Chapter 7: Did We Get the Wrong Place?

Kong Yizhang knew this Miss had often run into the mountains since childhood and understood her reasoning was sound, after all, Fu Yan Cheng's whereabouts could not be discovered: "Comrade Liu, you must pay attention to your own safety, and thank you."

He raised his hand toward his pocket, only then belatedly remembering he had lent his money to a colleague early that morning, leaving only a few small bills in his pocket.

A hint of awkwardness flashed across his face, yet he still shoved the few small bills into Liu Chuxue's hand: "Sorry, this is all I have in my pocket. Please call to report your safety afterward so I can rest easy."

The young Miss had not only delivered their message but also led them into the mountains; leaving her alone here now made him feel truly guilty, but Fu Yan Cheng's injuries could not be delayed further, so he could only agree.

Watching them leave, Liu Chuxue went to a concealed spot a little distance from the cave, broke off some thorny branches, and entered the cave.

She quickly cleared all traces inside the cave, after all, that aunt and niece pair were no good birds.

Just as she prepared to leave, her peripheral vision caught a glimmer of light flashing in the inner corner; she had initially dismissed it, but the moment she turned, that corner flashed with light again.

Out of curiosity, she mustered her courage to approach and check, but the cave was too dark, and after a thorough inspection, she found nothing unusual.

Just as she prepared to withdraw her hand, her middle finger accidentally scraped against a sharp edge on the cave wall, drawing a bloody cut; at the same moment she withdrew her hand, a few drops of blood quickly seeped into that spot on the ground.

She hissed "Sss" as she withdrew her hand, unable to help cursing inwardly: "Damn it, what rotten luck."

After pressing to stop the bleeding, she took a handkerchief from her trouser pocket, wrapped the wound, glanced once more at the previous corner, casually picked up the thorny branches again and swept them around a few times, then finally left the cave.

What she did not know was that shortly after she left the cave, two people crept up to this spot: "Are you sure this is the place?"

"According to the information that person gave, it should be this place, no mistake."

The two searched the cave thoroughly, but found nothing: "Did we get the wrong place?"

"Impossible, this is the only cave nearby that matches all the characteristics she described; there can be no mistake."

"Then what should we do next?"

"What can we do? We have already done our best; not finding anything is not our fault."

"But if that person refuses to pay us the rest of the money, won't all our efforts have been in vain?"

When Liu Chuxue arrived at her elder sister's in-laws' home, it was exactly mealtime, which made Qiu Shaofeng's second daughter-in-law, who was heavily pregnant, very unhappy: "Who visits relatives right at mealtime?"

Upon hearing these words, Qiu Shaofeng, who had risen to invite his sister-in-law to sit and eat with them, looked extremely embarrassed: "Chuxue, why have you come?"

Liu Chuxue glanced at the Qiu family's second daughter-in-law, who was still speaking in a sarcastic tone: "Brother-in-law, where is my sister?"

Liu Xia Qiu, who was in the kitchen preparing to bring out soup, heard her younger sister's voice and hurriedly came out: "Chuxue, did something happen at home?"

She knew that unless something had happened, her own second younger sister would never have run over in the middle of the day.

Liu Chuxue did not want to stay and be in the way; seeing the situation, she did not mention borrowing money, for she did not want to put her brother-in-law in a difficult position, nor did she want her sister to be met with cold mockery and ridicule from her in-laws: "Sister, Father was injured in the leg by falling rocks at the reservoir yesterday; I came to tell you."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the Qiu family's second daughter-in-law, who had been pricking up her ears, let out a "Tsk" with a face full of schadenfreude: "Oh, where did he get hurt? Seeing you run over in the middle of the day, it must be quite serious, right?"

These words directly provoked universal anger, and several voices spoke out simultaneously: "Shut up."

Instantly, the courtyard fell silent.

(End of this chapter)