Chapter 5: Deer Hunting (Yachi)

Unexpectedly, the elm head in front of him suddenly opened, and Tao Kuo's detached face was as ashamed as the sunset on the horizon in an instant. The eyes are sparkling, indescribable tenderness and sweetness. Just as they were looking at each other, they suddenly heard someone shouting: "That boy, if you please your mother-in-law, you can't kill my family's eagle as a gift!" ”

Li Xu felt a sudden shock in his heart, and suddenly turned around. I saw more than a dozen strange strong men wearing scarlet cloaks forming a half-fan shape, and they all cut off the way between themselves and Tao Kuo. has been a god stick for more than half a year, and he can be regarded as a person who has experienced the battle array. As soon as you look at the formation, you know that the strong men are not good. Immediately threw the black eagle corpse on the horse's back, lifted the reins of the horse with his left hand, covered Tao Kuo behind him, turned his wrist with his right hand, and put it tightly on the handle of the scimitar.

"What evidence is there for your eagle owl?" Tao Kuo didn't believe that anyone was bold enough to dare to do something to himself near Su Xu's department, poked out half his head from behind Li Xu, and asked angrily.

"Blind, look at the ankle ring!"

"Do wild eagles have ankle bracelets?" The strong men shouted and cursed one after another. One by one, they were eager to try, and they wanted to cut Li Xu and Tao Kuo under the horse at any time.

Li Xu quickly turned his head sideways on the horseback, and the corner of his eye swept to the golden ring on the carved foot. It is made of pure gold ankle ring, the pattern is delicate and tight, between the layers of gold wire patterns, there are faintly engraved a few lines of text.

This is a big trouble, the flat-haired beast must be the scarlet cloak's dependents, no wonder it just stole the lamb of the Aslan family but is not in a hurry to fly high. Li Xu said secretly in his heart, thinking about how to open his mouth to apologize to the other party, and heard Tao Kuo Desi behind him retort loudly: "How about your home-raised eagle?" If you hadn't allowed the black eagle to rob my lamb, how could you have shot it with an arrow! If you were rude in the first place, how can you blame us for not being able to see whether it is domesticated or wild? ”

Strong men in scarlet cloaks are used to roaming the grasslands, and their own black eagles have robbed other people's lambs, and they have always only used it for play. The so-called scolding and chasing was originally pretending. I never thought that there was a flurry like Li Xu in this remote place, and he shot the black eagle down with an arrow without asking about it.

was exposed by Tao Kuo's words, and they were immediately annoyed and angry. At that moment, someone shouted loudly: "What do you have to say to these savages, just cut it down and pay for the life of the black eagle!" After speaking, the horse's head jumped forward and rushed straight towards Li Xu.

Only after rushing out three or five steps, a cold arrow suddenly flew from the oblique down, from the horse's eye to the horse's brain. The war horse was so angry that he fell to the ground with a "plop", threw the red cloak on the horse's back more than three feet forward, knocked down several feet of weeds, and twitched, unable to move again. The other brawny men in red cloaks were taken aback and took the reins with them. Both sides looked sideways at the same time, only to see a warrior of the Xia tribe with a dozen shepherds, running violently.

"Ah Silan, why did you chase after you!" Holding his scimitar aloft, he shouted at the samurai who came to help.

"Padel was shocked by their brute, I was busy taking care of her just now!" Ah Silan looked at the red cloaks hatefully and put another feather arrow on the bow arm. More than a dozen shepherds, armed with scimitars and lassos, followed him menacingly, waiting for Ah Si Lan Yu's arrows to leave the string, and they were about to rush up and tear each other to pieces.

"Where did the wild man come from, he dared to attack the Turkic wolf rider!" The leader in the red cloak angrily reported to his house, and although the expression on his face was fierce, the mount unconsciously moved a few steps back. They have already seen the power of Ah Silan's arrow, and at this moment, there are many people on the other side, but there are few people on their own, and no one wants to lose their lives in a daze.

