Chapter 17: The General Rises Out
"General, we found this thing when we searched the bodies of those officers and soldiers." Li Rufeng was about to leave, but saw a minion hand a small bamboo tube to a horse thief leader. The leader was laughing and talking with a stout man, as if thanking each other. Obviously, that leader was the leader of the group of horse thieves, but for some reason he was called the Great General.
The thief took the bamboo tube, took out a silk book, looked at it for a while, and grinned: "Haha...... God help me, Li Mao'er, well done, I remember that there was an embroidered spring knife in the trophy just now, it belongs to you, haha......"
"General Xie for his reward, then Li Mao'er is also very happy." Go down and get your reward.
Li Rufeng looked at the actions of the horse thieves in the hall in front of him, and recalled the scene of roaring past them before, which was actually orderly and orderly. Not only that, but it is also remarkable to see them cleanly wipe out more than 100 royal guards and pro-army, quickly clean up the battlefield, and make more than 20 boxes of tea disappear into the mountains.
Also, it is impossible for so many of them to enter the cave as well, they must have been domesticated somewhere nearby, and it is really unscrupulous to rob the tribute so blatantly that they are not at all afraid of being discovered.
Li Rufeng couldn't help but be curious in his heart, wanting to know what was on the cloth in the hand of the thief leader. But at the moment, he didn't think that he was sure to deal with so many horse thieves alone, he even felt that the "general" was an extremely difficult character to deal with, so he could only wait until night fell, thinking of this, Li Rufeng gently walked out of the cave and climbed a tree in the stream to rest.
After a while, I saw the strong man who had been talking to the general come out of the cave accompanied by the general, and was led by a minion through the hole on the east side of the stream.
It's night, and the moon is bright and the stars are scarce. Several oil lamps hung on the wall, and the lights flashed out of the figures of the two guards at the door.
Li Rufeng couldn't help but be surprised. Unexpectedly, this group of people began to be alert again, so they had to move forward against the cave wall. He knew that it was probably the time of the second day, and it was the time when he was sleepy, but fortunately, the two guards were not made of iron, and they were leaning against the stone pillar next to the door.
Li stood up in a hurry, and tapped the two guards twice, so that they completely leaned against the pillar and stopped making a sound.
Because the cave was very simple, the little minions were laid on the floor in one corner of the hall, but eight houses were opened on the east and west sides of the temple, which was also a small cave at the time, and wooden doors were installed, and two rows of lattices were left above the wooden doors to ventilate the room, which was probably the room of the horse thief leaders.
Li Rufeng didn't know what was going on inside, so he didn't dare to break in rashly, looked left and right, and saw a small bench, so he moved over, stood on the bench, and finally saw the layout of the room by looking at the lattice on the door.
After looking at the three rooms, I finally saw that the general's room was only six feet square, and there was a simple little bed on the side facing the door, and it was the "general" lying on the bed. I saw him lying there motionless, snoring slightly, apparently asleep.
Li Rufeng observed for a while, confirmed that the "general" was asleep, then tiptoed off the stool, opened the door, and walked to the "general's" bedside.
He didn't dare to hesitate at the moment, carefully took out the cloth from the bamboo tube, and looked at it with the light, only to see the first line written with three big characters of "Jinshi Jing", and then look at the words behind, but it was a poem: "Shandong has no field to plant swords, and there are Han swords sold in Zhongyuan." If the hero knows the opposite, the saint will help him to go to heaven."
Li Rufeng pondered for a while and didn't know what to mean, but looking at the proud appearance of the "general" was obviously a very important thing. Li Rufeng looked at the front and back of the cloth a few more times, but he didn't find anything special, and suddenly glanced at it and found that the "general" had just opened his eyes and looked at him in surprise. Li Rufeng didn't dare to rush out like this, so he could only quickly subdue this "general" quietly and quickly. Thinking of this section in his heart, he had already started to pinch the neck of the "general". The "general" had also kicked his right foot at Li Rufeng's abdomen at the same time. Li Rufeng hurriedly blocked it with both hands, but he felt a thousand strengths, and was kicked back two or three steps. Unable to strike a blow, Li Rufeng did not hesitate to snatch the door.
