My treasure bowl connects the past and present; I've won everything on my journey into exile.

Rumble!

Rumble!

……

A sound like thunder interrupted Du Hengbai's words.

Du Hengbai subconsciously looked up at the sky.

Although the sky was overcast, there was absolutely no chance of thunder or rain.

But where did that sound come from? Why is it so scary?

Just as Du Hengbai was searching everywhere for the source of the strange sound, someone suddenly shouted:

"Master, look up at the mountain!"

Reminded by someone, Du Hengbai immediately looked up at the towering mountains not far away.

Upon seeing this, his eyes narrowed slightly.

He now finally knew where the sound was coming from.

Someone rolled several wooden barrels down from the top of the mountain.

The sounds we just heard were from the barrel rolling and hitting the stone.

Du Hengbai became nervous. Was the person rolling down the wooden barrel an enemy or a friend?

After considering the situation, he immediately told everyone to hide in his house while he went to check on the situation.

The situation is already as bad as it can get.

If they are enemies, I'll just die first. After all, they're not far from death either; they're just holding on and waiting to see when they'll collapse.

If they are friends, then there is hope for them.

With his last glimmer of hope, Du Hengbai stumbled and staggered down the mountain.

When we reached the foot of the mountain, we saw several broken wooden barrels.

The wooden barrel contained bags that looked like grain.

Du Hengbai's eyes reddened.

Without thinking twice, he rushed forward to confirm, and upon discovering that it truly was grain, he immediately turned around and roared with all his might:

"Quick, quick, someone come! There's food! We're saved!"

Du Hengbai's words were like a drop of water falling into a pan of oil, instantly causing an explosion.

The people of Dujiazhuang rushed towards this place like madmen, stumbling and staggering.

When they saw that it was indeed pure white rice, everyone suddenly burst into tears.

They have food now; they are saved.

Du Hengbai quickly composed himself and immediately ordered his men to take the grain down and cook it.

After everyone left, he was left alone at the foot of the mountain, with wooden barrel fragments scattered everywhere.

He looked at the towering mountains and wondered who was coming up there to help him.

Who knew that their Du Family Village was besieged by their enemies?

When he was first besieged, he thought about leaving to get help.

But when they arrived, they discovered that the ropes lowered from the mountaintop had long been cut.

The mountain was so smooth and flat, as if it had been carved with a knife, that it was impossible to climb without something to hold onto.

Previously, some clansmen, unwilling to give up, tried to climb out of here, relying on their martial arts skills, but they didn't even make it halfway up before falling down.

So, who was the person who dropped the grain from the mountaintop?

Butler Du rushed over upon receiving the news.

"Master," Butler Du said excitedly.

"What's the situation now? Who sent us the food?"

Du Hengbai shook his head. He was about to say he didn't know when a thick rope suddenly dropped down from the mountaintop.

Not long after, a man dressed in tight-fitting clothes and with a lithe physique quickly slid down the mountain along the rope.

Du Hengbai became tense.

He pulled a dagger from his pocket, his eyes warily fixed on the man who had fallen to the ground.

"Who are you? Who sent you here?"

Du Hengbai's voice was hoarse and fierce.

He had never seen this person before.

Xu Xuesong, who had just untied himself, glanced at him and said coldly:

“My surname is Xu, Xu Xuesong, a member of the Xu family. Our young mistress sent us here to rescue you.”

The Xu family...

Du Hengbai's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked excitedly, "Mrs. Xu, Lin Mo?"

"Yes." Xu Xuesong nodded.

Judging from his emaciated appearance, if they had arrived two days later, the entire Du family would probably have starved to death.

Upon hearing that it was someone sent by Lin Mo, Du Hengbai put away his dagger.

He apologized frankly and directly, "I'm sorry about earlier."

I didn't know if you were friend or foe, which is why I pointed a dagger at you. I hope you won't be angry.

Xu Xuesong didn't take it to heart, after all, it was a very normal reaction.

He should be thanking his lucky stars that he wasn't stabbed when he landed.

When Du Hengbai asked him why the young mistress knew about their accident and sent people to rescue them, Xu Xuesong turned to look at him, a slight smile playing on her lips:

"To be honest, your Du family is very lucky and has a long life."

Du Sheng, that traitor, took the wrong medicine and went to cause trouble for our young mistress, ending up in her hands.

Judging from Du Sheng's smug look and the fact that there has been no news from your Du family for so long, the young mistress guessed that something must have happened to your Du family.

