Chapter 279 - 272
The group jumped in fright, nearly dropping the shovels in their hands.
"Sir, we’re not doing anything. We’re just here to hike the mountain."
She looked toward the light. An old man was walking over, leaning on a staff and holding a flashlight.
"Hiking here? I’m warning you, there’s a lot of dry grass around. You can hike, but no fires. And no smoking!"
The ranger, Dong Yong, swept his sharp gaze over them, his face filled with suspicion.
"Hiking with shovels?" Dong Yong narrowed his eyes at the gear beside them. He shone his flashlight over, and when he saw their equipment clearly, his expression changed instantly.
"Are you grave robbers? Get out of here, you heartless bastards!"
"Hey, old bastard, you’re asking for it. This is none of your damn business!"
The female leader gripped her shovel, murder already on her mind.
’Fuck, anyone who gets in my way of making a fortune deserves to die.’
Dong Yong’s face darkened. There were three of them, and only one of him.
Jiang Li watched the man, who was in his fifties, and hesitated, wondering if she should break the rules and warn him somehow.
Dong Yong snorted coldly. "You’ll all get what’s coming to you sooner or later. No fires on this mountain!"
With that, Dong Yong turned and left.
Seeing this, Jiang Li also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Damned old man, so nosy. Can’t even have a smoke."
"Found the entrance!" Her gaze shifted. The group had found a hidden passage, and one of them jumped right in.
"Fuck! Goddammit, you spent a fortune on the location of a cellar?"
The two who followed were dumbfounded by the scene before them. It was just an abandoned cellar with not a damn thing inside.
"Impossible! How can there be nothing here!" The fat one paced around inside, rage swirling in his head. He angrily threw his shovel to the ground.
"Fuck! Ten thousand yuan for a fake tip."
The trio climbed out, irritated.
"Boss, what do we do? Did we come all this way for nothing?" the skinny one asked, running up to her.
She pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, smoking agitatedly, her vicious gaze sizing up the two men.
"You can’t even get your intel straight and you want to get rich? Go eat shit!" She kicked the fat man, then irritably flicked the cigarette butt to the ground.
Jiang Li’s brow furrowed. ’Didn’t the old man say no fires?’
The cigarette butt landed, sending up a wisp of smoke. A small flame shot up right after.
"Didn’t I tell you? No fires! No fires!"
The moment Dong Yong saw the flame, he charged forward like a madman and stomped it out.
It was a good thing he’d had a feeling they were trouble. He just hadn’t expected them to start a fire so quickly.
"Damned old man, you’re so fucking nosy!"
The trio was already furious about coming all this way for nothing. His interference just made them even angrier.
The fat one lunged forward and kicked Dong Yong square in the chest. Dong Yong stumbled back and fell to the ground.
The three exchanged a glance, then moved in and started punching and kicking Dong Yong.
Afterward, they tied Dong Yong to a tree. The three of them spat on the ground and started down the mountain one by one.
The female leader glanced back, then tossed the cigarette butt in her hand down again.
Jiang Li watched the discarded cigarette butt, and just as she was about to pick it up, she woke up.
She grabbed her phone and checked the time. 4:00 AM. ’If that cigarette butt starts a fire again...’
Thinking of the old man tied to the tree, she picked up her phone. Just as she was about to call Lu Xingye and the others, she saw a news alert.
"A wildfire broke out on Mao Mao Mountain in Datian Town in the early hours of this morning. Firefighters have arrived on the scene to extinguish the blaze."
Jiang Li watched the massive fire in the video. The old man tied to the tree... she didn’t know what had become of him.
She glanced at the comments section. It was filled with angry messages.
[Did the person who started this fire in the middle of the night not have parents?!]
[Oh god, I wonder if anyone was hurt.]
Jiang Li searched for keywords. Villagers at the foot of the mountain had called the police. The fire was so large it had alarmed many people, and some were even live-streaming from the scene.
She clicked on one to watch.
"AHEM, AHEM. Your streamer has now arrived at the scene of the fire. As for casualties, that’s still unconfirmed."
"Old man, where are you! Old man..."
A grief-stricken cry came from nearby. The streamer paused for a moment, then headed in that direction.
In the dim light, an old woman leaned on a cane, her hands groping blindly. She was covered in dirt and had scrapes on her body.
[My god! It looks like she can’t see. The mountain path is so difficult, did she feel her way up here?]
The camera instantly focused on the old woman. Oblivious to it all, she kept calling out her husband’s name.
"Ma’am, please don’t panic. Sit down for a bit. What if your husband has already gone home?"
The streamer tried to comfort her while volunteers gathered around to help.
"Three years ago, my eldest son and his family died in a wildfire on this mountain. After that, my old man started coming up to the mountain for a look every night before bed."
"But he didn’t come back today. I heard the mountain was on fire... I’m worried about him."
Cai He gripped her cane, tears streaming down her face.
Sympathetic looks filled the faces of the crowd. With a fire this big, if the old man hadn’t gone home, he was probably...
The local police department immediately launched an investigation.
Watching the lonely old woman, Jiang Li got out of bed to wash up.
"Sis, you’re up early?" Yu Huannian heard the noise and immediately looked up.
"I have to go to Datian Town."
Since she had dreamed it, she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
"Then let Wu Ming go with you. I have a mission today, and Miao Anji has been busy with something lately too."
"I can go by myself." Jiang Li shook her head and refused. Everyone had their own things to do; they couldn’t always drop everything for her.
"She’s free. It’ll be good for you two to get out."
Saying that, Yu Huannian got up and knocked on Wu Ming’s door. "KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. Wu Ming, my sis is going to Datian Town, you in? If not, she’s leaving without you."
"Huh? I’m going, I’m going!"
Yu Huannian had barely finished speaking when Wu Ming’s urgent voice came from inside.
Hearing such an enthusiastic response, Jiang Li felt a sense of relief.
Less than two minutes later, Wu Ming came out, face towel in hand. "Let’s go, let’s go."
It’s a matter of life and death.
Jiang Li got in the car and opened the navigation app. A four-hour drive.
"This is great! Finally, a mission. I was about to start gathering dust from boredom."
Hearing Wu Ming’s cheerful words, Jiang Li’s guilt faded away.
"In the future, if there’s anywhere you want to go, you can call me too. I can go out and see the world with you."
Wu Ming turned to look at her, beaming. "Of course! You’re my lucky star. I’d keep you in my pocket if I could."
Jiang Li glanced at the ornament on the dashboard made by Song Shujing, a small smile playing on her lips. "Okay."
「Four hours later.」
Jiang Li and Wu Ming arrived in Datian Town. Many cars were parked at the foot of the mountain, and the sound of delivery motorcycles rumbled through the air.
There were many volunteers around, some from other areas and some from nearby.
"Hello, has the wildfire not been put out yet?" Jiang Li asked an auntie standing nearby.
The auntie’s face was etched with sorrow as she wiped away tears.
"It was almost out. But then this damned weather... a strong wind suddenly kicked up, and the fire flared right back up."