In the distance, a trace of fish belly white appeared in the eastern sky. The cold wind in the early morning blew over, and the endless grassy branches were undulating like waves. It was almost dawn.

I was worried about swallows in my heart, and I really didn't want to go back to the cell, but I had to go back because my old co-worker promised to help me find the big diamond and let me exchange it with a copper helmet. From the interactions with my old co-worker these days, I felt that he was really not an ordinary person, and he might be able to help me find the big diamond.

The big diamond was exchanged for the lives of many brothers by the Jinbei Gang, and it must not be lost.

Yuanmu said: "Brother, you go back first. We will meet tonight. I will find out your sister-in-law's situation."

I reluctantly left the river and returned to prison.

When I rode a horse back to the prison, it was already dawn. Fortunately, the lazy guards had not yet got up. As soon as I arrived at the door of the prison, my old couple opened the iron fence gate. He angrily asked me why I had just come back now. If the guards found out that I escaped from prison at night, they would punish him.

I didn't explain.

The old couple asked me if I had a connection with the medicinal store. Before I could answer, a shrill whistle sounded outside the cell. The guards shouted and scolded outside: "I let the wind go, I let the wind go, I'm pouring all the shit basin."

After the release of the fire, we returned to the cell. The old couple asked me about the situation of the connection with the medicinal materials store. I said, "The medicinal materials store has moved out. I searched for it all night, but I don't know where I moved?"

The old Tong's face suddenly changed color, and he asked, "How could he move away? Why did he move away?"

That day, Lao Tong sat in the corner of the cell, not knowing what he was thinking. Before I went to bed, I saw him sitting cross-legged, and after I woke up, he saw him still sitting like that. Moving away the medicinal material store was a big blow to Lao Tong. However, what does the medicinal material store do? Lao Tong didn't say anything. I didn't ask. I knew that he wouldn't say anything.

I am concerned about the swallows in my heart. My worries about the swallows are far greater than curiosity about my old classmates.

After dark, Lao Tong opened the iron fence door again and said to me: "Hurry up and get the copper helmet, the faster the better."

I nodded and escaped from prison.

I saw logs outside the county town. The logs were leading a horse and a string of gourds were on the horse. I asked him what he did with the gourds, and he said, "Let's talk about it by the river."

We rode a horse and galloped all the way to the river. From the horse, the logs let the horse go away. The horse took steps and the tiny moonlight all the way, and ran away along the river. In the distance, there was a huge meteor crossing the sky.

Log said: "This morning, after I sent you outside the prison wall, I came to the riverside again to check the situation. The sky was dark in the early morning and I couldn't see clearly. After the sun came out, I could see clearly. There was a string of horse hoof prints on the road. The hoof prints were deep and the stride was very large, which meant that the horse was carrying people on its back and running all the way to the riverside. And by the river, there was a string of hoof prints running downstream. The hoof prints were shallow and the stride was narrow, which meant that there was no one on the horse's back, and the horse was walking away from the riverside in broken steps."

I think the log analysis makes sense.

The log then said: "There is no one on the horse's back, and there are no footprints on the ground downstream. Where did the people go? They can only cross the river. Can my sister-in-law swim?"

I said, "Yes."

Yuanmu asked again: "Can my sister-in-law ride a horse?"

I said, "No."

Logo said: "Yes, yes, I checked the horse's hoof prints and judged that the horse's back did not look like a man carrying a man. Moreover, I saw the footprints of two people on the sand by the river. Now I can figure out that my sister-in-law was riding on a horse with another person and then swimming across the river from here."

I felt a little uncomfortable and asked, "Who is the other person?"

Logo said: "From the footprints, it's a woman."

I was a little relieved.

But I still can't understand. Yanzi must know why she left the county town with this woman in the county prison? Suddenly, an ominous feeling surged in my heart. Has she encountered an unexpected accident?

The log placed the string of gourds in the water and asked me to climb up. He said that gourds are the best crossing tool on the grassland. Even on the Hetao Plain, herders used gourds to cross the Yellow River.

I lay on the gourd, slashed the water with my palm, and the gourd slowly drifted to the other side. The logs swam beside the gourd.

After swimming to the other side, we hid the gourd in the grass and continued to rush. The journey was long and the grassland was boundless, like the boundless sea. We were like two fallen leaves floating in the sea. The stars in the sky were twinkling, as if within reach. A Milky Way lies half the sky, and the stars in the Milky Way were as dense as flowers.

Suddenly, the howling of a wolf came from a distance. I shivered and stopped.

Log said: "It doesn't matter, it's summer now, and the wolf has a lot of food, so it will never take the initiative to attack people."

I said, "I was sold when I was a child and mistakenly entered a wolf's den. I was afraid of wolf all my life."

