The peasant woman quickly calculated that the entire village had been preparing for a mass exodus th

"Xiao Feng, where are you?"

"Little Wind, it's getting dark, hurry home!"

Zhou's voice was choked with sobs, and it sounded particularly loud in the quiet night.

Inside the east room, the oil lamp was lit, and the voices of Zhao Ershu and Qian Shi could be heard:

"It looks like my sister-in-law."

"Xiao Feng hasn't come home yet, it's so late?"

Then, a short while later, the two of them got dressed and went out.

Zhao Taohua also threw off the covers, got dressed, and went out. She had only reached the door of the main room when she noticed a light drizzle outside.

Zhao Ershu had already put on his straw hat and raincoat, and was carrying a lantern, ready to go out.

"Hongyan, Taohua, you stay home. I'll go check on them. If they haven't returned yet, I'll help look for them."

After all, he's my nephew; we can't just sit idly by and watch him go missing.

"Okay, be careful."

"Dad, please come back soon."

Zhao Taohua looked at the lantern in Zhao Ershu's hand, the oil lamp burning quietly inside.

The dim firelight shone through the oil paper, barely illuminating the muddy path a few steps ahead.

After Zhao Ershu left, Madam Qian sighed, "Every time it rains, the temperature will drop. Peach Blossom, hurry back inside!"

Xiao Feng isn't a child anymore; he should be home soon.

Zhao Taohua hummed in agreement, then turned and went back to her room to sleep.

However, to Zhao Taohua's surprise, Zhao Ershu still hadn't returned by the next morning.

"Mother, where is Father?" Zhao Taohua asked.

“I’m still looking for your brother Xiaofeng. I just went to the old house and found that only Xiao Lei was home. No one else has come back.”

As Ms. Qian was speaking, a shout rang out again from the foot of the mountain: "Xiao Feng, where are you?"

A short while later, Zhao Ershu returned, his face pale from the cold, his eyes bloodshot from not sleeping all night, and his trousers covered in mud.

Madam Qian quickly took off his straw hat and raincoat: "Go back to your room and change into dry clothes, then go to the kitchen for a hot breakfast."

After Zhao Ershu took a sip of corn porridge, he began to sigh:

"We couldn't find Xiaofeng. My mother and sister-in-law said that Xiaofeng went up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs yesterday morning with a small shovel and a basket."

The mountain was so big that we searched all night along the surrounding mountains. We went to the top of the mountain and even the middle of the mountain, but we still couldn't find Xiaofeng.

I wonder how Xiaofeng is doing. Did he encounter wolves on the mountaintop?

Upon hearing this, Ms. Qian trembled slightly, her eyes filled with terror.

Xiao Feng is tall and thin. Although he is upright, he looks a bit frail, unlike Shen Ming who is tall and strong. Even wolves are afraid of him when he goes up the mountain. Xiao Feng's arrival on the mountain makes people worry that he will be eaten by wolves!

Zhao Taohua paused in peeling the egg and asked:

"Dad, are you sure Brother Xiaofeng went up the mountain?"

"Yes, it's cold in the mountains at night, and it rained last night. Even if Xiaofeng is an adult, it would be tough for him to spend the night in the mountains."

Right now, my parents have gone to find the village chief and asked everyone in the village to go up the mountain and help search.

Zhao Ershu said.

Sure enough, shouts soon echoed all around the village.

Zhao Taohua put the peeled egg into her mouth and got up to leave.

"Peach Blossom, where are you going?"

Zhao Ershu and Qian asked in surprise at the same time.

Zhao Taohua said with a serious expression, "Go find Brother Xiaofeng."

Just like Zhao Ershu said, it's cold and dangerous on the mountain at night, and besides, it rained last night.

Zhao Ershu and the people at the Zhao family's old house searched all night but couldn't find him. Either it was too dark for them to see Zhao Feng, who had already frozen unconscious, or he had been eaten by wolves.

Neither situation is good.

"Hey, you nitpicker, you didn't forget which villagers you promised to clear the land yesterday, did you?"

A little while later, Grandma Feng and the others came to call us, telling us to be sure to start cultivating the land obediently.

Before leaving, Zhao Taohua gently patted the troll's hand hanging by his side and gave him instructions.

After saying that, she turned around and continued walking forward, her hair swaying gently with her movements.

Just as Zhao Taohua was about to open the door, a muffled knocking sound came from outside:

"Peach Blossom, you..."

The door suddenly opened, and Zhou's words "Are you home?" caught in her throat.