"Stop," Li Rufeng shouted when he heard the deep voice behind him. At this time, he had rushed to the center of the hall, and the entrance to the cave seemed to be relatively safe, although
I don't know how to get out of the hole quickly, but it's better than fighting hard in this hole.
The shout of the "general" woke up the sleeping horse thieves, and everyone rubbed their eyes and stood up, only to see a black shadow rushing out of the cave quickly, and a person behind them chased after him, who was his own leader, and they grabbed their weapons and ran out.
Li Rufeng rushed out of the cave and rushed down the stream when he came, but fortunately, through the moonlight sprinkled through the cracks in the leaves, he could barely see where the water was and where the land was. He remembered coming in from a vine on the cliff to the west of the stream, and now he had to go up from there.
When he arrived at the vine, Li Rufeng settled down a little, adjusted his breathing, sank into the dantian, jumped up suddenly, left the ground, grabbed the vine and climbed up.
The "general" ran to the bottom of the vine, and saw that Li Rufeng had jumped up more than three zhang along the vine, his eyes flashed, he grabbed the vine, and pulled it down hard, and the vine was torn off from the root.
Li Rufeng, who was on the vine, only felt that the vine suddenly straightened down, and secretly screamed that it was not good, let go of his hand, and the person fell down three feet high, but fortunately, he was fast, grabbed a shrub on the left, and looked down, only to see that the "general" was stepping on the cliff and flying up, and the speed was frightening.
Li Rufeng didn't dare to be careless, used both hands and feet, jumped up again, stepped on a bush branch, and after continuing his strength, he clicked a few points on the cliff and climbed onto the flat ground above the cliff.
The black shadow behind him is approaching, the guy is so reluctant to chase after it must be for the silk book, Li Rufeng is running, thinking so, anyway, the content of the silk book has been written down, and I don't know what it means, besides, those thieves are all idiots, and they definitely don't know what it means, so it doesn't hurt to give them to them, go back and think about the poem again, there is no need to entangle with them here now. Thinking about this section, Li Rufeng took out the silk book from his sleeve and threw it on the mountain on the right, turned his body to the left, and rushed down the mountain.
The "general" watched Li Rufeng throw out the silk book, and squeezed a sneer out of the corner of his eye. While running in the direction of the silk book, he leaned over and touched a few small stones, and after picking up the silk book, he chased Li Rufeng again, and sent out stones like beads while chasing, hitting Li Rufeng.
Li Rufeng only felt the cold wind swishing behind him, and suddenly his back and right leg tingled, his body stagnated, his footsteps could not use force, and his speed had been greatly reduced. Looking back, he saw that the general was approaching, and it seemed that he couldn't run, so it was better to fight than to waste time and run again, if he could subdue the "general" before those little minions arrived, it would be safe, and the sword was already in hand.
The "general" couldn't help but be a little surprised when he saw Li Rufeng suddenly stop. "Who are you, dare to spy on General Ben late at night, aren't you looking for death?"
Li Rufeng said with a smile: "I heard that there is a treasure temple on this mountain, and I came to travel, I don't want to get lost and strayed into the general's treasure land, which is really offended." ”
The "general" saw that Li Rufeng was soft, and although he didn't believe it in his heart, he smiled and said, "Haha...... There is a Guanyin Temple on the top of the mountain, if you don't go up the mountain, but to the bottom of this mountain valley, I'm afraid it's not just lost, but it's a bit up and down."
"The general laughed, I was really lost, if the general insisted on staying, then I had to offend", Li Rufeng didn't dare to entangle anymore, so he took the initiative to attack, and with a move "North Goose Flying South", the sword in his hand was handed diagonally.
The "general" was unhurried, took a few steps back to avoid the sword blade, turned on one side, shook the sword blade with his elbow, flew up his right leg, and kicked Li Rufeng's waist.
Li Rufeng touched the ground on his toes, and the whole person spun from left to right and then down.
The "general" kicked in the air, landed with his right foot, leaned forward violently, broke through the blade of the sword with both fists, and smashed towards Li Rufeng like a drum.
Li Rufeng held the hilt of the sword upside down, and he received several punches, his arms were already sore, and he didn't dare to take the punch again, but he couldn't avoid it, and he actually fell down. At this time, the horse thieves also arrived, and watched their leader gain the upper hand, shouting in unison.
