Before confirming the woman's identity, he remained somewhat cautious, realizing his tone had been a bit harsh, so he explained...
"This is just a routine inquiry, comrade, please don't mind."
Lu Zhixia did not panic; instead, she calmly said,
“I went up the mountain to collect herbs with others, and then we encountered some thugs. I had no choice but to split up with my companion and run away. I don’t know how she is doing now.”
Thinking of the ginseng, she quickly took the bag off her body, opened it, and saw that the ginseng had been flattened.
I'm heartbroken. It was in such good condition before, and now it's been damaged, which will definitely affect its value.
Gu Lingxiao was surprised when he saw the ginseng; such a large piece was at least a hundred years old.
In other words, the woman was indeed there to gather herbs. Relieved, I comforted her.
"In such a critical situation, as long as people survive, that's all that matters. These are all external things."
Lu Zhixia didn't reply but instead carefully processed the ginseng with her hands. Fortunately, only a few of the rootlets were broken, and if she went down the mountain quickly, it should be salvageable.
I looked up at the sky; it was gradually getting dark.
If she can't get down the mountain tonight, she'll have to spend the night with this man.
The other person was a soldier, so it would be safe to stay together. However, he was worried that the ginseng in the bag might be damaged if it wasn't dealt with, so he said urgently...
"I need to get down the mountain quickly, partly to call for help, and partly to deal with the ginseng that's surrounded."
"Have you rested enough?"
"I can do it now."
"Then let's go down the mountain."
Lu Zhixia reached out her hand, "Let me help you up!"
Gu Lingxiao reached out and held the woman's small, delicate hand; this was the first time he had ever held a woman's hand so tightly.
He quickly let go of her hand after standing up, feeling a little embarrassed.
Lu Zhixia picked up two tree branches from the ground to use as a sickle.
“Let’s each take one and rummage through the grass. I’m telling you, there are a lot of poisonous snakes on this mountain.”
At this moment, she remembered that the man had brought his men with him.
"What's your name? Are you from the law enforcement team? How many of you are there? I have a friend who was also being chased by them. I don't know how he is now."
"My name is Gu Lingxiao, and I am the captain of the special forces of the Southwest Military Region."
"Lu Zhixia".
"Comrade Lu! What is the current situation of your friend? I don't know, but based on my understanding of the team members, they should have rescued him by now."
They're now half a mountain away from us.
"Then let's get down the mountain as soon as possible, it's getting dark."
"It's alright, I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you."
Lu Zhixia paused in her steps, feeling as if she had heard those words somewhere before.
Seeing him walking ahead, she followed behind.
Thinking back, the two of them should have had no past interactions whatsoever.
After figuring things out, I felt more relaxed. With someone leading the way, the path down the mountain wasn't so difficult anymore.
Gu Lingxiao was also worried that the mission would not be completed, but given the current situation, he wanted to go up but was powerless to do so.
First of all, the slope is too steep. It's easy to go down slowly, but it's easy to roll down and fall again if you try to go up. If he were alone, he could try.
But if there's a woman with you, don't take the risk.
With a whoosh, the signal flare lit up the sky.
Red signifies mission success. Gu Lingxiao smiled with relief, then activated his signal flare to let them know he was alright.
Zhang Qian, who was on the mountain, saw the direction of the signal flare and quickly took out his binoculars to look. He actually saw the captain, and the rescued girl was also beside him.
So he quickly spoke to Ma Chao, who was resting nearby.
"The captain is alright, they're already halfway up the mountain."
Ma Chao stood up, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and said, "That's good. As long as the person is alright, we can escort the prisoner down the mountain without worry."
Not far from them, six people were tied together with rope.
In this way, if one person takes a wrong step, the others will all fall down.
Bai Ying asked them anxiously, "My companion? How is she?"
Zhang Qian looked at the pale-faced woman. When they rushed over, she was holding a sickle to her own neck.
She had an air of "I'd rather die than be humiliated," just like a heroine in a novel.
"Comrade, you can rest assured. That girl is with my captain. I checked her through the binoculars, and she should be fine and able to leave."
Bai Ying smiled happily, relieved that everything had turned out alright. As long as everyone got down the mountain safely, she could finally relax.
Zhang Qian said, "Let's go! Let's go down the mountain too, but according to our route, we probably won't get down before dark."
After Bai Ying raised her hand to confirm the location, she said to them, "I know a cave, it's halfway up the mountain. We just need to get there before dark."
Inside were our belongings: food, water, and medicine to stop the bleeding from our wounds.
They were delighted to hear this, for with such a place, they no longer had to worry about wild animals attacking them at night.
Zhang Qian said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's set off now. I feel the captain should come down the mountain before dark, and then he will inform the villagers."
Bai Ying nodded with relief, "That's for the best, otherwise my family would be very worried."
As they set off, the prisoners would walk together in the middle.
With people around both sides, they can't cause any trouble.
————
Lu Zhixia felt her strength draining away, her mouth was incredibly dry, and she didn't know where her water bottle had fallen when she rolled down the hillside.
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