At the same time, assuming that Zheng Quchi knew nothing, he also took the opportunity to explain to her why she was wearing a straw dress.
This is indeed made from fresh grass. It's a type of grass she recognizes called goosegrass. It's tough, easy to harvest, and can be used to make weaving, straw ropes, grasshoppers, or straw mats.
Any grass that hasn't been dried, tanned, or undergone secondary processing will itch when it comes into direct contact with the skin, especially when wearing such a large piece on your body. Not only does it feel damp and stuffy, but it also causes itching and scratching, which is very painful.
Although the disguise was very practical, she still sincerely suggested that it be modified.
For example, she knows many grass weaving techniques and can refine the rough and primitive appearance to make it both practical and comfortable.
She also knew how to match multiple colors and the most suitable camouflage clothing, but she certainly wouldn't make them for these bandits. She got inspiration from this and when she got back, she designed a set for each of the soldiers who were doing reconnaissance for her family.
"What are you scratching? Do you have bugs on you?" The mistress asked, seeing her scratching her head like a monkey.
Zheng Quchi didn't want to either: "Aren't you all itchy?"
The mistress then realized, "It's alright. It was indeed uncomfortable at first, but I've gotten used to it now. However, you're a woman with delicate skin, so you'll probably feel uncomfortable for a while."
The mistress shrugged, helpless as well.
"Do I have to wear this straw coat all the time?"
"We'll definitely have to take it off when we're about to make our move, but we'll have to put it back on afterward. Usually, we can take it off once we've shaken off our pursuers," Xiao San explained.
Sure enough, they cleverly used the straw clothes to evade the soldiers' search.
Besides wearing straw clothes to disguise their whereabouts, they also carried large and small bags of luggage. Zheng Quchi guessed that if they weren't weapons, they were probably equipment such as traps and hidden weapons.
——
A group of "grass" lurked in the mountains and fields.
Zheng Quchi discovered that sometimes the biggest advantage of being a henchman is that you don't have to think about anything; you just have to follow orders.
She now understands this deeply. They walk through the woods, and she walks through the woods with them. They climb rocks and mountains, and she climbs mountains behind them. They stop when they tell her to stop, and they go when they tell her to go. Everything is done without her having to do anything. She just needs to follow their instructions.
During previous battles, she couldn't quite understand why history books always said that once the commander of an army was eliminated, victory in a battle could be easily achieved.
Now she understood completely, because from the very beginning of an army's formation, soldiers are trained to simply obey orders. After being commanded for so long, how could they possibly develop a brain overnight?
Of course, there are individualists, but it's useless because they are not generals or commanders. They have no prestige or appeal, so naturally no one will listen to them.
On the surface, she is a loyal and brainless henchman, but in reality, she is an individualist with ulterior motives.
Along the way, Zheng Quchi kept an eye out for any chance of running into Wang Zebang's group. If she did encounter them, should she try to ask for help and get rescued, or should she continue to stay among the bandits as an undercover agent until she finally got them all thrown into the county jail?
She finally decided to try to accomplish both objectives at once: to be rescued and to raid the bandits' hideout.
To achieve these two goals, she carefully left clues along the way. For example, when resting, she would pick up stones when no one was looking and pile them up behind large rocks to create a suspicious shape.
Just as the wall was finished, Xiao San poked her head in from somewhere.
"Xiao Zheng, don't be so playful, or the authorities will find out something's wrong." The mistress kicked him to the ground.
He thought she was just bored and playing with the pile of stones.
Zheng Quchi's heart was bleeding: "...Oh."
Just as Xing'an went to scout ahead again and called for the team to stop and rest, she ran to the side, picked up a tree branch, and poked holes in the ground, creating a Big Dipper formation.
If she makes the hole look artificial enough, it will definitely arouse the suspicion of the search team...
What are you doing?
This time, the mistress wasn't there, but the seventh sister came over.
Zheng Quchi felt that Yi Xiaoqi's "intelligence" would not doubt her, so she didn't move and continued to poke: "Nothing much, just bored while waiting, so I did something to pass the time."
"Sure, I'm bored too, I'll help you."
He crouched down, casually pulled out one of Cheng Liang's daggers, and unleashed a flurry of attacks.
The artistic hole-making technique, which was initially quite artistic, was instantly ruined, looking like it had been chewed by a dog, leaving a mess and no discernible pattern.
...It's ruined.
After failing to leave a coded message again, Zheng Quchi finally understood Xing An's sinister intentions. He had specifically sent Ah San and Ah Qi, this "naive and innocent" duo, to monitor her. It wasn't that he was careless; it was intentional on his part.
Because these two have a magical power: they can hit the target by accident.
Although she didn't leave any obvious coded messages, she secretly used her charcoal pencil to draw lines in some hidden places. This was a relatively quick and easy way to avoid being discovered, but the downside was that it would be more troublesome to find later.
Xing'an leads the way, taking unconventional routes. These are not the kind of main roads that are easy to remember and recognize. People with a slightly poor sense of direction will get dizzy and disoriented, unable to distinguish which direction they came from.
Even someone with a strong sense of direction like her couldn't remember so many things at once.
Therefore, besides leaving herself a way to find her way, she also needed to find a way to contact Wang Zebang and the others and leave a code so that he could recognize her.
After walking for about two hours, the sky turned orange-red. They arrived at a high point in a canyon and looked down to see a narrow path winding through the cliffs.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
