It was nearing dawn, the darkness before sunrise.
The village was hidden deep in the mountains, surrounded by towering trees, making it even darker and more secluded, without a single light.
Silver Fox whispered to Li Lanzhen.
"Madam, something's not right. There's not a sound in the village, no lights, and it seems there are no guards at the gate."
Li Lanzhen was startled and blurted out.
"The bandits wouldn't send my youngest son and the others to fight on the battlefield, would they?"
Even the banker wasn't sure what the situation was like outside. He genuinely had no idea.
"No, I have to go in and check. If they've moved my youngest son and the others, I have to go after them right away!"
After saying that, Li Lanzhen climbed down from the tree.
The Milky Way followed closely behind.
Li Lanzhen turned to him sternly and said, "What are you doing down here? Stay in the tree and behave yourself."
Silver Fox said, "No, I have to go with you. I'm worried about you going alone. These are ruthless bandits who kill without blinking an eye!"
Li Lanzhen fell silent.
He said gently, "Okay, thank you!"
The two men quietly made their way to the gate of the mountain stronghold.
Sure enough, there were no guards at the gate of the stronghold, but the two of them still couldn't let their guard down.
Silver Fox gently pushed open the gate of the mountain stronghold.
It couldn't be pushed open; it must have been bolted from the inside.
He drew the soft sword from his waist and inserted it into the crack between the two doors, slowly and carefully moving the bolt from the inside of the door to one side.
Just as Silver Fox was about to step inside, Li Lanzhen stopped her.
"Walk behind me, don't stray too far from me. If we really can't defeat them, I'll go into the secret place with you."
Silver Fox nodded, and Li Lanzhen gently pushed open a large door. Fortunately, the door did not creak.
Li Lanzhen turned around and closed the door, but did not lock it.
She was afraid that if an emergency occurred, they could evacuate in time.
The two walked along the main road of the mountain village, which was completely silent.
There was no firelight, no sound of people speaking, and no sound of people moving.
There wasn't even the crying and begging for mercy that Li Lanzhen had heard in her dream last time.
Something's not right. Something's definitely not right here.
"Halt! Who are you? How did you get in? Who are you looking for?"
The two walked forward quietly, but unexpectedly, a series of questions came from behind them.
A roar suddenly echoed through the dark, quiet mountain village.
Suddenly, it sent a chill down my spine.
Immediately afterwards, he put something in his mouth.
Neither of them is in a good mood!
Sure enough, the whistle blew.
Suddenly, more than a dozen people rushed out from the dark houses on both sides. They were dressed neatly and held large knives, surrounding Li Lanzhen and Silver Fox.
Li Lanzhen realized that these must be guards or night watchmen.
For some reason, they weren't sleeping at the front door, but in their rooms.
At this moment, three more people came over with torches.
Seeing that it was just the two of them, the people surrounding them burst into laughter.
"The boss is indeed brilliant!"
Wave after wave of people stormed into our mountain stronghold, just to save those few people who were on the verge of death.
I never expected that two more people would break in and die today.
"Tell me, are you here to rescue us?"
"Sixth Brother, don't be nosy!"
The person was interrupted before they could finish speaking.
At this moment, a burly man walked out, carrying a large knife with iron rings all over the hilt, which made a clattering sound as he walked.
He pointed his broadsword at Li Lanzhen and Silver Fox.
"Once you've barged in, don't leave. Leave your life behind."
As he spoke, he raised the large knife in his hand and chopped it down at Li Lanzhen's head.
Unexpectedly, Silver Fox was faster than him. He leaped into the air and beheaded the bandit with a single sword stroke.
Silver Fox's lightning speed startled the surrounding bandits.
They had initially thought that Li Lanzhen and Silver Fox, a thin old woman and a young boy, would charge forward and finish them off in no time.
Unexpectedly, Silver Fox killed their third leader in one move without saying a word.
Taking advantage of their momentary lapse in concentration, Li Lanzhen rushed to the man called Lao Liu, grabbed him, and quickly tied his hands behind his back, holding a piece of rope firmly in her hand.
At this point, the bandits were enraged.
They rushed over, shouting and cursing.
Li Lanzhen wasn't afraid at all because Silver Fox was blocking her way. The attack she had just witnessed had shown her how powerful Silver Fox was.
All she wanted to know was whether Han Mingxiang and the others were still in the mountain stronghold.
She held the axe to the sixth son's neck.
"Sixth brother, right? Tell me, where did those men you locked up in the cave go?"
"I didn't expect Lao Liu to be such a tough guy," he said, sticking out his neck.
"You want to know? I'm not telling you!"
Enraged, Li Lanzhen lightly slashed his neck with the axe.
It immediately slashed the skin on his neck, and blood flowed down his neck.
The sixth man trembled.
"You, you, you, give me a quick death! I'm not afraid of dying!"
Li Lanzhen kicked him in the ankle.
"Speak up quickly, or I'll cut off your left foot first, then your right foot, and still not your hands."
"You old hag, how could you be so cruel?"
"Stop talking nonsense and get to the point!"
Li Lanzhen pressed the axe in her hand harder against Lao Liu's neck.
The gash on his neck grew larger and larger, and blood gushed out.
The sixth brother howled.
"You old hag, be gentle! I'll talk, I'll talk! I'll talk, okay?!"
The leader led them to Wolf Valley, intending to hand them over to the soldiers of the Golden King across the valley.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Lanzhen chopped off his head with the axe in her hand.
Silver Fox's side has also finished the battle.
Just as the two were about to leave, three women suddenly rushed over from the kitchen.
He rushed to Li Lanzhen and knelt down, kowtowing to her repeatedly.
"My benefactor, please help me! My benefactor, please help me!"
Li Lanzhen looked at them; they must have been brought here as well.
Who are you? What are you doing here?
The woman at the head of the group straightened up, tears streaming down her face. "My benefactor, I was captured and brought here two years ago. My husband and children were all killed by these beasts, leaving only me."
During the day I have to cook for them in the kitchen, and at night, at night, waaaaaah...
There's no need to ask Li Lanzhen anymore; everyone knows what she went through!
"You can leave now. We've killed all the bandits in this village."
The woman said, "My benefactor, please, there are many other women in the cave behind. Please release them as well, they are so pitiful!"
Also, my benefactor, there's a lot of grain in this kitchen, as well as wild boar and pheasants. May we take some with us?
"Sure, take as much as you can."
Li Lanzhen's mind raced.
Do you know where the counterfeit warehouse is?
The woman pointed cautiously to a cave and said...
"I heard that there are traps in that cave, and ordinary people don't dare to go there."
Li Lanzhen thought that if there were any traps inside, there must be either gold and silver or some other valuable items.
Silver Fox said to Li Lanzhen.
"Madam, I'll go take a look first."
"Okay, you go first, but don't take any risks. I'll go rescue these women first."
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