Chapter 74 Alone

After half a day, they had come to the vicinity of Shepu Pavilion, as long as they walked a little further and passed Bingmasi, they would be Xiaodongmen.No doubt it was for this reason that the neighborhood seemed all the more crowded.Those ordinary people who planned to go out of the city to seek refuge had already filled up the front, but people kept coming from the back.The road, which was not very wide in the first place, was almost clogged, so the speed of travel suddenly slowed down.According to the original agreement, Ling Junfu's men were going to disguise themselves as people from the four townships and sneak into the city when the people in the city were fleeing from the city.Now that the city is so crowded, it seems that it is not easy to get out of the city, let alone enter the city.Therefore, Liu Jingting became anxious first.He looked around and found that the Shepu Pavilion was on a higher terrain, and he estimated that from there he could observe the movements in the direction of the city gate more clearly.So, he pulled Shen Shizhu away, turned his body sideways, kept being careful, and walked slowly through the crowd, leaning towards Sheputing.However, before they could reach their goal, there was a sudden "coaxing" from all around. As if they were being pushed by a huge force, the people gathered together and squeezed them into the middle. Although they were only four or five steps away, they just couldn't move anymore. .Despite Liu Jingting's repeated pleas, everyone was eager to get to the gate of the city, and they were so crowded that no one would give in. "Hey, everyone, hurry up! Why are you still not moving?" Liu Jingting urged anxiously.

"It's not that everyone doesn't want to move, it's that the government is holding the door ahead and forbidding people to go out." A clear voice came from above the mound.Hearing that this is the case, Liu Jingting was just busy making secret calculations at first, and was surprised and uncertain.But then, his heart suddenly moved, and he felt that the voice was very familiar. When he looked up, he was surprised to find that the man was also staring at him intently. "Hey, Dad, Kuntong! Why are you!" the man shouted first. At this moment, Liu Jingting also suddenly recognized that the person was not someone else, but Yu Huai who had been lost for a long time!And standing next to him was his servant Ah Wei.

This reunion, which they had never dreamed of in their dreams, made both parties very excited, and they shouted and shouted and danced with joy.So, with the help of Yu Huai's master and servant, at least they persuaded the people next to them, they moved each other several times, and finally Liu Jingting and Shen Shizhu barely squeezed into the pavilion. "Hey, how did you find this place?" Yu Huai couldn't wait to ask after holding each other's hands tightly because the surrounding was too crowded. This made it difficult for Liu Jingting to answer.Because firstly, the surroundings are full of people, and secondly, this matter cannot be explained clearly in a few words.He had no choice but to wink and said: "This old monk and this junior brother were sent by the monastery to buy rice in the city. It's a coincidence that we have to meet my husband even though I don't think so!"

Yu Huai is a smart person, after hearing what he said, he undoubtedly understood.He nodded his head, then asked again: "The two masters think they are planning to leave the city?" "It's all because the matter has been settled, and the temple is anxious to wait for the old monk to go back, so he doesn't want to stay in the city for a long time. But looking at the situation, he can't get out, why?" Liu Jingting continued to hint at the other party. "Oh, master, I also heard that there were rumors of southern soldiers crossing the river in the city last night, so the people were afraid and wanted to leave the city to escape. Only the county lord Zhang Gongshi sent someone to announce that it had been found out that there was no such thing, purely It was a rumor, and the city gate was ordered to be closed, and the people were not allowed to enter or leave, so as not to be taken advantage of by the enemy. I am afraid it will be difficult for Master today..."

He was about to continue speaking, but at this moment, there was another "coax" sound from around, and then there was a commotion in panic.I saw that the people who were crowded in the front retreated one after another as if they were under some invisible oppression, and those who were unable to retreat for a while were crushed and fell to the ground.So some people simply turned around and ran away.But the people behind hadn't reacted yet, and still hugged forward.With such a collision in two strokes, the whole scene suddenly became chaotic, and countless people were knocked down and trampled over their heads.The one who trampled on others just now was trampled under the feet of others in the blink of an eye.For a while, screams, cries, groans, and dying struggles, one after another, were deafening.The four people including Liu Jingting were blocked by the guardrail of the pavilion, and they were on the mound, so they were not affected for a while, but facing the people running around everywhere, the situation was quite dangerous.Originally, when Shen and Liu were about to go out, the Cha brothers had promised to send someone to protect them secretly, but now none of them showed up.On the contrary, they saw from a distance that a group of soldiers in livery were charging towards the city gate like wolves and tigers on horseback, whipping anyone they saw and beating them with the back of their knives.Needless to say, the chaos just now that caused many deaths and injuries was the result of these gangsters forcibly driving them away.Even so, there are still many ordinary people, like frightened cows and sheep, fleeing and hiding, and continue to swarm towards the city gate in a daze.

