Zhao Dayou took the master and apprentice along the sheep intestine path, all the way over the mountains and mountains, and finally came to a small mountain village before sunset. It was late autumn, and some women and old people were drying grain, medicinal herbs and meat at the entrance of the village. Some villagers greeted Otomo with a smile when they saw him, and praised Otomo for his ability one by one when they saw the prey he was carrying. Otomo really said directly that it was sent by the master and apprentice next to him.

The villagers looked at the master and apprentice in surprise and admiration, but they didn't expect to see a middle-aged man who was not good-looking, and the child was also thin and dark, so he had such a great ability, thinking that he was a swordsman from the mountain. Xiao Hai and Master could only nod back to the villagers in embarrassment and politeness.

On the way to come, I listened to Zhao Dayou's introduction, most of the villagers in Zhaojiazhuang make a living by hunting and collecting medicines and then take them to the town to sell. The villagers who were not in good health and could not run the mountain road went back to the town to do some odd jobs for the rich and noble families to make a living.

Although this side belongs to Huaijiang Town, which is more than half a day's journey from here, it is basically in a state of no management because the road is relatively far away and it is not near the official road. Fortunately, the villagers are more industrious and simple, and maintaining their lives is not a problem.

Zhao Dayou took the master and apprentice to a courtyard deep in the village. The courtyard is not much different from the courtyard of his own Wuyou Town, except that there are two more phase gates on both sides, and the courtyard is full of various animal skins and bacon.

When Zhao Dayou was about to reach the door, he shouted into the yard, "Mother! Xiaoqin, I'm back, hurry up and come out to help!"

The three men then entered the courtyard. Just entered the courtyard and came out of the front room, a mother and daughter. The older woman, her temples have turned white, her face can't hide the traces of the passage of time, she is dressed plainly, her face is kind, and she looks like a loving mother. Look at the girl again, she looks slightly younger than Xiaohai, and her skin is slightly black, but her face is delicate, her big eyes are crystal clear, and she is wearing a plain white coat with an off-white sheepskin shoulder.

Seeing Otomo coming back, the girl jumped up and down and rushed to Otomo's side, which was very cute. "Brother, you're back, it's so powerful to fight so many wolves!"

The mother also hurriedly helped to put the wolf down, and felt sorry for her son, dusted off his shoulders and saw if there were any injuries.

Dayou didn't have time to greet his mother, so he pointed behind him and said, "Mother, these wolves were actually killed by these two knights, they just passed by, so they gave it to me, they are going to Huaijiang Town, I will bring them to live for a night tonight"

Mrs. Zhao said, "It should be, it should be, even if it is not given to us, it is normal for people to go out and be convenient with others."

Seeing that Mrs. Zhao was so reasonable, the master and apprentice were much more relieved.

Otomo said to the girl, "Qin'er, come and see the two gentlemen, this Mr. Hong is a teacher, this little chivalrous man is very skilled, this wolf is all killed by him." ”

Xiao Hai laughed secretly in his heart, the master lied to him that he was a teacher, but Xiao Hai was not easy to debunk, but the girl in front of him looked at Mr. Hong in surprise, and then stared at Xiao Hai for a while, suddenly the girl seemed to realize something, and suddenly her face turned red and gave the master and apprentice a blessing and ran back to the room, making everyone smile bitterly.

Xiao Hai thought that Zhao Gang bragged about going back, the woman glanced at her brother, and she could run away shyly, her brother was still too handsome, and she felt proud in her heart. Xiaohai actually didn't know that Zhao Xiaoqin also liked to dance with knives and sticks since he was a child, and when he heard his brother say that Xiaohai killed seven wolves by himself, he instantly felt very powerful and looked at it curiously, but after all, it was a girl who found that it was inappropriate to stare at a boy like this, so she ran away shyly, and then listened to Mrs. Zhao's explanation, which made Xiaohai a little lost.

Otomo settled the master and apprentice in the wing room to rest, and let his mother and sister prepare food. During the meal, Otomo briefly talked about the situation at home, Otomo's father had been hunting with other hunters in the village a few years ago, but he encountered a flash flood, and Otomo's father and the other hunters never returned. Speaking of this, the girls are a little lost and sad.