"Where did the brute come from, he actually dared to spread wild in the pasture of the Su Si Department!" Ah Si blue iron blue face, scolded loudly. Just now, the black eagle swooped down from mid-air, just past the feet of his wife, Padel. Pa Dai, who was about to give birth, was taken aback, and immediately her stomach hurt so much that she couldn't stand up. He was so busy taking care of his wife that he couldn't bend his bow to chase after the black eagle for revenge. Now that Li Xu is in trouble because of the eagle shooting, even if the owner of the eagle is the king of heaven, he has to stand up and carry it with his friends.

Both sides speak Turkic, with few words and a very stiff tone. Seeing that the conflict was about to break out, there was a sudden sound of fierce horses' hooves in the distance, and someone shouted loudly while galloping his horse: "Stop me, if you have anything to say, say it slowly!" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the horse's head was already closing behind the scarlet cloak. More than a dozen scarlet-cloaked men immediately jumped off their horses, made way for a passage, and respectfully leaned over and responded: "Yes, my subordinates respectfully obey Lord Yu's orders!" ”

"But Yu?" Li Xu and Ah Silan looked at each other in confusion. From the respectful attitude of the red cloaks, they guessed that the identity of the visitor was not low. However, the Su Sibu did not have much contact with the Turks, and they did not know whether it was an official name or a personal name.

"Why do you conflict with others, have you forgotten my advice?" In an instant, the visitor had rushed into the crowd. Farther away, more than forty horsemen chased after them.

"Woo-woo-woo-" The shepherd of the Susi tribe, who was in charge of the vigilance, sounded the horn in the distance, and a procession of more than fifty people approached, and the tribe must be prepared accordingly, regardless of whether the intention is good or evil.

The sound of horns one after another surprised the visitors, looked around, looked at Li Xu and A Silan's outfits, bowed down, and asked, "Is it the descendants of the white swan standing on horseback in front of me?" Ashina Choyu was ordered by the Great Khan to come to greet the descendants of the White Swan! ”

"Su Si Asilan, Attached, Su Si Tao Kuo Desi, I have seen Lord Qiyu!" Ah Silan put away the horned bow, pressed her hand on her shoulder, and leaned over to return the salute. The entire Xia tribe is a vassal of the Turks, although it is not clear the identity of the person who came, the resounding name of the Ashina family, but no one on the grassland does not know.

It was the surname of the Turkic royal family, which means the colostrum of the she-wolf and the elder of the wolves. For hundreds of years, generations on the prairie have honored this surname.

"It turned out to be a good brother of the Su Si Department, the head of the swan!" Ashina clapped his hands and laughed, "My subordinates lack education and collide with their own brothers, please don't be surprised by Brother Aslan!" ”

There is a way to reach out and not hit the smiling person, and the other party is still a descendant of the Turkic royal family who came to the Xia tribe with goodwill? Ah Silan smiled helplessly and replied, "They frightened my wife by releasing the carving, I have already seen it, and they didn't cause any big trouble!" ”

"You brutes, why did I tell you to come before I left!" Hearing Ah Silan's reply, Qi Yu immediately picked up the horsewhip and whipped it towards the leader of the red cloak.

The leader of the red cloak, who was still menacing, immediately became half a cut shorter, and he slammed several whips in succession before he had the courage to explain: "Lord Hui, he, they, he shot your black eagle!" ”

"Huh?!" Ashina Qiyu exclaimed in surprise and looked back at Ah Silan and Li Xu. Behind Li Xu's horse, he saw a pair of low-hanging wings. It was his precious wings, and he remembered every feather.

