Seeing that Master Xu was so weak, Li Lanzhen was afraid that taking the sleeping potion would harm his health.
"Think about it," he said to Silver Fox.
"Silver Fox, why don't we stay here for half a day and leave tomorrow?"
Silver Fox understood Li Lanzhen's meaning and nodded in agreement.
He stood up and said, "Auntie, I'm going to take a walk in the mountains. If I can catch a pheasant, I'll make soup for Master Xu and Zhihua to help them recover."
As he spoke, he handed a wooden stick that he had just whittled to Master Xu.
“Master, it will be easier for you to walk with this cane.”
Li Lanzhen pointed at the teacher and said to Zhihua.
"Zhihua, help your grandfather lie down. Let him sleep a little longer. Once he's rested, we'll be on our way tomorrow."
Master Xu took the walking stick from Silver Fox and glanced at one end of it. Silver Fox had wrapped it with cloth so it wouldn't prick his hand.
He glanced gratefully at the silver fox.
"Thank you, Silver Fox."
Li Lanzhen watched as Zhihua helped Master Xu walk towards the big rock.
He whispered to the silver fox.
"The sleeping pills might harm their bodies, so let's rest them for one night and talk about it tomorrow."
"Okay, Auntie, you rest for a while too, I'm going to take a walk in the mountains."
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Li Lanzhen took out two straw mats, two thin blankets, and a small iron pot.
After a while, regardless of whether Silver Fox can catch a pheasant or not, she will take out a pheasant from her space, stew it into soup, and let the father and son eat and drink their fill before taking a nap.
If all else fails, stop drugging them tomorrow and just put the father and son into the space.
Li Lanzhen came over with a hatchet and chopped off a few tree branches.
They found three tall trees nearby and built a simple shelter there.
A sleeping shed with a straw curtain hanging in the middle, one opening facing this side and the other facing that side, making two small triangular tents.
She and Silver Fox each lived on one side of the house.
A thin mattress was laid in front of the straw mat in the silver fox's den, and then a quilt was placed on top of it.
Li Lanzhen patted herself down, tidied her clothes, crawled into the shack, lay down, and dozed off for a while.
I had just closed my eyes when I heard Zhihua's voice.
"Grandma~~ Grandma~~ Uncle~~ Uncle~~ Where did you go? Grandma~~~"
The voice was filled with panic, unease, and despair.
Li Lanzhen quickly crawled out of the shed and saw Zhi Xiang, a frightened rabbit, darting around and squealing.
"Zhihua, Grandma's here! Don't be afraid!"
Upon hearing Li Lanzhen's voice, Zhihua suddenly turned around, her face covered in tears. She opened her arms and, like a little bird, rushed into Li Lanzhen's embrace, tightly hugging her waist, crying out.
"Grandma, I thought you didn't want Zhihua anymore, sob sob sob!"
Li Lanzhen patted her back tenderly and hugged her in her arms.
"Okay, don't cry. Our Zhihua is so cute, how could Grandma not want Zhihua anymore?"
Is Grandpa asleep?
Zhihua nodded, sobbing.
Li Lanzhen wiped away her tears and pulled her into the small shack.
“Come on, Zhihua, take a nap with Grandma. You’ll have the strength to walk if you get enough sleep.”
Don't worry, Grandma would never abandon Zhihua.
Zhihua lay down and tightly gripped Li Lanzhen's arm.
Li Lanzhen patted her, and slowly Zhihua nestled in her arms and fell asleep.
When Silver Fox returned, his footsteps startled Li Lanzhen.
Li Lanzhen gently pulled her arm away from Zhihua's embrace.
Stepping out of the hut, I saw Silver Fox carrying two pheasants, a gray rabbit, and a bundle of fresh wild vegetables tied with straw.
The pheasants and rabbits were all cleaned thoroughly, and the wild vegetables were washed clean as well.
Li Lanzhen thought the child was very thoughtful, so she took the things and said them to him.
“You’ve had quite a haul. I’ve already set up the shelter. Go in and lie down for a rest. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Silver Fox smiled and said, "Lanzhen, Auntie, I'm not tired. Let me cook with you."
An hour later.
There was a wild pheasant in the earthenware pot, stewed until tender, and Li Lanzhen added a few wild ginseng roots to it.
The iron pot was stewing a wild pheasant and a wild rabbit, braised in soy sauce, with potato chunks added. When it was almost done stewing, Li Lanzhen placed six sesame seed cakes around the iron pot.
There was also a large bowl of cold wild vegetables.
At this moment, Silver Fox helped Master Xu walk over from under the big rock.
