Chapter 8 The eighth chapter: A pair of riders on a poor journey at sunset meets a heart-pounding sword

Yu Jiaolong rode a little flower horse, galloped alone in the gravel area, walked a section of open lowland, and turned over a small sand dune, but there was another vast lowland lying in front of her.Except for the densely packed pebbles of various sizes, there wasn't even a blade of grass on the ground. The whole earth looked lifeless, lifeless, as if being in another world.Yu Jiaolong has also run alone on the grassland many times, but her mood at that time was free and comfortable; she also crossed the desert, and felt only embarrassingly dull and lonely. It made her feel the desolation that shocked her heart and soul, and the suffocation that seized her soul.She walked from Sishi to Youshi, and when the little pony ran up a sand dune again, she saw a green land in the distance ahead.The little flower horse, who was already looking a little tired, seemed to have smelled the breath of the grassland from the breeze, and suddenly became energetic, and let out a long hiss, and before Yu Jiaolong whipped it, he let go of his four hooves and ran towards the green area go.

In less than an hour, Yujiaolong entered the grassland. Not far from the edge, there was a pile of horse manure on the ground, which looked fresh. She knew that she might find herdsmen in the vicinity.So, she stood on the stirrup and looked around the fields, and saw a sparse forest along the edge, and a small lonely tent stood on the grass not far from the forest.Yu Jiaolong steered his horse and walked towards the tent.When she was almost approaching the tent, she suddenly heard a long neighing sound. The neighing sound was so majestic and loud that she couldn't help being surprised.She hurriedly looked up, and then she saw clearly that there was a black horse tied to the wooden fence next to the tent.The horse was tall and big, with a broad chest and a neatly trimmed mane. She recognized it was indeed a good Mongolian horse at a glance. Will there be such a Malay?Ordinary herdsmen would not have such horses.Yu Jiaolong immediately became alert, took off the sword wrapped in silk ribbon, held it tightly in his hand, then got off the horse, led the horse and walked towards the door of the tent with the sword in hand.The door was closed, Yu Jiaolong hesitated for a moment, then raised her voice and asked: "Is there anyone inside?"

Then, footsteps were heard inside.She hurriedly retreated five steps away, stood firm, and clenched the hilt of the sword in her hand.The door opened, and a man flashed out, standing proudly with his hands on his hips. The first thing that caught her attention was a pair of shining eyes, and from those shining eyes shone with a look that made her elusive.The man immediately let out a low exclamation: "Ah, it's you!" Yu Jiaolong felt confused for a while, and looked again, and what caught her eyes was a familiar but extremely handsome face: two thick sword eyebrows, flying into the full sky, hanging like a gallbladder. Below the nose, there is a wide mouth, with red lips and slightly drooping corners of the mouth, showing a mighty spirit.Looking again, I saw that the man was wearing a white cloth double-breasted jacket, brown trousers with tied feet, short leather boots on his feet, and a yellow silk belt around his waist.Yu Jiaolong was stunned, in this brief moment, although many past memories flashed in her mind, she couldn't remember when and where she had seen this man.The man was looking directly at her.Yu Jiaolong was annoyed by his unscrupulous direct gaze, she couldn't help but asked coldly: "Is there a shepherd's tent near here?"

The man said: "Except for this tent, the other shepherds live far away." Yu Jiaolong was disappointed, and when he felt a dilemma, the man said, "Who are you looking for? You don't even know the shepherds here." Yu Jiaolong was startled again, and quickly said: "I'm here to find Father Budhawang." "Looking for Papa Butawang?! Do you know Papa Butawang?" The man looked very surprised and asked a few times. Yu Jiaolong avoided the man's questioning and asked instead: "Do you know Papa Budhawang? Where does he live? How far is it from here?"

