Chapter 674 674: Need to Raise the Price
Zhe Xiaoyu saw this, and her beautiful eyes unconsciously revealed a touch of compassion.
She walked over and stuffed the piece of meat into the little boy's hand, softly saying, "Eat up, sweetheart, and be careful not to choke!"
"Thank you for giving my granddaughter and grandson these snacks. By the way, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go and cook something for you!" The old woman, seeing the warmth and care Zhe Xiaoyu showed these three strangers, immediately greeted them enthusiastically.
Ye Ling smiled and waved his hand, "Don't trouble yourself, auntie. You go ahead with your work, we'll just have a chat among ourselves."
"Oh, that's fine then, feel free to look around!" the old woman nodded.
Watching the old woman hobbling away, Zhe Xiaoyu sighed inwardly.
She walked up to the little boy and girl, "What poor children, where are your mom and dad?"
"Ever since my parents went deep into the mountains, they have never come back," the little boy said, gnawing on a chicken leg and choking back sobs.
Hearing this, Zhe Xiaoyu was taken aback for a moment. The deep mountains?
Ye Ling was astonished. It seemed that there really was something special about the deep forest, otherwise the previous exploration teams would not have entered and then vanished without a trace.
At noon, the old woman brought in some dishes.
The meal was very simple, all vegetarian and not even a hint of meat, just a dish of greens and a bowl of rice.
"I apologize for the modest meal, folks. We don't have much to offer here. I hope you don't mind," the old woman said somewhat embarrassedly as she watched Ye Ling and the others eat.
"It's no problem at all, auntie. We're just having a meal," Ye Ling quickly reassured her with a wave of his hand.
Seeing that Ye Ling and his companions didn't mind their simple meal, the old woman breathed a sigh of relief.
After eating, Zhe Xiaoyu and Zhan Mengqi helped to wash the dishes, while the old woman sat down to chat with Ye Ling and the others: "If you're set on heading into the deep mountains, I suggest you wait for someone from our village."
"He often goes into the mountains to hunt and is quite familiar with the place. If you follow him, you should be safer!" the old woman said.
Ye Ling's eyes lit up, "Auntie, do you know this person?"
The old woman nodded, "I suppose you could say that. He's one of the more formidable hunters in our village."
"Every time he goes into the deep mountains, he hunts things like wild rabbits. But he's quite greedy, so if you want to hire him, you'll probably have to pay him some money."
Hearing the old woman's words, Ye Ling nodded immediately.
As Ye Ling and Zhan Mengqi were discussing, a rush of footsteps came from outside the door. Then, a burly man pushed the gate open and walked in.
Seeing the man, the old woman brightened up: "Wu Jianguo, you've come back! Come over here!"
The man known as Wu Jianguo, seeing Ye Ling and the others, paused for a moment before walking in, then looking at them with a grin, he laughed, "Old sister-in-law, how come you have time to have me over for a meal today? What's the occasion?"
"That's Wu Jianguo. The person I was just telling you about, is him. He's a very capable hunter in our village, experienced and brave, and he knows the deep mountains very well."
"If you have him by your side, you should be safer!"
"You want to go into the deep mountains?" Wu Jianguo's gaze swept over Ye Ling and his two companions, finally resting on Zhe Xiaoyu.
Zhe Xiaoyu was stunningly beautiful, with a noble and aloof demeanor. Wu Jianguo couldn't help but be moved when he saw her.
He thought to himself, "This little girl is really pretty."
"Right. How much does it cost?" Ye Ling looked at Wu Jianguo.
"Five thousand yuan!" Wu Jianguo pondered and then gritted his teeth before replying.
In his opinion, five thousand yuan was a tremendous amount, but for people like Ye Ling and the others, it wasn't much.
"Deal, I agree!" Ye Ling agreed without any hesitation.
Seeing how quickly Ye Ling agreed, Wu Jianguo got even more excited, and his view of Ye Ling changed.
He didn't expect the young man to be so straightforward.
"When do we set off?" Ye Ling asked.
"Let's leave early tomorrow morning. The deep mountains are dangerous at night, and I'm afraid you might encounter some dangers," Wu Jianguo explained.
Ye Ling thought for a moment and then nodded, "Then, early tomorrow morning."
Just then, a loud noise came from outside, and a man, covered in blood, staggered in, but before he took two steps, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
This noise, of course, alarmed the villagers, who all ran out to see. Upon seeing the man lying on the ground, they started to shout in panic, "Isn't that Old Liu?"
"Old Liu, what happened to him?"
"Quickly, take Old Liu to the clinic!"
A group of villagers clumsily picked up Old Liu and rushed him to the clinic. Ye Ling and Zhe Xiaoyu and the others drew close to see that Old Liu's neck had several scratch marks.
They didn't quite look like they were made by wild animals but more like those from a weapon similar to a cat's claw. However, these wounds looked terrifyingly bad, with hardly any intact skin left, and blood had flowed all over the ground.
Seeing this, Ye Ling's brow furrowed immediately. It seemed that this so-called deep forest was indeed no ordinary place.
At that moment, Wu Jianguo came over and sighed deeply, "Ah, to tell you the truth, Old Liu was also a pitiful man. He wanted to try his luck in the deep forest, hoping to bring back some game. Who would've thought such a thing would happen!"
"But such incidents are not rare here, so the five thousand yuan I'm charging is really not a lot, considering I'm risking my life to earn money," said Wu Jianguo somberly.
"Don't worry, we'll definitely pay that amount," Ye Ling said with a smile.
The next day, Wu Jianguo was waiting at the entrance of the village early. Upon seeing Ye Ling and the others emerge, he smiled faintly, "Shall we set off now?"
Ye Ling nodded. Noticing that Wu Jianguo remained unmoved, Gao Quan flashed an understanding smile, took out a stack of money from his pocket, and handed it over to Wu Jianguo, who then broke into a grin.
As they walked, Wu Jianguo emphasized, "There are many ferocious wild animals in the deep forest. If you encounter any, you must retreat immediately. Don't try to be a hero. Understand?"
"Rest assured, we're not fools. We'll be careful," Ye Ling said cheerfully.
"Good!" Wu Jianguo nodded.
Without further ado, the group hurried on their way and soon entered deep into the forest.
The trees here were lush, and flowers and plants were everywhere, with the air thick with a suffocating forest scent.
However, none of them showed any sign of fear. Under the aura projected by Ye Ling, few wild animals dared to approach them.
What do you think?
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