Chen Xiaobei witnessed the divine medicine Yang Zhi gave him. It could make snakes hibernate instantly and gather schools of fish for three days.
So it was not strange that there was a divine medicine that could make tigers obedient after eating it.
After thanking him again, Chen Xiaobei carefully put the stone ball into his pocket.
After eating several large basins of fragrant chicken, everyone reluctantly put down their bowls and chopsticks.
Qin Gang said with a smile, "This is a wild place with no good wine or food, just simple fare. I hope you don't find it too plain."
Chen Xiaobei quickly bowed and thanked him again, "You are too kind, elder. This is already very good."
Looking back outside, the rain had stopped at some point, and the sun was shining on the valley again.
Chen Xiaobei gently touched Liu Rumei's arm. Liu Rumei understood immediately and smiled at Qin Gang again, "Grandpa Qin, it's getting late, we need to head back."
Qin Gang nodded and gestured to an elder beside him. The elder immediately got up and went inside. After a while, he came out with a wooden box.
"Miss Liu has a three-hundred-year-old ginseng here. This is a small token of my appreciation."
Liu Rumei quickly waved her hands, "No, no, Grandpa Qin, you should keep such a valuable thing for yourself."
"Alas, I have plenty of ginseng and lingzhi in this valley. Since you've come all this way, I can't let you leave empty-handed."
"Ah, if that's the case, then I accept your kind offer." Liu Rumei smiled and took the ginseng.
Everyone got up to bid farewell, walked out of the stone cave, rounded the giant rocks, and came to the waterfall. Huzhi asked reluctantly, "Sister, sister, when will you come to play with Huzhi again after you leave?"
Liu Rumei frowned, "I can't say for sure. It takes me a whole day to come here. I set off from the foot of the mountain yesterday noon..."
Hearing this, Huzhi turned to look at Qin Gang, "Grandpa, grandpa, why don't you let sister take our path? It only takes half a day to get down the mountain."
Hearing this, Qin Gang hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded slightly.
"Very well, since Miss Liu has come, I will tell you the way out of the mountain, so it will be more convenient to come again in the future."
"If you take that path, you'll be down to the main road before dark. Then it's only about five miles back to the village."
Seeing Qin Gang's permission, Huzhi was overjoyed and hopped ahead to lead the way for them.
They walked forward along the stone wall for about three miles, reaching a corner where they could see round depressions in the steep cliff face.
Huzhi pointed to these depressions, "Step on these and climb up. There's a rope at the top. Pull it down and you can descend the mountain."
Liu Ziming and Liu Ziliang agreed and began to climb, one after the other.
After climbing for a while, they were no longer visible from the foot of the mountain. Chen Xiaobei retreated several dozen feet before he discovered that the steep cliff face was like stairs, receding slightly every few dozen feet.
It was like stacking blocks, from wide to narrow.
Watching them climb for at least a hundred feet, they finally stopped. The voices of the two came from above, "Miss, son-in-law, you can come up. It's not particularly difficult to climb."
Huzhi grinned at them, "Don't worry, it's very easy. Even I can go up."
With Huzhi's assurance, Liu Rumei felt relieved, but she still asked Chen Xiaobei and the two village guards to go first, with the rest following behind.
Chen Xiaobei nodded, there was no need to decline now, he would go first.
Chen Xiaobei led the way up, followed closely by Chen Daqiang and Chen Sanliang, then the Liu family guards, with Liu Rumei at the very end.
Seeing that everyone had climbed several dozen feet high, Liu Rumei was about to follow when a voice sounded from behind her.
"Miss Liu, please wait."
Liu Rumei turned around and saw that Qin Gang was standing behind her at some point.
Liu Rumei quickly stepped forward and clasped her fists, "Grandpa Qin, do you have any other instructions?"
"Miss Liu, this is the place we must pass through when we go out. Please do not make a sound about it."
Liu Rumei nodded, "Grandpa Qin, don't worry, I won't tell anyone once we get out."
Qin Gang finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, "I will retrieve the rope after you descend. It's not easy to climb up from the outside. If you want to come again, you'll have to use the same path you used to get here."
"Grandpa Qin, don't worry, I'll bring you some food and supplies later." Liu Rumei said with a smile.
Qin Gang waved his hand, "That's not necessary, I have everything I need here."
"I just want to ask you a few more questions. Who is the current emperor?"
So that was it. Liu Rumei quickly replied, "The current emperor's surname is Xiao and his given name is An."
Upon hearing this, Qin Gang frowned, "He actually became the emperor."
From his tone, Liu Rumei clearly heard a hint of helplessness and dissatisfaction.
"Grandpa Qin, Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun is currently presiding over the government. The emperor will likely abdicate before long."
Hearing this, a hint of joy flashed across Qin Gang's brow, but it was fleeting. "Oh, that's good. As long as the world is stable."
He then clasped his fists at Liu Rumei, "Miss Liu, travel safely."
Liu Rumei returned the courtesy, then turned and leaped onto the stone wall, climbing upwards while pondering Qin Gang's actions. It was clear that the most important question Qin Gang wanted to ask when he caught up was about who was the current emperor.
And from his expression when she mentioned Xiao An, it seemed they had some past conflict.
Of course, these were not things she needed to consider now. The most important thing was to reach the summit and find the way down.
She climbed to the top in one go, only to find that the outside was almost a sheer drop. Compared to this, her previous route was much easier and more pleasant.
No wonder no one had discovered this hidden paradise for so many years. Without this rope, climbing up from the foot of the mountain would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Huzhi pointed at the rope and said with a grin, "As soon as you go down, I'll pull the rope up."
"Normally, this rope is only lowered when Grandpa and the others go to the city."
Liu Rumei and Chen Xiaobei exchanged glances, both filled with admiration. They had to admit that Qin Gang and his people had designed this system so meticulously, ensuring maximum secrecy.
Descending along the rope, Chen Xiaobei secretly sighed. If he hadn't insisted on coming to Hulu Valley, and if Liu Rumei hadn't insisted on going to the end to see, this incredible encounter would have been missed.
The rope was dozens of feet long. Halfway down, the terrain became gentler, and the trees thickened. Without the rope, they could slowly descend by holding onto the trees.
Of course, this also brought a problem. Even though they could descend now, it would be difficult to find this rope again tomorrow if they wanted to enter.