trap
Su Fangli also speculated: "It's possible, but we should stay out of it and just protect the food and people through the winter."
Aunt Fang agreed. "It's a good thing you were so smart and found such a hidden place to hide the food. Otherwise, after the previous tax collections, even if the foreigners didn't come to raid, we don't know if we would have enough food to survive this winter."
"Aunt Fang, are you planning to leave after the spring?" Su Fangli asked.
"Well. What about you and Granny Fang? Aren't you leaving yet?" Aunt Fang said with some concern: "If you can convince Granny Fang, it's better to leave early."
The girl before her was serene and calm, with a maturity and composure that belied her age. Aunt Fang kept turning some words over and over in her mind, unsure whether she should say them or not.
A few months ago, she didn't tell her mother-in-law Fang because she didn't want her to be lonely. Now she hesitated again:
Would this delay Fang Li's search for her true family? Was it right for her to die in the mountains, accompanying an old man?
Su Fangli was unaware of the inner struggles facing Aunt Fang. Recalling last night's tarot reading, she reminded her, "Auntie, have you packed up your things? If nothing else, get into the mountains as soon as possible. I think those foreigners might be arriving soon."
"Not yet? Do you really think so?" Aunt Fang became nervous. "Then I have to go and clean it up quickly."
-
Su Fangli left Aunt Fang's house and went up the mountain.
There have been people coming here recently, so she has to go to the place where the food is hidden to take another look.
In previous years, when winter arrived in Fangjia Village, foreigners would come to raid. According to Aunt Fang, they would usually hide in the mountains and wait until the foreigners left before emerging.
She has no memory of her original self, so she needs to be more careful in matters of life and death.
This mountain is huge, and it's easy to get lost without a reference point, Su Fangli thought.
She didn't have this worry. Perhaps it was because she had lived near the mountain for more than ten years and was so familiar with the road that she could walk out without looking at it.
If you are not familiar with the area, you may just have to mark it on the tree.
As Su Fangli thought about this, her eyes involuntarily fell on the tree beside her.
She paused slightly and saw a faint white mark on the tree on the upper left.
It seems to be a mark left by a sharp weapon.
Su Fangli frowned and looked around again. She found many similar carvings. Judging by their height, they must have belonged to someone taller than her.
The trees with the marks were connected. The man seemed to be constantly circling around.
She knew what was going on, so she squatted down to pick up the mushrooms on the ground, held the tree trunk with her other hand, and touched the mark.
It's slightly moist, probably because it was left there not long ago.
The mountain was completely still, and Su Fangli suddenly seemed to take an interest in the scattered mushrooms on the ground. She walked in one direction, picking them up, occasionally stopping and moving.
After circling around a few times, I heard a faint "thump" sound behind me.
She waited for a long time, and when she heard no other sound, she took out a handkerchief from her bag, covered her face, and walked over there.
There are several traps on this mountain, which were dug by hunters in the village.
Aunt Fang had taken her to the cave several times before, repeatedly warning her to be careful not to fall in. There were not only traps inside, but also the remains of fallen animals.
She paused at the edge.
It was a large pit, three or four men wide and tall, with a pool of black water at the bottom, mixed with an unknown substance. The bamboo thorn trap had apparently been rotten by the water and abandoned.
In the trap, a man was standing awkwardly against the wall, his body below the knees sunk in the black water.
Their eyes met, and no one spoke.
Until Su Fangli looked around, left for a moment, picked up a huge stone and came over, and raised his hand to throw it in, the people inside finally couldn't help but reach out to stop him:
"Young lady, please don't be angry! I have no ill intentions, please spare my life!"
As he spoke, he stood up straight, his hands behind his back, leaning against the wall. From Su Fangli's perspective, he could clearly see his handsome face.
Her black hair was tied up with a jade crown, so it did not become disheveled even after she fell into the pit.
His jade-like cheeks were slightly dusty, his nose was high, his lips were red, his teeth were white, his peach blossom eyes were slightly narrowed, and there was a little red at the corners of his eyes. He had the appearance of a rare jade-like gentleman.
He seemed to know which angle looked best, and he adjusted it deliberately before saying:
"Don't be offended, young lady. May I ask if you are a resident of this neighborhood? I accidentally lost my way while descending the mountain and was trapped in the forest for a day and a night. I am hungry and thirsty. I just happened to see you, it was like a fragrant orchid entering a dream, I am truly happy. I was just afraid that my rash questions would disturb you, so I followed you here cautiously. I hope you will forgive me.
My name is Ye Zhihui. I am honored to meet you. May I ask your name? We have strayed into the forest and are in great difficulty. I hope you can help us and call your relatives to help us. I will be grateful and will thank you generously in the future.
After a few words, the woman at the edge of the pit remained silent. Her face, hidden by a handkerchief, was unclear, but her eyes were clear and bright, staring intently at him.
Ye Zhihui was already familiar with being stared at by women, but for some reason, he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
"Girl?" he called again.
Su Fangli withdrew her gaze from the star disk above his head and looked at his face.
Another one, either rich or noble, with a lot of fate involved. She frowned, having just sent one away when another one arrived. Could he be related to the person from yesterday?
