Chapter 9: The Forest Ambush

  On the mountain road, Li Guoting, wearing the cotton shoes given by an unknown old lady, was full of energy from head to toe. His frozen and swollen feet no longer hurt, and it seemed that he was not wearing cotton shoes on his feet, but rather the Wind and Fire Wheels on Nezha's feet, running quickly along the winding mountain road.

  He only kept running forward, forgetting the bright red girl who was sending him off behind him. He quickly ran up to the mountain ridge and suddenly remembered that there was still someone behind him, so he hastily stopped his feet and turned back to look around.

  "Brother, wait. Wait." Behind him, from the mountain road below, where the grass and shrubs were submerged, a shout came from that direction. It was Yan Hong's voice.

  "Ah, I'm on the slope." Li Guoting felt embarrassed. Someone had helped him, but he had only thought of running and had even forgotten that someone was following behind him. Was this still human?

  He stood at the top of the slope where the mountain road turned, facing the cold wind, waiting for the bright red girl.

  Before long, the beautiful young lady finally caught up, panting and out of breath.

  "Brother, you walk from the right side of this road, down this slope, and it's Laojun Gou. Along Laojun Gou all the way, out of the ditch, you can see the county town." Yanhong pointed to the mountain road below the slope, saying to Li Guoting.

  Li Guoting looked at the mountain road pointed by Yan Hong, turned back, and gratefully didn't know what to say. He stuttered: "I... kn-know... thank you."

  "Brother, be careful."

  "Hmm." Li Guoting replied.

  "You go back. It's cold outside. I'm leaving." Li Guoting said to Yanhong.

  "Brother, take care on your way. Will you come back again?" Yanhong girl looked up at Li Guoting standing in front of her with a smile, her rosy face beaming.

  "I'll be back, I'll be back. Thank you, little sister." Li Guoting said with some embarrassment as he looked at Yan Hong.

  "This, for you, take it on the road." Suddenly, Yan Hong girl stretched out her hand from the cotton-padded jacket and pulled out a cloth package, stuffed it into Li Guoting's arms. Then, she turned around and ran back.

  Li Guoting was taken aback, holding the red cloth package that the girl had handed to him, and asked foolishly: "This... what is this?"

  The bright red girl who ran towards the back turned her head and said to Li Guoting: "Silver. I gave it to you. Remember to come back and see us later."

  Silver dollar? Li Guoting heard Yan Hong say it was a silver dollar, and he was both surprised and delighted. He didn't know what to say to Yan Hong, so he just stood there stupidly in the cold wind on the slope top, looking back at Yan Hong's figure as she walked away until her figure disappeared into the darkness of night and could no longer be seen.

  "Ah——." Li Guoting raised the small red cloth package that Yanhong girl had handed to him, just wanting to shout at Yanhong girl, only to find that Yanhong girl had already disappeared into the dark night.

  Holding that small bundle of cloth still warm from the tender touch of the beautiful young girl, Li Guoting's heart felt warm and fuzzy. A warmth he had never experienced before surged up to his head.

  Looking at the distant mountain road where the beautiful girl had gone, Li Guoting said to himself: "Good sister. You are so good to me, Li Guoting, and I will never forget it for eternity. In the future, if I have a chance to rise up, I must repay you and your grandmother."

  Li Guoting carefully tucked the small bundle into his bosom and set off on foot towards the mountain road ahead.

  When day broke, Li Guoting finally walked out of the mountain valley, in front of him was a vast expanse of farmland. There were also patches of small woods in the distance.

  Li Guoting did not dare to walk along the main road, so he took a detour through the countryside. When he was thirsty, he drank from a stream by the fields. When he was hungry, he ate some flatbread given to him by an old lady. When he was tired, he sat down at the edge of a forest to rest his feet. He walked for another day and night like this. By the second day, he had reached the border of the neighboring county.

  At noon, Li Guoting, who was both tired and hungry, walked to the edge of a forest. He sat down at the foot of an old oak tree by the road, leaning his body against the sturdy trunk of the tree. He took out the last steamed bun from his pocket, holding it in his hand, looking at it again and again, feeling reluctant to eat it.

  He thought, forget it, I won't eat now, I'll just wait till tonight to eat. By tomorrow, after passing this place, I'll think of a way to find something to eat. Thinking of this, he put the bun back into his chest and leaned against the tree trunk, closing his eyes.

  Before long, his stomach started growling and he felt so hungry that he couldn't bear it anymore. He took out the steamed bun from his pocket again and sniffed it under his nose. A whiff of corn flour fragrance wafted into his nostrils, enticing Li Guoting to drool.

  To eat or not to eat. Li Guoting had never struggled in his mind for a steamed bun. If he didn't eat, he couldn't resist the temptation of the steamed bun. And there was also the protest of his growling stomach. If he ate, what about the next meal? This eating wasn't right, and not eating wasn't right either. Li Guoting was in a dilemma.

  "Never mind, just eat it. Worry about the next meal later." With this thought, Li Guoting also stopped thinking so much and took a big bite of the steamed bun.

  "It's really delicious. At this moment, even if someone gave me a piece of meat, it wouldn't be as tasty as this wotou." Li Guoting said with self-deprecation while eating the wotou.

  After eating the mantou, he still felt hungry. He patted his empty stomach and said: "Damn it, can't you just stop growling for a bit? Let me lean against this tree and take a nap. Next time I find something good to eat, I'll stuff you till you're dead. We'll see if you're still growling then." With that, he leaned back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes.

  As soon as he closed his eyes, a mess of flowers appeared before him. Among those messy flowers, what clearly reflected was a bunch of fragrant and fluffy buns. Li Guoting's stomach churned with discomfort, like a stormy sea, how could he still sleep?

  "Ah, what Father said when he was alive is true. That man is made of iron and his meals are steel. If he doesn't eat one meal, he'll be anxious with hunger." Li Guoting opened his eyes again and muttered to himself.

  He couldn't sleep, so he took out the small cloth package that Yan Hong's girl had given him from his quilt. He carefully examined it in his hand. To be honest, since that night when Yan Hong's girl gave him this small cloth package, on this journey, he was busy running and hadn't taken it out to take a good look, now that he had some free time, he should take it out to take a good look.

  This little cloth package really looks good, on the white coarse cloth, a pair of birds are playing in the water. What is the name of those birds, Li Guoting doesn't know. Anyway, it's not those birds in their mountain village forest. But very good-looking. Open the small cloth package, inside is wrapped a silver dollar. The Yuan Shikai head portrait on that silver dollar is still very clear.

  Li Guoting took the silver dollar in his hand and examined it carefully. A warm feeling surged up in his heart, a slightly sentimental feeling that he had never experienced before, making him blush with embarrassment.

  His eyes moved from the silver coin to the white coarse cloth, where a pair of unfamiliar birds perched. As he gazed at them, a fantasy emerged in his mind. It was as if suddenly one of the birds had become the scarlet maiden, and he himself had transformed into the other bird. They nestled together...

  "Bastard, how can I have such thoughts. Is it possible?" Li Guoting suddenly woke up from his illusion, slapped himself on the forehead with his hand. "Can't have such thoughts, what a good girl she is, even if she has that intention towards me, I shouldn't. I'm nothing myself. How can I? Ah, what nonsense am I thinking about. I've tarnished her reputation."

  Li Guoting felt ashamed of having such a disgusting idea about himself.

  "In the future, Heaven bless me Li Guoting, when I have a chance to rise up, I will definitely go find Yan Hong girl." said Li Guoting.

  "Don't move, put your hands up." Just then, from behind the old tree, a shiny dagger suddenly appeared and was placed on Li Guoting's neck.