An Ning asked, "What's wrong, what's wrong?"

The soldier's face was unusually heavy, he looked around, opened his mouth, but did not know what to say.

So I had to whisper: "Wait until you see it, you will know everything!"

An Ning nodded, knowing that there must be something important, otherwise this soldier would not be like this.

He pointed to the wounded bandits and said to the others, "You guys are here to watch them now, don't let them die, I'll deal with them when I come back." Come with me, a few of you! ”

An Ning took a few people and followed the soldier to a small open space behind the cottage.

The crowd soon discovered that there was a hole in the ground, which was supposed to be the entrance to the cellar.

There were also two soldiers guarding the entrance of the cave, and like the soldier just now, these two men also looked solemn.

An Ning asked, "What the hell happened?"

When the two of them saw An Ning coming, they opened the wooden board that covered the entrance to the cave, and replied in the same tone as the man just now: "Boss, you will understand when you see it."

An Ning leaned into the cellar, and the first thing he was greeted by was a stench that made people dizzy.

He covered his nose with his hands, narrowed his eyes to adjust to the dim light inside, and began to look at what was in the cellar to make his men pay so much attention.

But the picture he saw surprised him, and then he didn't dare to stay or didn't want to stay anymore, so he hurriedly retreated.

The mountain breeze blew gently, blowing away the stench that was contaminated on An Ning's body, and also cleared his mind a lot.

But the wind couldn't blow away the anger in his heart, it was a deep anger, an anger that made him want to kill people to vent.

What he found in the cellar was nothing but a group of naked women.

They were confined to a small, filthy, unseen cellar, and their bodies that had not been cleaned for a long time were constantly emitting a foul smell, and perhaps even the stench of the corpses of their dead companions. Covered in filth and dirt, it has long been impossible to see their true colors.

The picture just now was deeply imprinted in An Ning's mind, and he felt angry and powerless.

He knew that even as he saw them, the women in the cellar had also found peace.

But they just instinctively stepped back, kept dodging his gaze, and there was no other reaction, not even their naked bodies.

Their reaction revealed a deep numbness and despair.

But what An Ning didn't know was that whenever the cellar door was opened, it was almost the only time they could see the sunlight from the outside world.

But every time this sunshine brings not warmth and peace, but the lustful eyes and laughter of the bandits.

Each time, a companion would be taken away until the beasts had given vent to their bestial desires and then thrown back, or never returned.

Every one of them here has experienced that hellish scene.

They were kept in captivity like pigs and dogs, and in addition to being used as venting tools, they also had to endure all kinds of torture from the bandits, and every time the sisters who were taken away were sent back, they were scarred.

Almost every once in a while, companions would die in this dark, damp cellar, and no one cared whether they lived or died, not even themselves.

It wasn't until the corpse was rotten and smelly that it was discovered by the bandits, and then they were dragged out and buried hastily.

The bandits only use them as tools to vent their animal desires, and they don't care about the life or death of the tools. If it's gone, it's okay to go down the mountain and grab it, anyway, there are a lot of people under the mountain.

An Ning took a few deep breaths in a row, suppressed the anger in her heart, and said slowly, "You all take off your coats!"

On the one hand, he first took off the outer garment inside his armor, leaving only the inner lining, and then put on the armor. Seeing An Ning taking the lead, the soldiers also took off their coats one after another.

These coats alone were not enough, and he sent people to the thieves' place to rummage through the chests and take out all the clothes they could wear.

He didn't look at it, and threw it all into the cellar.

He shouted inside, "Everybody......"

He suddenly hesitated at this time, and didn't know what to call it, so he had to call him collectively: "Everyone...... Don't be afraid, girl, we are not bad people, and we will not hurt you. We are the officials of the imperial court, and the bandits here have been exterminated by us, so hurry up and put on your clothes and come out! ”

An Ning waited outside for a while, but there was no movement coming from inside. He had no choice but to knock on the wooden board and say loudly: "What I said is true, I didn't lie to you, you all come out quickly!"

After a while, there was still no movement, and An Ning had no choice but to lift the plank and enter the cellar again.

He saw that the clothes they had thrown down were still messily scattered on the ground, and he had not moved.

Seeing them leaning against the wall on the side of the cellar in horror, An Ning didn't dare to get too close to them, for fear of frightening them.

He stood directly under the entrance of the cave, let the sun shine on his body, pointed to the armor on his body and said softly: "Don't be afraid, everyone, we are really officers and soldiers, you look at my body, this is armor, you can see that there is no one." We are really here to save you, the bandits have been killed by us, you ...... You guys...... It's time to go home! ”

Looking at the armor on An Ning's body that reflected the sun's rays, their eyes were originally dim, and only their numb eyes began to have a glimmer of light.

