The rivers and lakes are full of vests

The 16th year of Pingyuan was an extremely turbulent year. From the temples to the people in the rivers and lakes, there were chaos everywhere.

Above the court, seeing the emperor's health deteriorating, various forces began to fight openly and secretly for the crown prince.

The rivers and lakes are not peaceful either, the good and the evil factions are on the verge of war, large and small disputes continue. First, the Luoying Sect, the largest sect of the evil sect, wantonly arrests the children of the folk, and tempers the elixir with its heart and blood.

When the news came out, there was an uproar in the Jianghu, and condemnation was everywhere. Immediately afterwards, the various sects joined forces to form an alliance to attack them in one fell swoop. The crowd was all wiped out, and the leader Shi Qinghan was seriously injured and disappeared. So far, the rivers and lakes have ushered in a clear calm.

But our story begins when all the sects formed an alliance to defeat the Luoying Sect.

......

In April of the 16th year of Pingyuan, in a small village called Huailiu in Northwest China, the gray-haired old village head gathered 56 people in the village, and they were discussing which family's boy would be handed over to Luo Shadow Heijia, but faced with such a heavy choice, everyone present was silent.

In the end, it was a woman and child who couldn't hold back her emotions, sobbing and crying. The man next to her lowered his face and shouted in a rough voice: "Why are you crying, you mother-in-law knows how to cry, shut up!"

The woman looked weak, but her temperament was not weak. After being yelled at by her man, she stopped crying, but yelled back in a high-pitched voice, "What's wrong with me crying! I'm crying that my son's life or death is unknown , I, a mother, was so worried that I couldn’t eat or sleep, so now I’m not allowed to shed two tears for my son?! It’s better than you, a father! You couldn’t even protect your own son, so he was sent to that demon sect, now I don’t know whether it’s life or death, Wang Zhuang, let me tell you, if my son doesn’t come back, I won’t live anymore, and you’re going to die long ago, so let your old Wang’s family die!”

As soon as the woman finished speaking, the man surnamed Wang stood up, his neck and face flushed red, his own secrets were heard by everyone, he was so embarrassed that he was so angry that he slapped the woman with a slap When he got to the ground, he scolded angrily: "You bastard, stop talking nonsense, you bitch, I think you beat less, I won't beat you today, you don't know who is in charge!"

After finishing speaking, the man rolled up his sleeves and clenched his fist to shake the woman's face, but the next moment his arm was grabbed.

The man turned his head to look, glared at the man who blocked him and shouted: "Old man Fu, mind your own business, let go!"

Although the man called Old Man Fu has gray hair at the temples, he is tall and tall, obviously a man in his prime.

He looked peaceful, and comforted him in a discussing tone: "Sister-in-law Wang was also in a hurry and was eager to think, so she said some angry words, Yuqing, she is your first wife, you shouldn't put the so-called masculinity Show off on her, Yu Li, you are a seven-foot man, and you shouldn't compete with women, you should be calm and calm at this moment, and stop this fist."

The words were obviously for Wang Zhuang to step down. Although Wang Zhuang didn't know a lot of big characters, he still had some discernment. The villagers didn't want to see him at first, but now they all cast contemptuous glances at him. He could only snort heavily, then turned and left.

The old man Fu winked at his wife beside him, Mrs. Fu understood, walked to the side of Mrs. Wang, helped him up, and comforted him in a low voice.

After this incident, everyone's faces became even more ugly. Most of the men frowned and lowered their heads, with resentment and helplessness on their faces, and all the women looked sad and burst into tears.

And the reason for all this starts after the Shangyuan Festival. This area in the northwest is where the Luoying Sect took root. Except for the trouble of itching, there is almost never any chaos among the people. However, after the Shangyuan Festival in the 13th year of Pingyuan, batches of people with black armor appeared one after another in various counties and towns in the Northwest. The boys were recruited to expand the congregation, and those who obediently agreed would get a moderate subsidy, while those who did not agree would all be exterminated, blood splashed on the spot, and the method was extremely cruel.

This incident caused panic among the people. The government sent yamen guards to guard the city gate, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. But that night, the county master was wiped from his throat, died of blood, and his body was hung on the yamen plaque for public display.This frightened the provincial magistrate, he packed up his belongings overnight and rushed to the capital, euphemistically saying that the matter is serious and needs to be reported to the imperial court and sent reinforcements to suppress it, but the people waited for more than half a month, but no reinforcements arrived He realized that the ruling and opposition parties were in the midst of a battle for the crown prince, so there was no time to take care of this small northwest frontier.So far, the people here have completely lost the protection of the imperial court and can only be slaughtered by others.

