si-mexico Chapter 517: Skinning Cult
Chapter 517: Skinning Cult
"Damn Lanling King, why did you capture Xiao Qiao? Let Xiao Qiao go! Xiao Qiao hates Lanling King."
In Zhaozhong County of Qi, beside a barren wheat field a mile away from the marching camp, Shen Changgong grabbed Xiao Qiao by the clothes on the back, lifted her up with one hand, and put her on the horse.
Then, amid the giggles of the two palace maids, Shen Changgong jumped on his horse and took Xiao Qiao for a stroll on the ridge of the field.
"Are you trying to run away?"
Shen Changgong asked with a smile.
"Xiao Qiao didn't want to run away. Xiao Qiao just wanted to come out and relax."
Xiao Qiao said stubbornly.
Shen Changgong laughed out loud. This little guy had been pouting angrily after being hit on the head by him in the military camp. Then he returned to his tent, packed up a few clothes, made a small bag, and left the tent stealthily without taking any money or dry food, and walked outside.
The two palace maids who served her followed her without asking her what she wanted to do. Since there was still some time before dark, they just let her out to play.
A quarter of an hour later, Shen Changgong felt that the time was almost up, so he brought his guards out and arrested her.
Xiao Qiao was very unhappy and kept pouting, and started planning her next escape in her little mind.
Because Lanling Wang was a bad guy, he always bullied her.
Not only did he bully her, but she also had to carefully carve a jade pendant for him every day, like an exploited ox or horse.
It makes me angry just thinking about it.
"Are you done relaxing now? Are you happy?"
"No, I'm not happy to see you."
"There's nothing we can do about being unhappy. It's getting dark soon, so we have to go back and continue on our journey."
"No, I still need to relax."
Shen Changgong laughed and tried to take her back by force.
However, suddenly a man came crawling down from a hill in the east.
The man ran a few steps and saw the guards behind Shen Changgong wearing armor and riding tall horses. He was overjoyed and shouted loudly,
"General! General, help me, General!"
Shen Changgong and others turned their heads and saw the man running towards them, covered in blood, shouting at the top of his lungs. He fell to the ground with a thud while he was running.
The guards immediately drew their weapons and became alert.
Shen Changgong said,
"Bring him here and ask what's wrong."
"As ordered!"
Immediately, two guards rode over, dismounted, and helped the man over.
"What happened to you? Why are you so badly injured?"
Shen Changgong frowned and asked as he looked at the man covered in blood.
"Master Jun, this is not my blood, it is the enemy's blood."
"Where did the enemy come from?"
The man said anxiously,
"Sir, a group of bandits came from nowhere and entered our village, burning, killing and looting. They captured all the girls under the age of sixteen and skinned them one by one. They also captured all the others and forced them to follow them. Those who disobeyed were killed.
"Sir, my daughter has been captured by them. I fought to the death and killed one of them before I could escape. Please, Sir, save my daughter."
The man knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately.
Xiao Qiao frowned when he heard this and said,
"They should be a cult, not bandits. I remember the travelogues in the Taoist temple's collection of books mentioned the practice of peeling human skin for sacrifice."
Shen Changgong was shocked when he heard this. If it was bandits, he would not have to worry about anything and could just wipe them out directly. But if it was a cult, the harm would be huge.
I still remember the Yellow Croaker Rebellion this year, which directly occupied an entire county and killed many people.
"Stand up and clearly state your location and how many men you have."
Shen Changgong said coldly.
The man immediately said,
"Master, please call more people. There are two or three hundred of them. They are all armed and will rush into the village and kill indiscriminately."
Shen Changgong looked behind him. He came out this time to catch Xiao Qiao, not to catch the bad guys, so he only brought twenty guards.
He is not afraid of fighting, but he cannot stop the enemy if he wants to run away.
We must capture all the enemies.
Shen Changgong immediately took out his identity token, handed it to a guard, and said,
"Immediately go to the Zhennan Army camp and dispatch two thousand cavalry as quickly as possible. As quickly as possible! No need to go through the Southern King. This is an emergency order."
When they returned to Linzi before, they brought 10,000 Zhennan troops to escort them, and those people were still there when they returned this time.
"As ordered!"
The guard took the token and immediately rode over at full speed.
Then, Shen Changgong said to Xiao Qiao,
"Xiao Qiao, go back to the barracks with these two aunts and don't go out."
However, Xiao Qiao said,
"Cults harm people, and Taoist disciples have the responsibility to eliminate bad people."
"You can destroy nothing, go back!"
Shen Changgong didn't want Xiao Qiao to see the cruel and bloody scene, so he carried her downstairs.
However, Xiao Qiao stubbornly pulled the reins and said,
"No, the abbot said that Xiao Qiao should travel the world and learn more. Xiao Qiao has read many books and knows many sects. Xiao Qiao is useful."
After Shen Changgong thought about it, maybe Xiao Qiao could recognize where the cult came from, so it would be a good idea to take her along.
"Don't be so scared that you cry when the time comes."
"Xiao Qiao won't do that. Xiao Qiao is very strong."
Xiao Qiao's face was tense and her eyes were determined.
"Okay then, don't run around and follow me closely."
Shen Changgong carried Xiao Qiao onto the horse again and asked the two palace maids to go back first.
The man was extremely anxious and kept looking back towards the distance to the east.
"How far east is your home?"
"Master, my home is in Maigu Village. It's two miles after crossing that hillside."
"Two miles..."
Shen Changgong's heart also fell to the bottom.
When he arrived, people were being robbed and slaughtered over there. He ran so far and wasted so much time coming here. I'm afraid that everything over there is almost over.
A few minutes later, a large group of black cavalry rushed out of the military camp over there, all of them armed with sharp weapons, and rushed towards this side.
Shen Changgong said to the man,
"You go sit on his horse, sit behind him, and we'll go together!"
"Thank you, Master, thank you, Master!"
The man was pulled onto the horse by a guard and squeezed into the same saddle with him.
When the cavalry were about to arrive, Shen Changgong urged his horse and took the lead with his guards, leading the Zhennan Army and galloping towards the east.
After jumping over the hill, they came to the hilly area in the east, and then continued to run wildly across the fields. Soon they saw a village in the distance, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.
The shrill screams could be faintly heard from a mile away.
Shen Changgong immediately gave the order,
"One battalion will surround the village, and the other battalion will follow me in to rescue the people!"
As the guards conveyed the military order, the two thousand Zhennan troops quickly separated.