The man said: "This is the tent of Papa Budhawang, but he left it to me now." "Where's Papa Budhawan?" "Someone came from Dad's village. He has something to do, so he took the flock to the west of the grassland." Yu Jiaolong felt that everything was lost.She looked around in a daze, and saw that the setting sun was covering the grassland, and the whole land looked so peaceful.Over the past few years, she has been used to seeing this kind of scenery. The loneliness of the wasteland, the desolation of the gravel area, these shadows floating in her heart have been swept away by the current scenery that she is familiar with.She stretched her neck to the south, and the land was green like a blanket. How many times she had soaked in dew, faced the wind, and stood up to the sun on such a green blanket, but she had never galloped under the stars and the moon, so she might as well hurry on this way, maybe until the moon sets in the west. , it is possible to reach the boundary of Dihua.So, she stopped talking to the man, she led the horse along, and was about to step on the saddle, but the man came quickly, grabbed her horse's mouth with one hand and said, "You still want to go?"

Yu Jiaolong said with hatred: "Don't worry about it." The man said: "The grassland is no better than home, and the night is no better than the day. Don't be sexual, there are wolves in this area." After finishing speaking, a slightly mocking light flashed in his eyes.Yu Jiaolong was taken aback, where did he see those familiar eyes?The anger that had begun to rise in her suddenly sank down again: she glanced at the man with a slight annoyance, and saw that his handsome and simple face was full of frankness and sincerity.Yu Jiaolong pulled back a foot that was already on the stirrup, and asked curiously, "Who are you?"

The man said: "Father Budhawang's relatives." Yu Jiaolong suddenly thought of Harimu, and asked again: "Do you know Harimu?" The man let out a burst of hearty laughter and said, "Of course I know each other. There's no reason why I don't know each other!" Yu Jiaolong recalled what Da Mei once said: "My brother has many brothers...all of them are brave...Brother Luo is the bravest...he rescued my brother in the snowstorm on the desert..." She He wanted to ask that man again, but he swallowed the words again. The man said, "You won't be able to reach Dihua tonight, so just stay here, and I'll give you the tent."

Yu Jiaolong asked in surprise: "How do you know I'm going to Dihua?" The man blinked and said, "You can tell just by your attire." Yu Jiaolong fell silent.Restlessly, she told the man to lead the horse away, and he led the pony to the fence and tied it to his big black horse. Yu Jiaolong suddenly remembered that the horse was taken away by Bagg in the wasteland, she hurriedly walked over and grabbed the rein, but she didn't untie it immediately, she only watched the man vigilantly.She finally couldn't bear it anymore, and asked again: "Are you really sure that I am going to Dihua?" The man folded his arms across his chest, stared at her with mysterious eyes, and said nothing.

From the man's face and eyes, Yu Jiaolong didn't notice the slightest sinister intent, which only filled her with curiosity and confusion.She asked a little liar: "You know me!" The man said, "Of course I do, I've known each other for a long time." "So, you know who I am?" The man laughed heartily again, and said, "Miss Yu is the daughter of Yushuai's mansion!" Yu Jiaolong couldn't help being taken aback, and asked again: "Are you from Wusu?" "No, it's not." "Then, you must have been to Wusu."

"Yes. It was two years ago." "Two years ago... you saw me... where was it?" Yu Jiaolong seemed to be talking to herself, she was really at a loss. The man said again: "It's not just two years ago, and it's not just in Wusu. You really forget things on the head of a nobleman. I want to ask you, how did you come here? " Yu Jiaolong was stunned by his question.After a while, he said hesitantly: "We went to Dihua, encountered a... wind in the desert, got separated from the servants, went astray, and came here around here." The man laughed again, so he couldn't help but almost burst into tears.Just after the laughter, the familiar mocking look in the man's eyes reappeared.Yu Jiaolong suddenly felt a fever on his face.The man said, "Wait a minute." Then he turned back and entered the tent. After a while, he came out with a big bag of things, walked to a place about twenty steps away from the tent, and quickly propped up a covering curtain , and spread a straw mat under the curtain, it seems that he has decided to spend the night there, the man tidied up, and then he turned around and said to Yu Jiaolong: "The tent is yours, go in and have a rest , I see you are very tired."