A daring girl stammered, "You...... You guys...... Is it really here to save us? ”

An Ning looked at the girl who looked even smaller than herself, and a trace of pity flashed in her heart.

He nodded slowly and said softly: "Really, little sister, don't lie to you, it's a puppy to deceive people!"

Hearing An Ning's affirmative answer made them finally believe that they were really saved.

After the deathly silence, weeping began to be heard. Finally more and more, filling the entire cellar.

An Ning breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that it was better to cry than to be lifeless.

"Then I'll go out first, I'll help you find some food and water, you guys get dressed here first, I'll wait for you outside!"

An Ning crawled out of the cellar, and at this time, Wang Hu and the others were also alarmed, except for some people who were left to guard there, everyone else rushed over.

Hearing the crying inside gradually quieted down, and the sound of squirming and getting dressed came out, and An Ning was relieved. He asked everyone to take out some of the water bladders and dry food they had with them and prepare them for food.

"Knock knock!" After a long time, someone knocked on the plank below, and An Ning hurriedly asked someone to remove the plank and pick them up.

When the sun was hot at noon, An Ning stood guard at the door, pulled them out one by one, and then the soldiers took them, helped them to a cool and ventilated place to rest, and handed them dry food and water.

When no one came up, An Ning silently recited in his heart: "Twenty-five."

A total of twenty-five people came out, which was the number that An Ning silently counted.

In order to make sure that no one was left inside, An Ning went down to the cellar again to check, and after going down, his pupils shrank, and there were two people below who did not go up.

He picked up two pieces of clothing from the ground and walked over, thinking that they had just fainted and had no strength, and was going to put them on so that they could be helped out.

But when he walked in, the clothes in his hand suddenly slipped to the ground, because he found that he didn't need them!

The eyes of both had been closed forever, and their breathing had stopped. Just after they learned the news that they had been rescued, they died.

I don't know if it's lucky or unlucky, their lives will stay forever at the moment of being saved.

An Ning put her clothes over their dirty bodies and found someone to carry them out.

The corpse was parked in the clearing, and the rest of the people who had been gobbling it up all stopped when they saw this scene. They all gathered around the two corpses, and there was a faint sound of crying.

An Ning squatted next to the corpse, and he poured out the water in the water bladder to wash the mud off their faces, and helped them tidy up their remains by the way.

He asked them, "Do any of you know where the two of them live, and even if they die outside, they will always be sent home?"

Everyone shook their heads, indicating that they didn't know. An older one said: "Even if you know, it's useless, there is no one in their house, they have all been killed by bandits, what's the use of sending them back?" In fact, we are all the same, some of them have no one at home! Yes, there is a home that can't go back! In fact, it is better to die, and it will save you from suffering again! ”

An Ning was silent, he knew what she meant. For ordinary people, a woman's death is a small matter, and a loss of festival is a big matter, and it has been the case for thousands of years.

They used to be passers-by merchants or the ladies of the people under the mountain, but since they have been forcibly taken up the mountain by the bandits, it is difficult for them to be tolerated by secular etiquette no matter what.

Even if there are still people in the house, I am afraid that it will be considered an insult to the lintel, which will make the whole family unable to raise their heads, and then be swept out of the house.

The woman's words also woke the rest of the people from the ecstasy of being rescued, and their expressions darkened again when they remembered what happened next.

Perhaps, it is really better to survive than to die, at least you can get liberation.

Seeing their lost souls, An Ning didn't know how to comfort them, so she had to say: "Don't think so much, even if you think so much, it's useless, it's better to eat your stomach first."

"Let's take a shower after we are full, start over, things have passed, there will always be a turnaround, there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, isn't it?"

An Ning sighed: "There is no one at home, so there must be a name, even if it is just a monument!" Whether it's sad or happy, they can always let people know that they have come to this world once."

The woman nodded and said the two names "Liang Yuxiu, Zhang Guiying".

An Ning asked people to find a long wooden plank, and carved the words "Liang Yuxiu, Zhang Guiying's tomb" inch by inch with a sword.

After carving the tombstone, An Ning handed the tombstone to a soldier and said to him: "You go find a place to bury them, bury them together, so that they can be companions on the Huangquan Road, and then set this up."

"Don't forget to find a sunny place, I think they have been locked up in this dark cellar for so long, they must want to bask in the sun more in the future!"

After arranging these, An Ning saw the little girl who spoke to her first again, not far from her, wiping her tears in front of the corpses of Liang Yuxiu and Zhang Guiying.

An Ning walked up to her, wanting to touch her head and comfort her.

She subconsciously took several steps back in a row, covered her head and screamed, the deep fear revealed in her eyes was really distressing.

Looking at her performance, An Ning swallowed back all the words she wanted to ask, and she didn't know how to face them again.

He left them in the care of the other soldiers, told them to take care of them, and then turned and walked towards the Hall of Justice.