Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Xiao Jingmo watched Jin Bao disappear into the curtain of rain, and much of the tension in his heart eased.
As long as Jin Bao made it back safe and sound, he did not care what happened to him.
Zhu Laosan stood rooted to the spot, stunned by Jin Bao’s speed. Only after her little figure vanished from sight did he finally come back to himself.
Putting together Li Si’s guess, his current predicament, and the Jin Bao he had just seen, his suspicions were all but confirmed. This child was hiding a secret.
But the situation was critical. This was not the time to dwell on it.
Even so, Zhu Laosan did not abandon Xiao Jingmo.
With no more worries holding him back, Xiao Jingmo relied on what little martial skill he had and soon climbed up to rejoin Zhu Laosan.
“Officer, I wasn’t lying. There really are wild boars. That means the wolf pack isn’t far from here anymore. We have to get down the mountain at once.”
“We’ll talk when we get back.”
The wild boars were frighteningly fast. They had come charging toward the noise, and their direction happened to be exactly where the two of them were.
Zhu Laosan reached out and hauled Xiao Jingmo up, and the two quickly climbed toward the mountain.
If the herd of wild boars caught up with them, both their lives would be left here.
Cui Jin had been following the two of them the whole time. Blocked by the fallen tree, he was just about to climb over it and continue downward when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something streaking past not far away.
He immediately grew alert and stopped instead of moving forward.
Jin Bao ran all the way back to the cave in one breath and slammed headfirst into Li Si.
The impact sent Jin Bao staggering back several steps. She failed to steady herself and plopped down hard on her bottom. But she did not cry. Her little mouth puckered, and she climbed up from the ground with two big tears brimming in her eyes. Rubbing her little bottom, she whimpered and shuffled over to Pei Wanqing’s side.
Li Si had already been worried about Zhu Laosan’s safety and had been pacing near the cave entrance the entire time.
When a green bundle suddenly attacked him, he was so startled that he drew his blade and went on guard. Only after he clearly saw that the green bundle was a tiny child did he let out a breath of relief.
The instant Pei Wanqing saw Jin Bao, she rose from the ground.
“good girl, did the fall hurt?”
Pei Wanqing hurriedly helped rub Jin Bao’s bottom.
“Mm. Baby’s bottom broke into eight pieces. But after Mother rubs it, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Pei Wanqing’s heart ached terribly, but hearing Jin Bao say that, she could not help laughing.
“Why did you come back by yourself? Where’s your Second Brother?”
Pei Wanqing turned to glance outside the cave, but saw no one else. She found it strange.
Ever since Xiao Jingmo had left the cave, Xiao Che had asked Xiao Jingxing to gather some branches as thick as an arm from nearby.
They had no daggers, so they could only make do with what was at hand. Using pieces of stone as knives, they sharpened one end of each branch.
Lu Shuangshuang and Nanny Chen used the rocks and stone strips in the cave to pound the Datura into juice, making it easier to smear onto one end of the branches. With that, a makeshift weapon coated in deadly poison was complete.
“There are wild boars. Second Brother is in danger. Save Second Brother.”
Jin Bao remembered that she had come back to deliver a warning. The tears in her eyes had not yet dried as she spoke in a rush.
Xiao Che’s hand paused, and he looked toward Li Si.
Li Si had clearly heard what Jin Bao said as well.
“You just said your second brother and the others ran into wild boars? Where?”
Li Si grabbed Jin Bao by the arm. In his urgency, he used too much strength, and the pull hurt her badly.
Jin Bao cried out in pain and quickly pointed outside the cave.
“Outside. Second Brother told me to come back and tell everyone. Lots of wild boars. The tree fell and made a really loud noise. The wild boars heard it and charged toward Second Brother and the others. Hurry and save Second Brother!”
From Jin Bao’s brief words, Li Si obtained two key pieces of information.
The big tree had indeed fallen, but no one had died. Instead, it had drawn over a herd of wild boars. Truly, if it was a blessing, it was no disaster; if it was a disaster, there was no avoiding it.
Li Si turned to go inside and call for help. Only then did he realize Cui Jin had been gone for quite some time and still had not returned. Could something have happened to him?
The only person available now was Zou Yong, but the problem was that Zou Yong simply did not believe there was a herd of wild boars.
Li Si strode into the cave.
“Zou Yong, Brother San and the others have run into a herd of wild boars. Their lives are in danger. You stay here. I’ll go support them.”
Li Si knew that if he asked Zou Yong to go out and help, the man definitely would not agree. In that case, he could only go himself. Even if he sent Zou Yong, he would not feel at ease. The man was far too slippery.
Li Si was only informing Zou Yong, not discussing it with him. After speaking, he strode away.
Zou Yong frowned. Could there really be wild boars? One after another, they all spoke as if it were true.