At the beginning, everyone could comfort themselves by sending their children to learn martial arts. Although it is a demon sect, it teaches kung fu anyway. It is better than dying, so they sent away the virgin boys at home on time, but later, folk gradually spread There was a rumor that the Luoying Sect didn't catch boys to learn Kung Fu at all, but used their heart and soul to refine medicine.

As soon as this news came out, the world was shocked. The head of the Tianji Sect denounced the inhumanity and madness of the people in the Demon Sect. Later, the Tianji Sect joined forces with other sects to form an alliance and decided to jointly attack the Luoying Sect. Afterwards, it was too late to start, and the delay dragged on until mid-April.

The people's hopes were all in vain, and all of them were ashamed. What's more, they threw away their property and fields, and took the whole family with them to seek refuge in other places. , and asked if they came from the northwest, they all shook their heads and refused, saying that they would not accept the refugees, and they would not be allowed to enter the city, which cut off their last hope of survival.

Today is the deadline for Huailiu Village. They need to select two virgin boys to be handed over to the Heijia people before tomorrow. Before that, their village has already sent away nine virgin boys, and now only Two infant boys, and two seven or eight-year-old boys, one is the only son of Zhang Carpenter's family, and the other is the youngest son of Fu Old Han's family.In fact, they have no choice, but no one can open their mouths to make this cruel decision.

The old village chief coughed twice, his expression full of sadness and helplessness, "Let Yuanhu and Jiaxu go."

A woman in the field even fainted after listening to it. The woman was Zhang Carpenter's daughter-in-law. Zhang Carpenter held her in his arms, and he was already in tears. His mouth was trembling but he couldn't say no.

He is an old man, and he finally had a son in his sixtieth year, but he never expected that now, a white-haired man would give a black-haired man, how can he accept it, disobedience is disrespectful, even if he dies, but he Can't bear to see his wife who has been with him for most of his life also go with him.

Old man Fu paced back and forth with his back stretched straight. After a while, he stood still and said solemnly: "It's not an option if this goes on. There will always be someone to send all the boys in the village away. Who can guarantee that the demon sect will confiscate them?" After the boys are finished, they will not attack the girls, and when the children are all taken away, will they start thinking about the young men? The desire is endless, and what we get in return for a moment of peace , no one can guarantee that they will stop here."

"Then look, what should we do?" The old village chief asked back, waving his crutches.

"The whole village has to be relocated", as soon as the words came out, no one responded, because it was not the first time that old man Fu had proposed this idea.

However, no city will take them in. Losing their property and fields, they end up as homeless people who die in other places. For them who are deeply obsessed with returning to their roots, this is definitely not the best policy. Even if they die, they will die in this area where they were born and raised land.

Old man Fu naturally knew everyone's concerns, and he continued to persuade: "There is no city to accept us, so we will build a city by ourselves. Cultivate the land, build houses, and within a few years, we will be able to build another Huailiu Village!"

He spoke with sincerity, but the old village chief just glanced at him and shook his head repeatedly, "Further to the north, it is so desolate and the land is barren. Where is the place where people live, I'm afraid they can't even drink clean water. Fu Ming, I know you are thinking of everyone, but right now there is no other way but to send the child."

"I'm the village head. I have to think for the sake of the whole village. You don't want our Huailiu village to be slaughtered."

Old man Fu fell silent, clenched his fists tightly.

The presence fell into a silent and oppressive atmosphere again. At this moment, a clear voice that was indistinguishable from male and female suddenly came from a distance.

"I go!"

Old man Fu frowned immediately, and turned to look at his eldest daughter, Fu Peibai, who was running over.

They say they are daughters, but the village has always regarded the Fu family as two male dolls. The reason is nothing more than that Fu Pei is only sixteen years old, but he does not look like a girl's family at all.Wearing coarse linen clothes all the year round, following the boys in the village to fish and hunt birds, the fair skin that was originally with her mother was tanned, leaving only a pair of bright eyes.

Even if they were just a remote mountain village, they wouldn't raise their dolls to such virtues. Even if they didn't study, they still had to teach them some handicrafts and teach them to be meek and quiet, but this old man Fu didn't care about him. This daughter, let her do whatever she wants.

Fu Peibai ran a little closer, bent over and propped up his knees and panted, "I'll go, I'll go for my approval." After she finished speaking, she looked up with a free and easy smile on her face, showing a row of shining white teeth. Those who didn't know it thought it was What a good place to rush to, but this is obviously a matter of death.

Just as old man Fu was about to walk towards Fu Peibai, the tall and thin girl nimbly sneaked into the other end of the crowd, grabbed the shoulders of a strong man in front of her, put her feet up and looked at her father from a distance, "Don't come here, father!" , it’s not okay to beat your daughter in broad daylight.”

