Chapter 80
Pei Liu's heart, which had been relieved, was weighed down again, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
It turns out that there are still some fish that slip through the net?
Fortunately, it was discovered early.
He acted as if he hadn't noticed anything and continued walking forward.
I just changed my original plan and decided to take the mountain road instead of taking the boat to the pier.
If we take a boat, there will be people watching us, so it will be difficult to take action. It is also easy to lead the person to Donglin Township, so that people can find out the details. If we take the mountain road, we can find a chance to take action and bury the person on the road without anyone knowing. Weighing the two options, of course we would choose the mountain road.
As soon as he walked out of the north city gate, Pei Liu pretended to be eager to go home and walked at a rapid pace.
The sandalwood scent I smell is still faint, but it never leaves me.
The bite was quite tight.
When passing the first forest, Pei Liu quickened his pace and started running.
The man who had spoken to Pei Liu on the boat hesitated for a moment, watching Pei Liu's figure quickly flash into the woods, wondering if he had discovered him.
Yesterday they checked into separate inns. The other two stayed at the Changlai Inn and were responsible for the action, while he stayed in another inn as a backup, ready to provide support at any time.
I never expected that they would show up today, so I guessed that something was wrong.
But he didn't dare to risk going in, so he waited in a teahouse outside the inn until he heard people coming out of the inn shouting that someone had died. He thought that the assassination of Wei Twelve had been exposed, but he never expected that after a while, Wei Twelve came out of the inn unharmed, and happened to stop in front of the tea stall outside the teahouse.
Wei Shier is fine, which means the one who died is his companion who came to Minzhou with him to complete the mission?
All dead?
He broke out in a cold sweat and stood up abruptly. Seeing Wei Shier sipping tea slowly with no change in expression, he slowly sat down again.
This is impossible.
Not to mention that Wei Twelve is just a person with lower ranking. Those are the two seniors with the Bing character sequence. Any one of them will be more powerful than him in martial arts. How could it be possible that they both could be defeated by him at the same time?
Is there a more powerful character in the inn?
Or maybe he was not yet twelve years old and had concealed his strength, or he had used some cunning means to make the two seniors careless and fall into his vicious hands.
Thinking of this, he didn't dare to act rashly.
Looking at Wei Twelve about to leave, he gritted his teeth.
He had come out on a mission with two seniors from Bingxu. Now they were dead, but he was still alive. If he went back to the organization directly, he would not be able to bear the punishment for his crimes.
Besides, even if he wants to go back, he has to make amends and find out more about Wei Twelve first.
Only when all the blame is put on the traitor Wei Twelve can he stay out of it.
So he followed secretly.
But now, Wei Twelve seemed to have noticed his tail?
To chase or not to chase?
He hesitated.
This hesitation revealed a flaw. At this moment, a small shadow came breaking through the wind. He just reacted and wanted to retreat, but the shadow had already come fiercely, with the sharp edge pointing directly at his eyebrows. He quickly blocked it with his hand, but it was too late.
The shadow was like a dagger, the tip of which passed through the fingers, pierced the forehead and embedded itself in it.
He covered his head and screamed.
Another shadow suddenly jumped out of the woods and rushed towards him.
He finally knelt down on the ground with his calm demeanor, but was grabbed by someone and pushed to the ground again.
Through the blood-stained vision, he saw clearly the still withered and charred face, gnashing his teeth while enduring the severe pain: "Not yet twelve!"
"Is it you?"
Pei Liu recognized that this man was the young man who had deliberately revealed his identity when they were on the boat in Ge Yan yesterday.
But you didn't recognize who he was?
However, judging from the incense on his body, he is probably also an assassin of the number one thief in the world.
They were in the same group as the two brothers he killed last night.
Three people were actually sent to Fujian?
Or are there more people?
"It's me, Wei Twelve. You're truly clever! You actually dared to fake your own death and deceive the Hall Master, thinking you'd be safe by fleeing to Minzhou?" The assassin snorted coldly. "It's a shame your tracks have been exposed. No matter where you flee, you'll ultimately die."
Pei Liu frowned. "Besides you three, who else was sent here? What's their purpose?"
"Do you think I will tell you?"
