The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

After the Fu family members went down one after another, Zhang also took the lead and began to walk down, saying soothingly: "We are all in this together now. We need help to deal with the bandits. Don't be afraid, come down!"

Because there were so many people, Zhang specially arranged for Grandpa Jinbao to cover the rear so that no one would be left behind. He also cleaned up the mess, covered the entrance of the cave, and buried all the traces.

After everyone came down, they discovered that the cellar was quite large and the tunnel was very long and winding, and no one knew where it led to.

Doctor Fu took out a lighter and lit a candle, and a dim candlelight flickered in the cellar.

People on both sides sat against the wall, with a distance between them. No one spoke, and the children snuggled in their parents' arms obediently.

I don’t know how long it took, but there was a faint sound of a lot of footsteps and the shouting of bandits above their heads, and everyone’s heart suddenly rose to their throat.

Although there was a layer of ground between them, the forest was quiet and the bandits' words could still be heard clearly: "Second in command, calm down. Our brothers on guard didn't notice them moving forward. There are not many places to hide outside Gao'an County. There are only two or three slightly larger forests. They can't escape!"

Another man said in a gruff voice, "Isn't that right? With our Great Persimmon Post blocking the way, they can't escape even if they have wings. Killing them is as easy as crushing an ant. When we find them, we'll make sure they experience the water dungeon in our village. We can't let them die so easily!"

The man from before responded flatteringly, "That's right!"

The leading man spat, "Damn it! Why don't you go find it quickly? Stop talking so much nonsense!"

After saying this, he clenched his fists until they creaked, and said sinisterly, "I don't believe they can really fly. They dared to kill my brothers. They must be tired of living!"

The people above searched the surrounding area again without any results and then left.

Hearing the footsteps gradually moving away, everyone in the cellar breathed a sigh of relief.

After who knows how long, the children's stomachs started to growl.

There was also fried rice and fried soybeans in the bundle. The women quickly grabbed a handful and let the children eat them slowly.

Doctor Fu also started eating, and the food was much better than what the Zhang family had. The three grandsons even had candies and jerky. However, the children all had cold eyes, and the children on both sides looked at each other while eating.

Zhang Pingan saw this and said, "Everyone, eat some dry food first and conserve your energy!"

Doctor Fu also said, "Eat more. Today is a tough battle. Life or death depends on it today!"

I don’t know how long I stayed there, but my legs felt numb and I lost all feeling. Suddenly, everyone heard a loud sound of breaking air in the distance.

Everyone was shocked and stood up to listen carefully.

Guo Jia did not disappoint everyone, and soon the second sound of breaking through the air was heard.

"Successful?" Doctor Fu was half happy and half doubtful.

Zhang immediately said, "Nephew, do you have any more flares? Let's each send a quick-footed person to investigate. Two miles isn't much distance. If it's true, fire another flare and we'll rush over immediately to try and leave no one alive!"

"Yes," Doctor Fu nodded, took out a whistling arrow and stuffed it into his eldest son's arms: "You go!"

Zhang scanned the crowd of people in her family and finally said, "Dahe, you come with us. You've often been out doing business, so you're quick and smart. I trust you!"

Da He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay!"

I took a long knife with me when I left!

Ma was extremely reluctant and asked, "Why should I choose my family? Isn't this bullying?" But before she could say anything, she was forced to swallow her words back by the intimidating look of her mother-in-law Zhang!

The men packed up their weapons and waited anxiously for the final news. The women and children did not go because they could not help much and would easily distract the men.

Time feels especially long at this moment.

Zhang instructed, "When we get to the bandit den, don't be soft-hearted, especially Sanlang. He's got a good physique and archery skills, so he should be trained to see blood. You're just too kind!"

Everyone agreed. Liu Sanlang, who was called, scratched his head and grabbed his bow and sword.

About a quarter of an hour later, the sound of arrows breaking through the air was heard again. This time, the men no longer hesitated. Doctor Fu took his second son and went ahead to move the stone slab away and climb out of the cave. The men from the Zhang family followed behind.

After we came out, we found that it was almost dark. Two miles to the northeast, there was a fire shooting up into the sky, illuminating the surrounding area. There was no need to worry about getting lost!

Everyone ran towards the fire. Doctor Fu was much thinner now, so he ran quite fast.

More than twenty adult men were traveling together, and it looked quite impressive!

They ran all the way to the foot of the hill, and when they found no one on guard, they walked up the stone steps towards the village.

This bandit stronghold was pretty much as everyone had imagined. The outermost circle was just ordinary thatched houses. Everyone checked house by house and found that those still left in the houses had been poisoned, and many of them were groaning with their hands covering their necks.

It may be because the efficacy of the medicine was greatly weakened when it was put into water, so few people were directly poisoned to death.

Doctor Fu and his second son went straight up and gave each of them another stab.

Blood splattered all over the ground!

The fire was in the several blue brick and tile houses in the middle. The survivors should have gathered here to help put out the fire. They were pouring water and cursing at the same time. There were probably more than twenty people, and the number of people on both sides was almost the same!

Jin Bao shuddered and said, "How come you've survived so long?"