Chapter 6 Rock Mountain
Chapter 6 Rock Mountain
Cangzhou, Yanshan,
A tall and strong man wearing a bamboo hat, carrying a huge package, a teenager on his back, returned from the north, exhausted.
The people who came were Li Bingwu and Qin Huai, and they were trying to avoid possible pursuers.
Except for the necessary food and drink, Li Bingwu did not rest at all. He rushed day and night and finally returned to Yanshan before the sun set.
Looking at Li Bingwu stretching his muscles on the side of the road, Qin Huai, who was put down from his back, couldn't help but sigh. It takes a lot of effort to be able to travel for more than ten hours while carrying a load of hundreds of kilograms. This physique is really inhuman.
I saw a courtyard with two entrances and several sturdy trees among the ridges of fields in the wilderness half a mile outside the village. Several adobe houses and two thatched houses stood alone beside the stream.
Li Bingwu came to the door, pushed it open, and strode in. Qin Huai also followed Li Bingwu into the gate.
The first room Qin Huai saw after entering the house was the woodshed, which was filled with dried firewood, and outside the room were scattered piles of freshly cut branches.
An axe was nailed diagonally to a woodblock outside the house, and the shiny frosted blade reflected the marks left by the setting sun.
From time to time, the sound of dogs barking could be heard from the thatched hut next to the woodshed, and no one knew what the fence in front of the hut was used for.
When I walked into the yard, I saw a thin and capable middle-aged man standing in a horse stance with his eyes closed. The gun in his hand was as steady as a horizontal line parallel to the ground.
What is surprising is that in such a cold day, the middle-aged man is shirtless.
Heat was rising from his lean upper body from time to time, and the flying snowflakes in the air turned into water vapor and dissipated in the air before they could get close.
Just as Qin Huai was staring at the gun intently, the middle-aged man seemed to feel Qin Huai's gaze. He opened his eyes and a ray of divine light shot straight into the depths of Qin Huai's eye sockets.
When Qin Huai's eyes met, he seemed to see again the snow falling from heaven when he climbed Mount Zhangjia in his previous life. It was like a celestial being intoxicated, as if he wanted to shatter the mountains and rivers.
Just as Qin Huai's mind was wavering, the middle-aged man glanced at Li Bingwu's blood-stained waist, placed his spear in the yard, turned around, took the sweat towel on the stone bench and walked into the main room.
Li Bingwu didn't care about Qin Huai and followed him into the main room carrying the package.
As soon as you enter the warm room, the first thing that catches your eye is a pair of boxwood armchairs and a mahogany eight-immortal table, on which is placed a set of small purple clay pots.
The middle-aged man put down the sweat towel he had used to wipe himself, took the kettle that was boiling from the stove next to him, and added water to the small purple clay pot.
The middle-aged man put down the kettle, picked up the small pot, and motioned Li Bingwu to sit down and drink tea.
"Brother, this trip is really not that simple. If it weren't for the kid outside the house, I might have died on the road." Li Bingwu picked up the small pot and complained while drinking.
"Did you use your gun?" The middle-aged man's face changed slightly.
"I didn't see any firearms. The one biting me was probably a spy sent by the palace."
The middle-aged man nodded, took the small sandalwood box handed over by Li Bingwu and placed it on the table, "Tell me about the changes on this trip."
Li Bingwu took another sip of water and continued, "Brother, I have to say that this trip is a bit weird."
“At about noon, I took the item from the palace. Before I even left the city, I felt like I was being ‘bitten’ by a spy.
Just as he was planning to find a secluded place to deal with them, he came across a mountain temple outside the city.
It was snowing hard and windy at the time, and I was afraid of unexpected twists and turns, so I planned to go to the snowy mountain temple.
When I entered the temple, I saw the boy warming himself by the fire.
The boy was not afraid of me carrying a knife and a gun, so I was afraid of hurting innocent people, so I asked him to hide quietly. "
"Later, the three spies came into the temple and tried to defraud me.
