Chapter 43 "Isn't it you who's here?"...

The mountain wind blew a gap in the thick fog, revealing a crack in the cliff face that was hidden by withered vines. Several huge rocks were piled up in front of the crack, which enhanced the camouflage provided by the withered vines.

The faint sounds of a child coughing and a man cursing could be heard from the crack, but they were only a few feet away before being blown away by the wind.

Behind the bushes not far away, Baili Xunzhou, who had been listening intently, slowly lowered himself and left.

"How did it go?" Feng Mian asked as soon as he returned.

They followed the herbal juice all the way to this place and found the kidnapper's hiding place. Baili Xunzhou told them to wait where they were and went to scout out the situation first.

“The children should all be being held here.” Baili Xunzhou’s eyes were deep. “Judging from the noise, there are about a dozen kidnappers.”

"The entrance to the cave is blocked by huge rocks. A direct assault or using smoke to force it open is not advisable, as it might harm the hostages. We need to find a way to lure them into opening the door voluntarily."

After speaking, Baili Xunzhou first took out a short bone whistle from his bosom. The whistle was only about an inch long, and its entire body was as white as fresh snow, with a faded red rope tied to the end.

He held the whistle to his lips, his chest rising and falling slightly.

"Chirp—chirp—chirp—"

"Chirp, chirp!"

Three long cries followed by two short ones, the clear whistle breaking through the mountain mist, sounding like a real mountain sparrow perched on a branch, singing joyfully.

He put the bone whistle back into his pocket, and when he looked up, he saw Feng Mian staring at him with bright curiosity in her almond-shaped eyes.

Are you sending a message?

Bai Lixun nodded. "Let us inform everyone that we have found the people and asked them to come and meet us. If anything unexpected happens during the operation, we will have someone to provide timely assistance."

"Have you figured out a way to save them?"

Bai Lixun pondered for a moment, "Ideally, someone could act as bait to lure them out of the cave, and then we could break open the cave entrance from the inside. If the opportunity arises, I can sneak in when they open the cave entrance, and that would also be enough to succeed."

“Alright, then I’ll be the bait,” Feng Mian said readily.

"Princess!" Liu Ying and Wu Liu exclaimed in a low voice.

"No way!" Baili Xunzhou instinctively rejected the idea.

"Let me go, I'm not afraid." Liu Ying hurriedly took two steps forward, and Wu Liu nodded in agreement, "I'm not afraid either, Your Highness, you must not take any risks!"

"Listen to me," Feng Mian said, raising her hand and pressing down on them, signaling them to let her finish. "Aren't kidnappers after money? What could be more attractive than a beautiful, delicate woman traveling alone?"

"Besides the three of us, everyone here is a man. What kidnapper would risk their life for a big, burly man?"

Feng Mian raised her hand to cover Liu Ying's mouth before she could speak, "As for the two of you, are you confident you won't give anything away? Can you guarantee you won't be discovered and won't ruin the plan?"

Liu Ying and Wu Liu exchanged a glance, neither of them able to offer any assurances, and remained silent.

"Are you so sure you can do it and won't get hurt?" Baili Xunzhou felt like a fire was raging inside him, he was so agitated but couldn't express it, so he could only ask in a low voice.

Feng Mian opened her big, dark eyes and looked at him cleverly, "Isn't it you who's here?"

Baili Xunzhou's breath hitched, the fire in his heart instantly extinguished, and he could only weakly utter two words: "Nonsense..."

But in the end, they still couldn't stop the person.

As noon approached, the fog finally dissipated somewhat, but it still shrouded the mountaintops in a misty haze.

Chen Da leaned against the stone blocking the cave entrance, peering out through the crack with a worried expression. "When will this fog finally clear up? We've been here for days and only managed to get one sale, and it was from that stubborn brat. I think we should take advantage of the fog and get rid of everything we have as soon as possible."

"Keep your complaints to yourself, or you'll get another scolding if they reach your brother's ears."

The person next to him whispered a reminder, and Chen reluctantly shut his mouth. Suddenly, he focused his attention and listened intently. "Hey, did you hear anything?"

"What?"

"It sounds like a woman calling for help!"

The faint cry for help was carried by the wind into the crevice. The two men exchanged a glance, and Chen Da chuckled, "This place has great feng shui, and we even have prey delivered to our doorstep!"

He was about to move the stones to go outside when his companion stopped him, saying, "Wait a minute, let's report to the boss first."

On the narrow mountain path, Feng Mian's hairpins and ornaments were half-fallen off, and her face was smeared with mud. The exhaustion and pain from traversing the mountains were completely genuine and didn't need to be acted out. She weakly shouted, "Is anyone there? Help!"

She struggled to take two steps, then collapsed onto a roadside rock, looking around helplessly. She didn't look in the direction of the crooked path hidden by vines, and her anxious and helpless expression made her look like a pitiful girl who had wandered into the deep mountains.

"Oh dear, girl!"

A woman's voice called from behind, and Feng Mian's heart skipped a beat. She's here.

She turned her head with a look of surprise and saw a woman in simple clothes carrying a basket walking towards her with a kind and concerned expression.

“This auntie…” Feng Mian called out timidly.

The woman, around forty years old, had her hair neatly styled in a bun. Her hands were rough, and she looked exactly like a hardworking peasant woman. She spoke to Feng Mian with a kind heart, "Poor thing, why are you all alone here?"

Feng Mian clutched her clothes anxiously: "The fog is too thick, I've gotten separated from my family. Auntie, can you take me down the mountain?"