Grandma Sun immediately rushed over and grabbed Zhao Taohua's arms, crying out:

"Peach Blossom, Xiao Feng has been missing in the mountains for a day and a night. Do you have any way to find him?"

Zhao Feng was the apple of Grandma Sun's eye, and she cried her eyes out.

Zhao Taohua pushed Grandma Sun away with great disdain:

"Grandma, I'm about to go find Brother Xiaofeng. If he's really on the mountain, I'll be able to find him."

Previously, when Zhou heard Grandma Sun say that she wanted to ask Tao Hua for help in finding Xiao Feng, she thought that Grandma Sun was out of her mind.

Although Peach Blossom has the ability to catch spirits, the mountains surrounding Zhao Family Village are so vast, what method could Peach Blossom possibly use to find Xiao Feng quickly?

But since Granny Sun was her mother-in-law, Zhou had no choice but to listen to her and come with her to find Peach Blossom.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Taohua actually had a solution?

Zhou was a little suspicious, wondering if Zhao Taohua was just bragging.

She frowned, her face full of exhaustion and anxiety. At worst, the whole village would help her find Xiaofeng.

Upon hearing Zhao Taohua's words, Grandma Sun immediately agreed!

She followed Zhao Taohua, hurrying down the mountain, her small feet moving so fast that Zhou could barely keep up.

When Zhao Taohua arrived at the foot of the mountain, she made a hand seal with her right hand and infused a wisp of spiritual energy into her fingertip, then channeled that spiritual energy into the ground beneath her feet.

"You troublemaker, come out here!"

As soon as Zhao Taohua finished speaking, many white lumps began to emerge one after another from the ground in front of her.

Their round, white bodies stood in a row, their black dot-like eyes all looking at Zhao Taohua, their mouths slightly open.

They were curious why Zhao Taohua had called them.

These days, no matter what the villagers do on the mountain, they haven't imitated wolf howls to lure wolves down and scare them.

Grandma Sun and Mrs. Zhou couldn't see the troublemakers; they could only stand behind Zhao Taohua and stare helplessly.

I had heard the village chief say before that the reason why wolves would come down the mountain whenever people approached the foot of the mountain was because these mischievous creatures would play tricks on them.

Later, these troublemakers were tamed by Peach Blossom.

Can they know where Xiaofeng is going?

Zhao Taohua asked the air, "Is there a sixteen-year-old boy in the mountains who didn't go home last night? He's tall and thin, carrying a basket on his back."

Grandma Sun quickly added, "Wearing coarse blue cloth clothes."

Upon hearing this, the mischievous children all shook their heads and nodded at Zhao Taohua.

Zhao Taohua's pupils contracted; sure enough, they were there.

"Peach blossoms, what do they say?" Zhou asked anxiously.

"On the mountain, they are now taking me to find Brother Xiaofeng."

As soon as Zhao Taohua finished speaking, Grandma Sun and Madam Zhou both breathed a sigh of relief.

However, they couldn't see the troublemaker, so they could only follow behind Zhao Taohua.

As they went up the mountain, they also encountered many villagers who were helping to find Zhao Feng.

Zhao Guangming, the eldest son of the village chief, said, "Aunt Sun, you searched all night. Go back and rest. We'll take over the search from now on."

"No, Peach Blossom said she already knows where Xiao Feng is through the troublemaker. I need to see Xiao Feng with my own eyes before I can feel at ease."

Not far away, Shen Ming heard what Grandma Sun said and looked over. He looked up and saw Zhao Taohua still climbing higher up the mountain.

Based on his years of hunting experience, he was very likely to encounter a pack of wolves further up the mountain.

He quickly stepped forward, grabbed Zhao Taohua by the back of her collar, and lifted her up into the air.

Zhao Taohua was startled, thinking she had stepped into an empty space.

But the next moment, her feet landed firmly on the ground again.

"You can't go any further up there. It's the mountaintop, there are wolves there, and the summit is too steep for you to climb."

Shen Ming's brows furrowed more and more as he spoke.

He looked at her small arms and legs; she couldn't fight the wolf and might even fall.

As soon as he appeared, the mischievous little devils who had been leading the way in front of Zhao Taohua were so frightened that they shrank back into the mountain.

Zhao Taohua raised her eyebrows slightly, her brows arching gently, a sly glint in her eyes.

These days, Shen Ming avoids her at all costs. The two of them are like two magnets with the same name, never able to get close, always keeping a one-meter distance.

She couldn't replenish her spiritual energy for several days, even though he was helping her build her new house every day, she just couldn't find him.

He practically delivered himself to her doorstep today; she wasn't about to let such an opportunity slip by.