Chapter 56: Professional Hole Digger

They say people living by the mountain make a living from the mountain.

At this moment, Cheng An felt immensely grateful to have been born into the Cheng family and to have a father skilled in hunting.

He shinnied up a pine tree in a few quick movements.

When he climbed back down, his arms were full of pine nuts and wild fruits.

"This..."

"Is there really something to eat?"

Gu Xiaoyue's surprise was mingled with immense joy. "Cheng An, you are amazing!"

"Just average, just average."

Facing the biting cold wind,

the three of them tossed and turned through several locations before finally finding a cave to take shelter from the cold.

However, three days later,

the anticipated turn of events failed to materialize.

The mountains remained dead silent, and occasionally, a few bandits searching for them could still be spotted.

Inside the cave,

Cheng An frowned slightly. "Is the government's efficiency really this low?"

"Could it be that the bandits have already received the ransom?"

Gu Xiaoyue sat dejectedly on the ground.

The once pure and bright little girl now looked as haggard as a tiny beggar.

Cheng An was equally unkempt, and his voice was somewhat hoarse.

"No!"

"If they had received the ransom, why would they still bother searching the mountains?"

Those people cared only about money.

The only reason they were putting in so much effort was...

This matter was far from over!

Yet, dragging it out like this was clearly not a solution; they would eventually be discovered.

"Then what should we do?"

Gu Xiaoyue had long since lost her previous spirited charm, her eyes red-rimmed. "Are we going to keep hiding like this?"

"What are you afraid of?"

Cheng An was at his wits' end as well.

He could only do his best to comfort them, joking, "We have food and drink here; who knows, if we stay a few more years, we might even have a baby together."

"Pui!"

The two sisters immediately blushed.

Gu Xiaoyue retorted in annoyance, "Little hooligan, who the ghost wants to have a baby with you!"

"I didn't say I'd have one with you."

"You..."

The two of them had not spared any witty banter over the past few days.

Whenever the atmosphere grew gloomy, Cheng An would deliberately tease them to ease the panic in their hearts.

And unconsciously...

Their affection for one another was also gradually warming up, until they ended up talking about everything without restraint.

Another half a day passed.

Cheng An grew increasingly irritable, fiercely tugging at his hair twice.

"I'm not waiting anymore!"

He stood up abruptly and said coldly, "Let's go, we're heading down the mountain!"

"Then what if..."

"There are no ifs!"

Cheng An's tone was low. "We have to take a gamble now, otherwise it's a death sentence sooner or later!"

Through his observations over the past few days,

although the search area of the bandits was getting wider, the frequency had decreased.

This indicated that the bandits were also running out of patience.

Along the narrow mountain path,

Cheng An clutched a silver hairpin in his hand and walked at the very front, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

It was currently noon.

The bandits had returned one after another to eat, leaving only one man to guard the intersection.

The three of them crouched in the bushes,

stealthily digging out a small pit half a foot deep, filled with thorns and sharp briars.

When he was a bored child, Cheng An's favorite thing to do was squat on the edge of the fields and dig up soil—sometimes even digging for a whole day straight!

And now...

Wasn't this putting what he had learned to practical use?

If only time permitted, Cheng An felt he could dig straight through this Cool Breeze Mountain in one go!

"Do you see that man?"

Covering the last handful of soil, Cheng An pointed at the figure not far away.

Then he said in a low voice, "Later, I'll go bait the enemy. Once he takes the bait, you two pull the rope! Remember, strike hard! The harder the better!"

"Okay..."

"Mm-hmm!"

The two sisters were taut with tension, gripping the ropes in their hands for dear life.

This was their only hope of survival.

Although nervous, they dared not make a single mistake...

Cheng An no longer hesitated.

Hunched over, he came to the side of the path and let out a few low, soft calls.

"Squeak, squeak-squeak!"

"Damn it! What kind of weather is this, why are there still rats in the mountain?"

The bandit cursed instinctively,

then suddenly raised his eyes and muttered, "No!"

