This is no place to linger. Bai Sheng and Lu Ye planned to finish their business quickly and return as soon as possible.
After resting at the post station for one night, the two set off the next day for the occupied territory of the Great Xia Kingdom.
The Qinghuang Kingdom was now cut into three pieces.
The western third of the territory was occupied by the Northern Qiang Kingdom, the vast majority in the middle by the Great Xia Kingdom, and a small piece left in the east, where the forces of the original Qinghuang Kingdom who refused to surrender were making a desperate stand.
Because the east was mostly mountainous, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, it provided the people of Qinghuang with a unique geographical advantage.
The border state where Tashajun was located happened to be surrounded by these areas, with borders touching each of them.
For safety, Bai Sheng and Lu Ye decided to stay only within the Great Xia Kingdom's occupied territory. They released Wuyun and the camel cart from their space.
The Qinghuang Kingdom was indeed a land of green hills and clear waters, with fertile soil. However, due to the impact of the war, the vegetation in the wild and within the cities grew rampant, making the land appear particularly desolate.
Along the way, Bai Sheng saw the citizens of Qinghuang Kingdom all wearing shackles, becoming slaves to the soldiers or commoners of the Great Xia Kingdom.
They were emaciated, their clothes tattered, either hauling stones, plowing fields, or repairing city walls. All the hard and tiring work was done by them, while the soldiers, holding long whips, would often lash them fiercely.
They seemed to have lost the strength to wail; when the whip fell upon them, they merely flinched and trembled, never crying out.
Bai Sheng could not bear to watch. As someone from the modern era, she simply could not accept people being driven like livestock, or even worse than livestock.
The two traversed through some abandoned villages and wild mountains, collecting many small saplings. Peach and tangerine trees were common, as were jujube, pear, apple, chestnut, and banana trees. Since they were all ownerless, Lu Ye dug them out, and Bai Sheng directly put them into her space.
What excited Bai Sheng the most was that they actually found mango and durian trees, two fruits she loved dearly in her previous life.
In addition to fruit trees, Bai Sheng also found many maple and ginkgo trees, both of which were very beautiful and perfect as ornamental trees.
As they were in the wilderness with sparse human population, Bai Sheng released Hengheng, Lightning, and Heavy Rain from her space over these few days. Hengheng was to satisfy its curiosity, while Lightning and Heavy Rain needed to maintain their wild nature and train their attack power, and could not always stay in a sheltered environment.
Snowflake was too easily preyed upon by wild beasts, and Hail was still too young, so Bai Sheng did not let them out.
This was Hengheng's first time out of the space, and it rolled excitedly in the mountains and wilds.
Bai Sheng warned it not to run too far, to only move within her vicinity, or it would be caught and eaten like a pig.
As a walking pork with no offensive or defensive capabilities, Hengheng feared death and could only obediently follow behind Bai Sheng and Lu Ye. Lightning and Heavy Rain, however, reigned supreme in the forests, and within a short time, it was impossible to tell where they had gone.
Bai Sheng was not worried about them.
And indeed, they did not require Bai Sheng's worry. Every so often, they would bring back a prey they had killed: pheasants, roe deer, rabbits, wild boars, muntjacs, wild deer... After a few days, the space was piled high with game meat.
These two were truly understanding and family-oriented, bringing everything they found to Bai Sheng. Besides hunting, they would sometimes bring back fruits, and even precious medicinal herbs, such as ginseng and lingzhi.
In comparison, Hengheng felt very inferior and decided to utilize its own strengths by digging soil for its master. Hadn't the master said she needed to transport some soil back to Red Tree Slope to improve the sandy soil?
Seeing Hengheng digging, Bai Sheng was reminded of transporting soil back. Thus, she and Lu Ye began digging soil in the mountains again. Since they had the space, transporting soil was incredibly convenient.
This trip into the wilderness was very fruitful.
On the tenth day, Bai Sheng and Lu Ye decided to stop. The two, along with the three animals, were resting under an old tree.
Bai Sheng sat in Lu Ye's arms, with Lu Ye leaning against the tree, and the two were passionately kissing.
Hengheng, Lightning, and Heavy Rain were playing in the grass not far away.
Suddenly, there was a "whoosh" sound, followed by Hengheng's pig-like howl.
Lightning and Heavy Rain were startled, immediately tensing their bodies, baring their fierce expressions, and vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng rushed over, only to see an arrow shaft sticking into Hengheng's rear.
"Who is shooting arrows? This is my pig, can't you see the tag around its neck?" Bai Sheng stood up, facing the wilds, and shouted in a loud voice.
Seeing their master nearby, yet daring to shoot, this person must be no good.
As expected, after waiting for a while, a troop of Great Xia Kingdom soldiers, about twenty to thirty in number, approached from the opposite side.
The soldiers all carried bows and arrows, and their bodies were adorned with hunted prey such as pheasants and rabbits.
They looked at Bai Sheng and Lu Ye, their arrogant expressions mixed with a hint of surprise.
Besides the fat pig, this pair of man and woman were actually accompanied by a large silver snake and a white wolf! However, soon, these two creatures would also belong to them.
"Did you officers shoot my Hengheng?" Bai Sheng asked as gently as she could.
Hengheng?
"My pig's name is Hengheng. Sirs, look, it has a name tag on its neck," Lu Ye explained patiently.
Pigs have names? The soldiers began to laugh sarcastically.
The leader completely ignored Lu Ye and Bai Sheng, pointing to two soldiers beside him and said, "I shot this pig. You two, go over and carry it here!"
"I'd like to see who dares to move!" Lu Ye stepped forward, his voice turning cold. "My dear said just now that this pig belongs to our family."
The leading soldier sneered, "Oh, this brat's got quite the nerve. Do you know where this is? Trespassing on military territory, everything must be confiscated, including this snake and wolf!"
"Boss, and this little lady with the big chest and perky butt, hehe," another soldier said lecherously, staring at Bai Sheng.
"That's right, I haven't had a good time in a long time. This little lady will surely be fun to play with," the leading soldier sneered at Bai Sheng and licked his lips.
After speaking, all the soldiers burst into lecherous laughter.
Lu Ye's gaze sharpened. He suddenly flashed to the side of the leading soldier and slapped him hard on the mouth twice, "Watch your mouth!"
The leading soldier was almost stunned by the sudden slap. When he came to his senses, he covered his mouth, his eyes burning with rage as he pointed at Lu Ye and Bai Sheng, roaring incoherently, "You, quickly! Quickly capture these two!"
The soldiers immediately pounced on Lu Ye and Bai Sheng.
Lightning and Heavy Rain joined the battle without hesitation. Lightning dodged the soldiers' weapons left and right, and taking advantage of an opening, coiled its tail around one soldier, instantly killing him.
Heavy Rain was besieged by several soldiers. It leaped up, biting the neck of one soldier, causing blood to spurt out.
Bai Sheng's martial arts were not proficient, so she was closely protected by Lu Ye behind him.
Lu Ye defeated nearly one soldier with each move. The leading soldier, seeing that the situation was unfavorable, shouted, "Retreat!"
The soldiers immediately scrambled and fled, turning around and running.
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng did not give chase. They hurried to check on Hengheng's injuries.
Fortunately, they only wanted to eat Hengheng's meat, so the arrow was not poisoned. Moreover, it was shot in the rear, and Hengheng's buttocks were quite thick, so there was no danger to its life.