Deep in the Mountains, Enemies Meet Again

Vast mountains stretched on and on, an endless sea of forest.

Beneath the azure sky, two figures walked through the dark green pine woods.

Lian Youming wore a Type 65 white shirt with green army trousers, a brown belt around his waist, and a pair of Liberation shoes.

Qin Yuhu had given him the entire outfit. There was no helping it. His physique had changed so much lately that the clothes he had brought were all a size too small. His strength had also increased tremendously, and he was forever splitting a seam under an arm or bursting the back of a shirt. He could live with those things; what worried him was his crotch splitting open in a crowd.

As for Yan Lingyun beside him, one word summed her up: beautiful.

She had been a little too thin before, and she was tall. Standing there, pretty as she was and with her distinctive bearing, she had looked like a bamboo pole overall. Things were better now. With Lian Youming feeding her, she had filled out considerably, and her complexion had improved a great deal too. Her skin was snowy white, her cheeks peach-pink, and even her face had gained some flesh.

Lian Youming walked in front, his gaze steady and intent as he constantly scanned their surroundings. He had come fully prepared for this trip, with a slingshot tucked at his waist, a homemade gun in his hand, several coils of hemp rope over his shoulder, and a cloth bag slung across his body containing water and a few emergency provisions.

Besides that, he had specially acquired a thick-backed cattle-slaughtering knife three or four feet long, with a black body, a gleaming edge, and a handle shaped like a dog's leg. Wrapped in animal hide, it hung diagonally across his back.

The depths of the Greater Khingan Mountains were extremely dangerous. The farther in one went, the more fierce beasts appeared, and the easier it was to get lost. Everywhere one looked was endless virgin forest, lush and green, with vegetation towering overhead. Eventually, even the paths disappeared, leaving only scattered signs by which to judge direction. A moment's carelessness might mean going in and never coming out.

Yan Lingyun walked behind him, her long black hair tied in a single braid. Dressed in a shirt and cloth trousers, she carried a small shoulder bag and held her hand-drawn map, looking entirely at ease.

After all, Lian Youming was carrying everything.

Yet as she walked, her eyes kept stealing glances ahead, toward that broad, powerfully built back.

She was not the only one who stole looks at that back. Whenever work ended, which of the bolder female educated youths could resist taking an extra look?

He was simply outrageously strong and well-built, as though he had inexhaustible strength when he worked. On top of that, he had a good temperament, cheerful and optimistic, never complaining or crying fatigue, hardworking and dependable. Most importantly, he was handsome too...

Before she knew it, he was practically everyone's coveted prize.

In those days, although people's thinking was still conservative, these educated youths were caught up in the tide of intellectual liberation. With the additional influence of literary works and films, some young people had all but cast aside traditional views on love, becoming bold and passionate.

Yan Lingyun snorted inwardly. Just a few days ago, she had seen Lian Youming helping a female educated youth carry things. He really had more strength than he knew what to do with.

"Hmph!"

Somehow, as she thought about it, she actually snorted aloud.

His nerves taut, Lian Youming was walking along on full alert when the sudden sound behind him made him jump. He turned to find nothing wrong with Yan Lingyun and immediately said irritably, "What are you snorting about in broad daylight?"

"I'm fine."

Her gaze darted away, and she hurriedly looked aside, thoroughly guilty. A pink flush climbed from her neck to her cheeks in an instant, then reddened even her ears.

Lian Youming raised his eyebrows. "Who asked whether you were fine? Tell me which way to go."

Only then did Yan Lingyun hastily consult her crookedly drawn map. She looked left and right, then pointed at a pile of stones. "Straight ahead."

Lian Youming moved closer to her again. "Stay close. Leopards and lynxes come and go without a sound, fast and vicious. Stray too far and one might carry you off without me even knowing."

Instead, Yan Lingyun took a medicine bottle from her shoulder bag. "This is medicinal powder I made with tiger bone. Sprinkle some on yourself too. It keeps wild animals away."

Lian Youming rolled his eyes. "You could've brought that out sooner."

By the time they had stopped along the way to eat something and replenish their strength, the sun had slipped westward without their noticing.

