoming anxious, grabbed a person randomly and asked: Hey, brother, do you know where Gu Ye is now? Yuemo was pulling horses in the stable on the west garden.said the man. Not in the stable.Another man who was cleaning his guns interjected, "If you want to find Master Gu, you have to go to Liuhu Temple first. In the early morning, we met the bandits at Sanliwan, shot one of the bandits' horses, and captured the guy who fell off the horse. Gu Ye Master said he was going to skin him alive, you go to the Six Animals Temple to see the skinning alive, Master Gu will be there.You see, there are so many people rushing to go! The old accountant squinted his eyes and saw a group of people rushing across the square in front of the ancestral hall and the long screen wall in front of Baoye's house towards the west, presumably they all went to the Six Animals Temple to watch the excitement. If Master Bao and Ye were still alive, he would never have been so cruel to the bandits. How could they be dragged out to be skinned without interrogation or questioning in the hands of Gu Ye? !Since Guan Baye said that Judgment Zhu Si was dead, the people under him also washed their hands, Wanjialou and the gang from Yangjiao Town should not have fought each other because of misunderstandings, so this is all a joke. Gu Ye was too reckless.If he captures someone, interrogate him first, or go to Wanliangpu to ask Guan Baye first, nothing will go wrong. Now seeing that person's life is in his own hands, if he had been one step earlier, he would not have died tragically if he had seen Little Guy understand what he said, but if he had taken a step slower, wouldn't that person have lost his life in vain? !After thinking about it, he picked up his robe and fork and staggered to run. Running out of West Street, he bumped into a person head-on. The old accountant didn't even look at him, and was about to run towards the causeway over the Liuhu Temple, but someone grabbed his collar. Hey, hey, I didn't expect that you, an old man, would also like to watch this kind of excitement? !A familiar oily voice jokingly said: Look at you running so fast, be careful not to trip and fall, and knock your front teeth off. The old accountant turned his head and squinted his eyes. It turned out to be the most amusing big tooth in the town. He stretched his neck tall and slender like a bamboo pole. The front teeth protrude from the outside of the lips to enjoy the cool. Don't be happy, Mater.The old accountant hurriedly said: I have to ask you something serious, have you seen Master Gu? Why didn't I see you? !Dabanya wrapped his lower lip around his upper teeth and said: Just now, under the sour jujube tree in front of the Six Animals Temple, Mr. Gu rolled up his sleeves and made that guy hehe by himself. What to do with that guy?you say. Stripped alive!Da Banya sucked his saliva and said, if you want to see the fun, go there as soon as possible, the guy's skinless body is still hanging on the tree, looking from a distance, it looks like a newly married wife with red jacket and trousers still in her body. oh!The old accountant took a deep breath and said: Master Gu's temperament of burning chicken feathers on fire has not changed, something has gone wrong!Guan Ba ​​Ye said that Judgment Zhu Si had long since died, and the people under him had washed their hands. If Gu Ye didn't ask Ba Ye, how could he kill people indiscriminately? !I have to find Master Gu and talk to him immediately. No matter how embarrassing Guan Ba ​​Ye is, I bet Gu Ye won't listen to him.Dabanya said: "Gu Ye has gathered the gun teams of various clans and ordered them to go out of Wanjialou to fight bandits. Even if you find him and say this, I'm afraid it will be too late!" When the old accountant rushed to the Six Animals Temple, Gu Ye had already left there, leaving only a bloody, skinless human corpse on the sour jujube tree in front of the temple.The old accountant caught another person and asked Gu Ye about it, and the man told him that Gu Ye had gone back to the ancestral hall. That's right, Young Master Gu has returned to the ancestral hall, his tight-fitting black satin jacket is stained with blood, and his riding whip made of ox tendon is also stained red with human blood. This is how he treated the captive bandits The long-lost majesty of Wanjialou has returned, and no one criticizes him.When they thought of the tragic death of Master Ye and the cruel methods of the bandits, they felt that