Chapter 5: Deer Hunting (Part 2)

On the way back, Li Xu was in a trance. Xu Dayan originally had some excitement in his heart after the small test, but when he saw that his good friend was not interested, he also felt a little excited. On the contrary, Ah Silan, Su Si Fuli and the others were extremely happy, and along the way, they did not hesitate to discuss who was the first to storm the camp and who killed the first enemy warrior, as if they were afraid that their own share of credit would be omitted from the long tune compiled by the elders to record the war.

The neighboring tribes still have a full day to go, and the warriors of the coalition have already begun to arrange their armor. Ignoring the coldness of the river in spring, they jumped in in turn when they set up camp to wash away the smell of blood and sweat on their bodies. Along with the armor that had splattered the blood of the woman, the scimitar that had just killed the old man, and the horse's hooves that had once stepped on the bones of the child, they were all spotlessly cleaned. Many wealthy warriors also untied the bronze and silver bells that hung between the corners of their armor and their braids, and polished them with river sand to make them look good before they were meticulously hung back into the distance.

Li Xu and Xu Dayan watched interestingly, and they somewhat forgot some of the troubles in their hearts. As the team gradually approached the camp of the Su Sibu Division, the scene in front of them immediately brightened. The old men and women of the Su Si Division, who had already received the good news of their sons' victory, arranged the camp as beautifully as a garden, compared to the Xi camp with black smoke in Li Xu's memory, this is simply a fairyland on earth.

The grass that had just emerged was carefully sorted out by the women, and the tall stems such as artemisia and thorn dogs were plucked by hand. From a distance, the grass near the camp looked like a large emerald carpet, spreading from the clouds on the left to the sky on the right.

Whether it was the elders of the tribe or the shepherd slaves who had just been freed by their deeds, everyone was welcomed out of the camp. The mellow mare's milk wine and the strong aroma of milk tea make people sniffle, but the laughter of the girls of the tribe is more attractive than wine and tea. Under the leadership of Eru and Tao Kuodesi, hundreds of flower-like girls held wine bowls in front of the war horses returning home.

The dressed girl was the focus of attention of all the men in the audience, and Li Xu obviously heard the throats of several guards beside him twitching. The men had just experienced a killing and were in desperate need of a gentle haven to rest. And a girl who is more delicate than the other generously raised her red lips to the hero.

Eru walked at the front of the line, wearing an imitation Hanqu robe made from the yellow Shu brocade she had bought from Li Xu and Xu Dayan in late last autumn. The reshaped curved skirt combines the advantages of the hufu, and the deliberately tightened waist and the skirt that slides from top to bottom in an arc set off her feminine figure well. Under the April sunshine in the world, the girl in the yellow shirt blooms like a spring flower in the green field.

The girl came up gracefully, picked up a bowl of wine, and held it high in front of her father's horse. Lightly opened his lips and sang in a low voice: "Ejinsir of the Su Si Department led the wolves to drive out the wild dogs, the flowers on the grassland bloom for you, and the sun in the sky is bright because of you......"

"The flowers of the steppe bloom for you, and the sun in the sky shines brightly because of you...... the girls sang in unison, chanting repeatedly in Turkic. For them, it was Susisir who took the offensive in time to save the fate of the tribe. This long tune, Su Sixier can fully afford it.

A faint smile appeared on Li Xu's face. From a purely humble point of view, this is indeed a big win to remember. Although these days, he has been saddened by the killing. But deep down, he had already regarded Su Sibu as half of his home. When the rest of the family is happy, you can't sweep everyone's happiness by yourself.

"The flowers on the grassland bloom for the warriors, and the sun in the sky is bright because of the blood of the warriors!" Sussier took the bowl on his horse, turned back and shouted to all the triumphant soldiers behind him.

"Warrior Syr! Fearless Syr," shouted the soldiers. It is their tradition, and when they are happy, everyone understands what they should do to make all their tribe happy.

Sussier lifted the bowl and dipped a few drops of her fingers into the sky three times, and then a few more drops three times and sprinkled them on the earth. Finally, drink all the mare's milk wine in the bowl.

