Chapter 230 We've found the moth-winged grass!

When Li He came to her senses, she saw Ning Jinli take down a burly man with a single punch.

It was just a simple punch, yet it possessed an unstoppable force.

Several burly men clutched their stomachs and collapsed to the ground, their faces contorted in pain and covered in cold sweat, struggling even to stand up.

Li He could hardly believe his eyes.

Xiao Qidi said calmly, "Actually, she's even more capable than me."

"Hiss..." Li He gasped, staring at Ning Jinli in shock, "Sister Jinli, what did you eat to grow up like this...?"

"Who! Who threw the knife!" Constable Sun roared, covering his right ear.

Blood kept flowing from between his fingers, staining half of his face red and making him look particularly ferocious and terrifying.

Ning Jinli and the others then realized that he was injured.

A glance at the machete on the doorframe next to him revealed what had happened.

The burly man at the head of the group was dumbfounded.

Is Constable Sun really here?

That kid... wasn't lying, was he?!

Unfortunately, the wood-chopping knife that had just flown out of his hand was his.

"Officer Sun... Officer Sun..." He endured the pain, got up tremblingly and walked to Officer Sun, bowing and scraping with a forced smile, "So... you're here."

"Of course I'm here!" Constable Sun's eyes were practically spitting fire. "Was it you who threw the knife?!"

The burly man, quick-witted, pointed at Ning Jinli.

"It was her! She threw it!"

Then, without thinking, he immediately filed a complaint.

"Officer Sun, the murderer who killed my elder brother and sister-in-law is right here! And his two accomplices too!"

"My brothers and I were just about to arrest them and send them to you, Constable Sun, when they dared to resist! They're defying the authorities! And because they resisted, you got injured. Please arrest them quickly!"

Officer Sun's ears were hurting terribly, and he was already very agitated.

Enraged by the loud noise from the burly man in front of him, he slapped him hard across the face.

Snap!

A bloody handprint was left on the burly man's face.

He asked in astonishment, "Officer Sun... why... why did you hit me?"

Li He quickly went over, her face showing concern and worry. "Brother Sun, your injuries are so serious, you should see a doctor right away!"

"Brother Sun...?" The burly man at the head of the group almost dropped his jaw in astonishment upon hearing this.

The other burly men were also dumbfounded.

Officer Sun's expression softened slightly, and he gritted his teeth as he asked, "What exactly happened?!"

Li He said, "Actually, it's nothing serious. It's just that these guys insist on seeking revenge for the One-Eyed Couple. I told them there was no murderer, no murderer! But they wouldn't believe me! So... if they hadn't been so unreasonable, Brother Sun wouldn't have suffered this undeserved misfortune. Sigh..."

The burly men were even more shocked.

In the past, they were the ones who twisted the truth and blatantly lied to others, but today it's the other way around? They're being smeared by a mere brat's nonsense?!

"Officer Sun!" the burly man at the head of the group exclaimed anxiously. "You were there yesterday! And several of your men, quite a few of them, witnessed the entire murder!"

"I saw it!" Officer Sun roared, "But that was my brother Li He eliminating a scourge for the people! The county magistrate has already closed the case; the one-eyed man and his wife deserved it! What, you bunch of blind fools who want to cause trouble?! Fine, all of you come with me to the yamen!"

The burly men were struck dumb.

It wasn't until Officer Sun called over the other constables and tied their hands that they finally understood what was happening.

Although they didn't know how things had turned out this way, since Officer Sun had said so, what was there left for them to argue about?

After all, his original intention was just to catch the murderer and go to the yamen to get some reward money.

I had no intention of avenging the one-eyed couple!

So a group of strong men cried like little women, kneeling on the ground, kowtowing, begging for forgiveness and admitting their mistakes.

"Committing crimes in broad daylight and even attacking the county constable, I'll make sure you're all dead!" Constable Sun said angrily. "If you utter another word, I'll kill you!"

He then ordered the constables to take these guys to the county government office and lock them in jail to await their fate.

Li He chuckled and whispered to Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, "That's good. Those guys will be lucky to escape with their lives, and their families will have to spend a fortune to bail them out... It's their just desserts. The wicked will always have to suffer the same fate."

Officer Sun, clutching his bleeding ear, walked away with a dark expression.

The constables, carrying large and small bags of looted valuables from the shops, escorted the burly men away one after another.

