Bill's caravan, which stopped in the small town of Eyad for two days.

Because a carriage was crushed and needed to be repaired, several boxes containing the goods also needed to be replaced. In front of the artisans, boxes of silk goods from the distant kingdom of Bactria were packed, as well as precious tobacco, perfumes, fine silverware, and jewelry, into new wooden boxes purchased in the town.

Unfortunately, their guide was injured in a jealousy with his own people in the tavern and had to stay, and Bill, the merchant who had bought a few pistols for women, had to find a local guide.

Discuss the next trip with your guide, who plans to leave the town at dawn tomorrow in order to get on the road.

The next day, it was dark and the caravan departed.

The forest is misty and the sight is not good, but fortunately the road is not bad.

The caravan consisted of three wagons full of goods, a baggage cart with supplies and sundries, four horsemen to drive the carts, and four men on horseback, plus Sean.

The guide's name was Kerry, and he was a chatterbox, chattering all the way. Sean noticed that his right hand was covered with calluses, and he always inquired about Sean's family's business, intentionally or unintentionally.

In fact, Kerry was found by Sean through the gun shop owner. This route has been run by the intelligence team, and Sean has also run it himself, and he has highlighted some places.

Leaving the town of Eyad, there is about twenty kilometers of forest galloping path, which is quite flat and sparsely wooded, and it is difficult to use it as an ambush site.

Towards noon, at a fork in the road, the caravan stopped to rest, and the groom unloaded the horses, and let them eat some fodder and drink, and the people also rested.

"Master Bill, there is a junction ahead, I suggest taking the left, although the road is in poor condition, it will save at least two hours of time. Kerry said at this time.

"Why don't you take the avenue, our carriage is afraid it will not be easy to pass. Sean questioned.

"I've been walking this road for 20 years, so it's hard to pass. It's better to walk on the big road, of course, but you may have to spend the night in the woods tonight. It's summer, and the nights are cool, but the mosquitoes at night are terrible, and they suck up the blood of the horses. "Besides, you don't want a cool room and a nice wine at night?"

"Yes, boss, Kerry is right, I can leave this forest sooner, and I can make money sooner. Quinn Enik chimed in.

"Shut up, Quinn. You're just my employee, and you're not qualified to call the shots on my behalf. Sean scolded.

Quinn's expression was scornful, but he twisted his head to the side in anger.

Kerry looked at Sean with a wry smile like he was looking at a fat sheep.

Sean sighed, "Well, we've been delayed for two days in the small town of Eyad, and for every extra day, I'm going to lose a lot of money. Kerry, then, as you say, take the trail. ”

About an hour later, the caravan set off again. Sean glanced back at Quinn, who was riding at the end, and Quinn nodded slightly and slashed at a large tree at the intersection.

This trail is not bad, and a carriage can pass through it calmly. It's just that the trees on both sides are getting denser and denser, and they are swarthy, and they can't see the other side.

After walking another distance, Sean suddenly stopped and asked.

"How far is it from the next town. ”

It was already 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

"There are still 4 hours to go, if you travel normally, enough to arrive before dark. Kerry replied.

"I feel like both of my thighs are worn out, let's take a break. Sean didn't look very good.

Childe buddies always have a million reasons to be a little lazy.

The look of disdain on Kerry's face was fleeting, and he wondered, "In that case, it may be difficult for us to arrive before dark." ”

"Then let's spend the night here, I don't want to ride anymore anyway, I need to take it easy. Sean said.

He ordered the harness to be unloaded and the tent to be set up on the spot.

Quinn smiled, "Master Bill, anyway, we are paid by the day, and we don't care how long we stop. ”

The other guys, all of whom are oily and smooth, also agreed.

"Quinn, close your beak, I don't need your reminder. Sean replied angrily.

Kerry saw that Sean and the others had made up their minds, and they stopped dwelling on the side, sitting on the side and smoking a pipe.

It's a rare open spot in the middle of the jungle, with a river beach covered with boulders and waist-high weeds on one side and a dense forest 300 steps away on the other.

The tents were set up on the banks of the river, and four wagons were used to block the view that the dense forest might throw at them.

"Kerry, you're a local, you're familiar with the mountains and forests, right?" asked Kerry suddenly.

"yes, what do Brother Quinn command?" asked Kerry.

"If you can hunt a few wild animals for us, our young master will have a reward. Quinn said.

"Of course, you can wait. Kerry put his pipe away, patted his smoothbore gun, and burrowed into the woods without Sean's approval.

Looking at Kerry's disappearing back, Quinn smiled: "As soon as this guy pouts his ass, I know what shit he's going to pull." We disrupted his plans, and lo and behold, he must have gone to the front ambush to call for someone. ”

"Did you make all the markings along the way?" asked Sean.

"Second Lieutenant, don't worry. I think within an hour, all of us will be chasing after us. ”

Sean said to the crowd, "The gang will come over within an hour, maybe earlier." So don't take it lightly. Send three men to guard the junction, with binoculars to guard the high points everywhere, watch and watch, and if we find the bandits coming, we shout loudly, and then we pretend to be afraid, first guard the carriage and return fire, and then flee to the river beach behind us, where there are huge boulders to cover us, enough for us to resist and flee at the same time, and we are not allowed to fight. ”

"Yes!" everyone agreed in unison.

From one of the wagons, a large box hidden in the compartment was removed, three rifles were prepared for each person, loaded with ammunition in advance, and placed on the retreat route in advance.

At half past three in the afternoon, the sentry suddenly shouted in front of him:

"Brother Kerry, why did you come empty-handed, who are they?"

Then there was a gunshot, and the bandits fired, but they were too far away to be close to it.

