My reborn husband and son are thinking about how to kill me every day.

It must be said that General Yao was right.

After witnessing firsthand how terrifying those insects were, Fan Hongmiao completely forgot how they had cursed Yao Guangji back then.

At this moment, the group, escorted by Liang Zhonglin and Duan Wu, had safely reached the foot of the mountain.

However, the group was not reassured by this.

Even after the adrenaline subsided, the group became even more terrified.

The slightest disturbance would send several people into a cold sweat, their hands and feet trembling.

The explosion coming from the mountain further alarmed the group.

Fan Hongmiao and Di Jiao exchanged a glance, then Fan Hongmiao limped toward Liang Zhonglin and tried to ingratiate himself with him, saying, "Brave warrior, what's going on up the mountain?"

Liang Zhonglin was sent by Xu Xi to escort Fan Hongmiao and the others down the mountain. Besides his excellent martial arts skills, which allowed him to take down the group in a critical moment, he was also quick-witted and adaptable, not a simple-minded soldier.

Sometimes, without assigning him any tasks, he can think of many things and then share the burden for the adults.

The key point is that he is actually very clever, but he gives people the impression of being honest and simple.

Using him would not only allow us to perfectly monitor several civil officials in the State of Qi, but there might also be unexpected surprises.

Along the way, he subtly sent out many signals to Fan Hongmiao, just waiting for him to take the initiative to get closer to him.

Although he had been waiting for his prey like a hunter in the shadows for a long time, he remained remarkably calm at this moment.

His face was cold, as if he didn't want to pay any attention to Fan Hongmiao.

Fan Hongmiao felt that he was a prominent figure in the Qi court, someone whom countless people fawned over.

He was furious to receive such a cold reception from a mere soldier in the Zhou Kingdom.

Given the current situation, he has no choice but to suppress his anger.

He still depends on them to survive!

Therefore, he suppressed his anger and continued to try to get closer to her, saying, "You adults are really amazing. I never would have guessed that she, a woman, would be so capable."

Hearing him praise his master, Liang Zhonglin's expression softened a bit, but he said, "Are you looking down on women? My master said that women are no less capable than men, and women can do just as much as men can do."

When Fan Hongmiao saw that Ji Yunshuang was finally willing to talk to him, he thought that praising Ji Yunshuang was indeed the right thing to do.

He quickly replied, "I don't mean to look down on women. Your master is right. Women are just as good as men. Without women, there would be no men. How could I possibly look down on men?"

He said this, but in his heart he thought the soldier in front of him was just a simple-minded fool.

What's the point of arguing about this?

It's just right that they're simple-minded soldiers. They're guileless and their thoughts are written all over their faces, making it easier to get information out of them.

Little did he know, this was exactly what Liang Zhonglin wanted him to think.

After Fan Hongmiao finished speaking, he deliberately showed a smug expression.

Seeing the smug look on his face, Fan Hongmiao was secretly pleased and asked again, "Young man, do you know what's going on up there? There was such a loud noise, are your parents alright?"

Liang Zhonglin was naturally worried at this moment, but he said, "My master is so wise and brave, of course nothing will happen to him."

Fan Hongmiao thought to himself, "You're just bragging!"

But think about what they saw when they went up the mountain. Perhaps he wasn't exaggerating; the Ji family was indeed very capable.

He said, "Why did you go up that mountain? Don't you know, Elm Mountain is a notorious bandit hotspot in our Great Qi."

Liang Zhonglin looked at Fan Hongmiao and said, "Are you perhaps upset that we came uninvited?"

Fan Hongmiao quickly denied it, and said with a forced smile, "I wanted to ask if there are any other places besides Elmwood Mountain where such evil creatures exist?"

"Of course, even a remote place like Yumu Mountain has so many, compared to other places..." Liang Zhonglin shook his head and sighed, "Of course!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Hongmiao nearly collapsed to the ground. He muttered, "What should we do?"

He asked anxiously, "Your parents won't just leave us to fend for ourselves, will they?"

Liang Zhonglin sighed and said, "That's hard to say, after all, this is your Qi Kingdom. I'm afraid that if our lord tries to help out of kindness, he might be misunderstood instead."

Fan Hongmiao quickly assured them, "You can rest assured, I will definitely not let the people of Qi misunderstand. I will make sure to inform the officials in various places in advance and explain the situation. If necessary, I can also personally step forward and explain the situation to the people."

"Thanks to you gentlemen, we were able to survive. I will definitely repay you."

