Chapter 404 Xiaoshan Arrives
Li Mengjie was a pampered young lady, used to living in comfort. She had never suffered like this before. On the other hand, Chun Tao had grown up in hardship and was accustomed to farm work from a young age, so she possessed much more physical strength than Li Mengjie and could endure more hardship.
She crouched down and said, "No, Mengjie, we're in the forest now. If we don't get out, even if those people don't catch up with us, we'll still die here, especially at night when it's even more dangerous. So we must get out before it gets dark. It's already getting late. Hold on, you must hold on."
"But I really can't walk anymore. My foot hurts so much," Li Mengjie said, supporting her leg.
Chun Tao saw her ankle swollen like a bun and couldn't help but frown.
If Xiaoshan were here, it would be better.
She remembered that time in the cave when Xiaoshan had used acupuncture to reduce the swelling in her leg.
It was the first time she had met Xiaoshan after he was released from prison.
Thinking of that cave, Chun Tao felt a warmth in her heart.
Awooo.
A wolf howl startled both of them.
Rustling sounds came from the woods, followed by a grey wolf emerging from the bushes, its green eyes staring at them. Li Mengjie shrieked in fright.
Chun Tao's face also turned pale with fear.
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However, having encountered wild beasts in the mountains before, she immediately picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the grey wolf, while also shouting loudly.
The wolf lightly jumped to dodge the stone, crouching with bared teeth, issuing a series of low growls from its throat.
"Scram, get away," Chun Tao yelled, picking up another stone to throw it.
After throwing several stones, the grey wolf slowly retreated back into the bushes.
"Mengjie, we have to leave," Chun Tao said.
Li Mengjie, too, was frightened by the grey wolf. A desire to survive surged within her; dying was one thing, but being eaten by a wolf was too horrific. Chun Tao helped her up and saw that she was in a lot of pain with each step.
Chun Tao bent down and said, "I'll carry you."
"How can I let you do that, Taozi? You're already exhausted," Li Mengjie quickly replied.
"Don't waste time. Do you want to die here? Get on," Chun Tao urged.
Li Mengjie's eyes reddened as she slowly climbed onto Chun Tao's back. She had never expected Chun Tao to help her like this, not to abandon her at such a time. She used to interact with Chun Tao deliberately, due to Long Xiaoshan's mysterious identity, but now she knew what true friendship in hardship meant.
Kind and simple girls like Chun Tao were truly rare these days.
Chun Tao carried Li Mengjie on her back, gritting her teeth and moving forward.
Although Li Mengjie was not heavy, she was heavy enough for a woman, and Chun Tao herself was very tired. But she gritted her teeth and continued to carry Li Mengjie forward. After walking for a few minutes, Chun Tao was already extremely exhausted.
And what made her feel even worse was.
The grey wolf had not left.
It was following at a distance, neither too far nor too close to them.
No matter how Chun Tao tried to drive it away, the wolf would cunningly move back a bit, but as soon as Chun Tao walked forward, it would follow.
Chun Tao's heart sank. She knew the wolf was waiting for her to run out of energy before making its move, which was a hunting tactic of wolves. If only she still had a Talisman, but they had been lost when the car had rolled down the hillside earlier.
"Taozi, put me down and save yourself. Otherwise, both of us will die," Li Mengjie said in despair.
"I can't. I have to carry you out."
Chun Tao stubbornly carried her, step by step, through the forest.
After persisting for a few hundred meters, Chun Tao finally couldn't hold on any longer as they crossed a slope. Her legs gave out, and the two of them rolled down the slope. At that moment, the gray wolf seized the opportunity, growled, and charged down the slope, pouncing toward Chun Tao, who was lying powerless at the bottom.
"Taozi," Li Mengjie shouted.
Chun Tao watched helplessly as the gray wolf lunged at her, but she truly had no strength left to resist. As the wolf closed in on her throat to bite, she closed her eyes in despair.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and a few strands of warm blood splattered on Chun Tao's face.
Chun Tao opened her eyes to find the wolf lying beside her.
Before she could feel relieved, two figures emerged from a part of the slope. Seeing these two, both Chun Tao and Li Mengjie's faces turned pale; these were the kidnappers from before, and, unexpectedly, they had caught up.
"You sure can run," one of the kidnappers said. "Almost missed you."
"Tch, lucky us, we found you before it got dark. The five hundred thousand is ours now; the effort wasn't wasted," the second kidnapper said as he rubbed his hands together. If it weren't for Qiu Chen raising the stakes, they wouldn't have pushed themselves this hard.
Both men were covered in many bloodstains and their clothes were torn, clearly showing that tracking through the primitive jungle hadn't been easy.
They were about to turn back just before.
Because with the darkness descending, they dared not linger in the primitive jungle; who knew whether a wild beast would emerge at night to drag them away in their sleep.
Chun Tao and Li Mengjie sat together, holding hands.
Li Mengjie said to the two kidnappers, "Let us go, and I can give you five hundred thousand, no, one million."
"Didn't expect you to be the daughter of a rich family, too bad we can't take your money," said the kidnappers who were well aware of the Qiu Family's influence. If they dared let these two go, even with money, they wouldn't live to spend it.
One of the kidnappers raised his gun, fearing that Chun Tao might still have some terrifying Talisman on her, they decided to shoot the two women and injure them first.
"Mengjie, this time it's my fault for dragging you into this," Chun Tao said with a wry smile as she saw the kidnapper raise his gun.
Li Mengjie held Chun Tao's hand tightly but was too tense to speak.
Bang!
The gun fired.
The two women flinched at the same time.
But the anticipated severe pain did not come.
Suddenly, they realized someone was standing in front of them.
When they saw his back, tears welled up in Chun Tao's eyes, and she cried out, "Little Xiaoshan."
Long Xiaoshan turned around, giving Chun Tao a look of tender concern and said, "I'm late."
Then, he turned back with a cold expression on his face.
He lifted his hand, pinching a bullet between two fingers, and with a snort, Long Xiaoshan flicked his hand, and the bullet shot into the brow of one kidnapper.
The other kidnapper, horrified, aimed to shoot.
With a wave of his hand, Long Xiaoshan caused the kidnapper's gun-holding hand to be severed at the wrist. The kidnapper was in both pain and fear, suspecting he had encountered a ghost, for how else could his hand be severed by a mere flick of the opponent's wrist?
The kidnapper turned to run, but Long Xiaoshan waved his hand again. Suddenly feeling a chill in his legs, the kidnapper collapsed to the ground, realizing only then that both his legs had been cut off.
Without paying further attention to the kidnapper's continuous screams,
Long Xiaoshan turned back, took out an Elixir Pill, and fed it to Chun Tao; he then handed another Elixir Pill to Li Mengjie.
Li Mengjie seemed not to have snapped out of it. Thinking she lacked the strength, Long Xiaoshan pried open her mouth and tossed the Elixir Pill inside.