Yuan Yunzhong’s arm tensed as he remembered the sensation of her poking his shoulder when he carried her on his back.
He involuntarily took a step back but declared with righteousness, "We were originally walking in a pathless forest, isn’t encountering an impassable ditch very normal?"
His implication was that he hadn’t gone in the wrong direction; they had merely encountered a difficult path.
Thinking about it carefully, there really wasn’t anything wrong with what he said.
What could Song Jiyun say to that?
She surveyed the surrounding terrain and landscape.
The large ditch in front of them was of unknown depth and length. The ground on the right side of the ditch was flat, leading to a dense forest that seemed to extend endlessly; the terrain on the left side was relatively steep, with more brush and random trees, and the occasional large tree interspersed.
They had no idea where they were.
She also couldn’t determine their exact location.
After hesitating for a moment, Song Jiyun still chose to discuss it with Yuan Yunzhong, "So now, which way should we go?"
Yuan Yunzhong said confidently, "To the right."
Song Jiyun was puzzled.
Yuan Yunzhong explained, "When we came here, it was all smooth sailing, all on flat ground."
Wasn’t that reasoning a bit far-fetched?
Song Jiyun, who had already been half-doubtful, became even more skeptical of his judgment now, "Are you sure?"
Yuan Yunzhong turned his head to glance at her, seeing her brows tightly furrowed and her worried expression, and said, "Then you tell me which way to go?"
After carefully observing the surroundings, Song Jiyun said thoughtfully, "I think we should go left."
Yuan Yunzhong looked at her with surprise and remarked, "The left is a hillside with sparse trees; it’s the Northern slope, we should head East back to town."
What he said made sense.
But every time, his arguments were all theoretical, just words that sounded reasonable.
Song Jiyun had already lost faith in Yuan Yunzhong.
An unrepentant road fool who refused to admit he could get lost!
"I still think we should go left!" she said, "I want to try going left!"
Seeing her insistence, Yuan Yunzhong huffed in mild derision and stepped aside, "If you want to try, then go ahead and try!"
Song Jiyun walked to the edge of the slope and carefully grabbed a small tree, extending her foot to test the steepness of the slope.
It felt manageable.
She took another step.
"Be careful!" Yuan Yunzhong suddenly shouted from behind her.
Song Jiyun was startled; her hand slipped, her foot found no purchase, and she tumbled downwards.
She cried out in alarm.
Unexpectedly, she was caught around the waist and fell into a warm embrace.
Then, protected by arms around her head and waist, they tumbled "hurrah hurrah" through the branches and underbrush until they were stopped by a large tree.
Dizzy, it took her a moment to regain her senses.
She felt no pain.
She was lying on a firm and tense body, her head still protected by a large hand pressing it to a chest where she could hear the quick, throbbing heartbeat.
Song Jiyun snapped back to reality.
She clumsily scrambled up to see Yuan Yunzhong lying under the tree with closed eyes, the dim moonlight filtering through the branches casting his handsome face in a cold, pale light, with the hand that had just protected her hanging limply to the ground.
She panicked instantly and leaned in beside him to say, "Yuan Yunzhong!"
Her voice was broken and hoarse.
She didn’t even dare to pull at his clothes.
"Yuan Yunzhong, what’s wrong with you?"
Yuan Yunzhong lay still with his eyes closed, as if asleep, showing no reaction.
For the first time in her life, Song Jiyun felt utterly helpless, uncertain of what to do.
The man lying under the tree subtly curled the corners of his lips.
Where was Song Jiyun’s mind to notice that?
She quickly calmed down, and the emergency knowledge she knew flashed rapidly through her mind.
Should she make a simple stretcher to hide Yuan Yunzhong, or find a nearby hiding place...
As Song Jiyun thought, she looked around for suitable materials.
Suddenly, her mouth was covered by a hand.
Song Jiyun was terrified, instinctively trying to scream.
But Yuan Yunzhong’s low voice came from beside her ear, "Quiet! Someone’s coming!"
Song Jiyun felt as if her bones had been drained, her body limp, but she felt relieved as Yuan Yunzhong dragged her into the nearby bushes.
A woman’s voice was approaching, "Should we go back? It would be terrible if Zhao Laowu found us."
The man hummed disdainfully, somewhat guiltily, "This is the Hong Family’s woods, what does it have to do with Zhao Laowu? If we come and go secretly, he wouldn’t notice a thing!"
The woman was still hesitant, "What if someone asks us about it?"
"Just say we’ve saved up some Silver over the years to buy it," the man rebuked, "Who knows how much money our family has made in these years?"
The woman acknowledged with a "Hmm."
Then the man found a big tree and, spitting in his palm, picked up an axe and started chopping the tree.
The woman kept watch beside him.
Song Jiyun freed the hand covering her mouth and looked back at Yuan Yunzhong, her eyes gleaming.
Where there were people, there was a way; they now had hope of rescue.
Yuan Yunzhong nodded slightly, pointing towards a distant hillside, signaling her to talk over there, then he leaped agilely towards it like a hawk taking flight.
Song Jiyun hesitated for a moment, then followed him quietly, her eyes scrutinizing Yuan Yunzhong.
As if he hadn’t noticed, Yuan Yunzhong whispered, "We’ll walk over there and say we’re lost, master and servant."
Who was the master? Who was the servant?
Song Jiyun glared at him, "You were faking it just now!"
It wasn’t a question—it was an assertion.
Yuan Yunzhong looked puzzled and frowned, "Faking what? Remember to ask loudly later ’where is this place’ and such."
Song Jiyun remained unmoved and kept staring at him in silence.
Yuan Yunzhong’s gaze flickered, "What are you going to do?"
Good! Whether he was pretending or not, it was unclear. But there was one thing that had to be clarified.
"Master and servant? I am the Owner’s daughter, and you are the Accountant?" she said indignantly, "Remember not to slip up later."
"Of course, I am the young master, and you are the maid!" Yuan Yunzhong disagreed.
Song Jiyun pointed at her face, "Do I look like a maid? Is there a maid like me?"
Under the moonlight, her eyebrows arched, eyes large, nose delicate, and lips red—she was as radiant and intense as a summer flower.
Yuan Yunzhong’s heart skipped a beat, as if his heart had missed several throbs,
but he quickly suppressed the unusual sensation within him, and, with a curled lip, replied, "Then do I look like an Accountant?"
He had an air of cool detachment, as if bathed in the clear moonlight.
Song Jiyun cleared her throat and stepped aside, "Okay! We are... relatives..."
Yuan Yunzhong watched her with a cold eye.
Song Jiyun clenched her teeth, "Siblings!"
Yuan Yunzhong glanced at her and rustled the leaves beside him.
The man chopping the tree promptly stopped.
The woman keeping watch asked cautiously, "Who’s there?"
Yuan Yunzhong raised his eyebrows at Song Jiyun, signaling it was her turn to step up.
Song Jiyun glared at Yuan Yunzhong before calling out loudly, "Finally, someone here!"
The man and woman looked at each other.
Song Jiyun pretended to be excited as she ran over, "Sister, where are we? What’s your name? My brother and I are heading to Jingde Town to visit relatives, but we got lost and have been walking for most of the night without finding a way out. Can you direct us?"
After speaking, she knelt down to give them a courtesy, "We would be extremely grateful!"
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