Mt. Ishida, which has just experienced a heavy snowfall, is vast and covered in snow. Both the peaks of the mountains and the recesses of the valleys are covered in a thick layer of snow. The branches of various trees on the hillside are covered with snow, forming a peculiar landscape of rime and ice.

Standing on a high place and looking into the distance, the snow mountains and forests, the mountain dancing silver snake, a good snow scene in the mountains!

The 2,000 elite soldiers led by Luo Shangzhi were almost all soldiers brought out by Li Rusong from his hometown, who had lived and grown up in the northeast of the Ming Dynasty since childhood, and there was no problem of being unsuitable for the snow march, especially the long-distance trek in the mountains after the snow.

Before setting off, every member of this unit brought enough materials and equipment needed for snow camping in the mountains, all kinds of materials and equipment, and the necessary food needed for survival. They set out from the exit of the secret passage of Zhengyang Fort, followed the footprints left by Captain Konishiyuki's troops in the snow when they fled, and headed south to the depths of Mt. Ishida.

With Abbot Huneng leading the way, the march of the Ming army troops pursuing Konishi Yukinaga was much faster.

Judging by the footprints left by the enemy, this should be a relatively large force. The snow in the valley where the enemy passed was littered with all kinds of daily necessities that had been thrown away and less important war supplies. It can be seen from this how embarrassed this Japanese army was when it fled.

Since the exact number of enemy personnel was not known, for the sake of safety, Luo Shiyin offered to have the small detachment and the abbot and his monks as the vanguard to follow the footprints left by the enemy and chase the enemy at full speed. Luo Shangzhi led his troops at a distance and followed behind.

As a general, Luo Shangzhi will of course give full respect to the proposal of the commander of the Ming Jinyi Guard, whose official rank is higher than himself. Besides, Luo Shiyin's suggestion is also very reasonable.

In order to show respect for Luo Shiyin, Luo Shangzhi also deliberately selected 20 soldiers with strong martial arts from his own team and handed them over to Luo Shiyin's command, and specially emphasized to his 20 subordinates that they must swear to protect the safety of the commander.

Although Luo Shiyin felt that Luo Shangzhi's special arrangement for him was a bit of a fuss, he still smiled and accepted Luo Shangzhi's good intentions.

After several hours of rapid marching, in the evening, the vanguard of Abbot Hueneng and his detachment reached a village halfway up the mountain.

"My lord, I see it's getting late, are we camping in the village tonight?" The abbot asked Luo Shiyin.

"Is it possible that Yukicho Konishi's troops are already stationed here?" Luo Shiyin quietly looked at the village not far away and asked Abbot Hueneng.

"Judging by the footprints left by the enemy, the time they passed through here must have been at least two hours ago. For an army in a hurry to flee for their lives, they generally do not waste such a long march time in vain and leisurely hide in the village for the night. Hunneng judged.

"My lord, why don't I go to the village to investigate?" Shi Lang took the initiative to ask.

"Okay. You, Miss Ye and Lao Shi went to investigate. Stay safe. Luo Shiyin thought about it for a while and agreed to Shi Lang's suggestion.

Shi Lang, Ye Ruliu and Shi Tianji quietly touched the village by taking advantage of the dense trees and grass on the mountainside as a cover.

Night has fallen.

From the peaks on the other side of the valley, the howl of a wild wolf could be heard clearly. From the mouth of the valley, the howling mountain wind carried the snow on the ground into the valley, making a ghostly howl.

The village was silent, and there was not a single light shining through.

Shi Lang, Ye Ruliu and Shi Tianji lay behind a boulder and visited the village.

It is said that at this time, it is impossible for all the villagers to have fallen asleep, at least there should be a few families who are used to sleeping late There will be lights flashing or sounds coming out of their homes. But the village, with about forty or fifty households, was as silent as death.

"Something is wrong!" Ye Ruliu whispered.

"yes, it's said that it's just dark, and it's impossible that the whole village won't be silent at all." Shi Lang was also surprised.

"Why don't we go and have a look first?" Shi Tianji proposed.

"Good. Walk! Shi Lang replied.

The three of them stooped forward to a house in the easternmost part of the village.

"Wang, Wang, Wang!" As soon as Shi Lang wanted to step forward and knock on the door, a huge yellow-haired dog jumped out of the courtyard gate and barked at Shi Lang, Ye Ruliu and Shi Tianji in front of him.

Afraid of revealing their figures, the three of them quickly retreated and hid behind a pile of firewood and grass.

After a while, there was no one in the village. The vicious dog also stopped barking and sat alone in front of the gate, looking bored.

Shi Lang and the three of them stood up and walked towards the location of the dog.

The yellow-haired dog seemed to sense that there was no malice on the part of the visitor, so he stood up and pushed open the two gates with his front paws, as if to welcome the three of them into the courtyard.

Shi Lang strode into the courtyard gate alertly, followed by Ye Ruliu and Shi Tianji.

As soon as the three of them entered the courtyard, they were shocked by the sight in front of them, and their hairs stood on end.

In the small courtyard, corpses were lying everywhere, and the blood had already stained the snow on the ground of the entire courtyard red. Search the e-book

Shi Lang counted nine corpses, including a baby.