there must be someone like Master Xiao Gu who punished those murderers in order to calm down the grievances in the bottom of the hearts of the families, so when he strode back In the square in front of the ancestral hall, the crowd cheered and roared at him, expressing their sincere adherence to his ideas. People from all houses and clans, and all the people from Wanjialou listened for me. Master Gu, with a frosty murderous look on his face, suddenly raised his voice and shouted in the silence of the crowd: "The old man is here, we are here!" Where did the prestige of Wanjialou go?I really can't bear to criticize them after the death of Mr. Bao and Mr. Ye. They treated outsiders too generously and kindly, so they ended up in such a miserable end!Judgment Zhu Si's group of bandits have robbed Wanjialou before. If they didn't succeed once, they will never forget it. They plotted to kill Lord Ye, and they are planning to be robbed for the second time in Tunma Yangjiao Town like ghosts. robbery.Regardless of money, people, guns, or horses, we are stronger than those gangsters. If we don't take this opportunity to wipe them out, when will we wait? !Therefore, I gathered the gun teams of various ethnic groups, pulled them out immediately, and joined the guns of the big households in the Chaijiabao area, and surrounded the bandits in Yangjiao Town. I swear not to go back to Wanjialou! What Little Guy said was exactly what the people in the houses of Wanjialou thought. They lived alone in the middle of this wilderness all year round, and rarely saw the turmoil outside the sky and the bigger flames of war. The only thing that made it difficult for them to sleep , only Judge Zhu Si, they day and night dream of someone who can lead the whole family's gun team to wipe out this group of gangsters, and this person is the brave little Gu Ye. right!Let's follow Gu Ye, if the bandit kills one of us, let's kill ten of him! If you don't kill all those bandits, you don't count as revenge for Baoye Yeye! The crowd was clamoring excitedly and shouting blindly, forming overlapping circles; Master Gu was waving his bloody whip with one hand, and with the other he was holding a leg standing on the stone steps in front of a tall building, like that. Looking around at the rolling heads, slowly, the frost on his face subsided, and there was an almost imperceptible smile of understanding, because his passionate words that matched people's hearts were already like a hand. Like a raging fire, the hearts of the whole family were ignited.He knew that all he had to do next was to set off with the horn. Unexpectedly, at this moment, a person pushed aside the crowd, ran towards him staggeringly, shook his hands, and shouted out of breath, "Master Gu, Lord Gu, please slow down. I, Cheng Qingyun, have some important words to say to Gu." Lord, you tell me.Guan Baye, he said that you made a mistake, Judge Zhu Si is already dead; the people in Yangjiao Town also washed their hands, and were waiting for news from here, so they pulled them down to rescue the trapped Yanshi. Don't fight around! The old man ran too fast and stopped suddenly, he was a little out of breath, he kept pausing when he spoke, kept wiping his chest with his palms, panted with his mouth open, his face was so pale that he seemed about to faint .But he finally spit out these words intermittently, causing many people to stand there in astonishment. Although people hate Judge Zhu Si, it is difficult to forget the brave and fearless Guan Baye. In the past many days, the deeds of Guan Baye and the Liuhe Gang have been repeatedly told by people; Wanjialou made them vaguely realize that something unusual must have happened in the distance; but they encountered the murder of Ye Ye and the trace of the horse at Sanliwan, so they didn't want to find out what it was?When they heard the news of the death of Judgment Zhu Si from Cheng Qingyun, the old accountant, they were naturally shocked. Since the words were spoken by Guan Baye, there was absolutely no lie in the slightest. Why was there no such a major incident? The news spread to Wanjialou? ! When the old accountant threw himself into the square to speak, Young Master Gu remained motionless, waving the blood-stained horsewhip indifferently, with a dark and uncertain sneer on one side of his cheek. The matter of Wanjialou should be taken care of by Wan himself. He said: "Whether Judge Zhu Si lives or dies, I will not let the gangsters go."Guan Baye