It seems that Devil's Valley is not as dangerous as they imagined; they easily crossed it in two days.

As everyone began setting up camp, Li Xue walked to Zhao Xian's side and said:

"Brother Zhao, I'd like to go take a look at the valley entrance."

“Yes, Princess, the valley entrance is just ahead. Let’s go take a look.”

Li Xue smiled, and her expression showed that she was both excited and nervous.

Zhao Xian knew that the person who picked up the corpse might have taken Li Ru to the Golden Kingdom. If that were the case, Li Xue might be able to see her brother.

To calm Li Xue down, Zhao Xian said:

"Princess, we came to the southwestern border to accomplish three important tasks. We have already completed two of them, and the search for Li Ru will surely yield results as well."

To celebrate, how about we light a bonfire and have some barbecue tonight?

"Great! I haven't had barbecue skewers in ages. Where did you get these skewers? Did you bring them from Narcissus Village?"

"Of course not, in this hot weather, the skewers will spoil very quickly."

These skewers were made in Yunjiazhuang; if stored properly, they can be kept for several days without any problem.

"I remember the last time we ate barbecue skewers in the Gobi Desert, it was quite a unique experience. I wonder what it will be like to eat barbecue skewers this time."

"The skewers are still the same old kind, but the climate varies greatly from north to south, so the feeling of eating skewers is definitely different."

The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at the mouth of the valley. The valley mouth was at a high altitude, and they could see a lot into the distance. At this time, the sun was setting, and the scenery in front of them was very beautiful.

In the distance are low mountains with gentle undulations, covered with forests, winding rivers, and mirror-like lakes, and further still, villages are faintly visible.

“This is no longer the territory of the Great Northern Dynasty. We have arrived in the Golden Kingdom and know nothing about the situation here. We don’t know what we will encounter in the next few days,” Zhao Xian said.

“I heard my father say that some countries bordering the Great Northern Dynasty are barbarian lands, especially in the south. Most of the people there are uncivilized and cannot compare with the Central Plains of the Great Northern Dynasty in terms of economy, etiquette and culture.”

I wonder what the Golden Kingdom is like. I hope everything goes well for us here.

"There shouldn't be any problem. In relatively underdeveloped areas, the local customs are more simple and honest. As long as we adapt to local customs and don't provoke them or infringe on their interests, there won't be any issues."

"Besides, I've brought twenty grenadier soldiers with me. The bombs they carry are even more powerful. Twenty men can fight like thousands. What are we afraid of?"

“Brother Zhao is right. From now on, we’ll all listen to you, as long as you don’t sell us out.” Li Xue finished speaking and then giggled.

Seeing that Li Xue had calmed down considerably, Zhao Xian spoke up:

“Princess, even if I sold myself, I wouldn’t dare to lay a finger on you. In the Great Northern Dynasty, who would have the guts to sell you off?”

Upon hearing this, Li Xue laughed even harder. She turned to look in the direction of the camp and said:

"The camp is probably almost set up. Let's go back. I think I can smell the aroma of barbecue skewers."

Zhao Xian nodded and walked back with Li Xue.

Night finally fell, and several soldiers began to cook. Zhao Xian ordered his men to light a bonfire, and soon a large bonfire was burning.

Zhao Xian brought over a huge pile of skewers and started grilling.

Upon seeing this, Li Xue was greatly surprised and said:

"Brother Zhao, how did you manage to get so many skewers? I bet you brought out all the skewers you brought."

"Of course, with so many people, everyone gets a share. When we get to the Kingdom of Golden Din, we can buy some meat and make kebabs."

There's no need to save the skewers now; let's grill them all so everyone can have a few more.

Everyone was delighted to hear that there would be skewers for everyone.

Zhao Xian divided the skewers into several portions and asked Li Xue and several guards to grill them as well. It would be too slow for him to grill so many skewers by himself.

Five or six people were grilling skewers at the same time, and the aroma quickly spread. Many of them had never eaten grilled skewers before, and this was the first time they had smelled the aroma of grilled skewers. They almost drooled.

Zhao Xian had already grilled a bunch of skewers. Although there weren't many, it was enough for everyone to have one. The people who received the skewers began to slowly savor them, enjoying this delicious food.

After a flurry of activity, all the skewers were grilled and quickly devoured. Although quite a lot had been grilled, there were so many people that each person only managed to eat a few skewers and didn't get to fully enjoy themselves.

After finishing the kebabs, it was time for dinner. We had already crossed the valley, so there was nothing to worry about anymore. We could get some sleep tonight and enter the Golden Kingdom tomorrow.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, everyone got up early, got ready, and then left the valley for a distant village.

The village we just vaguely saw at the mouth of the valley will take some time to get there; it will take about an hour to get close to the village.

Not far from the village entrance, there was a small river with clear water. Several women were washing clothes in the river. When they saw a group of people coming this way, they stopped what they were doing and began to watch the group.

These women had dark skin, were not tall, and wore clothing that differed greatly from that of women in the Northern Dynasty, giving them a completely exotic feel.

"I'll go over and check things out first. I don't know if I can understand what they're saying," Li Xue said.

"Then the princess should go and ask first. If there is a language barrier and communication is impossible, we will think of another way."

Li Xue nodded and walked towards the river. Some women washing clothes by the river carefully examined Li Xue and found that she was young and beautiful, tall, fair-skinned and pretty. From Li Xue's clothes, one could tell that she was of noble status.

Just then, some children appeared out of nowhere, ran over, and stood not far from Li Xue, curiously looking at her.

These children were pale and thin, likely due to long-term malnutrition. Several of the boys were practically naked.

Li Xue immediately turned around, grabbed some snacks, and walked towards the children.

The children immediately widened their eyes, realizing that Li Xue was holding something edible, and their feet moved involuntarily toward Li Xue.

Li Xue went up to the children and grabbed a handful of snacks for each of them. They stretched out their hands and accepted the snacks.

"Eat up, don't be afraid, there's more here after you finish eating."

The children looked at the snacks in their hands with delight, and couldn't help but put them in their mouths. After tasting the snacks, they ran to the riverbank.

"Mommy, this is so delicious!" Several children approached the woman by the river and handed her the snacks they were holding.

"You all eat, Mother isn't hungry." After saying this, the women smiled and stroked their children's heads.

Li Xue could understand their conversation perfectly, which surprised and delighted her.