Two unknown beautiful maidens held a long white hata and held it high above their heads. Susisir arched her body as best she could on horseback, her head lowered, and the maiden lifted her feet to hang Hada around her thick neck.

"Warrior Syr! The fearless Sir" soldiers cheered again, and Susir drew his scimitar and saluted in four directions. Then he jumped off his horse and pulled up the reins and walked into the welcoming crowd. Aunt Qing and several of Su's other wives immediately gathered around and scrambled to wrap their arms around their husbands. The family hugged each other and slowly stepped on the red felt that was spread from the gate of the camp to the vicinity of the central tent.

"Wise Elder's Eto, his gaze is farther than the sea...... "Eru picked up the second bowl of wine, chanted softly and held it to the Elder Eto, Su's Sip. Eto laughed and picked up the bowl, thanking the sky, the earth, and the warriors. Then he drank wine, accepted the hada offered by the maidens, jumped off his horse, and staggered to his family.

The third bowl of wine was given to the elder Sha Ge, the minister of Shetu who went to war with the army. The girl's red lips had just opened, but Brother Sha took the war horse away gently, and said modestly: "This time, Brother Sha Li completely borrowed the prestige of Su Sibu, and Brother Sha didn't dare to drink this bowl of wine." The real heroes are not us old ......."

"The hero is a boy from the middle plains!" Participated in the last battle, and followed the team of people and horses to reap the benefits of the most clever Minister Na Miye, seeing that Brother Shetuo Sha refused to take credit, naturally he didn't want other tribal elders to line up in front of him, pointed at Xu Dayan and Li Xu, and asked loudly to the warriors of the Xia clan around him: "Who made a trap for us to hunt beasts, and who brought us the confidence to win." Who cut down the great sword of the Suotou Xi people, and who killed the leader of the enemy? ”

"Sage Xu, whose wisdom is as deep as the crescent moon lake! Attachment with more guts than a leopard! The warriors responded. Xu and Li have seen the merits with their own eyes, and no one is not convinced.

Eru's eyes instantly became brighter than the spring sun, she held the wine bowl in both hands, trembled and came to Xu Shiji, raised her head, stared at the other party's handsome face, and sang in a low voice: "The wind of wisdom blows from the south, polish the eyes of the warriors." The brave Xu Sage came from the Central Plains to help the people defend their homeland......"

Listening to this tactful singing voice and looking at the bright eyes in front of him, Xu Shiji's big eyes burst out with dazzling brilliance, he laughed and served the wine bowl, saluting the heavens, the earth and his partners according to the etiquette of the people. Black armor, red horse, silver cloak, in an instant, in the girl's eyes, all the brilliance was covered by him alone.

Xu Dayan had no family in the grassland, and Eru walked into the tribe side by side with him. Looking at his good friend's high-spirited appearance, Li Xu smiled heartily. Suddenly, a bay of clear spring water slipped through the grass and floated in front of him.

Tao Kuo was still wearing the sky-blue silk shirt that Li Xu and her wore when they first met. The warm and cold spring breeze blew her cheeks on fire, but the girl would rather endure the cold wind than show her most touching moment. Her figure is like a wild orchid, her voice is like a teacher's drum and piano, Li Xu was drunk again, and he forgot all the troubles outside his body in a drowsy state.

After completing a complete set of etiquette, Tao Kuo took Li Xu's hand and walked towards the camp. Today is a common festival for the various tribes of the nearby Xi tribe, and it has not been held in the grasslands around the Crescent Lake for nearly twenty years. Her sweetheart was able to sit in the first row to watch the ceremony, and the girl was proud of every pore on her body.

"I'm going to marry a teenage hero!" At last summer's coming-of-age ceremony, girls who turned 13 prayed to the full moon in the sky. Moonlight hears the girl's prayer and sends a heroic boy to her from thousands of miles away.

In the face of danger, he did not flinch, cut off the opponent's royal flag in the army of ten thousand horses, and cut off the old enemy under the horse in front of the two armies, such a young hero, Su Si has not appeared in a hundred years. What makes the girl even more intoxicated is that he once sacrificed his life to save him in times of crisis. Although he scolded people fiercely that day, every time the girl remembered the word "roll", she felt that it was a hundred times more beautiful than the love songs of any teenager of the same age.

