How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

The patrolman and Xinlan rolled to the side, caught up in their passion, and didn't notice anything amiss. Qingru, forgetting her embarrassment, quickly led them towards the mass grave.

The group moved stealthily, like cats, and luckily the wind was strong and the patrolman was not paying attention to his surroundings, so they quickly passed through that section.

Few people come near the mass grave, and the police never come by at night. But having just experienced something absurd, the group dared not let their guard down and continued to walk close to the wall.

Under the cover of darkness and waist-high weeds, the group quickly arrived at the mass grave before daring to breathe freely.

Qingru dared not stop and quickly had Luchaibang'er lead the way to the dense forest first. Even if they wanted to save Xinlan, there was no rush.

Fortunately, the journey went smoothly, and the group successfully entered the grove. Qingru handed the flashlight, compass, and camera to Guiying and Luchaibang'er respectively, fearing something might happen and hoping someone could smuggle the evidence out. Without help, it was uncertain whether Qiushuang could escape on her own, so Qingru dared not entrust her with that task.

After settling everyone in, Qingru turned back. She wanted to save people, but she didn't intend to risk her own life. More importantly, a sudden, immature idea popped into her head. Xiao Erlang, needless to say, trusted her completely, and seeing that Luchaibang'er did the same, then... with some training, he might be able to work for her in the future. As for what he would do, she hadn't decided yet. In short, showing her loyalty and righteousness in front of everyone could only bring benefits, not harm.

A few people may not be enough, but if they all come together, they might be able to achieve something great.

Stopping her wild thoughts, Qingru hurried toward the doghouse.

The dogs barked wildly at the sight of strangers, drool dripping from their mouths, their fur standing on end, their blood-red eyes glaring, as if they would relentlessly chase and bite anyone they saw.

Qingru couldn't help but swallow hard. Damn it, she had no doubt that once the door was opened, the dog would jump out and bite her neck, tearing her flesh apart.

Despite her fear, Qingru still took action.

She stood on the roof of the doghouse, holding a wooden stick, and forcefully knocked off the bolt.

The dog suddenly darted out, jumping and barking around Qingru. The other dogs were also startled, and the mass grave was instantly filled with barking.

The dog's hind legs were slightly bent, and its front legs were stretched forward, assuming a posture as if it were about to pounce at any moment, with a sinister glint in its eyes.

"Oh no, even a deaf person could hear that sound." The barking was deafening, enough to make one's heart tremble. In this quiet place, if one dog howled, the others would stretch their necks and howl, the sound shaking the surrounding area and sending chills down one's spine.

Not daring to linger any longer, Qingru poked the dog's mouth with the stick, soaked it in its saliva, and then threw it forcefully towards the patrol officers.

Sure enough, the dog instinctively went after the stick.

Qingru quickly got down and rolled around in the mass grave to get muddy, so that the dog wouldn't follow her scent.

Then he took off running, his legs like they were wound up, running forward with all his might, panting heavily, his lungs aching from the effort.

Hearing the barking of dogs and the exclamations of the patrol officers and Xinlan from afar, Qingru silently apologized. It was too late to stop them now.

Ha, Qingru thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile. In the past six months, she hadn't learned anything except how to run away perfectly.

Catching her breath, Qingru didn't dare to stop for a moment and quickly rejoined the others, heading deeper into the dense forest together.

The light in the dense forest grew even dimmer, and the occasional gusts of cold wind rustling through the branches startled birds, along with the distant barking of dogs, made Qiu Shuang even more frightened. "Xiao Cui, can we escape? There... there aren't any ghosts here, are there?"

Luchaibang'er finally revealed her true nature, or rather, this was simply her nature. Upon hearing this, she said, "You're afraid of ghosts? Have ghosts ever harmed you? You weren't this afraid even in the mass grave."

When Qiu Shuang was shoved in the mouth by the reed stick, she immediately stopped and moved away from the reed stick a little before following Gui Ying.

Guiying was used to walking on mountain roads, so the bumpy terrain was no problem for her at all.

However, Guiying was also a little worried. "Sister Lü, there are no paths in this forest. If we walk through it, we will inevitably leave traces. If they catch up, won't they find us very quickly?"

