"Here." Yun Zhi was surprised that Lin Qixia had found it.
He simply walked over and pushed the wall behind the seat.
Click—
With a strange noise, the wall there was suddenly pushed open, revealing a hidden door.
At the same time, Yun Zhi explained casually, "It's nothing. It's just that Boss Cheng was always afraid of being attacked at the mountain gate, so he left himself an escape route just in case."
Unfortunately, Boss Cheng probably never imagined that he would end up at the hands of a young girl.
Yun Zhi thought to himself, a mocking expression on his face.
"How long is this passage? Where does it lead?" Lin Qixia peered inside; it was dark and very narrow and cramped.
She didn't plan to go in; she hated places like that the most.
"About a mile, leading to the Qishan County area behind the mountain," Yun Zhi replied, her eyes slightly lowered and a hint of evasion in them.
Lin Qixia was so focused on the passageway in front of her that she didn't notice Yun Zhi's unusual behavior.
Huo Yanqing, who was next to her, narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at her.
After leaving the main hall, Lin Qixia bid farewell to Yun Zhi, saying, "I'll leave this stronghold to you for now. I'll arrange an assistant for you to help you in a while."
"That won't be necessary," Yun Zhi said instinctively.
The next second, Lin Qixia patted his shoulder, "Why are you being so polite with me?" she said with a firm expression.
Yun Zhi's gaze fell on her hand resting on his shoulder, paused for a moment, and then he didn't say anything more.
He probably understood that it was someone she had placed beside him to monitor him, and he had no right to refuse.
When Yun Zhi looked up again, the smile on his face didn't reach his eyes. "I'll see Miss Lin out."
“Okay.” Lin Qixia walked with him to the gate of the mountain stronghold.
After saying goodbye to Yunzhi, he left the mountain stronghold and returned home.
On the way, Huo Yanqing suddenly spoke in a deep voice to remind her: "That guy is suspicious, don't believe him."
Lin Qixia, who was walking quickly, stumbled because of his sudden words.
Fortunately, Huo Yanqing pulled her back, preventing her from falling.
"You mean Yun Zhi?" Lin Qixia asked him.
Huo Yanqing: "Mm."
Lin Qixia continued walking forward and said, "I would find it strange if he didn't have some shrewdness."
"But don't worry, I'm already aware of the risks if I dare to use him."
She couldn't possibly be caught off guard and tricked by him; there were just some "little surprises" waiting for her.
Lin Qixia recalled the way the other person spoke when describing the situation behind the main hall passage. In fact, she had also slightly sensed something was amiss.
At the time, the system scanned and checked, and it said there was a large iron ore mine behind it.
The existence of this thing was naturally good news for her.
“I know Yun Zhi wasn’t telling the truth back then,” Lin Qixia said thoughtfully. “Actually, I’m just very curious whether there’s someone else behind him.”
Huo Yanqing stared blankly at the radiant girl with slightly stunned eyes, then responded softly, "Mm."
He was surprised to learn that she was so perceptive, noticing far more details in such a short time than he had imagined.
At this moment, Lin Qixia was still excitedly saying, "So, I don't plan to alert him for now. Whatever he's hiding behind him will be exposed sooner or later~"
"Xia'er is so smart," Huo Yanqing praised her directly.
Lin Qixia's smug expression froze for a moment after hearing his words, then turned into shyness, and a blush visibly rose on her face.
She then raised her head and said, "Of course!"
She wasn't ashamed to accept praise from others, except that the person was Huo Yanqing.
Lin Qixia felt a little awkward.
After Lin Qixia calmed down, the two of them walked down the mountain.
By the end, Lin Qixia was quite tired, and her legs ached: "If I had known, I would have ridden a horse and pulled a cart here today."
To stay fit, she prefers to walk short distances whenever possible.
However, she underestimated the road conditions in Beiling Mountain Village. Previously, when they went up the mountain at night, they were so nervous and their adrenaline was so high that they rarely paid attention to this.
Now that I've relaxed, I realize that I can't rely on my two feet to climb the mountain again in the future.
"Let me carry you on my back." Huo Yanqing took the initiative to walk in front of Lin Qixia and bent down.
Lin Qixia, "..."
"No need."
This guy has been so proactive lately, almost to the point of being overly attentive.
She cleared her throat somewhat awkwardly, walked past him, and continued walking forward. Huo Yanqing straightened up, not annoyed by the rejection, but quickened his pace to catch up with her.
"Xia'er, wait for me," he said.
After returning to Xiahe Village, Lin Qixia enjoyed a very comfortable few days.
With the autumn harvest over, the winter food supply is secured, and the rest of the Lin family breathed a sigh of relief, getting along harmoniously.
Mid-Autumn Festival is here, and several exquisitely crafted mooncakes were laid out on the table during dinner that evening.
"Wow, we actually get to eat mooncakes today!" Lin Yi exclaimed in her childish voice, her eyes wide as she looked at the mooncakes on the table.
Lin Qixia reached out and patted her head, then handed her a mooncake. "Of course, how can we celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival without eating mooncakes?"
"Thank you, Auntie!" Lin Yi accepted the mooncake and thanked Lin Qixia with a smile.
Then she took a bite of the mooncake, and a look of surprise flashed in her round eyes. "It's filled with jujube paste! So sweet!"
Lin Yi was eating so happily that her whole family was amused by her little expressions.
"Eat slowly," He Zhilan advised her, both amused and exasperated, trying to stop her from taking big bites of mooncake for fear she would choke.
Lin Qixia was also very curious, "Is it so delicious? I want to try it too."
As she spoke, she picked up a piece and took a bite.
The mooncakes are crispy on the outside and have a generous, delicate filling inside. They are indeed very sweet, but it's a natural sweetness without any artificial saccharin taste.
During this time, she didn't have time to go to the distant town to buy mooncakes, so she bought them from the system and ordered nut filling and red bean paste filling.
The one she's holding is made with red beans, and it tastes pretty good too.
"It's really delicious." Lin Qixia took a second bite and sighed with satisfaction.
Seeing this, everyone else picked up a mooncake and started to eat it.
The family happily ate mooncakes in the courtyard, with a bright full moon overhead, illuminating the earth in a silvery glow.
Even though there weren't many lights on around, it didn't feel dark at all.
The night breeze was refreshing and pleasant.
Everyone ate mooncakes after dinner, so no one ate much. Mooncakes are quite filling, and one is enough to make you feel full.
After finishing her meal, Lin Qixia took a sip of tea, cleared her throat, and spoke to He Zhilan and Lin Xiao and his wife, starting a serious conversation: "Brother, sister-in-law, I have two things I need your help with."
"What's up?"
"Xia'er, don't be so polite with us, just say what you want," the two said to her in unison.
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