It was already pitch black. In the dense forest, without any lighting, even though Ling Xiao was very familiar with the area, he still had to stumble and fall, making it very difficult.
Behind them, Ling Yongde and his group, carrying torches, were already approaching step by step.
Fei Ge grew anxious and urged, "Hurry up, they're catching up!"
"I understand." Ling Xiao replied, a little anxious, and unconsciously quickened his pace. However, he lost his footing and slid down a very steep slope to the side.
"Watch out!" Fei Ge exclaimed, instinctively reaching out to grab it, but missed.
In the chaos, Ling Xiao also reached out and grabbed something, thinking that whatever he grabbed would help him stay steady. Unexpectedly, he grabbed Fei Ge's ankle.
Fei Ge wasn't paying attention and was pulled down by him.
"Damn it!" Fei Ge exclaimed, "What kind of route are you leading us on? Didn't you say you knew this mountain area like the back of your hand?"
"...It's too dark, I can't see anything." As he slid down rapidly, Ling Xiao pretended to be calm, mainly because panicking was useless now.
Not knowing where he would fall, not knowing if he would ever come back alive, Fei Ge was in a panic. He didn't care if he attracted Ling Yongde and the others, and screamed wildly, "Help... ah... ah..."
Ling Yongde and his group quickly followed the sound and came over.
The bright torches illuminated the almost vertical slope below, where apart from the marks left by the ground, it was pitch black and nothing could be seen or heard.
"It's so deep, he must have fallen to his death by now, right?" Zeng Shou said gloatingly.
Ling Yongde frowned, remained silent, and after a moment of contemplation, looked at Zeng Shou and said, "Go down and take a look."
Zeng Shou shuddered, looking at Ling Yongde with a terrified expression, and took a step back timidly: "It's so deep, how can we go down? We'll fall to our deaths."
Ling Yongde turned to the others beside him: "Does anyone have a rope?"
The people around them exchanged bewildered glances. They had been drinking peacefully just moments before; who would bring a rope out for no reason?
Li Xiang felt around his waist and unbuckled his belt: "Should we use the belt to fasten it?"
Ling Yongde thought it was a good idea, so he had everyone take off their belts, tie them together, and put them on Zeng Shou's hands, so that he could slowly slide down until he could go no further.
"So? Did you see anything?" Ling Yongde asked.
Zeng Shou waved the torch in his hand down twice, but it remained pitch black: "I can't see anything. It's bottomless. They must be completely dead."
After saying that, he frantically shouted, "Pull me up quickly!" The thin belt felt like it couldn't support his weight at all, and he didn't know when it would break. He didn't want to fall down and die there.
Zeng Shou was quickly pulled up.
"You really didn't see anything?" Ling Yongde confirmed with him again.
Zeng Shou nodded and said confidently, "There's no bottom to it, they're definitely dead."
Ling Yongde was finally relieved and a smug smile appeared on his face: "Heaven wanted him dead. Look, I didn't even have to lift a finger, they brought this upon themselves."
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go back and continue drinking, let's celebrate properly."
Ling Yongde's men immediately cheered.
"That Fei Ge is dead, so what about the black market in Lanyuan..." Zeng Shou asked Ling Yongde when they got back.
Without hesitation, Ling Yongde said, "Old Gou has always been eyeing Lan Yuan, hasn't he? He couldn't get it before because Fei Ge was around. Now that Fei Ge is gone, just send a message and let him do it himself. By the way, have Old Gou find out the source of Fei Ge's rare goods as soon as possible."
Zeng Shou immediately agreed: "Don't worry, Brother De, I'll have someone take care of it right away."
Ling Yongde and his group left in a hurry, without any of them noticing that Sun Liang, who had been following them from the beginning, was hiding in the bushes nearby and had overheard everything they had just said.
After Ling Yongde and his group had gone far away, Sun Liangcai crawled out of the bushes where he had been hiding, found the spot where Ling Yongde and his group had stopped and where Ling Xiao and Fei Ge had fallen, respectfully kowtowed three times, and sobbed, "Fei Ge, don't worry, I won't let you become a wandering ghost. I will definitely bring the news of your death back to your family and bring you back from here."
After saying that, he resolutely turned and left, intending to go back and see his mother one last time before rushing to Lanyuan that very night to deliver Fei Ge's message.
Below the steep slope, less than two meters down from where Zeng Shou had just stopped, Ling Xiao and Fei Ge, looking disheveled, lay motionless, their ears perked up, listening to the sounds coming from the slope.
"It seems like someone else is coming..." Fei said.
“It seems like they’ve left again…” Ling Xiao added.
The two were silent for a moment, then looked at each other: "It seems like no one's here?!"
The two of them breathed a sigh of relief and lay there, too tired to move for a moment.
"Now there's only one problem left," Ling Xiao said, catching his breath.
"They've already left, so what's the problem?" Fei asked, puzzled.
Ling Xiao pointed to the top of the steep slope: "How do we get up there?"
Fei looked up at the steep slope and his expression froze instantly: "..." Yeah, how do we get up there?
The next day, in Lanyuan Town, at the black market.
Wang Xiaofa woke up early in the morning with a worried look on his face and was restless.
His brother went to Qingxi Town yesterday to find the guy who stole their goods. Before leaving, he clearly said that even if it was late, he would try his best to come back overnight. But it's already the second day and he still hasn't seen him.
Wang Xiaofa had a bad feeling and was hesitating whether to take two people to Qingxi Town to look for him when Zheng Ping'an, one of his brother's trusted subordinates, rushed in. Behind him was a skinny guy who looked travel-worn but had a somewhat familiar face. He seemed to have seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.
"Something's wrong, Xiao Fa, Fei Ge is in trouble." Zheng Ping'an looked at Wang Xiao Fa with a serious expression and said.
Wang Xiaofa was still wondering who that guy was when he heard Zheng Ping'an's words. His expression changed, and he immediately stood up from his chair: "What happened to my brother?"
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