How could things casually caught in the mountains become protected animals?
Xing Zhaozhao didn’t understand, but she knew the old man wouldn’t lie to her.
She didn’t want to go to jail.
Xing Zhaozhao immediately turned to the old man: “Sir, do you see anything you want here? I’ll sell them cheap.”
After selling, she needed to hurry back to avoid being caught.
“Let me see.” The old man leaned in to look.
Several other old men also started picking: “These wild raspberries are quite good, they’re rare finds. I’ll take some.”
“I’ll have some too…”
While the old men were selecting, Xing Zhaozhao suddenly spotted two police officers approaching from the street ahead. Her mind instantly went blank.
Oh no, she was going to be arrested and jailed.
Xing Zhaozhao hurriedly began gathering her things, preparing to run.
The old men who were still selecting grew anxious: “Hey, hey, I haven’t finished picking yet.”
“Not selling today,” Xing Zhaozhao said frantically.
“What? Why?” The old men were puzzled.
Xing Zhaozhao nervously glanced up at the two patrolling officers coming their way.
The two officers happened to look over at the same time.
Their eyes met.
Feeling guilty, Xing Zhaozhao’s gaze wavered, and she instinctively averted her eyes.
The two officers simultaneously narrowed their eyes slightly.
Confirmed through eye contact – something seemed suspicious.
“You there…” one of them called out.
Xing Zhaozhao felt like all the blood in her body was freezing. Hoisting her belongings, she turned and ran.
The two police officers: “…”
If they had only been guessing before, thinking it was just a resemblance, now they were certain she must have done something wrong. Otherwise, why would she run?
“Stop!” the two officers immediately shouted, giving chase.
Stop? Stop and wait for them to arrest her? She wasn’t that stupid.
Xing Zhaozhao took off running as fast as her legs could carry her.
“Stop, do you hear me? The one with the back basket ahead,” the police shouted while pursuing her.
Xing Zhaozhao: “…”
While running, Xing Zhaozhao removed the back basket from her back and hugged it to her chest.
Now she wasn’t the one with the back basket anymore.
The police officers: “…”
Wait, was this even allowed?
But how could her small frame, carrying so many things, still run so fast?
One running, two chasing.
They ran a full two whole streets, yet they still hadn’t caught up with her.
Both officers were fresh out of police academy, confident in their physical fitness, but this chase was making them question their life choices.
How are you running like that?
Xing Zhaozhao, running ahead, also felt like crying.
How long were they going to chase her? All she did was catch a wild mountain chicken! She hadn’t even killed it – it was still alive and could be released at any time. That wasn’t utterly unforgivable, was it? Why did they insist on arresting her and throwing her in jail? She still had three children to feed at home.
Feeling wronged but maintaining her speed, Xing Zhaozhao continued running forward.
If caught, she’d go to jail – could she afford to slow down? Absolutely not.
Ahead, she reached the end of another street. Not familiar with the area, Xing Zhaozhao randomly chose a direction and kept running.
Before she had gone far, she inwardly groaned.
Something was happening up ahead – a crowd had gathered, blocking the road.
Xing Zhaozhao hesitated, pausing her steps, wondering if she should turn back and change direction while the police hadn’t caught up yet.
She glanced behind her.
Too late – the police were already closing in.
No choice now – she had to keep running forward.
Xing Zhaozhao continued running forward while shouting at the people blocking the path ahead, “Move aside, move aside, don’t block the way!”
The people obstructing the road turned their heads in unison.
To her surprise, Xing Zhaozhao spotted a familiar figure among them.
Gao Lianzhou.
Gao Lianzhou wasn’t with his uncle at the moment. Instead, he was accompanied by two girls around his age who looked identical.
Something seemed to have happened—they were surrounded by a group of people who were pulling at them, refusing to let them leave.
“Fairy sister?” Gao Lianzhou’s face lit up with delight at the sight of Xing Zhaozhao, and he nearly burst into tears of joy.
Fairy sister truly lived up to her name—she always appeared out of nowhere to rescue him in times of peril.
Hearing Gao Lianzhou call her “fairy sister,” the people surrounding him, as well as the two girls with him, couldn’t help but glance again in astonishment at Xing Zhaozhao, who was sprinting toward them. While one of the girls showed a flicker of interest, the others unanimously wore expressions of disdain.
Fairy sister? Wasn’t she just a village girl? So young, yet already blind?
After a brief glance, the onlookers averted their eyes, showing no intention of clearing the path, and continued to fix their attention on Gao Lianzhou and the two girls.
“Hurry up and pay! Didn’t your mother teach you that you have to pay for what you buy?”
Was it really about the money? He wasn’t short on cash.
Gao Lianzhou puffed up angrily, “We already said we don’t want it anymore. Why should we still pay?”
“It’s already cut. You have to buy it whether you want it or not. Pay up now—250.”
Gao Lianzhou refused, “We only wanted a small piece. Who told you to cut so much? Since you cut so much, we don’t want it anymore.”
“It’s already cut. You can’t refuse. If you don’t pay up, I’ll beat you up.” As he spoke, the man fiercely grabbed Gao Lianzhou by the collar.
Gao Lianzhou was utterly aggrieved—it was all because of his own foolish impulsiveness.
It was a rare weekend, and he had taken his aunt’s two daughters out for some fun. When he saw a street vendor selling cut cake, even though there were all sorts of negative rumors online about it, it was his first time seeing it in real life. Out of curiosity, he gestured for a small piece. Little did he expect to run into trouble.
Truthfully, he had been ready to back down and accept the loss—after all, there were so many of them. As the saying goes, where there’s life, there’s hope.
But not anymore. Now, he had his fairy sister.
Gao Lianzhou watched as Xing Zhaozhao charged right up to them. “Fairy sister, save me!”
With a stern expression, Xing Zhaozhao threw a punch directly at the face of the man holding Gao Lianzhou.
She hadn’t actually intended to save him—it was just that they were blocking her escape route.
The man let out a pained howl and released Gao Lianzhou.
Silence fell for a moment as everyone exchanged bewildered glances, seemingly unable to believe that a thin, petite village girl would actually dare to strike.
“What are you all standing around for? Beat her up!” someone suddenly roared.
The stunned crowd immediately sprang into action, closing in on Xing Zhaozhao to attack her.
During her time with the troops, Xing Zhaozhao had watched Gao Mingcheng teach self-defense techniques to the younger soldiers and had picked up a move or two herself. Though she hadn’t mastered much, it wasn’t entirely useless—especially since she possessed remarkable strength. As the saying goes, brute force can overcome skill.
With an impassive expression, she faced the encircling crowd—punching one, grabbing him, and throwing him aside; then punching another, grabbing him, and throwing him aside.
Anyone blocking her escape route, get the hell out of her way.
She was getting more and more adept at fighting when suddenly she felt someone grab her shoulder from behind. Without a second thought, she spun around and threw a punch, landing it squarely on the person’s eye socket.
When she finally got a clear look at the uniform the person was wearing, Xing Zhaozhao froze instantly, her clenched fist trembling uncontrollably.
Damn it, she had hit a police officer. Was she going to be rotting in jail for the rest of her life now?