Mercenaries and Adventurers

Zhao Ji tracked all the way not far from this group of people, because he was hiding in the woods and with the help of the nearby steep terrain, his figure was not found.

Those careless bandits didn't care about the surrounding situation at all in their own territory, and the long-term security made these bandits not very vigilant. As for the captured people in the team, they all bowed their heads as if resigned to their fate. As they got deeper and deeper into the mountains, they no longer had the idea of ​​resistance, and only wanted to survive.

Since the bandits carried heavy loot on their backs, and the captured people were all weak, they walked very slowly and did not arrive at a place where a pocket hole was arranged until dark. stronghold.

There are two or three people who live here all year round, and there are sufficient places and water. Arriving here at dusk was obviously the distance calculated by the bandit leader.

Seeing these people stop to rest after arriving at a small stronghold at dusk, Zhao Ji left after observing the stronghold for four weeks.

He roughly judged the location of the lair of Luodaidong from the direction the gang of bandits were heading. The gang needed to rest after a long day of travel, and he himself was full of energy, so he stopped following them.

After all, it will be dark soon, and once it gets dark, it will be easier for him to hide and move forward in the woods.

The estimated location here is the central area controlled by the Luobagdong gang, and the terrain is beginning to become complicated. Different from the gentle mountains around, there are many ravines here, and there are especially many trees, so it is very difficult to walk after dark.

Zhao Ji had to walk in the natural valleys where people could walk. It was very difficult to climb the steep slopes, let alone climb these mountains and forests in the dark after dark.

In this area, Zhao Ji also encountered two patrols of five people. The other party was lighting a bright torch in the dark night, walking around and chatting casually while patrolling.

After dodging into a tree beside the road, Zhao Ji let the patrolling bandits pass. He was not surprised but happy about this. Bandit gangs with sufficient manpower will send people out to patrol. What does this mean? It means that this is already very close to the opponent's lair.

Zhao Ji thought about it, and the bandits named Luobagdong felt more professional than the guards in the checkpoint villages and cities. As far as he could see, the nighttime defenses of Dolarin Village were not so adequate, and Kendall City was even more lax.

Kendall City's defense is more, in his opinion, it is more loose on the outside and tight on the inside. The external defense is very weak, and the defense at night is put on the patrol in the city.

He didn't know much about Bingxun Pass, but judging from the lax security at the north gate of the pass, the soldiers on the pass were more prepared to assist the tax collectors in collecting taxes from people coming and going.

As for the gang of robbers in Luobagdong, there are sentry bases with manpower on the outskirts of their territory, and there will be patrol teams at night near the opponent's lair. Considering that the other party's old lair is a cave, the other party will definitely prepare manpower at the entrance of the cave.

In this way, the gang of bandits took precautions at every level, no wonder it was said that many times the militia suppressed the bandits but failed to eliminate them.

With a slap on the forehead, Zhao Ji remembered that these bandits must have set up a team of people in the Bingxun pass to investigate and inquire about the news. Normally, these people must pay attention to suitable caravans, and if there is a change in the checkpoint, such as check-in A large number of militiamen were gathered, and these people would definitely pass on news and intelligence to the bandit's lair.

With such layers of defense, it's no wonder that this gang of bandits will grow bigger.

Compared with the bandits in Pocket Hole, the gang of tooth ghosts next to them is not good. Firstly, it was too close to Bingxun Pass, and the other party had no time to evacuate after they sent people out. Secondly, although the terrain was mountainous and forested, the terrain was flat, so no matter where you went, it was difficult to defend and manpower. Thirdly, about the preparations for defense and Action is not enough, even at night, Ya Guijing did not send a small number of people out to patrol. Relinquished control of their turf as soon as it was dark,

Zhao Ji can be allowed to pass in the dark at will.

Of course, Zhao Ji thought this way, and those who might be bandits didn't think too much about it. They were all precarious, so they messed with them casually. Only when there was a safe lair like Luodaidong, would these gangsters have the intention to tinker with these layers of external defense methods.