helped us earlier, now that he came to Wanjialou with injuries, it is up to us to extend the doctor to heal his injuries. If it is said to be in charge, we can only appreciate his Baye's kindness!I was born with such a stubborn temper, and I don't like outsiders to interfere in everything. Guan Baye was lying on the sickbed.The old accountant took a step back and said: He wants me to tell you that his leg is so bad that he couldn't visit you right away, I just hope you can come and see him, he has something to discuss with you face to face All right!Little Guy frowned and said: Then I will bother you to go back and tell Eighth Master that I have to lead the gun team out first, and I will go to Wanliang Shop to listen to the teaching in person tomorrow night!He turned to the horner and shouted: Sound the horn for me, tell the gun team to pull to Yangjiao Town immediately!Even though I can trust him, Baye Guan, I can't trust those bandits! Two long and curved ox-horn whistles were flying high into the sky, and the shrill sound of the horns ripped through the wind and scattered into the distance; the gun team resting under the street porch rolled out of this ancient and desolate town, Those men who were summoned from various farms carried cloth-wrapped single knives and all kinds of hunting guns, and walked happily. They rolled up their trousers one by one, exposing their hairy, twisted and tendoned calves. , wearing linen straw sandals, talking loudly in groups; all the muscles in their bodies trembled slightly for the upcoming struggle.No one wanted to know the impact of Yan City's safety on them. For them, it was only natural to shoot bandits with guns. When the sound of the trumpet flowed into the ears of Guan Baye, who was sick, he sighed helplessly. He knew that the self-willed little Guye had broken a big deal, and he wanted to persuade the big families in the North to pull guns to rescue Yanshi. It can be said that it is over.The horn sounded so long that he could understand the meaning of the horn sound. Could it be that the old accountant Cheng Qingyun hadn't delivered the message yet?Or is it that Young Gu is not willing to listen to him? !The sound of the horn was clearly urging the gun team to pull out of Wanjialou to meet the fire!The fire that shouldn't be fought happened just like this! He had repeatedly calculated during the day and night that Yanshi, facing the general attack of the Jiangfang Army, was just like a rush that couldn't absorb the heart oil. How long it could last would depend on how many people Beidi could help. Guns, in this case, even if there is one more gun, one more bullet is good.If Wanjialou insisted on going its own way and gathered guns to attack Yangjiao Town, it would be tantamount to attracting a rescuer from Yanshi; instead of pulling guns to help Yanshi, Wanjialou indirectly helped the Beiyang Army. Never dreamed that he would really be so confused? Struggle up, Guandong Mountain: If you can survive the black prison in North Xuzhou and the thousands of miles of journey to Liaodong, you should struggle in the critical hour of Yanshi!Such a tormented voice rose in his heart, with a huge and magical echo in the distance.But his leg wound was festering, and he couldn't get out of bed no matter what, his thoughts rolled down on the pegboard of time, leaving streaks of blood on it. When Wanjialou's gun team pulled out of the Three Mile Bend, the people in Yangjiao Town also fought hard, planning to fight Wanjialou to the death. In the hearts of Xiao Xie'er and his group of partners, it is of course important to rescue Yanshi, but it is even more important to rescue Guan Baye.The day before, he sent people to Wanjialou to find out the whereabouts of Guan Baye, but Gu Ye's gun team shot down the horse and took people away.Since Guan Baye entered Wanjialou, if they would listen to him, they would have pulled up the gun team and left the south gate long ago, and they would not have come into contact with themselves.Wanjialou now not only does not listen to Baye’s advice, but instead pulls guns against him, which shows that Baye is in a difficult situation in Wanjialou. If the guns of the people in Yangjiao Town are swallowed by the Wanjialou gun team, who else will come to the rescue? Salt City?Who else will support the embarrassed Ba Ye? In the gray sky, they also began to sound the screw horns and call the guns.They are a group of wild men who have escaped from the dead.Never afraid of