It was dark, and Zhu Qiaozhen and a few women returned to Gu's house crying. At this time, the people who helped and knew the guest table were having dinner, and when they heard that Gu Xinyi, Zhou Yizhi, Cao Ying and the two women were snatched away, they immediately exploded. Some shouted to report to the official, and some suggested that they should quickly ask someone to talk to the old man.

Ji Tang and the cousin beckoned everyone not to mess up, and then called Zhang Mingyuan and Huang Zhenkun to the house. After discussing it, several people thought that the most likely person who kidnapped them was Lao Jiao. There are four or five waves of bandits around Liaocheng, and the most powerful is Zhao Zhenhuan of Tangyi, and he said that he has not engaged in underworld business since he changed his name to the security group. Because the gang all covered their faces and had pistols, the gendarmerie and the puppet army brigade could not be ruled out. So, Ji Tang, Zhang Mingyuan, and Huang Zhenkun drove to find Dong Hua first, and then looked for Liu Tonghai together, and they were all willing to help.

Due to the last arrest of Cao Ying, they rushed to the North Garden Gendarmerie first. At this time, Shizuichi Watanabe, Hirokawa Kimura, and Ma Liang had just eaten dinner and let them into the room to talk. Shizuichi Watanabe was shocked after hearing Ji Tang's words, and Kimura Hirokawa also said that he had never heard of such a thing since he came to Liaocheng. Zhang Mingyuan didn't look like they were lying, and it was said that they really didn't have this need, so he quit and looked elsewhere. Lin Pu was not at the police station or in the puppet army brigade, and several people drove straight to Tangyi. Halfway to the road, they met Yu Banshan and Zhao Zhenhuan, who claimed to have heard about the horse bandits robbing people, and were about to enter the city to ask Dong Hua about the situation, and also said that their security team was willing to contribute.

In this way, the clue was broken, and several people had to go back to the city in a huff. met the drunken Lin Pu on Louxi Street, and after hearing the drunken words, he wanted to go back to the brigade headquarters to mobilize people, and immediately went out of the city to suppress the bandits and save Zhou Yizhi and them. After being reprimanded by Liu Tonghai, he went home in disgrace. When a few people saw that it was already midnight, it was unrealistic to go around to find other bandit dens, so they had to go back to rest.

Besides, Zhou Yizhi was bumpy on horseback for a while, and he felt that his body was about to fall apart. The three women cried and scolded at first, but then they were all unable to shout. By the time they had stopped completely, someone had removed their blindfolded black cloth, and it was already in a dark and damp cellar. The men left one after another, and no one came for a long time, neither inquiring nor taking care of the meal. Except for the strong musty smell of rotten cabbage, there is only a piece of black left. Zhou Yizhi knew that Gu Xinyi would definitely be afraid, so he comforted her that she would be fine, and Zhang Mingyuan knew that they would definitely find a way to rescue them if something happened.

After about two hours, there was a light at the mouth of the cellar, and then someone came down the ladder with a lantern (1) and hung it on a nail in the wall. Eight more people followed, five of whom covered their faces with black cloths and only showed their eyes. As soon as the burly man saw five people sitting side by side, he pointed at the other and got angry: "Did you take the wrong fucking medicine?" Lao Tzu asked you to tie up a crazy woman and a person surnamed Cao, why did you make so much? It's a small deal, isn't it? ”

"Tuan-big brother, don't be angry, I see that the brothers have nowhere to play, so I will take the two girls to relieve everyone's boredom." The man staggered a few steps and hurriedly explained, but it was actually a lame leg, and took a few steps back and pointed at Zhou Yizhi, "This bastard has always been unrelenting, so we- or I'll just do him first." As he spoke, he took out a pistol from behind him, causing the three women to cry and move to the corner.

"You make a*! The ******burly man scolded and was about to stretch out his hand to hit the lame one.

