A little stunned staring at the whip wrapped around his wrist, Ding Mu felt his liver tremble when he saw this thing.

The dark red spots on the whip were the blood stains left by his whipping, which made him a little vaguely excited and proud.

Ding Mu felt that maybe there was something wrong with his psychology, could it be that he was used to it after abusing it?

But it wasn't some orientation that really made him dazed, it was the other hand that was wrapped up in the whip with him.

Sophia held Ding Mu's hand tightly, her eyes couldn't help blinking, her long eyelashes fanned, and she set off a pair of big eyes that seemed to be seductive, and it was easy to forget her actual age.

At least at first, Ding Mu thought she should be a big girl, and Kunto directly called her a "bohemian woman".

But now he knew that it was actually just a child, she was 12 years old, and he didn't know his age.

They're at a wedding, the wedding of the two of them, to be exact.

When the woman named Shaskina explained everything to him, Ding Mu was silent for a long time before he understood what was going on.

In a word, he not only got off the list in this era, but also played a flash marriage very fashionably.

"She accepted the engagement gift you gave her, which means you already have a marriage engagement."

"That short crossbow is ......"

"You are willing to be whipped for Sophia, according to custom, to prove that you are willing to pay for her."

"That's because ......"

"Your blood is mixed with hers, and your destinies are fused and intertwined."

"But the whip ......"

"Therefore, your union should be blessed and recognized."

In the end, Shaskina authoritatively determined the legal basis for this marriage.

"So?"

"So, she's your wife now."

At that time, when Shaskina put Sophia's hand in Ding Mu's hand who was climbing in the carriage, he felt the heat from the girl's hand, the heat seemed to be burning to a corner of his heart, and he raised his head to meet Sophia's childish enthusiasm, which was another thing completely different from her age, and that enthusiasm even burned Ding Mu's heart.

Although the injury on Ding Mu's back looked a little serious, it gradually improved under the herbal treatment of Shaskina and a group of gypsy women, and he was able to get out of the car in two days, and in a few days he was able to walk with the convoy.

During this time, he had seen the young man named Gurga several times, and he could not but admit with great depression that the Gurga was much better than he was, and at least within two days he would be able to ride around Sophia's caravan.

And in the past few days, Ding Mu also learned some things about Sophia from Shaskina.

Sadly, Sophia was not born with aphasia, but suffered a serious illness at a very young age, and although she survived, she eventually lost her voice.

What's worse is that because of her illness, Sophia's father lost his qualifications as a leader and was even kicked out of the tribe!

"Nashan really couldn't do anything at that time," said Shaskina, looking at Sophia who was combing the horse in the distance, "and he knew that our herbs couldn't save Sophia, so he secretly took her to find a Gaja wizard." ”

"You mean the priest?"

"Yes, that's the kind of person, and then the wizard cured Sophia, but this also violated the rules of the tribe, Gurga, is the uncle of little Gurga, and now the head and a group of clansmen forced Nashan to hand over the headman's turban, and then drove him out of the tribe, at that time many people wanted to keep him, but Gurga still drove him away, and Sophia was only 7 years old at that time."

"Is Sophia's father very beloved by the clan?" Ding Mu asked thoughtfully.

"Of course, but the mistakes he made are so heavy that even the elders can't speak for him," Shaskina said helplessly, "Gurga has been thinking about surpassing Nashan all these years, but he can't do it, he may be a good leader, but if he is better than Nashan, he doesn't believe it." ”

"Is it possible for Nashan to return to the clan?" Ding Mu asked.

"Impossible."

Ding Mu noticed that Shaskina's tone seemed a little hesitant.

"Gurja, I mean the little one, he seems to like Sophia." Ding Mu asked again.

"He," Shaskina's thick lips pursed, "he should hate you by now, his uncle has always wanted him to marry Sophia, and now you have snatched Sophia, but you have offended their uncle and nephew." ”

Ding Mu nodded silently, although some things are not very clear, but he has already guessed a rough idea.

