When the boat sails late into the night, it is time to rest on the shore, and when everyone has eaten their fill, they are ready to sleep on the boat.

It was summer, and the bow of the boat plunged into the reeds, and it was inevitable that there would be a few mosquitoes, and Brother Huan was bitten and cried all the time.

Zhang Xiu'e lit a candle and put it next to her to expel the flying insects, "If you sleep like this for one night, you will be full of bags tomorrow morning." ”

Li Qiang's daughter-in-law reminded: "Then let's light a few more candles." ”

"How many candles are there on this ship? Not to mention that we want to make money, if we use it now, what will we use it tomorrow night? ”

Song He'er stood up from the boat, looked at the grass in the distance, and saw that there was some green grass shaped like maple leaves, as if she had seen it somewhere.

"Third aunt, do you know that kind of grass?"

Zhang Xiu'e followed her gaze and immediately smiled: "This is wormwood!" Hurry up and pick some and burn them, it can repel mosquitoes! ”

Qin Xiaoniang was busy coaxing Brother Huan for a while, and she didn't care about this side, and when she looked up, most of the people on the boat had already gone down, leaving only the timid Su Yu's daughter-in-law and a group of children.

"Little lady, you can sleep too, I'll help you watch Brother Huan."

Qin Xiaoniang shook her head: "You haven't slept for half a night, you just care about fanning the children, and I don't know when this hot weather will pass......"

Su Yu's daughter-in-law fanned the children with lotus leaves, and at the same time used her hands to repel mosquitoes.

After a few moments, torches were lit not far from the shore, and from time to time there was a cacophony of sounds......

"The big guys are in good spirits, if you encounter a passing merchant ship, you must stop them! You can't let the fat sheep run away! ”

"Yes! Top dog! ”

When Qin Xiaoniang heard the voice, her heart suddenly went up and down, could it be that she could still meet water thieves on this water?

Thinking of this, Qin Xiaoniang immediately blew out the candles, "It may be a water thief, hurry up, extinguish all the candles on the ship, so that they won't notice our side......"

Su Yu's daughter-in-law was timid herself, and when she heard that there were water thieves, she trembled with fright, and she was not to blame, she was afraid that it was the shadow left by the bullying of officers and soldiers before.

In a hurry, the two of them extinguished all the candles on the ship, and when the boatman heard the movement, he hurried over from the stern of the boat, and was a little surprised to see that there were many fewer people here.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this ...... Where have all the people gone? ”

"They went ashore to look for something."

"Eh, I said aunts and grandmothers, if it's not peaceful today, who would dare to walk around at night, didn't you see a water thief in front of you? Do they dare to go up? ”

Qin Xiaoniang was a little nervous, "Are these water thieves haunting here all year round?" ”

The boatman wiped the sweat from his forehead, squatted down, and whispered back: "This is from the south, and now that the court is in turmoil, these water thieves are even more rampant. ”

Su Yu's daughter-in-law was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she hurriedly grabbed the boatman and asked, "That's ...... Are we in danger? Will they kill? ”

"Eh, if you want me to say, these aunts and grandmothers shouldn't have gone ashore, our boat is inconspicuous, and it is still stuck in the reeds, as long as it doesn't make a sound, the water thieves can't find it at all, now it's okay, if the water thieves catch those people who go ashore, and they will definitely say us if they force confessions by words and deeds, and we will all die at that time!"

Qin Xiaoniang held Brother Huan in her arms, comforted him not to make a sound, and then turned her head and pulled down the curtain on the side of the boat.

"Let's just wait with peace of mind, people will definitely return safely."

The boatman shook his head and said no more.

Not far from the shore, Song He'er and Zhang Xiu'e were still seriously looking for wormwood, until they saw the sword light and sword shadow in the distance, and then they stopped their movements.

"He'er, look, there seems to be someone over there!"

Song He'er raised her head and looked in the direction Zhang Xiu'e pointed, and sure enough, in the forest a mile ahead, she saw a group of masked black-clothed people.

"Oh no, they won't find out about your little girl, will they?"

Song He'er shook her head: "The lights on the ship have been extinguished, and even we can't find them, let alone those thieves?" It's okay, don't be afraid, if they can't wait for the passing merchant ships here for a while, they will go to the next place and wait. ”

"Then if Chundi and Chunrao go back, there will be a foil if there is any situation!" Zhang Xiu'e said.

Chundi nodded: "Okay then, I'll go back and take care of the little lady and the children......"

After that, he pulled Chunrao and disappeared into the night.

Li Qiang's daughter-in-law's eyes were the sharpest, and by the faint light of the fire, she found a few sack-style things in the grass in front of her.

"You see, those things are probably the ones they robbed......"

Zhang Xiu'e took a sip, "People who have lived by plundering on these rivers and lakes, in addition to robbing them, how else can these goods come from?" ”

Song He'er saw the more than ten thieves in the distance, who were entrenched on the shore at this time and waited for the opportunity, afraid that they would not leave until dawn.

But the grass was smelly and hot, and if they waited until they were gone and then got up, they would probably be eaten by mosquitoes.

"Third aunt, have you ever seen a ghost?"

"Huh? What do you say? ”

"I mean, do you believe in ghosts?"

Li Qiang's daughter-in-law replied: "Silly boy, where are there ghosts in this world." ”

"We don't believe it, but there is a kind of person who believes ......"

Zhang Xiu'e suddenly understood, "Are you saying that those people who have killed too much have ghosts in their hearts and are afraid that the souls of the dead will come to ask for their lives?" ”

Song He'er nodded: "Yes, we can take advantage of their weakness to drive them away, and by the way, we can take these supplies into our pockets, which can be regarded as venting our anger for those suffering people." ”

Li Qiang's daughter-in-law is also a jealous and hateful person, and when she heard Song He'er say this, she was not so scared in an instant, and the confidence in her heart increased a lot.

"We all spread our hair out, I can sing little songs, my father used to be in the opera troupe...... I'll hum a few more head-numbing tunes to scare them away! ”

Song He'er smiled, smeared black mud on her face with her hand, and jumped into the grass to catch a few fireflies.

The green glow of fireflies shone on people's faces, unkempt, and their long hair fluttered, but they really looked like a terrible ghost.

"Poof...... Third aunt, how did you get this mouth? ”

"Persimmon!"

Zhang Xiu'e took a bite of the tomatoes brought down from the boat and wiped the juice around her mouth, "It's a pity that such a good persimmon is ruined......"

"It's okay! There must be a lot of things in the sack of that water thief, and when we bring it, it will be worth more than this persimmon!"

With that, several people began to walk slowly and leisurely towards the place where the water thieves were hiding.

Li Qiang's daughter-in-law chose a hidden place, hid inside, imitated the voice of the little woman, and cried......

The strange sound reached the ears of the water thieves, and soon one of them got up from the ground and looked around.

"I said, big brother, is there a strange sound?"

"What are you talking about? What sound can there be in the middle of the night, even if there is, it is a wild mouse, don't make a fuss here, it's not as good as a chicken. ”

Hearing the reprimand, the man crouched down on the ground again and continued to wait.

Song He'er is not completely sure, in case they are discovered by these thieves, then they will only have a dead end, in order to prevent foolproof, Song He'er secretly took out the bow and arrow in the space and put it at hand, in case of accidents, they can save their lives.