the fire, they galloped wildly on the street, and laughed wantonly on the bluestone square in front of the temple. They laughed as if they were crying for no reason. The deep laughter revealed the depth of life. The hidden misery always bears grievances and is always looked down upon by others. Destiny forces them to take a narrow road and face a gun. Life is worse than death. It is hard to hope that people like Guan Baye will stretch out their hands to push away the clouds and mist in front of them. Jialou's gun team blocked them again.They laughed, primitive wildness burst out from their gnashed teeth, and a kind of unreasonable anger made them eager to grab the vengeful pleasure from suicide to satisfy their hunger for life. Xiaoxie'er and some leaders of the team gathered in the temple to discuss how to deal with Wanjialou. If Ba Ye hadn't been trapped there, we could have pulled south. A leader wearing a black scarf said: We don't focus on the money of the horses in Wanjialou, why should we commit a pointless fight with them? Even if they don't listen to Ba Ye's words, and do their best to fight for Yanshi, in my opinion, they definitely wouldn't dare to do anything to Ba Ye? !Another leader said: It's fine if we can pull away from Yangjiao Town and go to Yanshi, at least we have lived up to Guan Baye's explanation before he left. That won't work!Xiao Xie'er said: "Wanjialou is too aggressive. You avoid him, and he fights with you. Can we tie our hands and let them bully us?" !I have to fight to the death with them, when the eighth master comes forward, when will we stop.Otherwise, let's set fire to the wild reeds and force them to send Baye with a gunshot wound back to Yangjiao Town.If everyone refuses to fight, I will break into Wanjialou by myself. That's not necessary, the leader with the black scarf said: After our leader died, since the eighth master entrusted our brothers to you, you are the master of the house. If we talk about beatings, we don't care about the Wan family at all. building! When the Wanjialou gun team pulled out, the group led by Xiao Xie'er had already pulled out of Yangjiao Town.Dusk fell on the wilderness beside the wild reeds in the gloomy sky, and the setting sun was tightly wrapped by gray clouds. The sun did not shine on this low-lying wilderness, but dyed half of the color of dusk on the sleeping clouds lying at the foot of the sky , Those long gray and white clouds like lying sheep are dyed by the sun, turning into an ambiguous yellowish-purple color. Shadow, looking in the eyes, I feel bleak. In the entire vast depression, except for forty miles of wild reeds, some sparse forests, solitary cottages, and shallow streams, there are only flat fields. If it is sunny, there will be no fog. Covered by the atmosphere and earth atmosphere, without the drifting sand and smoke covering the eyes, you can see the forest tops ten miles away. Wanjialou gun team, we want to attack Wanjialou at night?said a leader. Maybe just ahead, we'll meet up!Xiao Xie'er said: "Sometimes there was a news report saying: Wanjialou's gun team has all pulled out of Weibao!" Then, we shouldn't pull out of Yangjiao Town, the leader with the corner of his mouth hanging crookedly said: In Yangjiao Town, we can relax and wait for work, and there are polders to guard!In this wild land, there is not even a dangerous place to be found.Wanjialou has more horses and will take advantage of it. That's not the way to say it, Xiao Xie'er knocked on the horse and said: We are no longer bandits, how can we involve the people of Yangjiao Town to suffer this gunfire with us? !Those spear teams in Wanjialou are only used to guarding the fortress, not used to fighting wild battles. Although there are many horses, they are still useless, especially at night, they are even more useless.We have fewer long guns and more box guns, and we are much more flexible than them when we fire close to each other. We only take advantage of these things. Before our boss died, we had already carefully calculated.In the Northland, we fought countless battles with the boss. Except for the loss to Guan Baye, we still haven’t met any opponents. We can’t be timid just because the boss died; What is the soil toad? What Xiao Xie'er said was absolutely correct, Judge Zhu Si had always been such a scheming person, the reason why he was able to go straight to Sanxingzhai and get involved in Chaijiabao and Qixingtan all depended on his careful calculations.Long