The eagle is the male of the sky, nesting on the cliff. If you want to raise an eagle, you have to pull it out of the nest when it is just hatching. On the way to take the carving, you have to pay attention to the stone wall under your feet, and you have to beware of the female eagle and the male eagle attacking from mid-air, and often have to pay more than a dozen lives in exchange for a young chick. And the young eagle has a stubborn temper, does not eat fresh flesh and blood, and dies when abused, and I don't know how much effort it will take to raise it safely. Coupled with the manpower and material resources it takes to train it to reconnoiter the enemy's movements and obey the orders of its master, a well-trained black eagle is worth far more than the same weight of gold. Therefore, seeing that the black eagle stole someone else's lamb, the Turkic wolf riders would never seriously seek justice for the lamb owner, and secretly expected to use this behavior to maintain the eagle's wildness.

"It stole the sheep of the Aslan family, and scared the pregnant Paddy, I thought it was a wild thing, so I shot it down with an arrow!" Li Xu picked up the body of the black eagle from behind, put it on the ground, and apologized to Ashina Qiyu in a curt.

From the other party's temperament and dress, he deduced that the status of the person in the Ashina family is not low. The more than forty guards brought by the other party had slowly approached, and a long cavalry formation was lined up not far away. If there is a conflict between the two sides before the Sil patriarch and the garrison warriors arrive, the shepherds of the Susi tribe will definitely suffer a great loss.

"It causes trouble first, otherwise it won't fight back!" Tao Kuo walked out from behind Li Xu and stood side by side with him. The horses of the visitors were much taller than the others' mounts, and the distance of a few hundred paces was instantaneous. If this person wants to fight with Attachment because of the death of the sad black eagle, Attachment will suffer a big loss in terms of mounts. The little girl doesn't care about any Turkic family, she only thinks about how to defend against strong enemies side by side with her sweetheart.

"You shot it down with just one arrow?" After a long pause, Ashina Qiyu raised his head and asked with a sigh. This trip has an important mission, and he naturally won't hurt his peace because of a black eagle and Su Sibu. But the eagle, who had been trained to dodge bows and arrows, was shot by an arrow from a nameless boy with black hair and black eyes who looked very much like a Han Chinese, and this result was difficult for him to accept in any way.

Li Xu nodded, not knowing why the other party asked. The flat-haired beast flew so low at that time, not only himself, but also Aslan, Tao Kuodesi, and even a few bow-wielding servants of the Asilan family, could have killed it with one arrow.

"This kid caught up from the side, and he couldn't help but say that it was an arrow!" The red cloak leader who was drawn by Qi Yu with a blue nose and swollen face pointed at Li Xu and framed him with bad intentions.

Ashina's eyebrows jumped suddenly, and he glanced back at the leader and ordered him to shut up. He took a few steps forward with the reins of the horse, and asked Li Xu with a pleasant face: "What kind of bow do you use, can you lend it to me?" ”

"Absolutely!" Li Xu generously untied the bow bag from behind the saddle and handed it over with both hands. He could see the grief and indignation on Ashina Choyu's face at the moment he heard the news of the black eagle's death, and he could still maintain politeness in such an angry situation, and his self-cultivation skills were really admirable. According to Xu Dayan, this kind of person who can keep a cool head at all times had better not be an enemy of him, otherwise, he must be careful to deal with it.

Ashina Choyu looked at the bow arm repeatedly, adjusted the bowstring, and pulled a few half-full times in succession, and finally understood the reason why the black eagle was killed today. The wind brought by the eagle eagle with its wings open and the length of a horse's back flapping its wings was extremely strong, and the feathered arrows shot by the ordinary herdsman's bow were swung by the wind, and they were already crooked, even if they were lucky enough to hit the eagle's body, the remaining strength could not penetrate the thick feathers. And this one in his hand is a thing made in the heyday of the Great Sui, and it cannot exert its full power unless it is a person with great strength. Once you can shoot with a full bow, the feather arrow is as fast as lightning. There were only seven such bows in the entire Turkic royal court. One of them was damaged when it was taken to the craftsman to make a sample replica, and no one has been able to repair it so far.

