Chapter 561: Liu Zhi
Chapter 561: Liu Zhi
"Wow, you have so much wood here! No wonder you never run out of firewood." The woman, who looked to be in her forties, spoke with envy as she reached out and touched a nearby tree trunk, so thick it would take five or six people to encircle it with their arms.
The branches had already been cut off, leaving only the trunk, which was to be felled in the coming days.
An Ran, seeing the intentions of the three newcomers were unclear, quietly signaled to the elderly man beside her.
He immediately understood and moved toward the door, slipping out of the planting room to find Fatty.
"Don’t be nervous. We’re not here to cause trouble." The woman rubbed her hands together and stepped back, not making any move to stop the old man from leaving. Instead, she walked to the fire, pulled over a chair, and sat down. Looking at An Ran with a warm expression, she said kindly: “I’m older than you, so I’ll just call you little sister. My name is Liu Zhi, but you can call me Sister Zhi. Little sister, what’s your name?”
"An Ran." An Ran answered simply and moved to sit across from Liu Zhi by the fire, stretching her hands out toward the flames.
Surrounded by thriving plants, she faced Liu Zhi and the other two without a hint of fear.
"Oh, you’re also a wood-type ability user?" Liu Zhi smiled at her. It was obvious she wasn’t one of Fatty’s people—anyone who had followed him from south to north already knew how powerful An Ran was.
An Ran stayed silent, frowning, unsure whether to admit she was merely an “ordinary” wood-type user.
But as if sensing her hesitation, Liu Zhi gave a knowing smile, straightened her back, glanced around the room, and spoke again: "Don’t be nervous. I told you, there’s no need to be nervous. I only came here for one reason. Let me explain. A young man from our family had a bit too much to drink outside, and he ended up sleeping in the snow all night. He froze to death and was brought here by the Hedong patrol."
Her expression didn’t seem false. Her brows drew together tightly, shadowed by memories that seemed to still weigh heavily on her. She extended her hands to the fire, warming them as she continued: “We searched everywhere those days. At first, we thought once he was dragged over here, he was as good as dead. But then—hey—this young man actually came back to life, bouncing around like nothing had happened. Today we came to take him home, but he refuses to leave. He keeps saying the food here is good, the beds are warm, and life is comfortable…” A faint smile appeared on Liu Zhi’s face as she spoke.
An Ran tilted her head slightly, noticing the two men Liu Zhi had brought along.
They were holding gifts—clearly intended for Fatty, in thanks for saving the young man’s life.
Sure enough, Liu Zhi said, "I came today for three things: first, to take the young man home. Second, to thank Fatty for saving his life. And third, to ask you for some firewood."
It was obvious she had already learned from her family member—who had nearly frozen to death—about this group of people. Abandoned by the entire base to fend for themselves in Hexi, yet they had not only survived until now, but survived well. So Liu Zhi had come to the planting room to see for herself.
She let out a long sigh, looked back at An Ran, and said: "To be honest, the situation at the base is really bad now. Electricity, which used to be on twenty-four hours a day, has been cut back to just 8 PM to 6 AM. In this kind of cold… how can people survive without heating?"