before he was about to get involved in Wanjialou, he had repeatedly counted the Wanjialou gun team on the palm of his hand, and calculated their strengths, weaknesses, and fatal points. The fourth judge's calculations enabled him to merge with scattered bandits smoothly during his lifetime, swallow up scattered guns on the underworld, and subdue all walks of life to strengthen his momentum; He is as sure as he is when he touches things in a bag; even the shrewd Guan Baye is willing to bow down.This is beyond the reach of people like Gu Ye Wanjialou, but Gu Ye couldn't think of it with his brain. When Gu Ye led the gun team to set off, he knew that Judge Zhu Si was dead. The gun team of the seven house clans in Wanjialou was united, and the momentum was strong enough. There were nearly a thousand people, seven or eight hundred breech-loading guns and Two hundred horses are worth two regiments of the Beiyang Army.Gu Ye always thought proudly, with such a team of guns to fight a group of bandits without a leader, the other party would have to obediently throw their guns if they didn't want to run away. They didn't know that most of the people on the Wanjialou gun team were long-term laborers and tenants on the farms of various families.If bandits invaded Wanjialou or attacked the farm, in order to protect their family, food and their own lives, they would go straight into the brick fort and earthen fort, and it would be fine to shoot them down blindly with their guns. If they went dozens of miles away to fight wild battles and encountered tough opponents, they would really have nowhere to go. Yes, on the plains of the Jianghuai region, Wanjialou is the only place with a lot of horses. Because Mr. Wan loves horses, these horses in Wanjialou are all funded by the longhouse. They are usually kept in the stables on the West Garden for domestication, and they rarely have the opportunity to get out of the stables. Those Zhuang Han on the spear team are no match for the horse soldiers and horse bandits, and they can only lead the horses to serve as horsemen. The ability to ride a donkey.If it is said that riding on horseback is not far from the big picture, when it comes to horse fighting, then it is not even close to the edge! The gun team was even more chaotic. The Zhuang Han used to regard lighting as hunting. As soon as the crowd arrived in the wilderness, they would form groups of three or four. Brother Zhang and Uncle Li chatted enthusiastically to relieve the pressure of the night walk. Lonely, the group neither forms a group, nor does it form a group, front and back, left and right, scattered for several miles wide and long.I don't know who talked about the experience of hunting foxes, but someone interrupted immediately.Comparing the people in Yangjiao Town to foxes, some people would tell stories about encountering ghosts while walking at night before it was dark, and the timid ones would clamor to pick up lanterns. As the saying goes, mosquitoes gather into thunder, these voices of wanton chatting are combined together, scattered in the deep atmosphere of late spring, turning into an inconsequential noise, coupled with the neighing of horses, footsteps, and the shaking of gun rings, The sound of the saddle pedals hitting the ground made people lying on the ground a few miles away feel the sound of the gun team marching. However, the people led by Xiao Xie'er were tough and quiet. The dozens of cavalry trained by Judge Zhu himself, those horse bandits were all fugitives from the Beiyang Army's cavalry, desperate desperadoes from the Northland. Running around on the road all year round, rolling on horseback, they are not only skilled in equestrianism, but also have considerable accuracy with long spears and short spears; these brave men have fought against officers and soldiers, rushed through towns, and countless times of experience in receiving fire. They have learned how to be good, especially the two tough battles at Wanjialou and Wujiadukou, which made them restrain their usual arrogance and face any struggle shrewdly and skillfully. Xiao Xie'er, who leads this group of people, has followed Judge Zhu Si for many years, and he is regarded as the fourth judge's confidant. No one knows better than Xiao Xie'er the methods that the fourth judge usually uses against the enemy; When he was in the town, he scattered more than a dozen horses along the wild reeds. In order to be flexible, he arranged the horse team at the front