"Come on, keep up."
Wang Tianxiao called out to Li Guanping. He could have slowly searched for clues by looking at footprints and traces, but since Aying was there, he saved himself the trouble.
Tiancheng and Aying have spent a considerable amount of time together. Tiancheng was even responsible for feeding Aying's dogs when Wang Tianxiao was at the hospital. Therefore, Aying is very familiar with his scent.
Moreover, Wang Tianxiao guessed that Aying might have also caught a whiff of Dahei's scent.
Whatever the reason, judging from its appearance, it must have found a clue.
The moonlight enveloped the mountains, and the mournful cries of night owls could be heard from time to time. Occasionally, a few pairs of gleaming eyes could be seen on the ridges not far away, belonging to some nocturnal creature.
Wang Tianxiao turned to look at Li Guanping, worried that he might be scared.
Although he is eighteen years old this year, in Wang Tianxiao's eyes, he is still a child.
People in later generations are slightly more tolerant of children's ages; often, even when children are twenty, they are still treated as children by their parents.
Some people, even in their thirties, still live with their parents as long as they haven't started a family.
It's basically the same as when I was a child.
You won't grow up until you start a family.
However, people in this era generally matured early, and many had to drop out of school at the age of thirteen or fourteen to take on family responsibilities.
They are still children in age, but in terms of identity, they no longer belong to the category of children.
Wang Tianxiao was worried that Li Guanping would be scared, but his brother-in-law's face was very calm, like a taut piece of porcelain, without any wrinkles or ripples.
"Brother-in-law?" Li Guanping noticed Wang Tianxiao's gaze.
"Guanping, are you scared?"
Li Guanping shook his head. "I'm not afraid."
"That's good," Wang Tianxiao turned around, trying to make the atmosphere more gentle. "That's life in the mountains. You'll get used to it gradually."
“I know, let’s hurry up, brother-in-law,” Li Guanping said calmly. “Tiancheng and Mi Xiaoqing are definitely waiting for us somewhere.
Li Guanping referred to Wang Tiancheng simply as Tiancheng, while adding his surname to Mi Xiaoqing's name, indicating that he genuinely wasn't very interested in that girl.
This left Wang Tianxiao speechless.
Judging from Li Guanping's final choice in his previous life, his judgment in choosing women doesn't seem to be very good.
The wife he married laid the foundation for his lifelong hardships.
He didn't say anything more, and quickened his pace under the moonlight.
With Ah Ying, the old mountain dog, scouting ahead, the search team moved quickly and unknowingly covered a mile or two.
Wang Tianxiao had initially worried that Li Guanping would be cold, but as they walked, he realized that he was the one who was feeling the cold.
But there was nothing else to do but shiver to keep warm.
At this moment, Ah Ying, who had been searching slowly with her head down, suddenly quickened her pace and ran forward.
Wang Tianxiao and Li Guanping also quickened their pace to keep up.
Soon, in a recessed cave a few dozen meters away, they found Wang Tiancheng unconscious and Mi Xiaoqing looking dazed.
Wang Tianxiao exclaimed in surprise, "Tiancheng!"
He rushed to the cave entrance in a few quick steps.
It's a natural hole, or rather, it's not really a cave, but more like a recessed wall pit.
There's just enough room for two people inside.
Wang Tiancheng sat with his back against the inner cliff, his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, and he remained motionless.
Mi Xiaoqing lay on top of him, using her back to shield him from the cold air and keep him a little warmer.
Wang Tianxiao noticed that the blood on Wang Tiancheng's legs had seeped through his pants and frozen into dark blood clots. The blood had also stained Mi Xiaoqing's clothes, and he wondered if she was injured.
There was no sign of Big Black.
"Xiaoqing, Mi Xiaoqing!"
Wang Tianxiao gently shook Mi Xiaoqing, and Mi Xiaoqing's body swayed from side to side with his shaking. She seemed to be trying to open her eyes, but after struggling a few times, she did not open them.
"Brother-in-law, what are they doing...?"
"They were frozen."
Wang Tianxiao spoke in a deep voice, pulled over the old homemade gun that was lying to the side, shook it, and found that the gunpowder inside was still there. He looked around and said to Li Guanping, "Guanping, go and get some bark and branches from that birch tree."
"Okay."
Li Guanping hurriedly ran towards the nearby area.
Birch bark is a very flammable material, often used by local people to start stoves.
Li Guanping was quite strong. He circled the branch from side to side, found an opening, and with a strong pull, tore off a piece of bark the size of a book. He continued to tear it a few more times, and a small pile of birch bark appeared in his hand.
First, he ran over and placed the bark at the entrance of the hole, then quickly ran to pick up the branches.
While Li Guanping was busy, Wang Tianxiao gathered a clump of fine dry grass nearby, placed it at the bottom, and put the birch bark on top.
They found two more flat stones and poured a small amount of gunpowder from the homemade gun onto them.
After Li Guanping brought over the branches, he stood up and stood to the side. He then used the butt of his rifle to violently push the stone. The stone made a loud noise and sparks flew out, all of which landed on the dry grass.
Wang Tianxiao hurriedly squatted down and started blowing on the sparks.
As the fire slowly grew larger, the gray grass turned red patch by patch, and then burst into flames with a "whoosh".
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