“I…I got separated from my family…” Zhao Zhi burst into tears.

Li Yong looked at her thoughtfully.

When she was arrested, this girl was unusually calm. Why is she crying now?

Zhao Zhi cried so hard she could barely breathe, choking out, "Brothers, I've been starving for days! Do you...do you have anything to eat?"

"Hey, this is the first time we've seen a hostage ask us for food? That's rare!" one of the bandits chuckled.

The next second, he heard Li Yong cough and immediately shut up. He took out a paper package from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Zhi, saying, "Little sister, this is a fried pancake my wife made for me. If you don't mind, have some."

Zhao Zhi, of course, didn't mind. She stared longingly at the fried dough, swallowed hard, and said to Li Yong, "Brother Li, could you have your men let me eat something?"

Li Yong blushed and quickly waved his hand to signal his men to release Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi took the fried dough and wolfed it down. Afterwards, she wiped the oil from her mouth, blinked her eyes, and pleaded, "Could I have some water?"

Li Yong smiled and handed her the water bag. Zhao Zhi took it without hesitation, gulped down more than half the bag of water in one go, and then patted her stomach contentedly, saying, "Thank you, big brother, you guys are such good people."

Everyone burst into laughter.

“Little girl, you have such a sweet tongue. You ate my brother’s pancakes and drank my water. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Come with us up the mountain and do some work to pay for it!” Li Yong said after a moment of thought.

"Mhm." Zhao Zhi nodded. These people didn't seem like really vicious criminals; let's go up the mountain first.

Once she regains her strength, even a dozen or so people won't be able to stop her.

Li Yong had the people on the mountain prepare a clean room for Zhao Zhi.

When the others saw Li Yong bring a woman up the mountain for the first time, especially such a beautiful young woman, they immediately became excited and clamored for them to get married and enter the bridal chamber that very night.

Li Yong smiled and declined, saying that the matter should not be rushed.

He arranged for Zhao Zhi to help the cook prepare vegetables and cook, while he sat on the rooftop, brazenly observing her.

He saw that although Zhao Zhi was young, she was quick and efficient in her work and had no sense of restraint at all in the bandit's den. She quickly made the cook laugh heartily.

Li Yong thought to himself: This girl is brave and resourceful, and she doesn't seem to mind them as bandits. She would be a good match for them as their wife when they go up to Luoshan.

He was so engrossed in his joy that he didn't notice a masked man in black climbing up the cliff behind his house and silently sneaking into it.

The masked man in black searched Li Yong's house but found nothing.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a silvery laugh coming from the kitchen. The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

The masked man in black climbed out of Li Yong's house through the window and was about to move towards the kitchen when he saw something startling a flock of birds in the woods to the east.

He glanced at the darkening sky and thought: Could it be that I've run into those people from Qinglian Temple again? Without time to think further, he found a secluded spot to hide.