The juice was divided into three colors: deep red, light pink, and deep yellow. Hu Lanfang ordered passion fruit lemon, Mi Guo ordered watermelon banana, and Gu Qingcheng herself ordered the dragon fruit and watermelon.
Each holding a cup, the three of them happily drank their delicious fruit juice while going about their own business.
Just as they finished their juice, Gu Qingcheng suddenly heard faint "crunch, crunch" footsteps outside the courtyard wall.
They were the only family living here, so footsteps undoubtedly meant outsiders.
Since taking the strength pills, their five senses had all been enhanced. Everyone pricked up their ears at the unusual noise, and their eyes involuntarily turned towards the outside.
Not to mention them, even Wangcai and Kele looked up curiously.
The people outside must have tried to be as quiet as possible, but they hadn't realized that the people inside had cheated. No matter how stealthily they treaded, they couldn't avoid making some noise.
"Huh? Could it be your dad back?"
Hu Lanfang's first thought was this.
Old Gu was a romantic person; he had the idea of making chocolate into a bouquet back then!
It wasn't impossible for him to sneak back in the middle of the night to surprise them.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! There are still many injured people downstairs, and Dad is too busy to escape home secretly!"
Gu Qingcheng pouted. Mother hadn't seen how engrossed Father was when treating patients; he had even forgotten he had a daughter...
Of course, his wife would remember.
But he wouldn't sneak up the mountain in the middle of the night. Romance was for the young. Father, with his old bones, should be lying in a warm room sleeping soundly right now.
"You stay inside, I'll go take a look." Hu Lanfang thought it made sense and decided to go investigate.
"Mom, I'll go."
How could Gu Qingcheng let her mother take the risk?
"Sister, I'll go with you."
Mi Guo said worriedly.
"Okay, Mom, you stay inside."
Gu Qingcheng's concern warmed Hu Lanfang's heart. This child was truly here to repay kindness.
She and Old Gu had the same idea: while they were still strong and capable, and could watch over her, they should give their daughter more opportunities to temper herself.
Especially with the current sudden situation, it was a good time for the child to train.
Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo silently moved from the side room to the outer courtyard.
Outside their house, a courtyard wall had been built, about half a person's height, but it wouldn't be difficult for some people to climb over.
The situation was unclear, so the two of them walked to the door but didn't open it directly. Instead, they pressed their ears to the door, listening to the situation outside.
Unexpectedly, at the same time, the "crunch, crunch" of footsteps stopped directly outside the door.
For a moment, Gu Qingcheng thought her father had really returned and subconsciously wanted to open the door.
However, the sound paused at the door for a while, then suddenly a foot violently kicked the door, and someone shouted:
"Open the door quickly, or we'll kill you all!"
Hearing this, Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo's expressions turned stern.
How could they tolerate provocation at their own door?
"Open the door quickly, I know there are people inside. If you don't open it, we'll drag you all out and freeze you to death in the snow!"
The voice was very arrogant, and it wasn't the same person who spoke first.
It could be inferred that there were at least three of them.
Gu Qingcheng could hear their heavy breathing; they were likely adult men.
They spat threats and acted accordingly, kicking the door with force.
Fortunately, when the door was made, Gu Chaobei had already considered defense and made it exceptionally thick. The crossbars behind the door were also three in number, running through the entire door from top to bottom. They couldn't break it open from the outside for a while.
"Rich people! Such a thick door?"
"There are definitely people alive, I saw the lights inside!"
The people outside didn't give up; instead, they sensed their wealth.
Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo exchanged glances. Mi Guo seemed to understand Gu Qingcheng's thoughts and nodded tacitly.
Gu Qingcheng took Mi Guo's bow and arrows from her spatial storage and handed them to him, then strung her own bow.
Mi Guo opened the door.
"Yo, little brat, are you home alone? Where are your family members?"
The fierce-looking men outside were completely caught off guard when a child opened the door, and they were slightly taken aback.
This was exactly what they wanted.
Gu Qingcheng emerged from the shadows behind the door and fired three arrows in rapid succession, hitting the man talking to Mi Guo with one arrow, and the two men standing on either side of the door with the other two.
They only had time to let out a scream before falling to the ground, pierced through the chest, without any chance to retaliate.
"Ah, ah, so ruthless..."
One man, clutching his chest, said with difficulty.
Mi Guo put down his bow with a hint of regret and said,
"Sister, I didn't even get to shoot my arrow yet!"
"There will be plenty of opportunities!"
Gu Qingcheng patted his shoulder.
For the three of them, weak and vulnerable, the key to dealing with enemies was speed.
Villains die from talking too much.
Gu Qingcheng remembered this lesson and disdained talking to these people, delivering ruthless killing blows right from the start.
These three men kicking down their door in the middle of the night, could anything good come of it? It was right to apprehend them immediately.
The cold weather caused the blood of the three men to congeal instantly, and their bodies became stiff, making it hard to imagine that just three to five minutes ago, they had been so arrogant.
Gu Qingcheng stepped forward and searched their bodies.
The three men had axes on their waists and knives in their hands. Coming to kick down doors in the middle of the night with weapons meant they were robbers intending to rob them; she hadn't killed the wrong people.
Searching further, there was nothing else.
Gu Qingcheng frowned. What stingy beggars they were, dying in front of her door. Now she had to find a place to bury them. Otherwise, if Steward Zheng suddenly had a whim and sent food and drink up, it wouldn't be easy to explain if he saw them.
After all, the three people left at home had always appeared weak and incompetent in front of him. If he knew they could kill three people at once, he would surely become wary of them.
It seemed that the sheep leg ladder not only made their travel convenient but also made it easier for bad people to approach them.
Gu Qingcheng scanned the surroundings; there were no other traces of people.
Hu Lanfang also appeared at the door at this time. Seeing the three corpses on the ground, she showed no fear on her face and calmly said:
"Drag them to the backyard and throw them into the burning furnace of the underground heating system."
"Oh, Mom, that's a good way to dispose of the evidence."
Gu Qingcheng had only thought of digging pits and hadn't considered burning them to ashes.
"Looking at their plump faces, they're not good people either."
Hu Lanfang said, and then started to act herself, grabbing one of the bandit's legs and dragging him towards the backyard.
It wasn't that she couldn't carry him, but she didn't want to. Such scum deserved to be dragged on the ground; she didn't want to dirty her shoulders.
Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo followed suit.
Despite Mi Guo's young age, his strength had improved rapidly after taking the strength pills. Dragging an adult man was not a problem, let alone for Hu Lanfang and Gu Qingcheng.
The three of them dragged the three corpses to the backyard. Gu Qingcheng opened the furnace door of the underground heating system and threw all three of them in, then closed the door. Within one night, these three would be reduced to ashes.