Liang Zhonglin said, "It's good that you think that way. I was worried that our adults were kind-hearted and did good deeds, but were misunderstood."

Di Jiao and Qiu Pengxuan quickly expressed that they were grateful to Ji Yunshuang and would never have any rebellious thoughts. They were willing to pledge their loyalty to Ji Yunshuang from now on and hoped that Liang Zhonglin would put in a good word for them.

As they spoke, the men quietly gave him a money pouch and told him about their official positions in Qi, explaining that they didn't have much money on them at the moment because they were traveling. They added that they would thank him properly if they had the chance in the future.

"You've had it tough too. Don't worry, I'll definitely put in a good word for you with the adults."

Liang Zhonglin accepted the money offered by the men, and, appearing persuaded and considering their feelings, said, "But it's no use just me saying nice things. You all need to demonstrate your own abilities and see how you can convince the master. Our master is not like me."

Fan Hongmiao said, "That's right, we will definitely show our strength and sincerity."

"When you meet our lord, I will introduce you. You can talk to him yourself. We are not familiar with the State of Qi. We came here to eliminate the scourge. Our lord originally planned to return to the State of Zhou immediately after eliminating the scourge."

Liang Zhonglin said, "Since you have so earnestly requested our help, our lord is kind-hearted and will not stand idly by. However, we are really unfamiliar with the land of your Qi Kingdom, so we will need you to guide us."

"Of course! Lord Di and I are quite familiar with various places, and we will tell your husband about the situation in each place."

Fan Hongmiao felt that after spending time together, Liang Zhonglin was one of his own. After he finished speaking, he moved closer to Liang Zhonglin and said, "Young man, do you really not have any medicine to treat your injuries? My leg is really in a lot of pain."

On his way down the mountain, he had already asked Liang Zhonglin once. At that time, Liang Zhonglin said that he did not have any medicine for insect bites on him.

He didn't believe it, and only felt that Liang Zhonglin was unwilling to give it to him.

Therefore, feeling that their relationship had grown closer, he asked again.

The other two civil officials also looked at Liang Zhonglin expectantly.

They looked like refugees fleeing a disaster, their clothes torn to shreds and their bodies covered in bloody wounds.

The bites from these insects were extremely deep. If they hadn't taken the medicine, these insects would have burrowed into their bodies like tunnels, swimming and feeding as they went...

Now, although they haven't been eaten, many wounds are deep enough to expose the bone.

Fan Hongmiao and Di Jiao were all civil officials, and they had never suffered such serious injuries in their lives. Every time they looked at their wounds, they felt like they were about to faint.

Liang Zhonglin said apologetically, "I did not lie to you, sirs. We really did not have any medicine to treat our injuries."

As you can see, we're all wearing protective suits, and those insects can't tear our clothes, so we don't need this kind of medicine. The adults didn't prepare any for us either.

Fan Hongmiao and the others felt a mixture of bitterness and resentment upon hearing Liang Zhonglin's words.

Look at what they're saying! What do they mean by saying they're wearing solid protective suits, that those evil things can't penetrate their bodies, and that they don't need medicine at all?

Is she showing off to him?

Fan Hongmiao now felt that it was a good idea for them to serve Ji Yunshuang. Although she was a woman, she was genuinely good to her subordinates.

Once he truly becomes her subordinate, he will no longer have to worry about being bitten to death by evil spirits.

He said, "Young man, what should we do? If we don't treat our wounds, we won't die, will we?"

"If we die, we won't be able to serve Lady Ji anymore. We truly want to serve her and repay her for saving our lives. Please think of something quickly."

Liang Zhonglin said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do about it!"

Seeing that Liang Zhonglin was truly helpless, several civil officials felt a sense of despair.

Does Heaven truly intend to destroy them?

Liang Zhonglin silently observed the group, secretly trying to figure out if they knew about her master's ability to conjure things.

Judging from their reactions, they didn't seem to have witnessed her master conjuring things up effortlessly.

He wondered what was going on, and then subtly asked them when they had gone up the mountain.

After confirming that they had arrived late and indeed hadn't seen anything, he added, "However, my master is a highly skilled physician. When he arrives, he'll take a look and perhaps there's still a way."

Hearing that Ji Yunshuang might have a solution, Fan Hongmiao and several other civil officials frequently looked up at the mountain, hoping that Ji Yunshuang would come down from the mountain soon.

As the fire on the mountain grew larger, the group couldn't help but feel anxious.