Chapter 303: Side Story: Joy Record 18 (Supplementary Update)

Side Story: Joy Record 18 (Supplementary Update)

"Jiang Ping'an is a master of acting, but no matter how superb an actor is, he can deceive others, but he cannot deceive the person who has slept beside him for many years, which is Jiang Ping'an's wife, Li. So, thinking about it this way, things are very clear: Jiang Ping'an sold his life for the person behind the scenes and inadvertently let Li know the mystery of it. To cover himself up, Jiang Ping'an silenced his wife, Li!"

"It's just that Jiang Ping'an is a cautious person, so he acted suddenly, fearing failure. And just at this time, I arrived in Huizhou, so Jiang Ping'an didn't hesitate, taking advantage of the men in black's assassination as a pretext, ostensibly targeting me, but actually dealing with Li in secret. Of course, if he could do me in as well, that would naturally be the icing on the cake."

"Unfortunately, I have a big life, but Li was not so lucky. Then Jiang Ping'an performed a good show in front of everyone, making everyone feel that he and Li were a loving couple, so that no one would suspect him anymore! At the same time, he took advantage of this as a reason to follow me up the mountain... Therefore, calculating it this way, I'm afraid the route taken up the mountain this time was all under his control!"

Pei Yaoguang's voice was chillingly cold, as if he wanted to swallow Jiang Ping'an alive. But Shui Yun knew in her heart that the reason Pei Yaoguang was so angry was not because of Jiang Ping'an's cunning and viciousness, but more because he was angry at himself for not discovering the other party's conspiracy sooner!

It was just that Shui Yun didn't know how to comfort people, and didn't know what to say. She quietly turned her head to look at Pei Yaoguang, and then leaned her originally supported body against Pei Yaoguang.

Suddenly, feeling Shui Yun's movement, Pei Yaoguang shuddered all over, and even a trace of surprise appeared on his face, but after a moment, Pei Yaoguang came to his senses, let out a slight breath, and carefully bandaged Shui Yun's wounds.

Seeing Pei Yaoguang calm down, Shui Yun then asked casually.

"Then since that's the case, what are your plans for later?"

"Plans? Now that things are like this, what other plans can there be!"

"Are we going to stay here forever?"

Finding it hard to believe that Pei Yaoguang would say this, Shui Yun was a bit stunned for a moment. Hearing this, Pei Yaoguang couldn't help but lower his eyes and roll them at her.

"Did I say we were going to stay here forever? Besides, do you think this is a good place? There's no food, are we going to drink the northwest wind every day!"

He glared at Shui Yun to block her, then Pei Yaoguang reached out to pick up the clothes that were originally covering Shui Yun, shook them, and draped them over Shui Yun again.

"Of course we can't stay here, but we can't leave now. First, you have wounds on your body, and this is a dense forest with unclear conditions. If we rush out, even without the pursuit of the men in black, it would be very dangerous. Second, since that man surnamed Jiang dared to push me down, do you think he doesn't have a backup plan? You must know that 'see the person alive, see the corpse dead' is the rule. Now that I've fallen down, based on that man surnamed Jiang's scheming, he will definitely send people down to search!"

"So, rather than going out immediately now, it's better to hide here for two days first, which just happens to let you recover from your wounds. After two days, we'll go out again. And for safety, I just used stones to cover most of the cave entrance. If you don't pay attention from the outside, you can't tell at all, so just stay here with peace of mind!"

Pei Yaoguang is a strange person; he has a very obvious tendency toward male chauvinism. But this tendency is not directed at everyone, or rather, in Pei Yaoguang's eyes, women are divided into two types:

One type is grass, grass that he is too lazy to even look at. Facing such women, Pei Yaoguang never knows what it means to cherish the fragile; anyway, in his view, these women are just dust that gets in his eyes.

The first type is women who can catch his eye. Like Nie Jinxuan, like Meng Xiaoqiao, like Nie Jinhui back then. And all these women are women who have extraordinary abilities themselves; they are not weak, not delicate, do not depend on men, and have considerable independence. So in Pei Yaoguang's eyes, such women are true women, and women he can treat seriously.

