Liu Rumei was quite composed.
"Alright, let's find a place to rest first, and leave tomorrow."
A bonfire was lit, and they were still eating fragrant game. Chen Xiaobei began to ponder.
If the foundation was always like this, he would have to find a way to climb up again.
Only by climbing up could he determine his location.
The next morning, Chen Xiaobei put forward his idea.
Hearing that they were going to climb up, True Person Taiping smiled.
"Young man, don't be impatient. As the saying goes, people strive for progress, and water flows downwards. It's normal for you to have this idea, but look."
Chen Xiaobei followed the direction True Person Taiping pointed.
On some rubble, there were shallow marks, traces of soil.
They looked like they had been washed by water.
"Everyone, look, these are the marks of water flow. To reiterate, water flows downwards. If we follow it, won't we get out? Why bother to climb this cliff?"
True Person Taiping's words suddenly enlightened Chen Xiaobei. It was true that an elder at home is like a treasure. His words also rekindled everyone's confidence.
As they continued to advance.
Chen Lidong, accompanying Ma Xiaoyi and others, had already approached the iron chain bridge.
Soon, Sima Wushuang received news that some mountain folk had come up the mountain again, heading straight for the iron chain bridge.
As he was pondering how to respond, the peerless Daoist next to him spoke, "Great Hero Sima, as the saying goes, a narrow-minded person is not a gentleman, and one who is not ruthless cannot be a hero."
"I really don't know if these are mountain folk or Liu Rumei's people. Why not just go all the way."
Sima Wushuang hesitated, "If they are truly mountain folk, we are afraid..." Sudan Novel Network
The peerless Daoist laughed heartily, "So what if they are mountain folk? Once they are dead, who will know it was us? We can even say Liu Rumei killed them."
After hearing his words, Sima Wushuang finally nodded.
"Good, then everything will be as the Daoist says."
Ma Xiaoyi, Chen Lidong, and the others were clearly unaware of the approaching danger.
They chatted as they walked.
Chen Lidong pointed at the forest in the distance and smiled, "Brother Ma, do you remember that forest?"
"Of course, we lived there for some days when we were building the iron chain bridge."
Just then, Ma Xiaoyi suddenly heard the sound of a sharp blade cutting through the air. He reacted instantly, "Not good."
As soon as he spoke.
With a *pu chi* sound, two short arrows pierced his chest.
Ma Xiaoyi endured the intense pain and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Run!"
Unfortunately, it was too late. Short arrows continued to fly. Although Chen Lidong had been a soldier, he was still a half-step too slow. He was hit by several arrows and fell into a pool of blood.
Ma Xiaogang, who was at the back of the group, heard the shouts. He looked up and saw that everyone in front had been hit by arrows and fallen. Without a word, he turned and ran.
Although his martial arts were mediocre, Ma Xiaogang was fast. In a flash, he managed to escape the range of the repeating crossbow attack.
Seeing someone escape, Shi Gang quickly ran to report.
Sima Wushuang's eyes widened in anger, "Incompetent! More of a hindrance than a help."
The peerless Daoist, however, smiled slightly, "Great Hero Sima, why get so angry? Mountain folk would never be able to run this fast."
"You mean the one who ran was Liu Rumei's person?" Sima Wushuang was stunned at first, then smiled.
"Alright, leave a few people behind to help True Person Taiping collect the corpses later, so they don't become food for wild dogs in these mountains." After saying that, the two of them laughed again.
In the blink of an eye, it was past noon, and Chen Xiaobei and his group finally reached the end.
However, the scene before them still surprised Chen Xiaobei a little.
The canyon ended in a dead end. There was a steep cliff ahead, and they could only leave the canyon by climbing up.
Seeing this, even True Person Taiping repeatedly marveled, "I never imagined that such a long canyon would end in a dead end."
Liu Rumei looked up at the canyon, which was at least twenty *zhang* high and only a dozen *zhang* wide.
She couldn't help but sigh, "If Sima Wushuang had set an ambush here, we probably wouldn't be able to get out."
Everyone heard this and nodded repeatedly, saying it was true.
The task of climbing up naturally fell to Ma Biao again.
Taking a coil of long rope and slinging it over his shoulder, Ma Biao began to climb the steep cliff.
It took Ma Biao a full hour to climb the twenty-odd *zhang* high cliff.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei also felt fortunate. If there had been an ambush here as Liu Rumei suggested, none of them would have been able to escape.
After Ma Biao climbed up, he secured the rope and threw it down. With the help of the rope, everyone's speed of climbing up naturally increased.
But even so, it took Chen Xiaobei nearly half an hour to climb to the top.
After climbing up, Chen Xiaobei looked around and realized.
After walking for so many days, they still hadn't reached that large steep slope.
Seeing this, even Liu Rumei was surprised.
"We walked for so long, and we've only covered this much distance."
Eager to return home, Chen Xiaobei led them back to Hetou Village before dark.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei return, Cui Hongyu's nose felt sore.
Ignoring Huang Ying and Shen Ziyan's presence, she threw herself into his arms.
"Husband, you're back."
"Yes, I'm back."
Chen Qiao'er also hugged Chen Xiaobei's leg and remained silent. The rare family reunion made Shen Ziyan feel a little envious.
At this moment, Huang Ying, who was beside them, seemed a bit awkward. She suddenly coughed lightly and said, "Sister Hongyu, dinner is ready. Let's eat first."
Cui Hongyu came back to her senses and quickly broke free from Chen Xiaobei's embrace, "Oh, right, let's eat first."
Just as she picked up her bowl to eat, she heard a dog bark. Turning her head, she saw Qiu Mei, Lidong's wife, arriving.
"Xiaobei, Village Chief, why hasn't Lidong returned?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaobei frowned.
"Lidong, where did he go?"
"He went into the mountains." Qiu Mei recounted how Ma Xiaoyi had gone to find him that night, asked him to guide the way, and entered the mountains.
Chen Xiaobei's heart sank, thinking it was bad. If Lidong and the others had gone to the iron chain bridge without any awareness, they might have encountered Sun Jian and his group.
Chen Xiaobei didn't even have time to explain, and he ran out.
He had to find Liu Rumei.
At this moment, Liu Rumei had also just returned to her residence.
As soon as she entered, she glanced at the two guards at home. "Have there been any situations in the past two days?"
"By the way, where did Ma Xiaoyi go?"
The two guards exchanged glances. "Miss, Ma Xiaoyi took people into the mountains. Didn't you meet him?"
Liu Rumei was stunned upon hearing this, "What did you say? He went into the mountains?"
"Yes, Miss. Two days ago, we received a secret letter from the capital saying that the second young master's coffin had been stolen."
"Ma Xiaoyi was anxious to report to you, so he entered the mountains overnight."
Liu Rumei was completely bewildered upon hearing this.