Jiang Shen thought about the worst-case scenario, which was to distance himself from Zhao Louyue. The upcoming projects at Mingxi Building that needed coordination with Ting’an could be handled by the team leaders under him. Some people just don’t like to keep in touch after being rejected, and that’s perfectly normal.
Jiang Shen’s expression was calm, but his eyes were a bit dim. He had a habit of imagining a dozen bad scenarios when faced with issues, and combined with the negative emotions accumulated overnight, he blurred Zhao Louyue’s character background, sinking into this gloomy atmosphere, almost wanting to leave the mountain.
But the road was slippery due to the rain, and he hadn’t driven his car up. On the way, he ran into Duan Chaosheng behind the villa. Before Duan could provoke him, Jiang Shen retorted, “Didn’t your dad teach you a lesson?”
Duan Chaosheng stood awkwardly to the side, a flash of fear in his eyes. Actually, Duan just wanted to calmly ask, “What’s going on between you and Zhao Louyue?” He was thinking about what Yu Bai had said when drunk that day and planned to secretly help his brother a bit, without much malice. But Jiang Shen just found him annoying. If it weren’t for this guy breaking the ice, things wouldn’t have come to this.
Jiang Shen left with a cold face, and soon the rain intensified. Feeling stifled in the room, Cong Gaoxuan had gone off somewhere to play and wasn’t in the villa. Jiang Shen didn’t have much to say to others, so he lit a cigarette and leaned against the window.
Through the fine rain curtain, he could vaguely see a group of people hurrying back. Jiang Shen recognized the one leading as Fu Cheng, and Zhao Louyue was definitely among them. To avoid awkwardness, he prepared to go upstairs.
“Oh no!” Someone’s voice came before they arrived, hurriedly calling out, “Yuan Zheng, Yuan Zheng, are you there?”
The young master named Song Yuanzheng was brewing tea at the table. Hearing this, he frowned and stood up, “What’s wrong?”
“You’re good in the water, come with me quickly!” the person shouted.
Meanwhile, Fu Cheng strode in, water dripping from him as if he had been soaked. His expression was serious, and he said in a deep voice, “Someone, go find the security team.”
The security team, along with the bodyguards who came, surely numbered over ten people. Jiang Shen noticed Zhao Louyue wasn’t there. The next second, Fu Cheng looked at Jiang Shen.
“The mountain slope collapsed, Zhao Louyue fell down.”
Jiang Shen was stunned for a moment, then his mind exploded. He didn’t understand what “fell down” meant.
Fu Cheng’s eyes flashed with regret, “It’s my fault. I didn’t notice anything wrong when standing there. The moment it became unbalanced, Louyue rushed up and pushed me out. When I turned around, he was gone.”
Jiang Shen took a deep breath. Within a few minutes, the security and a few skilled bodyguards all arrived. It would take at least an hour to call for rescue. The underbrush below was dense, with heavy miasma and cold air, and it was raining, making it easy for people to lose body heat.
Fu Cheng couldn’t just wait obediently. He planned to carefully search around first. If Zhao Louyue was just covered by something, they just needed someone to pull him out.
Song Yuanzheng went to put on a raincoat. Just as he got one sleeve on, he heard the door open. Turning around, he saw Jiang Shen walking in.
Song Yuanzheng didn’t have much interaction with Jiang Shen, so he asked, “You’re going too?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Shen was sparing with words, and Song Yuanzheng felt he was even colder than usual.
Jiang Shen couldn’t speak at all. When he picked up the raincoat, he found his fingers trembling. Fu Cheng mentioned there was a river below, which was why he thought of calling Song Yuanzheng, who was a city-level swimming and diving champion and loved adventure swimming, very familiar with water currents.
Jiang Shen clearly dressed quickly, but the simple raincoat looked messy on him. Song Yuanzheng helped adjust his shoulder, then said, “Brother Zhao is very skilled and reacts quickly. He’s followed me twice on outdoor trips before, and his survival skills aren’t weak. Nothing major will happen.”
Jiang Shen closed his eyes, pushing all his worries, anxiety, and unease back to the calm surface with the strongest rationality.
Fu Cheng wasn’t too keen on Jiang Shen following.