At the same time, only when he encounters the second type of woman will Pei Yaoguang reveal his own male chauvinistic side—overbearing, arbitrary, serious, and even protecting them in his own way.

And Shui Yun is clearly the second type.

It's just that, even with Nie Jinxuan, Pei Yaoguang had never been like this, and such thoughts, even Pei Yaoguang himself hadn't discovered. Or rather, it wasn't that Pei Yaoguang didn't notice, but in these days of getting along, Pei Yaoguang forgot to care about these things and just put them into action!

And at this moment, hearing Pei Yaoguang say this, Shui Yun immediately looked up at the cave entrance and sure enough saw that the entrance was blocked by more than half, and the other side of the campfire was also blocked by stones, obviously for fear that someone outside would see the light in the cave at night.

Pei Yaoguang was still careful in this regard, which made Shui Yun feel a little relieved. Then, thinking of Jiang Ping'an, Shui Yun also frowned.

"This Jiang Ping'an is really a character; he acts so well, it reminds me of someone!"

"Who?"

"Nie Wenhao."

Shui Yun said the name directly. Hearing this, Pei Yaoguang was stunned for a moment, but then he immediately smiled coldly.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. But thinking about it this way, the two of them are really alike. That Nie Wenhao pretended to be a good person for his whole life, and he is exactly the same as this Jiang Ping'an! Both are born actors!"

Disdain appeared in Pei Yaoguang's eyes. And at this time, seeing that the topic was drifting, Shui Yun immediately changed the subject.

"By the way, you just said we should stay here for a few days before going out. This method is good, but if we go out in two days, what if Jiang Ping'an runs away? He is the only clue now!"

"Hmph! Run? Where can he run?"

Raising his eyebrows, he gave another cold laugh. Pei Yaoguang reached out to grab a piece of dry wood and threw it into the campfire. When he turned back, he didn't forget to tuck in the corner of Shui Yun's clothes for her.

"Do you think that man surnamed Jiang went to such great lengths, climbing the mountain with me and pretending to be a loving couple? Otherwise, think about it: that man surnamed Jiang is selling his life for that person behind the scenes, so naturally, he wouldn't let me go. But if I suddenly had an accident on his territory in Huizhou, would the imperial court investigate him?"

"So, unless it's a last resort, he doesn't want me to die in Huizhou. But there's no way; I've come, and to keep the secret from being discovered by me, that man surnamed Jiang must silence me. So, on one hand, he doesn't want the imperial court to suspect him, and on the other hand, he doesn't want me to discover the secret, so the best choice for that man surnamed Jiang is to create an accident—an accident that everyone sees and no one will suspect!"

"Therefore, that man surnamed Jiang acted personally, instead of sending a large group of men in black to assassinate like before. Because he wants to keep you; after all, you are the Emperor's person, and even if the Emperor doesn't believe others, he will believe your words. So as long as you say that I slipped and fell off the cliff myself, then this matter will be over! And when he pushed me off the cliff, he shouted, which was actually just to make you instinctively think that I fell off myself and it had nothing to do with him! After all, no murderer would openly remind the people around them after committing a crime!"

Pei Yaoguang had figured out Jiang Ping'an's thoughts perfectly. And at this moment, the more detailed his speculation was, the angrier he felt, angry at himself for not noticing it at the time!

"It's just that that man surnamed Jiang miscalculated one point, and that is he didn't expect that after you heard his shout, you would jump down after me. In this way, the main witness is missing, so he will definitely send people down to search extensively."

"And Jiang Ping'an doesn't want me to have an accident in Huizhou. Besides not wanting the imperial court to investigate him, if you think about it carefully, there is only one possibility, and that is rather than saying he doesn't want the imperial court to investigate him, it's better to say he doesn't want the imperial court to investigate Huizhou. Coupled with the clue of the iron mine we tracked before, putting the two together, the answer comes out: the iron mine is undoubtedly in Huizhou!"

