A veteran of the frontier army, after marrying a wife, fought his way through the northern border.

Qin Hongxiu was puzzled. She looked around but saw nothing.

A moment later, three Tartar scouts appeared on the hillside to the north.

Three people, one in leather armor, two in white.

They looked around and quickly spotted Luo Yunxiao and Qin Hongxiu.

"It's the Great Northern Army! Kill them!"

The Tartars in leather armor shouted and rode up on horseback.

It's too late to run now.

However, Luo Yunxiao had no intention of leaving.

This is practically free business; why not take it?

The three Tartars drew closer and closer, already drawing their scimitars in preparation for battle.

They had already recognized Luo Yunxiao and Qin Hongxiu as members of the Great Zhou Army.

Qin Hongxiu drew her short spear, mounted her horse, and instructed Luo Yunxiao, "Husband, be careful!"

"You deal with the two civilians, I'll handle the corporal in leather armor."

Luo Yunxiao leaped onto his horse, drew his short sword, and engaged the leather-armored Tartar in battle.

Blades clashed, the sound of metal striking metal rang out, and the leather-armored corporal nearly fell from his horse.

The curved sword in his hand was knocked away and landed three zhang away.

Corporal Leather Armor hadn't expected Luo Yunxiao to be so strong.

He was at the late stage of the Samurai realm, and although his combat strength in the army was not top-notch, it was still in the middle range.

They couldn't even withstand a single move from their opponent.

He exclaimed in surprise, realizing that the difference in strength between him and his opponent was too great, and turned his horse around and ran away!

How could Luo Yunxiao let him escape?

He spurred his horse and gave chase, a flash of blade.

The Tartar soldier had a bloody hole in his back and fell off his horse!

Qin Hongxiu is now in a two-on-one situation and has the upper hand.

One of the Tartars cunningly circled behind Qin Hongxiu, drew his bow and arrow, and prepared to launch a sneak attack.

Luo Yunxiao stepped forward and drew a throwing knife from his scabbard, hurling it at the Tartar.

Right in the center of the temple.

The Tartar soldier collapsed.

Qin Hongxiu launched a counterattack, her spearhead piercing the heart of the third Tartar.

In less than a quarter of an hour, all three Tartars were wiped out.

"Five points of military merit, nine taels of silver, and five hundred catties of millet in hand!"

Luo Yunxiao counted his military achievements on his fingers.

"The Tartar scouts usually work in groups of five. We've taken out three, so there should be two more elsewhere."

Qin Hongxiu looked around, searching for the other Tartars.

"Never mind, let's take the three horses and go back first."

We dragged the Tartar corpses into the grove.

Luo Yunxiao activated his treasure-hunting skill and saw light spots flickering on the two Tartar corpses.

He reached out and took ten taels of silver from the two Tartars.

I happily put it away.

Using the Tartar's scimitars, they cut off the heads of the three men, stripped off their leather armor, and dragged the corpses into the woods.

They covered the bloodstains on the ground with sand, as if nothing had happened.

Luo Yunxiao soaked the three severed heads in the spring for a while to remove the bloody smell.

Tie it securely to the horse's back with ropes.

Some Tartar scouts would bring hunting dogs.

Soaking the head in a sulfur spring was to prevent hunting dogs from coming after it by smell.

The two mounted their horses and returned along the same route.

This trip was very fruitful.

They killed three Tartar scouts and obtained three fine horses and three scimitars.

One fine bow and twenty arrows.

Fifteen catties of grain and twenty catties of dried meat.

Luo Yunxiao hummed a song as he rode his horse at full gallop.

With no food or clothing, the enemy provided it to us.

Without guns or a chance to run, the enemy provided us with...

After an incense stick's time, as we passed a hillside covered with low pine trees in Heishi'ao, a gust of wind happened to blow.

Luo Yunxiao smelled a faint sulfurous, rancid odor again.

However, this sour smell is different; it is also mixed with the smell of burning asphalt.

The taste seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

His intuition told him that there should be something here.

Stop.

Luo Yunxiao quickly reined in the horses to see if there was an entrance to the valley.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

Qin Hongxiu was puzzled.

"There seems to be a sulfur spring here, but it doesn't quite look like one."

The scouts' intuition is activated.

He found a narrow entrance that could only allow two riders to pass side by side.

The two entered the valley one after the other.

The valley is gourd-shaped, with a narrow entrance that gradually widens inside.

The widest part is thirty zhang.

Both sides are steep shale slopes.

The further you go in, the sparser the vegetation becomes.

At the same time, the acrid smell of asphalt became more pronounced.

"It's not a sulfur spring, it smells like petroleum!"

Luo Yunxiao's eyes lit up.

"Oil? What's that?"

"This is a good thing, even more precious than sulfur."

