In the mountains behind Giethoorn, there are some simple and dilapidated wooden houses built by the people of Giethoorn to store things. One of them is the hunting house of Zhang Laoniu's family.
The location of the hunting house was neither high nor low, just on the mountainside, and Cai Baozhong hid in it.
Counting the days, it has been more than half a month since Cai Baozhong escaped from the capital. When he came to Giethoorn, he deliberately chose to enter the village at night in order not to be discovered by the villagers, and also chose a remote and uninhabited path.
Because it was too dark and Cai Baozhong was unfamiliar with the environment on the road, his leg was accidentally pricked by a sharp branch. Although there was not much blood, it was still printed on the windows and quilt of Zhang Yuan's house.
That night, Zhang Yuan was frightened by the sudden arrival of Cai Baozhong. Zhang Yuan, who was originally unwilling to pay attention, finally compromised under Cai Baozhong's plea.
After a night's rest, before dawn the next day, Zhang Yuan secretly led Cai Baozhong up the mountain and settled him in his hunting house.
In the days that followed, Zhang Yuan would deliver food and water once every two or three days. Most of the excuses he used were to pick mushrooms and wild vegetables. Neither Zhang Lao Niu nor Niu Niu knew about it, and they did not suspect it.
, although Cai Baozhong's life was boring and boring, it was still stable in the end.
As time went by, the wound on Cai Baozhong's leg gradually recovered. Sometimes when Zhang Yuan came to deliver food, he would urge him to leave early and not to disturb his own life.
But Cai Baozhong was penniless and had no place to go, so he had no choice but to stay on the grounds that the rumblings outside were too intense and he was wanted everywhere, and promised to leave when the rumblings passed.
In this way, Cai Baozhong had been hiding in the mountains for more than half a month, and he seemed to have no intention of leaving.
When he had nothing to do, Cai Baozhong would pick some of Zhang Yuan's favorite mountain products in the mountains, such as mountain mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and wild vegetables. Occasionally, he would hunt one or two hares, but he would not eat them himself, so they were left to Zhang Yuan.
Yuan, just think of it as a little bit of gratitude from me.
At this time, Cai Baozhong didn't know that Chai Yan and the others were already coming towards him. He was still catching fish by a creek near the hunting house.
Last time, Cai Baozhong was lucky enough to catch a fish and asked Zhang Yuan to take it back to make soup for Niu Niu. Later, when Zhang Yuan came to deliver food, he told him that Niu Niu liked to drink that kind of fish soup. Cai Baozhong was very happy and immediately remembered it.
In my heart, I am looking for opportunities to catch fish by the stream every day.
Unfortunately, there were other hunters in the village walking around in the mountains, so Cai Baozhong couldn't come just when he wanted. He had to wait until no one was around before he could move around.
Cai Baozhong rolled up his trousers and held a wooden basin in both hands. He was standing in the stream and observing carefully. As long as there was a fish approaching, he would quickly take action and use the wooden basin to fish out the fish.
While he was catching fish, Cai Baozhong suddenly looked startled and turned to look at the forest below. He vaguely heard movement, as if someone was coming.
The next moment, Cai Baozhong left the creek decisively. He held his shoes in one hand and the wooden basin in the other. He ran quickly into the depths of the forest, and the figure disappeared in an instant.
After a while, people came up from the woods below. They were Chai Yan, Cheng Jiu and Guan Maochun.
Chai Yan walked all the way to the stream before he stopped. He first looked around, then squatted down and took a sip of stream water into his mouth. After drinking it, he said: "The fruits in the mountains are really refreshing."
Cheng Jiu was thirsty like Guan Maochun, so he squatted by the stream and drank some water.
Cheng Jiu drank the water, wiped his mouth while observing the movement in the woods, and whispered: "Sir, there is no one..."
Chai Yan said nonchalantly: "We were discovered by him, and that person hid in advance..."
Speaking of this, Chai Yan's eyes glanced diagonally upward, meaning in that direction.
Cheng Jiu and Guan Maochun immediately nodded in understanding.