Thinking of this, Ashina still bowed into his pocket, and asked tentatively: "This little brother, can you transfer this bow?" ”

In a word, all the people present were so shocked that they all pressed their hands on the hilt of the knife. For the men of the steppe, the bow on the shoulder, the knife in the hand, and the mount under the crotch all represent their dignity. Friends can give weapons and horses as gifts, and if a stranger asks for a weapon or mount, it is equivalent to telling the other party that he wants to duel him.

"Your mount is very handsome, I wonder if you can sell it to me?" Li Xuqing had a knife in his hand and asked indifferently.

Ashina Choyu's mount snorted a few times, and its front hooves were raised high. As a good horse in battle, it instinctively felt the pressure coming from the scimitar on the opposite side. It was the cold from the bottom of the ice lake, and under the pressure of the young man's anger, Peng Pai was surging like a storm.

"Huh?" Ashina was stunned for a moment, and immediately realized that it was his momentary gaffe that caused the misunderstanding between the two parties. Led the mount to retreat a few steps, avoiding Li Xu's edge, and explained with a smile: "Little brother, don't worry, I just felt itchy for a while, and asked casually, not intentionally provocative." What are you doing, don't give me a back down! ”

The second half of the sentence was issued to the guards around him and the cavalry not far away, and after drinking, the coercion was self-defeating. The red cloaks that rushed forward to protect the Lord and the Turkic wolf riders on the periphery stopped at the same time, their movements so neat that they seemed to be suddenly pulled by the same invisible arm.

This is a realm that can only be achieved by a soldier of a hundred battles, and although the shepherds of the Su Si tribe have undergone strict training by Xu Dayan and the Patriarch of Xi'er, they are far from being able to achieve this level. Li Xu looked back at the faces of the shepherds, and knew that he had fallen behind in a moment just now. Shaking his head, he deliberately replied without knowing what to do: "You see my bow itching, and I see your horse itching and scratching, why don't you exchange my bow for your horse?" ”

"Coax!" A burst of laughter erupted from the Turkic wolf rider. They had never seen such a boy who didn't know the height of the sky, and he actually took the initiative to ask Lord Qiyu for a bow for a horse. In the entire Turkic royal court, there are no more than five people who can suppress Qiyu in terms of riding and shooting. And although the black-haired boy in front of him shot the eagle first, the beard on his face was still soft, and he was clearly a newborn calf, and he didn't know how sharp the tiger's teeth were.

"Do you know where this horse came from?" The young man who didn't meet the other side dared to force himself to take a step, but Ashina couldn't help but be a little angry, and asked loudly while handing the bow back to Li Xu.

Li Xu shook his head with a smile, as long as he squeezed out of Qiyu, he would be considered to have increased his prestige. As for what kind of good breed the horse under the other party's crotch is, to be honest, he didn't see it at all, and he didn't care too much.

"This is the Turkic royal family from the hands of the Persian royal family thousands of miles away with a thousand slaves in exchange for the good breed and the Khitan tribute to the Tosu ministers and wild horses, a thousand miles a day, no one is allowed to ride unless there is the blood of the Ashina royal family!" But Yu sneered and said with a bit of arrogance.

"Boy, I heard you!" The red cloaks shouted loudly, their voices full of disdain.

"Do you know the origin of my bow?" Li Xu was provoked by the other party's contemptuous eyes, and held up the riding bow that Yu returned and asked rhetorically.

"Tell me about it!" Ashina Keyu shrank his shoulders back, making a deferential appearance. The antics caused the Turks behind him to burst into laughter.

"This is the bow that the shopkeeper of the Shanggu Inn in the Great Sui spent a meal in exchange for a bow, adjusted by the hand of Li Xu, a hawker in the Great Sui, who usually shoots rabbits and beats birds, which is not worth a few dollars, but this is the dignity of a man, and it is not easy to be a daughter!" Li Xu smiled indifferently, neither humble nor arrogant.

