Chapter 62 "No!" Lin...
"No way!" Lin Dama's wife finally lost her temper. The village chief had said the same thing to her, and she had spent a lot of time and effort, almost kneeling down, to persuade him. How could she let Zhu Mingyue interfere?
The village chief was indeed swayed by Zhu Mingyue's words. To set an example, he even brought his son out. The child's mother dragged him into the house and berated him, accusing him of using his son as a tool. He was helpless; no matter how he tried to reason with Lin Dama's wife, it was no use. She was crying and wailing at the doorstep. As the village chief, what would the other villagers think if he didn't do something?
Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to compromise: "Mingyue, this operation really can't be done without Xie Pei. How about this? The Xie family is short of land, right? In the future, whenever someone in the village sells land, I'll help you negotiate."
On the surface, it was just a discussion, but he was the village chief, and who wouldn't give him face? As long as he took charge, things would almost certainly be successful.
Zhu Mingyue pondered for a few seconds and felt fairly satisfied. He had been hesitating because he was waiting for the two to express their opinions. Since the village chief was acting as an intermediary, Xie Pei would definitely go up the mountain this time. Since the matter was already settled, he might as well take the opportunity to gain some benefits. In any case, he would not let Xie Pei go for nothing.
Unexpectedly, the village chief spoke first, while Lin Dama's wife had somehow retreated to the back and pretended to be dead.
Under the dark night sky, the village was lit up with scattered fires. Every household with able-bodied young people was knocked on, and within a quarter of an hour, people carrying torches gathered in the direction of the mountain.
Zhu Mingyue rubbed her frozen face and looked at Xie Pei seriously, saying, "There are no guarantee that there won't be any wild beasts roaming the mountains at night. Your own safety should be the priority."
Xie Pei nodded. The person in front of him had hair that danced wildly in the wind. He raised his hand, trying to tuck the unruly strands of hair behind him.
"Xie family boy, hurry up and keep up with us!"
His hand movements were interrupted by a sudden urging voice. He paused for a moment in front of Zhu Mingyue's ear, but finally lowered his hand.
Zhu Mingyue called out to Er Ya, and Er Ya swooped down from the eaves and landed on Xie Pei's shoulder. The bird didn't understand that it was going to participate in the search and rescue; it just thought it was going hunting in the mountains with Xie Pei as usual.
Zhu Mingyue: "Go quickly and come back soon. I'll be waiting for you to return."
Xie Pei frowned slightly: "Don't wait for me, go to sleep early."
Zhu Mingyue leaned against the door frame, watching Xie Peitong and his large group of dozens of people walk further and further away. He sighed inwardly, thinking, "How could I possibly sleep? Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night..."
The mountain forest at night is particularly eerie and terrifying. The gnarled branches twist and turn like ghostly shadows. A cold wind blows through the gaps in the forest, and a few mournful hoots echo from the depths of the forest, adding to the desolation.
"Xie Pei, you should be familiar with this mountain path, why don't you lead the way?" Someone spoke in the dim firelight.
Xie Pei seemed not to hear, remaining where he was, leaning against the tree trunk with his eyes closed, trying to rest.
The village chief cursed, "You think you're so smart? Nobody ever walks on this mountain, where did the path come from? Keep your eyes wide open, everyone be careful as you wade across, protect yourselves, don't get scratched by the branches."
Some people were still unwilling to give up and said awkwardly, "Even if there's no way, Xie Pei knows the way better than we do. Let him go and lead us!"
"Yeah yeah."
"It's better than groping in the dark. There are thorns all around, what if we get hurt?"
Li Zhengyang was already annoyed and retorted without holding back, "You're afraid of getting hurt, so you push others out? Who taught you to be so calculating? Do you think they owe you anything?"
"What do you mean by owing? We're just here to find Lin the Pockmarked!"
"Since you're all looking for Lin Dama, and you're shouting so loudly, why don't you take the lead and step forward?"
Now no one dared to suggest that Xie Pei take the lead anymore. Anyone with eyes could see that Li Zhengyang was unhappy, and who would dare to provoke him in front of his father, the village chief?
Li Zhengyang scoffed. He should have been asleep by now, but his father had summoned him with a single sentence. He just couldn't understand it. These endless mountains—anyone with a modicum of sense knew to treat them with reverence. Apart from hunters, who would dare to venture into the mountains empty-handed and clueless? And with a child in tow? Wasn't this just like bringing the whole family to offer sacrifices to the mountain god?
He yawned and turned to Xie Pei, asking, "Should we explore further up?" Strictly speaking, they were still at the foot of the mountain, and after wading around for so long, they had only walked about a hundred meters.
Xie Pei said calmly, "Okay, let's wait a little longer."
"Oh, oh." Although Li Zhengyang couldn't stand the way those people were so eager to push Xie Pei forward, he still trusted Xie Pei completely. In this deep mountain forest, Xie Pei was the only one who knew how to act.
After waiting for about half an incense stick's time, the leaves above their heads began to rustle, as if something unseen was moving silently by. No one dared to look up, and they all broke out in a cold sweat.
Li Zhengyang was bold. He raised the torch high, strained his neck to look up, and his eyes lit up: "It's Er Ya!"
Er Ya circled in the air, emitting short and sharp cries, and suddenly swooped down, her wingtip touching the palm of Li Zhengyang's hand that was waving to her.
Li Zhengyang was overjoyed: "Dad, Er Ya just got close to me!" Ever since he learned that Er Ya was different from ordinary birds, that it could not only guard the house but also go hunting in the mountains with Xie Pei, he had been very envious. If he could also have one, he would definitely treat it as a treasure.
