Chapter 173 Rat Chicken Soup, His Eyes Were Filled with Admiration for Shen Chu

On the bellows next to the stove, a mouse was staring at Shen Chu.

Shen Chu was delighted.

Tsk, isn't this the fat rat that scared Thunder Eagle into submission just now?

What a coincidence!

The fat rat seemed to sense danger and turned to run away.

With lightning speed, Shen Chu grabbed its tail and threw it directly into the pot of chicken soup.

Squeak.

The fat rat let out its final, desperate howl.

Shen Chu picked up a spoon and stirred the soup, quite satisfied with the rat and chicken soup she had personally prepared.

A wicked bandit like that only deserves to eat this.

She personally ladled out a bowl of soup.

"Alright, I think the soup is almost ready. Quickly take it to the chieftain."

The cooks dared not object, and quickly packed the food into boxes and handed them to Chen Chu.

Shen Chu waved his hand, "I have other things to do. Someone from the chieftain's side will come to collect it later."

After saying that, he swaggered away.

Zhang Lan watched this scene from outside, breaking out in a cold sweat with tension.

When Shen Chu came out, her eyes were filled with admiration as she looked at him.

Wow, when did her family's saltworks get such skilled salt workers?

How come I never noticed this before?

"Let's go find Mrs. Zhang."

The two soon arrived at the house where Madam Zhang was staying.

Madam Zhang was nearly forty years old, her face was pale and she looked haggard, it was clear that what she had experienced these days had taken a heavy toll on her.

But having managed the family business for many years, she possessed a resilient spirit, so there was no trace of sorrow on her face; instead, her gaze towards Zhang Lan was filled with heartache.

Zhang Lan explained the whole story to Madam Zhang.

"Salt workers from my family's saltworks?" A hint of doubt flashed in Madam Zhang's eyes, and she then curtsied.

"We, mother and daughter, are deeply grateful for the help of Sir Lu and will definitely repay him in the future."

Shen Chu returned the greeting with a cupped hand, "There's no time to lose, let's find a way to leave right away."

Madam Zhang hesitated for a moment, "These bandits are ruthless killers. It will be difficult for you to get out with just the two of us."

"Brave Lu, please just take Lan'er out of here. As for me, you can leave me alone."

“How can that be?” Zhang Lan disagreed. “Mother, I can’t leave you alone. If you don’t leave, I won’t leave either.”

Madam Zhang held Zhang Lan's hand and said, "I have already dragged you down to this extent. Listen to me, although Lu Zhuangshi has some martial arts skills..."

But taking two women like us along will ultimately be a burden to him.

"Rather than both of them being unable to leave, I'd rather stay and hold them off while you two hurry up and go."

Zhang Lan's eyes reddened with anxiety, and she clung to Madam Zhang's sleeve, refusing to let go.

Shen Chu frowned and interrupted the mother and daughter's argument.

"Excuse my bluntness, but if Madam Zhang ultimately stays in the bandits' den, wouldn't that be a betrayal of Miss Zhang's sacrifice?"

Now that you and your daughter have fallen on hard times, does Madam Zhang really intend to give the entire saltworks to Jiang Hongzhi?

Or should we send Miss Zhang out to fight her father face to face?

When Jiang Hongzhi was mentioned, Madam Zhang's expression changed drastically.

“That heartless bastard Jiang Hongzhi will never get a single thing from my Zhang family.”

Taking the opportunity, Zhang Lan said, "That's why Mother must come with us. I can't handle him alone."

"Don't worry, Seventh Brother just put a sleeping potion in the mung bean soup. Once it takes effect, we'll leave together quickly."

Madam Zhang finally gave up and said, "Alright, let's escape together."

Zhang Lan opened the food box. "Mother, Seventh Brother, let's eat something first to conserve our energy."

------

Inside the flower hall of Leigongzhai.

Lei Ying picked up the chicken soup, took a sip, and frowned.

Upon seeing this, his wife quickly asked, "What's wrong? Is it not to your liking? I specifically asked the kitchen to stew this for you."

Lei Ying took another sip and smacked his lips.

"Why does this chicken soup taste like rat droppings?"

