RWNEFE -Chapter 155 How Can She Just Be a Girl?

There was also Nanny Li and her family, along with the others who had followed her out of the capital. They had endured hardships alongside her, and she felt she owed it to them to make proper arrangements.

“Master, our whole family are your servants. Wherever you go, we will follow!” Nanny Li said firmly.

Shen Lanxi sighed. “Following me may be dangerous—our lives uncertain, wandering from place to place, full of risks. Are you and your family willing to take that chance?”

Before Nanny Li could respond, she continued, “Hongliu Village is under my jurisdiction. If you’re willing to stay, I can give you enough gold and silver to set up businesses, ensuring your family three generations of wealth and comfort.”

Nanny Li looked at her family, resolute: “We still wish to follow our Master!”

Shen Lanxi paused, then asked, “Will you spend the New Year here, or at the garrison?”

Nanny Li: “At the garrison!”

“Go back and pack your things. Tomorrow morning, we leave together.”

“Yes!”

As Nanny Li left with her family, Shen Yuanxin arrived.

“Big Sister, Grandmother misses you. She wants you to come over and talk with her!”

Shen Lanxi looked at her calmly: “Go back first. I’ll come after I finish my work.”

Shen Yuanxin didn’t leave immediately. She stood there hesitating, as if she had something to say.

“Big Sister, I have something to say… I’m not sure if I should!”

Shen Lanxi: “If you shouldn’t say it, don’t.”

Shen Yuanxin: “Aunt Zhang has been using her pregnancy to get Yuan He and Yuan Rui to visit Father these past few days!”

Shen Lanxi looked at her directly: “And?”

Shen Yuanxin indignantly said, “When we were in the capital, Mother already set the rules—there are enough children in the first branch. Aunt Zhang disrespects Mother’s orders and has a child of her own. Big Sister, aren’t you angry?”

Shen Lanxi said softly, “I understand. Remember my words: for everything else, you don’t interfere. But Shen family children—none of them are to be harmed.”

Shen Yuanxin felt as if Big Sister could see right through her thoughts, and quickly looked away.

“Big Sister, you’ve misunderstood. I would never harm the children. I just meant that Aunt Zhang is being disrespectful!”

Shen Lanxi, thinking of her still-ill mother, said: “Mother will handle this.”

Shen Yuanxin left reluctantly.

After a small meal, Shen Lanxi went to see her grandparents.

Those in the hall had been watching the door every so often, all thinking the same thing:

Why isn’t she here yet?

When Shen Lanxi finally entered, everyone in the Shen family—except the elders—stood and greeted her warmly.

“Lanxi, you’re here!”

Shen Lanxi nodded, moving forward, her Centurion belt subtly visible at her waist. Every Shen family member’s heart skipped a beat—she had really become a Centurion!

In such a short time, she had jumped three ranks. How could she just be a girl?

If she were a boy, the Shen family would already be a regional power!

“Lanxi, sit down and rest!” Old Master Shen, abandoning her usual coldness, smiled and patted the seat to her right.

“Quickly, pour some hot tea to warm Lanxi up!”

Everyone bustled around under the elderly lady’s orders.

“Lanxi, why are you the only one back? When will your second uncle and Yuan Jing return? The New Year is almost here. This is the first New Year since we came to Dongchuan—we must be together as a family!”

Old Master Shen’s face was filled with kind concern, every word probing.

Shen Lanxi’s expression was gentle, but her voice was as cold and hard as iron: “Don’t ask about the garrison, Grandmother. When my second uncle returns, don’t ask about what he did there either. If they speak of it, it’s a leak of military information.”

Old Master Shen stiffened. “They’re family. Talking can’t hurt, right?”

Shen Lanxi pursed her lips in silence.

“Lanxi, have lunch at home. I’ll have your aunt make your favorite Magnolia Cake!”

Shen Lanxi shook her head. “I’m going up the mountain this afternoon.”

Old Master Shen’s brows twitched. “Up the mountain? Why?”

“Hunting!”

Madam Liu said: “Lanxi, you’re already a Centurion. Why go hunting yourself? Send your soldiers!”

Shen Lanxi: “I’ll hunt large dangerous beasts—tigers, leopards, black bears!”

The Shen family’s hearts skipped a beat.

“Lanxi, those are man-eaters! You absolutely cannot take risks!” Old Master Shen thought of how the Shen family had been branded for stealing Wei family military rations—hardly a chance for redemption. Now, seeing an opportunity to rise, she hoped Shen Lanxi would help the family recover.

She couldn’t watch her take such risks.

“You must not go. You’ve just been promoted to Centurion. One mistake, and all your hard work will be wasted!”

Shen Lanxi said calmly: “I hunt dangerous beasts to intimidate my soldiers. In the camp, strength commands respect. I’m not large or strong like others, so I must find another way.”

Old Madam Shen understood, but these were deadly beasts. One misstep, and all the peace they had gained would be undone.

She could not afford for anything to happen to her!

“Lanxi, listen to your Grandmother. I won’t harm you.”

Shen Lanxi stood: “My mind is made up. Grandmother, no more persuasion is needed.”

Old Madam Shen clenched her hand under her sleeve, her face darkening. “Fine, if you insist, then go. Grandmother hopes you return safely.”

Shen Lanxi turned and left.

By afternoon, the sky darkened again. Shen Lanxi gathered her companions, took up her weapons, and ascended the mountain.

“Master, look at the weather—it’s about to snow again!” Wei Dongzhu adjusted his mask. His new facial skin was sensitive to cold.

Shen Lanxi glanced at the sky. Light snow swirled eastward.

“Then we strike fast—return to Baihe County before it snows!”

“Yes!”

Shen Lanxi led the way, Feng Wu and Wei Dongzhu following closely.

“Nu Bai, search for dangerous beasts!”

“Yes, Master!”

“A cave ahead has a hibernating black bear. Two hundred meters east, there’s a tiger hunting. That tiger just caught a sika deer and has paused to feed!”

Tiger it is!

“East!”

“Yes!”

Shen Lanxi led, Feng Wu and Wei Dongzhu behind. Despite their full effort, they were still twenty to thirty meters behind her. If not for her red cloak, they’d have lost her already.

The king of beasts stays alert even while hunting.

Sensing strangers, it opened its massive jaws, roaring a terrifying warning.

Shen Lanxi perched on a branch, her companions standing on the snow below.

A patterned tiger over three meters long fixed its gaze on them, letting out a bloodcurdling roar.

In the next instant, the tiger leapt like a drawn bow toward them.

Shen Lanxi descended gracefully, cloak billowing behind her like a streak of crimson in the snow.

She spun her body, gripping her long staff. With a force that seemed to split the air, she brought it down toward the tiger’s head!