The magical hunter of the Su Si tribe, the warrior of the Shetu tribe, Gosana, who cut down five opponents in the first battle, Hou Quli, who was the first to rush into the enemy's camp, and Ah Shubi, who blocked the enemy's escape path, the warriors with red faces and the intoxicated elders were supported by the girl to walk up to the white felt for the ceremony. The steppe people respect the warriors, and today's order of seating is not based on their status in the clan, but on their military exploits. The higher the seat, the greater the credit, and naturally it has become the focus of the girls' attention.

Dressed girls butterfly-like butterflies weave between seats, serving large bowls of wine to their heroes. The more you sit in the front row, the more bowls are delivered. Unlike the shyness of the Central Plains women, the Xia girls have always looked at people unscrupulously. They were smiling like flowers, and they frequently threw autumn waves to the teenagers in the front row. In contrast, in the center of the camp, few girls went to see the sacrificial heaven and earth and the dance of the heroic souls of the war dead danced with all their strength by the tribal elders wearing masks.

The celebration scene carefully prepared by the people of the sea was very grand. The story of the hero of ancient legends, the White Swan who turned into a boy to save the suffering of the people and impregnate the girl of the Xiao tribe, is told in full by the long song. In the music, the elders wearing various masks, clothes and hair with bells all over them danced and danced, as if they were using their lives to welcome the sacred moment of the revival of the Fei tribe.

Ninety-nine ** underage men with swords in their upper bodies stepped forward, they were the future warriors of the tribe. It is also an important object to come to receive the blessings of ancestors and sacrifice heroes. In the midst of the chanting, a young boy with fine skin who looked like he was eight or nine years old bravely raised his knife and took the lead in cutting his thumb.

Ninety-eight scimitars were held high, and they were waved by arms that were not much longer than scimitars and pointed to the blue sky, to the grassland, and then, at the same time, the teenagers cut their thumbs at the same time, and dripped the blood of their fingertips in a wooden basin. The bright red blood, steaming in the sun, was lifted up by the masked elders, put down, lowered, lifted, and after a few more times, enshrined in front of the portraits of their ancestors.

The boys ran down and brought with them nine horses, nineteen sturdy bulls, and ninety-nine white-haired lambs. The trumpets sounded incessantly, and in the murderous aura of the sky, the boys assisted each other, slaughtering horses, bulls, and lambs in batches, offering blood to the heavens, offering pieces of meat to their ancestors, taking out the internal organs and placing them in a wooden basin, holding them in both hands to pay tribute to the soul of the holy wolf who guarded the tribe in the underworld.

Li Xu was a little dizzy from being shocked by the grand and bloody scene, and quietly withdrew his gaze from a distance and landed on the girls who were shuttling and toasting. Suddenly, he saw Eru blushing and surrounded by a group of young girls. And several of the girls pointed and pointed, and their hot eyes swept towards Xu Dayan beside them.

"Brother Xu is in trouble now!" Li Xu hurriedly took his eyes off Eru. According to his understanding of the Xi tradition, Eru, who has a fiancé, has lost the right to choose a tent, and after today's carnival, there must be countless girls from all walks of life looking forward to getting into Xu Dayan's felt tent. And the reason why Eru was surrounded by them must be to inquire about Xu Dayan's residence.

Just as he was about to remind Xu Dayan to avenge the one arrow that he was ridiculed by this person. Someone suddenly bit the earlobe, and at the same time, a faint fragrance came from the nostrils.

"The woman in the Shedding Department is asking where your felt bag is?" The forehead is broad and desiment, like a little wolf, and he said with good-looking tiger teeth, with three points of jealousy and seven points of pride in his words.