Zou Yong stood and glanced at Li Duanjiang. Right now, the only two people in the cave were them. This was the best time to make a move.
Li Duanjiang understood at once. He immediately rose and followed Zou Yong to the cave entrance.
Everyone in the Xiao Family knew the wild boars were coming, but without orders, they could not leave. All they could do was stew in anxiety inside the cave.
Xiao Che was the head of the family. If he panicked, everyone else would lose their pillar of support.
Xiao Che remained seated where he was, unmoving, while the movements of his hands grew even faster.
The only thing he could do now was make a few more Poison Thorn. That way, when the time came, they would have a better chance of winning.
A shadow suddenly fell over him from above.
Xiao Che did not need to look up to know it was Zou Yong. In the cave right now, he was the only constable wearing official boots.
Li Duanjiang followed behind Zou Yong. Sharp-eyed as he was, he noticed the pile of Datura stacked beside the stone wall.
A thought flashed through his mind, so fast he almost failed to catch it.
But he felt it was extremely important, so he did not rush forward to act. Instead, he stared at the Datura.
Seeing Li Duanjiang’s gaze fixed on the Datura, Lu Shuangshuang quietly shifted her body and blocked the Datura behind her.
The corner of Li Duanjiang’s mouth lifted in a smile of realization. He looked at Xiao Che.
“Xiao Che, your legs are fine, aren’t they?”
At that, Zou Yong glanced at Li Duanjiang.
“Are you stupid? I checked him myself. His legs have no feeling. Stop spouting nonsense and hurry up with the proper business.”
Lu Shuangshuang was terribly nervous. She knew this man had discovered their secret, and her heart thumped wildly.
Xiao Jingxing knew the matter had been exposed and prepared to kill Li Duanjiang outright.
Pei Wanqing’s heart leaped into her throat as well.
“Sir, I know how they fooled you. It was-”
Halfway through his sentence, Li Duanjiang suddenly cried out in pain. “Ow! Who hit me?”
Li Duanjiang had been ambushed. It was as if a stone had smashed into his forehead, raising a huge bump.
He looked at Jin Bao in Pei Wanqing’s arms.
“Was it you, you little brat, who hit your grandpa?”
Jin Bao made a face at Li Duanjiang.
“Nyah, nyah, nyah… Ugly monster, big bump, growing horns. You’re a demon!”
Li Duanjiang really was ugly, and now the swollen bump on his head looked like a horn. No wonder Jin Bao was mocking him.
Provoked by Jin Bao, Li Duanjiang instantly forgot the words that had been on the tip of his tongue. He turned and went to make trouble for Jin Bao instead.
Jin Bao quickly had Pei Wanqing put her down.
The cave was spacious and packed with exiled prisoners. Tiny as she was, Jin Bao darted everywhere like an agile little monkey.
One moment, she stepped on someone’s back and climbed up onto his neck, hugged his head with both hands, and rolled over to the other side. The next, she climbed up along another person’s leg and nearly yanked his pants down.
Everyone in the cave was tormented by Jin Bao until they cried out in misery, yet no one could catch her. She was like a slippery little loach, impossible to get a grip on. Instead, she made things even harder for Li Duanjiang. Wherever Jin Bao went, chaos erupted.
“Run, will you? Keep running, you little brat! If you fall into my hands today, I’ll roast you. Perfect timing; everyone hasn’t eaten all day, so we’ll use you to feed our bellies.”
Madam Chen grabbed Jin Bao by the back of her collar and lifted her up.
Jin Bao’s two bare little feet flailed wildly in midair.
She was very close to Madam Chen. Madam Chen thought she could finally avenge her son, and the madness in her eyes frightened Jin Bao so badly that she trembled.
By instinct, Jin Bao raised her small arms and grabbed Madam Chen’s hair. Her short little legs finally found purchase, and her little foot kicked Madam Chen hard in the face. Madam Chen’s nose went numb with a sharp ache, and something warm flowed down from her nostrils.
Her hand holding Jin Bao suddenly loosened. If Jin Bao fell to the ground from there, she would surely be hurt badly, especially with the uneven stones covering the floor.
At the critical moment, Xiao Jingxing flew forward and caught Jin Bao.
Seeing one tiny child throw the entire cave into utter disorder, Zou Yong glared fiercely at Li Duanjiang.
Only then did Li Duanjiang come back to his senses. He had actually fallen for a little baby’s trick. After all that commotion, he had nearly forgotten the real business. Exposing Xiao Che and the others’ deception was what mattered now.
“Sir, Xiao Che’s legs aren’t crippled. The reason he could withstand those two cuts from you is because-”
“Run! Everyone, run! The wild boars are here!”
Before Li Duanjiang could finish, Cui Jin, soaked from head to toe and panting hard, charged in from the rain.
Li Duanjiang clenched his fists in fury and roared, “Damn it! Will you people let me finish a sentence or not?”