“Yin Jiao… Li Zhaodi… where are you?”
“Yin Jiao…”
“Li Zhaodi… respond if you can.”
Everyone lit torches and called out around the edge of the mountain but didn’t dare go deeper.
The team leader’s face was dark. Could it be that they’d run into the deep mountain? If something happened, how would he bear the responsibility?
Everyone’s expressions were grim. It was already dark, and the mountain was inherently dangerous. Going further inside was risky; no one wanted to risk their lives.
“What do we do, Team Leader? We still haven’t found them.”
Yun Ting was quietly sensing with her ability. Suddenly, she paused. The two had indeed run deeper into the mountain—and she sensed many wild boars nearby.
“Team Leader, I think I can sense movement in that direction. Should we go check? It seems Yin Jiao ran that way.”
She could only say it this way; she couldn’t directly assert it.
The team leader frowned, staring into the pitch-black forest. This was deep mountain territory. If a wild animal appeared, the consequences could be terrible—but they couldn’t just ignore the missing youths either.
Zhang Wei noticed the villagers’ unease and spoke first: “Team Leader, why don’t we educated youths go in and take a look?”
“Captain…” Zhao Weidong called reluctantly.
In his heart, Zhao Weidong scolded Zhang Wei for being a show-off. Even though Zhang Wei was the youth-point leader, that didn’t mean he had to be the first to rush in. Foolish.
“Zhao Weidong, we are all a unit. Since it’s youths in danger, it’s our responsibility.”
“Responsibility? The main responsibility isn’t even ours—they’re the new youths living in the same compound. Discovering they hadn’t returned so late is on them. Hmph…”
He already disliked Yun Ting a bit—she never gave him face and looked down on him.
“Enough, stop arguing. Everyone goes in together; more people are safer,” the team leader barked.
They carefully moved deeper. Lu Jiayan, Zhou Yang, and Yan Zheng led the way, tapping and knocking to warn of snakes in the grass. Everyone stayed alert to their surroundings and footing.
Not long after, a sound came from within:
“Ah… help…” A sharp female scream.
“Team Leader, I think that’s Yin Jiao. And there are many wild boars—everyone be careful…” Yun Ting warned.
“How do you know there are wild boars?” a villager asked. They hadn’t heard anything.
“Oh, I just have keen hearing,” Yun Ting said casually.
“Everyone, stay alert!”
“Ah… help… help…” A dark figure rushed out.
“Yin Jiao, Li Zhaodi?” Yang Qingqing grabbed her.
Yin Jiao seemed to just regain consciousness. Seeing so many people, she flinched.
“Answer me! Where’s Li Zhaodi?”
Yin Jiao’s eyes darted guiltily. “She… I don’t know. There were wild boars… we got separated…”
Her guilt was obvious. But everyone knew the immediate priority was finding Li Zhaodi.
When they arrived, Li Zhaodi was covered in blood, still running desperately.
“Quick! Everyone grab weapons, save her!”
The village hunter raised his gun. Bang! The gunshot echoed through the forest. But wild boars have thick hides—the shot only enraged them. The lead boar let out an ear-splitting roar, lowered its head, bared its sharp tusks, and charged the crowd. Chaos erupted. Some raised hoes to defend themselves, some retreated in panic. Screams and shouts pierced the air.
Lu Jiayan and Zhou Yang charged forward with sickles. Both were skilled from their compound upbringing and did their best to help.
Li Hongxia guided a few female youths to hide Li Zhaodi behind trees—they wouldn’t interfere.
Li Zhaodi was like a puppet with strings pulled—motionless. When she saw Yin Jiao, her eyes finally reacted. Even in the darkness, Yin Jiao sensed the hate and felt guilty and fearful.
Li Zhaodi remembered how Yin Jiao had pushed her in front of the boar earlier. She closed her eyes, feeling the pain in her legs—she feared she might be crippled.
Everyone wielding hoes, shovels, and sickles coordinated against the boars. But the beasts were fierce, and none of them had experience. Several villagers and male youths were injured.
“Yun Ting, watch out…”
“Yun Ting…” Yang Qingqing shouted anxiously.
One boar charged Yun Ting. She nimbly dodged. Suddenly—BANG!—the boar collided with a tree and passed out.
“Don’t just stand there, finish the rest! There are three more!” the team leader shouted.
Li Defu rushed over with a machete and cut the stunned boar’s neck a couple of times.
“Yun Ting, you’re okay?” Yang Qingqing asked.
“I’m fine…”
The remaining three boars, likely enraged by their companion’s death, ran madly.
Lu Jiayan, Zhou Yang, Yan Zheng, and the hunters fought them, blood smeared on their hands and faces. The boars were also injured—both sides taking heavy damage. Yun Ting thought this couldn’t continue.
She remembered how the first boar had charged her. Possibly drawn by her spring water, she poured some on her hands and stared at the three remaining boars.
Sure enough, the boars froze. Their nostrils flared violently, and their cloudy eyes glinted with greed.
“Lead them toward the trees!” Yun Ting staggered, pretending to lose her footing, and ran toward a tree. The boars followed, seemingly pulled by an invisible string, chasing the faint sweet scent. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a tree knot, silently formed a hand seal, and a vine crept out from her sleeve.
“Yun Ting, watch out! Help her!”
The boars charged her, but Yun Ting moved like a cat along the tree trunk.
The lead boar collided with the bark, causing pieces to fall.
The other two were entangled by the suddenly growing vines, thrashing on the ground. Villagers raised torches to approach. The boars broke free in panic, and one ran into another tree and passed out again.
“Yun Ting, your reflexes are incredible!” Li Defu raised a thumb.
“I just got lucky. Otherwise, you’d be carrying me down right now…” Yun Ting said, secretly warming her fingertips. The forest settled back into calm, and the vines retracted silently into the soil, as if they had never appeared.
“Pfft… Yun Ting, don’t go boasting,” someone muttered.