Yu Jiaolong entered the tent, and saw that facing the tent door was a well-matched bed, beside the door stood a crock filled with water and some common objects used by herdsmen.The tent is small, but very comfortable, and the surrounding is also very strong, giving the people who live in a sense of safety and reliability. Yu Jiaolong sat on the bunk, and slowly tidied up her somewhat disheveled hair, arranging the man's handsome, deja vu face, those familiar eyes, and his thoughtless behavior just now. Words are disturbing her heart, making her unable to calm down.At this time, the setting sun outside the tent had already set on the edge of the grassland, and both inside and outside the tent seemed peaceful, but Yu Jiaolong felt disturbed for a while in this tranquility.She couldn't sit still anymore, got up again and went outside the tent, glanced towards the curtain, and saw the man sitting cross-legged in front of the curtain, concentrating on mending something.After hesitating for a while, she still moved to the side of the curtain.Yu Jiaolong walked very lightly, so that he didn't notice her coming when she was already standing in front of the man.He raised his head, looked at Yu Jiaolong, and smiled helplessly.Then, he buried his head and went to mend his clothes. Yu Jiaolong asked inquiringly, "Do you know all the brothers from Harimu?" The man replied casually, "I know almost all of them." "I heard that he has joined the horse thieves team. Do you know those horse thieves?" "Do you want to ask those horse thieves? I know them all." The man said casually, and Yu Jiaolong asked further: "Tell me, are there any good people among them?" The man stopped what he was doing and raised his head: "In my opinion, they are all good people. If they are not good people, they would not be horse thieves." Yu Jiaolong asked again: "How do you know they are all good people?" "Seeing is believing. I saw what they did with my own eyes. Compared with those Bayi, Burke and officials in the court, I really don't know how much better it is." Yu Jiaolong was stung by the man's words, she said angrily: "Why are you talking to them!? A group of thieves who kill people and rob goods without profit, what good is there!" The man stood up, put his hands on his hips, and said, "How do you know them! Harim and his brothers, for their own brothers, they can share their own life-saving water in the desert; they are for their own brothers , may shield their breasts from sharp arrows; they may scatter to their poor brothers the money they scoop up from the blood. You have seen it in those Bayes, Burkes, and officials People and things?" Yu Jiaolong was a little annoyed.But he also felt that what the man said seemed to have some truth, so he could only bite his lip tightly and endured it.Ask again: "Do you know who is the bravest among them?" The man blinked and said, "Harry wood." Yu Jiaolong said disapprovingly, "No, the one surnamed Luo is the bravest." Immediately afterwards, she added lightly, "I also heard about it." The man laughed loudly, raised his neck, closed his eyes, showing his white teeth. Yu Jiaolong was surprised again: What a familiar laughter and gesture, where has she seen it before?She tried her best to figure it out, and suddenly, the scene that happened on the lawn the night before flashed before her again. The bearded and ferocious Ban Tianyun also had the same voice and the same way of laughing.But the man in front of him is so handsome, without the slightest bit of fierceness, not even the slightest shadow of Zhong Kui, how can he think of these two people together.As she was thinking about it, the man stopped laughing and said with a hint of contempt: "You mean Luo Xiaohu, right? What kind of hero is he? He only relies on brute strength and a sharp knife!" Yu Jiaolong felt uneasy for a while, and said coldly: "Why do you dare to underestimate him like this! How dare your Harimu compare with him!" As soon as she finished speaking, she went back to the tent angrily. Yu Jiaolong entered the tent and sat down, feeling an indescribable unhappiness in her heart.She suddenly remembered that both Xiao Zhun and Emil once boasted that Luo Xiaohu was handsome.Udunai's harsh words "I think I'm obsessed with her" rang in her ears again, and her face felt hot again.She really didn't expect that someone would praise his handsomeness for that half-tian-yun whose face