of the team. On the ground, there was no sound at all. At dusk, they approached the wild reed prodigal son. Tanma brought news of the dispatch of the Wanjialou gun team They rolled over in groups, rolling heads all over the field.The guy who reported the news pointed and said: Looking at the scene, there are always thousands of people, like a group of locust seedlings without full wings, and there are noisy and noisy human voices everywhere. Lord Scorpion made a good estimate, the leader with the black scarf said: If we don’t look for him, he will look for us too!They must have been pulled out to attack Yangjiao Town!This can be regarded as a narrow road to Yuanjia, and it's hard to top! Xiao Xie'er reined in his horse, raised his face to look at the dismal evening sky, and pondered for a while, although his heart was burning like oil, his face remained calm, and he said slowly: It seemed too early to catch fire with them. The cavalry was slanted towards the south and stopped at Xiehongnan. On their backs, their guns were spread out, waiting to be stopped in place. Step on them and call for any movement. As soon as the night falls, we will shovel him in the middle of the waist and hit his head hard. The shadows of the galloping horses took away the last light of the evening, and the gunmen who chased the drought lay down from the corner of Yeludang to the southeast. Hundreds of guns locked the barren road leading to Yangjiao Town, and the horned hands crawled on the side of the road. Waiting on the line of trees, Xiao Xie'er led a few horses and waited hidden behind the line of trees. Now we can be regarded as the people under Eighth Master!Who broke the silence and said: A strong general has no weak soldiers, even if it's for Ba Ye, we should fight a good fight to put gold on Ba Ye's face. Do you think Ba Ye wants us to confront Wanjialou? !Xiao Xie'er sighed and said, "Then you've messed things up."To be honest, we are riding on the back of a tiger. If we can't get off, it's completely impossible. I always feel that there is something strange behind this? !It's just that I can't understand it for a while! You said there will be other articles in Wanjialou? There must be.Xiaoxie'er reined in his horse and circled a little: I've thought about it over and over again, and I say there must be!He said firmly. I said, Lord Scorpion, what you said made me think twice.The leader of the black scarf said: Think about it, everyone: that day when we first entered Wanjialou, Eighth Master led the Liuhe gang to cross the border, and happened to stay in Wanliangpu. Don't get in the way of money.If he didn't have an inseparable relationship with Wan Jialou, he would never have risked his life to intervene, hang a head on the side of the saddle, and offend our boss to the very end!That is to say, Ba Ye and the man in the house of Wanjialou are deeply affectionate enough.But today, the long house seems to be unlucky. Mr. Wan, Mr. Bao and Mr. Ye are all dead. Three big red umbrellas were poured down in a row, and Wanjialou left Baye in the cold. The seven house clans are not on good terms, perhaps this is where the article begins. Yes, Not Bad.The little scorpion responded casually. good!The echo fell and swirled in its heart, but there were still many mysteries thicker and darker than the twilight rolling before his eyes. His face was dull and flat, and his eyes were fixed on the west.The last flock of homing birds flew over the zenith with a frightened noise, slanting towards the south, and the fragmented blue sky revealed in the gaps of the gray clouds was washed by the faint evening light, and it was almost colorless, just some The extremely lofty shadow, like a faded white cloth of the moon, was stretched empty, serving as a foil for the gray clouds. The wind sighs among the leaves of the wild reeds, always sighing like that about the real desolation that cannot be seen on the other side in the rolling world of mortals.The black-headed Lao Jin's words are correct, and they are enough to attract people to pursue him. The first mystery to be solved is the death of Lord Ye.In the minds of ordinary people in Wanjialou, they think that their patriarch was murdered by the fourth judge. In fact, the fourth judge died before Ye Ye. Among this group of people, no one is the murderer of Lord Ye!So, where is the culprit hiding? That’s right, Xiao Xie’er’s eyes are still staring at the gradually darkening western sky: I’ve traveled all over