The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Beating the Vagrant

The terrain of Guai Mountain wasn’t complex, and Widow Xie’s group had already searched it once before Ji Huan returned.

Besides, what could you expect a dog to do?

But Ji Huan wouldn’t give up and insisted on going up the mountain.

Worried she was too distraught, the others had no choice but to accompany her, though they didn’t hold out much hope.

They had expected this trip to take them deep into the mountain forest, but surprisingly, Ji Huan stopped not long after they’d entered.

And the reason Ji Huan stopped was because Dahuang had suddenly stopped.

"What’s wrong?" Hu Liang asked softly, confused.

Ji Huan held him back, her eyes fixed on Dahuang without blinking.

Dahuang had suddenly turned off the mountain path onto this fork. It had walked some distance before turning back, its head now buried in the undergrowth, nose twitching as it sniffed at something.

Ji Huan’s heart leaped into her throat.

Finally, after circling a few times, Dahuang stopped, turned back, and barked twice at Ji Huan.

Ji Huan grabbed Hu Liang and Widow Xie, who had hurried up behind them. "Dabao is here! He has to be here!"

Hu Liang and Widow Xie exchanged a look.

A glance around revealed nowhere that could hide a person.

"Dabao! Dabao!"

Ignoring what they might be thinking, Ji Huan walked over to where Dahuang was, holding a torch high and shouting Dabao’s name.

But the only response was the chirping of insects and the hooting of owls.

Widow Xie sighed and called for the villagers who had followed to search together.

The cluster of torches instantly scattered like fireflies. Widow Xie told Hu Liang and Hu Dacheng not to leave Ji Huan’s side for a moment.

After Ji Huan stumbled and fell a few times, Hu Liang couldn’t bear to watch anymore and took the torch to light her way.

"Could it be... that Dahuang made a mistake?"

He didn’t want to shatter Ji Huan’s hope, but after those two barks, Dahuang had just sat down and refused to move. It didn’t seem very reliable.

"No," Ji Huan said, shaking her head without a hint of hesitation.

Dahuang’s barks had confirmed her intuition. Her gut told her that Dabao had to be in this area.

Ji Huan ran all around the area, even going down into the hollow below.

She returned to Dahuang’s side.

"Dahuang, can you narrow down the search area a little? Just a little will do. It’s so dark, and Dabao must be hungry. Let’s find him quickly so we can call it a night, and I’ll give you an extra treat when we get back, okay?"

This was the first time Ji Huan had ever been so humble with Dahuang.

Thinking back to a certain dog’s pathetic state when it begged for shelter on a snowy night, she couldn’t help but sigh at how the tables had turned.

But Dahuang just held its head high, tail wagging back and forth, completely unmoved.

Ji Huan tried to curry favor by stroking its fur. "You’re a big dog, you don’t hold grudges against little people, right? A, B, C, and D are waiting for you at home, don’t you miss them? Dabao is waiting for me, too..."

As if annoyed by her petting, Dahuang suddenly stood up and charged down into the hollow.

Hu Liang stared, dumbfounded. ’This dog... it was just waiting to be begged!’

Right now, Ji Huan couldn’t be bothered to argue with this scumbag dog and hurried after it.

"Hey, slow down!" Hu Liang shouted, raising his torch and following.

Poor Hu Dacheng. His face was swollen like a pig’s head, and he hadn’t dared to make a peep the whole way. They were a group of three, but his second brother didn’t pay him any mind at all.

He could only chase frantically after the torch; otherwise, he’d be left in the pitch-dark, and he was scared!

In the hollow, Dahuang stopped moving again.

Hu Liang raised his torch and looked around.

"We already checked here. You can see everything at a glance. Where could anyone hide?"

Ji Huan didn’t speak, her eyes fixed on Dahuang.

She noticed Dahuang’s gaze was fixed on a single spot.

It would look at Ji Huan, then at the spot.

Then back at Ji Huan, and back at the spot.

"What’s it trying to say?"

Hu Liang felt he was getting to know this dog all over again tonight; he now believed its every move was full of profound meaning.

Ji Huan said nothing, simply motioning for Hu Liang to follow.

The two of them walked over to the slope Dahuang was staring at and stopped.

They thought there might be a cave or something similar in the corner where it met the adjacent slope, but it was just a dead end.

Unwilling to give up, Ji Huan pressed herself against the slope and ran her hands over it, inch by inch.

Hu Liang and Hu Dacheng watched her, bewildered.

’You could tell at a glance if there was a hiding spot. What could she possibly find by feeling around?’

Ji Huan felt around for a full quarter of an hour before she suddenly stopped. "H-Here!"

Her voice was filled with restrained excitement.

Hu Liang quickly ran over, moving the torch closer to get a better look in the direction she was pointing.

This slope was covered in withered vines. With the arrival of spring, their yellow leaves had turned green, making it look like a layer of turf at first glance.

The other green vines clung tightly to the slope, but in this one spot, when you pressed your hand against it, it was hollow.

’There really is something hidden here!’

Handing the torch to Hu Dacheng to hold, Hu Liang and Ji Huan began to tear at the green vines.

The aged vines were as thick as a child’s wrist and wouldn’t tear easily. Instead, they just ended up covered in sweat.

Hu Liang was panting, realizing this wasn’t going to work.

Fortunately, having grown up running wild in the mountains, he had more common sense and experience than Ji Huan. He bent down and fumbled around for a moment. When his hand reached a corner at the bottom, he paused, then suddenly heaved upward—and the dense mat of vines swung open like a large door, revealing a real cave hidden behind it.

Without a second thought, Hu Liang and Hu Dacheng charged right in.

But Ji Huan suddenly hesitated.

She was a little afraid.

’What if... what if Dabao isn’t here either? What would I do?’

"Wan, hurry! We found Dabao!"

Hu Liang’s surprised and joyful voice echoed from deep within the cave.

Ji Huan froze. Her mind hadn’t yet processed it, but her legs seemed to have a will of their own and broke into a run, carrying her inside.

The cave wasn’t deep; it ended after just a dozen or so steps.

The torchlight flickered, and though it was dim, it was just enough to make out the situation inside.

The person Hu Liang was bent over comforting was none other than Dabao!

The moment Ji Huan saw Dabao, Dabao saw her too.

In the face of Hu Liang’s comforting words, he had kept a stoic little face, unmoved. But the instant he saw Ji Huan, his eyes immediately turned red.

Before Ji Huan could even reach him, he pushed Hu Liang aside and threw himself into her arms.

The brother and sister clung to each other tightly.

Hu Liang, who had been pushed and sent tumbling onto his butt: "..."

’That little ungrateful brat!’

’Just a moment ago he didn’t seem scared at all, but now he’s acting all pitiful.’

’Dacheng was right. Having a big sister really is something else.’

Ji Huan hugged the now-found Dabao tightly. There was so much she wanted to say, but before any words could come out, tears began to fall.

All her composure had been an act. She had been truly scared to death.

Dabao was like her anchor here. It would have been one thing if she had never met him, but to have met him only to suddenly lose him... she was afraid she would have truly broken down.

Dabao shook his head, calling for his sister, while his own fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

Once the siblings had had their fill of hugging and crying, Ji Huan picked Dabao up. She was about to call for Hu Liang to head back when she heard another sound in the cave.

"You bastard! You son of a bitch! We were so good to you! How dare you kidnap Dabao! Kidnapping Dabao was bad enough, but you also got me beaten! My mom nearly beat me to death! Now I’m going to beat you to death!"

It was Hu Dacheng. He was beating up the vagrant.

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