Chapter 37: Re-entering White Wolf Valley

  As soon as they entered the forest, Long Fei had a familiar feeling. During their special forces training, there was once a time when they were thrown into the primitive forest near Russia with only five people in their squad, without water or food, and had to march on foot for 500 kilometers. The few of them almost ate everything that could be eaten, poisonous snakes and rats were good, tree bark and wild grass were also delicious. The hardest thing to eat was the loach they picked up from the stream, the smell of which he would never forget in his life.

  Long Fei walked very cautiously, he knew that such a gentle slope was definitely a trap with Yang Feng's intelligence. Although it wasn't as terrifying as the thunder array, stepping on it would still cause serious injury. His two eyes looked around in all directions, top, side and bottom. Long Fei mobilized all his sensory organs to move step by step through the wild grass towards the mountain top.

  Suddenly, a gentle breeze came out to meet him, and Long Fei raised his nose to sniff hard. A faint smell of sweat drilled into his nostrils, and Long Fei didn't think twice, hastily lying down to completely hide his body, his two eyes staring fixedly at the small path in front of him, the dagger in his hand tightly gripped.

  "You said, yesterday that group of people really killed the big leader?" Two guards emerged from behind a large rock in the distance, carrying weapons. They should be mountain patrol guards, walking slowly and leisurely without any urgency.

  Another burst of laughter: "How is this possible? Our mountain stronghold has tens of thousands of people, and each person's saliva can drown them. In the past, those government troops in our White Wolf Valley, who got the better of whom?"

  The first speaker nodded and smiled: "That's right! I heard that the Big Head is gathering 500 elite troops to guard the cave, not even a fly can get in!" The tone suddenly changed, seeming somewhat worried: "But I think that little guy isn't a fool either, what if he really kills his way in and takes down the Big Head?"

  "No way!" The second person said: "If the Big Head is really killed, I'll be the first to surrender to him. If even the Big Head can be killed, then taking White Wolf Valley will be a piece of cake!"

  Two people walked and talked, completely unaware of Long Fei hiding in the bushes. Watching them disappear into the distance, Long Fei slowly emerged from the bushes with a faint smile, looking around before continuing on his way. This path was the first line of defense for White Wolf Valley, and as one went further up, not only did it become increasingly difficult to walk, but the number of traps underfoot also multiplied. Pitfalls, tripwires, snares, rolling logs, and beast nets - you name it, this place had almost become a trap exhibition hall.

  Long Fei was even more cautious, avoiding one trap after another, winding his way through the forest. Just as he was about to exit the woods, a cliff several zhang high appeared before him. The previous path had been walked with trepidation, and who knows what situation would be encountered if he took a detour? After some thought, Long Fei decided to climb. He was after all a rock climbing expert from the special forces unit, this little cliff couldn't make him retreat.

  The surrounding area was deserted, and Long Fei held the dagger in his mouth, moved his limbs, reached out to grab a protruding rock, tested it and found it to be relatively secure. With both arms exerting force, he kicked off the ground with his feet, and his body shot up a short distance. About 20 meters high, Long Fei climbed up to the top of the cliff in just a few moves. Slowly poking out his head, as Long Fei had guessed, this cliff was a huge observation deck. Three or five soldiers were resting on it.

  This cliff top is a good place, from here you can see everything at the foot of the mountain clearly, the soldiers guarding the gate, and the soldiers patrolling on the mountain road are all in sight. Long Fei took two steps forward and pulled his whole body up. He lay still in the grass, observing the movements around him. There were five people in the watchtower, one with their back to themselves keeping watch, while the other four leaned against each other sleeping soundly.

  Taking advantage of the sentry's inattention, he quietly moved to the other side of the pavilion, took two small steps down the mountain path, and hid in a nearby thicket. He didn't want to kill anyone; this time it was just to make the people of White Wolf Valley believe him, and killing someone would have no effect. Looking at everything below as usual, looking at his companions sleeping soundly in the pavilion, the sentry cursed his bad luck, put down his weapon, leaned against the pillar, and dozed off.

  Long Fei didn't come down the mountain, waiting until the voices in the pavilion disappeared, and then quietly slipped back. This is the commanding height of White Wolf Valley, with a broad view all around. From here, one should be able to see everything clearly. It was precisely because he saw this point that Long Fei made such great efforts to climb up here. He quickly climbed up a big tree, completely hiding his figure, and only then carefully observed the movements below the mountain.

  The most important thing is to find the cave where I went in, that's Yang Feng's old nest. But it's not easy to find a cave in the vast mountains, Long Fei knows that he must first find that empty land before finding the cave. A piece of empty land in a forest shouldn't be difficult, Long Fei still remembers that there are three sides surrounded by mountains and one side facing the river, as long as he finds the river, he will find the empty land, and if he finds the empty land, he can find the cave.

  No binoculars, only relying on their own eyesight. In the vast forest, there were sparkling reflections everywhere. It was caused by the reflection of sunlight on the river water, and searched up and down the river. Finally, in a rugged area at the back of the mountain, I found a place with a dozen or so people walking around. Earlier when we came up, those two patrolling men said that Yang had deployed 500 people to defend the cave, which was already crowded with 500 people, not to mention the families and other leaders inside the cave.