"Yes, of course I can," the woman agreed quickly, her tone quickening as she spoke. "But look, the fog hasn't completely cleared yet, and there's a risk going down the mountain. If you don't mind, why don't you come with me? We hunters all have places to stay on this mountain. You can rest there for a while, and we'll continue when the fog clears."

As she spoke, she kept glancing at Feng Mian, muttering to herself, "Poor girl, why did you put yourself through this? You must be exhausted."

Her tone was so natural, just like that of a kind and warm-hearted peasant woman. The slight hesitation and wariness on Feng Mian's face disappeared as she chattered on with concern. He nodded and agreed to go with her, and then stood up with her help.

"Thank you, Auntie."

"Don't mention it. When we're traveling, we should help each other out."

As the woman helped Feng Mian up and turned around, the greedy glint in her eyes was no longer concealed.

This girl has fair and delicate skin. Even though her face is so dirty, you can still see that she has beautiful features. She is truly a beautiful young flower and is sure to make a fortune.

Feng Mian's feet ached, so he unceremoniously placed his entire weight on the woman and slowly moved forward.

"Auntie, what is your surname? I am so grateful to you today. I will definitely come to thank you when I get home."

The woman was forced to carry the weight of another person up the mountain. Even with all her strength, she grimaced and gasped for breath, saying, "My husband's surname is Chen. You can just call me Sister-in-law Chen."

"Hey, Sister Chen." Feng Mian called out sweetly, and then asked her what she was doing on the mountain, whether she had children at home, and whether being a hunter was hard work... She kept asking Sister Chen until she was dizzy and shut her mouth, not really wanting to talk to her.

Feng Mian asked her a bunch of questions, secretly trying to find out what was going on in the cave. Even if Sister Chen wanted to lie to her, her lies would always contain some truths.

For example, when asked about her child, Mrs. Chen clearly showed some genuine emotion, complaining that her child was disobedient and had fallen and injured his leg while climbing a mountain in the rain. Fortunately, a female doctor happened to pass by and helped, otherwise the child would have lost his life.

Feng Mian guessed that the "female doctor" mentioned by Sister Chen was the person who chewed the herbs and left traces, and should also have been abducted by traffickers.

As they were talking, the two finally reached the top of the mountain. To Feng Mian's surprise, Sister Chen led her in another direction from the cave entrance hidden by vines. In the blind spot, there was another entrance!

These people seem truly vigilant, even creating multiple entrances and exits to find a hiding place, constantly preparing for capture and escape. If they could find a way to block the hole at the other end of the vines, they could leave from the other side.

Upon approaching, Feng Mian paused, deliberately looking around in feigned fear. "Sister-in-law Chen, this place looks eerie, I'm scared."

Just as they were about to finish, Sister Chen quickly reassured them, "You're here with me, what are you afraid of!"

It's precisely because you're here that you should be afraid.

Feng Mian thought to herself, but then her gaze fell on a vine that had been silently severed by a sharp weapon not far away. She realized that Baili Xunzhou was nearby and had a way to go in with her. Reassured, she stepped into the cave with Sister Chen.

My vision went dark for a moment, and I caught a whiff of damp, putrid odor and a faint smell of blood. Then I saw the pine torches embedded in the cracks in the wall.

The torches dimly illuminated the winding cave, and several straw mats could be vaguely seen spread out on the stone ground.

Before Fengmian could see more, a child's scream came from the left: "Watch out!"

Feng Mian turned around at the sound, and a man emerged from behind Chen's wife, his iron chains aimed straight at her. She instinctively stepped back, but Chen's wife stepped forward to block her, tearing away her gentle facade, and said with a sinister smile, "Sister, don't struggle, just surrender..."

Feng Mian raised both hands, giving up resistance, "I surrender."

The threatening words that Chen Da was about to blurt out suddenly caught in his throat, and his hands paused for a moment. He was clearly surprised that she realized the reality so quickly, and he looked at his sister-in-law in a daze.

Sister-in-law Chen glared at him. "What are you standing there for? Tie him up!"

Feng Mian was thus bound hand and foot and stuffed into an earthen cell.

Mrs. Chen was quite surprised: "You're quite sensible."

Feng Mian cowered and lowered her head, looking completely terrified and at a loss. "I...I don't want to be beaten..."

"It's best to be obedient and not suffer. Your sister-in-law will bring you some good food this afternoon."

She finished the order smoothly and walked away happily, humming a little tune.

Once the footsteps disappeared around the corner of the cave, Feng Mian breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the group of children who were imprisoned behind him.

A dozen or so children huddled like quails in a dark corner, staring at her timidly. Their features were shrouded in shadow, and Feng Mian couldn't make them out, so she tentatively called out, "A-Yang?"

“Princess, is it really you?” In the innermost corner, A-Yang stood up, leaning against the earthen wall, and limped toward Feng Mian.

"What happened to your leg?" Feng Mian wanted to go forward when she saw this, but forgot that her own feet were also tied. She struggled for a moment and fell to the ground.

"I'm fine. I struggled when they tied me up, and that's when I got hurt." A-Yang quickly helped Feng Mian sit up, and was incredulous at her disheveled appearance. "How could you... Humph, I knew those guys were all show and no substance!"

He angrily berated Baili Xunzhou and the others, clearly convinced that they had failed to protect Feng Mian. He turned to the center of the crowd and asked softly, "Sister Xue, could you please check on Princess? She's injured."

"Where did this princess come from?" a weak voice asked.

The delicate figure sat up from where the children had blocked her view. Her face was pale and sickly. Even in the darkness, Feng Mian recognized her at a glance.

Yuan Jixue?!