"Stop arguing! Can we get down to business first? The other man, with his hair combed and stuck to his head, took a few steps and snatched the lame man's gun and stuffed it back into his waist, "You too, you'll make a mess!" ”

Zhou Yizhi next to him suddenly felt that these people had all seen it, although they all spoke Shandong's dialect, and their voices were deliberately pinched, but they always seemed to have heard it somewhere.

"Hehe, that's it, everyone is trying to make money, why bother to be angry? Just pull those two girls outside first, and wait for things to be done, who loves it! The other little man said with a dry smile.

"***** (expletive), do you all want to do it? Lao Tzu is the head here! "The burly man had a temper that he couldn't control.

"Yo? Take the shelf, huh? Do you still have to call you King Sheng (2) Master? Xiao Cuntou tilted his head to look at the burly man. Suddenly, an arrow stepped over, raised his hand and gave him a big mouth, and before he could react, he kicked the man to the ground, stepped over and stepped on his chest, raised his fist and said fiercely: "Or—I'll set you up a tablet?" Three sticks of incense a day? ”

"No, no, no, no. Big brother, I know it's wrong, big brother. You spare me, and I will never show it again! The burly man lost the momentum he had just now, and begged for mercy again and again like a child who had defeated the battle.

"Yes, big brother, don't be like the sixth brother, let's get the things in our hands first." The little man standing on the side hurriedly went over to persuade the small one.

"Hey! What are you doing here? It's also presumptuous! The man with his hair on his head pointed at the small head and reprimanded, "Let go!" What a thing that doesn't know the depths! ”

"Get the out of the way! This is a matter for our brothers. The one on the ground didn't appreciate his affection at all, and after finishing the fight, he changed back to a friendly attitude and begged for mercy, "Big brother, spare me this time, I will never show off in front of you again." ”

"So it's you?" Cao Ying heard that the little man was Yu Banshan's voice, and she understood that they were not just robbing money. said angrily, "Xu Yun, I know it's you, you let Mr. Zhou and Miss Gu Jia go, and you want to kill me or scrape me." ”

"Yo he——! It's still the ear spirit of the senior brother! The little man said and pulled down the black cloth on his face, and sure enough, it was Yu Banshan. threw the black cloth to the ground hard, and slammed it towards Cao Ying's chest. Gritted his teeth and said, "You can't run away if you die, whether it's a thousand cuts depends on whether you are worthy of cooperation!" As for these two people-" Yu Banshan turned to look at Xiao Cuntou, "Big brother, what do you say?" ”

"Let's be honest, since you have recognized Lao Jiu, it is impossible to release him." Xiao Cuntou simply tore off the black cloth, revealing a fierce expression, half of his face was a black scar, it turned out to be Black Five. As he spoke, he took his foot away from the man, "You can choose whether you want to die a happy death or be trampled to death." As for these girls, you should know that most of Zhao Zhenhuan's more than 400 people have not begged for wives. ”

"Black Friday, how do you speak? No matter what Xinyi said, she has also been my wife, you can't be big or small! The hair was pressed against his head and he shouted, and he forgot to grasp the hurried voice.

This next week, Zhou Yizhi can hear his voice, and then look at those triangular eyes, it is not Ji Tang who else. The fire immediately came up: "Ji Tang! I treat you as a close friend, how can you commit kidnapping with these thieves? ”

"Hey, shut up, okay? I'm not here to get you here today! Hei Wu glared at Zhou Yizhi fiercely, and then turned his head to look at Ji Tang, "Don't put your young master's score with Lao Tzu at every turn, I can let you live until now to see the brocade box!" ”

"What are you doing here? We are called master servants, but in fact, we can treat you as brothers! Ji Tang also felt that something was wrong, and his tone was not as tough as just now.

