Without further ado, it's time to run away!

Tao Wan's mother immediately told her son and daughter-in-law to pack their things and leave, deciding to save her trick for when they met again!

"Boss, even if this woman is somewhat attractive, she's still an old woman. You wouldn't actually have taken a liking to her, would you?" Monkey couldn't help but say after Tao Wanniang and her group left.

"Boss, you're just kidding, right? Although she's not bad looking, she looks like a country woman, completely unrelated to our Black Wind Stronghold!" Daqiang teased.

"What a pity!" Zhang Tiehao sighed. "You two don't understand women. Although this woman is a peasant, she is much more interesting than the average woman."

"To still have such good looks at this age, she must have been incredibly beautiful when she was young!"

Tao Wanniang had no idea what the three men from Black Wind Village were talking about her behind her back. After the group had run quite a distance, she patted her chest in relief.

"My goodness, I'm already this old, and I still have bad romantic prospects. Are these men blind?"

"Sister Tao, you're so beautiful! You used to be so thin and skinny, but now you've blossomed into a beautiful young woman, and you look so energetic. If you ask me, that man has good taste," Bai Yumei teased. "It's a pity he's a bandit. If he were from a respectable family, Sister Tao, you should really consider him."

"Oh, really? Have I been rejuvenated?" Tao Wanniang touched her face. Having endured wind and rain all day, she had no time to care about her appearance!

"Grandma Tao, you look so beautiful and young! I'll be too embarrassed to call you grandma from now on!" Little Qiao'er said earnestly.

"What will little Qiao'er want to call me in the future? She can't just call me 'Auntie,' can she?" Tao Wan's mother laughed. What woman doesn't like to be told she looks young?

"Oh, my irresistible charm!" Tao Wanniang teased with a laugh. "Hurry up and go, or we'll be in big trouble if we get caught!" There would inevitably be another conflict, and she had no desire to become a bandit's wife!

"Mother, back then, I stopped Da Hu from going forward, you...you won't blame me, will you?" Wang Hongyu asked cautiously, "Gouwa and Huani were so young, I..."

"No need to say more, I understand." Tao Wan's mother didn't take her daughter-in-law to heart, or rather, she didn't ask the two of them to help in any way, she only asked that they not hold her back.

"Mother, and me too, I also pulled Dapeng..." Zhou Xiaoyun said weakly, forcing herself to speak.

“I’ve told you before, don’t do things beyond your capabilities.” Seeing that her two daughters-in-law had spoken up, Tao Wan’s mother said seriously, “The other party is targeting me, so you really don’t need to stand up for me.”

"I will ask for your help when I need it, but most of the time, if I can't handle something, you definitely can't either. So in the future, if you encounter danger, please protect yourselves first!"

“Mother, it’s all our fault for being useless. You were harassed by that bandit. We…” Ling Dapeng turned around and said, wanting to say something more, but was interrupted by Tao Wan’s mother’s glare.

"You two are useless. If it really came down to a fight, could the two of you even hold your own against one of them?" Tao Wanniang said disdainfully. "It's a waste that you're so tall. Just don't hold me back when it really matters!"

"Also, besides being my son, you must remember that you are now husbands and fathers!"

Tao Wanniang's words struck a chord with the Ling brothers, and also left Wang Hongyu and Zhou Xiaoyun looking puzzled.

Does the mother-in-law mean that her husband should prioritize his wife and children?

As darkness fell, the group still hadn't reached the town. Seeing lights in the distance, Tao Wan's mother instructed her son to hurry towards the light. After the heavy rain, it was too damp to sleep outdoors.

The light indicated a village, but there was no one on the road.

Ling Dahu knocked on a house with lights on, but the candlelight inside immediately went out after he knocked.

"Mother, what should we do? It's obvious they're not opening the door!" Ling Dahu said dejectedly. "The whole village is dark."

"Then let's keep looking. There's bound to be some dilapidated house. As long as it can shelter us from the wind and rain, we'll make do for the night," Tao Wanniang said calmly. They had walked quite a distance, but the mountain bandits were very elusive. Perhaps the villagers here were afraid of them.

After walking from one end of the village to the other, they finally saw a dilapidated thatched hut. Ling Dahu and Ling Dapeng went in to check it out first, and only came out to meet the others after confirming that there was no danger.

“Mother, the house is pitch black, but there’s a dry patch of straw on the floor,” Ling Dahu said. “It feels like someone’s been there.” He muttered something else at the end.

Tao Wanniang's heart sank; there couldn't have been no reason for Ling Dahu to think this way.

"We'll just stay one night and leave as soon as it gets light!"

Soon, the group fell asleep. The next morning, Tao Wanniang woke up to the sound of roosters crowing in the village. Seeing that dawn was breaking in the east, she immediately woke up the others.

"Let's go, grab our things and leave. We'll eat when we get to the county." Her eyelids twitched inexplicably, and she felt uneasy.

"Sister Tao, what a coincidence! It seems we are destined to meet!"

As soon as Tao Wanniang and her party stepped out of the thatched hut, they saw Zhang Tiehao. Judging from his appearance, it seemed like it was both intentional and extremely coincidental.

Tao Wanniang looked behind him and tentatively asked, "Are you alone?"

"Do you know where this is? This is Zhangjia Village, my home. And this thatched hut you are staying in is, coincidentally, my ancestral home!"

Zhang Tiehao said with a smile, his eyes revealing his determination to win!

"So you've come home. It seems you're definitely alone!" Tao Wanniang nodded and got off the carriage.

"You guys go ahead and wait for me in town!" Tao Wanniang said calmly. She could handle it alone. If she couldn't manage, all those trips through different worlds would have been for nothing.

"Mother, how can this be!" Ling Dahu immediately objected, stuffing the rope into his younger brother's hand and preparing to get off the carriage.

"Sit tight and be careful. What's wrong? I just told you yesterday not to hold me back, and now you're not listening? I'm a middle-aged woman. If I really get married, do I have to bring my son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter with me?" Tao Wan's mother scolded.

"Honey, listen to your mother!" Wang Hongyu immediately grabbed Ling Dahu and said nervously.

"Brother, Mother is right, let's go to town first!" Ling Dapeng said through gritted teeth. "Let's go!" As he spoke, he whipped the horse hard, urging it to gallop away.

"Sister Tao, it seems you're quite satisfied with me!" Zhang Tiehao said with a smile, showing more interest in Tao Wanniang than in anyone else.

"Satisfied? How could I not be satisfied? You're tall and strong, and look quite imposing. But, are you going to take me up the mountain, or stay in this thatched hut?"

"Come up!" Zhang Tiehao extended his hand to Tao Wanniang.

Tao Wanniang didn't hesitate and took Zhang Tiehao's hand, but at the same time she threw a sleeping potion at Zhang Tiehao.

Zhang Tiehao was caught off guard. Although he immediately tried to swat it away, he still inhaled quite a bit.

"Get down! You dare to force me to marry? The last bandit who tried to take advantage of me already has his head split in two!" Tao Wanniang pulled Zhang Tiehao off his horse, then kicked him in the chest without any politeness, using the momentum to leap back onto the horse.

"I've spared your life, which is already quite merciful. If you know what's good for you, stop now, or... you'll die by my hand sooner or later!"

Tao Wanniang coldly addressed Zhang Tiehao, whose body was beginning to weaken, then spurred her horse and rode away!