If it weren't for that gust of wind that blew by just now, allowing me to smell the aroma...

With the low pine forest at the valley entrance providing cover, it was really hard to spot.

Luo Yunxiao smiled mysteriously.

"It stinks here, there's nothing good in there, they're just lying."

Qin Hongxiu pouted.

At this point, their warhorses went on strike again, refusing to move forward even half a step.

The smell is absolutely awful, even stronger than the smell of sulfur springs.

The two dismounted and walked, and Luo Yunxiao saw black oil slowly seeping out along the cracks in the rock.

In low-lying areas, it gathers into black, viscous puddles.

"This looks like stone lacquer. I've seen it in military camps before; it can be used as a torch."

"So you've seen this before. We call this petroleum where I'm from, and it's very useful."

He used his scimitar to scoop up some viscous oil, then took out a tinderbox and lit it.

The oil on the blade began to burn fiercely.

Luo Yunxiao recalled the geographical knowledge she had learned in her previous life.

The Bailang Mountain defense line on the border of Youzhou is located at the junction of the Yanshan Mountains and the Liaoxi Hills.

It belongs to an area of ​​active crustal faulting.

This type of shale and sandstone landform naturally provides conditions for the formation of sulfur and oil.

"Finding sulfur and oil in one day? That's incredible luck! You should praise me!"

"My dear husband, stop keeping me in suspense."

"You're digging for sulfur one minute, and searching for oil the next, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"The purpose of finding sulfur is to make gunpowder."

This oil was discovered by chance and can be used to make incendiary bombs.

Both of these items are secrets that can be exchanged for military merits.

Let's come again tomorrow afternoon, and bring some ceramic bottles to store the oil.

Before the two left the valley, Luo Yunxiao used three tree branches to set up a tripod at the valley entrance as a marker.

.

It was already late afternoon, and it was getting dark, but the squad leader still hadn't returned.

The Liu siblings began to worry about Luo Yunxiao's safety.

Li Ergou comforted the two, "Don't worry, with Luo Shizhang and his wife's skills, they'll definitely be fine."

Li Dakai was on duty on the second floor of the beacon tower, and every now and then he would glance out the lookout window.

He believed that Luo Yunxiao had most likely run away with his wife.

That's fine too. I'm still the leader of the beacon tower, and the food and women are still mine.

He had originally wanted to curry favor with Luo Yunxiao, and had privately instructed Cuihua to take the initiative to serve the new squad leader that night.

Whether he accepts it or not, at least you should show some attitude.

Since the squad leader has fled, there's no need for this.

Sun Tieshou, Zhou Hanniu, and Wang Shitou also believed that Luo Yunxiao had abandoned the beacon tower and run away.

They glanced at Li Dakai every now and then, hoping he would come up with a solution.

Li Dakai's eyes darted around, glancing at Li Ergou and the Liu siblings, a murderous intent rising in his heart.

The squad leader brought only 300 jin of grain, enough for just himself and his brothers to eat for a month.

With the addition of three newcomers taking away their rations, our own people will be left starving.

Let's go all the way and send the Liu siblings away first.

The boy was killed, and the girl was spared so she could have some fun before being killed.

They killed Li Ergou that night and dumped his body in the wilderness.

Anyway, he's in charge here, and no one will complain if he kills a minor soldier.

Since we're going to do this, let's go all the way and get started.

"Liu Honghe, bring your sister out here for a moment."

Li Dakai called out Liu Honghe's name expressionlessly.

The brother and sister thought the corporal had a mission, so they followed him to the outside of the beacon tower.

"It's getting dark, and the squad leader hasn't returned yet. Let's search to the northwest."

In case the squad leader returns, we can greet him in advance.

"We are also very worried. What if the squad leader really encounters the Tartars?"

Liu Honghe was genuinely worried.

Liu Qinghe walked behind the two of them. It was getting darker and darker, and she could hear wolves howling in the distance.

For no apparent reason, the hair on her body stood on end, and her legs began to tremble.

A strong sense of crisis welled up in my heart.

She quickly pinpointed the source of the crisis to Li Dakai, who was standing about ten feet away.

He wants to harm us!

She subconsciously tugged at Liu Honghe's sleeve, and he turned around: "What's wrong?"

"Brother, I'm a little scared..."

This little girl has had a strong sixth sense since she was a child.

When I met Luo Yunxiao in Luanshi Village with my brother, the others were too scared to move and kept their distance.

Only Liu Qinghe could see that Luo Yunxiao and Qin Hongxiu were not bad people.

"Hehe, don't worry, how could something happen to someone as capable as the squad leader?"

You will see him soon.

Li Dakai continued walking, his left hand stroking the scabbard, his right hand preparing to draw his sword and stab Liu Honghe to death.