Zhang You and the others sat in the seats next to Qiao Si. Zhang You listened to what Qiao Si said and always felt that something seemed wrong, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong for a while, so she just drank tea.
They didn't rest for long, as a hunter came out from the other side of the mountain, carrying branches on his back and a hare in his hand.
The hunter was wearing tiger-skin clothes and had a big knife hanging around his waist. He looked like an experienced hunter.
He walked to the small table next to the tea stall with a smile on his face. He threw the rabbit in his hand onto the table as if to show off, and sat down after putting down the bundle of branches on his back.
A deep voice said, "Boss, bring me a pot of tea!"
Ever since the hunter arrived, Qiao Si and the others had been secretly watching him.
The boss was holding a pot of tea and seemed to be very familiar with the hunter. "Hey, Lao Li, you've got another good catch today!"
"Here, look! A hare this big. I feel it must weigh more than ten pounds."
Li Hu grabbed the brown rabbit's ears and lifted it up, showing it off to the boss.
"Oh, it's so big, it can be sold for a good price."
"No, it took me a lot of effort."
A passerby who was stopping nearby asked Li Hu curiously, "Hey, fellow, isn't Wuhu Mountain very dangerous? How dare you go in there to hunt?"
Li Hu paused, then quickly replied, "Alas, those are all rumors from the past. I've been hunting in Wuhu Mountain with my father since I was little. I know exactly where the dangers are and where the treasures are! It's not as exaggerated as the legends say!"
He waved his hands, as if there was no threat in the mountains.
The passerby looked like a businessman from Tuozhou, and had probably just come here by bypassing Wuhu Mountain. After hearing the hunter's words, he said with regret: "Oh! If we had known this would happen, we would have just crossed the mountain. We also went around from the nearby village, which delayed us for three days. Sigh——"
"Hey? If you want, come find me on your way back and I can take you over the mountains. I know which roads are flat and which are wide. Your caravan can go through either."
Li Hu drank a bowl of tea in big gulps and spoke enthusiastically.
"Really? We do need guidance on our return journey, but how will we find you then?"
"I live in the village south of this tea stall. If you need anything, please send someone to find me in advance. My name is Li Hu, and I will guide you when the time comes."
"Thank you so much, Brother Li."
Jingzhu heard their conversation and turned to ask Qiao Si, her voice neither loud nor soft, but loud enough for them to hear.
"Princess, it looks like Wuhu Mountain can be traversed. If we traverse it, we can save two days."
Qiao Si was silent, as if he was thinking.
After hearing this, Li Hu turned around and spoke to Qiao Si enthusiastically, as if he didn't know Qiao Si's identity.
"Hey? Are you guys going to cross the mountain too? I can show you the way. It's still early, so if we start now, you can get over it by evening."
Li Hu was a little too enthusiastic in his attentiveness.
Qiao Si seemed unaware of it. She thought for a moment and happily agreed.
"If you can lead us through Wuhu Mountain, this bag of money will be all yours."
Jingzhu spends money skillfully.
Zhang You watched all this happen coldly and felt more and more suspicious.
Everything was going so smoothly. How could someone have led them there by chance? The hunter's appearance was too coincidental.
Moreover, Qiao Si doesn't seem like someone who would trust strangers easily. She has always been vigilant and even tests the tea at a tea stall for poison. How could she trust a stranger who appeared out of nowhere?
What's more, Qiao Si had clearly investigated the route before coming here. It was said that Wuhu Mountain was not safe and few locals went in. How could this person say that it was not dangerous inside?
Zhang You looked at Qiao Si. She looked relaxed, like a young lady who was unaware of the wickedness of human nature.
Zhang You looked at Qiao Si like this and figured out some things.
Could it be... that this is also part of Qiao Si's plan?
They quickly decided to follow Li Hu into the mountains. Li Hu left his things to the tea stall owner, asking him to help bring them back to his mother.
After a short rest, Qiao Si followed Li Hu into the mountains.
From a distance, Wuhu Mountain looks lush with trees. Although it is winter, the trees on the mountain are still very green.
At the foot of Wuhu Mountain
There is a big road that looks like it is walked on by many people, and you can vaguely see some tire tracks on it.
At the tea stall, Jingzhu had already introduced Qiao Si's identity to Li Hu, and Li Hu was very respectful when leading the way.
"Princess, let's go straight along this road. Look, it's so wide and there are obviously many people walking on it. I'm not lying."
Li Hu spoke in a simple and honest manner with a flattering tone.
When they entered the mountain, it was almost noon. They had already had a simple meal at the tea stall, so they did not stop and kept walking along the main road.
After walking about a few hundred meters, the mountain became steeper and the road narrowed a lot, and the carriage could no longer carry people.
Qiao Si simply got off the car and walked. After they walked a few hundred meters, the mountain road became narrower and narrower, and the carriage could no longer pass through.
"Didn't you say the carriage could go? Look at this mountain road, how can we get there? Can you lead the way?"
Hongmei's patience has run out.
At the beginning, he said he could take them through, but now the carriage is stuck here and can't move at all.
Li Hu had already begun to sweat. He spoke cautiously, "This... I didn't expect the princess's carriage to be so big. I was able to fit it when I led the caravan before."
Hongmei was furious. "What do you mean? Now you're blaming us! We came here because you said it was okay! What do you want to do now? I'm telling you, if you waste our time, I won't let you go, and you can forget about your guide fee!"
"Oh, oh, oh, don't, I'll find a way."
Li Hu racked his brains, but couldn't come up with a good idea. Finally, he said, "How about this? Princess, please send two people to drive the carriage down the mountain and go around the side. If they drive the carriage, they can arrive later. We can continue along this mountain road. It's not far, and we can walk over it in two hours."
Hongmei seemed to think it was feasible and looked at Qiao Si: "Princess, what do you think?"
Qiao Si thought about it and said, "Okay."
Soon two people brought the carriage down the mountain, and they continued to follow Li Hu into the mountains.
The further in we went, the less sunlight there was. It was noon, which should have been the hottest time, but now we felt cold from the soles of our feet.
Moreover, the mountain road became narrower and narrower, and finally only one person could pass through.
Zhang You, Chunhua Qiuyue and others were walking at the end, only one step away from the person in front of them, making sure they would not get lost.
The further we walked, the more rugged the road became. I don't know when it started, but a thick fog began to rise from the forest.
In the blink of an eye, everything in front of me became blurred.
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