So they sent someone to deliver a message to me as quickly as possible, asking me to check on the situation.

At this point, Du Sheng paused for a moment before continuing:

"do you know?

We guessed that you might have been trapped for three months. Everyone thought that your Du family was probably all dead, and we all felt that there was no need to come here.

Our young mistress insisted that we come in person to confirm, so we rushed over.”

Du Hengbai's eyes swirled with emotion, and after a long while, he finally spoke:

“Our Du family owes your young mistress an immense debt of gratitude, a debt that I, Du Hengbai, will forever remember.”

He also felt somewhat ashamed.

He felt ashamed that he hadn't listened to Madam Du.

Before leaving, Madam Xu told me to cut ties decisively and not to be sentimental.

Now, because of his grandfather's and his own womanly compassion, the Du family was almost wiped out.

And his grandfather...

If he could have endured another half an hour, he wouldn't have died.

Now, all I can say is that it's fate.

Xu Xuesong glanced at him and shook his head:

"The exit of your Dujiazhuang village has been blocked with bricks by Du Sheng's men, and about a hundred people are also stationed at the other exit."

I brought relatively few people this time, so I can't directly engage in combat with them.

That's why it took some time to transport the food from the mountain to you."

They don't have many men, and if they want to wipe out the more than one hundred people outside, they will need the help of the people from Dujia Village.

But now, everyone in Dujia Village is too weak from hunger, and it will take them a few more days to recover before they can help.

After chatting with them in a low voice for a while, Xu Xuesong climbed out of Dujiazhuang along the rope.

There are still more than a hundred people in Dujiazhuang, and the little bit of food that was just thrown down is not enough.

He also had to go out and lead people to buy and deliver grain to them.

As Xu Xuesong's figure grew smaller and smaller, a murderous intent surged in Du Hengbai's eyes.

Du Sheng was determined to bring this traitor back and use his blood to pay tribute to the Du family members who died in the siege.

Butler Du's eyes reddened, "If only the old patriarch could have held on for another half hour..."

"Uncle Du, this is probably fate." Du Hengbai interrupted him, shaking his head.

"Now is not the time to think about these things. We need to think carefully about how to work with the Xu family from the inside to kill all these people outside."

As he said this, Du Hengbai's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

After this incident, Du Hengbai completely lost his previous naivety, and gained a sense of determination and ruthlessness.

Uncle Du looked pleased. "Patriarch, we'll all listen to you. We'll do whatever you say."

If the old patriarch could see the current patriarch, he would surely be very pleased.

The head of the family will definitely be able to support the Du family.

And in the following days.

Xu Xuesong did not alert the people guarding the gate, and secretly delivered food and medicine to the people of Dujia Village every day.

Du Hengbai wasted no time. After resting for a day, he led the Du family members to begin a gradual physical exercise routine.

Having been trapped for so long, the people of Dujia Village were already seething with anger.

Therefore, everyone was sharpening their fists, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the outsiders at any time.

By the seventh day, the Du family members had almost fully recovered.

So when Xu Xuesong arrived, Du Hengbai immediately suggested that they could take action.

They had already discussed the action plan two days prior.

By coordinating efforts from both inside and outside, they caught the opponent off guard.

After confirming that they were all alright and agreeing on a time for the operation, Xu Xuesong climbed out.

In order to smash down the wall as quickly as possible, Du Hengbai even led people to open the furnace and hit it with several large iron hammers.

As night fell, upon hearing the whistling outside, Du Hengbai, who had been lying in wait at the gate for some time, did not hesitate to lead his men to pick up iron hammers and smash them hard against the wall that had trapped them for almost three months.

The moment the wall collapsed, Du Hengbai grabbed his longsword and charged out first.

That night, bloodshed became the dominant theme.

The screams added depth to the overall tone.

When everything returned to calm, the moon's gentle light had already fallen upon the earth.

The people of Dujiazhuang cheered as they watched their enemies fall to the ground in the snow.

Du Hengbai exhaled a cold breath, "Xuesong, I can't thank you enough for such a great kindness."

Xu Xuesong waved his hand at him, "Don't say things like that."

If you should thank someone, it shouldn't be me; I was just following orders.

I'm taking my men back now. The cleanup is up to you.

Until we meet again!

After saying that, without waiting for Du Hengbai to speak, he left with his men.

Du Hengbai stood there and watched Xu Xuesong and the others leave.

Only after they had walked far away and disappeared into the darkness did he withdraw his gaze and order people to clean up the scene.

He would never forget the great kindness shown to Madam Xu.

……