"Who's talking about me?" Mu Run rubbed his nose, looked at the hill of tea leaves, and then looked up at the sky. It was already late afternoon. If he went down the mountain to look for someone now, it would be dark, and it wouldn't be safe to walk on the mountain path.
"Let's keep picking for now, and find someone to carry it down tomorrow." Just as she was climbing up a tall tea tree with her basket on her back, everything suddenly went black, and she instinctively gripped the trunk tightly with both hands.
Symptoms of poisoning? Mu Run remembered that she was poisoned. But she had already taken the medicine to relieve the poisoning when she came out today.
Could it be that the poison took effect prematurely? After all, medications can have a certain duration of action.
My vision, which had been blurry, cleared up again.
To prevent further blindness and potential danger, she immediately climbed down from the tree.
I sat and rested against the tea tree trunk.
"Fu Yunchen, you better come back soon, or I'm really going to be poisoned to death by you."
...
"lady--"
"lady--"
"lady--"
Shouts rose and fell, faintly echoing up from the foot of the mountain.
Mu Run was curious; where did this lady come from?
Could there be someone else on the mountain besides her? She seems to have completely forgotten that she is the wife of the bandit chief of Bianyun Village.
A squirming sound, like that of a squirrel, rang out.
Mu Run's attention was drawn to the animals, but there were no small animals in sight.
The cries continued, and they grew increasingly urgent.
Mu Run stood up and walked towards Fang Xi, where the voice had come from.
Finally, it stopped in front of a huge, moss-covered rock. It circled the rock but found nothing. The cries were slowly weakening, and Mu Run couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Where is it?" She squatted down, picked up a twig, and poked at the thick layer of dead branches and fallen leaves.
He moved his feet while dialing.
Suddenly... the withered leaves beneath her feet collapsed, and she began to sink uncontrollably. At the same time, the ground around her seemed to collapse as well, sinking down in a rustling sound.
"Oh no!" Mu Run exclaimed, quickly dropping the branch and gripping the stone tightly with both hands. But the stone was covered in moss and slippery, making it impossible to hold on. Moreover, the collapse of the ground made it start to loosen.
Mu Run stared in disbelief, not having time to think of any other way, before sinking into the ground along with the broken soil and withered leaves on the ground.
The stones rolled as the ground collapsed...
Manager Yang heard the noise and came in the direction of it.
All that could be seen was a huge rock stuck in a pit, and not far away, on the flat ground, a patch of tender green buds and leaves were evenly spread.
********
"Have you found it?" Qiao Dongzi asked anxiously.
It was now completely dark, and Mu Run, who had gone up the mountain early in the morning without bringing any food or drink, had not yet come down. Something must have happened to him.
Manager Yang was so anxious that he kept pulling at his beard. "This, this, this, we really searched everywhere, we almost dug up the ground."
A ruthless glint flashed in Qiao Dongzi's eyes. "Then we'll dig three feet into the ground. If the boss comes back and doesn't see this woman, we'll all be in deep trouble."
Manager Yang sighed inwardly, filled with fear. "Alright, I'll send people to follow the lady's footprints and dig around to find her."
Flames lit up the summit of Chongyi Peak, drawing the attention of everyone in Bianyun Village to this unusual commotion, who wondered what had happened.
Those who have heard rumors, please tell those who are unaware.
"The bandit's wife has gone missing on the mountain, and Master Qiao has personally led a search party up the mountain."
"Huh? When did the chieftain get a wife?"
"Brought back by Master Qiao. I heard she's a woman of unparalleled beauty."
"Only a beauty of unparalleled grace is worthy of our chieftain."
"Why don't we help look for her? Let's see what kind of stunning beauty she is?"
"Okay, let's go together."
...
Fu Yunchen disembarked from the boat and rode back to the mountain stronghold first.
Liu Lao Er, along with his men and the ship's valuables, then proceeded slowly.
Hongmi led the horse off the boat and looked at Fu Yunchen, who was almost out of sight, "Boss, why are you in such a hurry to go back?"
Liu Lao Er looked at her in astonishment, "You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"...When my sister-in-law was leaving, my eldest brother poisoned her to prevent her from running away again. When he tried to give her the antidote to alleviate the poisoning, she refused to take it and threw it into the river. There was only enough for six days, and today is the seventh day, when the poison took effect. My eldest brother is in such a hurry to go back to give her the antidote."
"Huh?" Hongmi realized belatedly. She was busy with other things and only saw Mu Run leave in a small boat. She didn't quite understand what was going on. Later, when she fought with the Qinghai Gang, she realized that her boss didn't want his sister-in-law to take risks, so he sent her to safety first. She had no idea that there was any poisoning involved.
Seeing that she truly didn't know, Liu Lao Er didn't say anything more, only saying, "There's an inn at the foot of Chongyang Mountain. A few days ago, the innkeeper went back to his hometown and they're short-handed. The eldest brother's idea is for you to go there and lend a hand first."
"But what about Sister Run?" Hongmi is very worried about Mu Run.
“There are plenty of maids in the village, so you'll need plenty of people to serve you. But you are a rare talent, and the boss doesn't want to let you go to waste.”
“Boss has a discerning eye, and I, Hongmi, will serve you with all my heart and soul. But Runjie, I’m still worried. She’s a very naive person, and she seems to have some resistance towards Boss. If no one mediates between us, who knows what will happen?”
"You don't need to worry about that. The boss has already signed a marriage contract with her. As long as she doesn't betray the boss, everything else is fine."
"That's the key point. My sister-in-law is thinking about escaping all the time. Poison can only control her for a while, but can it keep her poisoned for a lifetime? We can't live like this."
“…Xiao Hong, you think the eldest brother isn’t so bad, is he?”
"Well, there's nothing wrong with him. Except he's ruthless and doesn't blink an eye when he kills."
"Stop, stop, there's no need to explain that."
Fu Yunchen rode back to Chongyi Peak, ascending the stone steps almost as if he were flying, his toes barely touching the ground as he leaped over ten feet. In just a few breaths, he reached the Chongyi Hall.
At this moment, on the flat ground in front of Chongyi Hall, many people, covered in dust and dirt, sat down to eat, drink, and rest hastily, preparing to continue digging up the mountain.
Suddenly seeing Fu Yunchen return, they all stopped what they were doing, stood up in unison, and bowed their heads to greet him.
Qiao Dongzi happened to be coming down from the mountain and saw Fu Yunchen with a cold and stern face. He immediately stepped forward and said with shame, "Boss, I failed in my duty. Please punish me."
Fu Yunchen paused, his expression softening slightly, and asked, "How is your wife?" He had asked him to escort Mu Run back to the village first because he had heard that Mu Run's wife was about to give birth, and he didn't want Mu Run to have any regrets, so he asked him to come back.
Qiao Dongzi replied, "Thank you for your concern, Boss. My wife is safe and sound and has given birth to a healthy baby boy for the Qiao family."
Fu Yunchen nodded, "That's good. Old Liu is still unloading things at the ferry. You take twenty men and a carriage to pick him up."
"Yes." Qiao Dongzi accepted the order. "But my sister-in-law is missing on the mountain. She went up the mountain yesterday morning and a day and a night have passed, and she still hasn't been found."
"They ran away?" Fu Yunchen frowned.
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