Chapter 217

Chapter 217

Worried about Lin Zhu and Qin Musong, Cheng Miao didn’t let them go out. Qi Jiajia volunteered to stay and keep them company.

Cheng Miao patted her head, feeling rather pleased. Qi Jiajia looked well behaved, but was actually rolling her eyes at Qiudong.

Qi Jiajia: You’re hogging Cheng Miao anyway. Going along wouldn’t do me any good. I might as well keep these two troublesome ones company.

Qiudong smiled: You’re welcome.

Seeing Qi Jiajia beginning to grow irritable again, Cheng Miao hurriedly left with Qiudong.

Yang Ke planned to search the village for clues himself and asked Freckles to stay with Qin Musong and the others.

“You’ll be all right on your own?” Cheng Miao liked seeing the two of them gradually grow. Some people would only ever cling to stronger players, no matter how long it had been since you last saw them.

Yang Ke and Freckles were different.

They truly were trying to grow, trying to survive through their own efforts.

“I’ll be fine.”

Cheng Miao didn’t miss the fleeting panic and forced composure in Yang Ke’s expression. Still, nothing was likely to happen in the village. Letting the young man practice on his own would be good for him.

She and Qiudong headed toward the ancient tree to find Mini Lin.

“See? You say I’m special, but Yang Ke and Freckles are like that too. They’re trying hard to stay alive.” Cheng Miao quickened her steps. She meant to tease him, but her tone wasn’t light.

Spotting a protruding rock, Qiudong took her hand and led her around it. “It’s different.”

“Hmm?” With her mind full of Qin Musong and Lin Zhu, she didn’t react at once.

“You’re different. People are social creatures. They want to follow the crowd and stay close to the strong. Yang Ke and Freckles wanted teammates to accompany them from the start. All their efforts come from necessity.”

Qiudong glanced at her profile without letting go of her hand. “You don’t. You’ve always known what you wanted. You don’t complain or run away.”

Cheng Miao was anxious because they still had no answers. Having Qiudong hold her hand reassured her a little, and she didn’t stop to examine whether the gesture was appropriate.

His words embarrassed her. She scratched her cheek and murmured softly, “I’m not as good as you make me sound.”

Qiudong said nothing, simply holding her hand as they walked toward the ancient tree.

You’re better than I make you sound.

Much better.

They found Mini Lin at the tree. After a series of gestures, Cheng Miao concluded that he had again seen nothing all night.

Somewhat discouraged, she carried him back. Then something occurred to her.

Both Qin Musong and Zu Gehan had mentioned a cave in their dreams.

What if the problem wasn’t the ancient tree, but that cave whose location they didn’t know?

She didn’t hurry back. The two of them searched the area and found some small openings, but none of the deep caves big enough for people to enter that Qin Musong and the others had described.

The afternoon was hot. Cheng Miao and Qiudong asked for a bowl of water at a villager’s home.

The resident was an older woman. Seeing how attractive both of them were, she took a liking to them.

“Are there any caves near the village, ma’am?” Cheng Miao took a sip of water and spoke as though making casual conversation.

“Caves?” The woman thought. “Probably. There are plenty of caves in these mountains.”

Cheng Miao perked up a little and described it further. “One people can go inside. Quite spacious.”

The woman shook her head. “They’re all little caves. Besides, there could be wild animals inside. Nobody goes in to look.”

Cheng Miao thanked her and said no more.

They had too little information. Even if they found a cave, they wouldn’t know which one it was.

The mountain terrain was complicated. She shouldn’t risk losing Mini Lin.

She returned the bowl to the woman, and the pair headed out of the village again.
Back at the courtyard, lunch was dried noodles cooked by Ma Yang.

As an apology, she had made enough for Qin Musong and his companions too.

Qi Jiajia and the others sat on a long bench, eating slowly, when they heard Zhu Cong coming out with Fang Jing on his back.

Seeing Lin Zhu’s group look over, Zhu Cong smiled apologetically. “She’s much quieter with Miss Cheng away. I thought some sunshine might help.”

They said nothing, so he settled Fang Jing in the pile of straw at the farthest corner.

He hurriedly finished his noodles, then came to feed her.

But the noodles were in broth. After feeding her for quite a while, he’d gotten little into her mouth and spilled plenty on her clothes.

“Brother Zhu, my hand hurts.” Fang Jing suddenly spoke softly.

He looked at her. The madness of the morning was gone, though her complexion was still alarming.

Zhu Cong frowned. Fang Jing bit her lower lip, tears in her eyes. “I’m clearheaded now. I won’t do anything.”

He said nothing. After watching her for a while, he sighed and reached out, deftly setting her left wrist back in place.

One hand, and not her dominant one. It would be enough for eating.

This was Zhu Cong’s final concession.

Fang Jing said nothing. She moved her wrist, picked up the chopsticks with a trembling hand, and quietly ate her noodles.

Zhu Cong didn’t leave. He stayed beside her.

“Xiao Fan, come keep an eye on her.” Taking the bowl after Fang Jing finished, he prepared to wash it and called Kong Fan, who was studying a grass bracelet nearby.

“Yeah, coming, Brother.”

Zhu Cong stood and walked toward the well. When Kong Fan was only a few steps from Fang Jing, everything changed.

Fang Jing suddenly sprang up. The unexpected burst of power stunned both Zhu Cong and Kong Fan for an instant.

Without the slightest hesitation, she shot like a cannonball toward Qi Jiajia nearby.

In her left hand, she held a fragment of a ceramic cup that she had hidden at some point. She gripped it so tightly that it had cut her hand, leaving it dripping blood.

Fang Jing had lost her mind, but she retained one final shred of reason. She knew that however delicate Qi Jiajia looked, her ability was formidable.

Qin Musong wasn’t even worth considering.

So her target was Lin Zhu, who was already physically frail and now weaker still from illness.

He reacted with extraordinary speed. He didn’t dodge, afraid she would turn on Qi Jiajia instead.

In the blink of an eye, he had taken out his item, a thick book.

Its ability was to let him quickly learn a skill, but it actually had another hidden use.

It was thick and heavy enough to serve as a brick.

However mad Fang Jing was, she was still an ordinary woman. Lin Zhu blocked her lethal thrust. He was deciding whether to risk getting cut while taking the shard from her or knock her unconscious with the book when he saw a strand of black hair already wrapped around her neck.

Qi Jiajia’s eyes were blood-red. Her fingers moved slightly. The hair had already bitten into flesh, and in another instant it would sever Fang Jing’s head.

But a tremendous gunshot rang out first.

Bang!

The strong smell of gunpowder rose. Lin Zhu watched Fang Jing fly backward from the impact, a brilliant flower of blood bursting across her chest.

“Uh… uh…”

She fell to the ground, her hands and feet still twitching involuntarily.

Qin Musong put his handgun away and drew Qi Jiajia protectively closer. “As long as I’m here, a child like you won’t need to get blood on her hands.”

“Look! She… her body!”

As he spoke, Miao Jie suddenly cried out.