Er Ya was aloof to outsiders, and although he had teased her several times and become somewhat familiar with her, he still couldn't touch her. This time, perhaps because most of the people present were strangers, he barely responded to the greeting from his acquaintance, which already made him feel flattered.
The village chief wiped his face; he could hardly bear to look at him.
Er Ya briefly rubbed against Xie Pei's shoulder before soaring into the air again.
Xie Pei also suddenly opened his eyes and ordered in a deep voice, "Follow it."
"Alright!" Li Zhengyang was the first to respond. "Did you hear that? Everyone follow Er Ya."
The group exchanged bewildered glances. Who was Er Ya? Was she that big bird? Making them follow a mindless beast... "Following a beast, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Li Zhengyang wouldn't allow anyone to disobey his beloved bird, and immediately glared at her: "What kind of beast are you? Er Ya is much smarter than you. She can go up the mountain to hunt, can you? She can fly high and see far. If you could do that too, everyone would follow you."
Everyone was speechless, but no one dared to follow the large bird rashly.
Er Ya stopped on the old pine tree branch to the left front and called out a few times as if urging it on.
Li Zhengyang snorted and slowly walked towards Er Ya's direction.
Xie Pei used an axe to cut away the thorns blocking his path and walked over, stepping on the withered branches and fallen leaves.
Those who remained looked at the village chief, their eyes asking him what to do next.
The village chief, with a stern face, said, "What are you all looking at me for? I have a path on my face! Hurry up and follow me!"
Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of hurried, rustling footsteps.
After walking about a mile up the mountain, everyone was quite tired, especially under the thrilling and tense atmosphere, they were exhausted both physically and mentally.
"Let's rest for a bit before we start looking again. It won't make a difference if we wait a little longer." The speaker was a boy who looked to be about the same age as Zhu Mingyue. He didn't seem very mature, and it was unclear whether he had been forced into the role by others.
After he finished speaking, he sat down on the ground, panting heavily, and leaned against a big tree to rest.
Someone scolded, "Get up! Aren't you afraid there are bugs crawling on the ground?"
"What's there to be afraid of in bugs? You guys are such cowards." He reached out and casually swept the ground beside him, trying to move the fallen leaves that were in his way away.
Seeing him like this, most people, except for Xie Pei who remained unmoved, couldn't help but be moved. The mountain road was difficult to walk, and their legs were trembling from exhaustion. It was time to rest.
Just as they were getting restless, the little boy on the ground suddenly sprang up like a spring.
"Ah—" A pitiful scream echoed throughout the entire mountain forest.
As the crowd gathered around the torches and leaned down to look, they saw a long snake, slightly thicker than a candle, standing upright in an attack posture, aimed at one of the onlookers.
The scarlet venomous tongue was particularly terrifying under the light, its fangs dripping with saliva, as if it would suddenly spring up and attack a second person at any moment.
"Help me!" the boy pleaded, clutching his wound.
No one responded to him, not because they didn't want to, but because they dared not. No one dared to make any small move in front of the snake.
Xie Pei glanced at it briefly, his expression calm. Cheng Liang's axe flashed with a cold light, and the snake's head rolled silently to the ground, spurting out several streaks of blood.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, except for the boy who had been bitten, who whimpered in a trembling voice, "It's over, I'm going to die." Ganzhou is full of mountains, so snakes and insects are naturally rampant. Every year, there are many cases of venomous snake bites in Ganzhou, and none of those bitten ever make a sound. Thinking of this, he cried even more bitterly, his cries as loud as the howling of a bull.
Xie Pei felt extremely irritated by Zhu Mingyue's awful crying. It turned out that not everyone could cry in a way that evoked pity like Zhu Mingyue.
He frowned: "Tiger keelback snake, mildly venomous, not fatal."
The village chief stepped forward and examined it carefully: "It's a pheasant neck, and it's definitely not poisonous."
The crying stopped abruptly, and the boy felt a sense of relief, blowing his nose and laughing blankly.
The snake, which had been still, suddenly twitched a few times, and everyone instinctively scrambled backward. Er Ya swooped down from the tree, grabbed the snake, and returned to the branch to enjoy her free midnight snack.
Village Chief: "We can't stay here any longer. Let's hurry and find the person so we can go back and get a good night's sleep."
Having been so frightened, no one dared to linger in the same spot; they wished they could find the person immediately and leave as soon as possible.
At the Xie family's home,
Zhu Mingyue yawned for who knows how many times. Physically, she was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open, and her head was swaying. But mentally, she remained awake.
He vaguely heard a shout, but it was so faint that he wasn't even sure if it was a hallucination.
He poured himself a cup of warm tea and sat at the bedroom table, leaning on his hand as he slowly sipped it.
I wonder if Xie Pei's journey into the mountains went smoothly...
I just sat there blankly, and before I knew it, the sky outside was turning a pale white.
Daylight broke.
Zhu Mingyue opened the window, stuck her head out and took a breath of cold air before quietly washing up and going to the kitchen to cook.
Xie Pei has not returned yet, and Li Zhengyang is probably still on the mountain. The shops in town probably won't be able to open today. Fortunately, I had previously agreed with He An that if the shop wasn't open by the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), it meant there was something going on at home and we would close for the day.
The firewood crackled and popped as Zhu Mingyue tended the stove while keeping a close eye on the front yard. Whenever she heard the slightest noise, she would run out to see if Xie Pei had returned.
He cooked taro porridge and three eggs in the morning. He ate one and left the rest for Xie Pei. He kept the rest in the pot and warmed it over a wood fire so that it would be ready to eat even after two more hours.
Around noon, a group of people finally appeared in the distance at the foot of the mountain. His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally sank. He knew that Xie Pei must be among this group.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
