Everyone turned around abruptly. It was Cheng Chao, who was slightly out of breath. He had come up so quickly that his breathing was relatively steady. They had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't noticed.
Jian Dan didn't notice either, perhaps because Cheng Chao's aura was too familiar, and since they were within a safe range, she subconsciously wasn't on guard.
"Brother Cheng Chao!"
It was the cheerful Jianxin who rushed over to greet them first, breaking the eerie silence.
"What are you doing here? Are you here to catch this bad guy?"
Jian Dan was also a little surprised.
Why did you come here?
Cheng Chao looked at the three faces, each with a slightly odd expression.
"I came to see you all, bringing you things your uncle bought. But at the foot of the mountain, I ran into that guy you were with—it's him," he glanced at Lin Dongfang,
“His wife and a few other female educated youths told me that there might be something going on the mountain. When I heard that you and your sister were here, I rushed up here.”
Then look at the simple one.
"Are you alright? That female educated youth said she found the glass marble you threw. They were worried that something might really happen, and that their presence here would delay you, so they decided to go down."
Jian Dan finally felt relieved.
"Oh, that's great. It seems that Mingzhu and I still have some understanding."
Lin Dongfang's heart immediately jumped. Putting everything else aside, his wife was pregnant.
Cheng Chao glanced at it and then turned to Xin Xin.
"Xin Xin, where are the bad guys you mentioned?"
The little girl looked fierce and pointed to the side.
"It's him. Brother Lin said he's a bad guy. I just bumped into him, and he had such a big knife. He's going to kill someone! He's going to kill someone to silence them."
Cheng Chao reached out and pinched the little chubby face.
"So you even know how to kill someone to cover it up?"
He then stepped forward and began to examine the area carefully.
All told, he was the most professional among them. He quickly returned with a serious expression, looked at the others, and finally fixed his gaze on Lin Dongfang.
"I remember you're Commander Lin's nephew?"
"Yes, Lin Zhengde is my uncle, my father's older brother,"
"Okay, thank you," Cheng Chao patted his pocket, embarrassed. He had forgotten that he was wearing casual clothes and hadn't brought any paper or pen.
He simply handed over a pen and a small notepad. He took them, scribbled something in a few quick, flamboyant strokes, tore off a note, folded it, and handed it to Lin Dongfang.
"Please make a trip to the garrison and hand it over to Commander Lin. I have to stay here and guard this place; I can't handle this myself."
Lin Dongfang was eager to see his wife, so he took the item, nodded, and turned to leave.
"Did you drug this person?"
Cheng Chao examined the man and found no fatal wounds, nor any signs of being beaten on his head or neck. Jian Dan was also present at the scene, so there was a high probability that the attack was carried out by a sneak attack.
Jian Dan didn't hide it either.
"Hmm, did you see what's behind him?"
Following the gaze, Cheng Chao's pupils dilated in shock, but upon reflection, it didn't seem surprising.
He was carrying a sack, so he must be up to something big. But we don't know who he is or what side he's on. You never know who might come back from this forest, and this area is on the outskirts, where locals usually come in droves to dig for vegetables.
This person is truly depraved and insane.
"You mean, not just this bag, but also this area around here, there are more inside?"
He had only glanced at it briefly, intending to examine it more closely once the main force arrived. He hadn't really thought about it deeply. After hearing this, his face darkened even further.
It's simple, but uncertain.
"Let's take a look. It seems quite far. I didn't go too deep, but from here inwards, along the edge of the deep mountains, there seem to be traces of his activities."
"frenzied!"
Cheng Chaoqi was so angry that he kicked the big tree next to him.
"Damn it, if this really explodes, the animals in the mountains and the people living down there will all suffer."
Indeed, the amount in that sack was considerable, and he had buried a single thread. If it really went as he planned, lighting one end would trigger a chain of explosions, which would be no small matter.
An explosion in the mountains will inevitably frighten the animals, especially the large ones. Some may run in other directions, but with such a commotion, many wild animals will flee in panic. It is inevitable that some will come down the mountain.
Unless it's daytime, there are usually people around, either on training exercises or nearby villagers. If an explosion occurs and panic ensues, news of wild animals coming down from the mountains will spread, which would be tantamount to annihilation for the villagers.
I cried out to heaven and earth, but no one answered; I cried out to earth and earth, but no one responded.
If the injury is treated promptly, it can be mitigated, but the panic—the panic about the unknown and the fear of a powerful adversary—will keep them restless day and night.
At this point, they couldn't do anything, nor did they dare to leave, for fear that something else might happen.
The three adults, one child, and four dogs simply sat around the unconscious man. Fortunately, the weather had warmed up, so it wasn't cold.
Sitting on Cheng Chao's lap, Jian Xin still felt regretful.
"Brother Lin is gone, Sister, will I still be able to eat my grilled fish?"
Speechless
"You little glutton, what time is it and you're still thinking about grilled fish? Just wait, your brother Cheng Chao's colleague is coming soon, let's go home, and I'll make it for you when we get home."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Chao immediately refused to continue.
"Anything else? If you want to eat, just make it. They won't be back for a while. Can you catch fish around here?"
Li Guang, who hadn't dared to speak for a while, quickly raised his hand when he wanted to.
"Well, Brother Lin just took me there. It's not far ahead. We put all our baskets in there and came over here to collect firewood."
To put it bluntly, their encounter with this situation was purely coincidental.
"After all this time, we should be able to catch some fish."
Cheng Chao didn't recognize him. He glanced at Jian Dan.
"This is Li Guang, a new educated youth at the educated youth compound, and this is Cheng Chao."
Having said that, Cheng Chao didn't hold back anymore.
"Then I'll trouble you to go and get the fish. I'll take care of the firewood and starting the fire."
Jian Dan also got up.
“I’ll go with him. We’ll catch a few more fish, clean them over there, and bring them back. Xin Xin, you stay here with Cheng Chao.”
With this dangerous person here, Cheng Chao really didn't dare to leave, so he didn't refuse.
"Okay, then go ahead. Don't worry about Xin Xin, you're here with me."
The water source wasn't too far away, otherwise they wouldn't have come all the way here to find firewood. The two of them arrived quickly.
The basket looked like it was placed by Lin Dongfang. The opening of the basket was facing upstream, and the bottom of the basket was quite heavy. You could feel the weight when you lifted it up.
Li Guang's eyes lit up as he looked on.
"Sister, did you find anything?"
"Stop, don't call me 'sister,' just call me by my name."
The way she was addressed as "sister" made her feel a little uncomfortable, especially since she was the youngest among the educated youth after arriving here. It was usually Xin Xin, Hu Zi, and their group of kids who called her "sister."
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