Li Rufeng was in a hurry, his right hand exerted force, his body rolled in the air, the sword blade stabbed the "general" fist, hit the ground with his left palm, stood up on the ground, and handed out the long sword.
The "general" reacted very quickly, pulled and stood up after the game, turned his fist into a palm, split the blade of the sword, and confronted Li Rufeng.
"Your Excellency is good at swordsmanship, but I don't know what kind of faction Wuyue is?"
Li Rufeng was shocked, a reckless person actually knew the Confucian Qi Sect swordsmanship, it was really not simple. It's just that now that Wuyue is suffering, there will inevitably be many incidents, so he can only vaguely say, "The general's boxing method is even more exquisite, and I haven't asked for the honorific title yet." ”
"Haha...... This general does not change his name, sits or changes his surname, his surname is Chen, his name is Quanzhong, and his name is Xinghan. After thinking for a while, he said: "I heard that the current internal and external troubles of the various factions in Wuyue, and your Excellency will not say what the master is, so you can only follow me into the cave."
His words seem to be strong, but there is a faint intention to solicit, but because he can't be sure of his identity, he can't rashly invite, how can Li Rufeng not see the meaning. It's impossible to get out now, it's better to follow them in and make plans, maybe you can find out more about that poem, but this will definitely miss the trip, I hope Fang Lingyan and they can do their own thing. Thinking of this, Li Rufeng stopped pretending, "Li Rufeng in Xiahengshan, since General Chen invites him, dare not obey the order?" ”
Hearing that it was from Hengshan, the essence in Chen Quanzhong's eyes suddenly flashed, laughed, made a gesture of invitation, and let Li Rufeng over. The horse thieves looked at the posture, gave way one after another, followed behind, and walked towards the edge of the cliff.
When he arrived at the top of the cliff, Chen Quanzhong stopped and said, "The place is simple, please ask Brother Li to be wronged", and after speaking, he jumped and went to the stream at the bottom of the valley. Li Rufeng shook his head and smiled bitterly, followed by a jump, and also reached the bottom of the valley, only to feel that the place where he was hit by the stone just now was faintly painful, and his knees were also a little painful, and his body shape was no longer natural. Chen Quanzhong saw it in his eyes, but said "please" again. Some of the horse thieves jumped down by the branches, and some climbed down the trees.
After a night's trouble, the sky was already slightly bright at this time, and when he arrived in the cave, Chen Quanzhong picked up a table at random and sat down, invited Li Rufeng to sit opposite, stared at Li Rufeng and said: "Brother Li's master has suffered misfortune, and he can still come here to enjoy the mountains and rivers, so that he gets lost, it's really Yaxing!" ”
Although Li Rufeng knew that Chen Quanzhong's words were to find out the purpose of his trip, when he heard Chen Quanzhong mention his master, he recalled that the Han River was in distress, and he couldn't help but be gloomy, and he forgot to answer for a while.
Chen Quanzhong looked at Li Rufeng's face sadly, and said with a smile: "The eldest husband can bend and stretch, and Brother Li has the ability, as long as he finds an opportunity, he may not be able to take revenge." ”
Li Rufeng glanced at Chen Quanzhong, and waited for him to continue, and sure enough, he heard Chen Quanzhong continue: "If Brother Li can let go of his hatred and play in the mountains and rivers, I am afraid that the people who destroy Hengshan may not be able to keep you, a big fish that has slipped through the net." If Brother Li never forgets the kindness of his master and wants to find an opportunity for revenge, why not stay incognito, accumulate strength, and one day, destroy the enemy in one fell swoop, and not dishonor the name of the hero."
The high-sounding words of these words made Li Rufeng a little moved, but he was obsessed, how could he fall into the grass, so he said: "The general has an overreputation, and he is living in the rivers and lakes, and he is a person who has no grace and no righteousness, and he just wants to beg for his hometown, and he doesn't want to be involved in right and wrong, so he really doesn't dare to covet the name of the hero." ”
"Brother Li, do you know why you call yourself a general?" Chen Quanzhong changed his words and said with a smile. He thought that Li Rufeng just wanted to wait for the price and sell.
