After asking the question, Chen Jinzhao realized he was being a bit presumptuous.
He amended his words, "If you don't want to show me, you can refuse. It's your freedom."
Li Xiaoning quickly replied, "I can show you. It's no big deal. After all, you saved my life. It's only natural to show you."
Having said that, Li Xiaoning took out the map for Chen Jinzhao to examine.
Chen Jinzhao thanked her and took it. After a brief glance, he indeed found something amiss. The marked spots on Li Xiaoning's map were also incorrect.
"Here, take a look," Chen Jinzhao handed over the three maps.
Li Xiaoning didn't take them but leaned forward and took a few glances, then exclaimed in surprise, "What in the world is going on? Why are the markings on these maps different?"
"This is truly strange!"
Li Xiaoning was baffled.
Chen Jinzhao shifted his gaze from the maps to the maps themselves and soon discovered another anomaly – the marked points on these maps were all different. What was the same was the style and material of these maps, meaning they all came from the same person.
"Someone is trying to mislead us," Chen Jinzhao thought to himself.
"Perhaps only the people from Mitre know the true crash site. They are attempting to distract us by misleading us, so they can easily obtain the meteorite."
Understanding this, Chen Jinzhao's heart sank.
After all this effort, to find out this map was fake was rather ridiculous.
Li Xiaoning also wore a dejected expression, "Perhaps we should just go back. We have no idea where the real crash site is. This primeval forest covers an area of over 300,000 square kilometers. If we search inch by inch, who knows how long it will take."
Chen Jinzhao put away the maps. Seeing this, Li Xiaoning asked, "You're not planning to leave?"
"I want to look around some more," Chen Jinzhao replied.
Li Xiaoning said "Oh," "Then I'll look around some more too. If we really can't find it, then we'll go back."
Chen Jinzhao frowned, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"
His implication was that he wasn't Li Xiaoning's bodyguard and couldn't protect her all the time.
Li Xiaoning said with a wry smile, "I've walked through the gates of hell and back, and suddenly I'm not so afraid of dying anymore. Besides, I don't need your protection. They have guns on them, and I can carry a few to defend myself. On top of that, I've brought half a month's worth of rations."
"You certainly have perseverance. One wouldn't be able to tell you're from the Li family of Lingnan," Chen Jinzhao remarked.
Li Xiaoning was from Lingnan and was being pursued by people sent by Princess Zheng of Zijing Island. Combining these facts, it wasn't difficult to deduce that Li Xiaoning hailed from the Li family of Lingnan.
And the Li family of Lingnan was one of the largest families in the Southern Kingdom.
Every head of the Li family was known as the Southern King by the outside world, guarding the gateway of the Southern Kingdom for generations.
Li Xiaoning was initially stunned, then chuckled, "You've guessed my identity, and yet you say you can't tell. Is that a bit perfunctory?"
"I was just guessing," Chen Jinzhao replied.
As he chatted with Li Xiaoning, he also dealt with the bodies of Rattlesnake and his subordinates to avoid attracting too much attention from the military.
Li Xiaoning also joined in.
During their conversation, Chen Jinzhao learned that Li Xiaoning was only half a member of the Li family of Lingnan.
The reason for being "half" was that Li Xiaoning's mother was not officially married into the Li family, so strictly speaking, Li Xiaoning was merely an illegitimate daughter of the Li family. To consolidate their influence in the south, the Li family arranged for Li Xiaoning to marry Tang Renping of the Tang family on Zijing Island.
The reason Princess Zheng An Yu of the Zheng family wanted to harm Li Xiaoning was also because she wanted to marry Tang Renping, thereby forming a strong alliance between the Tang and Zheng families.
"In other words, even if I die in the Far North, it will be of little consequence to the Li family. Even if they knew Zheng An Yu did it, they certainly wouldn't avenge me," Li Xiaoning said to herself. Chen Jinzhao couldn't help but ask why.
Li Xiaoning stated frankly, "Because I'm just a bastard. Apart from my value in a marriage alliance, I'm useless. This is my fate."
Hearing the word "fate," Chen Jinzhao frowned.
"Then why are you still forcing your way into the Far North?"
"I heard through certain channels that there is a peculiar meteorite in the Far North. If I can find the meteorite, I can present it to the old man," Li Xiaoning did not hide her desire for the meteorite. In her words, it was the only way to change her destiny.
No matter how dangerous it was, she had to try.
"I just didn't expect that before I even entered the mountains, all my people would be dead," Li Xiaoning sighed.
If Chen Jinzhao hadn't appeared in time, she would have been a corpse by now.
Hearing this, Chen Jinzhao felt a sliver of fellow feeling. In a sense, he was like Li Xiaoning, a person living under the weight of fate.
And both of them desperately needed this meteorite to defy destiny.
As they spoke.
Chen Jinzhao had already buried all the bodies. Li Xiaoning, putting aside the recent events, said to the other corpses, "If I make it out alive, I will bring you home."
"You should rest. This blizzard won't stop anytime soon," Chen Jinzhao said.
Li Xiaoning instinctively asked, "What about you?"
Chen Jinzhao glanced at the sky, "We'll make do for the night. If it doesn't improve by tomorrow morning, I'll have to set off too."
They each picked a tent to rest in.
This night was somewhat special for Li Xiaoning, as a peculiar man was staying in the tent next door.
Tossing and turning in her tent for a long time, Li Xiaoning finally fell into a deep sleep amidst the howling blizzard, sleeping until the next morning.
When she opened her eyes and woke up, she immediately climbed out of her sleeping bag and out of the tent, searching everywhere for Chen Jinzhao.
Chen Jinzhao was gone.
Li Xiaoning felt a sense of loss for no apparent reason. She had finally found a companion for her journey.
Just as Li Xiaoning was packing her things, preparing to continue into the mountains, a familiar figure appeared in her sight.
Li Xiaoning looked closely and saw that it was indeed Chen Jinzhao.
Soon, Chen Jinzhao walked up to Li Xiaoning, carrying two wild rabbits. Before Li Xiaoning could speak, Chen Jinzhao said, "Relying solely on dry rations cannot provide pure energy. There are quite a few wild animals in the mountains. I checked, and they seem to be protected animals, so I had no choice but to catch two rabbits."
Seeing Chen Jinzhao return, Li Xiaoning felt a little joy.
Even she didn't know why she was happy.
Seeing the rabbits in Chen Jinzhao's hand, Li Xiaoning hesitated and said, "But, bunnies are so cute..."
"You can choose not to eat them," Chen Jinzhao said calmly.
At this critical juncture, Chen Jinzhao's kindness would not run rampant. He had to ensure his own survival.
Gurgle.
Li Xiaoning's stomach grumbled uncontrollably.
So she immediately changed her tune.
"Such cute bunnies, they must smell delicious when roasted, right?"