Then, the three of them spread out and surrounded Cai Baozhong.
Cai Baozhong was hiding in the bushes in the distance and secretly observing the stream. He wanted to wait for the visitors to leave before continuing to catch fish, but when he saw the three people actually surrounding him, he immediately became nervous.
When he got up, he couldn't figure out where he was exposed. He obviously hid here much in advance and didn't make any sound. Why could these three people still determine their location?
However, he didn't have long time to think about this problem. Seeing Chai Yan and the other two people coming in three directions, he couldn't wait any longer. After putting on his shoes, he suddenly walked towards
The rear escaped.
"Sir, there!"
The sudden movement immediately caught Cheng Jiu's attention.
Guan Maochun also saw someone fleeing far away, and immediately shouted: "Stop, don't run!"
As soon as the voice fell, Cheng Jiu and Guan Maochun took steps to chase after him.
Chai Yan was worried that the two had fallen into a trap, so he immediately shouted: "Don't chase!"
Cheng Jiu and Guan Maochun had no choice but to stop and watched the man escape.
"Sir, why don't you let us chase you?" Guan Maochun asked.
Cheng Jiu looked at Chai Yan in confusion, having the same problem.
Chai Yan walked forward calmly and said: "We are not familiar with the terrain here, so we can't rush in."
"Then what should we do now? Sir..." Guan Maochun was unwilling to let people run away.
Chai Yan said confidently: "Don't worry, he can't run away, come with me..."
On the other side, Cai Baozhong fled all the way, and soon got into a hidden cave with the entrance covered by branches and leaves.
Cai Baozhong discovered this place accidentally. If villagers passed by, he would hide inside. Because it is very hidden, no one has ever discovered it.
Cai Baozhong sat in the dimly lit cave for a while, and gradually felt a sense of security in his heart. He was very confident in the concealment of this place, thinking that as long as he didn't go out or make a sound, no one outside would be able to find him.
.
When his rapid breathing slowly calmed down, Cai Baozhong began to think in his mind...
Who were those three people just now?
Could it be that he was someone sent by Wu Desi to arrest him? But it doesn’t look like it...
But if it was true, why would they know I was here? Could it be that someone snitched on me?
After thinking about it, Cai Baozhong could no longer think of another person besides Zhang Yuan...
But why? It’s been more than half a month. If you want to report someone, you should have reported it long ago. Why did you wait until now? It’s unreasonable!
Just as Cai Baozhong was thinking over and over about the reason, he suddenly heard some footsteps approaching from outside the cave.
At this moment, Cai Baozhong was so frightened that he quickly held his breath and quickly entered a state of stillness.
Soon, the footsteps outside gradually became louder, and they continued to approach the entrance of the cave.
No, maybe they discovered it?
Cai Baozhong was panicking and secretly recalled the details of when he entered the cave just now...
Did he accidentally leave footprints? They followed him along the way?
Probably not. I was very careful not to leave any footprints.
"Cai Baozhong, I know you are inside!"
Suddenly, a young man's voice came from outside the cave.
When he heard someone calling his name, Cai Baozhong's heart suddenly trembled, and fear spread throughout his body like lightning.
It was Chai Yan who shouted outside the cave. After he shouted once and saw no response from the cave, he said again: "Cai Baozhong, you have no way to escape. Come out quickly and capture us without mercy!"
But there was still no response from the cave.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Jiu asked Ying and said, "Sir, I'll go in and get him out!"
Guan Maochun also said: "Sir, I will come too."
Chai Yan shook his head and said: "No, don't you know that rabbits bite people when they are anxious?"
"Sir, what should we do?" Cheng Jiu asked.
Chai Yan slowly took out the fire seal, grinned and said: "Hey, I have a plan!"
Cheng Jiu and Guan Maochun understood it as soon as they heard it. They nodded immediately and started to prepare separately.
Not long after, leaves and weeds half as tall as a man were piled up at the entrance of the cave.
Chai Yan took a step forward with the fire folder and shouted loudly into the cave: "Cai Baozhong, if you don't come out, I will really light a fire!"