was obscured by a clump of beards.She thought again: In terms of handsome, this man is really handsome, but one is the leader of the thief who smashed the desert, and the other is just a vagabond on the grassland, how can he compare with Ban Tianyun?Yu Jiaolong thought about it, it was already dark, she gently opened the tent door, the surrounding fields were quiet, the moon was hanging in the sky, sprinkling the clear light all over the earth.Looking as far as she could, she couldn't see any human fireworks on this boundless grassland. She couldn't help thinking that she had a flower-like face, precious beaded hair, and bright clothes, but she was here. In this situation, all of this has become meaningless, as if all the gains and losses in the world no longer exist.The honor she enjoyed in Yu Mansion and the doting of her parents in the past seemed to be a long time ago.Those red tape and etiquette, seniority and inferiority, everything has become superfluous.At this time, the horse and sword are the most precious and indispensable to her.Thinking of these, she felt lonely and lost in her heart.She retreated listlessly to the side of the bunk, lit the oil lamp, and leaned on the bunk, half leaning and half lying down.After a while, her eyes closed slowly, and she fell into a state of trance, as if she was asleep but fully awake. I don't know how long it took, but suddenly, several long and sharp howls came from outside the tent, and then the howls rose one after another, echoed each other, and sounded into one piece, as if they were surrounding her.Yu Jiaolong had never heard such a cry before, and she didn't know what monster it was from, it made her hair stand on end in horror. While she was in shock, she suddenly remembered that both Damei and the man had said that there were wolves on the grassland.She hastily grasped the sword wrapped in silk ribbon, carefully opened the tent door, and stepped out to have a look. Under the moonlight, she saw a pack of wolves surrounding the curtain where the man lived. Standing, some sitting, no more than twenty steps away from the curtain, with green light shining in each eye, staring at the man covetously, neither daring to rush at him rashly, nor walking away easily.The man stood in front of the curtain, right in the middle of the pack of wolves, vigilant without support, and kept turning his body.Seeing that scene, Yu Jiaolong's heart tightened.She was so anxious that she couldn't do anything, she hurried back to the tent, picked up the water jar, and threw it at the wolves. At the same time, she yelled to the man: "Quick, come over here." The sound of the smashing pot and the shouting of the jade dragon, in this quiet wasteland, was like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, causing a burst of excitement among the wolves. Panicked, but they only took a dozen steps back, and then stopped immediately, forming a stalemate.The man still stood there motionless.The wolves tried to move closer to the man again. Yu Jiaolong was in a hurry, and when she was about to rush over to rescue him desperately, the man said: "Don't worry about me, I will clean them up." Slowly speaking, then quickly, I saw the man raised his hand Now, holding a small object like a crossbow in his hand, he aimed at the pack of wolves in front of him, raised his hand, and with three sounds of "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh", three short arrows flew out of his hand. go out.There were several heart-piercing wailings from the pack of wolves, and immediately three wolves fell to the ground.The rest of the wolves went up to sniff the three fallen wolves, and then backed away in panic.Taking advantage of this, the man turned around and fired a few more arrows at the pack of wolves behind him, and several wolves also fell down in response.The rest of the wolves were also startled and backed away. But they all retreated to a certain distance before stopping again, still looking greedily at the man.The man didn't give up, and walked towards the wolves in front without fear.He took a step forward, the wolves took a step back, and the wolves behind the man also took a step forward, still forming an encircling circle.Yu Jiaolong could see clearly from the side that the man was still in a critical position.She never expected that the wolf would be so cunning.She was really anxious for that man, and she only