the Northland, and I’ve seen quite a few big houses and rich families, and there are very few who can’t afford internal strife. It's just a facade!Seeking property, fighting for a foundation, and grabbing power and power are always these things, which make the whole family seem incoherent. You should remember that when the boss conspired to take over Wanjialou, there was an insider. The money collected in person is a clear proof of the discord between their families. That day in the big temple, Ba Ye once asked our boss face to face, about the man riding a black mule with a white fork!It can be seen that Ba Ye also knows about this, but he is chasing down the traitor who sold more than 20 articles of the Lao Liuhe gang. Ba Ye thought that the traitor was the same person as the gray craftsman who betrayed Bao Ye.Lao Jin, who wore the black scarf, said: It's a pity that we didn't participate in that matter at the time, and the five Hades died again.I always think that since he can buy Bao Ye's life with money, he can assassinate Ye Ye. He killed Ye Ye, but he put a black pot on us instead.What do you think, Mr. Scorpion? Xiao Xie'er suddenly bent his horsewhip, and said solemnly: "I think, Guan Baye, who was wounded by the gun, was eager to save Yanshi. Once he entered Wanjialou, it was like a tiger falling into Pingyang. When the big red umbrella was turned down, the situation of Wanjialou changed completely. I'm sure that man will never let Ba Ye go.If Ba Ye was not wounded, he wouldn't worry people. If he was wounded, even if he was a real hero, he might not be able to defend himself! Evening mist rises from the ground. It is not evening fog or wandering clouds, but only the trembling shadows of the vast sky.It first reveals its ghostly dark face from the wild reeds, in the crevices of the ditches and under the leaves of the forests on the side of the deserted road, and then gathers together from all directions, covering the wild reeds, forests and human footprints in the wilderness. In a layer of twilight, then the twilight rises upwards to meet the darkening night sky, and the night comes in like a tide. The atmosphere became quiet with the coming of night, and Xiao Xie'er was still searching hard in the silence. It stands to reason that Yanshi raised its guns to resist Beiyang, and the lonely town resisted the siege of the Jiang Defense Army. This kind of earth-shattering event is closely related to a big family like Wanjialou. In this urgent situation, Wanjialou ignored Guan Baye's advice and pulled the gun to Beiwei Yangjiao Town. Could it lead the gun team? My little Guye, is that? The more concerned about Guan Baye's safety, the more anxious and terrified I feel, a little lost, but suddenly I realized that this is not a moment of anxiety and desolation, the gun team from Wanjialou is heading towards this direction捲過來，也許槍戰就要開始了。 瞧罷，蠍爺，那邊是什麼？ 小蠍兒再一看，就見西邊的黑裏泛出一絲隱隱的微紅，不定的搖曳在遠雲上，光亮升起處，彷彿傳出一些雜沓不清的聲音。Here they come!他在內心裏警告自己說。 那好像是火光，他說：前頭的探馬該來報信了我弄不明白，萬家樓的這幫傻鳥，為什麼要在夜暗裏明目張膽的舉火？ 真他媽的像是火光，紮黑巾的老金咕噥說：他們這樣自掀底牌，難道不怕夜襲？ !若依我這雷公脾氣，我就撲上去打得它焦爛！ 探馬來了！who said. 那邊亮的是火光嗎？小蠍兒盤馬迎上去問說：萬家樓的槍隊為什麼要在夜晚舉火呢？ ! 他們歇在旱泓西，正在舉火行晚炊，那人說：他們挖鍋洞，架鍋灶，弄得遍地起狼煙。 在樹上也瞧著了，蠍爺！樹椏上的角手叫說：沿著旱泓頭，大片野地上全是馬燈亮，牽牽連連幾里地長，搖著滾著，像鬼火！ 在幾里外，乾泓的那邊，萬家樓的槍隊確在行晚炊，這些槍隊從沒有拉出遠處打火的經驗，不懂得攜帶飲水和裹藏乾糧，他們卻把大鍋大灶裝載在幾輛牛車上，準備按時就地行炊。 當然，他們熟悉野蘆蕩一帶的地形，掘地三尺就取得到飲水，隨地劈木就有柴燒，他們完全依照圍獵的大群獵隊的習慣行事，但他們弄岔了一點對方並不是無知的獵物。 他們在野地上熱熱鬧鬧的行晚炊，大塊烤著肉，大鍋烙著餅，熊熊閃射的火光和興奮的喧語融成一股特殊的氣氛，他們全都仗恃著那種氣氛所造成的安全。馬隊歇在人群中間，打下角樁拴上韁繩，火光從鍋洞裏閃射出來，把曠野上的夜晚烤得暖洋洋的，風裏流溢著烙餅和烤肉的香味。 咱們吃飽了這餐飯，養足了精神好開火！一個說：天不亮圍撲羊角鎮，祗消幾個時辰把土匪收拾掉，就他媽天下太平了！ 你也甭把朱四判官那夥人掂輕了份量，大板牙伸著頸子踱過來插嘴說：拿一粒蟲牙還得費半天的勁呢，休說他們還有幾百桿槍在手上？ !我說：這一火，沒有十朝半月完不了事，不信你就瞧著罷。 大板牙剛把話說完，後衣領卻被人一把撮住了；小牯爺怒沉沉的冷著臉孔，撮住大板牙罵說：你甭在吱著狗牙吐這些缺氣言語，你若沒膽子去圍撲羊角鎮，就替我拎著腿滾回去，那撮毛人真還不在你牯爺的眼裏！ 我，我祗是鬧著玩的，牯爺。大板牙惶恐的說：我就是打土匪死在羊角鎮，還怕睡不著棺材？ 大板牙這麼一說，惹得許多人嘩笑起來。沒有人想到在他們周圍的黑暗裏早已隱伏著殺機。及至有人喊出馬蹄聲時，馬群業已從南邊掃過，一排排密射的快槍的彈雨，造成眾多的慘呼和呻吟 莊稼漢們在黑夜裏突如其來的遇上這一手突襲，原本就混亂雜沓的人群更亂到不可收拾的地步了，有人忙著捏熄馬燈，有人忙著撲滅灶火，有人急不擇地的伏下身去盲目還槍，而那群馬又從背後闖殺過來。 第二次闖殺的來勢更猛，萬家樓槍隊從火光中落進暗夜，沒有人能憑藉撼野的馬蹄分辨出眼前馳來多少馬匹，子彈激迸起泥沙，濺得人滿頭滿臉，掠空的流彈尖嘯著，拉長那種可怖的音響，使人在受襲時心驚膽裂。 緊接著馬隊的突襲，嗚嗚的角聲又流響了，角聲恍惚繞著人兩耳旋轉，一時分不清那聲音起自哪個方向？這種突發的情況是萬家樓的人做夢也沒料到的，事實跟他們一廂情願的想像完全不同。 在他們想像中，圍撲羊角鎮是在大白天，他們挨擠著爬圩堆，殺喊連聲朝前奔過去，那些土匪就跪地扔槍，叩頭饒命了，有些拔腿回奔的殘匪，得使排槍猛蓋，天下沒有比開槍猛蓋那些奔逃的脊背更為過癮的事了！如今，旋轉的角聲把人捆著，天是黑的，地是黑的，呼呼銳嘯的彈雨像刮起了狂風，馬蹄疾滾過去，又從另一個方向疾滾過來，密密的槍聲把一剎前那種使人安心的氣氛掃光了，餅香和肉香仍在黑裏彌漫著，每個人卻都被槍彈隔開，咫尺也遠過天涯，每個人都覺得自己是暴露的、孤絕的、無助的，每個人都在盲目的還槍，都在爬行中戰慄。 這景況實在是夠淒怖的，萬家樓槍隊原有兩百來匹馬，由於襲擊得太突然，十個人有八個沒來得及摸黑解開韁繩，槍聲使角樁上拴著的馬匹受了驚，紛紛掙拔起角樁奔竄了，免了槍傷的，被馬蹄踏傷的慘號加上散韁馬匹的狂嘶，使黑夜的曠野變成人間地獄；開初他們驚愕著，像陷進夢魘，當他們從魘境中醒轉時，恐怖更深了，所以當小蠍兒領著馬群再次撲襲時，萬家樓的槍隊就各不顧各，爭著奔逃潰散了。 