Fairy Tree

The southern boundary.

At that time, the world was in chaos, and a war broke out between the Yuxi Kingdom in the south and the Jinshi Kingdom in the north. Both sides invested millions of soldiers. For a time, war broke out between the two countries, and the people were in dire straits. At this time, the house leaked and it rained all night, and the Yuxi Kingdom's Nanzhou was in great danger. Due to drought, the people had no harvest, and thieves were everywhere. In order to make a living, the people fled their homeland one after another and embarked on the road of exile.

On an official road in Huai County, Yuxi State, a group of refugees marched toward Huai County. The team was seven or eight miles long and numbered at least several thousand people.

Twelve-year-old Xiao Lin was walking among this group of refugees. He supported his frail father Xiao Shan and held his sister Xiao Zhi with the other hand. His dark face was full of confusion and loneliness. He took a sip. With chapped lips, he took off a gourd from his waist.

After shaking it gently, a faint sound of water came from inside.

"Xiao Zhi, drink some water." Xiao Lin handed the gourd to his sister Xiao Zhi.

Xiao Zhi's tanned face showed a sensible expression, and she shook her head: "Brother, I'm not thirsty, you can drink."

After hearing this, Xiao Lin's nose felt sore and he almost shed tears. It has been more than two months since he left his hometown, and the dry food he brought has long been eaten. Two days ago, his mother died of starvation on the road. If this continues, , within two days, my frail father and sister would probably starve to death.

It is still more than a hundred miles away from Huai County in Nanzhou. Judging from the current speed of the refugee team, it will take at least three days. Xiao Lin is not sure whether he can survive these three days. What's more, even if he arrives In the county seat of Huai County, you may not be able to find food.

Looking at his father's sallow cheeks covered with weather, and then at his sister's thin body, Xiao Lin felt filled with self-blame. If someone could give him a steamed bun now, he would definitely agree to any conditions.

Suddenly, there was a rapid neighing of horses in front of them, and under the billowing smoke, a group of people and horses were running towards them.

Xiao Lin was shocked, his little face was full of horror. He had long heard from adults that there were many bandits on the way to Huai County. These bandits killed people without blinking an eye, and stole money and women. If you don't comply, you will be killed. Along the way, he has seen many corpses displayed on the roadside, with only the bones left after being eaten by wild beasts in the mountains.

If he really encountered a bandit, there would be no way to survive. Xiao Lin sighed in his heart.

Xiao Lin stared at the smoke and dust in front of him. It wasn't until he saw the big word "Jade" on the chests of the men and horses rushing out of the dust that he felt relieved.

"It's the officers and soldiers." Xiao Lin murmured to himself. Although the officers and soldiers often did things to oppress the people, they were much better than the bandits and would not kill people at will. However, he still quietly pushed his sister behind his father. .

The leader of this team of officers and soldiers was tall and thick-set, with angular features and an inch-long beard of the same length. The only scar on his face from his left eye to his right cheek gave him a strong aura of ferocity.

He looked at the group of refugees in front of him, his brows furrowed, and after a while, a sneer appeared on his face.

He waved his hand behind him, and after a while, a man came over on horseback. The leading officer whispered a few words into the man's ear, and while speaking, he glanced at the group of refugees with a cold eye. His subordinates nodded while listening, At the same time, he glanced at the refugees with a smile on his face.

After driving the horses away, the entire army team immediately began to lengthen, and the refugee team began to gather together from both sides. Seeing this scene, Xiao Lin's face was gloomy, and his heart sank.

Soon, thousands of refugees were gathered together in a dark place. They all looked at the scar-faced officers and soldiers at the head with horrified faces, feeling uneasy in their hearts.

Looking at the dark crowd with satisfaction, the scar-faced officer forced a smile on his face, but this smile did not give him an amiable image, but instead added a slightly weird and terrifying atmosphere.

"I am Liu Dali, deputy lieutenant of Huai County. I have been ordered to wipe out the bandits in the Tianlu Mountain area of ​​Nanzhou. I need to recruit some migrant workers to carry siege equipment. Any healthy man over twelve years old can join. Anyone who joins will be We will give you five steamed buns as settlement allowance, and when the bandits are wiped out in the future, the recruited people will be resettled, so that you will not have to suffer from displacement. "

The dark crowd suddenly became commotion. If it were normal, no one would care about the resettlement fee, which could even be said to be pitiful. But it is different now. Most of these refugees have been hungry for several days and may walk away at any time. He collapsed on the roadside. In this case, five steamed buns were not just a matter of a few meals, but the hope of survival. Soon, some people walked out of the crowd and expressed their willingness to be recruited.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Lin sighed. He understood that these people who came out were not doing it for themselves, but just for their families to survive. After all, with these five steamed buns, there was a glimmer of hope.

Soon, this group of officers and soldiers set up several tents on the roadside, placed several tables and chairs, and began to register the recruited migrant workers.

"Father, I'll go." Xiao Lin grabbed his father who wanted to sign up, and said with a smile. He knew that his father was very weak, and coupled with the hidden injuries left by hunting in his early years, under the current circumstances, he was even more serious. Relapse, if he really becomes a migrant worker, he may die on the road before he reaches the bandit's lair.

