Chapter 283: Encountered a Horse Thief Again

While eating, Shen Wanxue asked, "Juanjuan, you haven't told me yet, how did you find yourself here?"

Although Xia Juanjuan was in a hurry to leave, she also knew that Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang probably had no strength left. If she hurried to leave, they would soon be unable to bear it. Therefore, she had to wait until they had eaten and recovered their strength before leaving.

So, I explained softly, "You probably don't know that Lizhan is here helping to rescue the herdsmen affected by the disaster. I thought he hadn't been home for the New Year for two years, and I was afraid that he wouldn't even have dumplings to eat on New Year's Eve, so I said I would come to see him and spend the New Year with him if we could.

Later, I saw that the farm you were at wasn't too far from here, so I said I would come and see you. But when I got to the farm, they said you were going to move your sheep to the ranch in the south for the winter, and they had been away for several days. I looked for you along the road to the ranch, and even when I found the gate, I couldn't find you.

The ranch people said that you might have lost your way and were trapped in a snowstorm. They also said that there is a place called Sanshi Mountain where many people would go to take shelter if a snowstorm suddenly hits. I thought I would try my luck and came here to look for you. I didn’t expect that I would actually find you!”

Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang both found this to be plausible, so they did not doubt it. Shen Wanxue said, "So that's how it is. Alas... I didn't expect Li Zhan to be here. If I have the chance to see him, then God will have mercy on me!"

After saying this, he couldn't help wiping away his tears.

Rong Zhenbang quickly held her in his arms and said softly, "Look, you're sad when the child is not with you, and you're even sadder when the child is right next to you. If the child knew about this, he would be upset too."

As he spoke, he looked up at Xia Juanjuan and whispered, "Don't cry yet. Introduce me to Juanjuan first..."

After hearing this, Shen Wanxue remembered that this was the first time Xia Juanjuan met Rong Zhenbang, and she really forgot to introduce him.

Therefore, she quickly wiped her tears and said with a smile: "Look at me, I have forgotten all about this. Juanjuan, this is my husband, Rong Zhenbang, Lizhan's father. Zhenbang, this is the daughter-in-law that I mentioned to you, Xia Juanjuan, whom our son brought home for us."

Xia Juanjuan blushed a little embarrassedly and called softly, "Dad."

Rong Zhenbang was stunned for a moment, then felt nervous and at a loss, and his nose was sore.

Who doesn't want to have children and have many offspring?

It was only because their eldest son was lost that he and Shen Wanxue refused to have another child for so many years. Therefore, this could be said to be the first time in his life that he heard someone call him "Dad".

"Ah...ah! Your mother and I...are sorry to Lizhan and to you two. Thank you for taking care of Lizhan..."

Xia Juanjuan blushed and said a few humble words. Seeing that they had almost finished eating, she said, "Dad, Mom, can you leave? Let's hurry up and take the sheep to the pasture over there! I'm afraid the snow will fall again soon. Besides, I heard from the people at the pasture that this area has been uneasy recently. Several herdsmen have been robbed by horse thieves. If we encounter them, it's a small matter to have our sheep and things robbed. If they also rob us, we'll be finished!"

After hearing this, Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang nodded quickly, then stood up tremblingly and said, "Yes! We were also worried about this during the days we were trapped here. There have always been herders taking shelter in the Sanshishan area, but it is also easy for horse thieves to target us, especially after a snowstorm, when horse thieves will come and pick up the spoils! We must not lose this flock of sheep. Otherwise... it will be hard to explain to the farm..."

At that moment, the two of them, together with Xia Juanjuan, drove the flock of sheep, stepped on the knee-high snow, and walked towards the pasture tremblingly!

Even on a snowy day, without the help of space, Xia Juanjuan had a hard time trekking. What's more, Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang were both almost fifty years old, so their speed was even slower.

The three of them walked for about two hours, and it took them three miles to get there.

Seeing that the two were so tired and out of breath, Xia Juanjuan could only walk for a while and then rest for a while.

Fortunately, today is New Year's Eve. According to the development of the dream, the horse thief should not find this place until tomorrow, so there should be plenty of time.

Just as she was thinking this, Xia Juanjuan suddenly saw a group of white shadows coming towards her from afar in the snow!

She stood up suddenly in surprise, then quickly lowered herself down, her heart pounding.

The horses those people rode were all gray or pure white, and they were all covered with white woolen coats. It was probably for Lu Han and also to hide their tracks in the snow.

To say that they are ordinary herdsmen or something, they don't look like that at all!

Could it be... a horse thief?

But I had clearly found Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang before the first day of the Lunar New Year, so why did these thieves show up a day in advance?

Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang also noticed something was wrong. Rong Zhenbang had been on the battlefield, so he immediately pulled Shen Wanxue to lie on the snow, and whispered to Xia Juanjuan, "Juanjuan, lie down quickly, we might have encountered some horse thieves! Let's keep quiet and let them pass..."

Xia Juanjuan had no choice but to cover her mouth tightly and lie on the ground, not daring to move, but her mind was racing.

She really didn't understand why it turned out like this.

Obviously, the predictive dreams she had were meant to allow her to change the future, right?

Now it has become that no matter what I do, I will encounter these horse thieves. What's the point?

Was it just to make her come all the way here and risk her life?

Xia Juanjuan is feeling very resentful now.

What is going on?

And there is Lizhan... The horse thief showed up a day in advance. Will Lizhan... be able to arrive in time to prevent what happened later?

When she thought of Li Zhan having his limbs amputated in his dream, she couldn't help but shudder...

Xia Juanjuan closed her eyes and forced herself to stop thinking about it.

One possibility is that the horse thief had passed by this area at this time in the original timeline, and only went to Sanshi Mountain the next day and met Shen Wanxue and the others.

So, it makes sense that they met in advance.

In that case, as long as we don't get discovered and wait quietly for them to pass, we should be fine!

Xia Juanjuan was so nervous that her heart almost jumped out of her throat. Fortunately, after a while, it suddenly started snowing heavily again. The existing wind carried the goose-feather snow all over the sky, causing visibility to drop rapidly.

The horse thief rushed past them a few dozen meters away.

The three of them waited until the horse thief was far away before they breathed a sigh of relief.

They got up quickly, followed the flock, and walked anxiously towards the pasture in the wind and snow.

Although we are safe for now, there is no guarantee that the horse thief will be suddenly shot back.

However, what you fear will come to you. They had not walked for half an hour when they heard the sound of horses neighing behind them and the whistles and shrill laughter of men rushing towards them.

Xia Juanjuan looked back and her heart skipped a beat.

Rong Zhenbang reacted quickly, immediately pulling Shen Wanxue and shouting to Xia Juanjuan, "Run!"

Shen Wanxue was a little slow to react and said in a lost voice: "But what about the sheep...what about the sheep?"

Rong Zhenbang said: "We can't take care of the sheep now! Maybe they will stop chasing us when they see the sheep we abandoned!"

After hearing this, Shen Wanxue didn't dare to think about anything else. She just spread her legs and ran through the snow with difficulty.

Soon, the horse thieves caught up with the flock and stopped.

One of them laughed and said, "Brother, I just heard the cry of sheep. Look, we came back at the right time! There are more than ten of them. It's enough for us to eat for half a month!"

The leader of the horse thieves was obviously very happy as well, and laughed, "Hahaha! Lao Er has done a great job today! With these sheep, we don't have to travel much this winter!"

At this time, another person interrupted and asked, "Brother, should we not chase those three shepherds who escaped?"

The boss glanced at him and said, "The sheep are all here. Why are you chasing three people? It's such a big snowstorm. Let them fend for themselves!"

The man chuckled twice and said, "Brother, I looked at the three shepherds from a distance. The two old ones are fine, but there is another one who looks quite young. Brother, you know I am still single..."

The eldest brother heard this and raised his hand to slap the man on the head, then laughed and scolded: "You little bastard, do you want to eat alone?"

The man heard this and said quickly, "No, no! Big brother, you must be the first one! I say, we catch up with them, kill the two old ones directly, and bring the younger one back, and the brothers will drink mutton soup happily. What do you think, big brother?"

The boss didn't object this time and said with a smile, "You're pretty damn smart, kid! Let's go!"

Immediately, the boss gave an order and left a few people to watch the flock of sheep, while the others immediately laughed and rode their horses towards Xia Juanjuan and the others.

Xia Juanjuan and the other two were already running out of breath, and they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the horse thieves stop chasing them.

But then he heard the obscene whistles of these horse thieves, and he was frightened and ran as fast as he could again.

Shen Wanxue couldn't run any longer. Her legs went limp and she fell to the ground. She gasped and said, "Juanjuan, you are young, don't worry about us! Just run!"

There was no way Xia Juanjuan was willing to leave them behind, but Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang really couldn't run anymore. They both knelt on the snow and didn't even have the strength to stand up!

Xia Juanjuan gritted her teeth, held the hands of the two and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm going to take you to a place, don't be afraid..."

At this critical moment, there is no time to think about anything else but saving the lives of these three people.

Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang looked at her in surprise, not knowing what she was going to do.

Xia Juanjuan held them, pressed her birthmark with her hand, and silently recited in her heart to enter the space.

However... just like the last time she tried to bring Xiaowen into the space, nothing happened.

Xia Juanjuan: “…”

What the hell is this space? It always fails at the critical moment!