He Qizhou actually wanted to ask clearly, but he was afraid that if they caught too many people, it would be detrimental to Da Qi and Ma Qun, so he didn't want to ask any more questions. Xu Mu had the same idea, and the three of them fell into a brief silence.
Fortunately, the Keji camp was not far away. After walking for more than an hour, we came to a gentle valley. There were forty or fifty large tents pitched in the valley. In the evening, smoke was rising everywhere.
The ten-year-old child ran towards the cavalry crazily, shouting happily, but He Qizhou and Xu Mu didn't understand a word.
After everyone in the team behind Dili said something to Dili, they all dispersed, and the children also left with them. Dili asked He and Xu to follow him, and the three of them came to a slightly larger building.
In front of the tent stood a woman in her thirties, with a bit of beauty and melancholy in her slender face. When she saw that Dili had brought the two of them back, she was happy at first, and then listened to what Dili said in Keji language.
After saying this, he fell into deeper worries. Reluctantly facing Qi Zhou, Xu Mu smiled and turned around and entered the tent.
He Qizhou knew that Dili must have said that he had not trapped the two horses, so he was even more disappointed. Dili did not comfort his wife, but said to Qizhou and Xu Mu: "Let's eat roast lamb together when it gets dark.
I don’t know if my brother will come back today. I need to ask him about your companion. Like me, he can also speak Chinese."
Xu Mu and Qi Zhou thanked each other repeatedly, and Dili asked them to wait for a while. He ran away without knowing where he was. He Qizhou faintly heard the sobbing of Dili's wife in the tent, and the sound of a baby crying. Xu Mu was very worried.
I wanted to go in and persuade him, but I was dressed as a man and could only wait outside the tent.
Dili came back soon and took the two of them to a tent that had just been tidied up. It was spacious and clean, and he didn’t know who gave up his tent. Then Dili took the two of them to the stable and gave them two horses.
The horse was placed in a separate stable, and the two of them personally fed the horse its first meal of fodder, saying that it would be easier for the horse to recognize its owner. After everything was done, Qi Zhou and Xu Mu were asked to go back to the tent to rest temporarily, saying it was for a meal.
I will call them when the time comes.
Not long after the two returned to the tent, they just put down their belongings when Dili hurriedly came over to ask them to have a meal. A bonfire was already lit in the open space surrounded by the tents in the center of the camp. Hundreds of people, old and young, gathered around the bonfire.
On one side, two big sheep were roasting over a charcoal fire at the same time.
He Qizhou and Xu Mu were brought to an old woman. Wine, cheese and an unknown pasta were already placed on the long table. Dili sat down on the other side of the two of them and said to them: "This
It’s my mother. When she heard that you would help us set up Tianju, she decided to entertain you in the most solemn way of our Keji tribe.”
He Qizhou and Xu Mu were a little flattered and hurriedly bowed to the old woman beside him.
The patterns on the old woman's clothes are more complicated than those of the others. She also wears a gown of unknown material on the outside. All the edges of the gown are bound with silk and embroidered with patterns similar to horses and sheep, leaving only the middle.
A large piece of pale white without any modification, He Qizhou thought it looked familiar. He took a closer look under the firelight and found that it was exactly the same color as the snake slough he saw during the day. No wonder the tribesmen were so happy. It turned out that the skin shed by this "silver dragon" was actually
It is the material of the clan leader's "dragon robe".
He didn't know how old the old man was. He Qizhou always felt that the other party must look older than his actual age. Seeing the two young people saluting him, the old man also stood up with Dili's help and said something to the two of them. Dili explained
Dao, her mother meant to thank you two for being willing to help the Jike tribe. It doesn't matter if you really can't get it.
This made He and Xu even more uneasy. The sheep should have been slaughtered when they first entered the village, and they were almost roasted by now. After offering the most noble eye meat to He and Xu, the old woman
He raised his wine bowl to signal that everyone was ready to eat.
After three rounds of drinking, the boys and girls from the Keji tribe took the lead in starting to dance around the bonfire. Then men, women and children came on stage one after another. Several girls from the Keji tribe came together to invite He and Xu to dance. He Qizhou discovered that all the girls had fair skin.
Clear, pretty nose and tall, similar to Hu people.
The two declined a little, but couldn't help but warmly invite them. They followed the others' example and jumped up in a decent manner. After half the night of partying and having enough food and wine, Dili sent the two of them back to the tent to rest.
After returning to their accounts, He Qizhou and Xu Mu looked at each other in confusion. Although the Keji tribe's koumiss had a strong stamina, He Qizhou was not drunk at all. Xu Mu knew him well and couldn't pretend to be drunk even if he wanted to. Xu Mu didn't drink much, so naturally
They were not drunk either. The two sat awkwardly for a while, but He Qizhou spoke first: "I don't know how many horses they still owe Zhou Ting? What kind of punishment will they receive? Why don't we give them away first?"
"Are you stupid? Your horse is no worse than your third uncle's Rhubarb! Give them mine first. After getting the news about Zhang Mufeng and the others, we can find a way to help them hitch a few more horses as soon as possible." Xu Mu said.
