An Caicai stuck her head into the dark cave and took a look. A musty smell hit her face, making her wrinkle her nose.
"This place... no one comes here, right? There won't be any wild beasts or anything, right?"
She asked cautiously, feeling a little nervous.
Chen Changyuan sneered.
"Don't worry, few people know about this place except me."
He paused, as if remembering something. In his previous life, he was drunk and stumbled upon this place by accident. There was no one, not even a rabbit, to mention people.
It's a good place to hide.
After saying that, he turned and was about to leave.
"Hey, where are you going?"
An Caicai quickly grabbed the corner of his clothes. If he left in this desolate mountain and wilderness, wouldn't she be scared to death if she was left alone in this haunted place?
Chen Changyuan looked at him as if he was a fool.
"I'm going to get some food and find some herbs to treat your feet. Otherwise, do you think we're going to starve?"
He pointed to the cellar and said, "Just stay still, don't run around, and don't make any noise, and you'll be fine."
An Caicai became even more panicked, "Then...will you come back?"
Chen Changyuan smiled. "Twelve thousand, I have to come back to collect the money."
An Caicai was so angry at his money-grubbing behavior that she laughed and shook his hand off, "Get out of here!"
Chen Changyuan shrugged and walked into the woods without looking back.
Listening to the footsteps gradually fading away, An Caicai began to look around carefully.
The cellar was even more shabby than she had imagined. It was dark and damp, and emitted an unpleasant earthy smell.
The entrance to the cave was narrow, barely enough for one person to pass through. Inside the cave, it was pitch black, with no sight of one's hand in front of one's face.
She groped her way to a relatively dry place and sat down, her heart in turmoil.
She had been living a life of luxury since she was a child, how could she have ever seen such a scene?
The dark cave, the gloomy woods, and the chirping of unknown insects and birds all made her feel creepy.
She couldn't help but hug her arms tightly, and all kinds of horrible images appeared in her mind:
Poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts, demons and monsters, and even the ferocious faces seen at the "struggle sessions"...
"Chen Changyuan, you must come back soon..."
She prayed silently in her heart. At this moment, the image of the money-grubber actually made her feel a little relieved.
After leaving the valley, Chen Changyuan did not go hunting directly, but made a circle and returned to the place where he had found An Caicai before.
He carefully observed the surrounding environment and confirmed that there were no traces left, then he began to look for food and herbs with peace of mind.
He was very familiar with this forest. In his previous life, he had often spent the night in the mountains after wandering around drunkenly.
He knew where the wild rabbits were, where to find edible wild vegetables and fruits, and even which herbs could be used to stop bleeding and reduce inflammation.
Chen Changyuan walked carefully through the woods, his footsteps so light that they made almost no sound.
It was late autumn now, and the air in the mountains was a little damp and cold. The ground was covered with layers of fallen leaves, making it a little slippery to step on.
He glanced at the bushes beside him, his eyes as sharp as a hawk, trying to find some clues among the crisscrossing branches and leaves.
Logically speaking, hares should be most likely to be encountered during this season.
They are desperately digging up wild fruits and grass roots to store energy for the winter and become fat and strong.
In his previous life, Chen Changyuan had figured out the habits of the rabbits in this mountain and knew where the hidden rabbit nests were.
However, today, perhaps because his luck was extremely bad, he walked for a full quarter of an hour and didn't see a rabbit, let alone a fresh rabbit hair.
"It's a ghost."
He frowned and muttered to himself, squatting down and pushing aside a pile of fallen leaves, revealing a small amount of soil.
"Logically, this area should be their range of activity... Could it be that they've moved somewhere else?"
Just as he was wondering whether to change the road, he heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes in the distance.
Chen Changyuan held his breath vigilantly, and his hand subconsciously reached for the wooden stick at his waist.
He stared at the direction where the noise came from, thinking that if the rabbit came out, it would run into his gun.
But the next second, a familiar rough voice sounded, accompanied by footsteps getting closer and closer.
"Hey, who are you talking about? You're sneaking around. There's no point catching rabbits here. They'd have already been scared away!"
Chen Changyuan sighed helplessly, threw the stick in his hand aside, and stood up.
"Old Li."
Sure enough, the person who emerged from the bushes was Old Li, the famous talkative farmer in the village.
The old man was originally carrying a backpack, his face was unshaven, and his clothes were covered in mud. Now when he saw Chen Changyuan, he frowned in surprise.
"Hey? Are you running to the mountains?"
He smacked his lips, a scrutinizing look on his face.
"What's wrong? Have you changed your personality? Didn't they say you were born with a good fate? You even look down on my farming ability?"
Chen Changyuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled in his heart, knowing that although Old Li was mean in his words, he no longer looked down on him as much as before.
The news that he had severed ties with Zhou Jiaen spread quickly throughout the village.
Back then, Zhou Jiaen took advantage of his power to bully others and extorted a lot of money from the villagers, especially honest people like Old Li, who really suffered from it.
Facing Old Li's probing words, Chen Changyuan was not anxious and replied casually:
"How can you say you're born with a good fate? Don't you still have to live your life yourself? But then again, why did you come to the mountains? Didn't you just plant the seeds at home?"
Upon hearing this, Old Li put the backpack on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he brushed the dirt off his clothes and grinned:
"Hey, the town militia captain sent a message in the mountains, saying whoever captures a female comrade will be given three pounds of meat! Do you know what that means?"
"Three pounds of meat?"
Chen Changyuan raised his eyebrows.
Meat is a rare commodity these days. A month's supply ticket is only enough to buy a little over one kilogram. Telling others about three kilograms of meat is like moving gold bars.
His eyes moved, and he said nonchalantly:
"What female comrade are you arresting? What's causing all this commotion? Searching the mountain and issuing notices?"
"Why else?"
Seeing that Chen was asking seriously, Old Li spread his hands and let out a breath.
"I heard from sources that a woman targeted for criticism in town escaped. I heard she was arrested while visiting relatives, and yet she managed to slip away right under the nose of the militia captain. How dare she!"
Chen Changyuan was secretly shocked, but he suppressed all emotions and just snorted coldly.
"Militia Captain? Humph, is this all you can do after being given three pounds of meat?"
"Isn't it?"
Old Li nodded disapprovingly.
"But anyway, these three pounds of meat are really tempting! Just for this, most of the laborers in the village came here. Hey, even Xiaoyuer's kid is clamoring to cross the mountain to have a taste of it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
