The moonlight grew dimmer, and the surroundings were pitch black. Xu Zixin was unfamiliar with the terrain of Luofeng Mountain and had no idea how to find her way back.
*Snap!*
A light sound suddenly came.
"Ah!" Xu Zixin was so frightened that her soul nearly fled her body. Trembling, she stared in the direction of the sound.
Behind that large tree, it seemed as if a terrifying monster was hiding, ready to devour anyone it saw!
*Snap!*
Another light sound.
Xu Zixin turned and ran, darting into a narrow path at the fork to the right.
At this moment, Lin Fan emerged from the darkness, shaking his head. "I must owe you from a past life to be your guide in the middle of the night."
One was in the light, the other in the dark.
Lin Fan intermittently threw small stones, guiding Xu Zixin in the right direction.
Terrified, Xu Zixin unleashed her full potential and ran desperately.
She didn't even dare to cry out, fearing that she would anger the monster behind her and be dragged into a mountain cave.
"Quarry?"
Suddenly, something made a sound ahead, and Xu Zixin stopped abruptly.
She looked down and found herself standing on the edge of a cliff tens of meters high.
Not far ahead, there was a wide opening in the mountainside, the very spot where she and Han Jiayun had been intimate earlier.
In an instant, Xu Zixin was so happy she could have cried.
A flash of inspiration struck her.
The intermittent sounds around her had been following closely, yet she had encountered no accidents.
She had even been saved from falling off the cliff.
Xu Zixin turned around, knelt down with a thud, clasped her hands together, and said piously, "Thank you, senior, thank you, immortal, thank you, mountain spirit. No matter which deity you are, this humble girl Xu Zixin thanks you for saving my life."
After speaking, she looked ahead quietly. There was no longer any sound around her.
Xu Zixin took a deep breath, leaned on her wooden stick again, and began to make her way down the mountain by detouring.
As she walked, the path ahead became smoother and wider. Passing by a field, Xu Zixin finally felt a sense of peace.
Luofeng Village.
Han Jiayun drove his car recklessly down the mountain. It wasn't until he saw the faint lights of the village that his mind cleared somewhat.
He parked the car at the village entrance and looked back.
The dark Luofeng Mountain, like a man-eating beast that swallowed without spitting out bones, sent a shiver down his spine with just a glance.
"What should I do?"
Han Jiayun's mind was in chaos.
He had come to Luofeng Village not only failing to extort money but also losing his young lover.
It was truly a case of losing the wife and the soldiers!
Han Jiayun had intended to step on the gas and leave, pretending that nothing had happened that night.
However, he was afraid that Xu Zixin's body would be discovered, and if the police came looking for him, he would surely not be able to clear his name.
That's right, Han Jiayun had already begun to regard Xu Zixin as a dead person.
He had checked his own wounds. In just half a minute, dozens of bloody holes had been bitten into his neck and arms.
He couldn't imagine how Xu Zixin could have survived being chased by so many man-eating insects.
"I'll look for her first. I didn't kill her, and if I can prove my innocence, I'll never come to this accursed place again."
After much thought, Han Jiayun made up his mind.
He started the car and drove towards the nearest house.
"Fellow villager, is anyone home?"
*Bang bang bang!*
Han Jiayun got out of the car and knocked on the old wooden door.
"Fellow villager, please open the door, help me."
After a long while, the yard remained silent.
Han Jiayun was somewhat dejected. It must be his outsider accent that made the people inside wary.
"Fellow villager, I'm not a bad person. I'm the boss of the quarry on the mountain..."
*Creak!*
The door next door suddenly opened.
An old man with gray hair, holding a sickle, poked half his head out cautiously and shouted, "What are you doing? Who are you looking for?"
His wife hid behind the door, her right hand gripping a rolling pin and her left hand holding a mobile phone, about to dial Tian Mengyao's number.
The emperor was far away, and by the time the police arrived, it would be too late.
It was better to find Tian Mengyao. As soon as the village committee's loudspeaker blared, the villagers would come to help.
"Grandpa, I'm the boss of the quarry on the mountain. If you were working on the mountain today, you should have seen me," Han Jiayun said with a fawning smile.
"Who's your grandpa!"
Suddenly, the old man roared and slammed the door shut.
*Clang!*
He then bolted the door and propped it up with something.
"What's wrong, old man?" the old woman asked, not understanding.
"Quickly notify Secretary Tian. The person outside is covered in blood," the old man said in panic.
Han Jiayun stood awkwardly outside the door, raising his hand to wipe his face.
He had been bitten by a蛊worm on his face. He felt an itch just now, so he wiped his face, and it turned into a bloody mess.
"Grandpa, don't panic. My wife and I went to survey the quarry and encountered a swarm of man-eating insects, huge ones!" Han Jiayun recalled with lingering fear.
He spoke quickly. "I barely escaped, but my wife, in her panic, ran into the mountains. I'd like to ask for your help to rescue her."
"Stop talking nonsense here!" the old man's angry voice came from the yard. "I've lived at the foot of Luofeng Mountain my whole life, and I've never heard of any man-eating insects!"
"It's true!" Han Jiayun said urgently. "The wounds on my body and face were caused by those insects."
"Wait outside the door. Don't have any ulterior motives. I've practiced martial arts since I was a child," the old man shouted back, not backing down.
"Alas!" Han Jiayun sighed.
He looked back a few times, feeling that he had escaped danger.
Now, all he had to do was wait for the villagers to hear the news.
He no longer cared about Xu Zixin's fate.
Han Jiayun just wanted to clear himself of any suspicion of murder.
*Zzzt zzzt...*
"Attention all residents of Luofeng Village, attention all residents of Luofeng Village..."
From the loudspeakers on dozens of large trees, a deafening sound erupted simultaneously.
Just a few days ago, Tian Mengyao had secured a grant and upgraded the village's broadcast system.
In the small village, over thirty loudspeakers were scattered, ensuring that everyone could hear.
Han Jiayun stared blankly at the loudspeaker above his head, listening to Tian Mengyao summoning the villagers, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Five minutes later.
As Han Jiayun leaned against his car, treating his wounds with tissues, he suddenly heard the noisy chatter and the rapid sound of footsteps from not far away.
"It's him!"
"Be careful, Secretary Tian!"
Almost all the villagers of Luofeng Village, with the elderly holding flashlights and the young men armed with kitchen knives and other household weapons, were advancing towards him in a mighty force.
Seeing this, Han Jiayun's heart pounded, thinking he had just escaped one den of wolves only to enter another.
"You... you don't need to be impulsive. I'm here to seek help!"