"To be honest, I really can't bear to leave." Qi Zhou said.
"Then let's settle it for now." Xu Mu said.
"Anyway, the tent is covered with carpets. Tonight you sleep on the mattress and I sleep on the floor. Sister Xu Mu, do you think this is okay?" He Qizhou said pitifully, taking retreat as an advance.
"It's cold at night. You'll catch cold if you sleep on the floor. I sleep on such a big mattress alone..." Xu Mu looked at He Qizhou with a smile and said: "It's actually quite comfortable. I can finally have a good sleep. You can sleep under the tent."
Go to the door, stay away and I can smell less alcohol. Here, I'll give you this blanket, go ahead."
He Qizhou took the flying blanket and could only accept the cruel fact. He had been sleeping next to Xu Mu for the past few days and had already become obsessed with the girlish fragrance exuding from her body. He could only think about it in the future.
…
In the early morning, He Qizhou was awakened by the sound of Xu Mu getting dressed. He opened the corner of the tent door and found that it was not dark outside. He suddenly realized that Xu Mu had made the noise deliberately and said angrily: "I just slept at midnight last night. What the hell?"
Why don’t you wake me up now?”
"What's the fuss about?" Xu Mu shouted in a low voice: "Hey, I'm going to go for a while, please look out for me!"
"You are so good at Qinggong, why don't you just run far away?" He Qizhou said.
"going or not?"
"Go! Then when you're done, help me look out for the wind!"
"We'll talk about it then!" Xu Mu murmured in his heart, you, a grown man, still want someone to look after you? It's weird for you to look after the wind for you.
The two quietly slipped out of the tent and flew two miles away. Xu Mu finally found a satisfactory place and solved the problem behind a clump of long grass. When it was He Qizhou's turn to look out at a high place conscientiously, Xu Mu chuckled.
Then he said to He Qizhou: "How dare you let a girl stand guard for you after you relieve yourself? I'm going back first, take your time."
After saying that, he returned from the original road like a puff of smoke. He Qizhou could only sigh to himself that he met someone unkind. After quickly completing the task while being vigilant, he carefully returned to the camp. Their tent was in a better position in the middle of the camp, and they had to pass through several
When He Qizhou was about to pass through the back of Dili's tent, he suddenly found a dark shadow lurking in the darkness outside the tent. A closer look revealed that it was Xu Mu who had just escaped.
He asked in a loud voice, but saw Xu Mu pointing his index finger at his mouth, making a silent gesture.
Words suddenly came from the tent. Although they were silent, the grassland in the early morning was completely silent except for the scattered chirping of insects. All the whispers in the tent fell into the ears of the two people lurking outside the tent.
"You'd better take your child and take shelter for the time being. Your father is the county guard and Zhou Ting will not embarrass you." Dili's whisper came from the tent.
"I won't leave! If I leave, what dignity will you have to gain a foothold in the clan? Besides, he doesn't recognize me as his daughter." Dili's wife sobbed and said in Chinese. It was obvious that she was from Zhou, not from Zhou.
Keji people.
"Tomorrow is the first day of July. It's impossible for Chanda and the others to catch seven horses. If you don't leave, I can only hand over our daughter first..."
"But she is so young..." Dili's wife cried.
"Then what can we do? How can anyone be willing to give up their own daughter... It's all my fault!" Dili said painfully.
"I heard that the Qi people who came to harness horses are very important people. If we inform the court..." Dili's wife said timidly.
"Stop talking about this, we Keji people will not do such a thing. May Chanda bring a miracle tomorrow!"
"Well, if it really doesn't work, I'll go and beg my father. I hope he can save one or two children."
"Madam, I'm sorry for you. Marrying me didn't let you live a good life..."
"Nonsense, every day with you is my happiest day. We can have another child. Besides, Isa is still so young, we have enough time to get her back..."
"Madam..." I could hear the two of them hugging each other and crying outside the tent, and then Dili said: "It's almost dawn, please help me bring out two sets of clean clothes. I'll give them to the two young people. I will definitely wear them today."
There are people from the imperial court coming, and it would not be good if they saw you."
"Well, remember not to fight with the people from the imperial court. Be patient when the time comes. We can't fight them."
"I know." Dili seemed to have taken over the clothes and was about to leave the tent. He Qizhou took advantage of the opportunity to hold Xu Mu's hand, and the two hurriedly left. They were silent on the way. They returned to their tent and packed up their blankets and quilts, like
As soon as he got up, Dili called from outside the tent.
The two of them walked out of the tent, and Dili said apologetically: "Brother Xu, Brother He, these are two sets of my clothes. Please put them on. I estimate that someone from the Zhou government will come over today, and they will
It’s not a good idea to bump into him, because I don’t know when he will arrive, so I’m really sorry to bother you so early in the morning.”
He Qizhou took the clothes and said: "Okay, thank you, we will put them on now. By the way, brother Dili, I thought about it. With you leading the way, we are not afraid of not being able to go back. We are wearing two horse teeth."
It’s a bit small, and I’m afraid it won’t be well raised, so I’ll give you an emergency first, and then we’ll go to the mountains to tether horses together.”