On the way to escape famine, my parents divorced

(Thanks to wonderful198 for casting 2 monthly tickets.)
The snow and wind in Sanshan County were much heavier than in the prefectural city.

It wasn't exactly a heavy snowfall, but the snowflakes were falling like they were free, pelting people's faces with the biting north wind.

Under the cover of night, the ground was a pure white expanse.

Less than an hour had passed, and the footprints left by Li Shiyue and Yan Jiuniang at the bottom of the slope were already barely visible.

Qiu Yingxian stood at the foot of the hillside, while his subordinates, holding tinderboxes, looked around the vicinity.

After a while, someone came to report: "Boss, this is it!"

Although the snow was falling heavily, it was already difficult to see clearly;
But before I came, I got the shoes that Fifth Sister always wore from her dowry maid.

The man pointed to the spot where Li Shiyue and Yan Jiuniang had gone up the mountain, "We found a footprint there. It was small and delicate, and it should be a woman's footprint."

And the pattern of those footprints in the snow was exactly the same as the pattern on the soles of the shoes that the old woman had shown me!

After this man finished speaking, another man standing next to him immediately said, "Boss, shall I go and call Old Dog over?"

Qiu Yingxian didn't respond to the two men. He turned his head to look at the small hill in front of him, and then nodded to his second subordinate.

The man responded, bowed to Qiu Yingxian, and then turned and ran back.

Just as Li Shiyue and Yan Jiuniang were about to reach the top of the slope, they encountered Li Mingfeng, who was coming this way.

"uncle!"

Li Mingfeng nodded, and then he said directly to Li Shiyue and Yan Jiuniang, "You two go down quickly!"
Ninth Sister, your mother is waiting for you down there.

There are definitely pursuers behind you. I'll deal with them; you guys hurry up and get out of here!

"Uncle! You..."

Before Yan Jiuniang could finish speaking, Li Mingfeng drew his sword and headed down the slope.

He had already seen the scattered lights below when he was at the top of the slope.

Seeing Yan Jiuniang staring at Li Mingfeng's back, Li Shiyue pulled Yan Jiuniang down the slope with all her might.

Meanwhile, down the slope on the other side, the soldier known as Old Dog came over with about a dozen greyhounds on his hands.

Old Dog was a "dog officer" in the army. He got the nickname "Old Dog" because he was in charge of the army's dog kennels and was especially good at training greyhounds.

No one calls him by his real name anymore. His superiors and colleagues call him "Old Dog," while those below him call him "Brother Dog."

The dozen or so dogs that the old dog brought were all greyhounds from Jinxiang County, Yanzhou, in eastern Henan Province.

This breed of dog has a slender body, strong explosive power, can jump high, run fast, and is flexible and agile;
Moreover, these greyhounds have a keen sense of smell and are extremely adept at hunting!
Therefore, the military often kept such greyhounds to hunt down enemies and bandits.

One of the reasons why General Wang hid Qiu Yingxian's team in the shadows beforehand was that Old Dog, a dog training master, was in Qiu Yingxian's team!
General Wang received a message from the Prince of Zhenbei, whose exact words were: "She is very dissatisfied with this marriage, and Yan Xuefei will definitely try to snatch her away along the way!"

We absolutely cannot let anyone take Fifth Sister away from us!

We must get her to the Turks!

Therefore, General Wang had already secretly arranged for Qiu Yingxian's group to come.

At this moment, a dozen or so greyhounds made low growling sounds at Qiu Yingxian. The old dog then pulled on the rope around the dogs' necks and scolded the group of dogs.

"Sit down!" Even though the ground was covered in snow, the dogs obediently followed the old dog's command to "sit down."

Old Dog then looked at Qiu Yingxian: "Boss?"

“The footprints follow this path up the mountain. Take the dog and search the area,” Qiu Yingxian said, looking up at the sky. “In another half an hour, it will be dawn.”

The snow is falling heavier and heavier. We must find Fifth Sister before dawn!

We must not let them escape!

"Yes!"

After the old dog responded, it lowered the leash and removed the ropes from the collars around the necks of each greyhound.

Halfway up the mountain, Li Mingfeng, who was standing on a tree branch looking down, frowned.

Before long, Li Mingfeng, with his exceptional hearing, heard at least seven or eight different barking dogs, carried by the howling north wind.

"They've even started using dogs!"

Li Mingfeng knew that he had to make some noise so that Li Shiyue and Yan Jiuniang could escape smoothly!

Make a sound in the east and attack in the west!

So Li Mingfeng jumped down from the tree and ran down the mountain.

A dog's nose and ears are much more useful than a human's!

Ten feet away, less than a quarter of an hour after the chains of the dozen or so dogs were untied, the old dog and the others had only climbed a short distance up the slope when they heard the sound of dogs barking wildly in the distance.

Even in the dark of night with its heavy snow and wind, the greyhound can accurately locate its "prey".

At this very moment, Li Mingfeng became the prey!

Having successfully lured the greyhound towards him, Li Mingfeng had no choice but to draw his sword and confront the dozen or so pairs of eyes gleaming with a yellowish-green light under the faint moonlight in the darkness.

Meanwhile, Old Dog, along with the returning Greyhound, rushed towards Li Mingfeng's location.

Running through the snowy mountains and forests, the crunching sound of my footsteps on the snow reached my ears, growing ever closer.

Li Mingfeng swung his sword at the dog, but it was just a feint.
After driving the dog away, he turned around and ran at full speed in another direction.

The dogs naturally gave chase; how could a two-legged person outrun a four-legged dog?

Even if Li Shiyue had a cheat code, he could still put Xigou behind him at the beginning;

But Li Shiyue's internal energy is limited; she gets tired!
Of course, greyhounds get tired too, but they also have great stamina.
At least Li Shiyue's internal strength was definitely not enough to keep him ahead of the greyhound.

Therefore, let alone Li Mingfeng, who had only learned a set of sword techniques from Li Qingyun, his martial arts skills might be better than those of ordinary martial artists, but when faced with a group of soldiers chasing him and being surrounded and attacked by greyhounds, Li Mingfeng's fate was sealed.

After running around the hillside with the old dog and the others for most of the time, Li Mingfeng finally reached his physical limit.

"Shouldn't Jiu Niang and Shi Yue already be with their junior sister?"

Thinking this to himself, Li Mingfeng suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right calf!
A greyhound was biting his leg tightly, refusing to let go, its jaws dripping with blood!

Despite the pain, Li Mingfeng swung his sword and beheaded a dog!
But as Li Mingfeng dragged his injured leg forward, the other greyhound, undeterred by its headless companion, charged forward like a madman and bit Li Mingfeng's left calf! (End of Chapter)