The roast chicken shop finally quieted down.

Li He went to the back kitchen and the inner room, and came out with half a roast chicken. "They really ransacked the place. They almost pried up the floor tiles. All that's left is this half a roast chicken. It's not even enough to fill the three of us's teeth..."

Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli immediately said they wouldn't eat it, and that he would eat it himself.

A minor incident delayed things a bit, but it wasn't all bad. At least the case of the one-eyed couple was finally over, and it also allowed Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli to see more of Li He's strengths.

The two accompanied Li He to his home.

As soon as Li He's father saw him, he grabbed a stick and was about to beat him.

Fortunately, Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli intervened and helped deal with the situation.

When Li He's parents learned that their son, whom they had always considered a disappointment, had become a hero who punished evil and received a reward from the government, their anger instantly turned to joy. Overwhelmed with emotion, they knelt outside the thatched hut and kowtowed to the heavens, thanking God for finally allowing their son to succeed.

Three days later—

Since it hasn't rained much anymore, the road outside the south gate of Tingxian County that was washed away by the flood is now barely passable.

Continuing south along this road, one can cross the great river and enter the southern Central Plains.

Fang Hui's injuries have also healed.

Li He spent a few taels of silver and, through the county government officials, bought One-Eyed Dragon's roast chicken shop and gave it to Fang Hui, so that Fang Hui would finally have a decent place to stay.

Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli planned to leave Ting County and continue their journey south.

The cold wave that swept across northern China gradually reached the Yangtze River basin, causing a sharp drop in temperature in Ting County, and fine snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Li He and Fang Hui saw the two off in front of the dilapidated temple.

Li He originally wanted to go with the two of them, but since winter had arrived, he had to stay at home to take care of his parents.

Li He was already shameless, and since they had gotten along very well in the past few days, Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli were both interested in taking him under their wing and training him. So the two of them officially recognized him as their adopted younger brother.

"Brother Qidi, Sister Jinli," Li He's eyes reddened slightly, "I really can't bear to part with you two. If Xuan Kingdom attacks Ze Kingdom in the future, just let me know and I'll help you. Don't look down on me just because I always skip school... I've loved reading military books since I was little, and I'll definitely be able to lead troops into battle in the future!"

“Leading troops into battle? You're seriously underestimating yourself,” Ning Jinli said with a smile, her large eyes holding a deeper meaning.

This kid still doesn't know just how capable he really is.

Li He scratched her head. "Sister Jinli, do you think I'm bragging and making fun of me?"

Ning Jinli placed her hands on his shoulders. "Bragging is one thing, but I'm not making fun of you. You're sure to achieve great things in the future. Qi Di and I both believe in you."

Li He's eyes lit up. "I will never let you down!"

After saying that, he nudged Fang Hui with his elbow, signaling him to also give his opinion.

Fang Hui clasped his hands in a fist and said earnestly, "As long as there is anything I can do to help you, whether it's going through fire or water, please feel free to ask, my two benefactors. My elder brother Li He is your younger brother, so I am your little brother!"

"Well done," Ning Jinli patted Fang Hui on the shoulder, "You will also achieve great things in the future, just stay by Li He's side."

Fang nodded vigorously, "Yes, little brother will remember it!"

"Li He, come with me." Ning Jinli turned and walked towards the dilapidated temple.

Without saying a word, Li He followed him inside.

Then, Ning Jinli walked to the corner where they used to sleep.

A few days ago, she opened a portal to another dimension here, which is still open, with a fluorescent vortex standing beside it, slowly rotating.

"Sister Jinli, did you call me over here alone to tell me some secret?" Li He asked curiously.

"Watch carefully." Ning Jinli smiled and stepped into the portal of time and space.

Lihe cannot see fluorescent vortices.

In his eyes, Ning Jinli suddenly disappeared, faster than he could blink.

He rubbed his eyes hard and walked to the spot where Ning Jinli had disappeared, looking left and right.

Apart from the footprints on the ground, there were no other traces at all.

"Sister Jinli?! Where did you go?!" Li He was completely dumbfounded.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ning Jinli appeared in front of him again.

Li He was astonished. "You can do magic tricks? How do you do that? Can you teach me!"

