Chapter 9: Fleeing on a Rainy Night

In the Li family's iron sand ore field, Wang Baoshan has been tortured to the point of shedding his human form by the hot weather and heavy labor, losing weight several times, and the hair on the top of his head has also thinned a lot. Because of his daily work, he lacked water to wash his body for a long time, and he never took off his clothes when he wore them, so he was filthy and smelly.

He can endure all this, and he can barely endure it every day, but the drinking water has become less and less in the past few days, which has made him and other mine slaves suffer, and many mine slaves have died of heat and thirst. Compared with the lack of food before, you can fill your stomach with water to satisfy your hunger, and even gradually the water source will become less, so that they will have no way to live, and their hearts will be like ashes.

The stewards of the mines, however, lived as they pleased, eating meat and drinking wine every day, ignoring the miners, whether they were dead or alive. This made Wang Baoshan, who has always been honest, gradually sad and indignant, hating those doglegs who treat the mine slaves as inappropriate.

Maybe it's a pity for God, after finishing work today, it seems that the weather is going to rain heavily, which makes the dry hearts of the mine slaves have some relief.

After dark, the heavy rain was coming, and in the lightning and thunder, Wang Baoshan finished eating the black noodles and curled up in the haystack, looking at the sky from the broken hole in the thatched shed. After a while, the raindrops fell on his face, and he stretched out his tongue and licked the raindrops on his lips, only to find that it was salty.

This heavy rain came quickly, pouring from time to time, and the sultry weather was also cool. It was as dark as cloth in all directions, thunder was loud in the sky, lightning burst out, rain was like a waterfall, and the sky and the earth were suddenly bleak.

Wang Baoshan looked at the lightning that wantonly tore the sky, with a little excitement on his face. He didn't know how long it was, but the sound of thunder and rain all around, and when it was as silent as death, a cold hand in the darkness suddenly grabbed his right hand and pulled him.

Then he silently followed and took his hand, and quietly climbed out of the thatched hut, outside the thunder and lightning were still there, and the heavy rain fell on him, and the rain soon drenched him to the cold, and the cold feeling made him tremble for a while.

The person who pulled him was none other than Sanpi, who was hunched over like a clay figure at the moment, trying to find a place that could not be seen from a high place, and groping his way forward. Except for the occasional lightning bolt that streaked the ground, the two of them were faintly visible, sometimes lying on their stomachs in the mud, sometimes walking briskly, one deep and one shallow, and gradually disappeared into the edge of the large thatched hut.

When the two of them finally escaped the countless stewards and thugs who were guarding on high places, and came to a hidden position on the edge, they had become two clay figures, and they could not see any color on their bodies, just like the rain-soaked mud on the ground, and they were all one.

This hidden place, near the earthen wall, happened that this thatched shed had long since collapsed and broken, and there were no miners living in it.

And it was late at night, and people were asleep.

"How's the digging?" Sanpi's voice was so low that he couldn't hear it if he wasn't there.

"It's almost there..."

The voice was also very soft, if it wasn't for someone responding, Wang Baoshan didn't find that there would be people at the root of the earthen wall, there were two people squatting in the muddy water, digging the root of the wall with sticks, he knew that it was Du Xiaosan and the old mine slave who had escaped before.

"Old man, let me come—" He reached out and took the stick from the old miner's hand, and began to dig non-stop.

Sanpi also replaced Du Xiaosan, and dug the mud wall soaked with rain bubbles with Wang Baoshan.

"I'll tell you!" It's a remote, low-lying place, and it's raining heavily, and it's already full of rainwater, and the earthen wall is already soaked, so it's much easier to dig up...", the old miner touched the muddy water on his face, and whispered to them.

Du Xiaosan may have been unable to eat enough, his body is thin and weak, and he has no strength, he has just dug for a while and tired him enough, and after resting for a while, he has regained some strength, and said in a low voice: "This is also thanks to the old man, you have rich experience, found such a place, and thought of such a good method, otherwise you really don't know how to live..."

"Don't say anything else, just run away first..."

There was nothing to say at the moment, for fear of attracting others, so the four of them took turns to dig, taking turns to rest and sentry, to prevent others from finding out.

Between heaven and earth, thunder exploded, lightning was dazzling, and heavy rain poured down, washing and washing the land that had been dry for a long time, so that countless fertile fields could be soaked and moisturized, rivers and lakes were quickly filled, and thousands of living beings had to rely on to live.

"It's passed... It's through..."Sanpi's voice was a little excited, and he almost screamed.

In the light of the lightning and lightning, the roots of the earthen wall could be seen, and they had dug a cave that could be climbed out by a man. It's really Huang Tian who lives up to his wishes, Wang Baoshan and they are excited, and they climb out, but when they wait for the old mine slave, he doesn't want to go.

Sanpi's persuasion was fruitless, so he had to ask him why he didn't want to leave before leaving.

The old mine slave also let go, saying: "I am also old, and I can't find a place to live when I escape...... Besides, what should I do if I have walked through this hole, I will leave it to plug it up and cover up the incident, so that I can buy you more time and find a place to live..."

"How can this be done, without you, old man, how can the three of us come out, you come out quickly, we can run for our lives together..." Du Xiaosan lay at the entrance of the cave, burst into tears, holding the hand of the old mine slave, but refused to let go.

Wang Baoshan was also choked up, crying and saying to the old miner: "Old man, how can we not repay your great kindness to the three of us, you should go with me!"