wanted to help him.She looked around and saw that there was nothing else to throw, so she rushed towards the pack of wolves behind the man.Her sudden appearance caused a panic among the wolves.Just then, she heard a few more "whoosh, whoosh" There was a sound, and the wolves in front of her suddenly jumped high, howled a few times, and fell down.Under the sudden pincer attack, the rest of the wolves turned around and ran away desperately.Outside the tent, only the moonlight and the bodies of a few twitching wolves remained, and the grassland returned to tranquility. The man still stood there motionless, and said nonchalantly, "Why are you here, I can handle these guys by myself." Yu Jiaolong thought that he was going to say a few words of praise or gratitude to her, but he didn't expect that he actually regarded her kindness as superfluous.She turned around, returned to the tent resentfully, sat down on the bunk, and secretly complained about her meddling. However, Yu Jiaolong's heart still couldn't calm down, she was always paying attention to the movement outside the tent, always worried that the pack of wolves would be quietly approaching the curtain again.Her worry became more and more intense, as if the man was already in danger.Yu Jiaolong was restless, when suddenly, she saw the tent door was opened, and a long figure was reflected in the moonlight shining into the tent.Yu Jiaolong was startled, quickly put the sword in his hand, stood up, looked carefully through the light, and then saw clearly that it was the man who came in.With a calm expression, he crossed his arms and stood in front of her proudly.Yu Jiaolong held her breath, suppressed her panic, and asked sharply, "What are you doing here?" The man calmly replied: "Let me ask you a question, are those horse thieves you mentioned really good people?" Yu Jiaolong was extremely astonished, she didn't expect the man to ask such a sentence suddenly.She just said coldly: "What does this have to do with you?" The man said: "You don't need to worry about it. I just ask you, is the horse thief a good person or not?" Yu Jiaoyou said angrily, "Not a good person. Not even one." The man took a step forward and said, "If that's the case, why didn't you surrender yourself to the crime?" When the man said this, the mocking look flashed in his eyes again. Yu Jiaolong was taken aback at first, but then suddenly remembered, this is exactly what Ban Tianyun looked in his eyes!On the grassland of Wusu two years ago, at the bonfire on the lawn the night before... She had seen such eyes before.She opened her eyes wide and stared at the man closely.The man stood proudly, with a smile on his lips, and the mocking expression remained in his eyes for a long time.His bulging chest muscles, thick arms, rosy lips, and that row of bright teeth... Yu Jiaolong stared, stared, and she finally recognized that the man in front of her was exactly Ban Tianyun.Yu Jiaolong suddenly felt flustered in his heart, and his heart beat fast.She asked dumbly, "Who are you?" The man remained silent, still looking at her with those shining, mocking eyes. Yu Jiaolong took a step back abruptly, and at the same time raised the sword wrapped in silk ribbons, pointed it at Ban Tianyun's chest, and asked sharply, "What do you want to do?" For a long time Yun remained unmoved, and still said calmly: "Oh, you probably have recognized me. We are really destined to meet each other again." Yu Jiaolong's face was flushed with embarrassment by his word "Yuan", and she shouted angrily, "Nonsense, get out!" Yun ignored her for a long time, and continued: "I think you can be considered a good person. A good person will not call a good person a bad person. In your conscience, is a horse thief a good person?" Yu Jiaolong didn't answer him, but sternly shouted: "Don't let me out!" At the same time as he shouted, he sent the sword forward, but Luo Xiaohu straightened his chest without flinching. Jiaolong was so frightened that she hurriedly withdrew her hands, but it was too late!There was only a sound of "pushing", and the tip of the sword pierced through the silk ribbon and pierced directly into Luo Xiaohu's chest.When Yu Jiaolong quickly drew back the sword, a stream of dark red blood immediately stained his white coat.Luo Xiaohu clutched his chest with his right hand, looking at Yu Jiaolong in surprise.His bronzed face was slowly becoming pale, and