Chapter 859: Might Even Be Worse Than a Dog

Going into the mountains to search for someone—there was no telling how long it would take—so Liu Guilan made a large stack of pancakes for Wang An, weighing a good five or six catties.

Once the pancakes had cooled, Wang An packed them up. After a moment's thought, he grabbed a couple of pieces of salted preserved vegetables.

In these great mountains, salted vegetables and pancakes, paired with a few dug-up large wild garlic bulbs, made for a proper and decent meal.

The main thing was that searching for a person was different from hunting; there was no time to hunt while searching.

Furthermore, Wang An didn't plan to bring the dogs into the mountains, and trying to set traps during this season would be pure nonsense.

Therefore, the possibility of eating meat after entering the mountains was basically zero.

Even so, Wang An didn't forget to bring salt and chili powder. After all, there was always a chance—if he happened to find meat but had no salt, wouldn't that be nonsense?

Just as Wang An finished breakfast, Wang Li arrived carrying a shoulder bag and a gun. It was clear that Wang Li's bag also contained dry rations.

In these mountains, whether going into the forest or working the fields, there was no need to carry water.

This was because the mountain springs and streams were truly numerous; the water was very clean, and drinking it directly caused no problems.

At this moment, Wang Li's face was heavy with worry. It was obvious he was still thinking about that Li Xiuyu matter.

Seeing this, Wang An didn't say much, mainly because there wasn't much to say about such things.

And so, the two of them, each carrying a backpack and a gun, walked toward the village headquarters.

Just as they stepped out the main gate, Wang Li suddenly asked

"Fourth Brother, you know that Li Xiuyu's family is facing hard times right now, right? And then I heard that the loan shark has also taken a fancy to Li Xiuyu..."

Following that, Wang Li repeated what Yao Ping had said the previous night.

Throughout this, Wang An did not interrupt.

Once Wang Li finished, Wang An asked

"So, what are your own thoughts?"

Wang Li looked conflicted, but spoke clumsily

"I want... I want to go see. If... if it comes to that, I'll fight those people to the death."

By the last sentence, Wang Li was gritting his teeth, his face brimming with murderous intent.

It had to be said that the phrase "youth is wasted on the young" (or "one isn't a youth if one isn't crazy") fit Wang Li perfectly at this moment.

Wang An could feel that this kid was clearly about to go crazy—and a very irrational kind of crazy at that.

Consequently, Wang An's face darkened, and he instinctively asked

"What? How many people are you planning to kill?"

In a situation like this, Wang Li absolutely could not be blindly impulsive.

To give a simple example: what if Li Xiuyu actually liked those loan sharks? Or what if she liked someone else entirely?

These were realistic problems, and fundamentally unsolvable ones.

If that were the case—meaning she had absolutely no feelings for Wang Li—and Wang Li still risked his life for the sake of so-called love, wouldn't he just be a complete idiot and a sucker?

Hearing Wang Li say this, Wang An burst out laughing and said

"At the very least, you have to know if she even likes you. What? Do you think that by doing this, you'll become some kind of hero in her heart? Hahaha, you're truly hilarious."

Wang An had always believed in one saying: "You can warm a stone, but you might not be able to warm a human heart."

Wang Li said indignantly

"But if I risk my life for her, how could she still not like me?"

It had to be admitted that whether man or woman, once trapped by the word "love," their IQ basically dropped to zero.

However, this was a problem that many people only understood after the fact.

To be honest, it was quite a sad thing.

Wang An thought for a moment and said

"Those four yellow dogs of yours risk their lives for you every time they enter the mountains. If they were to die in battle one day, besides feeling sad for a while, what else would you do for them?"

It must be said that while Wang An's words were the truth, they were also quite piercing. Wang Li was instantly stunned.

After a while, Wang Li murmured

"Do you mean... in her heart, I'm just like a dog?"

Wang An nodded and laughed without hesitation

"Actually, there's no guarantee. It's possible that in her heart, you're not even as good as a dog."

As the saying goes, "Seeing through things but not exposing them is how you stay friends."

But Wang An's words were far too hurtful. They sent Wang Li, who had just started to clear his head, spiraling back into a vortex of confusion.

To be honest, this was only possible because it was Wang Li. If it had been anyone else, they probably would have started fighting Wang An by now.

Who wouldn't ask: *How am I not as good as a dog?*

Ignoring Wang Li's resentful little expression, Wang An continued

"Setting aside whether Li Xiuyu likes you or not, let's talk about you fighting those people. How exactly do you plan to fight? Do you want to take a Type 56 assault rifle and mow them all down, or rely on a box-gun to shoot them all quietly?"

The reason Wang An asked this was to make Wang Li face reality.

One had to realize that loan sharks were not people to be trifled with.

Not to mention others, just take Qiu Ba, whom Lu Yueyue had shot dead. If Wang An hadn't been quicker with his gun back then, the final result would have been uncertain.

On one hand, if you have a gun, they have guns too. Just because you think your marksmanship is good doesn't mean theirs is bad.

On the other hand, killing people isn't something you just do on a whim.

If it were in the deep mountains and forests where no one knew, killing a drifter or something wouldn't be a big deal.

But if you shot someone dead in broad daylight, did you really think you'd get away scot-free?

With two direct hits to the vitals, Wang An completely suppressed Wang Li's crazy ideas.

By the time they finished talking, the two of them had reached the village headquarters.

When they arrived, Village Chief Sun Dafu, Accountant Li Youcai, and Militia Captain Sun Xiangfeng were already waiting there.

It was clear that these three were genuinely quite anxious.

Regardless of how obnoxious Niu Qi was, a human life was still a human life. Whenever a life was involved, it was no small matter.

However, unlike these three, the group of hunters, militia, and young men from the village who owned guns were indifferent. They didn't take the search seriously at all, chatting and laughing, doing whatever they pleased.

What Wang An didn't expect was that "One-Ball Hero Li Biao" had also come.

It seemed that although he only had one ball left, it hadn't affected his life in any significant way.

Upon seeing Wang An, the kid took the initiative to step forward and greet him.

Wang An merely gave a perfunctory smile and didn't say much to him.