The Liao Feng Mountain in the night was like a sword of the gods inverted into the earth, straight and upright, pointing to the nine heavens, as if it was about to pierce the sky.

The firelight was particularly striking in the darkness, climbing steadily upward, stopping after about fifteen minutes.

In the pitch-darkness of the mountainside, the sudden appearance of the firelight was overly dazzling, forcing people to squint their eyes. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The old servant of the Wen Family shook his head, fixed his eyes, and saw a person holding a torch standing five steps away.

She was backlit by the firelight, making it impossible to see her features clearly or to discern whether she was male or female.

The quiet appearance gave the impression of a mountain charm spirit, truly scaring a cold sweat out of the old servant, causing him to hold his breath instinctively, dare not to ask whether the other was human or charm.

Until a steady female voice sounded in front of him.

"Is this the new County Magistrate of Kaiyang County, Lord Wen Changli?"

The old servant exhaled sharply, human, and a girl at that!

He hurriedly replied, "Yes, we are. The County Magistrate is right here! May I ask who you are?"

"I am Qin Yao, Village Chief of Liu Family Village under Kaiyang County. I heard the Lord was trapped in danger and came here to rescue. May I ask if the Lord is alright?" Qin Yao loudly inquired.

The wind on the mountainside was much stronger than at the foot of the mountain. If she didn’t raise her voice, the sound would be swallowed by the howling mountain wind.

The torch swayed left and right, about to extinguish; Qin Yao simply inserted it into a crevice by the stone steps and shielded it with her body.

The firelight illuminated her face, revealing a beautiful countenance, with eyes sharp as an eagle’s, where a fierce flame flickered. She slightly narrowed her eyes and swept them over, just when Wen Changli, who had just sat up from the ground, unexpectedly met these eyes, and his mind, tormented all day, found great solace.

These were eyes brimming with confidence, seeing nothing worth sparing a glance at. Seeing them gave a sense of reliability.

"Village Chief Qin?" Wen Changli, who was hoarse from fright, finally found a bit of his own voice, though it was terribly hoarse from not speaking all day.

Qin Yao nodded, "Here I am."

She gazed intently, seeing clearly the appearance of the new County Magistrate, a slim man of about forty-something, with a small mustache, wedged tightly between a mountain crevice and the old servant. Only half of his upper body protruded from behind the old servant, his face devoid of blood, his eyes red and swollen, looking as if he’d been crying.

"Does the Lord still have strength?" Qin Yao asked.

Seeing she was a woman, he felt a bit embarrassed but quite honestly said, "Both legs are weak..."

Before the words were finished, his eyes turned red, tinged with a bit of regret.

This reaction could be said to be quite genuine.

But the old servant, upon noticing no other government officer behind Qin Yao, quickly asked, "Did the village chief come alone? How will we carry my master down the mountain?"

"It’s extremely cold up here. If we linger, I fear for my master’s life!"

The anxious old servant was unaware that his own face looked quite terrible, barely holding on.

Qin Yao hissed, first taking off the quilt from her back, gesturing for the two to cover themselves for warmth, and then turned to overlook the path she came from.

All around was pitch black; the surrounding cliffs were utterly invisible.

To ordinary people, such a situation is very grim.

For Qin Yao, however, it was better because not seeing meant not being afraid.

Seeing the master and servant covering themselves and their lip colors improving, Qin Yao bluntly said, "I came up alone, but you two need not panic. I was born with great strength. If you two are willing to cooperate, we can leave this cursed place quickly and safely reach the foot of the mountain."

Wen Changli immediately said bitterly, "I can’t stand up."

The old servant consoled his master, "Don’t worry, my lord. If you cannot safely descend, I will stay with you."

After speaking, he again asked Qin Yao if she had any solutions. He could still walk, but his old eyes were failing, and he feared not seeing the road clearly at night.

However, under any circumstances, if anything happens, he begged Qin Yao to ensure his master’s safety first.

Wen Changli, moved, grasped the old servant’s hand, "Don’t mind me. As long as one of us survives, today it’s all because I implicated you. If I hadn’t suddenly wanted to climb and view the scenery, you wouldn’t be stuck in this situation unable to go up or down."

Qin Yao quietly watched these two perform a heartfelt master-servant relationship before her for a while, containing herself until she could no longer bear it. Under the old servant’s horrified gaze, she delivered a chop with her hand, knocking the chattering Wen Changli unconscious!

"What are you doing?" The old servant was shocked, quickly reaching out to catch his fallen master, glaring at Qin Yao.

"If you want to get down, listen to me." Qin Yao coolly glanced at the old servant, subduing him, instructed him to wrap Wen Changli in the quilt, leaving only the head out, and bind the rest tightly with hemp rope.

The old servant, seeing her confident demeanor, skeptically bound his master into a human-shaped dumpling.

With a section of rope left over, Qin Yao tied one end around her waist, handing the other end to the old servant, "Tie it tight like I did, otherwise if you fall halfway, I won’t have time to save you."

When the old servant finished tying the rope, Qin Yao motioned him to take the torch, walk ahead to light up the path, while she slung the human dumpling over her shoulder, "Bend down and bow your head when you walk, and keep your eyes on the trail, don’t look elsewhere."

Her voice was so cold that it roused the old servant entirely awake, his eyes widened, legs stepping carefully down the stone steps.

Not seeing the perilous cliffs around indeed made it less frightening, and with a fierce woman accompanying him, he suppressed that strange relief, step by step downward, unconsciously reaching the initial section with iron chains.

Voices were heard, the excited soft calls of government office officers from Kaiyang County, and upon receiving Qin Yao’s response, knowing persons were near, they scrambled to climb up the chains to assist.

First, they helped down the old servant, soaked in sweat, and then Qin Yao carrying the person.

Perhaps not expecting the new County Magistrate to appear in dumpling form, the assisting officers were momentarily stunned before they reacted, together moving this human-shaped large dumpling to the carriage at the mountain base.

The County Magistrate stepped forward to inspect, the person inside the quilt was eyes closed, chest seemingly unheaving.

"Miss Qin, the County Magistrate is he?"

Qin Yao, winding up the removed rope, nodded heavily, "Don’t worry, alive. Rest assured with my handling."

"Just... when he wakes up, his neck might be a tad sore, but it’ll be fine in two or three days."

The calls of unknown beasts echoed from the forest; Liu Ji, already a bit cold, rubbed his arms urging:

"The man is saved; let’s return quickly to first settle the County Magistrate safely."

The County Magistrate gratefully bowed to Qin Yao, inviting her to first rest a night at the county office.

Qin Yao agreed; she needed to wait for the new County Magistrate to wake up and thank his savior.

Everyone, some mounted, others in carriages, grandly returned to the county seat of Kaiyang County.

Liu Ji was exceedingly grateful that his lady advised him to bring a quilt, laying it on the wide desk at the back hall of the government office; the lady slept on one side, and he on the other, blissfully.

But waking up surprised to find the lady on the desk, himself on the ground.

Liu Ji: Meow???