Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Zhu Laosan felt that Li Si had a point. In any case, making one trip would not be much trouble.
“Fine. Be careful. Take two exiled convicts with you, and bring Xiao Jingmo. He knows where the wild boars are. The moment you discover any sign of them, come back at once. Do not get close.”
As Cui Jin listened to Zhu Laosan’s arrangements, he secretly shot Li Duanjiang, who was huddled in the corner, a look.
Li Duanjiang understood and stepped forward with a bow.
“Officer, this lowly one knows a bit of martial skill. At a critical moment, I might be able to lend you a hand. Why not let me come along too?”
Zhu Laosan gave Li Duanjiang a once-over and refused outright.
“You’d better not go. I can see you’ve got a grudge against that Xiao fellow. This trip is important, and the main goal is to scout for information. Stay honestly in the cave. At a time like this, don’t get any ideas you shouldn’t.”
A trace of unwillingness flashed through Li Duanjiang’s eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cui Jin shake his head slightly, so he said nothing more and withdrew.
In the end, Li Si chose the brothers Xiao Jingmo and Xiao Jingxing to accompany him outside to take a look.
To make moving around easier and avoid alerting the wild boars, both brothers had their ankle shackles removed.
Jin Bao nestled in Pei Wanqing’s arms, her little head tilted as she watched the three of them prepare to head out.
Her big eyes suddenly fixed on Li Si.
A moment later, she sprang to her feet and rushed straight at him.
Jin Bao’s little hand tugged at the hem of Li Si’s clothes, her small face full of anxiety.
“Uncle can’t go. Uncle can’t go. Tree fall. People die.”
Everyone in the Xiao Family was startled by Jin Bao’s sudden move.
Xiao Jingmo was the first to react. His little sister must have seen something just now. Could it be that Li Si was going to be in danger?
If that was true, then the two brothers would never be able to clear themselves of suspicion.
But for his little sister to be this anxious, it was obvious Li Si would lose his life. That was why she was clinging to him.
If Li Si found out about his little sister’s ability, then her situation would become dangerous. There was a very real chance she would be taken away by the imperial court.
“Little Sister, did you have another dream? This is an officer, not Uncle.”
Jin Bao was very smart. She quickly understood that she had gotten too worked up just now and had forgotten what her brother told her about not exposing herself.
A little nervous, she clenched her tiny hands and timidly leaned into her Second Brother’s arms, not daring to look at Li Si again.
Li Si also assumed Jin Bao was talking nonsense because of a dream and did not take it to heart.
The Xiao Family, however, was secretly alarmed. They all understood that if Li Si went out this time, he would surely not return.
Xiao Che was the first to speak. “Officer, my eldest son has suffered internal injuries. Could you spare him from going and choose someone else instead? I know you trust them, but if anything unexpected happens on the road, it will be hard to explain. Why not find someone from a side branch to go with you?”
That way, if something did happen, their household would not be unable to clear its name.
Li Si frowned. He had not thought too much about it at first. He had simply assumed that the members of the Xiao Family Main Branch all knew martial arts, and that their family would not try anything strange. After all, so many of their relatives were still in the officers’ hands. But now that they were making excuses like this, could there be some hidden reason?
Li Si looked toward the little child in Xiao Jingmo’s arms. He had heard every word she had shouted just now, clear as day.
The Xiao Family had also changed their minds after hearing what the little child said. Could this little girl have some extraordinary ability?
Thinking back on everything that had happened to the Xiao Family Main Branch along the way, it truly did seem as if someone had warned them in advance.
Otherwise, how could they have eliminated two of the three scourges?
Li Si swallowed down the suspicion in his heart and pretended to consider Xiao Che’s suggestion. He returned to Zhu Laosan’s side and quietly repeated what Jin Bao had just said.
Zhu Laosan looked toward the Xiao Family in surprise.
“In that case, you don’t go. I’ll take a look. You stay behind and guard the cave. Keep an eye on them, and don’t let them cause trouble.”
Li Si also felt inexplicably uneasy. Perhaps it was because he had heard the little girl’s words, but his eyelid had been twitching nonstop.
“All right, I’ll listen to Brother San. But to be safe, Brother San should have them bring that little girl along. I don’t think she’s that simple.”
Zhu Laosan patted Li Si on the shoulder, then got up and left.
