Xue Laohu was the first to rush towards the snow leopard.
"Son, you said they've already reached the riverbank?!"
"When I arrived, they were still far away; the people coming only had one boat."
"Let's go take a look!" Xue Laohu rushed out the door with his bow and arrows on his back.
Everyone grabbed their weapons and followed.
Li Lanzhen also gripped her axe with both hands and walked outside. When she saw Li Erhan and Ye Shi about to go as well, she quickly stopped them.
"Father and Mother, hurry home. Take good care of the children."
Silver Fox, sword in hand, followed closely behind Xue Laohu.
When they reached the mouth of the valley, Han Mingjiang waved and shouted to them.
"Village chief, mother, don't panic, Manager Hua is here."
Everyone was relieved to hear this, but Li Lanzhen wondered what business Manager Hua had of coming here so late.
Is there something wrong with the vegetables, or is there something important you need to talk to Silver Fox about?
Or perhaps there's some problem in the court that's causing this visit to the Crown Prince?
After thinking about all this, when he came to his senses again, Manager Hua's boat had already sailed into Peach Blossom Spring.
Two intercepting dams were installed at the river's inlet and outlet.
Lifting and raising are achieved using the principle of pulleys.
The dam was built from logs as thick as an adult man's arm.
The bottom of the wood was sharpened, and a distance of about one foot was left between the two pieces of wood to allow water to flow through.
The dam is stronger than the original net and is also easier to operate.
This was the method Li Lanzhen proposed after she returned and saw the use of nets to block the entrance to the valley.
The boat arrived at the small pier of Eleven Trees. Manager Hua strode off the boat and bowed to Li Lanzhen and Han Shunde with his hands clasped together.
"Excuse me, everyone, I've disturbed you. I have something important to discuss with Silver Fox."
Upon hearing this, everyone suggested that he go to the dining room first to eat a bowl of rice and warm himself up before discussing it with Silver Fox.
However, the shopkeeper shook his head.
"No, we've already eaten. I'll discuss this with Silver Fox first."
Then, he hurriedly walked up to the silver fox.
He held out a hand to Silver Fox, gesturing for him to hurry up and get on the boat.
Silver Fox could tell from Manager Hua's solemn expression that something important must have happened, so he quickly strode over and followed him onto the ship.
The others left the dock and headed toward the former thatched hut of the eleven trees.
The treehouses, dining room, and kitchen at Eleven Trees were not demolished; instead, a lot of building materials were added to reinforce these thatched huts.
They left these sheds so that they could cook and rest here during busy farming seasons and spring plowing, without having to run back and forth and waste time.
It's very convenient for people on night duty to sleep in the treehouse.
Han Mingjiang and Xue Bao led the night watchmen to the river mouth outpost again.
Two simple houses were also built on the cliffs on both sides of the river mouth to serve as outposts.
There is a wall more than two meters long outside the house serving as cover.
This place is for observing the situation outside the river mouth. If enemy activity is detected, a whistle will be blown to warn others, or someone will be sent to report it.
Manager Hua led Silver Fox onto the ship and into the cabin.
I stood there at the door, stunned.
An old man was standing opposite me.
The old woman looked very much like the mother he remembered.
He was tall and thin, but vigorous and had a gentle face.
He has a full head of silver hair, long eyebrows, and very warm eyes.
Silver Fox wondered, could this be his uncle?
But what a coincidence! He had just learned about his father's past and read his father's letters today, and just as he decided to go find his uncle, his uncle arrived.
Moreover, my uncle is in his forties, not even fifty, how could he look so old? His hair is all white!
“Xuanshen, don’t you recognize your uncle? Come here and let your uncle take a look.”
Silver Fox's eyes reddened when that gentle voice rang out.
He approached the old man step by step, stopped a step away from him, and knelt on the ground.
"Uncle, Uncle, Xuan pays his respects to Uncle!"
With tears in his eyes, the old man stepped forward, took Silver Fox's arms with both hands, and helped him to his feet.
She looked at his face and then pulled him into a tight hug.
"Xuanshen, your uncle has found you! Your uncle has finally found you!"
Silver Fox's uncle, Bai Houpu, hugged him tightly, tears streaming down his face...
Seeing his uncle and nephew embracing and weeping, Hua Zixi couldn't help but raise his sleeve to wipe away his own tears.
After a moment, he stepped forward and said.
"Young Master, Uncle, please sit down and talk."
Bai Houpu sat down, holding Silver Fox's hand tightly.