The first half of his sentence was extremely witty, and even Ah Silan and the others couldn't help but smile. In the second half of the sentence, it was very solemn, especially the sentence that it was not easy, it was simply loud, and for a while, all the royal families and good breeds were compared.

The Turkic royal family has dignity, and so do the Great Sui peddlers. In the world of immortality, these two dignitys are no differentiated.

Ashina couldn't laugh anymore, and looked up and down again at the young man in front of him who was dressed in a man's clothes and had his hair scattered, but he claimed to be a Great Sui peddler. This man was eight feet tall, with broad shoulders and a broad back, and he was considered a strong man among the Turks. Although he is young, his speech and demeanor are full of masculinity. A pair of eyes are clear and deep, no matter who they meet, they will never flinch.

This is no ordinary peddler! Ashina said secretly in his heart. Suddenly remembering a legendary character, he smiled and replied, "It's not a shame to exchange your bow for my horse." It's just a pity to separate the good bow and BMW, why don't we two gamble, take the bow horse if you win, and don't complain about the loss of the bow, how about it? ”

"Of course, what do you say you bet?" Li Xu asked loudly. For the sake of the dignity of the Su Si Ministry, he must not back down at this time. Besides, there is still Tao Kuo and decelation on the side, and the man's shoulders should be stronger.

"Horse racing!" But Yu smiled and shook his head, "Your mount suffers, they must laugh at me for bullying you." ”

"Shoot!" Li Xu shook his head as he learned from Qi Yu, "Your bow is not good, we Su Si men can't bully distant guests!" ”

"You're funny!" But Yu has a high status in the family, but several uncles and brothers are competitors, and the relationship is extremely stiff. And the guards and playmates around him, but no one dared to talk to him like this. At first glance, he met someone who didn't know the depth, but it made him feel a little fun.

At this point, he was not in a hurry. He jumped off his horse, handed the reins to Ah Silan's hand, and said, "Please bear witness to this brother, if I lose in a while, you can give him the horse!" ”

Seeing that the other party was free and easy, Li Xu also jumped off the horse, took a few steps forward, handed the bow to the guards of Qiyu, and told with a smile: "If I lose, this bow will belong to your master." ”

But Yu looked at Li Xu again, and strengthened the inference in his heart. This person is the legendary holy wolf guard who broke into the enemy camp in the middle of the night and bit to death more than 50 Xi warriors. This time, I came to appease Su Sibu, and it was the best choice to uncover the misunderstanding caused by the Condor Shooting through a gambling game. Thinking of this, he glanced at the guards with extremely subtle movements.

The guard bowed to receive the order, supported the bow in both hands, and walked to Aslan's side and stood side by side with him. At this time, the Condor Shooting turmoil has been completely dissolved by the upcoming gambling match, and although there is still a gap between the two sides, there is not much hostility anymore.

The Turkic wolf riders and the herdsmen of the Su Si tribe dismounted one after another and formed a large circle around Li Xu and Qiyu. The grassland gambling tournament is nothing more than horseback riding, archery, and fighting (including wrestling). From childhood to adulthood, the shepherds played like this, no matter whether they won or lost, everyone could not be angry or cheating, otherwise they would be looked down upon by everyone.

"Than what?" Li Xu and Qi Yu asked at the same time. After jumping off the horse, the two found that they were about the same height. It's just that Qi Yu is in his early thirties, while Li Xu looks like he is only fifteen or sixteen years old.

A 30-year-old strong man beats a 15-year-old boy, and it is not glorious to win. Although Yu has a rebellious temper, he is also a downright man. After thinking about it, he said, "You say, pick what you are best at!" ”

"What I'm best at is memorizing ancient poems!" Li Xu shrugged his shoulders and made a harmless joke. "The people from the Ashina family must be far stronger in poetry. Today you have come from afar, Kurama Lawton, we might as well be more elegant! ”

"You kid, how can I compare with you to write poetry!" But Yu was so angry that he couldn't smile bitterly, and said angrily.