Pei Liu said nothing, but his hand suddenly pressed on the dagger that was still on his forehead. With a slight force, the assassin began to wail.
"Don't tell?"
"snort!"
The assassin suddenly rushed forward and hit Pei Liu's hand, but there was a click and then the sound stopped, and he died.
Pei Liu slowly released his hand.
Did they really report back to the lair of the number one thief that they were still alive?
impossible.
He just happened to meet them yesterday.
Although it is not known when the assassin who died last discovered him, his first contact with him should have been on the passenger ship at Geyan Wharf.
As for the two brothers who died first, he had never been close to them and it was impossible for them to recognize him.
The flaw should be when he talked to me.
But how did he recognize himself?
From the appearance? Or the voice? Or other behaviors?
But no matter where they confirmed his identity from, they probably weren't quite sure. Otherwise, with his skills, the three of them wouldn't have to worry at all. They could have held him hostage three to one early in the morning without having to wait until he arrived at their shelter late at night to act.
Moreover, from yesterday to today, there are only two days, and the time is tight. Even if we want to send a verbal message back to the headquarters in Gyeonggi, it is unlikely that we will be able to do it in time.
They are just deceiving themselves.
Pei Liu calmed down, pulled out the dagger embedded in the assassin's head, and took away all the things on his body. Then he moved the body into the woods, found a place, dug a hole, and buried the body.
But just in case, he did not dare to go back to Xiaxi Village directly, but returned to Yongchang County, and then took a boat from the pier and set off again to another county.
Since he had to first ensure that no assassins were following him, and secondly, he had to make preparations in advance to make it more difficult for the assassins who might receive the news to track him down, as well as the No. 1 thief who might come to investigate after learning that something had happened to these three assassins, when they were tracking down clues, why not just take advantage of this opportunity to continue looking for his target.
This time, Pei Liu spent more than a month.
Although he was sure that no one was following him who was suspicious of his identity, he was still unable to find anyone.
It's impossible that he is no longer in this world, right?
Pei Liu thought about it carefully and shook his head slightly to deny his idea.
impossible.
That person must still be alive.
Seeing that his martial arts training had been in vain for more than a month, Pei Liu turned back and planned to return home.
It’s been too long since I returned to Xiaxi Village.
He missed the small house, his grandson, and Gu Er Niang!
At this time, Gu Ran, whom Pei Liu missed, was carefully digging konjac covered with yellow leaves in the field.
That's right, the konjac she transplanted into the field had passed its vigorous growth period, and today its only leaf had completely withered, so the underground stems could be harvested.
The konjac that was originally planted in less than half an acre of land was now dug up. There were still many small konjacs next to the fully enlarged tubers. Gu Ran planned to harvest the large konjacs and continue planting the rest of the small konjacs. Then, like the two acres of grass jelly next door, he could finally plant the remaining one acre of land. If the yield remains stable in the future, he might consider selling the konjac to the He family.
At that time, the He family can have one more snack at their stall, and they can also earn more.
When Gu Ran finished digging up all the konjac, he also scattered the small konjacs and planted them in the one-acre field next door.
Mrs. Lin Er was looking at the konjac that Gu Ran dug up and was a little surprised: "Is this the konjac that you used to make sweet soup for us?" She had heard a lot of rumors about it being so poisonous, but now it didn't seem to be that powerful.
As he said that, he wanted to reach out and pick one up to take a look, but Gu Ran opened his hand and said, "Gu Er? I'll just take a look, don't be so stingy."
"I'm not being stingy, but you also know that you can't touch konjac casually. It will cause itching and rashes." Gu Ran said, raising his hands with isolation paper covers to show her.
"So it's really poisonous?"
"Really? When have I ever lied to you?"
Gu Ran was packing up all the konjac, putting it on the donkey cart, and heading towards the cottage when he saw a group of people running out from Dayu Lin. One of them was a burly man, carrying another man on his back, and running out with big strides.
Gu Ran glanced back at them. Second Sister-in-law Lin looked at them, one hand covering her slightly swollen belly and shaking her head: "How many times have you seen someone injured today?"
"Hey, stop looking. What if you scare the baby in your belly?"
"You're scared now? I don't believe it."