"Brother? Hahahaha! Lao Tzu is a teenager and you are a brother? Do you know that Lao Tzu and your maternal uncle have a common enmity? If it weren't for the fact that you helped Lao Tzu heal his injuries back then, I would have killed your Ji family and left no chickens and dogs! ”

"What are you talking about? My uncle? Han Fuguang? ”

"Okay, a reminder, where did we meet? Lao Tzu's surname is Liu! ”

"It seems to be Sendai Mountain hugging a calf, right? Liu: You, you, are you Liu Heizi? ”

"Hahahaha...... That's right! You stay aside obediently, otherwise I will cut you first! Hei Wu said that he had already taken out a sharp dagger from his arms, and walked towards Cao Ying with a cruel smile, "Say, how did you open that box?" ”

"I don't know what box you're talking about!" Cao Ying is not afraid if he knows who they are, he knows that he will die today. Perhaps he would have caused them to suffer by not saying anything, so that several others would have been prevented from suffering. If Zhang Mingyuan's rescue was timely, it was not impossible to save the lives of Zhou Yizhi and Gu Xinyi.

"Hey! Is it garlic? Ji Tang! Old Nine! Black Friday turned his head and glanced at Ji Tang and Yu Banshan. Yu Banshan quickly took out a small black cloth bag from his trouser pocket and stretched out his hand to Ji Tang again. Ji Tang reluctantly untied a small gray cloth bag from under the robe on his waist, and when he opened it, there was a bright box inside. However, he just opened it and held it in his hand but didn't give it to Yu Banshan, and he didn't step forward to hand it over to Black Friday.

"That's my Seven Tricks Exquisite Brocade Box! That's mine! Gu Xinyi immediately recognized the box in Ji Tang's hand, and tears flowed down her cheeks. As soon as she sat up straight, she saw Black Friday's dagger shaking at her, and then slumped to the wall, crying loudly.

Zhou Yizhi also matched the appearance of Black Friday with a dagger and many dreams in his heart, but he was even more surprised that the box in Ji Tang's hand was much more delicate than the one Gu Xinyi had held before.

"Hehe, surnamed Cao, do you see it now? You won't say you don't know, right? Hei Wu stared at Cao Ying's face again.

"I don't know." Cao Ying's attitude was very firm, and she simply twisted her face to the side.

"Whoa—you don't cry when you don't see a coffin!" Hei Wu said and gestured the blade of the dagger to the tip of Cao Ying's nose, but Cao Ying didn't care and closed his eyes. The corners of Hei Wu's eyes trembled slightly, and he suddenly moved two steps to the right, directly cutting Gu Xinyi's sister-in-law's throat, and blood splattered far away, and she saw that the knife had fallen before she could shout.

Gu Xinyi had never seen this meeting, and as soon as her body became weak, she fainted in fright. The cousin was also so frightened that she whipped into the corner and cried.

Cao Ying was really startled when he opened his eyes again, he was not afraid of death, but he was afraid that he would affect others because of himself. But at this time, he can't show it, and the more he worries, the more he can make Black Friday succeed. So he just forced a cold smile and said, "Hmph, you have seen a lot of beasts like Cao Cao, and what other cruel means are there to attack Cao someone!" If you frown, you are a bad seed! But one thing you have to remember is that your time of retribution is not far off! ”

"Good scolding, keep going! Lao Tzu is still a beast! Hahahaha...... "Black Friday was not only not annoyed, but laughed. The eyes became more and more fierce, and half of the black scar face became more and more hideous. As soon as the laughter fell, I saw him turn around and walk towards Gu Xinyi's cousin, and the dagger in his hand actually picked up the knife flower.

"Beasts! You dare to come at me! Don't mutilate the innocent! Cao Ying hurriedly shouted.

"Stop! Black Friday, aren't you trying to make money? Don't kill indiscriminately, I'll give you money! Zhou Yizhi also hurriedly stopped loudly.

My cousin was even more frightened when she saw Black Friday approaching, and shrank to the corner of the cellar crying heartbreakingly, kicking her feet constantly. However, Black Friday just tilted his head and glanced at Cao Ying, still walking towards her, and his casual steps seemed particularly casual. It seemed that the woman's fear and Zhou Yizhi and Cao Ying's anger excited him, and he was enjoying such a process.

