She picked up the young prime minister while fleeing famine

"In fact, it's better for us江湖人 (jianghu people) to live like this. We're not afraid of being controlled by the imperial court, and we don't have to pay taxes or have to be subservient to others."

"Wandering outside the crowd, upholding justice in the martial world, helping others when you want to, leaving when you want to, stopping when you want to, you can make a name for yourself in the martial world when you are young, and retire to the mountains when you are old to open up a mountain, take on disciples and have someone to serve you. It's as happy as being an immortal!"

Mu Rongyi got more and more excited as she spoke, as if she had already figured out how she wanted to live her life.

However, someone poured cold water on him.

"Senior Brother, don't forget that you are here to revitalize the Divine Healer Valley. You can still enjoy yourself for a few days now, but once the Divine Healer Valley is taken back, you won't have time to roam the world with your sword."

Lian Chengmo couldn't stand his senior brother's smugness, so he immediately pulled the person who was about to float away back to the ground.

"..." Mu Rongyi, this lousy junior brother is no good.

"Hahahaha." Banxia couldn't stop laughing.

"Junior Sister, whose side are you on anyway?" Mu Rongyi asked resentfully.

"Hehe, I'm not taking sides, I'm only on my own side." Banxia wasn't about to be foolish enough to offend anyone, so she ran away as soon as she finished speaking.

As the saying goes, time flies in the mountains, but a thousand years pass in the world. In the blink of an eye, Banxia and the others have been back for five days.

These days, Banxia tidies up various places, goes up the mountain to cultivate herb gathering and hunting, and lives a very comfortable life.

After that day, Yao Li Village also replied to Lian Chengmo, saying that they wanted to stay in the valley and asked Lian Chengmo to provide them with a map.

Lian Chengmo was not surprised by this. The chances of choosing one of the two paths were generally average, so he was not at all surprised that Village Chief Yao chose the second one.

After all, if he were such a short-sighted person, he wouldn't have been able to lead the entire village out of its predicament. Even if the situation was as dire as it was in his previous life, it doesn't mean his choice was wrong.

After all, it was difficult to survive back then, let alone save the village and ensure the continuation of the family line.

Regardless of his past or present life, Village Chief Yao has already achieved this; making another choice now is merely icing on the cake.

However, there was a change in the situation. Qi Sanshui's family was involved. Qi Sanshui also participated in the discussion, but he didn't say a word from beginning to end. He only talked to Village Chief Yao afterwards about whether his family could go with Banxia.

It wasn't that he wanted to go out and live a good life with Banxia; it was that he was worried about his lost family and clan members, as well as his two sons who had been conscripted.

In fact, Qi Sanshui's family did not belong to Yaoli Village, and he was related to Banxia and her brother. He could have gone directly to Banxia without asking the village chief's opinion.

However, Qi Sanshui believes that since Yao Li Village is now in charge of Yao Li Village, he, as a villager, should first ask the village chief for his opinion.

Village Chief Yao had no objections. Although he had taken care of Qi Sanshui's family to some extent, they were not his own clansmen after all, so it was impossible for him to be particularly concerned or attentive to them.

It wasn't just Village Chief Yao; the other villagers didn't have any opinions after learning about this. In their view, Qi Sanshui's family were outsiders, and since they didn't share the same surname, it was naturally difficult for them to be of one mind.

Moreover, they went out to find their relatives and clansmen, and they would have done the same if they were in their shoes. They could understand it very well.

So on the day they left, besides Banxia and her family, Qi Sanshui's family also received many gifts from the villagers. Village Chief Yao even said that Qi Sanshui's house would be kept for him, just like Banxia's house.

If they ever want to come back, this is still a place for them to stay. This moved Qi Sanshui to tears, and Wu Shi also shed tears.

Qi Lei, the pillar of the family, had red eyes but did not shed a tear. He silently remembered everyone's kindness and vowed to repay them one day.

The raft was filled with everyone's gifts, and the young and strong men who had come back with them earlier were also leaving together this time.

The riverbank was filled with the elders and folks of Yaoli Village, a scene even more spectacular than the day they returned. The only difference was that on that day they were excited and happy, while today they were sad, heartbroken, and reluctant to part.

"Village chief, and all you uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters, please don't see us off. We'll come back when we have the chance." Banxia waved goodbye to everyone from the raft.

Lian Chengmo and Mu Rongyi stood on either side of her. One was not good with words, and the other was not used to such farewell scenes, so neither of them said a word.

The other young people in the group shouted loudly, telling their parents and relatives not to stand there to see them off, but to hurry home.

However, everyone insisted on waiting until the raft disappeared from sight, and stayed in the same spot for a long time before they traveled together. The women left with tears in their eyes, and the men slumped over.

They are doing this not only because they are saddened by the loss of their children, but also because they are saddened by the uncertainty of whether their children will ever return alive.

The situation outside is so chaotic; I heard that the children might even have to fight against the northern barbarians later.

The northern barbarians are difficult to fight, and as military households who have lived in the northern frontier for many years, how could they not know this?

No one knows how much they wanted to get rid of their military household status, and how much they wanted their children to never have to risk their lives on the battlefield again. This was also a consideration for Village Chief Yao's refusal to go to Li County to join the Mo Family Army.

They can't put all their eggs in one basket. So many people from their village have already joined the army; they can't afford to lose another batch of people.

So even though the Ten Thousand Mountains were dangerous, Village Chief Yao still chose the second route, which gave them control and was also advantageous to them.

Right now, Village Chief Yao is hoping that the outside world will soon be at peace. If their village can help the new emperor conquer the Ten Thousand Mountains, that will be the best time for their entire clan to leave the mountains.

Perhaps they could even go directly to the capital and change their allegiance. With this goal in mind, Village Chief Yao began to work hard after Banxia and the others left.

The greatest danger when traveling in the mountains is encountering wild beasts such as tigers, wolves, and leopards. The second greatest danger is the invisible dangers of miasma, venomous snakes, and poisonous insects.

Having lived in the valley for so long, Banxia and Mu Rongyi have taught Li Langzhong a lot. Now he can make medicine packets to prevent poisonous insects, snakes, and ants, as well as antidotes to dispel miasma.

Moreover, the young and middle-aged men of Yaoli Village are now completely different from before, thanks to Lin Shu's guidance. Even if they encounter a pack of wolves while walking in groups in the forest, they can still escape even if they cannot kill them.

So as soon as Banxia and the others left, Village Chief Yao gathered the young and strong men from the thirty villages to discuss and study the map given by Liancheng Mo, intending to start exploring from the valley near their own.

However, they still remembered that Banxia had said they couldn't go to the miasma forest on the other side of the mountain, so they planned to go along the river.

Meanwhile, after Banxia and the others went downstream, the atmosphere became somewhat tense, because most of these people were willing to go to the northern frontier to fight the northern barbarians.

They grew up in the northern frontier, and all of their family members had lost their lives at the hands of the northern barbarians. Although the invasion of the northern barbarians gave them a chance to escape that hellish place, how could the young people not feel pain when they thought of the elders of their tribe who voluntarily stayed behind?

Given the nature of the northern barbarians, those who remained would undoubtedly die; to die without suffering was considered a mercy from them.

Many more of the captured civilians were tortured to death, played to death, and humiliated to death. Some were even eaten by the northern barbarians as meat to replenish military supplies.

In short, the Northern Barbarian Lands are a desolate and wild place where people live like wild beasts, devoid of any humanity.