Mrs. Lin touched her belly and said, "My future son will definitely be a bold one, just like me."
"Alright, you're the bravest." Gu Ran looked at the sky getting hotter and hotter, "It's almost noon, why don't you go home and rest?"
Mrs. Lin Er also looked at the weather and opened her oil-paper umbrella.
Now her main task is to take care of the pregnancy, so these days, she has less chores to do at home. When Lin Ersao has free time, she likes to wander around the village, and especially likes to come and chat with Gu Ran.
"If you don't even try to keep me here, you can just invite me to your house for dinner!"
"Even if I treat you, you won't come home with me to eat. It's unnecessary. Why bother?"
"Well, just a little token of my appreciation!"
"Then Miss Afang, Madam Lin, would you like to come to my little house for a meal?"
Mrs. Lin smiled and said, "Hey, Miss Gu, you are so polite. Thank you for your kindness, but I still can't. My mother-in-law and my husband have already made my lunch. I have to go back to my own house to eat. You can eat and drink well by yourself!"
Gu Ran rolled his eyes and watched Lin Ersao walking back to the village chief's house leisurely with an umbrella. He shook his head and drove the donkey cart straight back to the cottage.
As soon as the door of the cottage opened, the three little ones came running over and jumping around, trying to run out. Gu Ran quickly caught them back. The little kittens were still very fierce.
Unlike A Niang Daju, who can easily jump out of the house by using objects such as the flower beds and trees in the courtyard, the three little ones have just started to molt and their jumping ability is insufficient. If they want to go out of the house to play, they have to go through the front door.
The babies are so young, how can grandma let them take risks outside?
So naturally, he was caught and taken back by Gu Ran every time.
Gu Ran took the konjac baskets one by one from the donkey cart, carried them to the door of the hut, and then closed the door. He then drove the donkey cart around the aisle outside the hut and to the back of the hut, drove the donkey into the shed, unloaded the cart, locked the donkey, fed it, and then returned to the hut through the back door.
Then he walked to the other end of the patio, put two baskets of konjac into the space, and moved the remaining two baskets into the kitchen.
The three little ones who were still running around in the courtyard followed her in and out lively until she put the konjac in place and stood in front of the stove to cook cat food for her three grandchildren. The three kittens were fearless and stretched out their four claws to grab one leg each and climbed up. The other one, Xiao Hei, who didn't grab the leg, kept jumping up from the side to grab one leg and then the other.
The three little ones' claws were not trimmed and were very sharp. Not only did they hurt Gu Ran, but they also snagged threads from her pants and skirt.
"Xiaohua, Xiaohei, Xiaoju, come down, stop making trouble, or grandma will be angry."
Gu Ran took the little kittens off her body one by one, and then the little kittens jumped onto her one by one.
"Be good, be good. If you're not, grandma won't cook fish for you."
Gu Ran gestured for them to stop, and then warned: "Do you want to eat Yu Yu?"
The three little ones meowed in response.
"The fish are outside. Come on, get out, or your mother will eat all the fish." Gu Ran pointed outside and called out, "Daju? Daju? Come and look after your cubs."
On the eaves, the big orange dog climbing on the roof was basking in the sun. He yawned with his mouth wide open, pricked up his ears to listen to the noise coming from the kitchen, and closed his eyes lazily.
"Big Orange!"
Gu Ran didn't know where the big orange cat had run off to, so he had no choice but to pick up all three kittens and put them in their nest to let them play. Then he went back to the kitchen and quickly prepared cat food for the cats.
When the little grandchildren grew up a little, the civet cat's lively and curious nature was fully revealed. They would run to one end and jump to the other, making endless noise and being interested in everything. However, all the small objects placed high in the house suffered. They were either pushed down by them or scattered everywhere.
Although they had been taught not to jump into the bamboo winnowing basket, the three little ones did not dare to jump into the dried goods placed in the courtyard, except for the ones drying near the orange tree, which were better, and other things such as fairy grass, dried chrysanthemums and mugwort. However, they often put their claws in to explore here and there, making things everywhere.
Gu Ran had already planned to build a small yard specifically for cats with bamboo in the corner of the cat's nest in the patio, lock them in it, and let them make noise inside to use up their excessive energy.