Otomo's mother's body has no way to hunt, after all, it is a woman's family, whether there is kung fu on the body, so he often goes to the town's official dyeing workshop and the rich and noble family to do some odd jobs. Xiaoqin is too young to help pack up some wolf skins and dry medicinal herbs at home, Dayou is capable, and every time he goes out hunting, he will have a harvest, so the three of them are still a good family in the village. After hearing this, the master and the two also felt sorry for Otomo and his father, and they were also relieved that this lady had lived a good life in this situation.

Master took out a gold leaf from his bosom and sparkled in the candlelit room. The master said that it should be regarded as the accommodation fee with Xiaohai, and now the eldest friend is the pillar of the family, and the younger sister is still young, so she will subsidize the family in the future. Otomo's family said that they wouldn't accept anything, but the master said that the wolves and beasts on the mountain were fierce, and Otomo would be injured if he was too careful, so it would have too much impact on the mother, and he could go to the town to change his life in the future after accepting a piece of gold leaf, which was a long-term solution.

The three of them saw that they couldn't shirk it, so they accepted it. When Xiao Hai was still wondering whether to tell Aunt Jin about the master sending money to other orphans and widows, someone in the courtyard suddenly shouted, "Dayou come out quickly, the village chief has an accident!" When Dayou heard this, he immediately got up and went out, and the master and apprentice also followed, Dayou wanted to let the master and apprentice stay at home, but the master said that it was okay, Xiaohai can write fists and feet, and he can get some medical skills to help, Dayou thought it made sense, Xiaohai can kill seven wolves, much more powerful than himself, so he followed the people who came to pass the word to the village chief's house.

On the way, Otomo asked what happened to the visitor, and the person said: "Just yesterday, three outsiders suddenly came to the village chief's house, saying that they would come to recruit workers, go to the mountains to build a village, and pay wages" Otomo knew about this, and the village chief told them yesterday that the men in the village had told them, but in the autumn hunting families were anxious to spend the winter reserves, so many people were unwilling, and the village chief said that they were waiting for people to discuss with others.

The visitor continued: "Originally, there were some people in the village who were willing, and tonight some outsiders brought a few more people to the village chief's house to pick up people, but when I saw that there were five or six people who were willing to repair the village, I immediately got angry, and I had to ask the village to find 200 people, otherwise the village would be burned." You said that it was a coincidence, but it happened that the village chief's daughter happened to be cleaning up her things from the backyard and asking his father to rest, and happened to be seen by a leader of the outsiders, and seeing the village chief's daughter's good looks, he said that he would come to pick up his daughter tomorrow. Some of the men in our village are theorizing over there, and those outsiders still have guys in their hands, and they are not good at first glance. ”

The four of them soon arrived at the village chief's house, which was a three-story courtyard with deep walls. When I was about to reach the courtyard, I heard someone inside scolding loudly, "How can you beat people, and there is no royal law!"

At this time, the four of them had already entered the courtyard, and they saw that the courtyard was divided into two factions, a group of villagers trembling and guarding the door of the front hall, and a group of about a dozen people holding swords here. Seeing Xiaohai, they entered the courtyard and squinted at it and ignored it.

A big man at the head of the group, holding a tiger-headed knife in his hand, with a beard full of flesh and a beard, scolded loudly, "Beat you? If you can't hand over people tomorrow, Lao Tzu will lead people to raze your village to the ground!"

Xiao Hai looked into the courtyard, and there were still three villagers lying on the flat ground of the courtyard, and they fell to the ground grinning with their teeth and obvious that their hands had been injured. Xiao Hai was suddenly angry, and was just about to step forward, and the master pressed his shoulder to signal to take a look at the situation first.

At this time, an old man with white hair and a goatee said, "This good man, it seems that winter is about to begin, and every household needs to prepare ingredients for the winter, and there is only so much labor that can be idle." And the little girl is also married, and her husband will come back soon when he goes to the town to do errands, and please don't embarrass us rural people. ”

The big man with the knife laughed and said, "Let your village give me to build a village and repair a house, that is your luck, as long as you pay me the protection fee on time in the future, we can bless you with the safety of Zhaojiazhuang, as for your daughter, it can be favored by our boss, it is a blessing that you have cultivated for several generations as a village." ”

Zhao Dayou was young, and when Fang Gang heard this, he suddenly became angry, jumped into the patio and scolded at the big man, "You people, this is clearly to force us to work, and rob the people's daughters, you are robbers, and there is no royal law, are you not afraid that the government will arrest you?"