"If you want to repay the favor, if you escape, you can live well, and when you have the opportunity to come back to rescue all the miners here..."After the old miner finished speaking, he broke free from Du Xiaosan's hand and began to pick up the dirt to block the hole.

Wang Baoshan and the three of them saw him say goodbye like this, and there was nothing they could do, they cried and knelt down in the muddy water, looked at the old mine slave in the cave and kowtowed three times, and swore that "old man, don't worry, we will come back to save you..."

After that, as soon as they touched their teary eyes, the three of them didn't dare to stay longer, recognized a direction, and ran away without their lives.

In this dark night of heavy rain, they panicked, and let the rolling thunder explode overhead, and the rain hit their cheeks, especially unconsciously. Whether they were injured by slipping and falling, or being scratched by a branch, they didn't dare to stop, and ran forward with each other's support, for fear of being caught by the invisible suffering behind them. In the mood of escaping, they ran wildly for freedom, as if they had been reborn, and they burst into tears of joy and joy.

I don't know how long they have run, how far they have run, and where they have run, but they are finally exhausted, and they have to stop and rest for a while.

They didn't know that they fled for their lives in a hurry, and they ran wildly all the way, and they ran for most of the night. At this time, the sky has turned up a white belly, the thunderstorm has gradually decreased, and when you look around, the earth is muddy and watery.

They couldn't run anymore, so they found a remote barren mountain, and after making sure that no one passed by, they found a protruding cliff to shelter from the rain, and sat down on the place, leaning against the cliff, panting heavily.

After resting for a while, I finally had some strength, so I found a stream formed by the accumulation of rainwater, washed away the mud and dirt on my body, found some wild fruits to satisfy my hunger, and drank some stream water to quench my thirst.

"Now that I have finally escaped, what should I do next..."Sanpi looked at the still gloomy sky and asked Wang Baoshan and Du Xiaosan.

"I think you might as well go up the mountain with me to chop wood! After all, deep in the countryside, the guards in the city generally don't go, and they stay away from the crowd..." Wang Baoshan thought very simply, since he had escaped, he should go back to his old job and never go to the town again.

"Brother Baoshan! Didn't I say you, what's so good about chopping firewood, can you have a full stomach? Besides, the firewood you cut can't be eaten as food, and you don't have to sell it the same way, and you have to deal with others the same, and if someone else finds out about the slave marks on your body, what should you do?" Sanpi heard that he wanted to go back to chop wood, and immediately tried to persuade him.

Wang Baoshan was silent when he said it. What Sanpi said is not unreasonable, he knows that among the people in the village, they are timid and afraid, and there are good and bad people, if they know, then he will definitely be caught and sent back. Besides, he himself knows that the way he relies on chopping wood for his livelihood is often precarious, and he can't eat at all.

"I don't think you can go back to the city, and you can't show your slave marks in front of people, and there is no place to go in this world. Sanpi was depressed, his expression was gloomy, and the joy of escaping just now was gone.

They were depressed for a long time, and they couldn't do anything, and they didn't have a clue after thinking about it. If, as the old miners said earlier, then they are really desperate.

"Didn't the old gentleman say that he could go up the mountain and fall into the grass to become a robber, and go to ask for a ...... to live" Du Xiaosan, who had been silent and silent, saw that the two of them were silent, so he spoke.

"If you really go, you don't know if they will take them in or not? Do you think robbers are so easy to be... The official law is also not tolerated, and if you don't do it, you will be killed..."Sanpi was born in Guanping City and lived, and he knows some things. Although he thought that he would escape when he was inside, he would become a bandit and robber, but now, he was a little hesitant.

"It's better for us to try, it's better than going back to suffer, so I don't know where to go to..." Wang Baoshan has lived in the mountains for a long time, and he doesn't pay much attention to the legal principles of the official family and the common feelings of people, as long as there is a place to live and he can eat a full stomach.

"I've heard people say that this Guanping City is now, and the more powerful one is fifty miles outside the south of the city, the Black Wind Village in Heifeng Ridge, there are many strong people in it, and many people who have committed crimes will defect to them, and the captain in the city can't do anything about them, if you want to vote, you can try... But they don't know if they take it or not. Other bandit gangs, big and small, can't compare with them......"

Wang Baoshan nodded when he saw Sanpi say this, and immediately said, "Then let's go quickly, so as not to be discovered..."

He looked at Du Xiaosan again and asked him, "Brother Du Xiaosan, you are not a local, where are you going?"

"I'm not going to hide it, Brother Wang, my package is lost, there are things that are very important to me, I must find it back..."

"What is so important... Where can I find it if I lose it?" "When Sanpi heard Du Xiaosan say that there were very important things in the lost package, he came to his senses.

"More important than my life, it was my teacher, who gave it to me before I left... Either way, I'm going to get it back. Du Xiaosan said firmly, as if to the two of them, and as if he was saying it to himself.

"It's not easy to run around now, and you can't enter the city, lest you be caught by the guards patrolling the streets, how are you going to find it!"

"Brother Wang, don't worry, I plan to go with you to be a robber, for today's plan, I will settle down in the local area first, and slowly find a way to find it..."

In this way, Wang Baoshan and the three of them discussed and discussed, and finally decided to go to the Black Wind Ridge to try their luck first, and then find a way if it didn't work.

They are now outside the north of the city, and if they want to go to the Black Wind Ridge, they need to take a detour, and they can't go through the downtown area, and the road is far away, so they have to walk some barren mountains and mountains as much as possible during the day to avoid pedestrians, and they can only walk some small roads at night.