She also drew the pattern of a cat climbing frame and ordered it from Master Huang in Donglin Township. She just got it back yesterday, but the yard has not been fenced off yet, so it has not been assembled yet. She plans to make a cat yard soon.
After eating the cat food, the three little ones finally calmed down a little. At this time, Big Orange appeared out of nowhere and took the three little ones to eat together.
Finally, Gu Ran had time to cook his own food.
The weather is hot, so just eat some cold noodles.
Buckwheat noodles are originally the preferred choice for cold noodles, but unfortunately buckwheat is a plant that grows in high-altitude areas and is only cultivated in some areas in the north. It is rare in the south, so you can’t find buckwheat noodles for sale in Fujian, and if you can find them, they are probably very expensive.
So Gu Ran could only pick some ordinary noodles, cook them, and then rinse them in cold water.
In the meantime, prepare your desired condiments.
Gu Ran then selected some beef slices, took a boiled egg, cut it in half, peeled it, took some boiled bamboo shoots, cooked them, cut them into shreds, and washed some green onions and cut them into sections. This was the seasoning.
Then prepare the cold noodle sauce: dissolve the green plum juice in edible ice water, add a little honey, salt, pesto, and chopped seaweed.
Add a large spoonful of peanut butter to the noodles that have been rinsed with cold water and mix well. Then pour in the cold noodle sauce, and finally add shredded beef, eggs, dried bamboo shoots and other ingredients.
The noodle soup is fresh, sweet, sour, refreshing and cool. The noodles soaked in cold water are chewy and extremely smooth. Take a sip and it slides down your throat with a hissing sound, sweeping away the sticky heat of summer and making you feel extremely cool.
When Gu Ran was about to take a nap after eating the cold noodles, someone knocked on the door of the cottage.
"Who is it?"
At this time, there shouldn't be anyone visiting, right?
Could it be that Pei Liuniang is back?
Gu Ran walked briskly to open the door, only to see Wu Dalang, the eldest son of Uncle Wu Er in the village, with two strangers carrying a fruit basket. Upon seeing Gu Ran, Wu Dalang smiled and said, "Hey, Aunt Gu Er, are you home?"
"Yeah, do you have something to talk to me about?"
"Well, we are looking for you because we have something." Wu Dalang chuckled.
Uncle Wu Er was one of the families who signed a contract with Gu Ran to cultivate one acre of paddy field. He was also the second brother of Village Chief Wu. In terms of relationship, this Wu Dalang was also Village Chief Wu's nephew.
Gu Ran looked back and saw that Daju and the three little ones had run away. He opened the door wide and said, "Come in and talk!"
"Hey, thank you for your help!"
The group was brought into the patio and seated next to the coffee table in the patio.
Although Uncle Wu's family was a relative of Village Chief Wu, she was not familiar with them, so she had never dealt with Wu Dalang, and she didn't know why he suddenly came to her house.
When Gu Ran took out the teapot from the kitchen to make tea for them, Wu Dalang looked at the two people he brought with him, and then told her the purpose of his visit embarrassedly.
"You know that recently, many people from other villages have come to our village and entered Dayu Forest, right?"
Gu Ran nodded.
"Well, then, you must have heard that those who went into the forest didn't collect much, but many were injured, right?"
Gu Ran nodded again and sat down beside him.
People from other villages have been coming to the Dayu Forest in Xiaxi Village to hunt for more than a month. This is because they heard that she and Pei Liuniang had hunted big beasts in the mountains, so they were excited and eager to try. Therefore, these hunters went into the miasma forest to hunt the big beasts in the mountains.
However, so far, there have been few reports of hunters harvesting anything from the mountains. But after entering, there have been many rumors of hunters being bitten by large beasts, bitten by poisonous snakes, and even dying from inhaling miasma.
I witnessed another injury today!
Therefore, if you do not have sufficient preparations before entering the miasma forest, you cannot easily enter the island forest.
The people of Xiaxi Village, which was originally located on the edge of the island forest, were quite upset when they saw people from other villages breaking into their village's forest to hunt. However, they were frightened by the danger of miasma and the accumulated danger that no one dared to enter over the years, so they suppressed their urge to try and no one followed them into the forest.
