In the evening, Li Wanming and Chuntao found a thatched cottage in the mountains to seek shelter for the night.
"This is the place where the hunters in the mountains stay overnight. There's firewood and rice inside. We can just use them to cook some porridge. We'll replenish the rice later," Chuntao said with a beaming smile.
By now, Gao Yong didn't dare to underestimate the mountains in Fujian or the two girls in front of him.
He did whatever Chuntao told him to do. If she asked him to chop firewood, he'd chop it; if she asked him to start a fire, he'd start it. He no longer talked about how a real man should protect these two delicate women...
At dawn the next day, the mountains were shrouded in thick fog, so dense that it seemed about to condense into droplets and fall.
Chuntao squatted beside the fire, warming three bowls of anti - miasma tea in bamboo tubes.
There were a few leaves of Litsea cubeba floating in the brown tea soup. The pungent smell made one's nose itch.
"Once we cross this mountain, we'll reach the heart of Dayi Mountain," Li Wanming said as she took the coarse pottery bowl. The steam condensed into tiny droplets on her eyelashes. "The legendary seventy - two bandit strongholds in the past were located in the forest ahead."
Gao Yong was just applying snake medicine to his neck. Hearing this, his eyes lit up. "I've long heard of General Li's heroic feat of smashing the seventy - two bandit strongholds in a row, but I never thought it was in such a dense forest... It seems General Li is truly a divine general!"
"Pfft!" Chuntao suddenly burst out laughing. "My master... a divine general? Haha, General Gao, you should praise our young lady instead. If those bandit leaders weren't beheaded and saw our young lady now, they'd probably be so scared that they'd keep kneeling and kowtowing!"
Gao Yong was taken aback. Just as he was about to ask further, he saw Li Wanming stand up and smile faintly. "General Gao, don't be impatient. The place we're going to next is one of those bandit strongholds... You'll know later."
The mountain fog dispersed a bit, and the sunlight could be faintly seen in the distance.
The three of them walked on the damp fallen leaves. The decaying branches and leaves made a faint "creak" sound under their soles.
After walking for about half a day and turning a mountain pass full of wild lacquer trees, Li Wanming stopped and nodded forward. "We're here."
In the morning fog, a slanting stronghold gate emerged. The pillars made of old camphor wood had lost their paint. The small lizards on them were startled by the footsteps and quickly scurried away with their tails wriggling.
This mountain stronghold wasn't big. The watchtower made of thatch was only as tall as two people, and half of it had collapsed. Only the three bamboo houses inside were relatively intact, but there were still faint traces of sword slashes and fire on the walls.
"The first bandit stronghold wiped out by my parents back then was this Black Wind Stronghold..." Li Wanming lifted the corner of her mouth slightly. "Black Wind Stronghold. Isn't this name rather tacky? It sounds like the name of a villain in a storybook."
She didn't plan to go in. She just stopped in front of the stronghold gate to take a look for a while, then turned around and was about to continue on her journey. "This Black Wind Stronghold is built at the foot of Shuangya Ridge. It's the best landmark. As long as we see it, we know we're not lost. If we cross Shuangya Ridge further up..."
Before she could finish her words, there was a sudden "clank" sound from the bamboo house, followed by a man's miserable scream. "Grandma, please spare my life!"
Li Wanming suddenly stopped in her tracks.
There was someone inside?!
It shouldn't be...
Back then, when her parents led the troops to suppress the bandits, they had completely wiped out all the seventy - two bandit strongholds.
It wasn't just a matter of getting rid of the bandits; they had left no one or thing behind. There wasn't even a single hair left in the whole Dayi Mountain. That's how Li Rusong had achieved the great merit that led to his two - level promotion—
Why was there... someone?
Before she could react, there was another clattering sound in the bamboo house, and the man cried even more miserably. "Ancestor! ... Ancestor, please spare my life..."
Li Wanming slowly reached for the black - sheathed dagger at her waist. Gao Yong took a quick step and stood in front of her and Chuntao. The three of them carefully approached the stronghold.
Suddenly, a thunderous female voice rang out in the house. "You bastard, think clearly before you shout! Which part of me looks like your ancestor?"
This familiar and fiery voice warmed Li Wanming's heart. The dagger in her hand "clang" back into its sheath.
"Second sister!"
She rushed into the house in three big steps. Sure enough, she saw Li Wanmo in a neat black combat suit, sitting astride the long bench in the main hall of the bamboo house in a bold and imposing manner.
"Little sister?"
When Wanmo saw her, she was first overjoyed, but then her heroic sword - shaped eyebrows knitted together. "Why aren't you staying in the capital properly? How did you end up here? Don't you know there's a war going on recently and it's not safe?"
"I..."
Li Wanming wanted to explain, but she couldn't spare the time because the scene in the house was extremely strange.
A thin and monkey - like man was kneeling in front of Wanmo, trembling and lying prostrate on the ground— it was Chen Mazi, the dog - head military advisor of the Black Wind Stronghold back then. He had only been in Tangli Prison for half a year before being released because of his meritorious service in informing on the bandits when the Black Wind Stronghold was wiped out.
But what surprised Li Wanming the most wasn't him, but the person standing behind Wanmo.
In the shadow of the bamboo house, a tall and elegant figure was holding a coarse pottery bowl and sipping slowly. The white jade - like knuckles were in sharp contrast to the crude pottery.
Sensing Li Wanming's gaze, he looked up and showed a naive smile. There was still a bit of tea stain on his lips, making him look even more like a pampered fool.
"He... He Muhao?"
Li Wanming stared at him in disbelief with wide eyes.
He Muhao answered with an "ai" and then chided her. "Why are you so impolite? You're so disrespectful... Call me brother - in - law!"
"Get lost!" Wanmo slapped him away. "I've already divorced you. What kind of brother - in - law are you to her?"
Li Wanming was stunned for a moment and then pulled Wanmo aside. "What are you two doing here?"
"I heard there was a war in the southern border. I thought about going to the battlefield to kill the enemy, so I came here," Wanmo said, tossing the ponytail behind her head. "As for that playboy, he insisted on following me here... What about you? Why did you come to Dayi Mountain?"
Li Wanming took a slight breath and quietly told her what had happened in the capital.
After hearing this, Wanmo immediately raised her willow - leaf eyebrows. "That bastard Xiao Jingnan actually dared to abandon you on your wedding night? And he even died without saying a word?"
"Well..." Li Wanming scratched her chin. "It wasn't that he wanted to die on his own..."
"However, it's for the best," Wanmo interrupted her before she could finish. She suddenly nodded in relief. "Fortunately, the Xiao family gave a generous betrothal gift. Even if you become a widow, you'll be a wealthy one. Don't worry. If the Xiao family wants to take back this betrothal gift, your second sister will definitely protect you..."
"You make me sound like a marriage swindler!" Li Wanming said, both amused and annoyed. She quickly interrupted her and then pointed at Chen Mazi, who was kneeling on the ground, trembling and wailing. "What's wrong with him?"
"Oh, him..." Wanmo walked over, twirling the long spear in her hand. The tip of the spear pressed against Chen Mazi's shoulder, scaring the man's face even paler.
"I thought it would be faster to go around to Lingxi County through Dayi Mountain, so I took the mountain path. Who would have thought that as soon as I got to the Black Wind Stronghold, I saw this guy acting furtively. He must be up to no good!"