The village chief realized that the shouts would attract soldiers, so he told them to be quiet and that even if they got separated, they should cross the mountain and wait for them. He also told them to hide well so the soldiers wouldn't catch them.
Adults and children alike kept their mouths shut and ran like the wind up the mountain.
As they continued their ascent, a fire slowly began to burn on the mountainside. Before they could even rejoice, thick smoke began to billow around them, growing ever denser.
The sounds of "cough cough cough" rose and fell, tears streamed down their faces from the thick smoke, their vision blurred, and their steps became unsteady.
Li Lanzhen had always wanted to get rid of Old Lady Wu, this scourge, and today was the perfect opportunity. She said to Han Yuemei, whom she was holding by the hand, "Yuemei, I'm going to relieve myself. You go with your second sister-in-law up the mountain."
Yuemei had no suspicions, but was worried about Li Lanzhen. "Mother, I'll go with you. I'm worried about you being alone."
"It's alright, you go first, stay close to your second sister-in-law, don't worry about your mother, you'll catch up with you soon."
After saying that, they walked down the mountain, and after a couple of steps, they could no longer see each other.
Li Lanzhen followed the smoke and slowly walked down the mountain. Before long, she heard Wu Laotai's shrill voice cursing her.
"Li Lanzhen, I curse your whole family to die a horrible death! Fine, I've chased you all the way here. If I catch you, I'll definitely sell you to a brothel."
Li Lanzhen was already hiding in a haystack more than two meters behind her.
She sneered at the dying man, "You don't need to bother with me. I'll send you to meet the King of Hell in a moment."
"Mother, my foot is burned! It hurts so much! Mother, let's catch Han Yuemei quickly! I want to take her as my wife and have her do the laundry, cook, and serve you."
"Pah! What's so great about that slut's child? She can still make money selling herself into a brothel. I'll use that money to find you a good family."
The shameless conversation between the mother and daughter made Li Lanzhen's teeth itch with rage.
She took out two stun guns, one in each hand, and at the right moment, she pressed one into a person's stomach, then used a wooden spike soaked in a potent sedative.
It's really impossible for Li Lanzhen to kill two living people directly.
But even if they're drugged and stuffed into a bush, the smoke would probably choke them to death.
A short while later, Li Lanzhen, who was lying in the haystack, grabbed a handful of black grass ash and smeared it on her face, leaving only her eyes rolling around.
Gradually, Li Lanzhen saw Old Lady Wu and her son approaching. Their hair was blackened by the fire, but they kept cursing.
The soldiers closest to them went up the mountain one after another, leaving only Grandma Wu and her son behind. Now was the perfect opportunity. Li Lanzhen took out her stun gun, quietly followed behind them, and suddenly shoved the stun gun into their backs.
Thump, thump.
They fell. Behind them came the shouts of soldiers and the sounds of refugees running and fleeing. Li Lanzhen dared not waste any time. She grabbed one of their feet and pulled them into the thicket of bushes and thorns. Covered in sweat, she collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
She used the stun gun on them again, this time for a longer time, and she could smell the burning flesh.
Covering her mouth and nose, she prepared to run along the bushes towards the mountaintop. The wildfire was burning rapidly, and the area she was guarding was already sparking. She knew it would soon catch fire. She had to get up the mountain as soon as possible to find her family and reunite with them.
Perhaps she was blessed with good fortune, for she did not encounter any patrolling soldiers when she reached the mountaintop. However, she could not see a single person from Hanjiacun, let alone her own family.
Without hesitation, Li Lanzhen immediately went down the mountain and, as the village chief had instructed, hid herself and slowly searched for her family.
Going down the mountain was not easy, so she squatted down and slowly slid down the mountain. Suddenly, on her left, she heard a fight, a quarrel, and a cry.
Amidst these sounds, she heard her daughter Han Yuemei's cry, "Mother, save me! Mother, where are you? Mother, save me!"
