A large, dark mass of people, some carrying, some shouldering, some riding on horses, stretched as far as the eye could see, heading towards Ziyang Peak.

They were practically beating drums and gongs to announce it to the world.

Old Mrs. Li came out of the house, also taken aback. "I say, boss, it hasn't even been a year yet, have you raised enough for the bride price?"

Behind Xie Xiao was a matchmaker he'd found somewhere, with a large mole on her lip and a beaming smile. "Grandma Li, our boss wants to arrange a marriage first, so he's brought the engagement gifts."

"Grandma, here's 80,000 taels of silver, and some food and household items. Keep them for now." Xie Xiao winked at Sun Ergou.

Grandma Li shook her head. "Young people just have no patience. Alright, you can put your things in the yard first."

With this kind of commotion, how can we possibly send them back?

She's not that heartless.

Xie Xiao grinned, waved his hand, and the dowry procession formed a long line, following him in an orderly fashion.

Once inside the courtyard, Xie Xiao glanced around. "Where's Li Ruo? Why isn't she here?"

Grandma Li didn't know where her granddaughter had gone, but Li Yi ran down and said hurriedly, "Grandma, Grandma, I saw my sister go into the water."

Xie Xiao frowned. "What did you say?"

Li Yi shook the binoculars in his hand. "I didn't see wrong. My sister took Chen He on a very strange boat, or rather, it didn't look like a boat."

Old Lady Li said, "Go and call the Taoist priest."

Liao Fusheng arrived, and Xie Xiao's eyes were dark and brooding. "Where did she go?"

At this moment, Li Ruo, dressed in men's clothing, was riding a jet ski, speeding towards the North Mountain.

Chen He, sitting behind her, had his eyes covered with a black cloth and was gripping the armrest tightly with both hands, his face pale with fright.

Holy crap! What kind of ship is that fast?!

Unfortunately, Miss Li wouldn't let her see it.

As a loyal guard, he could not disobey his master's orders, so he could only lean back as far as he could.

Because—my goodness, he's sitting so close to the girl, what if the chief finds out and kills him?

The sky was overcast, there was no one on the water, and with the compass and route map he had bought from the mall, Li Ruo had a smooth journey.

We soon arrived at Beishan.

As they approached the shore, she released a small boat from her spatial storage, tossed Chen He onto it, then put away the motorboat and removed the black cloth covering his eyes. "How was it? Exciting, wasn't it?"

Besides Xie Xiao, he was the second man to have the honor of riding on her motorboat.

Chen He looked around in confusion. Wasn't this just a small boat? "But how could it be so fast!"

Li Ruo tossed him the oar, "Stop arguing and row!"

"Oh, okay." Chen He took it; a qualified guard shouldn't ask so many questions.

Once they reached the mountain, Li Ruo and Chen He got their faces and clothes dirty, making them look like refugees who had drifted in from somewhere.

Chen He was indeed very familiar with the surroundings and quickly found the way to Song Zhijing's territory.

There were more refugees in Beishan than in Jiangjunshan. There were people all along the way, and it was chaotic and dirty. Everyone was only concerned with making fires for warmth, digging for wild vegetables, and repairing thatched huts. No one had the mind to care about others, and their appearance did not attract much attention.

"Waaah, Father, Mother, it's so cold! How can we survive?" a girl cried.

Her parents beside her sighed, "This awful weather is unbearable."

Another person said, "It's bad enough that we don't have any food, but we also have to guard against refugees coming to rob us."

"Waaah, isn't the Prince of Runan here? Why aren't they doing anything about us?"

"Hmph, expecting anything from those powerful and wealthy people? We're lucky they didn't arrest us and cook us alive..."

Li Ruo listened intently, hearing complaints and wailing everywhere.

Chen He thought to himself: Luckily, I have Miss Li by my side and the chief, otherwise I would be just like them.

“Our General Mountain is much better than this,” he said quietly.

The two found Song Zhijing's former stronghold without much effort. There were several thatched huts and mud walls, which looked like they had been built for a long time.

Chen He said, "This should be a house belonging to a mountain family, which he forcibly occupied."

Suddenly, two people ran out of the house. "You little brat, give me back my things!"

A disheveled woman chased after a dirty boy, shouting at the top of her lungs.

But the boy was as agile as an eel, and Xu failed to catch him and instead fell to the ground.

Li Ruo looked at her and laughed. Wasn't this woman Xu Shi?

Although her hair was disheveled and her eyes were sunken, she recognized her at a glance. Madam Xu also saw her. "You, who are you?"

Why does it feel familiar?

"You are—" Suddenly, Madam Xu's eyes widened. "Rong'er, come quickly! It's this woman, it's her!"

It was like seeing a ghost.

Soon, a woman ran out of the house. Li Ruo learned from the original owner's memories that she was Song Rong, Song Zhijing's older sister.

Song Rong hadn't seen Li Ruo many times and didn't recognize her at first. Li Ruo was wrapped in a tattered quilt, and her face and exposed shoulders were covered in purple marks, as if she had been through something.

"It's her, Li Ruo." Madam Xu's voice was hoarse with excitement and jealousy.

Upon hearing this, Song Rong's eyes widened in fury. "It was you? You harmed my whole family! You monster, how dare you come here? I'll kill you!"

As he spoke, he rushed towards Li Ruo, but before he could get close, Chen He kicked him away, sending him crashing into a mud wall and knocking him unconscious.

Xu shouted, "Rong'er!" and glared at Li Ruo. "You damned monster, I'll fight you to the death!" She reached out to grab her.

"Snap."

But Li Ruo slapped her to the ground and laughed, "What, you think you can kill me looking like that?"

Xu glared fiercely at Li Ruo, then suddenly got up and shouted into the house, "Help! Li Ruo is here!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!