"Hey, hey, hey, Cao Ying, you save your energy, your life is for the priest's sister." Yu Banshan's small eyes seemed to be smiling, and his yellowed eyes exuded an evil power.

"Stop! You're a beast! Zhou Yizhi saw Hei Wu stabbing the dagger into her chest, and what was even more hateful was that the knife was still moving downward, and he couldn't help but look at Cao Ying, "Mr. Cao, he will give him everything, this kind of person exterminates humanity!" ”

"This beast won't let any of us go! Compromise can only fuel his bestiality! Cao Ying gritted her teeth and glared at Black Five fiercely. Suddenly, he stood up and slammed the strength of his whole body into Yu Banshan. Yu Banshan didn't expect him to get up, thinking that he was going to fight hard, so he hurriedly turned sideways to dodge. His head was pressed against the wall behind Yu Banshan, and although it was damp and hard soil, it knocked him unconscious.

Several other people, including Black Friday, didn't expect such an incident, so they hurriedly came over and pulled Cao Ying up and pinched people's hearts, and it took a while to wake him up. At this time, my cousin had already choked her breath. Gu Xinyi woke up and saw another bloodstain, and cried. Although these two are not her relatives, they are also relatives, and they were killed alive in front of her, or on the day her parents were mutilated and funeral. How could her already fragile heart bear it? So she cried so badly that snot and tears ran down her cheeks and chin.

Zhou Yizhi also felt that Black Friday was too cruel, and then thought that the people in the dream would definitely die in his hands. And the person behind him must be Ji Tang, whether it was Fan Junsheng who was killed or not, their hands were covered with blood. Gu Xinyi was next to her, and she must not be hurt again. After making up his mind, he said: "Black Friday, Ji Tang, don't kill people anymore, aren't you trying to make money?" So how many small boxes can be filled with jewelry? I know where there's a whole boatload of treasures. ”

"There's nothing to treasure at all! Xu Yun, aren't you trying to kill me? Come on? Cao Ying knew what Zhou Yizhi wanted to do, but it was an anti-Japanese plan, which was related to the future of Zhang Mingyuan and Dai Lin.

"Shut him up!" Hei Wu said fiercely, Zhou Yizhi's words aroused his interest.

Ji Tang was closest to Cao Ying, raised his foot and kicked him in the face, and then kicked him in the waist three or four times.

"What do you know as a businessman? The box itself of this seven-trick exquisite brocade box is a priceless treasure! Yu Banshan stomped on Cao Ying's heart and head several times. After stopping, he glanced at Zhou Yizhi disdainfully and then glanced at others, "Big brother, don't listen to the nonsense surnamed Zhou, he is just to delay time, let's quickly torture Cao Ying." ”

"You don't believe it, do you? Do you know the real purpose of the big traitor surnamed Ma coming to Liaocheng? Do you know who the old man of Japan is? Do you know why the gentleman came all the way? A bunch of frogs at the bottom of the well! Zhou Yizhi went out. At the moment of crisis, he had no choice but to attract these people there, only in this way could Gu Xinyi and Cao Ying have one more chance of inventory, he knew that this would bring trouble to Zhang Mingyuan, but he believed that Zhang Mingyuan could control the overall situation in the end.

"Oh?" Hei Wu really turned to look at him, and approached again after seeing his serious look, "Is the gentleman you are talking about that Jiang Jun?" What shady passwords do they have? ”

"Can't say it! Mr. Zhou, you can't tell them that these people are all wolf cubs, and they will ruin Mr.'s big things! Cao Ying shouted regardless of the blood on his forehead. As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped heavily by Ji Tang.

"Gagged him!" Kuro Five glanced at the person under the lamp behind him.