Old man Fu was angry, he clenched his teeth tightly, and said with a smile: "I won't beat you, you come here first, go home with your mother."

"I won't reply. I know what you are talking about. You want to send Hu Zi and Jia Xu away, right? I said, I will go for Jia Xu!"

"Nonsense!" Old man Fu was completely angry and shouted.

The old village chief slammed his cane heavily, shook his head and said, "Don't make trouble, Xiaobai, what they want is a boy boy, how can you get your status as a girl?"

Fu Peibai poked his neck and replied angrily: "It's just pretending to be a man. Anyway, if you go there, you will die, and if you are found, you will die. Why not, even if there is a sea of ​​swords and a sea of ​​​​blazes, hell, I will go for praise!"

Hey, she's not very young, and her tone is serious. Everyone was startled by this teenage girl.

The old village chief sighed heavily, still thinking it was impossible, but the Fu family had to send one away, whether it was a girl or a son, it was not up to him to make the decision, so let the old man Fu decide for himself.

"Fu Ming, Jia Xu and Pei Bai, you choose one."

The old man Fu sullenly, after a moment of silence, he said loudly: "I will not send any of my children away. Tonight, I will leave here with my family and go north to the fortress."

As soon as the words fell, a man stood up and said sharply: "No! If you leave, those black armors will kill us, and the whole village will die! You can't be so selfish and disregard the lives of the whole village. , you can't go!"

Although this remark is ruthless, it is a fact.

Old man Fu closed his eyes and his face was ashen. It has been sixteen years since he took off his armor and lived in seclusion in Huai Liu. He has already integrated into this village. He has feelings for the mountains, rivers and land here. He sent his family away to take refuge, and he stayed to persuade his neighbors because he didn't want to be slaughtered by others. But now, the disaster has affected his family. No matter how kind and compassionate he is, he can't just watch his children go to death. .

"Tonight, at Zishi, I will take my family and leave the north. Anyone who is willing to come will gather at the entrance of the village. Fu can't promise anything else, but as long as I have a surplus of food, I will share it with you, and I will never break my promise." After finishing speaking, Old man Fu dragged Fu Peibai away without looking back.

Everyone could only see the long shadows cast by the family of three in the setting sun.

......

At night, the sky is dark and thick, and there are no stars and moons.

In a private house in Huailiu Village, three men were secretly discussing something. One of them was the one who sternly refused to let Old Man Fu leave in the evening. Its face is born from the heart.

I saw him take out a bag of powdery stuff from his arms and pour it into the wine jar.

The man on the side asked in a low voice: "Liu Liu, are you sure this medicine will work? Then old man Fu is a practicing family, if it doesn't work, we will have nothing to eat."

The man called the sixth man smiled triumphantly, "Don't worry, even ten cows can be put down by him, but you guys, please be more natural later and don't reveal your secrets."

The two looked at each other and nodded.

Finally, the three of them finished their discussion, blew out the lights, and went out with the wine.

After the figures of them walking towards the entrance of the village disappeared into the night, a desolate old man walked out of the latrine on one side. It was the old village chief. He sighed heavily and shook his head, "Sin, sin."

At this time, at the entrance of Huailiu Village, the four members of the Fu family were waiting here in light clothes, but apart from them, there was no one else there, only the sound of the willow leaves being caressed by the night wind.

Fu Peibai knew how stubborn and rigid these people in the village were, so she yawned and said, "Father, let's go, they won't come."

Old man Fu frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Wait a little longer."

Fu Peibai pursed his lips to tease Fu Jiaxu who was dozing beside him.

The eight-year-old boy was only as tall as Fu Peibai's waist. She touched his brother's head and asked with a smile, "Xiao Jiaxu sleepy?"

Fu Jiaxu didn't know where they were going, he only knew that he was sleeping soundly, so he was pulled up by his father and said that he was going to go far away. He has always been soft-tempered, never mischievous, and he will do whatever his parents and elder sister say. , very obedient.

Fu Jiaxu nodded and murmured. He had a red face, white teeth, round eyes, and a little baby fat on his face, so cute.

Fu Peibai lovingly carried him into his arms, patted him on the back, "Let's rely on Sister Sister for a while."

Mrs. Fu looked at the two children lovingly. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of three figures appearing on the trail in the distance, and she raised her finger and said, "Amin, look over there, it seems that someone is coming."

The old man Fu squinted his eyes and looked at them. Aren't they just three people? He was secretly happy for several months of advice, and finally someone listened to him. The three men in the house had neither luggage nor family members, so they obviously didn't come to follow him north.