The children on night watch watched Li Lanzhen leave.
Actually, none of the adults in the treehouse were asleep.
Li Erhan and Ye Shi sat blankly on the bed, watching Li Lanzhen's small figure disappear into the darkness.
Li Erhan's eyes reddened, and Ye Shi wiped away her tears.
"Honey, our daughter has suffered so much! Waaah..."
"Okay, stop crying. If Lanlan hears this, she'll be very sad too. The child has already suffered so much. Let's take good care of ourselves, live well, and spend more time with her."
Han Minghai sat on the bed, the curtain on the door still drawn, watching Li Lanzhen's figure disappear into the darkness.
His tears streamed down his face, dripping onto his clenched fists.
Zhang Yuniang wiped away her tears and patted his back. "Go to sleep. Let's work hard. Mother will bring my little brother back. She'll be so happy to see the house and yard being built."
Li Lanzhen never expected that so many people would feel so reluctant and heartbroken about her leaving tonight.
She placed all the stones and wood on the material storage area of the house site, then turned and ran wildly towards Dongshan.
She arrived at the small cave entrance on the east side of the mountain and quickly moved the stones inside.
After shining a flashlight inside, they didn't block the hole and just went straight through.
When she came down from that big mountaintop platform.
I knew she had someone following her.
She guessed it was Xue Laohu, Xue Bao, and Han Mingjiang, but there seemed to be another faint footstep sound.
She didn't know who it was, but she was certain it was a child.
Li Lanzhen sighed inwardly. Let them follow. If following them will put their minds at ease, then she'll ask them to come back when they reach the foot of the mountain.
Li Lanzhen continued down the valley where she had been captured by soldiers on her way down the mountain.
Perhaps it was because it was getting dark, or perhaps Li Lanzhen was moving faster than before.
She ran as fast as she could, only startling a few pheasants and scaring away a few rabbits along the way, without encountering any large animals.
In less than an hour, Li Lanzhen arrived at the mountain near the official road leading to Youzhou City.
The footsteps following behind her were always close, neither too close nor too far. The faint voice lagged slightly behind, but it was still there.
When she gets back this time, she has to ask Xue Laohu who this child is.
Firstly, she wanted to know which child was so talented, having made such great progress after only studying with Xue Laohu and the others for a short period of time.
Secondly, I also want to thank him for his concern and care for her, and for coming to see her.
A mountain breeze ruffled the hem of Li Lanzhen's clothes. She turned her head and spoke gently to the dark woods.
"Thank you for coming to see me off. Now you should go back. The rest of the way is not suitable for you to follow me. You should go first. I can only descend the mountain in peace after I hear that you have left."
Don't worry, I'm capable of protecting myself, there's no danger.
After she finished speaking, there was no further movement in the mountains and forests.
She just stood there, watching and waiting.
A short while later, three footsteps could be heard gradually fading away, and the small footstep followed them away as well.
At this moment, Li Lanzhen was no longer in a hurry to go down the mountain. She sat on the mountaintop, looking in the direction of Youzhou City.
The night was hazy, the mountains stretched out one after another, pitch black, and Youzhou City was only visible as an outline under the moonlight.
Li Lanzhen closed her eyes, carefully recalling the dream she had that day, trying to discern the direction.
The city of Youzhou flashed by in my dream, and the mountain stronghold in my dream should be located southwest of Youzhou City.
That is, the mountain on the other side where Gou Dan'er first led them through the dog hole.
The mountains to the west are towering and much steeper than those to the east.
Having thought all this through, Li Lanzhen slipped into her spatial dimension. She needed to change her clothes, otherwise this outfit was really inconvenient.
Upon entering the space, one could see Silver Fox sitting cross-legged on the grass, with a small bundle beside him. He was already dressed in a black tracksuit.
He looks quite handsome in this black tracksuit, and the silver mask on his face has been removed, replaced by a black triangular scarf.
There was a small bundle next to him, and Li Lanzhen guessed that it probably contained the firecrackers and other such items that she had given to Silver Fox.
Upon seeing Li Lanzhen enter, Silver Fox immediately stood up.
"Madam, shall we leave now?"
Li Lanzhen thought about it and decided to tell him anyway.
"I have arrived near Youzhou City."
My son and daughter-in-law live in the mountains west of Youzhou City.
Silver Fox frowned upon hearing this.
"In the mountains southwest of Youzhou City, there are two bandit strongholds."
"I wonder which mountain stronghold you received the information from?"
Li Lanzhen was dumbfounded.
It was pitch black, and she didn't know the exact location of the mountain stronghold or what its features were.
Suddenly, she remembered something that flashed through her mind: on the gate of that mountain stronghold, there seemed to be a flag or a sail hanging there.
"By the way, Silver Fox, there's a gray wolf pelt hanging on the gate of that mountain stronghold."
Silver Fox's brows furrowed even more.
"Madam, this is really not good news."
This mountain stronghold is located in Wild Wolf Valley, and its name is Wild Wolf Stronghold.
Their leader is a one-eyed ruthless wolf; falling into his hands means almost no chance of survival.
Upon hearing this, Li Lanzhen's heart clenched even tighter.
She said to Silver Fox, "How about this, wait for me a moment, I'll change my clothes, and then we'll go for a walk together."
Silver Fox bowed his head and said, "Yes, madam, I'll be waiting for you."
Li Lanzhen slipped into the courtyard, changed her clothes, and came out holding a hatchet in both hands.
“Come on, Silver Fox, grab one of my sleeves and I’ll take you out.”
The first time Silver Fox saw Li Lanzhen holding a sharp-bladed, gleaming battle axe in one hand.
A chill ran down my spine.
It turns out that the lady is also a martial arts expert, skilled in using double axes!
Silver Fox, carrying his bundle, was just thinking when suddenly everything went dark, and he found himself on a mountain.
Is it still night? He wondered if this lady had traveled such a long way under the cover of darkness, or if she lived on this mountain.
"Silver Fox, do you know the approximate location of Wolf Valley?"
Silver Fox said, "I've heard the general direction; we should be able to find it if we go in that direction."
The two of them spent some time in the mountains before finally finding the mountain.
As soon as she got close to the mountain village, Li Lanzhen realized that this was the same mountain village where she had seen her youngest son in her dream.
Li Lanzhen said to Silver Fox, "This is it!"
Silver Fox nodded. "This is Wild Wolf Stronghold, the largest bandit stronghold in the vicinity."
The government tried to suppress them several times but failed.
The leader of Wild Wolf Stronghold is One-Eyed Dragon. Let's slowly approach and see what's going on.
At this moment, Silver Fox walked in front, with Li Lanzhen following behind. Silver Fox led her to a small hill in front of the main gate of the mountain stronghold, where tall trees grew.
"Madam, are you able to climb this tree?"
Li Lanzhen nodded, and in a few quick movements she climbed up the big tree, followed by Silver Fox.
The two found a stable tree branch, sat on it, and looked towards the gate of the mountain stronghold.
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