Zhao Ji didn't try to attack these two groups of patrolling bandits, he still remembered that he came here this time to save people. If possible, it is best to rescue Mr. Kendo's nephew who was kidnapped the first time he found the bandit's lair.

Because at this moment the bandits are in the light and he is in the dark. The other party was not wary of him. Moreover, this year's militia raids against bandits have not yet started, and these bandits have no intention of shrinking.

--

Avoiding the torch-lit bandit patrol, Zhao Ji walked toward the dark road the group had come from.

It was dark at night, and I couldn't see anything clearly. The hills and trees in the forest blocked the three moons in the sky. It is estimated that only when the full moon is full can the ground of the forest be illuminated.

Zhao Ji, who didn't have a torch, groped forward slowly by taking advantage of the limited light.

Later, they met the returning patrol team. After Zhao Ji let them go, he just followed the patrol team, borrowing the light of the opponent's torch, and followed the opponent's lair all the way.

At the end of a low valley, at the corner of the mountainside of a valley with dead ends, is the entrance to the cave where the gangsters lair.

There are obviously too many trees around the cave, blocking the eyes of anyone who wants to discover this place from a distance. Zhao Ji also heard the patrol team greet the people guarding the entrance of the cave, only to find out that there is such a hidden cave hidden in this place with many trees.

At the entrance of the cave, there are four bandits who take turns to watch. They rest, eat and live at the entrance, and it seems that there is no flaw.

Touch into the dense forest at the entrance of the cave, and carefully observe the bandits guarding the entrance of the cave from among the trees.

Zhao Ji found that fortunately these bandits were not stationed closely next to the entrance of the cave, but set up two tents in the open space next to the entrance of the cave and lit a fire.

At this time, all the people were gathering around the fire to enjoy the fire, and there was no one at the entrance of the cave. The two groups of patrols who came back from the patrol stopped going out, but crowded in front of the fire and chatted and laughed with the two bandits guarding the entrance of the cave.

After listening carefully, I found that what these people were talking about was when a leader who had gone out would come back and what the harvest would be like. For this reason, they also opened a bet, each betting.

Zhao Ji listened carefully, there was a faint and loud snoring sound from the tent beside the fire, probably the guards were resting during the day, even if it was a close conversation and a bet, the two of them could not be woken up .

Seeing that all the bandits were not paying attention to the defense, and were casually chatting and joking, Zhao Ji considered whether to sneak into the bandit's lair now.

This is very risky, but it is the middle of the night at this time, and everyone who should sleep is resting. The gang of bandits are so well-prepared outside the lair, so correspondingly, there is no need to be so careful inside.

As long as he sneaked into the cave, he should be able to move safely until dawn.

In fact, there is another way. He just needs to dress himself up and get some bandit clothes. When the bandits who went out to loot come back tomorrow, there will be a little chaos. He can sneak in, as long as he goes in together. After that, he can swagger and investigate at will. You are not afraid of being discovered, just say you are a newcomer.

However, this method is also a little bad. He knows too little about this Luobagdong bandit. If someone interrogates him, he will naturally arouse suspicion if he doesn't know anything about it. Besides, he didn't look like a bandit, whether it was his strong and healthy body or his vigilant and serious personality, he was different from this group of rude bandits who had no culture or knowledge. Besides, these bandits seemed to be very powerful when they robbed, but Zhao Ji actually discovered that these bandits actually did not eat well, because they were all in the mountains, and their food sources were single. Malnutrition caused by a single. The low-level bandits don't even have any oil on their faces. It seems that they rarely eat foods rich in oil, so they are naturally in poor health.

In order to improve his physique, Zhao Ji has recently increased his food intake. As long as the conditions are right, he will eat a lot of meat, coupled with frequent training exercises.

No matter how you look at it, his physique doesn't look like a bandit, but more like a bandit leader.

After thinking about it, Zhao Ji checked the equipment on his body, and went around half a circle, avoiding the bandits in front of the cave from the side of the cave entrance, and using the two bandits to have a dispute and curse to attract the attention of all the bandits At that time, he lay on the ground, and crawled from the dry grass on the side of the cave to the shadow of the cave.

