Chapter 171: Zhou Qinglang: Let Us Deal with the Violent Bandit Together

On the western side of the vast prairie, in the forested area engulfed by fire, everyone was working anxiously and energetically to fight the flames.

Every face was stained black with smoke, and eyes streamed with tears from the stinging irritation, yet not a single person stepped back even half a step. They knew deep down that if they failed to extinguish the blaze in time, their beautiful home would be utterly destroyed.

After a long and arduous half-day of grueling effort, the fire was finally gradually brought under control. The once-raging flames began to subside, and the thick smoke slowly dissipated. Exhausted faces broke into relieved smiles, and eyes flashed with the gleam of excitement. Not a single spark remained in the section of the pasture assigned to their team.

The person in charge of the pasture spoke up, "Everyone take a break. Rest for twenty minutes, and then we'll go help out elsewhere and wipe out the fire in one final push!"

Everyone nodded in unison, "Okay!"

"Phew! Finally can catch a breath. My back is killing me from exhaustion."

Zhu Damei thumped her back twice, unhooked the canteen from her waist, and handed it to Lin Xiaodou, saying, "Xiaodou, I still have some water left. Drink mine."

"No need, I still have plenty. Let me pour you some more!"

In truth, Lin Xiaodou's canteen had been empty for a long time. Just then, she had used her mind to transfer water from her spatial dimension into the canteen, and now it was completely full.

Zhu Damei refused, "Keep it for yourself. We've still got plenty of work to do later."

Without waiting for argument, Lin Xiaodou took Zhu Damei's canteen and poured half her water into it. "It's fine, I'm not thirsty."

A wave of emotion stirred in Zhu Damei's heart. Xiaodou truly was a wonderful sister, beautiful both in appearance and soul.

"Batu, do you want some water?" Lin Xiaodou asked, turning her gaze toward Batu.

Batu's canteen had been empty for ages, but he was too shy to ask a female comrade for water. "No thanks, I have some."

"Oh." Knowing what was on his mind, Lin Xiaodou didn't press him.

She glanced around and noticed many people frowning and pressing their lips together—clearly, a large portion of them were suffering from thirst. With not a single water source nearby, it was no wonder everyone was in such misery.

Lin Xiaodou said, "Damei, I'm going over there to use the restroom. I'll be right back."

With that, she got up and headed toward a pile of rocks not far away. Behind the rocks lay a recess in the cliff face forming a small cave.

Lin Xiaodou walked inside and discovered a shallow pit at the very back. She jumped into the center of the pit and struck it a few times with all her might.

"Boom!"

The force of divine power was immeasurable. In the span of a breath, the shallow pit suddenly plunged dozens of meters downward.

Water vaguely began to seep out, though the quality appeared somewhat turbid. Hesitating no longer, Lin Xiaodou leaped out of the pit, summoned water directly from her spatial dimension's lake, and poured it straight into the deep pit.

In less than ten minutes, a clear pool of spring water materialized before her eyes.

A look of delighted surprise spread across Lin Xiaodou's face as she dashed out of the cave. "Oh my god! There's spring water here! The water inside is so clear and delicious!"

Hearing this, everyone present grew excited. "Comrade Lin, where is it? Quick, take us there!"

Learning that the water was inside a cave, and mindful of the cramped space, the pasture supervisor arranged for people to take turns entering to fetch water. Everyone who returned from fetching water wore a beaming expression, entirely shedding their previous dejection.

Many even walked up to Lin Xiaodou to express their gratitude:

"Thank you so much, Comrade Lin! If it weren't for you, we probably would have had to wait until we got all the way back just to get a drink."

"Comrade Lin, you're practically our lucky star. Being around you just doubles our good fortune, haha!"

"Ain't that the truth? I was on the verge of dying of thirst just now, my throat felt like it was smoking, and right as I was praying for water, Comrade Lin's heavenly voice arrived."

"Thank you everyone, I just happened to stumble upon it by accident."