Pei Yaoguang said it decisively, which made Shui Yun look at him.

"Why are you so sure?"

"What's there to be unsure about?! Think about it, I said before that Jiang Ping'an is actually a character. After entering the officialdom through the imperial examination, his political achievements were quite good, but he has always stayed in Huizhou. Although it was said at the time that someone in the Ministry of Revenue was making things difficult for him, is that really the case? Plus, aside from this, later, Censor Zhu returned to his hometown and discovered the truth, personally writing a letter to the throne. The late Emperor praised him and intended to promote him, but what about him? He actually took the initiative to decline, saying he only wanted to stay in Huizhou!"

"He said it nicely, but thinking about it now, he did this actually because he had his own purpose. And this purpose is to stay in Huizhou! Because he wants to keep an eye on the iron mine, and if I'm not mistaken, the iron mine might just be in the depths of these deep mountains!"

Pei Yaoguang's speculation was reasonable, and Shui Yun couldn't find a single flaw. Even after hearing Pei Yaoguang say that the iron mine was in the depths of these deep mountains, Shui Yun suddenly realized.

"So that's why, before when we went up the mountain, those local guides said something about ghosts in the deep mountains and wild beasts, the purpose was to prevent people from accidentally breaking in and discovering the iron mine?"

"Hmph! For this kind of thing, as long as you spread some rumors, kill a few intruders in secret, and then publicize it extensively, the common people will naturally believe it."

The matter was clear now, but it was precisely because it was clear that Pei Yaoguang and Shui Yun fell silent at the same time.

After all, if things were really like this, then one could imagine how dangerous their situation would be now. And even if the two of them escaped from the deep mountains later, could they escape from Huizhou?!

So thinking of these, even Pei Yaoguang felt a bit regretful about why he had rushed into Huizhou alone. So, after thinking for a moment, Pei Yaoguang turned his eyes to look at Shui Yun.

"Does the Emperor have any secret deployments in Huizhou?"

"Yes. But it's estimated that the number of people is small. After all, Huizhou is remote and mountainous, so it must be less than in prosperous places, so the deployment of people will naturally be fewer."

"That is to say, relying solely on these people, it is impossible to eradicate Jiang Ping'an and others?"

"This is hard to say, but Jiang Ping'an and others have been in Huizhou for more than twenty years, so their strength is naturally strong. Attacking suddenly is probably not the best strategy."

This time it was because the two of them were too reckless that they fell into such a situation, so Shui Yun had to be careful. But after a moment, Shui Yun seemed to remember something and said in a low voice.

"However, before when I was in Liucheng County, I sent a message back to the capital for help. I believe that after the capital receives the message, they will definitely send people over immediately."

Shui Yun did this at the time just in case. Hearing this, Pei Yaoguang's eyes lit up immediately.

"Really? Do you know when they can arrive in Huizhou?"

"Excluding the time from when we left Liucheng County until now, the shortest is seven days, and the longest is eight days!"

"Seven or eight days..."

Listening to Shui Yun's words, Pei Yaoguang murmured to himself, then fell into deep thought. After a moment, his eyes flashed, and his lips pursed slightly.

"Good, since that's the case, then we'll wait seven or eight days! But staying here and waiting is definitely not going to work, so let's follow the previous method: stay here for three days first, and then we'll go out."

Pei Yaoguang had made arrangements. Hearing this, Shui Yun didn't ask where they were going later, and directly nodded in agreement.

With a decision in her heart, Pei Yaoguang and Shui Yun talked about Jiang Ping'an and the iron mine again, and by the time they finished talking, it was already very late.

The cool night breeze blew into the cave, and although there was a campfire, it still made people feel cold. Perhaps because they had said too much earlier, Shui Yun suddenly felt thirsty and dry. At this time, Pei Yaoguang was busy with the campfire, and Shui Yun was not the type to open her mouth to ask for help, so she didn't know how to speak.