The sentry quickly retreated to the carriage, and Sean saw that the forest was soon overshadowed. Nearly 300 paces away, it is generally impossible to shoot accurately.

Sean deliberately panicked: "Kerry, you son of a bitch! ”

"Dear Young Master Bill, surrender, we guarantee that you will leave safely. But weapons and carriages remained. Kerry hid behind a tree and shouted, "Don't think about resisting, there are only 9 of you, and there are 50 of us!"

"Oh my God, young master, we're finished. Surrender quickly. Quinn shouted with tears in his eyes.

"Shut up, you bitch!" Sean scolded.

"Haha, it's still Brother Quinn who understands things. As long as you lay down your weapons, put your heads in your hands, and leave slowly, we will not pursue. Rest assured, we're not interested in your ass. Kerry scoffed.

The bandits laughed.

Bang, a crisp gunshot sounded, and one of the bandits fell clutching his chest, he was so carried away that he peeked himself out from behind the tree.

The bandits subconsciously followed and fired, most of the lead bullets fell in front of the carriage, and only a few were shot at the carriage. Their bullets left only a small mark on the wagon.

Quinn screamed and fled behind him, followed by several others, hiding among the rocks and weeds of the riverbank.

Seeing this, the bandits came out of the dense forest one after another and chased in the direction of the carriage.

The few who ran at the front were too far ahead, and in the sound of several gunshots, they were shot and fell. The bandits' momentum was paused, and the alert ones had turned around to find cover.

"If you catch them, you must make them cut them with a thousand knives, and then chop them up and feed them to the dogs. The bandit leader shouted loudly.

"They are few in number, and as long as they rush to the carriage, they will have nothing to do with us. Rush!"

They all had their lives on their hands, and they mustered up the courage to outflank them from different directions. And Sean and the others slipped away after each put the ammunition they had prepared in advance.

"Rich!"

The robbers opened the trunks in the carriage, and there were indeed many good things, worth no less than 5,000 louis, and among them many fine silks, silverware, and women's favorite jewelry.

Cigars were lit, wine was spilled everywhere, and the few bandits who had been killed were hastily buried and then quickly forgotten.

Having obtained the goods, the bandits abandoned the wagon, carried them on their shoulders, and went into the dense forest - they were to bring the spoils back to their lair.

Instead of leaving with the group, Kerry turned back to the town of Eyad, taking his share with him. He is Benjamin Don's gang's accomplice and eyeliner in Eyad, who specializes in finding information and targets.

A box of fine cigars worth 50 gold louis, and two gold rings, was what he deserved this time, though it was insignificant compared to the cargo of the three-horse carriage. But Kerry was satisfied, and if he got rid of it, it would be enough for him to be free for a while.

Although the Tang's bandits had been in the area for many years, there were not many times a year when they had such gains, because small caravans would travel in groups and hire guards, which would be difficult to start, and it was impossible for the bandits to strike frequently. Therefore, in the end, there was not much money in my hands.

Walking under a large tree on the side of the road, Kerry felt the urge to pee, unbuckled his belt to release the water, and he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

He hurriedly turned around and saw two men dressed in green tatters with green paint on their faces, smiling at him from left to right, showing their big white teeth, and one of them had severe bad breath.

"Ahh

There were more than a dozen people standing next to Brother Gongzi, some watching themselves while eating barbecue, and some were standing on the side smoking and chatting.

Each carried a rifle on his back and a saber on his shoulder. The guy named Quinn was also among them, and when I looked at him again at this time, the temperament on his body was no longer what that slippery caravan guy should have.

Seeing Kerry wake up, Sean raised the lamb chops in his hand and asked:

"Would you like to come some? Unexpectedly, the sheep produced here is fresh and tender, with little smell, and the seasoning from the Great Xia Kingdom is really delicious. ”

No matter how stupid he was, Kerry realized something.

"Do you have anything to say to me?" Seeing Kerry's silence, Sean turned to ask Quinn, "Quinn, do you know how to skin people?"

"I've never heard of human skin, I guess the best butcher is. Quinn replied truthfully.

"Actually, there is a relatively simple solution, of course, I just heard it, I don't know if it works. Sean said.

"I heard that the tyrannical kings of ancient times would bury traitors in the ground, with only their heads exposed. Cut a cross on his head, pull his scalp apart, and pour mercury into it. Because of the heavy gravity of mercury, it will pull the muscles and skin apart, and the person buried in the soil will be in pain, and will not be able to break free, and the body will keep trying to run upward, and finally jump out of the mouth on the top of the head, leaving only a piece of skin in the soil. ”

Quinn was shocked.

"Another way is to skin them alive. The skin is torn to the sides, and the skin is torn to the back and between the arms, and the left and right sides are opened, like two bat wings. In this way, the person who was flayed could not die for a while, and would have to struggle in pain for more than a day before he could lose his breath. It is said that if the person who was flayed died on the spot, the executioner would be put to death by the tyrant. ”

Quinn was speechless in surprise. But the Kerry was pale, fell to the ground in fright, and cried out:

"I say, I say!"

However, Kerry's information was not of much value, he and the gun shop owner were both peripheral personnel, and had never been to a bandit's den, and the Benjamin Don was cautious and had a clear division of labor within the organization.

These peripherals, such as the owner of the Eyad Gun Shop, hang a red garment in the attic of the gun shop whenever they feature a suitable target.

When the gang receives the news, they will immediately send someone to contact them and formulate a robbery plan according to the target's situation. As far as he knew, there were many more like him, scattered in villages and towns in the Black Forest.

Convinced that nothing could be asked, Kerry was taken down, and Quinn asked, "Second Lieutenant, are the two skinning methods you said true?"

"I don't know. Sean replied crisply.