The two people next to the lamp hadn't moved, and the burly man walked to Cao Ying's side in a few steps, raised his leg and kicked him in the stomach, and raised his hand to have two mouths. He was beaten in the eye, and blood flowed out of his mouth. The man tore off the black cloth on his face and stuffed it into his mouth, and the smell of sweat made him want to vomit. stared at the man fiercely to see that it was Zhao Zhenhuan, Zhao Zhenhuan saw him glaring and slapped him a few times, probably because of the anger he had just received.

"Say it! Forgive me, you can't stand the pain of this fine skin and tender meat! Black Friday simply squatted in front of Zhou Yizhi.

"You have to make sure that you don't hurt Mr. Cao and Miss Xiaoyi."

"That confirms that you're telling the truth."

"Big brother, I think this guy is fooling us! It's purely procrastinating for time. Yu Banshan interjected again, "Just find out about the box first, there are many dreams at night!" ”

"I also think Zhou Yizhi's words are unreliable, and after a long time, someone surnamed Zhang may come to him." Ji Tang also agreed.

Zhou Yizhi took Ji Tang and said, "I can take you there, if you don't see the boat at that time, you can torture as much as you want." ”

"When? Where is it? Black Friday was still staring at Zhou Yizhi.

"On the night of March 18. The little devil will use a small boat to transport things to the big ship at the mouth of the king's dike, and the gentleman has arranged for someone to ambush next to the big ship. ”

"Huh, today? Who are they? ”

"I don't know, I only know that Mr. has looked for Head Sun."

"! Bah! Black Friday spat fiercely as he spoke, stood up and walked towards the ladder, "Seal the cellar first, let's hurry up and prepare, it's not too early." ”

A few people followed, and the last one took the lantern from the wall and hurried to the wooden ladder over there. Immediately after that, there was a "bang", and darkness returned to the cellar. Zhou Yizhi moved to Gu Xinyi's side with all his strength, comforting her as he moved.

It took a while for her mood to gradually stabilize. After stopping crying, he leaned against the wall, and the past flashed in his mind inexplicably. I think of playing with Gu Xier from childhood to adulthood, I think of Uncle Le I met on a snowy day, and I think of the sentence "One lock, one core and one key, choose one person to promise a lifetime of love". At the same time, I also remembered the bits and pieces with Fan Junsheng, and remembered the letters and poems they exchanged and exchanged. Thinking of the last night of meeting at the west end of the bridge, including his perfunctory words, they were very clear. On the day he married into the Ji family, he was Ji Tang*, and he did everything possible to see the brocade box, and then figured out that the brocade box would become fake after it was lost and recovered. Later, Gu Xi'er came to trick her into going to the provincial capital, for the sake of the brocade box, and did not hesitate to kill Cuiying for this. Later, when I met Zhou Yizhi, his words and deeds and sincere words seemed to remain in my ears.

Looking back on these years of chaotic life, it may be to escape the pain caused by the loss of the brocade box. And all this is out of love for Fan Junsheng, her love is only exchanged for his perfunctory words, in exchange for his never return. She understood that the Zhou Yizhi in front of her was really good to her, and the kind-hearted Uncle Le gave her not only a box, but also a firm belief in love, and the box identified Fan Junsheng, who was not worth waiting for, and Ji Tang, who was greedy.

She didn't understand how she could suddenly understand this, or at the moment of danger when she lost her parents and fell into a den of thieves. She secretly decided in her heart that if she didn't die this time, she would let Zhang Mingyuan and Cao Ying decide the affairs of her and Zhou Yizhi. Of course, she didn't know what he thought, and she didn't know about his two-room wife. But at least she came to her senses, and she understood what she wanted.

Note: (1) A kind of hand-held, weatherproof kerosene lamp, which can be hung on the horse when riding at night, hence the name. (2) dài wang, an honorific title for kings and princes in ancient times. In dramas or classical novels, bandit leaders and monster leaders are also called like this, and they are also called mountain kings.