"Brother." Xiao Zhi, who was one year younger than Xiao Lin, had red eyes. She knew that if her brother left, she might never see him again.

"Xiao Zhi, be good, you must take good care of your father while brother is away. Wait for him in Huai County. He will definitely come to find you." Xiao Lin said with a forced smile while holding back the sadness in his heart.

"Yes." Xiao Zhi nodded obediently, and then smiled at Xiao Lin.

Seeing Xiao Zhi's forced smile to comfort himself, Xiao Lin felt a sore nose. He thought of his mother who starved to death two days ago. He secretly gritted his teeth and told himself that he must never let his sister be like his mother.

Turning his head secretly, he scraped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his fingers and threw them away. Then, Xiao Lin walked towards the crowd without looking back.

The long queue stretched for hundreds of meters. A rough estimate showed that there were at least several hundred people who had signed up. Xiao Lin was in the middle of the queue, feeling a little uneasy. He saw with his own eyes that several elderly applicants were driven back. , he understood that these old people wanted to use their lives to give their families hope of survival. There were also several young people, thinner than Xiao Lin, who were also driven back to the ranks of refugees.

Xiao Lin was very worried, afraid that he would not be hired either.

"Xiao Lin, you also signed up." A childish voice came from behind him. Without turning around, Xiao Lin knew that the speaker was Xiao Shi, who grew up with him. Xiao Shi's father was a blacksmith. Originally, their family was in The village was relatively prosperous, but unexpectedly, his father and eldest brother were drafted into the army a year ago and never returned, leaving him, a younger brother and a younger sister. His mother had not fled the famine a few months ago. He starved to death and had no choice. Xiao Shi, who was one year older than Xiao Lin, had no choice but to take his younger brothers and sisters out.

"You came out, what will happen to your brothers and sisters?" Xiao Lin had a surprised expression on his face.

"What else can we do? Let Uncle Xiao help take him down. I hope we can wipe out the bandits soon and then we can return to Huai County." Xiao Shi sighed.

Xiao Lin didn't speak. He knew that the Uncle Xiao that Xiao Shi was talking about was his father. There was nothing he could do about it. Xiao Shi's situation was similar to his own. Without these steamed buns, the three of them would not be able to survive. Instead of this , it is better to exchange some steamed buns to give the younger brothers and sisters hope to survive.

Soon, it was Xiao Lin's turn.

"Name?"

"Xiao Lin."

"Place of origin?"

"Gouzi Village, Huai County, Nanzhou."

"age?"

"Thirteen." In order to increase the chance of being hired, Xiao Lin falsely stated that he was one year old.

After hearing this, the official officers and soldiers looked up at Xiao Lin with doubtful expressions on their faces.

"Guan Ye, we are both young. We are both thirteen years old this year. You see, we are both strong and can definitely work." At this time, Xiao Shi walked up from behind, with a smile on his face, and said to The officers and soldiers showed off their exposed tendons.

Xiao Shi has been blacksmithing with his father since he was a child. He is very strong and taller than Xiao Lin by more than half a head. Although he is only thirteen years old, he looks similar to a young man in his fifteenth or sixteenth year.

Obviously satisfied with what Xiao Shi said, the officers and soldiers did not embarrass Xiao Lin. They nodded and wrote the word Xiao Lin on the roster.

After receiving the steamed buns from Xiao Shi, they returned to the ranks of refugees.

They took out four of the ten steamed buns and distributed them to Xiao Shan and the three children. Then they wrapped the rest in coarse cloth and handed them to Xiao Shan.

Xiao Shan took it and took out two steamed buns from the coarse cloth.

"You haven't eaten for more than two days, so why don't you eat some steamed buns?"

Xiao Lin and Xiao Shi looked at each other. Xiao Lin took a steamed bun, broke it in half, gave half to Xiao Shi, and then smiled at Xiao Shan and said, "Father, one is enough for the two of us."

Looking at his sister Xiao Zhi, munching on the steamed buns sweetly, Xiao Lin suddenly felt that he had done something very right.

...

Three days later, Xiao Lin and Xiao Shi followed the army and entered the Tianlu Mountains. The Tianlu Mountains are located to the west of Nanzhou of the Yuxi Kingdom and are connected to the Jinshi Kingdom to the north. They are wide and boundless. After hundreds of miles in depth, the Tianlu Mountains It is an endless stretch of primitive mountain forest with soaring mountains and ridges. The tops of the mountains can’t even be seen at a glance. For countless years, no one knows how big the Tianlu Mountains are, because anyone who goes deep into it has been lost. .

The scar-faced officer Liu Dali led hundreds of officers and soldiers and drove these hundreds of migrant workers towards the Tianlu Mountains. They had been walking for four or five days. In Xiao Lin's opinion, they had at least penetrated one step deep into the Tianlu Mountains. For more than a hundred miles, they often heard the roar of wild animals along the way, which made them really frightened.

If it weren't for the large number of people, I'm afraid they would have been attacked by wild beasts. Xiao Lin was a little surprised. Logically speaking, although the bandit's lair is also in the Tianlu Mountains, it is impossible to penetrate such a long distance. The bandit survives by robbing homes. Yes, it's so far away. It takes ten and a half days to go out to do business. This is a bit unreasonable.