“You…”
“I won’t cause trouble,” Jiang Shen said. “I’ll just watch from the side.”
Fu Cheng’s expression turned a bit strange at his words, but in the end, he didn’t stop him.
The mountain path here was paved with bricks when the villa was built, making it very smooth to walk on. So even in the rain, they dared to venture outside. Who would have thought they’d be so unlucky?
After walking for seven or eight minutes, they reached the spot where Zhao Louyue fell. It was obvious that a section of the ground near the edge had collapsed. Fresh soil was being constantly washed away. Looking down, there was a dense growth of underbrush, even with most of the leaves gone, the crisscrossing branches easily blocked the view.
There was no sign of Zhao Louyue at all. They tried calling out, but only echoes returned, with no response.
Jiang Shen asked, “Is there a way down?”
“There is,” Fu Cheng replied. “That’s why I brought a few skilled people.”
One of Fu Cheng’s bodyguards was a former mercenary, having seen all sorts of harsh environments. With a quick scan, he identified several paths down.
“Not a big problem,” he said.
Fu Cheng instructed Song Yuanzheng, “You go down with them, and return immediately if there’s any issue.”
Song Yuanzheng nodded, “Alright, wait for news, Brother Fu.”
Fu Cheng’s expression was grim. Although he often teased Zhao Louyue for being tough, in situations like this, who could say for sure?
Fu Cheng wiped the water off his face, said a few words to a friend beside him, and suddenly, a chill ran from his tailbone to the top of his head. He widened his eyes in shock, looking around. Where was Jiang Shen?!
Jiang Shen was just a step behind the leading bodyguard. Song Yuanzheng held him by the shoulder.
Song Yuanzheng was also surprised, “Why did you come along? Brother Fu is looking for you, go back up!”
Jiang Shen turned his head. Due to the slope, he was half a body shorter than Song Yuanzheng, but with a cold and firm gaze that was unyielding, “Young Master Song, I grew up in mountains like these, I might know as much as you do.”
Song Yuanzheng was stunned, “But…”
Jiang Shen didn’t listen to him anymore, quickly catching up with the bodyguards.
“It’s too late, Brother Fu, can’t stop him,” Song Yuanzheng said into his earpiece.
Fu Cheng: “…”
Is it too late? It’s over, Zhao Louyue will go crazy when he sees this, won’t he?
“Keep an eye on Jiang Shen!” Fu Cheng said word by word.
In fact, bringing Jiang Shen along was a lifesaver. Jiang Shen was very familiar with the habits of some overhanging shrubs. When a bodyguard almost stepped on one, Jiang Shen stopped him without explanation, casually picking up a stone and tossing it down. It fell three to five meters with a “crash,” the sound like a death knell, scaring Song Yuanzheng to cling to him.
He just liked water but didn’t understand mountains!!!
The bodyguard breathed a sigh of relief. If he fell, it was one thing, but others might not be so lucky.
Then, when Song Yuanzheng slipped and almost fell into a ditch, the bodyguard shouted, and Jiang Shen, with a wooden face, pulled him back.
“Thank you, Young Master Jiang!”
“Don’t delay,” Jiang Shen said, looking at the vast expanse below, his hands full of rainwater and mud. This part of the mountain seemed to have no buffer zone, fearing Zhao Louyue might have fallen all the way down.
After another difficult five-minute descent, a security guard suddenly shouted, one leg flailing outward. Song Yuanzheng watched as he flung out a small round object, with a ring of black hair on his back.
“A caterpillar,” Jiang Shen identified at a glance, then told the security guard to roll up his pants. They had brought some disinfectant, and finally, Jiang Shen looked around, found what he wanted, picked two leaves, chewed them up, and applied them directly to the wound, “Green thorn tip, clears heat and detoxifies, I find it useful, wrap it with gauze yourself.”
Song Yuanzheng murmured, “You’re amazing, Jiang Shen.”
Jiang Shen repeated, “We can’t delay any longer.”
Song Yuanzheng walked at the back of the group, stepping in his companions’ footprints, feeling secure, while speaking softly into his earpiece, “Yeah, almost at the bottom, Jiang Shen? Brother Fu, bringing Young Master Jiang was really lucky.”
Fu Cheng: “?”