Chapter 143: Marching into the Mountains
After identifying the direction, everyone walked forward with their heads down. Gradually, the grass and trees became more and more lush, the vines entwined around them became more and more numerous, the trees became more and more diverse, tall and verdant, and streams could be seen gurgling from time to time, so that the humidity in the forest became heavier.
The scenery became more and more quiet, and the various flowers, plants, trees and rocks were particularly beautiful.
But no one was in the mood to appreciate it. Everyone knew that the further they went, the better the scenery would be, but it would also be full of dangers.
Entering such a mountain, they dared not take any chances or be careless.
Everyone was thankful that it was winter and not spring or summer, otherwise it would have been even more troublesome. Venomous snakes, insects, and ants were no joke.
The people brought by Zhong Jing are all good at their jobs. Originally, they looked down on Zhao Liya, Hu Ling and Yu Xiaofang, always thinking that they would be a drag.
Especially Zhao Liya, a little girl, why is she joining in such a commotion! This is not something a girl should get involved in!
Unexpectedly, when they were on the road, Zhao Liya was steady and energetic, and did not lag behind at all. The same was true for Hu Ling and Yu Xiaofang.
The medicine given by Yu Xiaofang is very effective. Several people were accidentally bitten by poisonous spiders and ants, or scratched by poisonous stings. After using the medicine given by Yu Xiaofang, the swelling and itching disappeared quickly, and even the red and swollen hard bumps disappeared quickly.
Only then did everyone change their prejudice and start to admire him.
It is not advisable to travel too late in the mountains. The changes in light and shadow in the mountain forests are the most confusing. Once the light dims, it is very easy to get lost.
When the sun was about to set, they stopped.
The biggest advantage of the mountains in Lingnan is that it is relatively easy to find rock caves where you can spend the night.
But there were too many of them and not all of them could enter the cave, so they could only circle around the outside of the cave.
Yu Xiaofang had some medicine powder of unknown preparation sprinkled on the outside. Everyone moved some large rocks, cut down thorn bushes, and cut a lot of wooden stakes to form a circle with the cave as the center. They lit a bonfire and planned to take turns to keep watch at night and spend the night there.
Finding food in the mountains was not a problem. Everyone hunted a lot of birds, dug yams, and even picked some wild fruits that were luckily left on the trees and had a good meal.
They also set up simple traps and snares with bait at the water source and in the dense forest farther away. Early the next morning, someone went to the traps and baited areas and indeed found something, which was just enough for breakfast.
In this way, you don’t have to waste time looking for food early in the morning, which saves a lot of time.
Before they set off again, Zhou Hansheng quietly asked Zhao Liya, "Are you tired? Can you still hold on? If you can't walk anymore, remember to tell me."
Zhao Liya burst out laughing and couldn't help but joked half-heartedly, "If I really can't walk anymore, will Brother Zhou still be able to help me?"
Zhou Hansheng immediately looked at her with concern: "Are you tired? How about I carry you?"
Zhao Liya never expected that Zhou Hansheng's straight ball would catch her off guard. She originally wanted to tease someone, but her position suddenly changed and she became the one being teased - but Brother Zhou clearly cared about her and had no intention of teasing her.
Zhao Liya cursed herself inwardly: Are you still being outspoken? Are you still being quick-witted? Let's see how you get off the stage!
You have to step down even if you can't, otherwise it will be too embarrassing!
"Ahem! No, no, I'm not tired! I'm just assuming, assuming. I'm not tired for such a short distance, really."
"But--"
"We're about to fall behind. Uh, well, we should hurry up. Brother Zhou, you're such a good person!"
It's always a good thing to give someone a nice guy card. Zhao Liya dodged his gaze, her eyes darting around, not daring to even look at Zhou Hansheng again, and quickly quickened her pace.
Zhou Hansheng smiled, and fearing that she would fall, he quickly caught up with her, "Aya, slow down!"
Don't worry, he's here anyway, at most he'll be a few steps behind, it's impossible for him to fall behind, he can easily get to the first place at any time. He can also carry her on his back.
Zhong Jing, who was not far ahead, pretended not to hear anything, but in fact he was listening very carefully with his ears perked up.
Hearing Zhou Hansheng offer to carry Zhao Liya, he raised an eyebrow, shaking his head inwardly, "Tsk, tsk, tsk." Big Brother Zhou really cared deeply. And who wouldn't care about such a good sister like Xiaoya, who would help them get rich together? No, he didn't mean anything else, he was just happy for his brother!
Hearing Zhao Liya praising Brother Zhou as a good man, he couldn't help but twitch his lips: Good man? Haha! He was only a good man to Xiaoya. If it was another girl, even if she rolled down the mountain, he would never go to rescue her personally. At most, as a normal bystander, he would send one of his subordinates to help.
So Xiaoya is still too naive.
This view of people is a bit one-sided and incomplete.
By the way, does he need a reminder?
Because of a joke about a flirtation that failed and had to find a way out, Zhao Liya didn't dare to look at Zhou Hansheng openly for a long time. She felt inexplicably guilty.
Zhou Hansheng, however, acted as if nothing had happened and continued to follow Zhao Liya, carefully protecting her. He would remind her to be careful with her steps from time to time, or reach out to push away the branches that were in the way.
After a long while, Zhao Liya gradually returned to normal. Brother Zhou didn't react in any special way. Why was she so guilty? Doesn't this clearly mean that she has ulterior motives? This won't do.
She may be greedy for him, but she absolutely cannot let him notice. Doesn't she have any dignity?
At noon that day, everyone stopped in a valley with clean water to rest and have lunch.
Lunch consisted of a few pheasants and hares that we had hunted along the way, a fat mountain otter weighing about 20 pounds, a few yams that we had dug up, and some wild fruits that we had picked.
The soldiers brought by Zhong Jing were busy digging holes, collecting firewood, making fires, processing food, and inspecting the surrounding terrain. Zhao Liya couldn't help, so she saw the wild flowers blooming not far away, and walked over while talking with Zhou Hansheng.
Suddenly Zhou Hansheng pulled her hand and shouted in a deep voice, "Who are you? Come out!"
The crowd immediately gathered in groups of three or five, their eyes fixed with alertness.
Zhong Jing glanced around and noticed it in an instant. He stared coldly in one direction and shouted, "What are you doing sneaking around? Get out! Don't blame us for being rude if you don't!"
"No, no!" The four opponents appeared in a hurry. The leader was actually a girl of about eighteen or nineteen years old. All four of them wore indigo cloth clothes, wrapped their hair with scarves of the same color, and wore leggings. It was very easy for them to hide in the deep mountains and old forests where the light was not very good.
(End of this chapter)
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