Chapter 104: Interception

The ninth day of the second month of the first year of Qiande (963 AD)

At noon, on the Xianxia Ancient Road at the junction of Zhejiang and Fujian, a team of carriages and horses was slowly moving forward. The trail is flanked by rolling hills with lush bamboo forests. The wind is very strong, and the bamboo forest rustles, and in this uninhabited mountain, it can't help but make people feel frightened.

The procession consisted of nine carriages, the three in front of which were manned, with the curtain hanging low and the voices of speech coming from time to time. The six wagons at the back were used to transport goods, and wooden boxes of various sizes were strapped to the wagons.

The coachman kept shouting and drove the horses forward with the whip in his hand. On either side of the convoy there were two dozen men on foot, some dressed as servants and a few maids. There were also more than a dozen people dressed as nurses, with knives at their waists, and some with long weapons.

In the first carriage, two men were talking, it was Liu Yan, a member of the Mingzhou Judicial Army, and his son Liu Zhao.

Liu Zhao said hatefully: "Father, did we go back to our hometown like this?" You were dismissed from your post for no reason, and you were ordered to return to your hometown immediately. I think it must be Master Thorn Shi and the Cui family who have communicated and want to get rid of our father and son. ”

Liu Yan's face was like ashes, and he sighed and said, "Hey~ What can I do if I know?" Lord Assassin Shi has already shown mercy to his subordinates, otherwise if he continues to pursue it, it is likely that our entire family will be beheaded, and no one will survive. ”

He looked at Liu Zhao and said angrily: "If you hadn't colluded with bandits and attacked the Cui family's manor, would we have fallen to such a point?" You still blame others, it is because I am not strict with you that I have caused you to be a useless thing! I can't do a little thing well, and I go out to make trouble! ”

Liu Zhao said with some disbelief: "Father, you can't blame me all?" Who knew that the famous heroes of Tiantai Mountain, more than 100 people, couldn't even take down the Cui family, which only had dozens of guards. Even the adults were caught. I heard that the second master was shot dead on the spot, and the third master ran away, and now no one can find him. ”

"Fortunately, you ran away from the third master, you contacted him, and the other bandits didn't see the person you sent, and Lord Assassin Shi didn't have a certificate, so he let our whole family go."

"What reason did the assassin dismiss you?"

"He said that I was not doing well, and during his trip to Hangzhou for the Chinese New Year, he did not do a good job of public security, and let the bandits attack Cui's house. As a result, more than 40 people in the Cui family were killed, more than 30 people were injured, and a lot of money and property were robbed. This is a serious dereliction of duty and warrants dismissal. ”

"Then you don't have to drive us back to our hometown, huh? How prosperous Mingzhou City is! Liu Zhao said reluctantly.

Liu Yan shook his head, "You are still greedy for prosperous places, it would be good if we could survive this time." If it weren't for Lord Assassin's attention to law and discipline and didn't want to frame us, otherwise under heavy punishment, you wouldn't confess? ”

Liu Zhao was speechless for a while, and he didn't know what to say.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Liu Yan softened his tone and said, "You are still young, you don't know the sinister nature of this world." Over the years, because I have joined the army as a judicial officer, the officials of Mingzhou City have looked at me in front of me and ignored your behavior. This creates your arrogant character. I regret that I failed to discipline you well and let you get into a big disaster, what a shame on my ancestors and ancestors! ”

Liu Zhao was speechless, and Liu Yan continued: "When you return to your hometown, you will study behind closed doors, and you are not allowed to interact with people outside!" I don't expect you to get ahead, I just hope that you can cultivate yourself and don't cause trouble to the whole family. ”

Liu Zhao's face changed immediately, and he said with a wry smile: "Father, I won't cause trouble anymore, don't worry!" But you can't lock me up at home and never let me out, can you? ”

"I didn't let you come into contact with those gentlemen, and I didn't say that I would never let you go out. If you go and make friends with those well-educated people, I won't stop you. ”

At this time, a shout came from outside the carriage: "Everyone be on guard, prepare your weapons, there are likely bandits ahead." ”

Liu Yan immediately lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out. One of the guards ran over and said, "My lord, there is a group of people blocking the road in front of you. They were all armed and masked, most likely bandits. ”

Liu Yan got out of the carriage and looked ahead, he saw some people standing on the mountain road in front of him, lined up in a strange formation. At the front were two square shields more than a meter high, from behind which four spears protruded. Due to the shield obscure, he couldn't see how many people were behind him.

He said to the guards, "You send someone to call them and ask them what they want to do." If they want money, give them some. Spend money to buy peace. ”

The guard agreed and walked forward. At this time, the other guards gathered in front, each armed to protect the convoy.

