Zhu Wen also felt that leaving the city today was a bit strange, so he nodded and ran towards the city gate.

Just then, Old Lady Zhu hurriedly led Liu and Sun out of the city gate.

Zhu Chenfeng noticed that the three of them were carrying full bamboo baskets on their backs, and hurriedly called Zhu Haotian and Dabao over to help.

"Mom, what did you buy? Why is the bamboo basket so heavy?"

Zhu Haotian stepped forward and took the bamboo basket from his mother's back, muttering to himself curiously.

Chen Xiang also found the bamboo baskets behind Grandma Zhu and the other two strange and stared at them curiously.

"Grandma Zhu, are all these bamboo baskets filled with medicinal herbs?"

Grandma Zhu wiped the sweat from her brow, turned to look around, and said, panting.

"Lord Chen, did you find it strange that you left the city this time?"

"You think so too?"

Chen Xiang thought he was overthinking things, but he didn't expect that even Grandma Zhu would notice something was wrong.

Thinking of all the bad things Zhu Yanyan had done, Xixi pouted angrily and made babbling sounds.

"Hmph, that's because that wicked Zhu Yanyan wanted to capture us all, which is why the officials let us go."

She was already lying in ambush in the woods, waiting for us to enter and launch a surprise attack.

What she didn't expect was that all these inner thoughts fell into the ears of the Zhu family.

Everyone looked solemn, lowered their heads and sighed quietly, their hearts filled with unease.

Old Lady Zhu's face darkened as she turned to look at the city gate and whispered, "Lord Chen, I'm worried that these officials might have some kind of plan."

“I’m worried too. After all, we killed the man sent by the magistrate last night. The magistrate didn’t get the money, so I’m afraid he won’t let it go.”

Chen Xiang was also worried that the county magistrate would pursue them relentlessly, which was why he wanted to leave Lujia Town overnight. "Since we all have this concern, we might as well hurry up and meet up with the rest of the people and leave here as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid we won't make it out of the forest alive." Pei Sining stood on the locust tree, squinting as she looked at the commotion inside Lujia Town.

Chen Xiang followed Pei Sining's gaze to the south gate, his lips pursed in nervous contemplation.

At the same time, Zhu Wen returned to the small slope after gathering information outside, panting as he approached Chen Xiang.

"Boss, I found out that fifty or sixty people just left Lujia Town with bows and arrows, and they seem to be heading into the woods."

"The forest? Which direction?" Chen Xiang's face grew increasingly serious as he pressed for more information.

Zhu Wen pointed nervously in the direction where the prisoners were resting, and said anxiously.

"Head south."

"South? Isn't that where the others rest?"

Zhu Chenfeng quickly recognized the direction Zhu Wen pointed in, and his heart skipped a beat. Just as Xixi had said.

After discovering the direction the officials had headed, Chen Xiang's face darkened as he fell into deep thought. He wondered if they should enter the forest now.

There was bound to be a fight with the officials, who were numerous and had a large number of archers.

But if we abandon our brothers in the forest, it will only discourage the others.

Just as everyone was waiting for Chen Xiang to make a decision, Old Lady Zhu noticed his hesitation and poured out the gunpowder formula from the bamboo basket.

“Lord Chen, the forest is full of your brothers, you can’t leave them unrestrained. I originally kept these gunpowder for self-defense.”

"Given the current situation, I have no choice but to take out these formulas and turn them into gunpowder. Even if the enemy outnumbers us, we will still have a chance to escape."

Chen Xiang squatted down next to Grandma Zhu with a puzzled look, picked up the sulfur in front of him, and said with some doubt.

"Can these things be used to make gunpowder?"

"Of course! The first time the bandits attacked our group, we relied entirely on this gunpowder to repel them."

Zhu Dabao brought his younger brother to Grandma Zhu's side and helped her organize her tools, saying proudly.

Upon hearing the sound, Pei Sining squatted down and watched intently as the Zhu family members sorted the props on the ground.

"These ingredients are indeed the tools for making gunpowder. If so, perhaps we can really use this gunpowder to deal with the officials."

Chen Xiang hesitated for a moment, then sighed and turned to Zhu Wen and the other guards, implying, "Zhu Wen, take two men and lie in wait nearby to investigate the officers' entry into the woods."

"The rest of you stay here with me and prepare the gunpowder. Once we rescue the people, we'll leave Lujia Town tonight."

After hearing Chen Xiang's arrangements, everyone bowed and nodded, and Zhu Wen quickly led the escorts away.

The remaining people, led by the Zhu family, turned all the tools into gunpowder.

In the blink of an eye, darkness fell, and the quiet forest was occasionally punctuated by the calls of owls.

"Grandma Zhu, you stay here and guard these three carriages until we return."

Chen Xiang carried the gunpowder on his back and held a large knife in his hand. He turned around and pointed at the carriage hidden in the bushes.

Grandma Zhu looked in bewilderment in the direction Chen Xiang was pointing, only to realize that Chen Xiang was actually holding three horses.

It seemed that Chen Xiang had taken his son's words to heart. Thinking of this, she nodded to Chen Xiang.

"Lord Chen, please be careful on your journey. We await your triumphant return."

"Okay, let's go!"

Chen Xiang raised his hand to the group behind him and led them away from the outskirts of the city.

Zhu Chenfeng and Zhu Haotian also bid farewell to their wives and mothers before leaving, and then followed Chen Xiang toward the forest.

Watching her brothers' departing figures with unease, Liu asked worriedly, "Mother, why is the magistrate so determined to hunt us down? Is it really for the money?"

"I don't know. It must be something that Zhu Yanyan said to the magistrate that made them go to such lengths."

Grandma Zhu looked at her daughters-in-law with a thoughtful expression and a furrowed brow, then waved to them.

"Let's make some preparations, and we'll set off as soon as they get back."

Upon hearing this, Liu and the others quickly got up, picked up their bamboo baskets, and followed Old Lady Zhu toward the carriage.

Hearing her grandmother's words, Xixi was also worried that her uncles were no match for Zhu Yanyan, and she yawned and drifted off to sleep.

She entered the space while asleep. Inside, there were supplies collected from the county government office, neatly arranged on shelves.

She walked around the shelves to the wall that resembled a projection room, curiously looking at the different images before her.

Trying to find any images of my uncle within them, there were simply too many images.

She searched for a long time before finally spotting Chen Xiang's team in the small square. There, she saw Chen Xiang leading Zhu Chenfeng and the others to meet up with Zhu Wen.

"Boss, they're all hiding nearby, seemingly planning to wait for us to show up before wiping them all out."

Zhu Wen led Chen Xiang to hide in the bushes, pointing to the area where the prisoners and guards were resting and gesturing about the surroundings.

Chen Xiang followed Zhu Wen's hand to observe the surrounding situation, his expression instantly becoming serious. "The most important thing now is how to inform them to leave."

"Yes! If they don't leave, using gunpowder might injure the prisoners and guards."

Zhu Chenfeng was also considering this issue. Gunpowder was extremely powerful and could only be used during a retreat, otherwise it would harm innocent people.

"How about I go and bring them over?" Zhu Haotian was impatient and didn't want to delay any longer, so he rolled up his sleeves, patted his chest, and volunteered.