Qingru also noticed that the temperature in the forest was lower and there was still some snow that hadn't melted, so walking on it would inevitably leave traces.

However, she couldn't reveal her worries to these three people, and calmly said, "Don't worry, even if they follow the trail and catch up, we've already left. They won't find us so easily. When we get out, we'll go to Shanghai for a while and go back to our hometown when things have calmed down."

There was no better way, and the group knew the situation, but they didn't expect Qingru to suggest that they go to Shanghai.

"Are you going too?" Luchaibang'er had no other thoughts. She had lost her parents, and since coming to the yarn factory, only Qingru had shown her kindness. Therefore, she only wanted to follow Qingru.

Qingru walked ahead with the compass in hand. Hearing the question, she replied, "I won't go. I have my own things to do. The matter of the Dongyang Cotton Mill must be made public, otherwise more girls will be deceived. You have seen it yourself. They don't take the bonded female workers seriously at all. They beat and scold them at the drop of a hat, and they have even killed people. We should not let this continue to happen."

Guiying pondered for a moment and said, "Can I help too? Then I won't leave. I'll do whatever you want. Although I don't know anything about these things, I have a lot of strength, and I also have sisters from my village working in the yarn factory. I can't abandon them."

Lu Chai Bang'er said, "I'm not going either. I'm going to follow you, Sister Lü. I'll do whatever you do. If you drink tea, I'll boil water for you. If you eat, I'll cook dishes for you."

Qiu Shuang bit her lower lip, feeling both reluctant and afraid to speak. However, since Gui Ying and the other woman had both expressed their opinions, she couldn't remain silent. So she said weakly, "I...I won't leave either. I have sisters from the same village with me."

Hearing what the three people said, Qingru felt somewhat comforted, realizing that her efforts had not been in vain.

"Sigh, if all women in the world helped each other, there would be no trouble in getting things done. Your intentions are all there... Well, let's get out first. If we can't even escape ourselves, how can we talk about the future?"

Qingru didn't elaborate further; sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

Moreover, this was merely a spur-of-the-moment idea of ​​hers to build her own power base. At this point, she had neither money nor influence, so she couldn't convince anyone.

Qingru took out a compass and headed towards the place they had agreed upon. However, Guo Zixing and the others were waiting on the outskirts of the dense forest, so Qingru had to find her own way out.

"How come I've never heard of this forest before?" Qingru has lived in this area for twenty years and has never been here before.

None of the three, including Qiu Shuang, were locals, so they knew even less.

About fifteen minutes later, the sound of flowing water could be heard. Qingru led the people over, and what lay before them was a cliff. Looking ahead, a damp mist rose up, and to the left was a waterfall, about twenty or thirty meters high.

The waterfall was surrounded by white clouds, like a group of fierce beasts roaring down the mountain, its majestic roar like thunder, its surging waves like snowflakes rolling and crashing.

Although one cannot see its magnificent appearance, one can tell from the sound of the roaring lion that it must be a difficult and dangerous obstacle.

Qingru's throat was dry and she felt unwell. How was she going to cross this river?

Why didn't Guo Zixing inform me of these details?

Guiying and the other two looked troubled, as well as shocked and worried.

It was Qingru who made the decision: "Let's go upstream. As long as the current isn't too strong, we can help each other wade across."

Guiying meant the same thing.

The group walked upstream along the riverbank, but the river seemed endless, widening as they went further. Qingru threw a stone into the water to test its depth, but only heard a dull "thump."

Qingru grew increasingly uneasy. What was going on? If it were just a small river, it wouldn't be so bad if Guo Zixing hadn't mentioned it. But the river was so wide, why hadn't he warned her? Had he not received her messages?

Shaking her head, Qingru didn't dare entrust her well-being to others and quickly focused on thinking of a solution. She had experience surviving in the mountains; after falling into the water last time, she and Xin Wu Hui had spent some time in the mountains, so she figured she could do it again this time.

I glanced at my pocket watch; it was already past three. Strangely, no one had caught up with us. That was a good thing, though; perhaps no one cared whether they were alive or dead.

But even with the best of luck, it's impossible to survive until tomorrow morning. Six o'clock in the morning is the time to hand over the work. Not counting the time to get up and wash, there are only a little over two hours left before being discovered.

