Watching Stone run off to call his friends.

Li Lanzhen quickly released Xue Bao.

As for the man in black, let him stay in the space for now. We'll discuss it with our families when we get back to Forget-Worry Valley.

Li Lanzhen thought for a moment whether she should take out the horses, oxen, donkeys, and carriages that she had stored in her spatial storage at the Imperial Uncle's residence, and also take out some cooked food to eat on the road.

This time when we return to Forget-Worry Valley, besides myself and Xue Bao, there will be nine children. Moreover, the children are still young and are often hungry, so their ascent up the mountain will be very slow.

Thinking of this, Li Lanzhen released two horses, one ox, and two donkeys.

They brought out eight large baskets and ropes.

She put steamed buns in the basket, along with two water pouches filled with spiritual spring water from her spatial source.

The thought that these children had no shoes to wear, and that the mountain roads were difficult to travel on, was heartbreaking.

Li Lanzhen took out more than a dozen pairs of shoes, in various sizes, and let the children try them on. Those that fit could be worn, and those that didn't fit were put in a basket and stored in her spatial storage.

The horses, cows, and donkeys had been in the space before, so they were relatively well-behaved. After being released, they didn't run around but stayed close to Li Lanzhen.

Xue Bao was released from the space and lay on the ground, immediately waking up.

Li Lanzhen was taken aback. She also remembered that if a living person was put into the space, they would be in a coma, but would immediately wake up as soon as they left the space.

She needs to remember this characteristic of the space, otherwise things will go wrong later.

After Xue Bao woke up, he sat up, touched the back of his head, and turned his head to see Li Lanzhen standing next to him.

He muttered aggrievedly.

"Auntie, did you knock me out with that knife?"

Then, he looked around and realized that it was the middle of nowhere, not the small courtyard at all!

What's going on?

"Auntie, you knocked me unconscious just to carry me here!"

Li Lanzhen looked at the silly-looking Xue Bao and said with a smile, "No, I hid you. I just carried you over and put you on the ground, and you woke up."

Xue Bao muttered to himself, "Hmph, Auntie, do you think I'm a three-year-old? You're lying to me!"

He knew that Li Lanzhen possessed extraordinary skills, and at this moment he no longer hesitated. He knew that Li Lanzhen must have had a reason for knocking him unconscious back then.

He had just stood up when a large knife was shoved into his arms. "Here you go, take the knife. Get up quickly, the children will be here soon."

Xue Bao exclaimed in surprise, "Auntie, what did you say? Children? Where did these children come from? Are there many children? Oh, I forgot, where is that man in black?"

Li Lanzhen had already heard the sound of Shi Tou and the other children running towards them.

Ignoring Xue Bao's barrage of questions, he kicked Xue Bao in the rear.

"Why are you talking so much? Get up quickly and tie these baskets to the backs of the horses, oxen, and donkeys. When the children arrive, the younger ones can sit in the baskets. We need to hurry up the mountain."

Xue Bao stood up and realized that not far away, there were soldiers lying haphazardly.

He turned around again, gave Li Lanzhen a thumbs up, and said, "Aunt Lanzhen, you're amazing! Did you kill them all?"

As he spoke, he nimbly tied the baskets together and slung them over the backs of the horses, oxen, and donkeys.

At this moment, Stone and his friends also arrived.

Stone saw Xue Bao, as well as the horses and cattle.

Looking at Li Lanzhen, she asked, "Auntie, where did this older brother come from? Is he with you? Did he bring all these livestock?"

Li Lanzhen looked at the children who had come over; their ages ranged from six to two years old.

The youngest one, who was walking unsteadily, must be a little girl.

Upon seeing her, he toddled over, grabbed her leg, and raised his little head.

In a childish voice, she asked, "Grandma, thank you for saving us."

Li Lanzhen could tell you were unsteady on your feet, but your tongue was quite nimble, able to say so much.

Shi Tou picked her up and said with a smile, "Auntie, this is our youngest little sister, Douhua. She just turned three this year."

"Auntie, don't let her unsteady gait fool you; she's very clever and can mimic our speech."

Li Lanzhen looked at the children and saw that their clothes were either too short, exposing their arms and half of their legs, or too long, so long that they could be worn as coats.

Without exception, not a single child had shoes to wear.

The children's feet were wrapped in tattered cloth.

They must have been older children, and someone was worried they would cut their feet, so they found some rags to wrap around their feet.

These children are not from the same family, but in such difficult times, the older ones are able to protect the younger ones.

With her young shoulders, she carried the burden of a family for her younger brothers and sisters.

At this moment, Li Lanzhen's eyes welled up with tears. She knew that her decision today was correct; these children were all people with great love in their hearts.

When Xue Bao saw so many little ones arrive, and heard that they were all orphans, and saw that they were all dressed in tattered clothes, but both the big and the small ones looked happy.

He was also moved, so he quickly took out a steamed bun from the basket and stuffed it into his arms.

"Eat quickly, fill your stomachs and then we'll go."

Li Lanzhen then took out the shoes, all of which were cloth shoes.

This was given to him by the same merchant who always gave him protective clothing when exchanging supplies.

She found these shoes while sorting through her belongings, and put them all together in one place.

"Come on, children, try on the shoes. Wear whichever pair you like, and put the rest down if you can't wear them."

We need to go up the mountain. There are lots of rocks, branches, thorns, and brambles on the mountain; if we cut our feet and the wounds bleed, they'll leave traces, and the enemy will find us.

The children, still holding a warm steamed bun in their hands, were shocked by a pair of shoes placed at their feet.

Li Lanzhen watched the children standing there blankly, neither eating steamed buns nor wearing shoes.

So he said to Stone, “Stone, you take the lead and hurry up. Put on your shoes first, and eat as you walk. Put the youngest children in the baskets on the backs of the horses, oxen, and donkeys, and let them carry them. That way, we’ll be faster.”

Although the children are young, their little hands and feet are very nimble. Soon, the older ones helped the younger ones find the right shoe size and put on their shoes.

After putting on their shoes, the children carefully and gently hopped around in place, looking so cautious that it was heartbreaking to see them break their new shoes if they jumped too hard!

Xue Bao and Li Lanzhen started with the youngest child, putting the two of them in one basket.

The older children sit alone in a basket.

Finally, Shi Tou and Yan Ming insisted on not sitting in the basket or riding on horseback.

"Auntie, let's lead these two donkeys."

Li Lanzhen thought it was a good idea, otherwise she and Xue Bao alone wouldn't be able to control five livestock.

"Alright, you can eat as you walk. Make sure you're full so you can walk faster."

Two horses were being led by Xue Bao, and five children were in baskets on their backs.

"Auntie, I'll go first."

Li Lanzhen said, "Okay, you go first. Shitou, you follow your older brother."

Stone was leading an ox, which had two baskets on its back filled with steamed buns and other things.

Yan Ming was leading a donkey, with a child on each side of the donkey's back, in a basket.

The last donkey was being led by Li Lanzhen, and the two baskets were empty.

As she walked at the back, she kept putting the things she had taken from the kitchen of the Emperor's brother's mansion into the baskets on both sides of the donkey's back.

There was also a leafy branch on the donkey's tail.

Xue Bao had tied them up, and as they walked, the tree branches cleared away their tracks.