"What kind of damned thing is that? Get your ass out here!"

Cheng An sprang up abruptly and bolted!

Upon seeing this, the bandit's pupils constricted, and his face lit up with wild excitement.

"Good lad, you really are still in the mountain!"

Without a second thought, he gave chase.

However, Cheng An was agile and, taking advantage of his small stature, darted back and forth through the thicket.

Failing to catch him immediately, the bandit burned with rage.

Then, spotting his chance, he threw himself forward in a flying tackle...

Just as he was about to succeed, Cheng An executed a sharp brake and squatted down.

The bandit instantly lunged into empty air.

Then his body sank, and with a loud thud, he plunged straight into the trap.

"Augh!"

"Quick, pull the rope!"

Before the bandit's miserable cries could fade, Cheng An shouted a sharp reminder.

The two sisters hiding beneath the tree instinctively yanked hard.

A boulder weighing several dozen pounds plummeted from the sky and smashed down precisely on target.

Bang!

The bandit collapsed to the ground with a groan.

"He..."

After a brief moment,

Gu Xiaoyue poked her head out from behind the tree and asked nervously, "Why isn't he moving anymore?"

"Duh..."

Cheng An wiped his face in disarray and panted, "With such a precise golden headshot, he'd *want* to move!"

At that very moment just now,

he had already prepared to go up and deliver a finishing blow, but heaven refused to grant his wish...

This bandit's luck was simply too good.

The three of them dared not linger, running wildly all the way down the mountain trail.

Seeing that they were about to reach the foot of the mountain,

Cheng An finally let out a sigh of relief and allowed a hint of a smile to form...

When footsteps echoed from down the mountain.

Damn it!

Will this never end?

At that moment, Cheng An felt an infinite sense of exhaustion, wishing he could just perish right on the spot.

Along the narrow forest path,

two burly men were walking together, constantly scanning their surroundings.

The forest here was sparse.

Too lazy to run any further, the three of them hid behind the trees and quietly waited for the enemy to approach.

"Eh?"

"There seems to be someone over there!"

The man in front stopped in his tracks.

Before he could even see clearly, a black figure darted out from behind a tree and sprinted rapidly back up the mountain.

Cheng An ran for his life, gritting his teeth,

praying incessantly in his heart that the two sisters would make it out alive!

This wasn't exactly self-sacrifice.

After all, having only one person cry was better than all of them crying along the way, right?

"Cheng..."

The burly man was baffled by the sudden turn of events, staring blankly at his companion.

He rubbed his eyes and said, "Big brother, that person just now looked like Young Master Cheng, didn't he?"

"Yeah..."

"Right?"

Wu Ji nodded stiffly, then added, "Then why is he running back up the mountain?"

...

Thank goodness!

Although Wu Ji and Guo Jing weren't particularly bright, their speed was certainly impressive.

In the span of a breath, they caught up to Cheng An.

"Young Master Cheng, why are you running?"

"Exactly..."

Wu Ji asked with a puzzled look, "If you're going to run, you should run down the mountain. Why are you running up?"

"I'll be damned..."

After the shock subsided,

Cheng An panted heavily, slumped straight onto the ground, and stared intently at the two of them.

He wanted to flare up in anger,

yet had nowhere to vent it...

Damn it!

How utterly frustrating!

"Stop the nonsense!"

He got up, gritting his teeth. "This place is no place to linger. Let's get down the mountain first."

"You..."

Seeing his disheveled state, Wu Ji hurried over to support him and offered, "How about this little one carries you down?"

"Forget it!"

"Carry the two of them instead..."

Cheng An pointed at the two young maidens hiding behind the tree and hurried down the mountain.

The group pressed on at a brisk pace.

It wasn't until they caught sight of the mottled, weathered walls of Clear Water Town that their taut nerves finally relaxed.

"Wuwu~~~"

Gu Xiaoyue could no longer hold it in and burst into loud sobs.

Gu Xiaorou was in no better state.

Her eyes were red-rimmed and her lips pressed tightly together, while tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.