萬家樓的，不要自亂陣腳！小牯爺在一片混亂裏猶自放聲高喊著：他們來人不多，替我抵死挺住，挺住了打！ 但是混亂的莊漢不再聽他。 不錯，滿滿的彈袋斜背在肩上，久經擦拭的洋槍攢在手裏，兩眼漆黑先挨了當頭棒，光聽槍聲滾豆，馬蹄擂鼓，不見人在哪裏，除了閉眼朝天放空槍，還能打誰呢？ !與其翹著屁股挨揍，倒不如卅六著，走為上著，撒奔兒跑開，跑開這塊死地就是生路了，為什麼不立即拉腿呢？ ! 一個是這麼想著，個個全是這麼想著，俗說：兵敗如山倒就是這麼形成的。小蠍兒領著幾十匹馬祗打了兩個盤旋，放了幾陣排槍，萬家樓的槍隊就散了板了。儘管小牯爺和一部份沉得住氣的漢子死挺著，黑夜裏對產生的混亂局面卻不是他能控制得了的。 等到五更天，他領著兩三百殘眾退到了三里彎。 淡淡的晨光照在三里彎小荒鋪背後的土稜子上，勾描出那幾棵參天的古樹的黑影；經過一夜血戰的小牯爺神情是萎頓的，他灰黑的薄呢禮帽邊上被子彈射穿了兩個窟窿，皂衫上下都染著一綹綹的血跡，他的馬匹也中彈死在旱泓邊了，他太陽穴上的青筋糾結的凸起，兩眼佈滿了血絲，他整個神情像是一匹瘋獸。 萬家祖上沒積德，竟生出你們這幫飯桶，他罵說：我喊叫你們挺住，你們卻都插翅飛著跑，你們全是膿包，把萬家樓的臉面全丟盡了！ 牯爺您甭枉罵咱們，咱們全是拚命挺著的。一個說：那些沒膽鬼，全都逃進鎮上去了。 那大板牙！牯爺怒叫說：替我騎馬回鎮去，鳴鑼響角把他們再召出來，不能白白的吃一場黑虧，就這麼縮著頭算了！四判官那股人眼看捲過來，咱們不在這兒挺著，難道還要大開祠堂門，把他們請去上供？ !我這如今沒工夫跟這些飯桶生閒氣，等打退了土匪，我再好生處斷真是太不像話了！ 牯牯爺，大板牙也不知在哪兒挨過了這一夜，渾身全是泥漿和草刺，臉嚇成屍白色，半天還沒變過來，說話時，嗓門兒還在不自禁打著哆嗦：您知道，我一向是騎不得馬的，我騎的是驢。 那你就騎驢。牯爺沒好氣的說。 我說，牯爺，恕我講句唐突話，大板牙沒動身，反而湊過來說：土匪沒找咱們，咱們何苦去找土匪鬥？ !昨天老賬房程青雲明明講過：羊角鎮這股人早叫關八爺收服了，朱四判官他他也業已死了，就是他們趁勝捲過來，咱們祗消向八爺討得一句話，就能退得他們，您怎不早點兒去見八爺呢？ 咱們敢情是沒祖宗，要找他姓關的來當活祖宗？ !小牯爺挫著牙盤：我沒有隔著肚皮看人心的能耐，怎知關八來到萬家樓存的是什麼心腸？ !如今他明明是藉著這幫土匪的勢，轉來挾制著咱們，萬家樓決不能就這樣斷送在外姓人的手裏。 我想，以關八爺那種豪俠心腸的人，帶傷來到萬家樓，決不至有什麼惡意，長房有人猜測說：八爺他跟老爺子、保爺世代交情，萬家樓危急時，他伸過援手，算是對咱們有恩有德，牯爺您最好是先見見八爺，八爺他有話使牯爺為難的，可以大開祠堂門，交各房族公議，這樣，他八爺對得起咱，咱們也對得起八爺。 除了援鹽市，大板牙說：八爺許就沒有旁的事了。 沒有時間讓萬家樓敗退的人多換一口氣，日頭剛漏紅，小蠍兒領著的那股人槍就追壓過來。多雲的天，野地上起晨風，追壓過來的人影出現在土阜前面的麥地裏，荒路邊，伏在土堆後的人清楚的看得見馬匹馳騁捲起的沙雲，和一聳一聳的頭巾。 很明顯的，盤據羊角鎮的這股人並不在乎萬家樓，他們非但不逃，反而繼夜襲槍隊後反撲過來，有意要趁著大白天打一場硬火。 這情形落在牯爺滿布血絡的眼裏，又驚恐又憤恨，萬家樓槍隊氣勢那樣壯法，竟像紙糊似的不經打，這是他料想不到的。假如大板牙不能把逃散的人槍重新聚攏，單憑這兩百多人，想挺住三里彎這條土阜還很難，萬一挺不住，讓這幫人直撲萬家樓，自己的名聲就丟盡了。 想到這兒，不由人不記恨起關八來。關八不來萬家樓，自己就不會心虛情怯，領著槍隊去打羊角鎮這幫亡命徒，不會陷在這種進退維谷的僵局裏，各房族的心思不一樣，使自己無法明白的虎下臉把關八拿掉，到頭來，反逼著自己向關八去低頭。 而這卻是自己極不願做的。 老二房伏在羊角鎮的暗線早就牽來消息，朱四判官的死訊早就進了耳，關八的來意一清二楚攤在桌面上要萬家樓拉槍援鹽市；逼得自己不能不提早下手，把萬世業暗裏剪掉。關八這顆魔星，慫恿鹽市舉槍抗北洋真是一著笨棋，孫傳芳再不濟事，手裏總握有幾十萬兵馬，不論南方戰況如何，拿來對付小小的鹽市總遊刃有餘。他害了鹽市不說，還想拖累萬家樓一道兒蹚渾水；假如萬世業不死，萬家樓這淌渾水是蹚定了。如今萬家樓的實權落在老二房手裏，無論如何不能聽信關八的話，拉槍援鹽市，讓孫傳芳日後把一筆賬記在姓萬的頭上。 日頭穿過東邊疊壘的雲翅，橙黃帶紫的雲恍如片片金魚鱗，把半邊天映得透明。小蠍兒領著那股人從東邊橫著推壓過來，雙方相距百丈地，兩邊都沒開槍，空氣裏有一種反常的沉寂，壓得人透不出大氣來。 萬家樓的槍隊，不單是小牯爺看見，所有的眼都看見對方有的抱著槍圍在灌木邊，有的躺在麥地上，散了韁的馬匹三五成群的在噬咬著莠足了穗兒的晚麥，肆意作踐著麥田。小蠍兒領著人，把昨夜突襲後掠得的馬匹、槍械、鍋灶和牛車放列在田坎邊，把十多具染血的屍首排在荒路上，還有些被擄的漢子，被捆成一串兒，牲口似的拴在那兒。 瞧，牯爺，他們在吃咱們昨夜的烤肉和烙餅，誰說：他們吃飽肚子，就該撲打土阜了！ 我的槍一定放不準。另一個聲音帶著哭腔：可憐我餓的前牆貼後牆，渾身發抖。 沒有比槍戰開始那段等待的時間更難熬的，萬家樓被昨夜黑裏迸發的突襲嚇碎了膽，一個個都成了驚弓之鳥，雖說暫時退守土阜，穩住了陣腳，但猶存的餘悸卻使他們有了怯戰之心。 經過那場突襲後，小蠍兒業已搶得了先手，攻撲不攻撲？何時行攻撲？全都操在他手裏，守在土阜上的人生就了挨打的命，驚惶疑懼的盼著大板牙能及時召回那些逃遁的人，趕回來助陣。 時辰像穿針孔似的，一分一寸的流著，騎驢去萬家樓召人的大板牙仍然不見影子，而對方吹響了螺角，徒手持槍的人群散成一把摺扇，朝土阜的三面圍了過來，馬群業已逼近了通向小荒鋪的叉路口；小牯爺拎著匣槍，臉色焦黃，兩眼發直，露出不知如何是好的神情。 他在嗚嗚的角聲裏匆匆盤算過，假如對方趁著大板牙召回逃散的人趕來助陣前動手，這座土阜撐持不了兩個時辰就會被撲陷，這群野悍的傢伙要是按照人不留頭，馬不留面的老例子大開殺戒，那就任什麼都完了，不祗萬家樓往昔煊赫的氣勢，遠播的威名，不祗是萬家樓無盡的錢財，獨撐著荒天一角的繁華，而是久沒得勢的老二房這個日顯蕭條的房族，是自己多年來處心積慮謀得的族主的權勢，就將變成一場空夢了。 自己當初原以為萬老爺子過世後，會經各房族推舉為族主的，長房掌權得勢這多年，光知庇護外姓人，為那些災民行大賑，為那些走腿子浪漢，得罪北洋的囚人，力背力扛的開罪官府。滿把銀洋朝外撒，在江湖上換得長房一族的聲名。老二房怎樣？火劫後的老二房賣田產建屋，田地收益三、五年還不及長房一季糧，一筆寫不出兩個萬字來，為什麼族主全推長房當？ ! 萬世保萬世業弟兄哪樣比自己好？比自己長，藉他老子的餘蔭得勢，老二房的人就該甘心捏鼻子受麼？假手殺人的主意是自己想出來的，在謀殺萬世保之前，趁萬老爺子出葬時，自己業已通風報訊，假緝私營馬隊的手，鏟掉了長房倚為幫手的老六合幫，在當時，自己眼裏心裏祗想著雙槍羅老大，認定了羅老大不死，保爺業爺就有一道護身的靈符。老天真是存心作弄人，七柳之下的屍堆血泊裏，偏偏漏掉了關東山這個魔星。 五千大洋買了保爺一條命，關東山領著新六合幫露面真使自己膽裂心驚！那紅臉漢子的聲名威勢，遠超過雙槍羅老大，萬家樓邀擊四判官，像是趁風的虎，入雲的龍，他說過要追踩通風給緝私營而使老六合幫被殲的人，他說過要盤明引領朱四判官夜捲萬家樓的內線，當然他同樣不會放過暗害萬世業的真兇，這些事的主謀祗有一個，那就是自己。 萬世業死了，萬世珍遠走了沙河口，萬家樓族主順理成章是自己當了，可惜自己心裏祗有一宗大事沒了，那就是設計把關八盤弄掉。 關八這回帶傷落進萬家樓，單人獨馬沒有一個幫手，原該吩咐幾支匣槍，趁夜翻牆潛進萬梁鋪，使黑槍把他撂倒，他既在羊角鎮會見過朱四判官，定會踩出自己的一絲底細來，若不揀他傷癒前動手，等他養好了傷就難纏了！ 可是一想到謀算關八，便被一種心虛膽怯的氣氛懾住了，關八易除，各房族的公憤難平，無論如何，關八有恩於萬家樓，關八在各房族人們的眼裏不但是個豪士，還是個恩人。萬一黑槍沒撂倒關八，活口落在他手裏，盤出自己的底來，祗怕是數案並發，連自己的腦袋也會掛上祠堂門了。 為了平服業爺死後族人的疑心，自己祗有把謀害族主的罪名加在已經死了的朱四判官頭上，先領著槍隊去圍撲羊角鎮，除掉關八的新羽翼，然後轉回萬家樓，再替關八按上勾引土匪的罪名，讓闔族的人懲治他，自己在一邊袖手。誰知這一步棋走岔了，弄得前有數百支槍口，後有一個關八，說進進不了，說退也有麻煩，真是像赤身睡在針氈上，無處不刺人。 螺角那樣狂烈的嗚鳴著，勒馬盤旋的小蠍兒的喊聲一直飄上土阜來：萬家樓的全聽著，咱們原先跟朱四爺闖黑道，也曾捲劫過北地的大戶，踹過你們萬家樓！如今咱們聽了關東山關八爺的勸，脫胎換骨走明路，決無捲劫萬家樓的心腸，萬家樓願不願拉槍援救鹽市，咱們管不著，你們仗著槍馬多，氣勢盛，虎虎凌人的想圍撲羊角鎮，一口吞掉咱們，咱們不計較！昨夜那場火祗是告訴你們，咱們不是好惹的，啃了照樣崩牙！如今你們祗要答允不傷害關八爺，讓八爺出面丟句話，萬家樓擄來的活口咱們就放生，死的由你們抬回去安葬，假如八爺他受委屈，咱們就火燒野蘆蕩，馬踩萬家樓，毀你們宗祠，燒你們牌位，不論你三尺童男兩尺童女，一律擺平，我小蠍兒一言出口，有角有稜，決無更改！螺角響三陣，咱們等著回話。 第一遍螺角長鳴著。小牯爺仍然楞在那棵參天的古樹後面。不錯，他的馬術和槍法在萬家樓是頂尖兒的，但土阜的形勢太孤，阜上的人槍遠不及對方，憑他一個人決撐不了大局。他是個表面暴烈心裏多計算的人，直路既走不通，祗有繞彎兒了。 第一遍螺角聲剛歇，他就揚聲發了話。 回上您這位頭兒，這麼經您一解析，咱們許是弄誤會了！朱四判官死訊咱們不知道，關八爺養傷時沒人敢煩他，咱們的族主業爺遭人暗算，闔族全在舉喪，咱們錯以為業爺是朱四判官謀算掉的，他連害保爺業爺兩條命，咱們不能不報仇朱四判官既然死了，天大的血仇也跟他入了土，咱們就此收兵。關八爺他是萬家樓的朋友，咱們不會委屈他，他如今傷勢沒愈，要見他祗有請頭兒差幾匹馬跟我一道兒進鎮。至於你們打死萬家的人，咱們殺了你們的馬探，那祗有認命了！你們若有真心誠意，請就此收槍。 牯爺的喊聲飄送過去，小蠍兒磕馬退下，一場慘烈的搏殺就這樣暫時化除了。萬家樓殘餘的槍隊離開三里彎的土阜撤回鎮上去，馬匹上馱著屍首，後面跟一群被擄獲釋的徒手漢子，四判官的那股人祗從萬家樓領出一張人皮。他們在七棵柳樹抱槍停歇下來，守候著小蠍兒的消息。 小蠍兒帶著兩個頭目，一共三騎馬進鎮，不顧萬家樓街道兩邊的萬姓族人含憤的眼光，緩緩的跟著小牯爺在萬梁鋪前下馬。 這又已經是第二天太陽甩西的時分了！