"Well, I can't teach you that right now," Ning Jinli said with a smile. "I don't have time to explain it to you in detail right now. You just need to know that there is an entrance and exit here that only Xiao Qidi and I can see and pass through. I will come and take a look when I have time in the future, teach you different knowledge, and bring you new and interesting things."

"Something new?" Li He was very curious.

Ning Jinli thought for a moment, "Wait a moment, before I leave this time, I'll give you a few things."

Then, Ning Jinli brought over several walkie-talkies and a remote-controlled drone, handed them to Li He, and told him how to use them.

These are all fully charged and will last for a while.

Li He had never seen such a magical object before, but he was very quick-witted and memorized all the instructions after hearing them only once.

"Consider these your toys," Ning Jinli instructed, "but don't show them off. If someone with ulterior motives targets you, you'll be in danger."

Li He nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, Sister Jinli, I will be careful."

——

Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli left the county town of Tingxian and hired an old fisherman in a nearby village. They then took a fishing boat and traveled by river.

A few days later, in the morning, the two arrived near a seemingly vast and boundless river.

Looking into the distance, one can vaguely see the surging waves of the river.

There was still quite a distance before the tributary joined it, and the water near the fishing boats was already starting to become turbulent.

The small fishing boat could no longer go any further, so it found a shallow beach to moor. Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli got off the boat, gave the old fisherman some extra silver, and watched him leave the way he came.

There are no villages within a radius of nearly a hundred miles in this area. Lakes of all sizes are scattered throughout the marshes, interspersed with mountains and dense forests.

According to the old fisherman he hired, there is a lot of moth-wing grass here, and if you cross that big river, the further south you go, the more there will be.

The old fisherman also reminded the two that he had heard rumors that there were river pirates in the area who specialized in robbing large ships passing by on the great river dozens of miles away.

If the two hadn't insisted on coming here, he really wouldn't have wanted to send them here.

Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli had walked a few steps on the muddy shallows when, sure enough, they saw the moth-wing grass growing vigorously in the grass outside a dense forest.

Ning Jinli picked one and examined it closely. Sure enough, it was exactly the same as the one she had seen in Professor Hua's phone album.

However, the kind that Professor Hua photographed was only about ten centimeters long, and even the ones grown in the only place of origin in modern times, the country of Sanpota, are less than twenty centimeters long.

Here, however, the plants have grown almost to waist height, and their leaves are thicker and larger.

"Heaven helps those who help themselves, we've finally found it! And there's even more than I expected!" Ning Jinli breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the dense patches of moth-wing grass in front of her, her eyes shining with excitement.

Xiao Qidi looked around and suddenly caught a glimpse of a shadow flashing by in the distance.

He became more vigilant and told Ning Jinli about the situation.

The two then flanked the location where the shadow had seemingly flashed by, one on the left and one on the right.

The closer one gets, the taller and more lush the wetland aquatic plants, such as reeds, become, towering over Xiao Qidi, who is nearly two meters tall, and severely obstructing the view.

Just as Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli were approaching their target location, several figures suddenly leaped up with a whoosh.

The two then realized that they were several water birds much larger than geese.

The waterbird's wingspan is more than a meter wide.

When it takes flight, it still has lively, wriggling fish hooked in its claws.

"Phew...that startled me..." Ning Jinli breathed a sigh of relief. "It turned out to be a wild bird catching fish."

Xiao Qidi relaxed, walked to her side and took her hand, "Let's find a place with good terrain and enough seclusion to settle down first. If this place is suitable, we'll be busy from now on."

The two left together, heading towards the woods.

Not long after they left, less than ten meters from where the waterbirds had taken flight, a pair of rough, dark hands slowly parted the reeds, revealing two cold, sinister eyes...

...

It wasn't until evening that Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli finally found a place to rest in the woods.

The area is covered with trees and weeds, but the terrain is high and flat. If we want to collect moth wing grass on a large scale, we can set up an initial base here.

Next, Ning Jinli prepared to open a portal to another dimension on the spot.

Suddenly, both she and Xiao Qidi frowned.

Noticing each other's reaction, Xiao Qidi said in a low voice, "You felt it too?"

Ning Jinli nodded slightly, "Yes, about half an hour ago, I had a vague feeling that I was being watched by something, but I wasn't sure. Until just now, that feeling became particularly strong, it seemed..."

“It seems to be right behind us,” Xiao Qidi said, “and I can also sense that there’s more than one thing watching us.”