Shui Yun was hesitating, her eyes fixed on Pei Yaoguang. But Pei Yaoguang was completely unaware. Later, when Pei Yaoguang had finished with the campfire and was about to lie down to rest, Shui Yun couldn't help but reach out and tug on his sleeve.

"... I'm thirsty..."

Shui Yun was a bit embarrassed, her voice becoming smaller and smaller. Hearing this, Pei Yaoguang was stunned for a moment, then leaned over and asked in return.

"What did you say?"

Pei Yaoguang really didn't hear clearly, but Shui Yun felt that this guy was doing it on purpose. So she pursed her small mouth, raised her eyebrows, and shouted.

"I said I'm thirsty!"

"Oh..."

Pei Yaoguang heard clearly this time, then didn't say anything, stood up, and walked out directly. After a moment, he walked back, holding his hands out and handing them to Shui Yun.

There was nothing to hold water around, so Pei Yaoguang had to use his hands, but when he handed his hands to Shui Yun, he realized that the water had already flowed out from between his fingers, and there were only three or four drops left in total!

Suddenly, Pei Yaoguang's face looked very ugly. Without waiting for Shui Yun to speak, he shook his hands, stood up, and went out. Then, in the blink of an eye, he walked back. This time, he used a larger leaf to hold some water, but this time, before he could walk to Shui Yun, the leaf, which wasn't big to begin with, leaked all the water during the jolting.

Pei Yaoguang was furious. At this time, seeing that it didn't work once or twice, Pei Yaoguang's stubborn temper flared up again, and Shui Yun couldn't help but say.

"Just take me out directly."

Shui Yun thought that if she went out directly to drink water, it would be more convenient. But who would have thought that as soon as her words fell, Pei Yaoguang said as if he had exploded.

"Go out for what? Do you want to get rained on? Just stay here honestly and wait for me!"

It turned out that, unknowingly, it had started raining outside again. Although the rain wasn't heavy, Shui Yun's body was weak now, so Pei Yaoguang naturally wouldn't let her go out and get rained on. At this time, being roared at by him, Shui Yun was also stunned, feeling angry, but before she could vent, Pei Yaoguang went out again.

This time, Pei Yaoguang didn't come back immediately like the previous two times. The large cave was exceptionally quiet, with only the occasional crackling sound of the fire and the sound of the fine rain outside.

Shui Yun waited quietly, but after waiting for a long time, she still didn't see Pei Yaoguang come back. Thinking of Jiang Ping'an and those men in black, the originally calm Shui Yun suddenly became a bit anxious. She wanted to call out, but before she could, Pei Yaoguang returned.

Pei Yaoguang was intact, and Shui Yun felt a sense of relief, but she didn't see him holding anything, nor did she see water... Shui Yun couldn't help but frown slightly. At this time, Pei Yaoguang had already strode to Shui Yun, leaned over to pick Shui Yun up, and then directly lowered his head and covered her lips!

Shui Yun was stunned!

After all, although the two had been in close contact these days, they had never done this before. For a moment, Shui Yun stiffened all over, reflexively wanting to retreat, but her body was confined by Pei Yaoguang. She raised her hand to push him away, but in the end, she could only rest her hand on him, without a shred of strength.

Shui Yun didn't know what had happened, and her mind was in a mess. Just at this moment, Shui Yun only felt Pei Yaoguang bite open her lips, pry open her teeth, and then a stream of cool water was passed into her mouth!

So... so, he was actually feeding her water?!

Shui Yun seemed to understand, but in an instant, her face turned red. At this time, after feeding all the water in his mouth to Shui Yun, Pei Yaoguang straightened up, and then stood up and walked out again.

Pei Yaoguang ignored Shui Yun, not even giving her a chance to retort or speak. After a moment, Pei Yaoguang walked back, and then repeated the same trick, feeding water into Shui Yun's mouth again. And after passing all the water in his mouth into Shui Yun's mouth, only then did Pei Yaoguang raise his eyes to look at Shui Yun. ===== CHAPTER 304 =====