"Well, if that Zhang Yaoyang forbids the people to leave the city, then naturally the people outside will not be allowed to enter the city. In this way, Ling Junfu and his subordinates will all be kept out of the city, how can this be good?" Wang Wang Looking at the streets that became empty due to the dispersal of the people, as well as the dead and injured refugees on the streets, and listening to the screams of relatives of the dead and injured, Liu Jingting was shocked and thought anxiously.Indeed, although he has been in the rivers and lakes for most of his life and can be said to be well-informed, he feels helpless in a hurry.He had no choice but to turn around and plan to discuss it with his friends.However, at this moment, Shen Shizhu who was standing by the side suddenly said: "Get out of the way, wait for me to go out!" Then, I saw him nod his head to everyone, then turned around resolutely, and walked out of the pavilion. Step towards the direction of the city gate.

"Hey, Kun Tong, what are you going to do?" Yu Huai who didn't know the details asked loudly. But Shen Shizhu didn't answer any more, and didn't even turn his head. "Hey, do you know what he's going to do?" Yu Huai turned to Liu Jingting inexplicably. But Liu Jingting couldn't answer either.He could only make a gesture to Yu Huai: "Benefactor, please wait here for a while, and wait for the old monk to follow me to take a look." "Then, why don't we all go together!" Yu Huai said. Liu Jingting naturally had no objection.So, the three master and servant stepped forward and hurriedly followed.It was at this time that Liu Jingting briefly explained to Yu Huai the reason for sneaking into the city this time and the purpose of coming out today.And Yu Huai also told about finding Mao Xiang.However, perhaps due to such distraction, when they stretched their necks to look forward again, Shen Shizhu had already disappeared.The two friends hastened their pace, passed the corpses and the injured, and rushed to Xiaodongmen, only to see a group of fleeing people stranded there from a distance, and at the same time heard Shen Shizhu yelling loudly: "You bastards, why are you here?" Do you dare to let the master go out? You can see clearly with your eyes wide open, the master is holding the number plate issued by the Jiangning governor's yamen!" The two friends couldn't help being startled. "What? Kuntong is really going out of town?" Yu asked suspiciously.Liu Jingting shook his head.Of course he had realized that Shen Shizhu's clamor to leave the city was to force the guards to open the city gate so that Ling Junfu and his men from outside the city could take the opportunity to sneak in.But can it be done?Even though Shen Shizhu is using the number plate of the Qing army to intimidate the opponent, will those defenders submit?Judging from the tight security situation in the city today, even if the door is really opened, can Ling Junfu and others get in?It was this series of doubts, coupled with the worry about Shen Shizhu's risky behavior, that made Liu Jingting extremely nervous, and walked over slowly involuntarily, wanting to find out what happened.

"Don't come here, you will die!" Shen Shizhu yelled again suddenly. Liu Jingting's heart skipped a beat.Although these words were probably directed at the guards, he clearly heard that Shen Shizhu was actually warning himself and Yu Huai. "Hey, can you open the door? Can you open it? Open it quickly! I missed the master's important matter, and I will discipline you all to go to prison!" Shen Shizhu urged again. Until now, perhaps because of the distance, Liu Jingting and the others could only hear Shen Shizhu yelling, but could not hear the voices of the guards.But in fact, the guards were obviously also discussing in private how to deal with this troublesome uninvited guest.Because, after a while, I saw the two heavy city gates banging and banging a few times, and finally they were slowly pushed open a crack, revealing a line of blue sky outside.

