"Damn it, finally climbed up. Haha..."
Lying on the grass by the cliff edge, gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds, feeling the burning pain in my hands, I laughed happily. For the first time, I discovered that pain was also a kind of enjoyment, because only the living had the right to enjoy suffering.
My clothes were torn and tattered by sparks. Lifting my shirt, my chest and stomach were covered in rice-sized blisters from the sparks. My head smelled of burnt pig hair, making my stomach rumble.
The little food I had eaten in the morning had long since been digested through this ordeal, so I could only continue on with a hungry stomach. As long as I returned to the cave camp, all problems would be solved.
After resting for a moment, I found a wooden stick to use as a crutch and hobbled towards the camp. As I left, I glanced back in the direction of the valley, my mood a little complicated.
Yesterday, when I arrived, it was bustling with people. Today, as I left, I was alone. More than twenty people had come together, and the number of survivors could be counted on one hand. As for Li Jian and the others, their fate was still unknown.
When the sun was setting in the west, I finally reached the cave camp. Seeing the camp so close, I should have strode in and asked Zhang Dabiao for food and drink.
But I suddenly stopped, sensing something was wrong.
This was a deep mountain forest, teeming with birds and insects. Even if there were people around, there should have been bird calls or insect chirps. But now it was eerily quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the rustling of leaves.
I didn't know if it was hunger or exhaustion, but I felt as if I was being watched. I quickly looked around but found nothing unusual.
Then, I cautiously moved forward. About a hundred meters from the cave entrance, I stopped because I noticed several camouflage tents. If I hadn't looked closely, hidden by the treetops, I wouldn't have noticed them at all.
Strange, could it be people arranged by Li Zuquan? If so, they came too quickly. As soon as something happened here, they knew immediately? Su Dan Novel Network
Just as I was wondering if I should reveal myself, I heard a slight noise behind me. I turned sharply and saw a dark object pointed at my head.
Instantly, my pupils contracted to the size of needle tips, because I was all too familiar with the iron hunk pointed at my head. This was not the first time I had been held at gunpoint in Moru Village.
Before me stood a man in a ghillie suit, his face smeared with camouflage paint. His eyes, like those of a hungry wolf, stared at his prey – me.
I quickly raised my hands above my head, "Let's talk, don't do anything. I'm just a hiker, I got lost, I..."
Before I could finish, he interrupted me, throwing a white zip tie at me. I looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Tie yourself up, or I'll do it," he said, opening the safety of his gun and pulling back the bolt.
Seeing that he was serious and might shoot me if I didn't comply, I bent down and picked up the zip tie.
I tied my hands together and waited for his next instruction.
Then, he tilted his head and said something. Soon, three or four people dressed like him arrived. Before I could speak, they grabbed me and dragged me towards the camp.
*Thump—*
They threw me to the ground like a dead dog. The pain made me wince, but I only dared to complain in my heart, not daring to speak out. Who knew what they were up to? If they got angry, they could bury me in these mountains without anyone knowing.
I struggled to my feet and looked. My eyes lit up, then dimmed again. What I feared had come to pass. Li Zuquan, that old scoundrel, was sitting in front of me, leisurely drinking tea.
If there was anyone I least wanted to see right now, it was Li Zuquan. If Li Jian and Li Zuquan were compared, one was a primary school student and the other a university professor; there was no comparison.
To try to fool Li Zuquan the way I fooled Li Jian would be like an old man trying to hang himself – seeking death. Now, the team led by Li Jian was almost wiped out, and his own fate was uncertain. Although all of this had little to do with me, it was still related in some way.
So, before Li Zuquan could speak, I spoke first, "Old Li! You're here. You don't know! That valley was filled with thousands of mountain specters! I had to exert all my strength to escape from their clutches..."
As I complained to Li Zuquan, I cautiously observed his expression. The more I spoke, the colder my heart felt. Because despite all my words, Li Zuquan's expression barely changed. He continued to drink his tea unhurriedly, without even lifting his eyes.
After I finished recounting the entire ordeal, Li Zuquan remained silent. When I finished, I unceremoniously sat on the ground and looked at him, waiting for his judgment.
Li Zuquan put down his teacup and turned his gaze to me. "I didn't expect young friend Song to have experienced so much in just one night. However, there is one thing that this old man does not quite understand."
"What don't you understand?"
"Why do your words differ?" As Li Zuquan finished speaking, he lightly clapped his hands. Then, Zhang Dabiao, bound and gagged with tape over his mouth, was pushed in from outside.
Before I could call out "Brother Zhang," I saw Zhang Dabiao glare at Li Zuquan and try to ram him with his head as a weapon. But halfway through his charge, he was subdued by the two men in camouflage who were holding him.
"Mmmph..."
Seeing Zhang Dabiao's bloodshot eyes and near-frantic state, my heart was filled with mixed emotions, and I blurted out.
"Brother Zhang."
Upon hearing my voice, Zhang Dabiao quickly turned his head towards me. His eyes suddenly sparkled, looking exceptionally excited. He mumbled something.
Seeing this, Li Zuquan instructed his subordinates to tear off the tape from Zhang Dabiao's mouth.
"Little brother, you're alive? That's great! How did you escape? Are you injured..."
He bombarded me with so many questions that I couldn't get a word in. Only after he finished did I reply, "I'm not injured, it was just a bit dangerous escaping. What happened to you..."
My question was ill-timed. As soon as I asked, Zhang Dabiao's gaze turned to Li Zu. "Old Li, they were all eaten by the mountain specters! If you have something against someone, come at me. Let my brother go."
Li Zuquan remained unmoved by Zhang Dabiao's curses. Instead, the two men who had brought Zhang Dabiao in each kicked him.
Enraged, Zhang Dabiao stood up and tried to fight them, but his hands and feet were bound, and he was no match for them. He was quickly subdued by the two men.
Seeing Zhang Dabiao lying on the ground, Li Zuquan waved his hand to stop them, his face ashen. "My patience is limited. Tell me, where did Li Jian and Daoist Fang go? Why are you alive, yet they have disappeared?"