After he came in, he didn't move a little. After confirming that no bandits outside had noticed something wrong just now, he got up and lowered his body to observe the situation in the cave.

Except for the lighting of the fire outside the cave, it was actually pitch black at the entrance of the cave. With the help of a small amount of light scattered from outside the cave, Zhao Ji found that the roof of the cave here was completely blackened by the smoke from the torches, and the road inside the cave was very smooth without any obstacles.

After walking quietly for a few steps, Zhao Jina's trained body keenly discovered that the smooth ground paved with small stones and flagstones was faintly moving downwards.

Guessing that the interior of this cave is not small, it may be a dry water-eroded cave that runs through the mountain, so Zhao Ji proceeded cautiously.

The ground inside the cave is flat, but the road is curved, so Zhao Ji can only see a small area ahead that is not blocked by it. He focused on the outstretched arms and ears, carefully distinguishing the various subtle sounds coming from ahead.

No matter how far he walked, Zhao Ji heard a sound of grunting, and walked along the cave wall in the dark. He walked lightly, and after turning a corner, he found a bright light coming from ahead.

Squatting down on the edge of the curve, Zhao Ji poked out half of his head to investigate, and found that inside was a place similar to a hall. There were many artificial buildings inside. A tall torch stands in the middle of the cleared ground.

What's interesting is that on this tall torch, there are still a few pieces of flat metal that have been polished. These metal pieces avoid the rising channel of the smoke directly above the torch, and only scatter the flame of the torch like a lotus around the torch.

In addition to this conspicuous central torch, there are also some illuminated oil lamps hanging in front of the doors of some wooden houses. It should not be said that there is an oil lamp at the door of almost every house, but most of the oil lamps are not lit.

Because it was midnight, all the robbers were resting in the house.

As he expected, he entered the interior of the cave. The defense here is very loose, no one is patrolling the various houses, and the doors of each house are closed, and there are grunts and suppressed panting and moaning from the inside of the house without a roof. Voice.

Not caring about those voices, Zhao Ji carefully observed various situations in the cave hall in this dark passage. After a while, footsteps and the faint light of the torch came from behind him.

Zhao Ji guessed that the patrol team came in to rest or change people, so he hurried out of the passage and hid behind a group of messy things not far away.

Zhao Ji hid himself behind the stone jar that looked like it was carved out of stone, carefully observing a patrol team that walked in.

After this group of people reached the middle of the cave, they added some firewood to the tall torch in the middle, and then dispersed randomly. A few bandits walked into an empty room, and the lights in the room were on, and then went out quickly. .

And one bandit came to another house, woke up the people inside after entering the house, and then went back to the room where the previous bandits were to rest.

A group of bandits who were called out lazily carried weapons and walked out of the cave wearing thick clothing made of various clothes and animal fur.

It is estimated that this is another group of bandits who set off on patrol. Zhao Ji saw that none of the bandits came in and out just now, and no one else came out to check, which made him bold.

Knowing that these gangsters are used to living a normal life in this safe cave, without the approval of at least the leader to enter a tense state, they may relax their vigilance in this way.

Zhao Ji stood up, he was finally able to explore this place openly.

He found that the stone jar he was avoiding just now was originally used to hold water, probably due to poor technology and tools. The stone jar was not deep and only contained a small amount of clean water.

Looking at the dry wooden houses and wooden objects around, Zhao Ji felt that a big fire should be able to burn down here, as long as there is no water in the stone jars that are estimated to be used for drinking and fighting fires.

Temporarily suppressing this thought, Zhao Ji came to an open place and looked around carefully. There are more than a dozen wooden houses around, and there are two other passages besides the passage when he came, but I don't know where they lead.

He came to a wooden house carefully, and with a little judgment, he could see that the outside of this wooden house was ordinary, and it should be a place where ordinary bandits lived. He pushed the door and found it was open.

Quietly opened the door to allow his head to go in, Zhao Ji saw clearly what was inside with the faint light of the central torch behind him.