Log then said: "The people in the grassland and the people in the Guannei have different views on wolves. People in the Guannei think that all wolves are cruel and greedy, while the people in the grassland call the wolf the guardian god. There is a proverb in the grassland: When people and wolves meet, good luck will be achieved; wild wolves will be lucky. It seems that my sister-in-law will be able to find it."

I said, "How can it be auspicious when encountering a wolf?"

Log wood said: "The wolf is the god sent by the god Tengri to protect the grassland. When meeting the wolf, it means meeting the god. Some people on the grassland even call the wolf Tiangou, Shan Dad, and Shanzhong Zen Master."

I said, "Wolfs eat sheep, why do these grassland people still call wolves that?"

Log wood said: "Wolfs eat sheep, usually the elderly, weak, sick and disabled in the flock. Only by eating these elderly, weak, sick and disabled can the flock be healthy and there will be no disease transmission. It is a good thing for wolves to eat sheep."

I felt very strange: "How can a wolf eat sheep be a good thing?"

Log wood said: "Wolf and sheep are sent to the world by the immortal heaven. If sheep want to live, wolves must live. Death of a sheep can save several wolves. If there are no wolves on the grassland, diseases will spread in the sheep, rats and rabbits will rampantly, and people will suffer. How can you do without wolves on the grassland?"

I think the grassland people are different from the Guannei people. People in Guannei think that wolves are an evil animal, while people in the grassland think that wolves were sent by gods. This is really interesting.

We walked for about an hour and saw a small cabin. There was a swallow carved on the door panel of the cabin.

Swallow is indeed following this path, but who is that woman? Where are they going? If someone chases them, who will chase them?

After walking for half a night, I was hungry, so I walked into the cabin to eat some dry food. Logo said he was not hungry and stood outside the cabin to check the surrounding situation.

I had just eaten a few bites when I suddenly heard the log screaming, and he shouted, "Brother, come quickly, see what this is?"

I ran out and saw under the dim starlight, the log was holding a dart in his hand, with red tassels tied behind the dart, and there was also a mark of swallows on the dart. This was swallows' dart.

I asked in a trembling voice, "Where did you find it?"

The log said, "Just throw it on the side of the road."

I took the dart and put it on my nose and smelled it. I smelled a bloody smell. Obviously the dart hit the chasing person. The chasing person pulled out the dart, threw it on the ground, and continued to pursue it.

The pursuer was a bandit. My heart was tightened.

The moon emerged from the clouds, and everything around seemed to float out of the sea, gradually becoming clear. A few shining things were scattered on the ground. I picked it up and saw that it was a bullet shell. Next to the bullet shell was a pile of messy footprints.

The bandit has a gun in his hand. I have stayed in the army twice and knew that it was the shell of a rifle. Who would be chasing the swallow with a rifle? There are no footprints of the pursuers on the other side of the river, and there are footprints on the other side of the river. Who are these pursuers? Did the swallow fall into an ambush or meet the pursuers?

I stood up and ran forward, saying to the log as I ran: "Chasing, my wife is in danger."

Yuanmu said: "Look for a horse. When will it be pursued like this?"

However, when I looked around, I saw only the vast grasslands, where would there be yurts? Without yurts, there would be no herders; without herders, there would be no horses.

We ran forward for hundreds of meters and saw the footprints disappearing, and the weeds on the roadside fell down. Apparently, the swallows and the pursuers left the road and ran into the depths of the grassland.

The weeds are deep enough to reach the knees. After running over, they will trample over, just like after running over the ripe wheat field, a row of trample over the ground will be left. We chased forward hundreds of meters along the falling weeds. Suddenly, the log screamed and fell to the ground.

I shouted, "What's wrong?"

The log was in dismay and shouted: "Man, man."

I rushed over and wanted to save the log, but the log stood up on its own. He said, "There is a dead person here."

The deceased was a man wearing a black dress. His body was stiff and cold, and he had obviously died for a long time. There was a bullet hole on his forehead and his blood had condensed. He fell to the ground with his back to the sky, holding a rifle in his hand.

He was shot to death. Swallows can't shoot, and the one who killed this man must be the woman who escaped with Swallows. She had a gun in her hand, and I felt relieved.

I picked up the rifle, pulled the bolt and saw that there was a bullet inside. I learned to shoot guns in the army, maybe this rifle was useful.

We chased forward again and chased a land temple. The land temple was also built with wood, but no one guarded it and the temple door was opened. I checked in front of and behind the temple, but I saw no signs of swallows, only a horizontal scratch on the wooden board.

The scratches must have been left by the swallows. She would not finish the marks, so the pursuers arrived.

Who are the pursuers? Why did one person die and the other person still follow them?

We chased forward again, after chasing for a few miles, we saw a steep slope in front of us, and the weeds on the slope were overwhelmed one after another. It was obvious that the swallows and the chasing people were rolling down from here.

Log and I were about to roll down from the top of the slope, and suddenly, there was a sound of talking from the bottom of the slope.
Chapter completed!