Chapter 7: Did We Find the Wrong Place?

Kong Yizhang knew the girl had run in these mountains since she was small and understood her reasoning. After all, Fu Yan Cheng's whereabouts couldn't be discovered: "Comrade Liu, please be careful, and thank you."

He reached for his pocket, only then realizing he had lent his money to a colleague that morning, leaving only a few coins.

A flash of awkwardness crossed his face, but he still pressed the coins into Liu Chuxue's hand: "Sorry, this is all I have. Please call to report you're safe later, so I can rest easy."

The girl hadn't just passed the message and led them into the mountain; leaving her alone here made him feel guilty, but Fu Yan Cheng's injury couldn't wait, so he had to agree.

Watching them leave, Liu Chuxue broke off some brambles in a secluded spot far from the cave and entered.

She quickly cleared all traces from the cave; that aunt and nephew were not good birds.

As she prepared to leave, her peripheral vision caught a flash of light in the corner. She hadn't paid it much mind, but as she turned, it flashed again.

Out of curiosity, she gathered her courage to check, but the cave was too dark, and she found nothing unusual.

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

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

After stopping the bleeding with pressure, she took out her handkerchief to bandage it, glanced at the corner, swept the brambles around a few more times, and left the cave.

What she didn't know was that not long after she left, two people arrived: "Are you sure it's here?"

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

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

"Impossible. This is the only cave nearby that fits all the characteristics she mentioned. It can't be wrong."

"Then what should we do?"

"What can we do? We've done our best. It's not our fault we didn't find her."

"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, it was mealtime. This made the pregnant second daughter-in-law of the Qiu family very unhappy: "Who visits relatives right at mealtime?"

Hearing this, Qiu Shaofeng, who had stood up to let his sister-in-law sit and eat, looked embarrassed: "Chuxue, why are you here?"

Liu Chuxue glanced at the snide second daughter-in-law: "Brother-in-law, where is my sister?"

Liu Xiaqiu, who was in the kitchen bringing out soup, heard her sister's voice and hurried out: "Chuxue, did something happen at home?"

She knew her second sister wouldn't run over at noon unless something was wrong.

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 make her brother-in-law uncomfortable, nor did she want her sister to be mocked and squeezed by her in-laws: "Sister, Dad was injured by a falling rock at the reservoir yesterday. I came to tell you."

No sooner had she finished than the second daughter-in-law, who had been eavesdropping, scoffed, looking gleeful: "Yo, where was he hurt? Coming over at noon like this, it must be serious, right?"

This directly provoked public anger. Several voices spoke at once: "Shut up."

Instantly, the courtyard fell silent.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 8 =====