Murong Yun was fast, slippery as an eel. She ducked under my arm with a low crouch and rushed to the lounge chair in two quick steps.
Looking back, she stood before the candy wrapper. Though I couldn't see her face, her trembling body indicated she was furious, exceedingly so. Just as I braced myself for the impending "wrath."
I heard a crisp slap.
*Slap—*
"You've been spoiled rotten by Mom and Dad! At a time like this, you're still throwing a tantrum? Don't you know Nannan hasn't been found yet?" Murong Yun's reaction was completely beyond my expectations.
Normally, wealthy and influential families wouldn't admit their own faults. If they encountered someone relatively easygoing, they'd throw money at you, silencing you and leaving you to suffer in silence.
With arrogant nouveau riche, they'd directly threaten you, making you afraid to speak. If they heard even a whisper of complaint, the result could be losing your life.
Don't think I'm being alarmist. There are real cases of this. If anyone doubts me, they can check cases from around the turn of the millennium.
Su Jiandong glared at me fiercely, then followed me into the courtyard. He looked at the little white-skinned devil tied to the lounge chair and said, "Yun'er, what are you doing? While your sister is a bit mischievous, she's not unreasonable. You hit her, but you should at least ask why. How could it not be that this kid here deceived us?" While complaining about Murong Yun, he untied the little white-skinned devil.
"Are you doubting my judgment?"
Su Jiandong: "..."
The first thing the little white-skinned devil did after being untied wasn't to cry, but to run from the courtyard and glare at me fiercely, "You lying bastard, I'm not done with you!"
I was speechless. Damn it, what does this have to do with me? You were the one who pointed a gun at me unreasonably earlier, otherwise, why would I have tied you up? They say women and petty people are hard to deal with. Is your unreasonableness hereditary?
"I apologize. I spoiled my sister and offended you, sir. Please forgive us."
Facing the little white-skinned devil who had already fled, Murong Yun offered a sincere apology, though it seemed a bit strange.
They say you don't hit a smiling face. The little white-skinned devil is a little devil, and it has nothing to do with Murong Yun. I could only return her smile and say that it was also my fault for tying her to the lounge chair, but her habit of pointing guns at people was truly frightening.
"Gun?" Su Jiandong snorted. "You mean this one?" As he spoke, he pressed a gun to my head. That cold sensation made me experience the feeling of death once again.
"What do you want?" It would be a lie to say I wasn't scared, but it's better to be beaten to death than scared to death. For some reason, ever since we started talking on the phone, I've felt a sense of dislike towards Su Jiandong.
"Heh heh..."
Su Jiandong let out a strange laugh, and then, to my astonishment, he opened the bolt and pulled the trigger. I flinched and hid behind Murong Yun in fright.
I'm only eighteen today. I haven't enjoyed the prime of my life yet. How could I die at such a critical juncture?
The scene of bullets flying that I imagined didn't happen. Instead, a wisp of blue flame emerged from the muzzle.
Su Jiandong sneered, "This is what you call a gun."
Fake? It was a lighter?
Watching Su Jiandong smugly use the little white-skinned devil's toy gun lighter to light his cigarette, I gritted my teeth in anger. Who the hell did this? They made a gun into a lighter. Who could have possibly thought of that?
Being toyed with like this, my face turned pale and green. I didn't know what words could describe my current mood.
Seeing my embarrassment, Murong Yun said, "Alright. She's being foolish, and you're joining in. I knew this was the reason, otherwise, why would Mr. Song have tied her up?"
Su Jiandong opened his mouth as if to say something, but Murong Yun glared him into silence. He mumbled a few words, too quietly for me to hear.
After Murong Yun finished chiding Su Jiandong, she composed herself and said to me, "Mr. Song, according to your judgment, Nannan is in the surrounding mountains. But these mountains are too vast and the paths too rugged. Searching for her is extremely difficult. Even if we triple our manpower, we might not be able to find Nannan. Do you have any way to pinpoint an exact location, even a general direction? Otherwise, I fear that by the time we find Nannan, she might already be..." She choked up.
I can't stand seeing women cry, especially a mother. I lost my mother when I was eight, and that sense of loneliness is indescribable.
"Miss Murong, Nannan and I have a connection. I can't bear to see such a young child die here. I plan to enter the mountains to find a way to locate her. If you want to go up the mountain, you can come with me."
"Really?" Hearing my words, Murong Yun's face lit up with excitement. The beauty of her tear-filled eyes was somewhat dazzling. Is this the legendary "tears like pear blossoms in the rain"?
They say it's easy to go up a mountain but hard to come down. Perhaps when they say that, they're talking about scenic mountains with steps, not the wilderness of July. I originally planned to find Huang San's location myself.
I had only determined Huang San's approximate location, not his exact whereabouts, but that was enough. Once I found the general area, I could let Bai Ling'er sense Huang San's aura, and finding him would be a matter of minutes.
Murong Yun agreed to come along because she believed my chances of finding Nannan were much higher than theirs. Since she was coming, Su Jiandong had to accompany them. In the end, besides me, Murong Yun, and Su Jiandong, the group was joined by eight bodyguards.
However, in my opinion, these bodyguards claimed to be protecting us from dangers on the mountain, but their true motives were known only to themselves. Although I knew, I didn't want to expose it.
Crossing the small river east of the village, we walked about a kilometer north. Ahead, a vast expanse of weeds, taller than a person, appeared. There were also some prickly shrubs (a type of tree covered in sharp thorns) with thorns as long as a finger. A prick would hurt for half a day, more than a needle prick.
"Song Qingyun, are you playing us? Nannan is just a child, how could she run to such a remote place?"
I rolled my eyes at Su Jiandong and asked, "When did I say Nannan's body was here?"
"Then why are you running here? Aren't you wasting time?" Su Jiandong's face was grim, giving the impression that if Nannan wasn't found, all the blame would fall on me.
"I didn't ask you to follow. You volunteered to go up the mountain. If you want to come, come. If not, get lost."
Damn it, ever since I called you, I've been taking all the grief, as if your child's disappearance is entirely my fault. It's truly annoying.
"You..."
"Alright, Jiandong. It's all for Nannan, and going up the mountain was our request, wasn't it?" Murong Yun interjected. Su Jiandong immediately lost his temper, but his gaze towards me held even more aversion. Su Dan Novel Network
I ignored him. I readjusted my clothes and then found the sparsest area of grass and trees to push through. If it weren't urgent, I would have had his subordinates clear a path.
But now, time was life. By the time they cleared two kilometers of road, it would probably be dark, and it wouldn't necessarily be a straight path.
After walking more than ten meters, I heard rustling sounds behind me. Without looking, I knew Su Jiandong and the others were following. They were truly judging a gentleman by their own base standards.
The two kilometers of mountain path were incredibly difficult. The further we went into the mountains, the denser the canopy became. Coupled with the setting sun, the sunlight filtering through the canopy looked like a spotted dog, black and white patches.
Because I was annoyed and wanted to make Su Jiandong look bad, I didn't stop at all along the way. Even though my feet felt like they were on fire, I gritted my teeth and pushed forward. Just as my stamina was reaching its limit, Bai Ling'er suddenly sent good news from my backpack.
"I've sensed Huang San's aura."