  He looked around, and Long Fei came down from the tree. He glanced at the group of people who were still sleeping soundly, smiled slightly, and turned to run down the mountain. Following his own marked direction, Long Fei tried to walk through the dense grass and forests, avoiding the checkpoints along the way. It was relatively smooth, and Long Fei arrived at the riverbank. On the square opposite, dozens of burly men were sitting or lying down, all holding weapons in their hands, guarding the entrance of the cave, not allowing anyone to approach.

  Long Fei was at a loss, and he didn't have the confidence to take down these dozens of big men and sneak into the cave quietly. But if he didn't take them down, how could he get in? Just then, a woman limped out of the cave, carrying a basket. She walked straight across the square. The thugs quickly got up and made way for her, seemingly of high status. After crossing the square, she walked onto the small stone bridge, heading towards Long Fei. Long Fei remained motionless, lying there. Ten steps away from him, another person rushed out of the cave. It was that sharp-mouthed, thin, and short Fourth Master Hu Cai. As he ran, he loudly shouted: "Sister! Wait! Sister!"

  Long Fei suddenly understood that this woman was Yang Feng's wife, but how could Yang Feng marry such a woman as his wife. The woman turned around, and Hu Cai had already arrived in front of her: "Fourth Uncle, why have you come?"

  "Sister-in-law, you're going out without a word, and brother is still looking for you everywhere!"

  "Is it still about making a bet with Long Fei?"

  "Isn't that right!" Hu Cai nodded: "After the bet that day, Big Brother had some regrets. What if Long Fei broke in and chopped off his head, what would he do?"

  "Haha!" The woman's hair was very long, covering her entire face, and she was seen from behind. Long Fei didn't know what she looked like, but judging by her voice, she should be pretty good-looking. The woman smiled: "Since you're afraid, then admit defeat! Otherwise, you'll have to hold on, but don't worry, I think Long Fei won't kill your brother!"

  "What does 'dà sǎo' mean?"

  "Dong Zhuo rebuilt the Western Garden Eight Schools, and those who went up the mountain yesterday were several school lieutenants of the Western Garden Eight Schools. However, they are not Dong Zhuo's trusted followers or relatives, but officials without troops. They came to our White Wolf Valley to ask us to join them, so that they can become real school lieutenants. So, Long Fei and your elder brother's bet was just an excuse, for the sake of our White Wolf Valley's manpower."

  "We both know this! But what if?"

  "You've got our cave surrounded like an iron barrel, even if the dragon were to fly in, it couldn't get in! Don't worry!" The woman turned around and continued walking forward: "Alright, you go back! I'll go find some Polygonum multiflorum!"

  Upon hearing this, Long Fei began to speculate about the woman's identity. Throughout the entire "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", there is not a single mention of a wise and resourceful woman. Only in some unofficial histories has it been mentioned that Zhuge Liang's wife, Huang Yueying, was the smartest woman of the Three Kingdoms era. Unexpectedly, here, Yang Feng's wife could see through his intentions - who could this woman be?

  Long Fei watched from a distance as the woman entered a small thatched hut in the back mountain. When the woman opened the door and was about to close it, Long Fei suddenly darted out from beside her, his massive body surging through the gap in the door, violently colliding with the crippled woman and sending her crashing heavily to the ground. Just as she was about to shriek, a large hand clamped tightly over her mouth.

  The woman was frightened, her terrified eyes staring at Long Fei and the dagger in his hand. Long Fei said: "I'll let go of your hand, you're not allowed to shout, I promise I won't hurt you!" The woman nodded hastily, and Long Fei slowly released his grip on her hand. It wasn't until this moment that the woman finally recognized Long Fei, somewhat surprised: "You! You! How did you get up here?"

  "This has nothing to do with you, what's your relationship with Yang Feng?"

  The woman knew that Long Fei wouldn't do anything to him, but she was still a bit nervous. She looked at Long Fei and said, "I am his wife."

  Long Fei glanced at the woman a few times, and she was indeed above average in appearance, with good skin. However, there were large scars on her face, and coupled with her lame leg, even the most beautiful woman would become like wild grass. The woman saw Long Fei looking at herself and calmly said: "It's all because of that war disaster, otherwise I wouldn't have ended up like this!" The war disaster she spoke of was actually the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Yang Feng, as a small leader, brought his family along to join the rebellion, and during the attack on the county city, his wife had her leg shot off by an arrow and was burned by a big fire, ending up in her current state.

  Yang Feng's woman was extremely intelligent. Yang Feng often sought her advice, and it was largely due to her efforts that the White Wolf Valley could persist around Luoyang for so long. As a result, Yang Feng and his brothers treated her with special respect, and no matter how difficult things got, Yang Feng never abandoned this extraordinary woman. The woman looked at Long Fei: "Are you here to kill my husband?"

  Long Fei smiled: "You haven't already guessed my purpose and yet you ask?" The two of them looked at each other and laughed.