Things are actually very simple, for little Gurga, he is the enemy who snatches love with a knife, and for old Gurga, it is an obstacle that prevents him from unifying the whole clan.

It's true that there are disputes wherever there are people, even if they are said to be straightforward gypsies.

It seems that his life may not be easy in the future, this is what Ding Mu thought at that time.

But he soon found that his judgment was not entirely correct, at least that little Gurga had not come to pester him after he had been whipped by his uncle for provoking him again.

Then, on the night of the full moon, his wedding to Sophia was officially held.

Becoming someone else's wife at the age of 12 seems to be a common thing for Gypsies, and no one has raised objections, let alone declared Ding Mu a crime with any law on the protection of minors.

Everything went according to the ancient gypsy custom, where they sat side by side, ate the same piece of dry bread, drank bitter willow water from the same cup, and then gently wrapped their hands together with a whip stained with the blood of both of them.

This means that their souls have been united, and in the future they will taste sweetness together and experience suffering together until they reach the end of their lives together.

Ding Mu had no objection to this wedding.

Or that he couldn't think of a reason to oppose it.

She saved him in times of danger and even flogged for him.

He couldn't forget the look she had looked back at him when she had been taken away.

Perhaps it was from that moment of looking back that she walked into his heart.

A tray padded with a thick flannel cloth was brought up, which was the bride price of the man shown to the guests.

Ding Mu noticed that Sophia's lips pursed slightly, and her dissatisfied look fell in Ding Mu's eyes, but it became a different kind of beauty that was completely inconsistent with her age, and the part of Ding Mu's heart called conscience seemed to be knocked hard by "Dong".

"She's only 12 years old, you don't really want to be something like a beast."

Ding Mu couldn't help but warn himself in his heart.

As the wedding progressed, Ding Mu began to feel a little strange, he didn't believe that the pair of uncles and nephews would give up so easily, when he saw the expression of little Gurja looking at him, he knew that this person would be a trouble, and his uncle would not just give up Sophia, a bargaining chip that could help him stabilize the whole family.

Sure enough, just as the elder followed the clan rules to the last item and asked in a loud voice, "Who wouldn't want to bless the couple here", Gurga, who had been standing in front of a fire in the distance, suddenly threw a bundle of blankets at his feet into the clearing.

The originally lively wedding immediately became silent.

The Gypsies have the custom of robbing relatives to duel, or rather, they retain some characteristics of ancient nomads.

In his previous life, Ding Mu had seen some knowledge about this when he was studying about the promotion of European culture.

It's just that this custom has long disappeared in later generations, and even if it is still followed in some places, it is only a custom and tradition, and no one will take it seriously anymore.

But now, when the blanket used to wrap the bride snatching was thrown in front of him, the face of the little Gurga on the opposite side also showed undisguised killing intent.

Obviously, everything is ready to go. The bridegroom, the bride, the challenger, and the agitators who began to silence the people around them who were trying to oppose the challenge with traditional rhetoric.

Old Gurga, who was sitting in the middle, finally smiled, he had been waiting for this time, and now everything was going smoothly according to his arrangement.

"Although it is the right of two people to love each other, tradition also needs to be respected," the elder Gurga stood up and declared loudly, "and the challenger has the right to pursue his happiness, and the bride must accept the winner of the two as her husband, and our tribe has multiplied and we have survived because of the rules that our ancestors set for us." ”

Shaskina quickly explained the words of old Gurga to Ding Mu, and then looked at Ding Mu nervously, saying that she was not optimistic about this duel at all like everyone else, and even someone had already whispered, "This is murder, just like a coward who stabbed him in the back." ”

Obviously, although little Gurga is their clansman, there are still people who do not want to see Ding Mu killed for various reasons.

Ding Mu stood up slowly, from the moment Gurga threw out the blanket, he knew that this battle was not only inevitable, but even if no one died, there would be no result, which could be seen in Xiao Gurga's eyes.

He wanted him dead.

"You're going to kill me?"