He stepped out of the crowd, walked more than fifty meters away from the formation blocking the road in front of him, and shouted, "Who are you? We are the family members of the Mingzhou judicial army, and we want to go back to our hometown, if you don't want to be strangled by the official army, get out of the way. Our lords will reward you with some money and will not let you go in vain. ”

The people who stood in the way were unmoved, and they were silent. At this time, someone said in a loud voice: "Action, kill all those who resist!" ”

The people who were blocking the road heard the order and the formation moved. Two shields were picked up and slowly approached the convoy. The masked men behind followed the shields silently, all of them holding their weapons, and no one spoke.

The shouting guards hurried back and shouted, "They are attacking, as if they are going to kill us all!" ”

The guards were nervous and clenched their weapons. At this time, someone in the convoy shouted: "Oh no! There are bandits in the back, too! ”

Everyone looked back, and I don't know when a group of people appeared on the mountain road behind, they were dressed exactly the same as the people blocking the road in front, lined up in the same formation, and slowly approached the convoy.

Liu Yan shouted: "Divide half of the guards to the back, you must hold it!" Otherwise, no one will survive! ”

Seven guards ran to the rear of the convoy, formed a horizontal line, and raised their weapons. Several of the maids began to cry, and some of them got under the carriage. Some of the servants were trembling with fright and stood in place at a loss. A servant suddenly ran towards the bamboo forest, trying to dodge.

Before he could run into the bamboo forest, there was a "whoosh" arrow roaring, and a crossbow arrow flew out, piercing the servant's chest. He screamed and fell to the ground, convulsing.

Seeing the terrible condition of the servants, everyone hid behind the carriage. Behind the carriage in which Liu Yan and his son were riding, the curtain of a carriage was lifted, and the two women jumped down crying and got under the carriage.

Liu Zhao was so frightened that he grabbed Liu Yan's clothes, and said tremblingly: "Father, what should I do?" Who are they? ”

Liu Yan's face was grim, and he said calmly: "If I guess correctly, it is someone sent by the Cui family." ”

Liu Zhao said eagerly: "Then let's give them all the money and buy the lives of the whole family, okay?" ”

Liu Yan shook his head, "People are here to seek revenge, and they won't let us go." Kill us all, the money is theirs, what are you going to keep us for? ”

Liu Yan looked at his frightened son and sighed, "Hey~, it's a pity that you don't have a son, it seems that our family is going to die!" ”

At this time, the bandits in front had already approached the guard's defensive line, and someone shouted: "Points! ”

The two shields suddenly separated, revealing two people behind them holding thick wolf shackles. They lifted the wolf's wreath and twisted their waists with force, and the wolf's wreath swept into the faces of the guards. The faces of the three guards were swept in the face, and they dropped their weapons, covered their faces and howled.

The other five guards all dodged, and the squad was in disarray. "Thorn!" A shout was heard, and four spears stabbed out like lightning, piercing between the chests and abdomen of the four guards.

The remaining four guards were stunned, and one shouted, "Run!" The four of them immediately turned around and ran, some running towards the convoy, and one running towards the bamboo forest.

Three crossbow arrows flew out of the bamboo forest, hitting the guard's body accurately, and he fell to the ground with a bang, and died after a few convulsions.

The mandarin duck array continued to approach the convoy, and Liu Yan walked over and shouted, "Stop!" Don't kill anymore! ”

The mandarin duck array stopped, and a tall masked man walked out and asked loudly, "Liu Yan, what do you have to say?" ”

Liu Yan's face was as earthy as color, and he said in a trembling voice: "I did it alone to attack the Cui family, can you let my family go?" I'll give you my life! ”

The masked man laughed and said, "It's late! This is a blood feud, and I am here to kill your whole family. If you knew today, why bother in the first place? ”

Liu Zhao ran over, knelt on the ground, and cried and said, "Hero, I found the bandits from Tiantai Mountain to attack your Cui family, you can kill me!" But the rest of my family is innocent, you can let them go! ”

The masked man sneered a few times and said, "More than forty people died in the Cui family, aren't they innocent?" The youngest of the dead was only five years old, and they were all killed by bandits, and none of you beasts with beast faces and hearts will survive today! ”

The masked man pulled out his long knife and slashed at Liu Zhao's neck. The skull flew into the sky, blood splattered out, and the body fell to the ground.

Liu Yan shouted and rushed towards the masked man. A big foot flew in front of him and kicked on Liu Yan's chest. He fell on his back, blood spitting from his mouth. The masked man walked over and cut off Liu Yan's head with a knife.

He turned around and shouted: "Mandarin duck array, continue to kill, not a single live mouth will be left!" "The Mandarin Duck Formation was launched and began to clear the remnants of the enemy.

One person asked, "Da Lang, what about women?" Are they all killed? ”

"You're soft-handed, kid? Didn't you hear my commands? Leave none behind! ”

"Isn't that good? Those women had never done anything bad. ”

"Well, you tie them up, and I think about what to do with them."