She quickly crawled to the vicinity of the rope and, with the help of the torches held by the soldiers, she was able to see clearly that Han Yuemei and several girls and wives from Hanjia Village, as well as several others she didn't recognize, were tied together with ropes, including a child who was over three years old.
The men were covered in blood, presumably from fighting with the soldiers.
The big clubs and iron forks they used to carry were now in the hands of the officers and soldiers.
Li Lanzhen saw the man in black again. She was holding an iron fork, which she brandished and poked at the ground twice. Suddenly, he looked up in her direction, and after a while, he thoughtfully surveyed his surroundings.
Li Lanzhen immediately lay prone on the ground, too afraid to move. Damn it, that martial arts! This guy can't be allowed to live either, otherwise, with that dog-like nose of his, he'll find her wherever she flees. Eliminating him will prevent future trouble!
She took out fireworks and two firecrackers from her spatial storage. Since those damned soldiers had already started a wildfire, she figured she might as well set off a few fireworks to kill them.
Let's deal with that man in black first, and teach him a lesson in firecrackers.
Li Lanzhen lit the firecracker with a lighter and then hurled it at the man in black. "Boom, bang bang, hiss hiss, boom."
Caught off guard, the man in black was hit on the head by a firecracker. He struggled but fell to the ground. Li Lanzhen quickly went up and used an electric baton on him while throwing firecrackers.
The officers and soldiers were injured in the eyes by the firecrackers and cried out in pain.
One of the captured men, pulling on the others tied to the ropes, rushed to the large knife and big stick, picked up the large knife, cut the rope binding himself, quickly untied it, then cut the rope binding another man and handed him the large knife.
"Hurry up, cut all the ropes. Grab your weapons and kill these damn soldiers."
Then he rushed to Han Yuemei, untied the ropes. Han Yuemei's throat was dry. She saw a dark figure untying her ropes and was about to ask who it was when she heard him say, "Sister Yuemei, let's go find your aunt. She must have set off those fireworks."
"Brother Xue Bao, thank you."
Without saying much, Xue Bao grabbed her and ran towards Li Lanzhen.
"Auntie, we're here."
"Mom~ It really is you. Brother Xue Bao saved me and said it must have been you who set off the fireworks."
Xue Bao noticed the man in black lying at Li Lanzhen's feet and immediately sensed something was wrong. "Auntie, what's going on with this guy?"
“I don’t know whose man he is, but he has been following us. He’s been following us ever since we met Ye Daye in the mountains.”
Xue Bao immediately grasped the key point: "Auntie, we can't let this person live, otherwise he will follow us all the way to the village where we fled the famine."
After saying that, he looked at them and said, "You two step back a bit, I'll take care of him."
Li Lanzhen thought that Xue Bao was only 16 years old, so she wanted to say that she would do it herself, but Xue Bao insisted, "Auntie, you take Yuemei away. I've killed wild boars weighing over 300 jin before. Don't worry."
"Okay, believe me for once, and everything will be alright soon."
Li Lanzhen pulled Han Yuemei around and walked to the place where the crowd had just gathered, where she saw a scene that surprised her.
What a reversal!
A dozen or so soldiers were tied together with ropes, slumped on the ground, begging for mercy and crying out.
"Aunt Lanzhen, you're back. What are we going to do?" The one who asked was Han Youshui, Han Dazhong's third son.
Before Li Lanzhen could speak, Xue Bao shouted, "Knock them all out and leave them down this burning mountain. Whether they live or die is up to fate."
With a series of clanging and banging sounds, the sounds of ghosts howling and wolves howling soon echoed from the mountain that Li Lanzhen had just climbed up.
"Let's hurry and go find our family."
Li Lanzhen was about to take Han Yuemei down the mountain when her clothes were tugged at from behind, and a small, childish voice said...
"Grandma, can you take my sister and me with you?"
Turning around, Li Lanzhen found the person who had spoken at her feet. It turned out to be a little boy of about 5 years old, holding the hand of a little girl of about 2 years old tightly.
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