flstandardbreds Chapter 117 Return
Chapter 117 Return
Upon receiving Yan Qing's safety signal, Lady Yan smoothed the stray strands of hair that had fallen across her face, bent down and picked up Wei Chaoyan, who was still slumped over, pressing her head against her chest. Then, she lightly touched the branches with her toes and floated down.
After her feet touched the ground, Lady Yan did not let go of Wei Chaoyan's arms. She quickly glanced around at the messy ground and nodded to the disheveled group, saying, "Thank you all for your hard work! I don't know if there are any other dangers ahead. We were short-handed and unprepared this time. In that case, this exploration will end here. We'll come back next time when we're better prepared!"
“Yes!” Yan Qing and the others had no objections.
However, Wei Chaoyan, who was nestled in Yan Niangzi's arms, had some objections: "No, Aunt Yan! We've only just come in and we're already going back empty-handed. Isn't that a waste of time and energy?"
Looking down, she saw Wei Chaoyan's black head. Yan Niangzi said seriously, "Alright, Ayan, I understand your thoughts! But we've only traveled a short distance and we've already encountered so many ferocious vengeful beasts. We don't know how many more powerful creatures await us on the rest of the journey. And there are only a few of us in our group, our fighting strength is not great. For safety's sake, turning back is the best course of action!"
Moreover, their main purpose this time was to verify whether Wei Chaoyan remembered the entire correct route and whether she was capable of leading the way, not to actually walk the entire route directly.
Having witnessed Wei Chaoyan's familiarity with the route, knowing exactly where the small pothole was and where to make a slight turn, it was clear that what she had said earlier was true.
Now that their main objective has been achieved, why should they stubbornly risk their lives to reach the designated location?
Moreover, these suddenly appearing vengeful beasts are quite strange. They had never seen them when they came with Wei Zhu before, but now they've suddenly appeared. They must quickly determine whether these are vengeful beasts that have always existed in this mountain forest but were simply lucky enough to never encounter them before, or whether they have recently wandered out from elsewhere—such as the mass grave next door!
Wow! If it's the latter, then this is a huge problem! With such a serious issue, Lady Yan must return to Yiling as soon as possible to report to her superiors, and at the same time arrange for a large number of people to search for clues in the vicinity.
Therefore, they must return as soon as possible; they have no time to waste here!
Speechless at Yan Niangzi's words, Wei Chaoyan buried her head deeper into Yan Niangzi's arms, closed her eyes, and prepared to rest.
Seeing that Wei Chaoyan had no further objections, Lady Yan glanced sideways at Gu Shi, who was walking at the rear. Startled by Lady Yan's glance, Gu Shi immediately said, "Don't worry, Master. I've already sent out a distress signal. Those left behind at the foot of the mountain should have received the signal and are already on their way to meet us!"
Yes, as Yan Qing drew his sword to slash at the vengeful beast, Gu Shi, at the same time, swiftly sent out several distress signals. Given the considerable time they had spent fighting the beast, those who received the signals down the mountain must have already been fully armed and heading up to support them! Presumably, those coming to their aid are not far away now!
Hearing that Gu Shi had dutifully sent out a distress flare, Yan Niangzi's icy expression softened slightly. Holding the person in her arms, she said calmly, "Then let's go down the mountain!"
Without any objection, Yan Qing, sword in his right hand, took the lead, followed closely by the others who, sword in hand, proceeded up the mountain.
Without hesitation, Lady Yan stepped into the middle of the group, gently patted Wei Chaoyan on the back, and whispered, "Yan girl, look up and point the way!"
Yes, in order to avoid repeating the old story of getting lost without a guide, Lady Yan decisively called for the person in her arms who was pretending to be asleep to get up and continue to give directions.
Wei Chaoyan hummed a few times, poked her head out from Yan Niangzi's arms, and began to point out the way in a low, listless voice.
The group remained silent throughout the journey, with only Wei Chaoyan's low voice occasionally pointing the way, accompanied by the sound of footsteps breaking dry branches and fallen leaves.
The group retreated very quickly, taking only two-thirds of the time it took to climb the mountain to reach the entrance. There, a dozen or so people who had received the signal and come to help were anxiously waiting with bright torches.
If the leader hadn't been so aware of the mountain's treacherous paths, and hadn't forcibly stopped the rest of the anxious group from going up the mountain and missing Wei Chaoyan and her group who were returning, Wei Chaoyan and her group might have had to go back into the mountain to search for the lost people!
After all this commotion, by the time Lady Yan and her group successfully met up with the reinforcements at the mountain entrance, it was already late afternoon and the sun was setting.
Looking up at the sky bathed in the afterglow of the sunset, Lady Yan, without saying a word to Yan Hua, nimbly mounted her horse while holding Wei Chaoyan. Once settled, she whispered, "It's getting late. Let's go back to the base to rest. We can talk about anything else when we get there! Let's go!"
With that, he pulled hard on the reins with one hand and rode off at lightning speed. Seeing that Lady Yan had already ridden away, the others exchanged glances and, with Yan Qing's tacit approval, each rode away on their own!
Soon after, all traces of people and horses disappeared, leaving only hoofprints and remnants of cooking pots on the ground, proving that humans had once been active in this remote place!