Hu Lanfang agreed.
After some discussion, they decided to go together the next morning.
Hu Lanfang was worried about her daughter going alone. Besides, Mi Guo should get some exercise. More people meant greater strength and better safety.
Gu Qingcheng used the map provided by the system and located Black Wind Stronghold.
Black Wind Stronghold was not very far in a straight line, only about ten li away. However, considering the several mountain ranges in between, the theoretical distance and the actual distance were quite different, as the saying goes, "mountains make a horse run to death."
The system map provided her with two routes. One was to ascend Black Wind Stronghold from the old path, which involved climbing a thousand steps and bypassing Jinsha City head-on.
The other was to cross two small hills from their doorstep and enter Black Wind Stronghold from the west, without passing through Jinsha City.
Gu Qingcheng was a little confused. Since the second route passed by her house and was closer to Jinsha City, why had the bandits never passed by her house before?
But the next day, as they took the second route, Gu Qingcheng realized that it was precisely because of the extreme cold weather and continuous snowfall that the impassable valleys were filled in, changing the path to ascend the mountain and opening up a path from Black Wind Stronghold to her house.
No wonder no bandits had passed by here before, but after the snow, bandits began to pass this way. The extreme cold natural disaster had changed the terrain.
Following the navigation's guidance, Gu Qingcheng moved forward accurately. The three of them arrived at Black Wind Stronghold after an hour.
When they set off in the morning, Gu Qingcheng had anticipated the arduous journey and had her mother and Mi Guo eat black chocolate in advance to maintain their energy levels.
Upon reaching Black Wind Stronghold, they discovered that the stronghold was at the highest point of the surrounding mountain range, offering a commanding view of all mountains, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The top of the stronghold was relatively flat, with over a dozen simple wooden huts scattered among the trees.
It made sense, considering the remoteness of the mountain. They couldn't possibly build luxurious holiday villas here.
Gu Qingcheng and the other two did not split up. They stood back-to-back, holding their bows and arrows, observing the surroundings and advancing slowly.
The situation was unclear, so it was best to be cautious.
The stronghold was not very large, covering about three mu of land at the mountaintop. Therefore, after a brief inspection, they found no signs of living people, and they relaxed a little.
Kicking open the wooden doors of a few huts, they found "ice sculptures" inside. Most of them were lying on beds, still covered with blankets, presumably frozen to death in their sleep.
They walked around, and it was the same everywhere.
Finally, they discovered that only three huts showed signs of recent habitation, with evidence of people living there. Apart from these, the entire mountain stronghold was eerily silent.
These three huts appeared to be where the dozen or so bandits slept and lived. These people were truly something, not even bothering to deal with their own companions who had died in the huts.
In one of the huts, Gu Qingcheng found some gold and silver jewelry, presumably looted by the bandits. There wasn't much, about a hundred taels of silver, thirty taels of gold, and about a ton of rice and a load of flour. Based on the principle of not wasting anything, Gu Qingcheng took it all.
Seeing that it was indeed a poor stronghold with no one alive, they decided to leave.
However, just then, Gu Qingcheng suddenly heard a few faint crying sounds, like the cries of small kittens.
Gu Qingcheng thought she had misheard, but then she saw her mother and Mi Guo also listening intently, so she said:
"You heard it too? What is that sound?"
"Is it a kitten?" Mi Guo asked.
He was excited that his family could bring him out for an outing today.
"Yes, it does sound a bit like a kitten's cry," Hu Lanfang nodded.
Gu Qingcheng immediately thought of how Cola had been discovered. Alas, in such cold weather, that tenacious little creature was desperately trying to survive. What little creature was this now? Her heart softened, and she said:
"Let's look and see what small animal it is. If it's still alive, we'll bring it back."
The bandits were criminals, but animals were not. And the sound was soft, so it shouldn't be a large animal.
However, the sound only cried once and then fell silent again, as if it were making a sound on the verge of death.
"Could it be dead?"
Hu Lanfang said worriedly.
As soon as she finished speaking, a few more intermittent cries came. This time, they all heard clearly that it didn't sound like a cat.
Gu Qingcheng frowned and said:
"It sounds like a baby."
"A baby? Impossible, how could there be a child in a bandit's den?"
Hu Lanfang didn't believe it, thinking her daughter had misheard.
The three of them searched more diligently.
Fortunately, as if sensing people's presence, the crying, though intermittent, eventually continued to emanate.
Finally, the three of them pinpointed the source of the sound to the base of a hut wall, realizing that the sound was coming from underground, which was why they had been searching fruitlessly.
Gu Qingcheng walked to the source of the sound, squatted down, and tapped the ground a few times with the back of her short knife. As expected, there was a hollow sound from below.
"There's a basement."
Gu Qingcheng boiled some dust, and a pull ring appeared before her eyes. She pulled it hard, and a thick wooden lid was opened, revealing a dark opening.
A stuffy smell wafted out from the underground cellar.
Gu Qingcheng was prepared. She held her breath and moved to the side until the stale air inside had dissipated. Then, she took out a strong flashlight from the storage cabinet, turned it on, and swept the beam downwards.
A wooden ladder connected to the ground. Her strong flashlight illuminated the dark cellar as brightly as day. At this sight, the three of them were stunned. It turned out that people were being held captive below.
In the light, a woman lay on the ground, motionless, not appearing to be alive.
Gu Qingcheng switched to a head-mounted flashlight and cautiously descended the ladder to investigate the situation.
At this moment, the "嘤嘤" crying became more apparent. It was clearly coming from the cellar, and they couldn't just ignore it.
Hu Lanfang and Mi Guo stood above, drawing their bows and nocking arrows, prepared for any eventuality. With their combat experience, their coordination became even more tacit.
This way, even if Gu Qingcheng was attacked from behind while in the cellar, Hu Lanfang could protect her daughter immediately.
Gu Qingcheng successfully descended into the cellar and saw that the woman lying on the ground remained still.
Gu Qingcheng understood immediately. This woman had likely been captured by the bandits from the foot of the mountain, either as a hostage or as an object of their indulgence.
"Wow, wow," At this moment, the "corpse" suddenly moved slightly, and crying could be heard from near her.
Gu Qingcheng stepped forward to look. The woman was still alive, but her breathing was weak. Listening closely to the cries, they were coming from under her protective embrace.
Gu Qingcheng gently pushed her aside. To her astonishment, it was a baby, looking only about a month old, its eyes not yet fully open.
She quickly took out a glucose solution and fed a few mouthfuls to both the woman and the infant.
After drinking the glucose water, the woman was able to open her eyes. Seeing Gu Qingcheng's unfamiliar face, her eyes welled up, and she murmured:
"Who are you?"
"We've come to rescue you. We are not bad people. The bandits are all dead."
Gu Qingcheng said concisely.
"Benefactor, thank you."
The woman believed Gu Qingcheng immediately, naturally because Gu Qingcheng was also a woman.
How could there be such a clean, warm, and sunny girl in a bandit's den? Just by looking at Gu Qingcheng's demeanor, she knew she was a good person.