Even so, Ding Mu still asked a little superfluous.

"Yes, Gaj, you must die here today."

Gilga the Younger made no secret of his murderous intent, and the Gypsies would be very honest with their enemies.

Sophia also stood up, she carefully lifted the front hem of her beautiful bridal dress, and then walked in front of Ding Mu in a few steps, and at the same time grabbed a sharp knife from the table next to her and pointed it at Gurga.

"Don't hide behind a woman, come out and let me cut your neck." Little Gurga shouted loudly, "Let everyone see how cowardly you are, let the woman protect." ”

"Surely you want to kill me?"

Ding Mu seemed to be sure if this was the case and asked again.

He caused laughter among the little Gurga accomplices around him, as if he was surprised by the stupidity of the Gaj, who had not yet understood what was going to happen.

Old Gurga also touched his curly beard and smiled, everything went well, this Gaja man is still quite useful, at least even the wedding is ready for his nephew.

When Xiao Gurga raised the flying knife in his hand and made a throat-cutting motion towards him threateningly, Ding Mu moved!

He suddenly reached into the hem of Sophia's skirt, and just when everyone was still stunned, he pulled back his hand as if he had a well-wound crossbow!

At the same time, he quickly put the two crossbow arrows that he had hidden in his hand on the card slot.

"Bang~"

Stunned, Xiao Gurga's face had not been completely removed, and with a muffled sound, two black shadows had already swept across the clearing.

Then little Gurga fell headlong to the ground!

There was a lot of screaming all around!

Old Gurga almost roared and jumped up from his seat, and he rushed to his nephew, who was lying motionless on the ground.

When he saw that his nephew's chest seemed to have only a little end of the two arrow tails, he raised his head and stared at Ding Mu angrily and shouted: "Gajie! ”

With his roar, several gypsies rushed towards Ding Mu!

"He's going to kill me." Ding Mu threw away the short crossbow, and then said in an affirmative tone, while his eyes were fixed on Old Gurga, "And I killed him in a duel." ”

Several gypsies stopped, they began to look at each other in confusion, and then they all looked at Old Gurga.

Old Gurga's face was slightly distorted, he knew what Ding Mu meant by this, and at this time he also understood why Ding Mu had been ridiculously asking his nephew if he wanted to kill him.

Only when he lured his nephew to publicly announce to everyone that he was going to kill him, did he have enough reason to kill little Gurga.

"Cunning Gaj!"

The flesh on the old Gurga's face trembled, he had no son, for him the little Gurga was his child, and he was counting on this nephew to marry Sophia and inherit the position of his head in the future.

But now, this Gajay has made it all empty.

An old man stepped forward, his orange-peeled, wrinkled face showing no expression except for a sparkle in his eyes.

Glancing at Ding Mu, the old man slowly spoke.

Ding Mu couldn't understand what he was saying, and could only judge the possible outcome from the expressions of the people around him and Sophia next to him.

Finally, with the old man's words, Sophia's face showed a happy look, and Shaskina next to her seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"The elder said that you won this duel," Shaskina told Ding Mu the good news before adding, "but although you killed our people in the duel, we still have to punish you." ”

"Punishment?" Ding Mu instinctively took a step back, and his heart was nervous, although he had already thought before deciding to kill little Gurga that the gypsies would not be able to take revenge on him because they had to follow their traditions, but if they really did not follow the rules, the worst fate awaited him.

"Although it is a duel, it is a serious sin to kill someone else's son and make his family lose their relatives and strong labor, you have to work for us, and it is the dirtiest and most tiring work," looking at Ding Mu's slightly pale face, Shaskina said the following words, "You must compensate little Gurja's family, because his parents are dead, so you have to compensate the head man, and you have to work for him for a thousand days." ”

A thousand days?

Ding Mu was stunned for a moment, and thoughts were racing in his mind.

Not to mention three years, maybe a year or half a year, as long as the luck is not bad enough to encounter robbers or war, I am sure that I can adapt and survive in this era.

