readytorunbook Chapter 149 The Mystery of the Fog
Chapter 149 The Mystery of the Fog
Du Zhong raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop where they were.
He recognized the woman in front of him; she was from his Black Tiger Stronghold. He asked in a deep voice, "Didn't we warn her not to stray too far from the group?"
The woman seemed somewhat at a loss. "Master, my husband is very good at finding his way around, he shouldn't get lost. I'm worried he might encounter danger, but I'm too afraid to go alone, that's why..."
She looked at Huo Chan, who was also riding a horse, as if pleading for help. Huo Chan thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you send someone to look for them, Chief? They shouldn't be far from us. Let them make some noise and find them themselves."
The woman's pleading gaze turned into gratitude.
Soon, voices calling for the father and son echoed through the woods, but no one responded or appeared for a long time.
Meng Fuqing and Yan He were riding together when they saw this and couldn't help but feel strange.
"Shouldn't two perfectly healthy people make some noise to call for help as soon as they get lost?" Yan He said.
Looking at the thick white fog, Meng Fuqing said, "Either they suddenly encountered danger and fainted, or there is something strange in the fog."
At the same time, the lost father and son were gagged, their hands and feet were tied up like pigs, and they were left lying on the cold ground.
Fifteen minutes earlier, Qiu Yuan had separated from the group with his son, and while waiting for his son, he cautiously surveyed his surroundings. The group was moving slowly and for a long time, so he didn't urge them on.
Hearing footsteps behind him, he thought his son was alright and turned around to pull him back to the team. But then he was struck hard on the back of the head and fell straight to the ground.
When he woke up again, he found that he and his son had been dragged to a stone house. The small stone house was crammed with more than ten people, who were whispering around a fire.
Having been a bandit for many years, Qiu Yuan was not a brainless man.
After quickly glancing at these people and confirming that they were not savages from the deep mountains and forests and that he could understand what they were saying, Qiu Yuan hurriedly closed his eyes, trying to take the opportunity to listen to what they were saying.
"...If we can seize those cartloads of food and supplies, we can hide in the forest for another two or three years without having to worry about food."
"Come on, they're definitely not pushovers coming from the north."
"That's right. With the heavy fog these past two days, wild animals are becoming increasingly difficult to find. It would be good to catch a few lone ones to fill our stomachs."
"This child has delicate skin and tender flesh; he must taste delicious."
……
Qiu Yuan's vision went black, and he almost fainted again.
I'd only ever seen rats eat people and people eat rats before, and at least I could fool myself into thinking that a rat that ate human flesh was still a rat. Who would have thought that after finally escaping to this place, I'd end up being eaten by someone else?!
"Hey, the guy's awake!"
One of them noticed that Qiu Yuan's eyes were darting around and his body was trembling, and immediately spoke up to warn him.
Several people immediately stood up and surrounded the father and son, one of them kicking Qiu Yuan's leg.
"Wake up, stop pretending!"
"If you don't wake up soon, I'll boil your son in a pot right now!"
Qiu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was stuffed with a rag, so he couldn't say anything.
At this moment, someone bent down and pulled the rag out of his mouth, and Qiu Yuan immediately said, "Don't touch my son!"
Only then did he notice that the men were thin and bony, their sunken cheeks making their cheekbones appear particularly high, their harsh faces cold and numb, and their eyes shining with a strange light as they stared at him.
Stared at like that, he couldn't help but tremble.
He said in a trembling voice, "My family still has a lot of grain. If you release us, I will give you all of my family's grain!"
The men exchanged glances and suddenly laughed. "Your grain in exchange for your own life, a thousand catties of grain in exchange for your son's life. If you can do that, we'll let you go."
Large beads of sweat streamed down his face. Getting a thousand catties of grain was not difficult. He and his men took turns driving the cart. As long as they could slip away from the group when no one was looking, the father and son would be safe.
Seeing that he remained silent, one of them kicked him hard, yelling, "What are you dawdling about!"
Qiu Yuan, his body hunched over, gasped for breath. He licked his dry lips and spoke in a trembling voice, "I'm just a small fry; I can't make decisions about the convoy's food supplies."
At that moment, he felt his son move slightly beside him, and alarm bells went off in his mind. The next second, his son woke up sobbing.
One of them looked at Qiu Xiaonian, who was sobbing incessantly, licked his lips, and said, "Then don't blame us. When you get to the underworld, remember to tell King Yama that your deaths are no one else's fault but your own incompetence!"
As he spoke, one of them pulled Qiu Xiaonian up from the ground.
Qiu Yuan roared hoarsely, "Don't touch the child, come at me..."
"Gag him, so he doesn't attract those people!"
His mouth was gagged again, his pleas and roars were all blocked in his throat, and he could only watch with bloodshot eyes as those people led the children step by step toward the big pot.
The convoy.
After realizing something was wrong, everyone faced a dilemma: should they split up to search for the missing person or continue moving forward?
Spreading the search means that more people may get lost in the fog, and if there is danger nearby, it will put even more people in danger.
In comparison, self-preservation is more suitable for dealing with the current situation.
The woman who had blocked the road was almost in tears as she listened, and Huo Chan stood beside her and whispered words of comfort.
“The greatest danger is the uncertainty of the situation,” Xie Jin, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. “I’m afraid this situation will happen more than once.”
Meng Fuqing and Yan He rode forward on horseback. Meng Fuqing said, "If we abandon people, we will lose their hearts, and the group will fall apart. I will take the white wolf to find them; I believe it will be soon."
Du Zhong and Meng Bochang, who were so worried they were pulling their beards, suddenly brightened up upon hearing this.
Du Chong slammed his fist into his palm. "Yes, Miss Meng has a wolf by her side! I just wonder if a wolf's nose will be used like a dog's?"
"Why not just try it?" Meng Fuqing looked at the woman. "Could you please find a piece of clothing belonging to your husband or son and bring it over?"
The woman's eyes were brimming with tears, now sparkling with excitement and gratitude. She nodded and hurried to get her clothes.
As soon as Meng Fuqing placed the clothes the woman had brought near the white wolf's nose, the white wolf immediately shook its head and retreated, looking as if it had been suffocated by the smell.
Yan He, standing beside him, burst out laughing.
Reaching out and grabbing the white wolf by the scruff of its neck, Meng Fuqing covered the wolf's head with her clothes.
The white wolf seemed to understand Meng Fuqing's intention. It hurriedly shook off the clothes on its head, and as soon as Meng Fuqing let go, it darted away like lightning.
Meng Fuqing and Xie Jin immediately gave chase, while Yan He called out from behind, "You two, wait for me!"
Before long, the white wolf led the three to a dense forest with many trees. In the middle of the forest, there was a clearing with three stone houses. Animal skins were hanging outside the houses, and there were bones piled up in front of one of the stone houses.
As soon as Meng Fuqing approached the stone house, he smelled the aroma of meat and could hear voices coming from inside.
The three hid in the dense forest without showing themselves, while the white wolf ran ahead recklessly. When it realized that no one was following, it turned its head to look at the three of them.
Meng Fuqing said in a low voice, "These people make a living by hunting. Let the white wolf lure them out first. You take care of them, and I'll go inside to find them."