Chapter 7: Did we look in the wrong place?

Kong Yizhang knew that this girl had been running into the mountains since she was a child, and he understood that what she said made sense; after all, Fu Yancheng’s whereabouts could not be discovered. "Comrade Liu, you must pay attention to your own safety, and thank you."

He reached into his pocket, only to realize belatedly that he had lent his money to a colleague that morning, leaving only a few small bills in his pocket.

A look of awkwardness flashed across his face, but he still pressed the small change into Liu Chuxue’s hand. "I’m sorry, this is all I have on me. Please call to let me know you’re safe afterward, so I can have peace of mind."

The girl had not only helped them pass on a message but also led them into the mountains. Leaving her here alone made him feel truly guilty, but Fu Yancheng’s injuries could not be delayed any longer, so he had no choice but to agree.

Watching them leave, Liu Chuxue broke off some thorny branches at a hidden spot a little further from the cave before heading inside.

She quickly cleared away all traces within the cave; after all, that aunt and nephew were not exactly good birds.

As she prepared to leave, her peripheral vision caught a flash of light in the inner corner. She initially didn't think much of it, but the moment she turned to leave, the corner flashed again.

Out of curiosity, she gathered her courage to go and check, but the light in the cave was too dim, and after some searching, she found nothing unusual.

Just as she was about to pull her hand back, her middle finger was accidentally scratched by a sharp edge on the cave wall. As she withdrew her hand, a few drops of blood quickly seeped into the ground at that spot.

She hissed and pulled her hand back, cursing inwardly: "Damn it, how unlucky."

After stopping the bleeding with pressure, she took out the handkerchief from her pocket and bandaged the wound. She glanced at the corner from before, swept the thorny branches over it a few more times, and then left the cave.

What she didn't know was that not long after she left, two people crept up to the spot. "Are you sure it’s here?"

"According to the information that person gave, it should be here."

The two searched the cave thoroughly but found nothing. "Did we find the wrong place?"

"Impossible. This is the only cave in the vicinity that matches all the characteristics she described. It can't be wrong."

"Then what should we do now?"

"What else can we do? We’ve done our best; it’s not our fault we didn't find anything."

"But if that person doesn't pay us the rest of the money, won't we have worked for nothing?"

*

When Liu Chuxue arrived at her sister’s in-laws' house, it was just mealtime, which made the Qiu family’s second grandson’s wife, who was heavily pregnant, very unhappy. "Who visits relatives right at mealtime?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Qiu Shaofeng, who had stood up to offer his sister-in-law a seat to eat, looked very embarrassed. "Chuxue, why are you here?"

Liu Chuxue glanced at the Qiu family’s second grandson’s wife, who was still being snide. "Brother-in-law, where is my sister?"

Liu Xiaqiu, who was in the kitchen preparing to bring out the soup, heard her sister’s voice and hurried out. "Chuxue, did something happen at home?"

She knew that if there wasn't an emergency, her second sister wouldn't have run over in the middle of the day.

Liu Chuxue didn't want to stay and be an eyesore. Seeing the situation, she didn't mention borrowing money; she didn't want to put her brother-in-law in a difficult position, nor did she want her sister to be mocked and squeezed by her in-laws. "Sister, Dad was injured by falling rocks at the reservoir yesterday. I came to let you know."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the Qiu family’s second grandson’s wife, who had been eavesdropping, let out a "tch" and looked on with schadenfreude. "Oh, where was he hurt? Seeing you run over in the middle of the day like this, it must be pretty serious, right?"

These words directly provoked public anger. Several voices spoke out at once: "Shut up."

In an instant, the courtyard fell silent.