In addition to the distance they had traveled... Qingru looked back and realized that it would probably take them some time to catch up, which bought her some more time.

Qingru felt a pang of guilt; she had already guessed where this "river" was.

The Qingjiang River is a river that stretches across most of the country. The small river within Sifang City is just one of its branches. Because of its calm and tranquil nature, it is called the Mi River.

Have I already reached the Qingjiang River? If I go any further up, even if I can't find a way to cross the river, I can still see that tributary, the Mi River.

The Mi River isn't deep, so crossing it wouldn't be difficult. However, there must be houses nearby, and we, in our disheveled state, would be quite conspicuous. We were afraid someone would inform on us.

Qingru told the news to the group. Guiying was worried, Luchaibang was fearless, and Qiushuang was anxious.

"What should I do? I can't swim either."

Qingru didn't look at her, but looked into the distance, where there were only scattered stars and dark lights, and there was really no beautiful scenery to speak of.

I wonder where Guo Zixing is waiting?

Zhang Yan told her that she should head north from the edge of the dense forest and wait for her at the foot of Dai Mei Mountain, but Qingru was no longer sure.

First, the route went wrong, and then there was no movement from Mount Daimei for so long. It was agreed that phosphorescent powder would be applied to the eagle claws raised by Commander Guo so that she could determine their location, but she looked up several times and the night sky was quiet, with no other light except for a few stars.

Another question is, after leaving the dense forest, how can I follow the Mi River back to Sifang City?

Qingru kept all these questions buried in her heart and processed them on her own.

They were all quite tired by this point. The mountain path was difficult to traverse, and the group had worked all day, only having drunk a little bit of thin porridge. Their stomachs were now empty.

Qingru was also very tired.

"Let's rest for a while before we leave."

Qiu Shuang hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Qingru saw her reaction but didn't respond. She looked down on this kind of personality. Saving her was just a side thing. If they hadn't been working at the same time, Qingru wouldn't have taken her along.

"Xiao Cui..." Qiu Shuang paused for a moment before speaking again, "Where is the person you promised to meet us? Why haven't they arrived yet? If they don't come soon, will we be arrested?"

She anxiously tugged at Qingru's sleeve, while Qingru lowered her head, pondering how to respond.

"You won't get us into trouble, will you? We're so far away, where are we?"

Qingru looked up, her eyes suddenly sharpening, and her voice turning cold. "If you don't trust me, you can leave on your own. There's no need to follow me while harboring doubts."

Qiu Shuang pursed her lips, tears welling in her eyes, knowing she was in a dilemma. She might as well grit her teeth and escape with Qing Ru; perhaps a different world awaited them.

Qingru stopped talking, but Luchaibang'er wouldn't tolerate her. "Hey, Sister Lü doesn't owe you anything. She escaped with you, what more do you want? She's just a weak woman. We all figured out how to escape together. Don't think it was just for you."

Qiu Shuang began to sob, and Qing Ru suppressed her impatience and said, "Don't worry, now that we're out, we won't go back. But if you keep being so timid, you'll only hold us back. You should know that we haven't completely left the dense forest yet."

Qingru's voice was gentle and soothing, with a firm yet kind tone that drew people in. Qiushuang looked into her eyes again and saw that although Qingru's sallow complexion was not beautiful, she possessed a dignified and composed demeanor, and her eyes shone with an unwavering determination that inspired a strong sense of trust in her.

Qiu Shuang herself was the same. For some reason, Qing Ru could make her feel at ease and trust her unconditionally just by saying a few words to her.

Seeing that she was in a better mood, Qingru called the others to set off again, saying as they walked, "It's almost four o'clock now. After five o'clock, people in the southwest corner of the yarn factory will start to wake up. If they don't find out that someone is missing by then, Zhang Dali will definitely find out by six o'clock. Although we don't know why no one came after us last night, we won't be able to hide it once it's light. As for the people who will meet us... we shouldn't count on them too much. Maybe we can meet them, maybe we can't. The main thing is that we have to save ourselves."

After saying all this, Guiying and the other two understood. She and Luchaibang'er trusted Qingru, so there was nothing to say. They followed her lead in everything. Qiushuang was even more afraid of being left behind, so she didn't dare to object.