Li Xu's face suddenly turned red to the base of his neck, and he saw a girl smiling at him in the distance. Knowing that he and Tao Kuodesi are now will definitely cause countless people to misunderstand, and want to push her away gently, but the girl's body is tighter. The nose twisted slightly, very sweet, and said very gently: "I will let Ganluo guard your felt bag tonight, they can come if they want to, see if Ganluo pounces on them first or you welcome them first!" ”

"Oh my God!" Li Xu spread his hands innocently. The girl's sour appearance looked special, and he suddenly remembered that among the spoils that Su Siccil had given him was a pair of pale red translucent tortoiseshell hairpins, which were worthy of the girl's long white and gold hair.

At this time, he completely forgot the bloody smell of this treasure, and reached out to touch the girl's hair, ready to ask her to go with him to get the hairpin. But when she saw the girl's eyes widen, she asked, "What kind of loot did you get, and did you prepare a gift for me?" ”

is so heartfelt, Li Xu is so ashamed that he doesn't dare to say the gift. After hesitating for a moment, he replied in a low voice: "A lot, it's useless for me to keep it." Later, you can pick it yourself, take whatever you want, you're welcome! ”

"Stupid and detached, won't you send it to me yourself?" The girl pursed her delicate lips and asked angrily.

"Is there a difference?" Li Xu asked blankly, wanting to hold Tao Kuo and explain it, but the girl stepped on him hard, and jumped away like a deer.

"Only women and villains are difficult to raise!" Li Xu found a balance for himself in his stomach. The pain in the toes was warm, and it made people's hearts warm, as if they were holding Ganluo in their arms again.

At noon, the celebration reached its peak. Led by Su Sisi's younger brother Su Si Zhili, more than a hundred warriors armed with sharp blades used cowhide ropes to pull the surviving dozen Xi elders to the center of the tribe.

"Get on your knees!" The warriors kicked and beat violently, knocking the once gorgeously clad elders to the ground, now covered in mud and horse dung.

"What are they going to do?" Li Xu's eyes widened involuntarily and asked in a low voice.

There was a caring pressure on his shoulder, and the drunken Xu Dayan put his right arm on his shoulder, intentionally or unintentionally.

At the sound of the desolate horn, the warriors jumped around the dejected Xi elders and played songs. After a few battle songs, Su Si picked up a scimitar and slowly walked in front of the elders. Those elders immediately shrank up, and everyone's body tried their best to deviate from the distance, lest they be pulled out by Su Si and the first one.

Su Si looked around and grabbed Wu Yile's collar. The crowd immediately thundered with joy, and the warriors of the Zhuqi Alliance were all familiar with Uyile. For more than four months, Su Sixier and Xu Dayan have teamed up to tease this unlucky old man countless times, leaving everyone with enough laughing stock each time.

"Elder Wuyile, are you willing to wash away the sins of your clan with your own blood?" Amid the cheers, Su Sili put the scimitar on Wu Yile's neck and questioned loudly.

"I, I, spare ......," Uyle wanted to beg for mercy, but the dignity of the elders did not allow him to do so. Muttering and hesitating repeatedly, the old man's spirit finally collapsed, crying and pleading: "Spare your life, for the sake of the Immortal Heaven, spare your life, the masters of the Su Si Tribe." I, the Xi elder Wu Yile, who has lived on the banks of the Suotou River for generations, am willing to be a cow and a horse for the rest of my life to repay you for not killing! ”

"Coax!" The surrounding tribes burst into laughter again. Wu Yile's embarrassed appearance made them very happy. Since last fall, Xi Bu, who had come from afar and a large number of people, was like a dark cloud pressing down on the heads of several nearby Xi Bu. Today, the clouds have finally lifted.

"I will not forgive you, only ask if you are willing to atone for the sins of your people with your own blood!" Su Si shook his head and sneered.

There was a faint cry in the distance, and the captured Xi people heard the singing and laughter here, and deduced what the cruel Su Sibu was going to do. This is the rule of the steppe, and every victorious tribe treats the conquered in this way.

Li Xu suddenly had an urge to stand up, kill the prisoner, and torture and kill. This kind of behavior is beyond all the atrocities recorded in the classics he has read, and it is beyond the ability of a Central Plains teenager to bear. What he couldn't tolerate even more was that the flower-like girls were also clapping their hands, as if the death of others could bring them the greatest happiness.