The big man laughed and said, "What if we just rob you? Official, when they come here, we will already raze your Zhaojiazhuang to the ground! I am giving you a day, and tomorrow at noon we will come to collect people, 200 men, women, and children. Miss Zhao, we will welcome back to the mountain tomorrow and marry our boss. The entire road out of the mountain has been sealed by us, if you find someone who goes to report to the official, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

As he spoke, the big man waved his big knife and clicked on a small tree in the patio, breaking the tree at the waist. The villagers were shocked. The big man laughed and led the people to Malimen.

As soon as the gang of thieves left, the exit in the courtyard was suddenly chaotic, and everyone pestered the village chief to ask what to do. This is Otomo said, "What are you afraid of, it's a big deal to gather everyone to fight with them tomorrow." ”

The village chief said, "Don't be reckless, haven't you listened to them, they still have no one to arrive, and you see that this group of strongmen is strong in martial arts, and they will beat us to the ground in one or two strokes." ”

The village chief sighed in mourning, no matter how they discussed, they couldn't discuss a result, now it is called every day, the earth is not spiritual, and there is already some timidity to say that if you can't do it, you can go to work as a coolie for others, nothing is important to save your life. After hearing this, Dayou scolded to work, I don't know if I live and die, and I don't know if I see this posture or not, and I will say that I will really build a cottage for them in the future, and then I will often come to loot and loot, so it is better to fight with them.

In the end, the village chief said, "Inform all the men who have strength tonight, and be ready tomorrow, and send another person with legs and feet to report to the official, and come back when you meet this group of strongmen on the way, and you must not be reckless and lose your life." "There has been no other way but this.

Everyone was in Zhangluo overnight, and the village chief asked his daughter to go home with Dayou and live with Xiaoqin, and he was busy with Zhangluoren.

The master and apprentice followed home, and Otomo said on the way, "I'm really sorry for the two of you, I persuaded you to come to my house to stay in such trouble, but you are strangers, they shouldn't embarrass you, you get up early tomorrow morning and leave, I'm really sorry." ”

Otomo knows that Xiaohai knows martial arts, but after all, he is a child, and what can he use in the face of that gang of strongmen who kill people without blinking, don't give up his life in the end.

Master: "Brother Otomo, don't say that, this is unpredictable, who would have thought that this group of strong men would suddenly come." ”

Otomo said that this group of outsiders came suddenly, they had never seen it before, and their accent was not local, so they didn't know why they came to this place to set up camp. Master said that it was possible that he was forced to escape from his original territory.

In the middle of the night, Xiao Hai couldn't fall asleep tossing and turning, and he and the master slept on an earthen kang in a side room.

Xiao Hai asked Master, "Master, why are there such domineering people in this world?

Master said, "In terms of desires, there is no difference between humans and animals themselves, both have desires. In order to eat more meat to drive away their companions, jackals can even eat their own kind. And in order to get more, people will try their best to make other people's own, power, money, and so on. ”

Xiao Hai continued to ask, "But Master, there are so many good people, you look at our Wuyou Town, you look at Brother Otomo and their family, they won't embarrass others for what they want."

Master smiled and said, "The biggest difference between humans and animals is emotion, not that animals don't have emotions, it's that humans have more emotions and emotions. Family affection, the love between men and women, friendship, the love of master and apprentice, the love of kings and ministers, etc., people will cry, laugh, be happy, be sad, and of course, jealousy, envy, etc. With emotion, people will pay for others, and emotions can measure whether these emotional efforts are worth it. Takeyouzhen's and Otomo's family are the ones who have given them the emotions that satisfy them. So do all the good people in your mouth have these factors in them?"

Hai nodded. Xiao Hai said, "Master, adults need to think about it so much, adults are really tired" Master smiled and didn't speak, thinking to himself, Xiao Hai, why don't you? Come out for your Aunt Jin, stand up for your little friend, and want to mention your big friend, isn't it all the influence of feelings and emotions, you already know the kindness and morality in your heart to protect yourself. Xiaohai, you are also slowly growing up, and you are slowly growing into what I and your Aunt Jin like.

Xiao Hai said half-asleep: "Master, I hate those strong people very much, I want to help Brother Otomo's family and help this village,"

Master said, "Yes"

Listening to Xiaohai's soft snoring, the master helped lift the quilt for him. Xiaohai, as long as Master is by your side, you can grow up recklessly.

The autumn insects sang at night in front of the window, and the silver moon was noisy. The cool style of the woman and the jade face is cold and unbearable.