Li Lanzhen also called out to Zhihua.
When Zhihua opened her eyes, she realized that Li Lanzhen's arm was no longer in her arms, and in a panic, she tried to go find Li Lanzhen.
He turned around and saw Li Lanzhen, and smiled with his eyes narrowed.
He opened his arms and asked Li Lanzhen to hug him.
"Grandma, you're still here? You didn't abandon Zhihua."
Li Lanzhen picked her up and patted her back.
"Of course she is! Our Zhihua is so cute, Grandma will definitely want Zhihua."
"Come on, splash some cool water on your face to wake yourself up. Grandma made something delicious; Zhihua should eat plenty."
"Did Uncle roast pheasant again? Zhihua wants another roasted chicken leg."
"Little glutton, that's all. There's no roasted pheasant today, but Grandma made some meat that tastes even better than roasted chicken."
Everyone enjoyed dinner very much.
Grandpa Xu drank a bowl of chicken soup, ate a chicken leg, and ate half a bowl of chicken and rabbit stew with potatoes.
He was amazed by the soft texture of the potatoes, saying he had never eaten such a dish before.
He asked Li Lanzhen, "Lanzhen, what is this? Is it the root of some plant from the mountains?"
Li Lanzhen smiled and shook her head, telling him that this was called a potato, and that it was grown in large quantities in Peach Blossom Spring.
Master Xu was amazed and thought that when he arrived at Peach Blossom Spring, he would go and see what the leaves of this plant called potato looked like.
As darkness fell, the four of them went to sleep.
The night passed peacefully.
Early in the morning, all four of them got up. Li Lanzhen cooked cornmeal porridge, and Silver Fox baked meat-filled flatbreads by the fire.
After the four of them finished eating, they cleaned up the dishes and their luggage.
Master Xu, full of energy, came over carrying two baskets.
"Lanzhen, let's go now. How many days' journey will it take to get to the Peach Blossom Spring you mentioned?"
Li Lanzhen thought for a moment and then said to him.
"It takes a day and a half to walk from here to Peach Blossom Spring."
However, your physical condition is currently too weak, and Zhihua is too young, so it will take us three days to travel."
Anyway, after saying that, he exchanged a glance with Silver Fox.
The silver fox nodded slightly to her.
Li Lanzhen held Zhihua's hand with one hand and grabbed the basket that Master Xu was carrying with the other.
They silently chanted "enter," and the old man and the child entered the space.
Afterwards, Li Lanzhen and Silver Fox put their things away and entered their spatial dimension.
Seeing that Master Xu and Zhihua were lying together without any apparent problem, he went to check on the others.
Silver Fox looked around and said to Li Lanzhen.
"Aunt Lanzhen, all their external wounds have healed."
This secret place is also a magical treasure.
He's lying here; could it be that the air here healed him?
Li Lanzhen couldn't figure out why either, thinking to herself that maybe the air here was different.
"Let's go, Silver Fox, let's go home."
The two quickly descended the mountain and appeared in a large valley.
"The terrain here is flat," Li Lanzhen said to Silver Fox.
"Let's eat something and drink some water, then bring out the horses. Riding them should be faster."
Silver Fox nodded and agreed.
After a simple meal, they led out two horses.
Silver Fox helped Li Lanzhen onto her horse.
"Aunt Lanzhen, are you sure you can ride a horse by yourself? How about I take you with me?"
Li Lianzhen shook her head and said, "It's alright, I can do it. These horses are very obedient when they come out of the secret place."
Silver Fox noticed this as well, so he mounted his horse.
They don't run very fast, but it's still much faster than a person walking on two legs.
They galloped along the valley on horseback.
When they arrived at the foot of a mountain.
Li Lanzhen dismounted and spoke to Silver Fox.
"Silver Fox, after crossing this mountain, you will soon see Peach Blossom Spring."
Let's rest for a while. It's not good to ride horses up the mountain, so let's put the horses away and walk.
Silver Fox nodded. "Okay, Auntie."
Li Lanzhen stored the two horses in her spatial storage.
He took out five meat-filled sesame cakes and handed them to Silver Fox to eat.
She ate a sesame seed cake and drank some water, rested for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and then the two continued up the mountain.
“Auntie, it will be late when we cross this mountain. If we stay overnight at the foot of the mountain, we can continue on our way and release all the people in the secret place.”
Li Lanzhen said, "Yes, this mountain is at the foot of the mountain, so we can release them all."
You can rest outside for the night.
There were many of them, some injured, some weak; they estimated they wouldn't reach Peach Blossom Spring until after noon.
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