Chapter Fifty-One: Descending the Mountain
When he saw Jiang Mi covered in blood, his last shred of reason was instantly consumed by rage, and he cursed, "Damn it! It must have been those beasts!"
Even in the darkest of nights, those beasts who harmed my little sister must pay the price.
Seeing her older brother about to rush into the deep mountains and forests, Jiang Mi quickly pulled him back and said, "The blood on your body isn't mine. Look, I'm perfectly fine."
Fearing her older brother wouldn't believe her, Jiang Mi spun around in place several times.
After confirming that his younger sister was safe and sound, Jiang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the blood on Jiang Mi's body was not animal blood: "Then where did this blood on your body come from?"
As a man who spends most of his time in the mountains and restaurants, he knows best the difference between animal blood and human blood.
"The bloodstains on my body are..." Jiang Mi turned to look at the cave, her voice abruptly stopping.
Huo Ran, who was originally unconscious, had vanished without a trace, and even the bloodstains on the ground had disappeared without a trace.
Did it grow wings and fly away?
The man who had been lying on the stone slab, barely breathing, had vanished.
Jiang Mi couldn't help but doubt herself and asked in confusion, "Didn't you say that my senses are more acute than the average person's? How come this man disappeared without noticing at all?"
The host's attention was drawn to their family, so they were unaware of what was behind them.
Jiang Mi was half-convinced by the system's trickery, unaware that the system itself looked equally puzzled.
These system functions were completely ineffective against the man from before.
Although Jiang Yan was simple-minded, he could still see through the trick and called to the young men behind him, "Brothers, I've found my sister. Let's hurry down the mountain so as not to attract anything we shouldn't."
In these deep mountains and forests, there are countless tigers and other ferocious beasts.
Furthermore, worried that his younger sister might be in danger, he kept calling out loudly as soon as he entered the mountain; judging by the time, the tigers and leopards attracted by the sound were probably rushing here quickly, so he had to get down the mountain as soon as possible to ensure her safety.
Throughout the journey, Jiang Mi remained silent, filled with worry and thoughts of the injured Huo Ran.
Late at night, Huo Ran was severely injured again, dragging his mutilated body; even with extraordinary abilities, he was likely in grave danger; the worst fear was that someone would bring news of Huo Ran's tragic death in the mountains the next morning.
Jiang Yan, seeing that his younger sister remained silent, assumed she was terrified in the deep mountains and forests, and gently comforted her.
"Brother, I'm fine. Let's go back soon. Dad and Mom must be very worried." Jiang Mi smiled, her mood quickly improving.
She and Huo Ran were merely strangers who met by chance, and at a deeper level they would become business partners; she had done all she could, and whether he survived was up to fate.
Because Jiang Mi went missing, no one in the Jiang family was asleep in the middle of the night.
Jiang's mother paced back and forth in the room, muttering prayers for Jiang Mi's safety.
Jiang Cheng, feeling dizzy, tapped the table lightly with his cigarette and said, "Didn't the boss go to find Honey? Calm down. Your pacing back and forth is making me dizzy. Instead of worrying like this, we should just wait for them to come back!"
His daughter's disappearance caused him just as much worry as his wife's, but as the head of the family, he had to step up.
Jiang's mother retorted defiantly, "You make it sound so easy! Honey has always been timid, and now that she has disappeared into the mountains, how can I be at peace? If anything happens to Honey, I won't live either."
"I'm too lazy to argue with you." Jiang Cheng snorted coldly, unwilling to argue with his mother any further. He couldn't win against this tigress either way, so he might as well back down.
Half an hour later, Jiang's mother finally saw Jiang Mi, whose figure stood out conspicuously among the group of men. She rushed out of the house excitedly, grabbed Jiang Mi and hugged her tightly, scolding her, "You brat! Do you know how worried your father and I were?"
"If anything happens to you, I won't live either," Jiang's mother said to herself, her hands clasped together, as if afraid her daughter would disappear again.
Jiang Mi, however, was so tight that her face turned red and she couldn't breathe. She tugged at her mother's sleeve and said breathlessly, "Mother, there are still people here."
Hearing this, Jiang's mother released Jiang Mi and glared at her: "I'll settle the score with you later!"
He turned around and looked at Jiang Yan with a smile, then at the group of young men behind him: "Thank you all for your hard work."
He then took out a few copper coins from his pocket and tried to put them into the hands of the young men, but they refused.
"Auntie, why are you being so polite with us? We're all from the same village, it's only right that we help each other out. Since you're back so early, we'll go back and rest now." With that, she left the Jiang family's house.
Looking at the dozen or so copper coins in her palm, Jiang's mother felt a warmth in her heart.
Jiang's mother put away the copper coins, grabbed Jiang Mi's ear and scolded her: "You brat, I told you not to go up the mountain, but you wouldn't listen. You suffered because of it. If your older brother hadn't gathered the villagers to look for you, you'd probably be hiding in some ravine crying!"
Jiang Mi, with her ear being twisted, deliberately cried out, "Mommy, Mommy hurts! Be gentle, be gentle!"
After her wailing, Jiang's mother felt sorry for her and loosened her grip.
Jiang Yan was also heartbroken and said helplessly from the side, "Mother, this was just an accident, and Honey is fine, isn't she? If her ear had been twisted any more, it would have fallen off!"
The mother only pretended to discipline Jiang Mi; she was far from actually doing it.
Seeing that her mother was still angry, Jiang Mi took her arm and said coquettishly, "Mom, don't be angry. I found a treasure on the mountain, so I accidentally lost track of time... Getting angry is bad for your health, so please calm down!"
Seeing her daughter return safe and sound, Jiang's mother's anger had already subsided by more than half; and hearing Jiang Mi's coquettishness, how could she resist?
"You! You always give me so much to worry about." Jiang's mother gently tapped Jiang Mi's forehead, looking helpless.
"Mom, let me show you the treasure I found!" Jiang Mi said, pulling two round potatoes out of her bosom.
The potatoes came in all sorts of shapes and were pitted and bumpy, which puzzled Jiang's mother: "What are these?"
"My daughter got lost on the mountain and was starving. She found this in a remote mountain place. It's similar to a sweet potato, so I just called it a potato. I even roasted one and ate it. It was soft, delicate, and delicious!" Jiang Mi brought out all the information the system had given her before.
I must find an opportunity to persuade my mother to plant potatoes and prepare in advance.
But Jiang's mother's attention wasn't on the potatoes at all; instead, she carefully examined Jiang Mi's body: "How could you eat such random things? What if you accidentally got poisoned? From now on, whatever you need to eat, just let your older brother try it!"
Jiang Yan was on the verge of tears, and he didn't want to hear what his mother said: "Mom, aren't you afraid I'll get poisoned!"
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