Chapter 55: Taking the Rear Path

For now, Tian Mi decided to focus on opening the restaurant and pharmacy first. Once those were up and running, she would turn her attention to the beauty shop.

Although Qinghe County had opened its gates, it was still quite desolate inside. It would likely take some time to fully recover. Xu Feiyan and Chen Miaomiao came to help at Tian Mi’s house, as she needed to brew soy sauce and vinegar first. The quantity of space available to her was limited, and it wasn’t easy to bring things out without a good reason.

Fortunately, the kitchen at her house was well-stocked, so making these items wasn’t too difficult, though it was time-consuming.

The four of them stayed there that night. The ingredients, such as sorghum and soybeans, were available in this time period, and Tian Mi had collected quite a bit from the bandit’s lair.

She had them tidy up the rooms while she went out to buy a few things. Fortunately, there was some luck involved; at least the ceramic shop still had quite a few large jars. Tian Mi immediately bought thirty of them and had them sent back to her house. The shop owner was delighted—it was the first day the city gates had opened, and he had already received such a big order.

Tian Mi toured around and gathered the necessary ingredients.

The four of them steamed, mixed, and started their work the night before. Once everything had cooled, Tian Mi quietly added a small amount of spiritual spring water, and by the next day, they had completed eight full jars—five jars of soy sauce and three of vinegar.

Next, all they had to do was wait!

Xu Feiyan asked, “Tian Mi, what are these things?”

Tian Mi answered, “I read about these in a strange book before. I’m not sure if they will work, but we can try.”

After Xu Feiyan and Chen Miaomiao returned home, Tian Mi and Minghui Jie headed back to the valley. The renovation funds had been given to her elder uncle and Xu Ershu the night before.

Tian Mi’s next plan was to search for Bai Dongyuan with Yanzu, and at the same time, hunt some game to stock up in her space. It was also time to prepare for their wedding banquet, which would be held soon.

She gave Minghui Jie a couple of taels of silver to take care of things at home before setting out.

From her current position, Tian Mi deduced that if Bai Dongyuan wanted to hide in the mountains, he would likely head west, as that direction had a continuous mountain range.

So, Tian Mi also set off westward and instructed Yanzu to lead the search in that direction.

On the way, they encountered snakes, wild goats, rabbits, deer, and wild boars, all of which were collected into her space.

She didn’t overlook valuable Chinese herbs either.

After a whole day of searching, there was still no trace of Bai Dongyuan.

That night, Tian Mi rested in her space. The deep mountains were eerie, and occasionally, they could hear the howls of wolves! The next day, Tian Mi ventured further into the wild and came across a large herd of wild goats and wild cattle. The goats numbered more than fifty, and the cattle had about twenty. Without hesitation, she collected half of them into her space.

This was her chance to get rich! In the future, she could raise them, and just milking them would be enough to fund her beauty shop. She could also develop other products. She was on the path to becoming a wealthy lady.

After riding westward until the evening, when the sunset dyed the sky red, Yanzu finally returned and led her southward. It was clear that they had picked up the scent of human tracks heading south.

Finally, there were signs of life. Tian Mi was overjoyed!

How had Bai Dongyuan hidden his things so far away?

They rode for over twenty more miles, and as nightfall approached, Yanzu slowly came to a stop. Tian Mi dismounted and stored Yanzu in her space, cautiously moving forward. She could now faintly see some lights ahead.

It was a narrow valley formed between two large mountains. They had dug numerous caves into the mountainside and even built a simple dirt wall around it, about two meters high, likely to protect themselves from wild animals. It seemed Bai Dongyuan had no plans of leaving this remote place. He likely intended to stay hidden for a few years, change his identity, and live a quiet life.

But Tian Mi wasn’t here just to do Bai Mucheng’s bidding. She wanted to find out where Bai Dongyuan had left his escape route. She intended to take advantage of his back path.

As she approached the wall, she could hear the sounds of people eating and drinking from within. With Bai Dongyuan’s defeat, his soldiers had gradually abandoned him. The only ones who stayed behind in this deep mountain hideout were the die-hard loyalists, a mere two or three people.

It was clear now that Bai Dongyuan had made ample preparations here. They had enough food and supplies to last them for years, and there were even nearly a hundred women, allowing them to settle here for a while.

However, it was apparent that Bai Dongyuan’s treasure stash was hidden in a place only he knew.

Clever!

Inside the wall, the atmosphere was lively, with meat roasting and wine being drunk. In the deep mountains, it was easy for the men to go hunting. Bai Dongyuan, surrounded by two women, laughed along with the others, many of whom had their arms around a woman, eating and drinking.

“The days are better when we don’t have to fight for survival!” one man said.

“Yes! General, it seems even Nan Jun City won’t be able to hold out. Soon, they’ll be joining us in this carefree life,” another added.

Laughter erupted.

Bai Dongyuan raised his cup, “Brothers, since you’ve followed me, I won’t let you go without. In a few years, once this matter dies down, we’ll rise again. Don’t worry, we’ll go out of the mountains and bring each of you a woman to serve you properly.”

The group cheered loudly, drinking wine and feeding it to the half-dressed women nearby. The flickering firelight illuminated the wild men of the valley.

As night deepened, the valley gradually became quiet except for the sounds of the women’s cries and gasps.

Finally, when it was dead quiet, Tian Mi began to execute her plan. If she took everything from the valley, Bai Dongyuan would eventually go to the place where he hid his treasures to retrieve them.

She quietly climbed over the wall. With no one guarding the night, and the remote location, there was no one around.

She threw sleeping powder into every cave, then, wearing a gas mask, she entered the caves. She gathered all their food, alcohol, cloth, medicinal herbs, weapons, horses, and anything else she could find into her space.

There was a lot of food—corn, wheat, soybeans, and more. Tian Mi estimated that with about three to four hundred people in the valley, they had enough to last five or six years.

To her surprise, they had over two hundred horses, and the valley behind them was filled with them.

Tian Mi didn’t harm anyone. She only wanted to make Bai Dongyuan suspicious.

She also had Yanzu memorize Bai Dongyuan’s appearance.

Then, she left.

Sure enough, the next day, the valley was in chaos! Bai Dongyuan was woken by his guards.

“General, our food, horses, and weapons are all gone,” his subordinate reported.

His first thought was that there had been a traitor. He immediately began searching for anyone who had left.

But everyone was still there, and after a quick look around, he realized everything was gone—the food they were supposed to eat that day was missing as well.

He panicked. What had happened? How had everything disappeared without a trace? Was it a ghost?

He stood stunned for a while, unable to make sense of it.

Outside, everyone was in a commotion.

“What’s going on?”

“Who did this?”

“Our food is gone—what will we eat?”

“What do we do now?”

“Our weapons are gone—we can’t even fight beasts!”

“Our horses are gone—how will we get out of here?”

Bai Dongyuan cleared his throat, and the others fell silent.

He tried to remain calm, “Don’t worry, everyone. With me here, I’ll find a way to make sure we get by.”