Ye Ruliu endured her grief and indignation, and picked up the baby from her mother's arms lying on the snow, hoping that a miracle would occur. But disappointingly, there was an obvious knife wound to the baby's throat, and the murderer obviously did not want to let go of the nursing child. The child's whole body is already stiff.

"Who is so vicious, even such a young child will not let go!" Ye Ruliu's tone revealed a cold murderous aura. She arranged the quilt that had wrapped the baby and put it back in its mother's arms on the ground.

"His grandmother's! If you want me to catch this murderous turtle grandson, I have to kill him alive! Shi Tianji looked at the tragic scene in the courtyard and said through gritted teeth.

Shi Lang leaned over to examine each corpse, and then said, "Judging from the wounds of the deceased, it is possible that the Japanese people did it." ”

"Could it be that Governor Konishi and they have been to the village...... Not good! Listening to Shi Lang's judgment, Ye Ruliu had a bad premonition in his heart.

"Let's go, let's go!" At this time, Shi Lang also understood the meaning of Ye Ruliu's words, he couldn't help shouting, turned around and ran out of the door.

Ye Ruliu pulled out his weapon and followed closely behind Shi Lang. Shi Tianji was stunned for a moment, and then Shi Lang, who also understood the purpose of going out in a hurry, hurriedly opened his legs and chased out.

The scene that Shi Lang and the three of them didn't want to see was finally ruthlessly displayed in front of the three of them. They inspected every household in the village. Without exception, all of them were killed. Not a single survivor was found in the entire village.

"Let's go, hurry back and report to the commander." Looking at the entire village, Shi Lang was in a heavy mood.

When the three of them rushed back to the grove where the team was located, Luo Shangzhi had already led the troops to catch up.

After listening to Shi Lang's report, Luo Shiyin's expression was solemn. He looked at the dead village in front of him faintly, and said fiercely: "We are still one step late!" ”

Judging from the items left in various parts of the village and commonly used by the Japanese soldiers, this bloody case in the mountain village should have been committed by the troops of Konishi Yukinaga who passed by.

After counting, nearly 200 people were killed in the village, and there were no survivors. What is even more cruel is that, judging from the condition of the corpses, most of the young women in the village were sexually assaulted before their deaths, and several young women were brutally cut off their houses.

Luo Shiyin and Luo Shangzhi ordered their subordinates to dispose of the corpses of the villagers first.

Braving the bitter cold, the soldiers dug a large pit in a clearing behind the village and buried the bodies of all the villagers.

Marching in the mountains at night is very dangerous. After consultation, Luo Shiyin and Luo Shangzhi decided to spend the night in the village and get up tomorrow morning to pursue the enemy.

Luo Shiyin and Luo Shangzhi arranged for their subordinates and the monks and soldiers of the abbot to rest in small groups at the homes of village leaders, and at the same time, sent mobile sentries to patrol and guard the village.

Ye Ruliu was arranged alone in the smallest courtyard in the middle of the village. It is an inconspicuous courtyard, with several tall locust trees growing outside the low courtyard walls. The north house, made of three bluestone blocks mixed with adobe, looked a little simple and dilapidated in the dim moonlight. In the southeast corner of the yard is a sheepfold fenced with a wooden fence, and a scrawny ewe and her two baby sheep huddle in a hay shed to keep warm.

Shi Lang personally sent Ye Ruliu to the yard and helped her clean the yard.

Ye Ruliu simply cleaned up the house, and then prepared to pour Shi Lang a glass of water.

"No need, it's been a tiring day, you rest early. I have to go back quickly and see if the commander has any orders. Shi Lang raised his hand to stop Ye Ruliu.

"Alright then, if there's nothing going on, you can rest early." The encounter in the village made Ye Ruliu's mood almost extremely bad, and she said to Shi Lang in a low mood.

Ye Ruliu sent Shi Lang outside the courtyard gate, and the two said goodbye to each other.

Seeing that Shi Lang had disappeared into the depths of the alley, Ye Ruliu reflexively returned to the courtyard, inserted the courtyard door backwards, and walked back into the house.

Ye Ruliu washed up briefly, then closed the door and collapsed on the bed weakly. She wanted to close her eyes and get some rest, but as soon as she did, the face of the murdered baby flashed in her mind. The child's slightly pursed mouth seemed to be looking for the sweet milk of its mother. The poor boy did not wait for the rutou from his mother, but for the cold bayonet of the wolf.

Innocent children! You have not been in this world long before you have been doomed! How can the murderous nature of the perpetrator not make people outrageous!

Ye Ruliu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She simply opened her eyes and looked at the roof.

In the quiet night, the past flashed in front of me one by one like yesterday.

Since he entered the court with the squad, the tragic scenes of life and death that he has experienced are vividly vivid. Counting today, it is the second time that I have seen the tragic death of the villagers in the village. The first time it was done by the beasts of the mountains, and this time it was done by the thieves.

What is the difference between a hateful thief and an animal?

In the middle of the night, the wind picked up. The biting cold wind blew the snow off the branches of the old locust trees on the east side of the yard, making a rustling sound.

A chill came in from outside the door, and Ye Ruliu got up from the bed and came to the door, wanting to close the door tightly.

At that moment, she saw through the crack in the door that a dark shadow was climbing into the courtyard from an ancient locust tree.