It was probably because, first, he wanted to see if the success rate of the people entering the forest ahead was high, so he would stay put and let others explore the way. Secondly, he was not in the hunting business and had no skills at all. If he went in rashly, he would only die in vain.
After hearing and seeing that people from other villages who entered the woods were injured or died, many people in Xiaxi Village gave up the urge to enter the woods. But they didn't know what Wu Dalang's intention was in asking them about this at this time?
"They're really messing around, boasting about how powerful hunters they are in the village, but when they actually entered our village's Dayu Forest, we realized they were just straw buns when we saw the real deal." Wu Dalang complimented, "You're really awesome, Gu Erniang!"
"We heard that you, Gu Erniang, have been in and out of the miasma forest many times without any problems, so we wanted to ask for tips on how to avoid the miasma forest in the forest. Or, could you tell us which areas are dangerous and which are safe after entering the miasma forest?"
The two people brought by Wu Dalang turned out to be hunters from Donglin Township. After hearing that many people had entered the miasma forest to search for wild animals, they wanted to try their luck in the miasma forest.
But before that, I would like to ask Gu Ran for advice.
Gu Ran forced a smile. "Well, there's nothing much to say. I went into the miasma forest just as our village chief taught me. Prepare wormwood and thatch leaves. They can drive away poisonous insects, snakes and flies after entering the forest. I also need to be aware of the environment in the mountains at all times. If I encounter miasma, I just stay away from it. As for the rest, of course, it depends on my own ability."
"Then, could you, Gu Er Niang, be our guide and lead us into the miasma forest?" one of them asked. "If you're willing, Gu Er Niang, we can pay you a fee as a guide."
"You're kidding. How could I be qualified to be your guide?" Gu Ran said modestly. "I don't really have any special skills. I had to enter the miasma forest because I had no choice. Now I've found a more secure way to make a living, so I rarely go into the forest anymore. I can't be your guide."
Gu Ran really hasn't been to the miasma forest much recently.
She originally relied on space to hide her whereabouts and was able to spend the night safely in the mountains and forests. Now there are so many hunters in the island forest. She is afraid that at any time, she will reveal her flaws and be noticed to be abnormal, so she has to avoid them.
Moreover, now she really doesn't need to go into the mountains just to make money.
Finally, she did not have any good feelings towards these hunters who came into the mountains.
During this period, she only went into the forest twice, once to pick bayberries and pick all the second batch of red mushrooms.
She didn't plan to sell bayberry drinks this year, so she picked the ripe bayberries and planned to keep them all for herself to eat slowly. As for the red mushrooms, she would sell half and keep the other half.
Another time, he went into the mountains to check the three traps he had set.
As a result, the trap's camouflage was gone, but the prey inside was also gone.
Not only was the prey gone, but the rope mechanism he used to set the trap was also taken away.
Gu Ran couldn't help feeling annoyed.
Things in the Dayu forest are naturally grown, and whether you can get something depends on your personal ability, but this prey was caught by the trap she set. According to the rules of the underworld, the prey that fell into the trap belongs to someone else and naturally cannot be taken away casually.
But these hunters not only took her prey, but also took away her ropes and lassos.
You know, the key to her earth pit trap, which can trip and catch prey, is the switch on the lasso.
Although the switch is small, she made it with great effort.
So, they not only ate the rice in her bowl, but also smashed the bowl she used to hold the rice.
Gu Ran was extremely angry.
However, because he didn't know which hunters did it and couldn't find the culprit, he could only bury the several earth traps he dug in disappointment and didn't plan to go into the mountains for the time being.
Now the hunter from Donglin Township came to ask her to be a guide. She inexplicably thought of this matter and felt very annoyed, so she immediately declined.
Wu Dalang and the other two were helpless when they saw that Gu Ran was unwilling to go into the mountains. Since they had no idea what was going on, they left quickly.
Gu Ran saw Wu Dalang out and was about to close the door when he saw Master Shen and his own son walking towards the cottage. "Hey, Second Lady Gu, are you home?"
"Yes, Mr. Shen, are you here to see me?"
"Yes, we have something to talk to you about."
"Are you asking me to be your guide into the Lantau Forest?"
"Of course not."
"What's that?"
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