Hua Zixi quickly brought over tea and teacups on a tray.
He poured tea for the two of them, then went out and stood on the deck, quietly waiting.
"Uncle, I've found Father!"
Bai Houpu didn't see the pain in Yin Hu's eyes; he only heard Yin Hu say that he had found his father and was so happy that he gripped his hand tightly and raised his voice.
"What? You found your father? Where is he? Let's go see him right away!"
Hua Zixi, who was standing outside the door, also heard this sound. He really wanted to push the door open and come in to ask Silver Fox where the master was.
He had been searching for him for over ten years, and today he finally heard some news about him!
But he withdrew his outstretched hand and remained standing at the door without moving.
"Father"
"My father... he has passed away."
...
Silver Fox then slowly recounted everything that Li Lanzhen had told him.
Hua Zixi, who was standing outside the door, was in tears.
He knelt down on the deck with a thud, looked at the full moon in the sky, put his hands on the ground, and kowtowed three times.
He silently said in his heart, "Master, may you rest in peace. In the next life, I, Hua Zixi, will still be your loyal servant! I will still serve you!"
Don't worry, this old servant will take good care of the young master and watch him get married and have children!
Then, this old servant will go to see you.
Inside the room, Bai Houpu covered his face and wept bitterly after hearing this.
He kept pounding the table, saying, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault. I should have left him a few more people!"
I shouldn't have broken up with him; I should have stayed with him, and this wouldn't have happened!
Silver Fox comforted Bai Houpu, "Uncle, don't blame yourself. If you all had stayed, I wouldn't have been able to see you today."
In the letter my father left behind, he said, "Let me find you, and then bring the hundred-odd people you were with back to Gourd Valley to continue cultivating and processing medicinal herbs."
Bai Houpu raised his sleeve, wiped away his tears, and looked at Silver Fox with red eyes.
"I came here today to find you and to ask Manager Hua if there's any news about your father?"
Bai Houpu held Silver Fox's hand and continued speaking.
"For so many years I haven't dared to go to Manager Hua, because I'm afraid my enemies will find me and then find you and your brother."
I only saw from afar that Manager Hua was living a good life, and that you siblings were living well too, so I didn't dare disturb you, for fear of being hunted down by our enemies.
He wiped away his tears and recounted some events from the past few years.
"I know that Manager Hua has been looking for your father, but there has been no news."
Five days ago, your cousin returned to the mountains and told me that Prince Rong had already ascended the throne as emperor.
I couldn't wait to leave the mountain and come to Youzhou City to meet Manager Hua at the Sifang Restaurant.
"That's when I found out, I found out, your sister's whole family was murdered by that beast! Waaaaah..."
Bai Houpu wept uncontrollably.
"When Manager Hua told me that you were here, I couldn't wait a moment longer, so I followed Manager Hua here to see you."
"Uncle, where are you staying now? How many people are still with you? Are my aunt, cousins, and other relatives all well?"
Upon hearing Silver Fox's question, Bai Houpu burst into tears once again.
"Your aunt, your aunt is... gone!"
"Of the more than 130 people I took with me, we fled all the way, and when we finally settled down, only a little over 100 of them remained."
Your aunt caught a cold while fleeing, and she died before we found the medicine.
Silver Fox gripped Bai Houpu's hand tightly.
"Uncle, didn't you take any medicine with you when you fled?"
When talking about his wife's passing, Bai Houpu's posture became noticeably hunched.
"I brought them, of course I brought them. I brought all the commonly used medicinal herbs, but I lost them all on the way to escape."
Bai Houpu recounted how his wife's illness was delayed due to a lack of timely medical treatment, ultimately leading to her death, and he felt grief, pain, and self-blame.
Silver Fox held his hand tightly, as if to give him strength.
"Uncle, please take care of yourself and live well. Your aunt's spirit in heaven will rest in peace."
"Xuanshen, is Baizhi's son Chen'er here too?"
Silver Fox then told him in detail that Su Chen, with Linglong, escaped from the sea of fire and encountered Li Lanzhen when they were in danger of a mountain fire in the mountains near Youzhou City.
Li Lanzhen fled famine with her two children all the way here, and she has always treated them like her own grandchildren.
She also told him that if Li Lanzhen hadn't saved him, he probably would have lost his life long ago.
However, Silver Fox did not tell Prince Bai Houpu that he was here.
The fewer people who know about the prince's time in Peach Blossom Spring, the safer it is.
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