the light in his eyes was dimming.Yu Jiaolong was stunned, and stared at him with wide-open eyes.At this time, the tent was surprisingly quiet, and the sound of each other's breathing could be heard clearly.Luo Xiaohu stood for a while, then slowly lowered his head, stepped back with heavy steps, and went straight out of the tent. Before Yu Jiaolong came back to her senses, she suddenly heard a heavy falling sound from outside the tent.She was startled suddenly, as if she had just woken up from a dream, dropped the sword in her hand, and ran out of the tent recklessly. Right next to the tent, Luo Xiaohu was lying on his back, the moonlight shone on his pale face, his eyes were closed tightly, as if he had fallen asleep.Yu Jiaolong leaned down and called in a low voice: "Luo...Xiaohu...Luo Xiaohu..." The voice was full of remorse and sadness.Luo Xiaohu remained motionless, and the blood continued to flow out.Yu Jiaolong became even more anxious, and helped him up with her hands. She felt his body as heavy as a stone.With great effort, she half-dragged and half-hugged him into the tent, and gently laid him flat on the carpet.Then, he untied his jacket, wiped off the blood on his chest, and hastily untied the ribbon wrapping his sword to bind his wound.In order to bind the wound smoothly, she sat beside Luo Xiaohu, lifted his upper body, and let him lean into her arms, and finally bandaged the wound properly. At this moment, Yu Jiaolong only has one thought in her heart: save him, do everything possible to save him!She stared intently at the bandage, and when she saw that the blood from the wound was no longer seeping out, she breathed a sigh of relief.She moved her eyes to observe Luo Xiaohu's face carefully, and saw two thick black eyebrows on his square face, a big hanging nose, and his tightly closed lips did not reveal a trace of resentment or pain. mean.He just lay quietly in her arms, not like a man who passed out due to a serious injury, but like a child who was tired from playing and fell asleep.Yu Jiaolong couldn't believe it, the handsome man lying in his arms in front of him was actually the bandit chief Ban Tianyun who leaped across the desert the day before yesterday, dominated the western border, and made the officers and soldiers fearful!It was actually Luo Xiaohu who was on the lawn the night before, with a beard like a dry beard, with his chest bare and his arms exposed, making people feel terrifying!Yu Jiaolong looked down at him silently, and felt that there seemed to be a mysterious power in him, which made her unpredictable, fascinated her, fell in love with her, made her feel guilty, and made her feel pained. Time passed in this silence.I don't know how many hours passed, Yu Jiaolong saw Luo Xiaohu's tightly closed eyes slowly opened.Slowly, a ray of light returned to those eyes.The tightly closed lips also opened slightly, as if they wanted to speak, but they didn't say it, leaving only a shy smile on their lips.Afterwards, Luo Xiaohu struggled, as if he wanted to force himself to sit up, Yu Jiaolong sighed softly, pressed his arms with his hands, and said softly and softly: "Don't move! I'll see you again Bleeding." As soon as she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes, and several drops just happened to fall on Luo Xiaohu's face.Luo Xiaohu said hoarsely: "It doesn't matter, I'm strong, and I'll be fine tomorrow." He struggled to sit up again, but was stopped gently by Yu Jiaolong.He paused, and suddenly asked as if remembering something: "Where is the blue and white horse I gave you?" Yu Jiaolong suddenly remembered what happened in the wilderness yesterday, shame, anger and grievance came to her heart, she couldn't help crying sadly.Sobbing, he said, "It was taken away by...someone." Luo Xiaohu: "Who? It must not be a horse thief!" Yu Jiaolong: "No, it's not. It's Bagh." Luo Xiaohu said bitterly: "Ah, it's him again! This wolf!" Because of his anger, it caused a sharp pain in his wound, and he snorted softly.Yu Jiaolong's sobbing stopped suddenly, and she quickly stroked his wound with her hand, and said tenderly: "What is Bagh? It's not worth being angry about him! You should rest well." Luo Xiaohu closed his eyes obediently, and said nothing more. There is no sound outside the tent, and the inside of the tent is full of tranquility.Yu Jiaolong and Luo Xiaohu hugged each other tightly, forgetting everything.