Chapter 218
Chapter 218
Song Jin’s words stirred everyone’s emotions.
Who wanted to remain oppressed? Who did not want their descendants to succeed?
Was it because they did not want to take the imperial examinations or become officials?
In all these years, no official sent by Great Liang had truly helped them except Ji Yan’an’s distant uncle.
It was not that every official refused. Once they arrived, local powers constrained their every action, leaving them unable to consider the mountain tribes.
“Fine! We’ll follow you!”
“I’m tired of swallowing this humiliation!”
Several men slapped the table and stood, declaring their support.
Some remained cautious.
“What makes Young Master Ji believe he can lead us to control all Dali? We have only a few thousand people.”
Ji Yan’an smiled. “A few thousand is enough. What we need is quality, not quantity.”
Most had agreed. The hesitant minority did not dare gamble with their people’s lives.
Ultimately, every mountain tribe consolidated.
Ji Yan’an provided money while the tribes supplied labor, building houses as they trained.
They constructed bamboo homes, which were a local specialty. They were quick to build and suited the damp environment. Their only weakness was a short lifespan.
For Ji Yan’an’s purposes, that was enough.
While he threw himself into his ambitions, Jiang Yunsui spent only a fixed period studying each day and played during the rest.
With Ji Si and Ji Lu following, Ji Yan’an worried far less.
A trumpet-like cry rang out, frightening birds from the trees.
“Wow! Hahaha!”
Jiang Yunsui laughed happily from the elephant’s neck, eyes shining.
Who was more amazing than her? No one!
Lin Lang, Lin Ran, and Lin Shitou followed. The other children were grazing animals and gathering fodder, leaving only these three relatively free.
“Little Yunsui, wait for us!”
They stared enviously at her atop the elephant.
They wanted to ride too, but the elephant refused.
Though she treated them kindly, it could not compare to her affection for Jiang Yunsui.
“Is that a bamboo forest?” Jiang Yunsui asked.
“What kind of question is that?” Lin Lang replied.
It was plainly visible.
Jiang Yunsui slid down the elephant’s trunk and landed.
She wanted to explore.
The bamboo grew too densely for the elephant to enter.
“Play here. I see bamboo fungus over there. I’ll pick some.”
The environment clearly suited it. Jiang Yunsui could spot more than a dozen specimens from the edge alone.
Lin Ran added, “There are bamboo shoots too.”
The children squeezed into the forest and began gathering.
“There’s so much bamboo fungus here!”
“Hurry. It rots quickly if we don’t pick it.”
The fungus was snowy white with a beautiful lacy skirt and a dusty gray cap that could not be eaten.
Jiang Yunsui liked its texture. It absorbed broth wonderfully and became flavorful when cooked with chicken.
Picking mushrooms was relaxing.
Without noticing, she wandered deeper.
When the children began to separate, Ji Lu warned the others to follow Jiang Yunsui.
Lin Shitou called, “Yunsui, wait for us!”
Holding an enormous armful of bamboo fungus, Jiang Yunsui smiled as brightly as a sunflower.
She stood and greeted them.
“I’m right… Huh? Ow!”
One small sideways step, and Jiang Yunsui performed a disappearing act before everyone.
The bamboo fungus scattered across the ground.
“Jiang Yunsui!”
Ji Si and Ji Lu instantly emerged and peered into the narrow hole.
“How did she manage to have an accident here?” Ji Lu exclaimed. “What bastard dug this hole?”
“Jiang Yunsui!” Ji Si called downward.
Lin Ran and the others ran over and looked inside.
“What do we do? Is this a snake den?”
“A snake that big?”
The tunnel was wide enough for a person to crawl through.
“I’ll go,” Ji Si said.
He bent and entered.
“Woof! Woof!”
Zuozuo and Youyou were frantic. They wanted to follow, but the entrance was too small.
Ji Lu caught them.
“Don’t go in. If you get stuck, we’ll have real trouble.”
“Qianqian and Houhou can enter.”
“We’re going too!”
Lin Shitou and the others tried to crawl inside but were pulled back.
“We don’t know what’s there. Stay and guard the entrance. If something happens, you’ll only become burdens.”
They were unhappy but knew it was true.
Ji Lu ordered the mastiffs to remain outside, then followed.
Only after entering did he discover how long the tunnel was.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yunsui rolled all the way to the bottom, crying out with every impact.
Dazed, she lay on the ground for a long time before she could rise.
A rotten stench filled her nose, and everything was black.
“It hurts.”
Little Mushroom sniffled and climbed up pitifully.
Every part of her seemed to ache.
“Si Si… Lu Lu…”
She looked around fearfully.
The place was too quiet, dark, and strange.
Jiang Yunsui could see in darkness, so she immediately spotted a skeleton nearby.
She shuddered.
The air smelled rotten and moldy.
She decided to crawl back through the tunnel she had rolled down.
Rustle, rustle…
What was that?
Jiang Yunsui became alert.
The sound came from above.
She looked up and drew a sharp breath.
An enormous spider!
Two spiders larger than Jiang Yunsui dropped from the ceiling. Several pairs of blood-red eyes fixed on her.
Eight legs raced toward her in excitement.
“Aaaah! Don’t eat me!”
Jiang Yunsui abandoned the tunnel and charged blindly in any available direction.
The spiders pursued. More rustling arose behind them.
She glanced back while running and felt her scalp crawl.
So many spiders!
Most were smaller than the first pair, but there were terrifying numbers of them.
She was doomed. Had she entered a spider nest?
As Jiang Yunsui ran, she lowered her presence.
Eventually, after an unknown distance, the spiders lost her and wandered through the passage searching.
Exhausted, Jiang Yunsui sat down to rest.
Crack.
Something broke. The familiar sensation of weightlessness returned.
Jiang Yunsui’s little face filled with the misery of a terribly hard life.
“Aaaagh!”