Fortunately, the temple was small and could not accommodate three people to attack together, otherwise it would have been very dangerous.
I guess it was because the leader was too arrogant that he dared to fight me alone.
Unfortunately, I found a flaw and kicked him, seriously injuring him.
Before the remaining two men came forward with their swords, I had already shot out of the temple. The remaining two men were also difficult to deal with. Their combined swords were like one body. If I hadn't taken the opportunity to exchange my wounds for my own, the outcome would have been uncertain."
"How did the kid help you?" The middle-aged man didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.
Li Bingwu smacked his lips and recalled: "He first threw stones to save me when I was being stepped on and stabbed.
Later, when I was exhausted, I blew to death the swordsman who I kicked into the temple.
But it's strange, how do you think he got the explosives?"
The middle-aged man also looked suspicious, but after thinking for a while he said, "Why not just call him in and ask him about it? He should have come to his senses by now."
Li Bingwu hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Brother, you didn't use too much force, it would be bad if you scared the child."
The middle-aged man grinned: "It's just a quick glance. Besides, there are great benefits to getting through it."
Outside the house, Qin Huai stood there for a long time. Only when a thin layer of snow accumulated on his shoulders did he finally come back to his senses from the shock.
Looking around, he saw that the middle-aged man and Li Bingwu had already entered the house.
Qin Huai glanced at the big gun standing deep in the yellow earth in the yard, and couldn't help but smack his lips. After thinking about it, he shook his body and walked into the house.
As soon as I stepped into the house, my body suddenly felt warm before I could adjust.
Li Bingwu hurriedly pulled him to sit on a chair and stuffed a small purple clay cup into his hand. The dark green tea leaves in the cup rose and fell in the clear tea soup.
When Qin Huai took a sip of the tea, the bitter and slightly sweet tea soup spread into his internal organs with warmth, and his body, which had become stiff after standing in the yard for a long time, became warm and strong again.
The middle-aged man at the side raised his lips in a friendly manner and asked Qin Huai, "Where are you from, little brother? Where are you from? How old are you now? Where are your elders at home?"
Qin Huai's heart tightened as he looked into the middle-aged man's clear eyes.
He said bitterly: "My ancestral home is in Jiaodong, and I will be fifteen after the New Year.
When I was young, I lived in Yingzhou with my father. A few days ago, my father felt that China was in danger, so he wanted to bring the skills of the Western barbarians back to China to help in this chaotic and dangerous situation. "
Qin Huai looked at the middle-aged man with a normal expression, picked up the teacup and took another sip.
With a gloomy look, he said, "I didn't expect that when the ship arrived in Tianjin, my father left me some money and told me to take care of myself, but he disappeared with the package the next morning.
I thought he would definitely go to the capital, so I went to the capital to find him.
After a few days of wandering, I finally made it to the capital, and then last night I ran into Brother Li while I was staying at the mountain temple."
The middle-aged man nodded, as if agreeing with this statement, but then asked: "What happened to the explosion?"
Qin Huai breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "My father is an engineer, and I have learned some tricks from him.
In a small and cramped room, if there is a large amount of dry and flammable powder, once the cold wind blows and encounters an open flame, it will cause a violent deflagration and explosion. "
"So I bought some wood powder that carpenters didn't want in the capital, and made a self-defense arrangement in the relatively solid mountain temple.
This way I can rest in the temple, and if I encounter danger, I can at least deal with it. I just didn't expect to be able to help Brother Li."
The middle-aged man was also surprised when he heard this and said, "Young brother, you are really quick-witted and courageous. I think your father is also a great man, I just regret that we have never met.
You can just stay here and rest assured. As for your father's whereabouts, I will ask my fellow apprentices to help you find out tomorrow."
After saying that, the middle-aged man signaled Li Bingwu to take Qin Huai to rest, while he put on a long gown and went out.
(End of this chapter)