Seeing Yu He's charming smile, the buck-toothed man's lower body tightened, and his smile became even more lewd.
He hadn't had a woman in a while. He'd finally managed to get his hands on such a young girl, and he had to make his move quickly while his boss and the others were eating and not paying attention.
He swallowed, put the plate of food aside, and rubbed his hands as he moved closer to Yu He.
"Heh-heh, little sister, brother will untie you now..."
Just as he naively squatted down, Yu He seized the opportunity, her eyes turning cold as she swiftly grabbed him by the neck.
The buck-toothed man was shocked. When had she untied herself?
"You..." Before he could speak, the hand gripping his neck tightened. Her fingers pressed on several pressure points, causing a sharp pain in his neck. Then, he found he couldn't make a sound!
The next second, Yu He's other hand grabbed a piece of firewood she had hidden behind her back and forcefully struck the back of his head. An eye for an eye, she returned the blow he'd given her last night.
The buck-toothed man's eyes widened. In the next moment, his struggling hands fell limply, and his eyes closed.
Yu He lowered him, felt for his pulse, and confirmed he was alive.
She took the rope and quickly bound his hands and feet. Then, she crept to the door, opened it a crack, and observed the outside.
This was an old house on a mountain. No one was outside. Faint sounds of talking and clattering dishes could be heard from the main house, where they were eating.
A dilapidated off-road vehicle was parked under a tree opposite the woodshed. To get to it, she would have to pass the front door of the main house, and she would be discovered.
She looked up at the sky. It was overcast, and she couldn't discern direction. She decided to leave first.
After she slipped out, she didn't forget to close the woodshed door. Then, she crept along the wall to the back of the woodshed and suddenly froze.
Tied to a large tree behind the woodshed was a large dog, gnawing on a bone. Hearing the movement, it looked up.
Man and dog stared at each other for three seconds.
"Woof woof woof..." The dog suddenly barked ferociously.
Inside the main house.
"Why is that mutt barking so fiercely? Baldy, go take a look," said the scarred man, who was eating.
Last time, Luo Xiaoyao and her mother had escaped, which was why he had specifically acquired a large dog.
The bald man immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks and got up to go out. Just as he reached the main door, the scarred man added,
"Also, see why Buck-tooth has been gone so long without returning."
Not long after the bald man huffed his way out, his voice could be heard from outside: "Boss, something's wrong! She's escaped! Buck-tooth has been tied up!"
"Damn it! Hurry up and chase her!" The scarred man immediately dropped his bowl and chopsticks, grabbed his weapon, and rushed out to pursue.
The winter in Nanshi was different from Beishi. The leaves here were evergreen.
The mountain paths were uneven, overgrown with weeds, and the trees grew in disarray. Running in such terrain made it easy to get lost and get into trouble.
However, Yu He had grown up in the mountains since she was a child and was very familiar with this kind of primitive forest environment.
She quickened her pace, the barking dog and the off-road vehicle chasing close behind.
"Stop! You'd better stop, or I'll shoot!"
The scarred man, sitting in the passenger seat, poked his head out, holding a long gun and aiming at Yu He's figure. The bumpy ride made it difficult to aim steadily.
Yu He glanced back at the approaching off-road vehicle and the large dog. She looked forward again, her pace undiminished, quickly scanning her surroundings and running towards the denser areas of trees.
Suddenly, she saw three or four fallen trees to her left, lying haphazardly across the path, with many vines and creepers entwined around their trunks.
She adjusted her breathing and ran towards them with all her might.
She propped herself up with one hand on a fallen trunk, leaped sideways, and gracefully vaulted over the logs. She then deftly avoided the vines and continued to weave through the toppled trees.
The off-road vehicle braked sharply in front of the fallen trees. The people in the car immediately got out. Before they could stop it, the large dog leaped over the logs and pursued Yu He.
"Boss, are we still chasing? This is the direction of the deep mountains!" the bald man asked with a fearful expression.
These fallen trees were ones he had cut down years ago, meant as a marker, and they should not go any further in this direction.
This direction led to another deep mountain, which was extremely dangerous, with many fierce wild animals and a burial ground from some ancient dynasty, rumored to be haunted. Villagers didn't dare to enter the deep mountains.
In the past, he didn't believe it, thinking the villagers were superstitious. There were no people in the deep mountains, but there were many wild resources, so he followed his boss into the deep mountains once, intending to make a fortune from wild game.
As a result, they didn't get any wild game, and they almost lost their lives. They escaped death, an experience they would never forget.
There were more than a dozen brothers with them at the time, but only four returned. The scar on their boss's face was from that trip. At the time, their boss seemed possessed, hacking at himself with a knife, which was terrifying to watch.
Finally, the four of them scrambled back, practically crawling. After returning, he never dared to go back. He even deliberately cut down these trees to block the path.
"Pah." The scarred man spat, his face grim. "No more chasing. Call back the mutt, and you two stay here and keep watch."
She was just a young girl, with nothing on her, venturing in there. It was a dead end. Perfect, it saved him the trouble.
In the deep mountains.
Yu He ran for a while, and seeing that no one was chasing her and the dog was gone, she finally stopped, panting, her throat dry, and drenched in sweat.
She took off her jacket and leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for breath. Her legs trembled uncontrollably.
Today, apart from a small packet of pills, she hadn't eaten a bite or drunk a drop. She had a slight fever, and after running for so long, her body could no longer take it.
She looked around and saw a patch of black nightshade not far away, with clusters of green and black berries.
She had eaten these wild berries as a child. The green berries were poisonous. The ripe ones turned black, were less toxic, and edible, but not in large quantities.
Yu He went over, picked some nightshade berries, and ate a few to moisten her dry throat and fill her empty stomach.
Then she found a bristlegrass tree laden with yellow fruit. These fruits were very sour, and Yu He didn't like them, but now, with limited resources in the mountains, she had no choice but to force herself to eat a few.
After eating, she felt even hungrier.
She really wanted to eat the steak that Qin Beiting pan-fried, perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside...
"Gulp..." Her stomach rumbled in response.
Yu He: "..."
She looked up at the gray sky. It was getting dark.
While looking for the berries, she had already determined her approximate location based on the density of the leaves and the growth patterns of the moss. She was in the deep mountains, further away from the village.
By foot alone, she definitely wouldn't be able to get out of this mountain before dark. She had to find a way to survive the night.
After she got back this time, she would definitely ask Qin Beiting to pan-fry her steak again.