The bandits divided the house into upper and lower floors, separated by thick planks in the middle. Outside the lower floor are some tables, chairs and boxes, where the daily necessities of the bandits are placed. Inside are some miscellaneous things stored, Zhao Ji can't see clearly.

On the wall next to the door, all kinds of weapons were hung on the wall, ranging from daggers to shortbows and longbows, from wooden spears to wooden shields and axes, but there seemed to be only one of each.

At first, Zhao Ji thought that the bandit had so many weapons, but when he looked at them, he realized that the bandit's weapons were actually a lot in quantity, and the quality was not very good. They were all very rough weapons and equipment.

On the second floor of the house, since the house has no roof, the actual space on the second floor is large. Zhao Ji raised his toes to have a look, and found that the bandits were all sleeping wrapped in messy bedding, and some women were also hugged and slept together by them. What's more, he saw babies and children.

Zhao Ji frowned tightly. What did this mean? The gang of bandits had assigned the plundered women to various bandits with some qualifications as wives, started a family, and even gave birth to a newborn.

This gang of bandits is no longer a random organization, and has the qualifications to become a small force. As long as this gang of bandits continues, they don't even need to recruit outsiders. The child can last for a long time.

And children who have lived in this environment since childhood, when they grow up, they will regard looting as a common thing in life.

And those women who were robbed gave birth to new children and lived here for a long time. Didn't they also become a gang of bandits? Especially the house is not locked, no one outside. And there are usually only four guards at the entrance of the cave, so it might not be difficult to get in and out like him.

But the bandits lived together in this way with peace of mind. What did this mean? It meant that these people who had been robbed all the year round no longer wanted to escape here, and they also became a member of the bandits.

Silently closing the wooden door, Zhao Ji walked away worried. He walked to the other two passages he had just discovered.

One of the two passages is faintly downwards, and the other is faintly upward. He first went to the downward passage to investigate. He guessed that the people who lived in the wooden house in the hall just now should be members of the bandit gang, so those bandits were so relieved that no one was on duty in the hall.

The further you go down, the more humid the air is, and this passage is also pitch black, but unlike the main passage leading to the outside world, there are some lampstands set up by bandits on the walls here. During Zhao Ji's groping, he found that these lampstands should be used frequently. The lamp oil inside is half full, and the ground here is more stable than other places. Prevent people from falling when walking around here.

After entering the channel for more than 100 meters, Zhao Ji, who turned a few turns, heard the sound of many water droplets dripping in his ears. In addition, there was a slight rumbling sound of friction and collision with the rock wall when the water flowed.

As expected, after turning another corner, the ground leveled off, and at the same time the top of the tunnel became low, and small water droplets began to drip from above. Zhao Ji estimated that there must be no one here, so he raised a small torch to illuminate the surroundings.

Surrounding him was the end of the passage, and in front of him was a pool of water extending under the rock wall at the end. Surrounded by smooth rock walls, it seemed to be piled up with shiny substances precipitated from the rock walls. When illuminated by Zhao Ji's torch, various bright flashes were reflected.

Looking up from the top of the channel, I found that there are stalactites extending from the top of the channel, and the water drops are dripping from the bottom of those stalactites. Some large stalactites have been destroyed by the bandits. It is estimated that they disliked blocking the passage space, so they destroyed it.

The gravel on the ground was also replaced with large thick stone slabs to prevent water droplets from washing away the gravel.

Zhao Ji approached the pool and found that the pool was running water. The water is ejected from several large rock cracks on the left side of the pool, and flows away from several dark bottomless water holes on the right side of the pool.

After being illuminated by Zhao Ji's torch, many small white fish swim in the water. They seem to have a phototaxis towards Zhao Ji's torch.

"There is water and fish. These bandits can survive for a long time just living in this cave. It's really troublesome. Even if a large number of militiamen surround here later, how can they attack?" Zhao Ji muttered.

"Siege can't kill these gangsters. Huh, it's really troublesome." Zhao Ji extinguished the torch and returned in the dark along the original road.