The weather had recently turned cold, and the nights were naturally chilly.
In the vast training ground, only a few bonfires crackled.
Li Yue Shu moved like a ghost, swiftly dispatching the hidden sentries before arriving at the wooden cages in the corner.
"Clang, clang, clang—"
In the silent night, no matter how light Li Yue Shu's movements were, the sound of chains was still noticeable.
At the same time, Zhou Chen and the others in the wooden cages instantly opened their eyes at the sound, looking over vigilantly.
Seeing it was Li Yue Shu, Zhou Chen was shocked. "How did you get out?"
Li Yue Shu opened the cage door and got straight to the point. "I need you to help me set fires all over the village and throw Qing Yong Mountain into utter chaos."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen agreed without hesitation. "Don't worry, leave this to us!"
Li Yue Shu looked at the twelve eager individuals, then asked Zhou Chen, "Besides the chief, do you know anyone else in the village who knows the children's whereabouts?"
Zhou Chen nodded.
Seeing this, Li Yue Shu immediately took him to find the person, while the others were responsible for starting fires everywhere.
As a dozen people set fires in different locations, Qing Yong Mountain quickly descended into chaos, and naturally, no one paid attention to the rule of requiring two people to travel together.
Amidst the confusion, Zhou Chen and Li Yue Shu quickly found the person. "That man is Xie Qi Zhi's confidant and the second-in-command of Qing Yong Mountain. He's responsible for many things in the village."
The name "Xie Qi Zhi" sounded familiar to Li Yue Shu, but she didn't overthink it. She smeared some burnt ash on her face haphazardly.
"You take your men and go down the mountain amidst the chaos." After instructing Zhou Chen, she rushed forward.
"Second-in-command, there's a… fire!" Li Yue Shu shouted in panic, her face so smudged with soot that her features were completely indistinguishable.
She grabbed the second-in-command's clothes, panting, "The chief wants… wants you to quickly move the children. He's already… already gone there!"
Hearing this, the second-in-command, without a hint of suspicion, quickly turned and ran in a certain direction.
Li Yue Shu followed closely, carefully concealing herself, and actually followed the second-in-command to the storeroom.
However, he didn't go inside. Instead, he went to a large rock in the courtyard outside the house, fumbled under the rock for a moment.
The next second, the large rock moved aside, revealing a downward passage.
The second-in-command, holding a torch, was about to go down when Li Yue Shu stopped hiding and attacked him.
A whooshing sound filled the air. The second-in-command instinctively turned to block the attack, but his body was forced back repeatedly, almost losing his footing.
Li Yue Shu showed no hesitation and charged again, her attacks swift and vicious.
Although the second-in-command's martial arts were decent, facing Li Yue Shu's tricky and peculiar fighting style, he sustained multiple injuries and couldn't fend her off.
After quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, he turned and fled.
Li Yue Shu naturally didn't chase. Seeing the fire spreading towards the storeroom in the distance, she picked up a torch from the ground and descended through the revealed passage.
The passage was long and devoid of any light, the surrounding darkness seeming like ravenous beasts.
A Yu was already a little afraid of the dark, and after staying here for so long, how could he endure it!
Li Yue Shu felt an indescribable heartache. She quickened her pace, her crisp footsteps sounding exceptionally clear in the darkness.
Finally, she reached the end of the passage.
The sudden light that flooded in instantly illuminated the entire space, allowing one to see the situation clearly at a glance.
Li Yue Shu gasped.
In the cramped space, over a dozen raggedly dressed children were crammed together, the oldest no older than A Min.
Hearing someone arrive, the children all cowered together, their bodies trembling with fear.
"Mother?"
As Li Yue Shu was searching for Shen Zhi Yu, she suddenly heard a familiar call.
"Mother!"
Shen Zhi Yu rose from the corner and rushed over with delight. "Mother, A Yu was so scared. A Yu thought I would never see you again, sob sob sob..."
Li Yue Shu quickly crouched down, hugging him and comforting him with heartache. "Don't be afraid, Mom is here. Mom will take you away now."
It wasn't the time to talk. Those bandits could return at any moment, and she had to take A Yu away quickly.
But when she looked up and saw the children cautiously watching her, her heart clenched.
Even if she could get out with A Yu, bringing these children would only be a burden.
But if she abandoned them, they would surely meet the fate Zhou Chen had spoken of.
And the fire outside would soon spread here...
She couldn't abandon so many lives!
Li Yue Shu gritted her teeth and looked at the children. "Do you want to come with me? I'll take you out."
The children remained huddled together, not moving, but their eyes held a glimmer of hope as they looked at her.
Shen Zhi Yu, with tears still on his face, turned and waved to the other children. "My mother is very capable. If she says she can take you out, she definitely can!"
The little fellow had almost blind faith and confidence in his mother's abilities.
Perhaps it was the unwavering certainty in his voice, the children looked at each other. A couple of braver ones stood up.
With someone taking the lead, the others naturally followed suit.
Li Yue Shu, holding a torch in one hand and Shen Zhi Yu's hand in the other, said, "Everyone hold hands and follow the person in front. Don't get lost."
The children were very obedient, immediately holding hands with those beside them. The last child held Shen Zhi Yu's hand.
Seeing this, Li Yue Shu wasted no time and led them towards the passage.
This was a warehouse, a rather secluded location. Most of the people in Qing Yong Mountain were busy extinguishing fires elsewhere, and no one noticed what was happening here.
To avoid alerting the enemy, Li Yue Shu extinguished the torch and led the dozen or so children along the edges, intending to take them down the mountain.
Before being captured, she had roughly figured out the direction down the mountain. With the village in such disarray, the sentries should be much more lenient.
Li Yue Shu moved cautiously, but she was leading over a dozen children. The children on Qing Yong Mountain had all been abducted from below. Such a large group made movement naturally difficult.
Not long after Li Yue Shu finally managed to lead the children out of the village, they saw the path ahead blocked. The people standing there had an air of "waiting for a long time."
Standing at the forefront were the chief, who had already woken up, and the injured second-in-command.
Li Yue Shu's breathing hitched. Without thinking, she knew they must have taken a shortcut to appear so quickly.
Seeing the two men, the children all cowered behind Li Yue Shu in fear. Some of the more timid ones collapsed on the ground, their faces pale and tears streaming down.
Shen Zhi Yu also held his mother's hand tightly, his chubby little face etched with fear.
Li Yue Shu felt the little fellow's icy hand and quickly pulled him behind her.
The chief looked at the children behind her and said with a fake smile, "Weren't you looking for your lover? Why did you take my children?"
Li Yue Shu's mind raced, thinking of countermeasures, but her face showed no tension. She even smiled. "If I said it was just a casual act, would the chief believe me?"
He naturally wouldn't believe her!
The second brother, still injured, had woken him from his unconsciousness and told him that this woman had tricked him into leading the way to find these children.
The chief glanced at Shen Zhi Yu, whom Li Yue Shu was holding, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.