"Are you looking for someone? Or something?" she asked.
The clear voice was lingering, with a strange emphasis and pause. Ye Zhihui looked at her in surprise, feeling that the sound brushed past his ears, and it was tingling in his bones.
He put on his usual smile and said, "I'm not looking for anyone, nor for anything. I just saw these mountains are so beautiful and natural, so I thought I'd get closer to see if there were any immortals hiding there—and who knew I'd actually meet a fairy."
Su Fangli raised her hand and threw the stone directly into the pit. The other party was frightened and quickly turned towards the wall, barely saving his dignity.
Ye Zhihui didn't expect that his "beauty trap" would hit a wall. The woman actually dared to throw stones, and his desire to tease her was extinguished.
He pulled his leg out, moved to the edge of the stone, and stepped on it.
He breathed a sigh of relief that he no longer had to stand in the black water.
"I apologize for being so presumptuous. I beg your forgiveness. This is a desolate mountain with no one to turn to. I can only shamelessly ask for your help. If you are willing to lend me a hand, give me a hand, and show me a way forward, I will be deeply grateful and will remember it in my heart."
As he spoke, he took out all his belongings from his pocket: banknotes, a bag of change, a folding fan, and a delicate dagger.
Ye Zhihui cut off a piece of his outer robe with a dagger, packed up all the things, and threw them into the pit.
"As you can see, this is all I have. I'm really desperate, so I just want you to help me. The money is just a token of my gratitude."
Su Fangli walked over, picked up the bag, and took out the dagger inside.
She drew her knife from its sheath, and with a restrained cold light, she made another cut on the tree where she had marked it before. Seeing that the marks were almost identical, she put all the things into her bag.
Her bag was a mess, so she rummaged through it and pulled out a hemp rope.
Su Fangli tied the hemp rope to the tree closest to the pit and threw the other end to the man in the pit.
Ye Zhihui didn't expect that there was actually a way. He tugged at the hemp rope in his hand and couldn't help asking, "Is this rope strong?"
Seeing Su Fangli's expressionless face, he said nothing more. Thinking that this girl had a really cold temper, he climbed up while pulling at the rope.
Su Fangli was ten feet away from him, standing casually next to another trap, holding a dagger in his hand in his bag.
Fortunately, the other party had no other thoughts. After climbing up and taking a good breath, he said, "Young lady, you are a natural beauty with a kind heart. You saved my life. I am deeply grateful."
Seeing Su Fangli standing far away, he knew she was on guard, so he continued, "Miss, if you don't mind, could you show me a way down the mountain?"
Ye Zhihui glanced at the pit he'd fallen into. Aside from where he'd stepped, there was no sign of a trap underneath. He then glanced at where Su Fangli was standing, but couldn't see anything wrong there.
I didn't dare move at all, for fear that I would repeat the same mistake if I wasn't careful.
For the sake of those silver bills, Su Fangli walked over, untied the hemp rope and took it back.
She cut off the part stained with black water and threw it in front of Ye Zhihui, saying, "Tie it up yourself and I'll take you down the mountain."
Ye Zhihui stared at the stinking, blackened hemp rope, his forehead twitching. He restrained his hand from covering his nose and said with difficulty, "Miss, can you change the rope?"
He really couldn't bring himself to touch the stinky rope, so he gritted his teeth, untied his belt, and tied himself up in a few seconds. "Let's go."
Seeing his hands were purple from being tied up, Su Fangli didn't care. She walked over and searched him from head to toe, until his face and neck turned red. She didn't find anything, so she let him go.
Ye Zhihui wanted to dodge, but he felt that he was being pretentious, so he could only tilt his head and ask for what he wanted. He thought: How can this girl be so unrestrained? She is completely different from the girls in the boudoir in Beijing.
Su Fangli tied one end of the hemp rope to the other person's wrist and held the other end himself, signaling the other person to follow.
When doing this, Su Fangli herself felt strange: why didn't she have such vigilance when she met the man surnamed Cheng the day before yesterday?
And these past few days, she'd been either going up or down the mountain, or on the way up or down. She'd walked a lot, but accomplished nothing. Su Fangli frowned, wondering if she could tie Granny Fang up and bring her into town while she was asleep... would that be feasible?
When they reached the foot of the mountain, Su Fangli took back his hemp rope.
"Follow this road." She said and turned around.
Ye Zhihui wanted to say something, but he didn't expect the woman to walk so fast. He could only stand there for a long time, until her figure was completely out of sight. Then he untied the restraints on his wrists and tied them back around his waist.
This mountain is indeed strange, just as Brother He said.
He returned to his place and pushed the door open, only to find He Chenghuan already waiting in the courtyard. Seeing Ye Zhihui's state, he asked, "What happened? Why are you so embarrassed?"
Ye Zhihui also looked down at himself and said with a smile: "I was not careful for a moment and fell into the pit."
He changed the subject: "Fortunately, a kind-hearted person rescued the body and saved it from being buried in the mountains."
He Chenghuan nodded and asked:
"Can you see that red earth? Or is it iron stone?"
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