"Okay! It's a shame that he has the guts to force the door open!" Liu Jingting thought in overwhelmed surprise, and stared at it more intently.Now, he became so nervous that his heart was in his throat, and he couldn't even breathe. "Where's the suspension bridge? If you don't put down the suspension bridge, how can master get there?" Shen Shizhu's voice was still carefree.Since it was decided to let him out of the city, this request was naturally undeniable.Sure enough, a fiery voice shouted: "The outside and the inside are all ready! Except for this man, no one else should be allowed in or out!" Following his words, there was a creaking sound on the top of the city wall. After a while, there was the sound of the suspension bridge being lowered with a "bang".However, after that, for a while, there was no movement in the city gate, and it was not known whether Shen Shizhu had left the city or not.The three friends standing in the distance couldn't help but get anxious.Everyone looked at me and looked at you, wondering whether to go and have a look.At this moment, I suddenly heard a voice shouting from the city gate, "Hey, get out quickly! Why don't you go?"

"What's the hurry? Your city gate is too small, sir, I can't get used to it!" Shen Shizhu said.Every time he opened his mouth, he always enlarged his throat, clearly wanting Liu Jingting and others to hear. "Why can't you get used to walking? Do you know what time it is now! The Grand Master has an order to strictly guard the city gate and not let anyone in or out at will. Letting you out is already a great kindness! You still want to talk about it here?" "Hey, how far do you want to go, you little bit of a piece of shit?" "Bastard! How dare you make fun of the master?"

"Ah, you hit someone with your hands?" "So what if I beat you! The master wants to beat you! You bastard! You bastard!" Although Liu Jingting and the others couldn't see clearly what was going on at the city gate, it was estimated that Shen Shizhu really made a move.As for his purpose of doing this, he obviously wanted to cause confusion so that Ling Junfu and his group could come in.Indeed, after all, the gates of the city have been opened, and the drawbridge has been lowered. People from outside the city want to rush in, and this is the right time.However, for some unknown reason, there was silence outside the city, and there was no movement; on the contrary, Shen Shizhu's situation became very dangerous because of the brawl.Of course Liu Jingting was aware of this, and was so anxious that he almost didn't jump up.However, at last, he has been walking in the rivers and lakes for many years, and he is very experienced. He calmed down in his busy schedule, and found that there were still many fleeing people staying around the city gate, watching suspiciously, so he turned his head quickly and turned to Yu Huai, who was at a loss. Say: "Things are going to get worse! Rescue him and talk about it!" After speaking, he opened his throat suddenly and shouted: "The gate of the city is open! The soldiers from the south are about to attack, run away!" "Run away! Run away!" Yu Huai's master and servant also shouted together. At this moment, a strange situation appeared——behind them, seven or eight men who looked like servants suddenly appeared behind them.Hearing them yelling, those people also yelled. Liu Jingting was taken aback for a moment, and then suddenly realized that they were sent by the Cha brothers to protect him and Shen Shizhu!So, he immediately made a gesture to them, and ran to the city gate first.When those people saw it, they continued to shout and followed along with Yu Huai's master and servant. This yelling and rushing really had a great effect, I saw the people around who were watching were startled instinctively, and then they rushed towards the city gate as if they were pushed by an invisible force... "Don't leave the city! Don't leave the city! Who dares to disobey, this traitor is an example!" A ferocious roar sounded from the city gate.Liu Jingting and the others fixed their eyes and found that following the roar, a man who looked like a gate official turned out from behind the group of guards.Holding a steel knife in his hand, he stood fiercely in the middle.It wasn't until people hesitated and stopped that he turned back and shouted proudly: "Drag me out!" Then, two guards grabbed a man in a black cloth straight suit by his feet and dragged him out backwards. , and then threw it in front of everyone.The man seemed unconscious. After falling to the ground, he rolled a few times through castration and then remained motionless. From the moment the gatekeeper yelled, Liu Jingting felt a chill in his heart, realizing that Shen Shizhu might have been murdered.But the remaining glimmer of hope prompted him to still rush forward.When the other party throws a person, he doesn't need to look to know that it is Shen Shizhu, but he doesn't know whether his companion is still alive or dead.Now, at last, he could see clearly: his companion was crouched like a pile of rags, his thin body had grown lifeless.A small claw-like hand was exposed under the shirt, but it was still holding onto the half-remained number plate.And the shaved head with six dots branded on its forehead is twisted unnaturally, with a pair of wide-eyed eyes staring blankly at the sky, as if asking: "Why did I die like this?" I don’t want to die like this. I want to leap on the horse, fight bloody swords, and return with the body wrapped in leather, so that the three armies will cry together..." Liu Jingting's heart seemed to be cut inch by inch by a knife.He wanted to cry, but there were no tears.Finally, with his legs bent weakly, he knelt down in front of his companion's body...