Seeing everyone's happy smiles, Lin Xiaodou felt a swell of joy in her heart. Her good deed hadn't gone in vain; the feeling of being praised by so many people was quite nice indeed.

Zhu Damei finished the water in her canteen, and Batu went over to fill another flask for her.

"Thank you," Zhu Damei said.

Batu scratched his head honestly. "Don't mention it."

After resting a bit longer, Zhu Damei fretted aloud, "I wonder how Yan'er is doing. Her stomach was hurting terribly before we left."

Lin Xiaodou replied, "She should be fine. I brewed her some brown sugar water before we left."

With the firefighting concluding today, they probably wouldn't return until evening. If Yan'er's stomach was still hurting by then, she would just give her a painkiller.

Just as she was thinking this, a burst of urgent barking suddenly rang out from not far away.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

It was the little Tibetan Mastiff! What was it doing here?!

Lin Xiaodou stood up hastily and looked into the distance. With just a single glance, she spotted the problem.

The little fellow, usually so spirited and full of life, had its ears drooping listlessly. Not only that, but its once smooth and glossy fur was utterly disheveled. Without a doubt, the little Tibetan Mastiff had just been through a fierce battle.

As the mastiff ran closer, Lin Xiaodou even caught the scent of blood in the air.

When she caught sight of the shiny hair clip clenched in its jaws, Lin Xiaodou's pupils constricted violently. "Did something happen to Yan'er?!"

That hair clip was one she had given to Yan'er earlier. Yan'er loved it dearly and never went anywhere without it.

"Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The little Tibetan Mastiff immediately began complaining about everything that had happened back at the pasture.

Lin Xiaodou could understand its language. Once she heard the whole story, her complexion darkened instantly to an ash-like grimness.

Seeing her expression, Zhu Damei asked anxiously, "Xiaodou, what's wrong?!"

The little Tibetan Mastiff had grown up alongside them and possessed immense intelligence; everyone knew that Lin Xiaodou could communicate with it.

"Something's happened at the pasture! A gang of ruthless bandits ransacked the place and dragged Yan'er away!"

Lin Xiaodou gritted her teeth, a fierce blaze of intense fury erupting within her eyes. Liu Yan'er was like a sister to her, and before coming to the prairie, she had promised her foster parents that she would take good care of her. If anything happened to her, she would never forgive herself.

"No, I have to go save her right now. I'm going to tell the pasture supervisor!"

"We're going too!" Zhu Damei and Batu stood up together.

Needless to say, Zhu Damei and Liu Yan'er were like sisters; naturally, she couldn't stand idly by when her sister was in trouble. Batu was a righteous and loyal man, and since Liu Yan'er counted as his friend, he wouldn't stand by and let her die.

"Okay!" Lin Xiaodou didn't refuse. Having two extra people to help was for the best. Both Zhu Damei and Batu possessed decent physical skills and wouldn't hold her back.

When the three of them went to find the pasture supervisor, he was in the middle of talking with the liaison officers from the research institute. As luck would have it, those liaisons were none other than Zhou Qinglang and his good brother Xiao Kaile.

Upon hearing what Lin Xiaodou had to say, the pasture supervisor flew into a furious rage.

"Damn it all! Those bandits must have set that fire just to create a diversion so they could raid the pasture!"

"That's probably it," Lin Xiaodou said with a stony expression. "Now Yan'er's life is hanging in the balance, and I have to go find her."

That gang of bandits must have fled deep into the mountain forest, where the fire hadn't reached, making it an ideal hiding spot.

The pasture supervisor nodded. "Alright, you go. I'll immediately go find the armed police and have them send men to search as well."

Fortunately, the armed police were stationed nearby; otherwise, riding horses all the way back to the pasture would have taken far too long.

Just as Lin Xiaodou and the others were about to leave, Zhou Qinglang stepped forward.

"I'll go with you. Kaile and I have special permission to carry firearms, and we brought them with us today. That way, we'll be better equipped to deal with those bandits..."