Lu Xiaoyuan looked carefully, and then remembered that this person's name was Fang Zhi'an, who served as a pioneer in the army, and on the way to Tianmuling to kill the Sandstorm Dragon, they had played cards and drank wine together, and then said: "It turned out to be Brother Fang, it's been a long time." Brother Fang, where are you going?"

Fang Zhi'an said: "I just received the news....", he suddenly hesitated for a moment, and said: "Military secrets, it is inconvenient to advise, General Yuan understands." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan said: "It's easy to say, Brother Fang, please." Suddenly, I saw a man rushing towards him, with heavy steps and rough breathing, apparently an ordinary person.

He ran to the officers and soldiers, and said in a panic: "Master, the robbers of the black mule village have looted all the property in the village, killed many people, and are ready to leave. ”

Fang Zhi'an urged the Demon Tiger to step forward and said, "Okay, the general already knows, you go back first, we will outflank us, and we will definitely kill the bandits without leaving a piece of armor to avenge the dead people." ”

The man looked at the soldiers and said, "The road to the north of the village is complicated, so the villain will stay and lead the way for the military masters." ”

Fang Zhian waved his hand impatiently and said, "Don't be long-winded, get out quickly, we have experienced no less than a hundred battles, and we will get lost?"

Lu Xiaoyuan interjected: "Brother Fang, are you going to suppress bandits?"

Fang Zhi'an's face was a little uncomfortable, he tightened his belt, and said, "Yes." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan got off the horse and asked the man: "This big brother, when did you send the news to the officers and soldiers?"

The man said: "About an hour and a half ago, the bandits of the black mule village suddenly appeared in all directions of our village, and the camel Li secretly fled, riding a fast horse to deliver the message, and the news could be delivered in a meal. ”

Lu Xiaoyuan turned his head, looked at Fang Zhian coldly, and said, "Brother Fang, the journey of a meal, you haven't finished it in half an hour?"

Fang Zhi'an said: "After receiving the news, it is not that I will leave, but that the generals will hold a meeting to discuss the dispatch and battle plan of the army, and then call the army to set off, which takes a lot of time." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan glanced at the soldiers and sneered: "I'm afraid that you are not much faster than the old man on crutches when you travel so unhurriedly, right? When you arrive at the village, if you can see the shadow of the bandits, then you will see the hell." ”

Fang Zhi'an's face was a little ugly, and he pulled Lu Xiaoyuan to the back of the team and said, "General Yuan, do you know the details of the black mule village?"

Lu Xiaoyuan said: "The black mule village is one of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, and the owner of the village is Wang Yuanli, it seems that he doesn't have any powerful masters, right?"

Fang Zhi'an said: "The Black Mule Village is the weakest one in the Heaven and Earth Alliance, it is easy to defeat it, but recently the five bandit chiefs of the Heaven and Earth Alliance have gathered in Zoumachuan, and even the fighting star Wulie of Luzhou has also arrived, they must have a plan, now that the situation is turbulent, it is better not to provoke them, so as not to erect a strong enemy for Jinzhou." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan said: "So you let the bandits plague the people, but pretend to be a turtle with a shrunken head?"

Fang Zhi'an's face was ashamed, and he said: "If you can't bear it, you will make a big plan, not to mention that this is an order passed down from above, if you start a war with the people of the black mule village without authorization, my official position will not be kept." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan said indignantly: "You are eating the offerings of the people and saying high-sounding words, but at this time, you don't care whether the people live or die, you are simply accomplices of the bandits!" After that, he walked to the head of the team and asked the man: "Where is your village?"

The man pointed to the road when he came and said, "I live in Longhuji, follow this road, and turn right at the first intersection." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan said to Zhou Ying: "I'm sorry, you have to go home by yourself." ”

Zhou Ying said: "I'll go with you, Longhuji is not far from Hegouji, I know the nearby terrain." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan said: "The bandits are ruthless and ferocious, if your family knows about it, they will be worried." ”

Zhou Ying said: "If my father knew that I helped you kill the bandits, not only would he not blame me, but he would be very happy." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan groaned slightly, and then agreed.

This place is not far from the Dragon and Tiger Set, and it is very easy to get there by horseback. The two of them stood outside the village and looked around, only to see that the village was in shambles, many houses were burned to the ground, many bloody corpses lay on the wide avenue, and a few gray finches swirled in the air, making a hoarse cry.

When you walk into the village, almost every door is on the ground, and some of the walls are collapsed, and when you look inside, the courtyard is littered with all kinds of things: clothes, trousers, shovels, dishes, etc., all worthless things. The villagers were filled with grief and anger when most of their hard-earned belongings were robbed, and the loud curses and complaints against God were mixed with the cries of the bereaved relatives and hung over the entire village.

An old man in his seventies who had no children or grandchildren, and his wife had died, so he looked more openly, sat on the stone in front of the door, smoked a cigarette pouch, and looked at the dilapidated courtyard, just sighing.

Lu Xiaoyuan asked about the bandits' ransacking of the village, the old man spit out a puff of smoke, and said: "Hundreds of bandits surrounded the village, and began to arrest people from house to house, bringing everyone to the wheat field at the entrance of the village. Some distressed people were not allowed to stop the money, and they were killed by the bandits. When the others saw it, they didn't dare to resist, who knew that after the bandits finished robbing the money, they wanted to rob the women again. ”

He took the cigarette pouch pole and pointed to the corpse lying not far away, and sighed: "The bandits wanted to rob his daughter-in-law who had not passed through the door, and he went up and tried his best, but the daughter-in-law was not saved, but he gave his life instead." Alas, the bandits kill people without blinking, isn't he seeking his own death?"

The corpse was a young man, with a sturdy body, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his face was still ruddy when he had not long died, as if he had fallen asleep, and a woman was looking up to the sky and screaming "son", and snot and tears were dripping on the young man's cheeks.

Seeing it in their eyes, both of them felt sad in their hearts, and Lu Xiaoyuan asked, "How long ago did the bandits leave?"

The old man knocked the ashes on the stone and said, "I have been walking for less than half an hour." ”

Lu Xiaoyuan asked, "Which way did they leave when they left?"

The old man said: "There are two roads in the north of the village, and they take the mountain road. ”

The two of them said goodbye to the old man and rode to the north of the village, where a wide road was at their feet, and a mountain road branched off beside it, leading to the rolling hills.

Lu Xiaoyuan jumped off the horse, looked at the winding path, and asked Zhou Ying, "Do you know any shortcuts to copy?"

Zhou Ying said: "There are shortcuts, but you need to cross mountains and mountains, and it is inconvenient to ride a horse." But if you walk, you can't catch up. ”

Lu Xiaoyuan said: "Come, I'll carry you on my back, and you will show me the way." ”

Zhou Ying was a little skeptical, but seeing that he was sure of what he said, she climbed on his back and showed him the way. Lu Xiaoyuan showed his technique, and with a slight touch of his toes on the ground, he flew out of a distance of more than two zhang, crossing mountains and mountains, and walking on the ground.