Then he will be able to leave these gypsies with Sophia.

With Sophia? Ding Mu didn't know when he had such a strange idea, it seemed that the girl next to him had really become his wife.

However, looking at the hateful gaze of old Gurga on the other side, he knew that the future was not as simple as he thought.

It was only when he asked Shaskina about what the uncle and nephew might do to prevent their wedding, and he had already made a decision.

He could not forget the attack that night in the village of Klecce, and the look in the eyes of the assassin who nearly killed him.

In the previous twenty years, he had never been stared at by that kind of eyes, and the naked murderous aura in it made Ding Mu wake up even in his sleep.

But he saw that look in Xiao Gurjia's eyes, which made Ding Mu have no doubt that he would definitely kill himself if he had the opportunity.

Since sooner or later you will be harmed by him, it is better to strike first!

He was prepared, and when he heard from Shaskina that Gurga might take advantage of tradition and challenge him at the wedding, Ding Mu decided to take a risk.

Sophia's dowry was exchanged for a few dresses that were nothing new, and it was Sophia who asked Shaskina to use her jewelry to quietly exchange from a nearby town.

And the real dowry, the short crossbow, was hidden by Ding Mu under Sophia's bridal dress.

It seems a little ridiculous to think of a bride holding a wedding with a murderous weapon hidden under her skirt, but at Ding Mu's insistence, Sophia finally agreed to his request.

It's just that Ding Mu was still hesitating until the end.

He knew that if he did kill the little Gurga, even if it was limited to the Gypsy tradition, he would suffer revenge from the old Gurga in the future, so he still hoped that things would not come to that point.

But when he continued to ask, in exchange for Xiao Gurjia's murderous throat wiping gesture, Ding Mu understood that he had no way out but to kill the other party!

Take the crossbow, put the arrow, and wrench the bracket!

He practiced this series of movements many times in secret, until he didn't have anything else on his mind when the two bolts were fired.

It was only when everything calmed down, looking at the limp body of little Gurja, who had been carried away by a few gypsies, that he really realized a terrible thought:

Kill yourself!

And it was almost murder that killed a man!

At this time, Ding Mu's hands and feet were a little cold, and he knew that it was not because of the weather, but because of fear in his heart.

The wedding could no longer go on, and the gypsies looked at Ding Mu with strange eyes as they left.

Gurga was a clansman, but Ding Mu killed him according to the ancient tribal rules, which made many gypsies not know what to do with the murderer who had just killed their clan.

"I have to get up early tomorrow to work," the elder who announced the verdict told Shaskina to relay her words to Ding Mu, "the most tiring, dirtiest and hardest work, this is the punishment." ”

Ding Mu could only respond with a wry smile to this.

Killing a person, but only doing tiring work as a punishment, made him feel the insignificance and despicability of life in this era again.

Maybe he is really sentimental, and compared with the situation in the future, Gurga's matter should really be put aside.

Ding Mu looked at the figure of the old Gurga gradually disappearing into the night, and pondered in his heart.

Sophia stretched out her hand and pinched Ding Mu's arm, and when she saw him turn her head to look over, she let out a soft "ah," and then pulled him towards the caravan.

Ding Mu's heart suddenly warmed, although the two of them also lived together a few days ago, but today suddenly became different from usual.

Under the moonlight, the caravan seemed to be shrouded in an ambiguous halo, and it seemed to exude an inexplicable atmosphere.

"Ah~"

"Sophia, we're like this."

"Huh?"

"No, that's right."

"Ahh

"Forget it, let's do it anyway."

In the end, Ding Mu couldn't resist Sophia's anger that seemed to be about to explode, and obediently climbed out of the corner of the caravan, holding the blanket and getting into the newlywed tent that had been propped up.

Soon, Sophia's even snoring came from the tent, and Ding Mu leaned against the tent with a short crossbow, staring at the shadow of the camp in the dim moonlight.

From tomorrow onwards he will begin to live the life of a gypsy for real, and what awaits him?