"That's better than drinking, do you dare?" Li Xu was waiting for the other party's words, and asked loudly.

Ashina was stunned again, he didn't expect a Han person to dare to compare the amount of wine with himself. The Turkic people believed that wine produced blood, and the more warriors they were, the greater the amount of wine. Looking at the other party's innocent smile, he replied with a smile: "Than wine, see who drinks more." If you lose for a while, don't cry! ”

"If you're drunk for a while, don't pretend to be confused!" Li Xu replied loudly.

The onlookers of wolf riders and shepherds applauded, and they all walked to their horses and untied the bags of mare's milk wine. Mare's milk wine is a must-have for all foreign peoples, both as wine to quench fatigue and thirst, and almost every shepherd who travels will carry a few bags with him. After a while, the bags containing the wine were piled up in front of Qiyu and Li Xu, and the two looked at each other with their eyes, untied the leather rope, and drank at each other.

"One, two, good!" The wolf riders and the shepherds cheered loudly. The two men in the competition drank a lot of alcohol, but Yu raised his pockets high and poured them into his throat. Li Xu hung his head and sucked, and the speed of drinking was naturally not slow. In the blink of an eye, Qi Yu emptied four leather bags, looked down at Li Xu, and found that the other party had two pairs of leather bags under his feet, and he was untying the leather rope of the fifth pocket in his hand.

"Oh no, this kid is a wine basket!" But Yu was taken aback, and secretly screamed in his heart. The concentration of mare's milk wine is much higher than that of Central Plains rice wine, so the Han people who come and go can basically put over two bags of wine, and few can drink up the third bag. The young man on the opposite side had four bags on his stomach, but his face did not change at all. There was warmth in his eyes, but he drank a little bit of eagerness like meeting an old friend.

But Yu untied the fifth bag of leather rope and poured it into the sky. The action of drinking was too fast, and 30% of the bag spilled on the chest. This is already a cheating, but Li Xu turned a blind eye. Untie the sixth bag of mare's milk and suck it into your mouth without haste.

In the entire upper valley, Li Xu's uncle Zhang Baosheng is the only one who can make rice wine. Although the mare's milk wine is strong, it is far from the level of fine brewing in an inn. Moreover, his uncle Zhang Baosheng once "taught" the way of drinking, and the more evenly you drink, the less likely you are to get drunk. On the contrary, the kind of person who poured wildly at first, and later drank and sprinkled, seems to be shrewd, but in fact he has not fought, and his heart has already lost.

Ashina carried the sixth bag in his hand, but saw Li Xu start to untie the seventh leather bag. He knew that he was destined to accompany the black eagle and lose his horse today, so he stood up, clapped his hands and said, "Forget it, the war horse belongs to you." It's called Black Wind, I hope you will gallop in the future, don't be wronged by its blood! ”

"Thank you, Brother Qiyu!" Li Xu put down the wine bag and stood up with the wine rumbling in his abdomen. After taking a few steps forward, he picked up his bow bag from the guard and held it to Qi Yu with both hands. "My bow is not for sale, but I can give it to a friend!"

But Yu took the bow in his hand, overjoyed, and reluctantly touched and touched, but finally returned the bow to Li Xu's hand, and said: "Since, since I lost, I can't be broken, and I have the rules." Your Subu man is a man, and I'm a Turkic man, that is, is it a child? ”

"What a Turkic man, worthy of the bloodline of the Ashina family!" Outside the crowd, someone shouted praise.

Li Xu took the bow in his hand and turned his head to look back. I saw Su Si attached to more than 100 shepherds, and I don't know when he was already standing behind everyone. Judging from the appreciative smiles on the faces of the herdsmen, it was obvious that everyone had seen the scene of their gambling and drinking with Ashina Chayu just now.