Zou Yong had not heard clearly what the two of them were muttering about, but when he saw them switch places, he sensed there was something fishy going on. He asked Li Si about it, but Li Si simply ignored him, leaving him to make a fool of himself.
Cui Jin glanced in the direction Zhu Laosan had gone, a thoughtful look flashing through his eyes.
He had seen Zhu Laosan ask the Xiao Family to bring a little child out with them, which made him even more certain that something was going on. But he had always been shrewd, so he did not question Li Si. Instead, he stood up, claimed he needed to relieve himself, and followed Zhu Laosan out of the cave.
Zhu Laosan only allowed Xiao Jingmo to take Jin Bao with him.
Xiao Jingmo understood that they were starting to get suspicious. Anxiety rose in his heart, but he let none of it show on his face. He had to dispel their doubts about Jin Bao.
Cui Jin trailed them at a careful distance. The rain was too heavy, and the forest was filled with the sound of raindrops striking everything around them. The people ahead did not notice anyone following them at all.
Xiao Jingmo walked at the front to lead the way, his mind racing for a way to handle the situation.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the mountain path began to slope downward, making it difficult to traverse.
The ground was slick underfoot, and everywhere there were tree roots hidden beneath fallen leaves, jutting out of the earth. One careless step could trip a person and send them rolling down the slope.
With Jin Bao in his arms, Xiao Jingmo found the going even harder.
All of a sudden, his foot slipped. He staggered, his whole body pitching backward. One arm clamped tightly around Jin Bao, while his other hand shot out, searching for something to grab.
Fortunately, after sliding only a short distance, he managed to catch hold of an exposed tree root.
His face went pale as he turned to look back at Zhu Laosan, who was following behind him.
Zhu Laosan was also walking with extreme caution. When he saw Xiao Jingmo slip, he instinctively reached out to grab him, but failed.
Xiao Jingmo had just breathed a sigh of relief when his heart suddenly leaped back into his throat.
From his angle, he could see a large tree not far from Zhu Laosan, so thick it would take one person to wrap their arms around it. It was growing beside a stone wall, and the soil around it was being washed away bit by bit by the torrential rain. The great tree was already beginning to tilt.
He could no longer care about his own safety. He wanted to shout a warning, but at this distance, Zhu Laosan would not be able to make out what he was saying.
He could only raise his hand and gesture.
“Sir, run! The tree is going to fall!”
Zhu Laosan did not understand what Xiao Jingmo meant. But because he was looking at Xiao Jingmo, he did not have time to watch where he was stepping. The ground beneath him happened to be a slope, and with one misstep, his whole body rapidly rolled downward.
He had only rolled about ten feet when a tremendous crash came from behind him.
Zhu Laosan stabbed the sheath of his blade into the ground and finally managed to stop his fall.
Startled by the thunderous noise, he lifted his head and looked back. The spot where he had just been standing was now blocked by a massive tree lying across it. If he had been even a little slower, that tree would have crushed him into a meat patty.
Still shaken, Zhu Laosan looked down at Xiao Jingmo and the little child in his arms, his expression unreadable.
Those two could be considered his saviors now.
But before the fear in Zhu Laosan’s heart could fully subside, his eyes went wide and round.
In the valley not far away, wild boars were charging toward them. They seemed to have been startled by the loud crash as well.
Zhu Laosan had no time to think. He desperately waved at Xiao Jingmo below.
“Wild boars are coming! Run!”
Seeing that Zhu Laosan was unharmed, Xiao Jingmo had just let out a breath of relief when he noticed Zhu Laosan staring toward the mountain ravine in terror and shouting.
A chill ran down Xiao Jingmo’s spine. He whipped his head around and saw a herd of wild boars charging madly in their direction.
The small trees along their path were knocked straight down by the herd, and mud splashed everywhere they passed.
“Damn it!”
When Jin Bao saw so many wild boars running toward them, her little face turned pale with fright. She hurriedly patted her Second Brother with her tiny hand.
“Second Brother, put Baby down! Baby runs fast. Baby can go back and warn everyone!”
At a time like this, Xiao Jingmo could no longer worry about anything else. He believed in Jin Bao’s abilities, and if he kept carrying her, there was no doubt he would only slow them both down.
The moment Xiao Jingmo set Jin Bao on the ground, she scrambled up the mountain on all fours in the blink of an eye. Before long, only a tiny black dot could be seen before she disappeared into the curtain of rain.