With bandits roaming around, did the government in Shou'an really know nothing about it? Or was it a deliberate act of collusion between officials and bandits?
If it's the latter, going to Shou'an might not be a good idea, but Shou'an is a necessary stop for both northward and southward travel, so it's still worth a trip.
This incident with the bandits served as a wake-up call for Lin Zhaozhao. She was lucky this time because Xiao Guai reminded her, which allowed her to escape unscathed. However, encountering bandits is unpredictable, and she might not be so lucky. It seems that she still needs to take precautions and make plans in advance.
Half an hour later, the Lin family and the Li family met up.
As they fled, their faces and hands inevitably bore scratches from branches and leaves, bearing the terror of surviving a close call.
"Zhaoniang, Yangyang, I'm so glad you're alright." Li Xiujuan breathed a sigh of relief. After a while, she hugged her two daughters. Her hand touched something wet, and she rubbed her fingers together and brought them to her nose. It was blood with a fishy smell.
"Yangyang is injured?"
"No, it was just spilled by accident." Lin Yangyang's eyes darted around, and it was obvious that she was lying. Not to mention Li Xiujuan, who had raised her from childhood, she pulled her inside and, when she saw that Lin Zhaozhao's shoulder was completely unharmed, she breathed a slight sigh of relief and then began to examine Lin Zhaozhao.
After carefully checking three times, Li Xiujuan asked suspiciously, "Are you sure everything's alright?"
"Of course," Lin Yangyang said confidently, only to be slapped on the back of the head by Li Xiujuan. "That would be best."
"Ah, there are dead people, and dead wolves too." Zhang Dandan, still in shock, had been leaning on Li Minghuang. Just as she was starting to calm down, the strong smell of blood hit her. As she gagged, she caught a glimpse of blood on the ground, screamed, and collapsed to the ground with her legs giving way.
Lin Zhaozhao stood up to block Zhang Dandan, giving her some space to calm down, and explained, "The bandits encountered a pack of wolves when they entered the mountains. Luckily, the wolves helped them, otherwise we would have been the ones in trouble."
"Won't the wolves come to ambush us?"
“Wolves usually roam in packs, and they won’t attack without provocation unless you’re being naughty.” Li Minghui’s words dispelled everyone’s worries. As he spoke, he walked to the center and, after inspecting the wolves, his smile deepened. “These wolves are still warm; they were killed less than 15 minutes ago.”
"Then we won't have to worry about not having meat to eat anymore." Li Xiujuan and Li Minghui had the same idea and quickly took out knives to skin and dismember the wolf.
"We need to hurry. The smell of blood is strong. If we attract wild beasts, none of us will escape," Li Minghui said. Li Minghuang, Li Yunzhou, and Li Yunhai also joined in to help.
Lin Zhaozhao also thought of this, so she used her special ability to isolate the heavy smell of blood here.
Half an hour later, the whole family left carrying a pile of things.
Lin Zhaozhao carried Xiao Guai and led the way. After walking for half an hour, Lin Zhaozhao discovered wild banana trees. Compared to the ones she had seen in her later life, these wild banana trees were short and small, with withered leaves on the outside.
Lin Yangyang used a machete to cut the roots and found that water was flowing out, but not much. So, Lin Zhaozhao used this as a medium to put the spiritual spring into the banana tree.
With the water, a clearing was quickly created, and the wolf skins and meat, which had been slightly processed, were piled together. It was hot now, and if they didn't process them quickly, the wolf meat would spoil soon.
The Li and Lin families quickly got to work, filling the banana tree roots with enough water, then cutting the wolf meat into equal-sized strips. Li Xiujuan cut down a tree, peeled and cut the trunk into strips, which became enlarged versions of skewers.
A dozen or so people quickly moved around Grandma Li and Grandma Lin. Grandma Li led Li Minghui, Li Minghuang, and Lin Fusheng to use knives, sand, and soil to grind off the bits of meat from the wolf skin, while Grandma Lin led Liu Yinxiu and Li Xiujuan to cut the meat. The younger generation started a fire, skewered the meat, and started roasting it.
Lin Zhaozhao was familiar with this process. She brushed on sauce and barbecue seasoning while grilling, and the aroma of meat was irresistible. Even Xiao Guai overcame her fear of wolves and came over meowing, begging for meat.
They were busy until evening. All the wolf meat was roasted and piled up in three full basins. The wolf skins were also roasted on a rack. Fortunately, Lin Zhaozhao used her special ability to block the smell, otherwise the wolf pack would have found them long ago.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