Lei Ying's wife sneered, "This is a free-range chicken that I specially had caught from the foot of the mountain, and I even put ginseng in it."

It's specially made to nourish your body, how could it possibly smell like rat droppings?

"Could it be that you've been bewitched by that little vixen these past few days, Boss? You can't even taste the food properly anymore?"

Lei Ying felt extremely disgusted by the sudden appearance of the rat and decided not to go see Zhang Lan tonight.

He pinched his wife's cheek. "Oh, are you jealous? I'll come to your room tonight and make sure you feel really comfortable."

Lei Ying's wife was delighted and eagerly picked up the bowl of soup, saying, "Drink more, Boss, so you can get better and go down the mountain to rob more good things."

Lei Ying laughed heartily with satisfaction and finished the bowl of soup completely.

Gradually, his vision became blurry, and he felt dizzy.

thump.

He saw his wife suddenly slump onto the table, unconscious.

Lei Ying frowned. Why did this feeling seem so familiar?

"Boss, something terrible has happened!" A patrolling bandit rushed in to report, "Old Ghost has been killed, and many of our brothers outside have been taken down."

What?

Lei Ying suddenly stood up, but his body went limp and he sat back down.

He was very alert, gritted his teeth, picked up the cold tea on the table, and splashed it all over his face.

Cold water is the best antidote to sleeping potion.

Lei Ying regained his senses and charged out with his broadsword.

Many people were lying haphazardly outside the flower hall.

"Quickly, splash them with water to wake them up, and tell the patrol team to go to the village gate immediately."

With Chen Chu leading Zhang Lan and Madam Zhang, they bypassed the patrol checkpoints and quickly reached the entrance of the village.

There were more than a dozen bandits guarding the entrance to the village.

Shen Chu told Zhang Lan and Madam Zhang to wait behind the house at the corner, and then she ran towards the door with a panicked expression.

"It's terrible! The bandits have come over from the back of the mountain, and many of our brothers in the village have been taken down."

"Hurry and save the chieftain!"

The bandit guarding the gate changed his expression. Upon closer listening, he could indeed hear a commotion coming from inside the stronghold.

A group of people immediately ran towards the village.

There were only four guards left at the entrance of the village.

Chen Chu lightly touched the ground with his toes, quickly leaped up, and kicked two objects away with both feet.

Before the other two could react, she knocked them unconscious with a punch each.

"Hurry up."

Zhang Lan and his wife quickly ran towards this direction.

"Stop right there, where do you think you're going?"

Lei Ying led a group of people to catch up.

Shen Chu's expression changed slightly.

Did the sleeping potion not work? How did these people wake up so quickly?

She looked up and saw Lei Ying throw the broadsword hard at Zhang Lan's back. She immediately rushed over and caught the broadsword.

This delay allowed the patrolling bandits to catch up.

Lei Ying's expression was gloomy. "Where did this little wench come from, daring to trespass on Lei Gong Village?"

"Brothers, grab her! Tonight, you can have your way with her in public in the square."

The bandits laughed loudly, all eyeing Shen Chu with malicious and covetous gazes.

Zhang Lan and his wife held hands tightly, their faces as white as paper.

With so many bandits, they certainly couldn't escape.

Zhang Lan said in a trembling voice, "Lei Ying, I'll go back with you, just let them leave."

Lei Ying, hands on his hips, spat out a mouthful of phlegm. "You little bitch, I'm almost tired of you. What right do you have to negotiate with me?"

Brothers, hurry up, tonight they're yours too, mother and daughter.

"Let you also taste the flavor of the Zhang family matriarch, who is famous throughout Anhua."

The bandits' laughter grew even more vicious and unrestrained.

They even started arguing maliciously about who should go first, with one saying, "I want to go first."

Zhang Lan clenched her fists. "Brother Lu, what do we do?"

Shen Chu remained calm. "You guys go first, I'll cover you from behind."

“But…we can’t abandon you.” Zhang Lan gritted her teeth. “At worst, we’ll die together.”

Chen Chu frowned. "If you're here, I'll have to take care of you. Let's go, let's go to the salt field and find my brother Lu Liu to come and rescue me."

Pei Yuan hasn't arrived yet. Has he seen the mark she left?