The pressure on his shoulders became heavier and heavier, and Xu Dayan pressed Li Xu hard to prevent him from really jumping up. If he suddenly goes berserk at this time, I'm afraid that all his exploits will not be able to calm the anger of the people.

"This is the grassland, everything is according to the rules of the grassland!" Xu Dayan was in Li Xu's ear, and he tried his best to say in a calm tone. "The number of captives has already exceeded the total population of the Su Si Tribe, and if you don't kill the prestigious elders, you will shed more blood in the future!"

Li Xu no longer struggled, and stared straight at the center of the field. The cheers, shouts, and laughter in my ears seemed to be all silent in an instant. In the silent red world, he saw Su Si Fuli raise his knife and cut the veins of the old man Wu Yile like a chicken. Then, let the red blood squirt into a red wooden barrel.

Then, the blue-faced, fanged, red-haired Su Si walked over to the next elder and pressed the scimitar to his neck.

"Will you atone for your sins?" The red world was suddenly no longer silent, and Li Xu heard Su Si's voice thundering in his ears.

"I'm going to drink!" He turned his head hard and shouted to Tao Kuo in the distance. Tao Kuo, who was so frightened that he was hiding his face with his hands, heard Li Xu's shout in Chinese, and hurriedly ran over with his head sideways and handed the other party a bulging leather bag.

Li Xu untied the rope that tied the leather bag, and the mouth of the bag was to his throat, pouring the bag full of wine into his stomach. Whether it's the killing around or the carnival, it has nothing to do with him. At that moment, he just wanted to get drunk and just want to go home.

"After the blood of the elders is drained, the feud between the two clans is over, and the captives can become herdsmen!" During the binge drinking, Li Xu heard a voice explain to himself, as if it was from Eru, as if it was from Aunt Qing, and as if it was from Tao Kuo. He didn't want to care anymore, just poured the whole bag down his throat.

"The status of a shepherd slave is higher than that of a slave!" Someone whispered. It seemed to be Xu Dayan's voice, and his voice was also trembling. Did he regret it? Li Xu thought sadly, reached out and wiped his wet face, hugged the wine bag and fell asleep.

People who want to get drunk tend to wake up earlier than anyone else. In the middle of the night, Li Xu felt the heat in the felt tent. He pressed his temple, which hurt like a knife, and scrambled to his feet.

"Attached, are you awake?" A voice with joy and a little fear asked.

Li Xu turned around and saw Tao Kuo wearing a white curly robe, lying quietly beside him. With a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, his hands nervously grasped the blanket under him.

"Boom!" Li Xu felt that countless stars appeared above his head, big and bright. His throat was even drier, and his body trembled disobediently.

This is a dream, Li Xu told himself over and over again. His gaze swept uncontrollably to the girl beside him.

It is undeniable that the girl is indescribably beautiful. Li Xu didn't want to deny it. Ever since he learned about the customs of the Xi tribe, he regretted that he had escaped from the tent that day. But when the long-awaited opportunity came to him again, Li Xu suddenly found that he didn't know what to do?

In a daze, he remembered that he had lowered his head and carefully examined the girl's face by the faint light of the coal-fire. It was a budding face, like a precocious lotus flower, waiting for him to pick it. But he couldn't bear to touch it, he just wanted to gently caress this face, and he was all satisfied with it all at once, just at once.

The girl's eyes were closed, and her long eyelashes trembled. She could clearly feel Li Xu's heavy breathing and smell the strong smell of wine on the other party's body. She was looking forward to what Li Xu would do to her, but she was so scared in her heart that she was going to die. The whole body stiffened, and there seemed to be countless small drums beating in the heart.

Li Xu's hand gently fell on the girl's face, stroked her eyes, eyelashes, and eyebrows, and slid up her long hair. The girl nervously anticipated, expected, anticipated and feared the arrival of that legendary sacred moment, and after waiting for a long time, she heard a thunderous snoring.

The girl secretly opened her eyes and saw Li Xu drooling, his head on his shoulder and falling asleep. His hand was still on the tip of his hair, and his smiling face was triumphant in his sleep, as if he had just eaten a peach hidden by an adult.

In his sleep, the fifteen-year-old boy was satisfied.