"I want to hear it in detail", Li Rufeng also wants to know.
"Huh...... Don't hide it from Brother Li, I waited here to fall into the grass, I really had a mission, and I thought that there was no hope in this life, but the appearance of the piece of cloth that Brother Li saw today rekindled my fighting spirit. ”
"Oh? I wonder what the words on the cloth mean? ”
"Brother Li really doesn't know what this cloth is?" Chen Quanzhong still had some doubts in his heart about Li Rufeng's sudden appearance here.
"General Chen laughed, to tell you the truth, I had a glimpse of the general snatching so many big boxes from the official army, and I felt that it was against the way of chivalry, and I wanted to come to find out, so that I could go back and report to the government, but secretly I saw that the general was very interested in the cloth, so I felt that it was a very important thing, so I stole it last night, and prepared to report it to the government together, who knew that the donkey skills were poor, and the general found out." What Li Rufeng said was basically the truth.
Chen Quanzhong couldn't help believing it for a while, nodded slightly, stared at Li Rufeng with his eyes and said: "This cloth is called "Golden Stone Scripture", which is related to the treasure of Tianwan Country."
"Is there a treasure in the heavens?" Although Li Rufeng's face was surprised, it was only a flash, as if he didn't care about any treasure, and his demeanor didn't seem to be fake. This demeanor made Chen Quanzhong feel stunned, as if he had seen it somewhere.
"Exactly, if Brother Li insists on going to report to the government, you can also do it, but this water in the Huangzhou territory, Brother Li is probably not as familiar with us." Chen Quanzhong decided to knock Li Rufeng.
Chen Quanzhong's face changed suddenly, and Li Rufeng was not in a hurry. He knew that Chen Quanzhong had already calculated himself, and Hugh said that he couldn't get out at this time, even if he could go out and report the problems he found to the government, it would be impossible to find evidence, but he might be tainted and colluded with the thief. Since Chen Quanzhong and the others were able to find out the time and route of tea, and could make the horse team suddenly appear and disappear suddenly, they had obviously been working here for a long time, but they were afraid that there were also people in the official mansion who exchanged voices with them, and most of the people who laughed and talked with him in this cave during the day were ghosts in the official mansion.
People are under the eaves and have to bow their heads, and Li Rufeng can only get off the donkey at this time. "The general laughed, in the next rivers and lakes, the savages are just trying to mix up rations for a few days, since the general doesn't dislike it, how dare I make a mistake, it's just ...... There is still one thing that is not settled. Li Rufeng decided to take a risk.
"Oh? What's the matter with Brother Li that hasn't been settled? I'll send someone to do it for you. ”
"I went out with a few friends to do some errands, and I made an appointment to meet today, and I couldn't give up halfway. If the general can trust me, he will come back after I have met up with my friends, or I may be able to say that several friends will come together to serve the general. ”
Chen Quanzhong's eyes flickered, and he suddenly remembered that there seemed to be Li Rufeng among the two men and two women passing by when he passed by outside Luotian City yesterday, but his face was silent, only staring at Li Rufeng and said, "Okay...... Brother Li is a true hero, how can I damage your reputation. I wonder where you meet? ”
"To the east of Hankou, there is a Tuanfeng town in the north of the river, I don't know if the general knows?" Li Rufeng had taken refuge here many years ago, and remembered that it was also very convenient to go to Hankou there.
"It's not far, but if you want to arrive as soon as possible, you can't rely on your feet alone, I'll send someone to lead a few horses to accompany you, I don't know what Brother Li wants?" Chen Quanzhong knew Tuanfeng, but he wanted to see what Li Rufeng and his friends wanted to do, if it was really a disciple of Wuyue who was in distress, it would be good to be able to recruit them, otherwise, he would catch them all and give Liu Jingshan and the others a favor, or what other intentions did he have? After all, if you can find your own hidden lair and accomplices, this matter is not something that can be solved by killing no matter how you look at it.
Although Li Rufeng didn't know Chen Quanzhong's calculations, he couldn't refuse his seeming kindness at this time, so he had to accept it happily, but this may not be a good opportunity for him to grasp more information and find an opportunity to slip away.