freenovelworld Chapter 768 Pathfinding
Chapter 768 Pathfinding
Lu Yangyang took Hongyu and rushed to meet up with Huo Lin.
Before nightfall, Huo Lin had led his men around the dock several times, seemingly intending to thoroughly investigate the bandits in the vicinity. In less than an afternoon, the news that the government was going to eliminate the bandits spread throughout the entire dock.
After the news spread, Huo Lin led his men to follow Lu Yangyang into Qingyuan Mountain.
Qingyuan Mountain is a range of mountains. The outer area is not dangerous, but the inner area has a complex terrain and is often frequented by wild animals, making it impassable. If you want to pass through here, you have to take a detour.
It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time when mountain animals are most active. Not long after they entered the mountains, they heard howling wolves coming from afar, clearly more than one.
Some people felt uneasy and tentatively asked Huo Lin, "Sir, if there were only a few wolves, it would be fine, but there are many of us. Could there be some poisonous snakes or something? I've heard that Qingyuan Mountain is haunted, and there are deep pits everywhere in the deep mountains. Can we really get through?"
The straight-line distance from the dock to Qinghe Village on the other side of the mountain is not too long, but it requires passing through a mountain road, a place that few people have traveled. It's no wonder they were worried; even Huo Lin himself wasn't very confident.
However, he also trusted Sheng Junyao. If he didn't have absolute confidence in Lu Yangyang, Sheng Junyao wouldn't have allowed Lu Yangyang to come to Qingzhou with only one person.
Therefore, Huo Lin did not rush to reply.
Lu Yangyang, who was leading the way, turned around and replied when she heard the voice: "Don't worry, I have a sachet on me. Ordinary snakes and insects won't come near me. There are indeed snakes in Qingyuan Mountain, but most of them are non-venomous. There are some plants that are indeed poisonous, but as long as you don't accidentally eat them or get cut and bleed, you generally won't get poisoned."
Even if she were truly poisoned, she could find a cure.
But there's no need to say that.
She knew every path in Qingyuan Mountain well, and she had walked this path many times. Besides her, only Uncle Zhou knew about it. Occasionally, merchants would pass by the dock and buy the wild game they hunted in the mountains for a higher price than restaurants would offer. So, if they occasionally got something rare, Uncle Zhou would bring her to the dock to try their luck.
So the path she's taking now is one she's used to taking.
With Lu Yangyang's assurance, Huo Lin also told his subordinates, "Be careful and try not to cause too much of a commotion."
After Huo Lin spoke, no one dared to object anymore. They followed cautiously behind him, constantly paying attention to the surrounding movements.
Lu Yangyang guessed that He Jingze and the others might also go into the mountain, but given that they were not familiar with Qingyuan Mountain, they would not go deep. When she estimated the distance and realized that they might be discovered, Lu Yangyang told everyone to stop and put out the torches.
"Brother Huo, you and your men wait here. I'll go scout ahead and be right back." Outside, Lu Yangyang didn't call Huo Lin "brother-in-law" anymore.
Although Huo Lin trusted her, he was still a little worried about letting her go alone: "I'll go with you."
Lu Yangyang refused: "Brother Huo is not familiar with this place. If there is really someone lying in ambush, the target will be too obvious. I grew up in these mountains since I was a child and I know where to hide. I will go and come back. We still need Brother Huo here."
Seeing her insistence, Huo Lin said nothing more, only reminding her, "Then be careful."
Lu Yangyang nodded, and her figure quickly blended into the night.
Lu Yangyang walked a distance without rushing on her way. Instead, she took out a small bottle from her purse, poured out a pill, and held it to let the scent slowly diffuse. Soon, she heard a hissing sound around her. A patterned snake, thicker than her arm, slithered over and stopped a few steps away from her, eager to approach but hesitant to do so.
Lu Yangyang glanced into the distance again, where several small snakes were still stirring.
Lu Yangyang approached the patterned snake, hooked it, and put the small pill in her hand into its mouth.
When she left Yuechuan, Yin Yueling stuffed a lot of good things into her hands. Although these snake-training pills couldn't command the snakes here to fight like Yin Yueling could, they could still get them to come with her.
Lu Yangyang led the patterned snake silently toward Qinghe Village. After walking for about half an hour, she vaguely heard some noise.
She immediately climbed up a tree and hid.
The weather was nice today, and the moonlight was also exceptionally bright since tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival. From a distance, Lu Yangyang quickly spotted the group of people. She held her breath and waited for them to get closer.
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice, and her expression changed drastically.
"We asked you to lead the way, and you've led us around in circles in these mountains. Are you out of your mind?"
“I wouldn’t dare. I walk around these mountains every day and have set many traps. Recently, the animals in the mountains are very active, and many hunters from the neighborhood have come to set traps. I’m not just going around in circles; I’m mainly trying to avoid places where there might be traps. Not far ahead is where I usually stay. There are two thatched huts, and there’s a cave nearby with some food inside. I would never dare to lie.” It was Uncle Zhou’s voice.
Even though several years have passed, Lu Yangyang had followed Uncle Zhou in the mountains since she was a child, and it was Uncle Zhou who rescued her from the mountains. She could never forget Uncle Zhou's voice.
But why is Uncle Zhou with these people?
Almost immediately, Lu Yangyang understood.
It must have been He Jingze who led his men into the mountains and happened to run into Uncle Zhou, who was setting a trap. They were unfamiliar with Qingyuan Mountain and probably had already suffered losses before meeting Uncle Zhou, which is why they didn't take Uncle Zhou's life but instead kidnapped him and made him lead the way.
If Uncle Zhou takes them to a resting place, they will most likely be silenced.
Lu Yangyang's mind raced. Judging from the footsteps, there were at least a dozen of them. Lu Yangyang was no match for them. If she wanted to rescue Uncle Zhou, she would have to outsmart them.
Lu Yangyang touched the head of the patterned snake and suddenly had an idea.
She took out a small bottle, poured out another pill, crushed it, and flicked it gently in the direction the group of people were coming from.
The faint sound quickly alerted the group.
"Who's there?" someone shouted.
Several people immediately followed in that direction.
Lu Yangyang followed suit and threw out a few pills. With the footsteps as cover, she didn't make a fuss. However, the snakes that had been instinctively moving towards her from the beginning didn't care about that, and their hissing became more and more obvious.
No one knows who was unlucky enough to step on it first, but their leg went weak and they cursed, "Holy crap, what the hell is that?"