“Mother, don’t worry. I know what I should and shouldn’t do!” Dong Erkui said.

“Er Kui, why won’t you listen to your mother? What kind of bewitching potion did that woman give you to make you so infatuated with her? No, she has to leave tonight!” said Aunt Dong.

"Mother, please stop this nonsense. What we're doing is absolutely right. And I assure you, nothing bad will happen," Dong Erkui said, stopping Dong Da Niang.

When Aunt Dong saw that her son insisted on going, she was at a loss. She was a very kind woman, and at this moment, she was afraid that her son would take a risk, which was why she thought of going to Nian Lanqin's place.

"Er Kui, can you really promise your mother that?" Aunt Dong said helplessly.

"I promise, if I encounter any danger, I will definitely avoid it and won't act rashly. Because I still have a mother waiting for me to come back," Dong Erkui said.

Aunt Dong then nodded.

The next day, Lanqin asked Dong Erkui to take her to find Gouwa's house. Erkui was a hunter in the mountains, and he knew exactly where everyone lived. As soon as Lanqin mentioned that the woman helped transport night soil from the mountain, he immediately knew where to look.

When Lanqin and Erkui arrived at the old woman's house, they found that Gouwa had already woken up. It turned out that Gouwa had been the only one left in the house that day. After shaking off the two Taoist priests, the old woman had secretly gone back and carried Gouwa home.

A few days later, Master Zhou suddenly arrived, bringing medicine for Gouwa. After taking the medicine, Gouwa woke up.

"Gouwa is awake! That's wonderful!" Lanqin was truly happy to see that Gouwa was alright.

"This is all thanks to Master Zhou; he's truly a living bodhisattva here!" the auntie said.

"Are you talking about Master Zhou?" Lanqin asked.

"Yes, we have a Taoist priest named Zhou here. He knows best the suffering of us villagers. He was sent down by a divine old Taoist to save us," the aunt said.

Looking at her expression, Lanqin saw the reverence on her face, but then she thought of Ling Feng's report to her and couldn't quite understand what had happened to him on the mountain.

"Madam, what brings you here?" the woman asked warmly.

Lanqin gestured for Erkui to put down the grain and two rabbits he was carrying, and then told her her request.

"What? You want me to secretly take you up the mountain?" the aunt exclaimed in surprise after hearing Lanqin's request.

"Auntie, please. I just want to go in and find Si Hua Shui Ling and the others, and also ask those Taoist priests what they want. Please help me," Lan Qin said.

"Then why did you sneak in?" the aunt asked.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to see the Taoist priest before they arrest me. Auntie, all you need to do is hide me in the chamber pot. Once I'm inside, I promise I won't say you brought me in," Lanqin said.

The woman hesitated as she looked at Lanqin, still afraid that the Taoist priests would discover her and she would be implicated and lose her job.

"Auntie, don't worry, no one will know. As long as you take me in, all of this is yours. You won't need to transport toilet water anymore; you can go to the city and do some small business, and you can cross the river easily. Gouwa doesn't need to stay here anymore either; he can go to the private school in the city to study." Lanqin took out about a hundred taels of silver that she carried with her and put it in the auntie's hand.

It must be said that money is a great temptation, and Lanqin's last words swayed her. She really didn't want to deliver toilet water to those Taoist priests anymore, so she said, "Alright, then I'll do it one last time. Madam, are you sure you want to go in?"

Lanqin nodded heavily. After discussing the trip to Dumenpo with Lanqin, Dong Erkui left alone.

After having lunch with Auntie and Gouwa, Auntie took Lanqin and talked to her about what would happen that evening.

“I go into the mountains every day around 7 PM, sometimes a little later. Today, when I take you in, we’ll deliberately go a little late so that the Taoist priests won’t be too diligent and might not even check,” the woman said.

"Hmm, what about Gouwa?" Lanqin asked.

“After I take you inside, I’ll go collect the night soil as usual and then transport it out. Once I get back, I’ll take Gouwa and leave right there that night, without stopping for a moment,” the auntie said.

“That won’t do. It’s late at night, you’ll easily get lost. Auntie, you should find a place to rest for the night first. You can leave the next day. After I go in, I also need to find a place to rest. Do you know which places in the mountains are deserted?” Lanqin said.

“Normally, there’s no one at Yuxu Palace at night. It used to be a place where Taoists listened to lectures and preached. They don’t preach much anymore, and it’s been empty for a long time,” the aunt said. “It’s not a good idea for a young woman like you to wander around there at night. Why don’t you go to Yuxu Palace and rest for the night, and then go out when it’s dawn?”

"Well, auntie, I have another favor to ask. I wonder if you could help me?" Lanqin said.

“Tell me, as long as I can do it,” the aunt said.

"Could you help me get a Taoist robe? I don't know where to find one right now," Lanqin said, looking troubled.

"That's easy, just wait!" the auntie said readily when she saw that this was the plan.

Lanqin thought this was a request that would be difficult to fulfill, but to her surprise, the aunt came out with the Taoist's clothes in no time.

"Here you go!" The aunt took out a set of bluish-gray cotton robe, as well as Taoist shoes and a hat, and placed them all in front of Lanqin.

"Auntie, this!" Lanqin exclaimed in surprise.

"These were unwanted by the Taoist priests. I thought it would be a waste to throw them away, so I picked them up, washed them clean, and will keep them for my dog ​​to wear," the aunt said with a simple smile.

Lanqin took the Taoist robe, held it up against herself, and then put it on. She even asked the aunt to style her hair into a Taoist hairstyle.

"Oh my, you're the most handsome Taoist I've ever seen!" the aunt said, seeing that Lanqin had completely changed her appearance.

"Auntie, don't laugh at me." Lanqin had just felt a bit cold. Compared to her own clothes with white fox fur, this Taoist robe was heavy and cold, and really uncomfortable.

As night fell, the aunt told Gouwa to wait for her at home and not to wander off, then she set off with Lanqin. Every night, she had to walk for more than an hour to reach the entrance to the mountain. The cart for delivering night soil was left there.

The aunt and Lanqin made their way to her usual spot under the cover of night. Lanqin felt her hands and feet were very cold; she had never gone out at night before. But now, in order to rescue Fourth Master as soon as possible, she had to overcome the difficulties and forge ahead.