Glancing at the sky, Lian Youming quickened his pace. The forest grew denser the farther they went, but the trouble was that Yan Lingyun actually began to lose her bearings as they walked.

After all, when she had come last year, winter snow had covered much of the terrain. Now, with towering vegetation and dense undergrowth, the place looked utterly transformed.

Fortunately, Lian Youming had been hacking marks along the way, so they would not get lost.

Besides, for the sake of that wild ginseng with eight-grade leaves, they had not ruled out spending the night in the mountains.

The two briefly discussed it, then explored a little farther into the depths.

The logging camp from which Yan Lingyun had previously entered the mountains was in a place called Pinecone Ridge. Lian Youming had hurried there before dawn to meet her, and then they had headed into the mountains together, entering the Greater Khingan Mountains.

Perhaps they had reached high ground. Looking through the dense forest, Lian Youming saw the vast sky and broad clouds ahead, with range upon range of mountains rising and falling beneath his feet. It was as though the land for ten thousand miles lay within his gaze, and for a moment his heart surged like a tide.

Meanwhile, Yan Lingyun compared the surrounding landscape with her hand-drawn map. Only when she spotted a birch grove in the distance did delight appear on her face, and she called Lian Youming over.

The two hurried on once more.

The moment they entered the grove, even the sunlight overhead seemed to dim. Birch trees, thick and thin, stood straight and tall, filling almost their entire view and screening out the sun.

Flowers bloomed red amid green grass, and birdsong rang ceaselessly through the grove.

Treading on the soft earth, Lian Youming followed Yan Lingyun farther in.

They walked for another half hour and more.

Suddenly, however, Lian Youming stopped in his tracks, staring fixedly into the grass not far away.

A doe lay there, its eyes wide open, long dead.

Deep in the Greater Khingan Mountains, beasts roamed, the strong devoured the weak, and the fittest survived. That was nothing unusual.

What truly changed Lian Youming's expression was that the doe had no wounds anywhere else, yet a fist-sized bloody hole gaped in its chest, exposing splintered bone and an empty cavity. It looked as though someone had torn open its chest and belly with a formidable claw technique and plucked out its heart.

Not only that, its neck was broken too.

Almost instantly, the manner of the doe's death replayed in Lian Youming's mind. Someone must have snapped its neck with a kick, then seized the chance to pluck out its heart as it flipped through the air.

The moment the thought stirred, he moved Yan Lingyun behind him and began scanning their surroundings warily.

An extraordinary expert was actually hiding deep in these mountains.

He just did not know whether that person was still here or had already left.

After a brief moment's thought and a glance at the sky, Lian Youming still decided to press on for the sake of that ginseng with eight-grade leaves.

The farther they walked, the lower the sun sank on the horizon.

When they finally reached the edge of the birch grove, delight suddenly appeared on Yan Lingyun's face. Her almond-shaped eyes widened, and she pointed into the distance, opening her mouth to speak.

But as she turned her head, Lian Youming clapped a hand over her mouth.

The two hastily dropped flat. Following Yan Lingyun's gaze, he saw an old dead tree in the distance.

Who knew how many years that dead tree had grown? It was so thick that four or five people would have had to join arms to encircle it, and it had snapped halfway up. Its trunk was black and rotten, covered in flowers and grass, making it look green all over from a distance.

But Lian Youming was not looking at the dead tree. He was looking at a small stream nearby.

Beside the stream, three figures with filthy faces and disheveled hair were squatting or sitting by the water. They wore rags, and two skinned deer legs lay beside them. Each was eating raw venison and drinking deer blood. The scene was particularly bloody.

What truly made Lian Youming's expression turn grave, however, was that two of the three had Han Chinese faces, while the remaining one was actually a Russian.

Yan Lingyun saw them too and hurriedly held her breath.

Lying in the grass, Lian Youming frowned slightly, deeply surprised, while also pondering where these people had come from.

Looking again at their tattered clothes, they did not seem to be any domestic standard issue. The men looked like savages, their long, filthy hair almost matted into felt and their beards tangled into clumps. They were truly disgustingly dirty.

Then he heard their jabbering. They were speaking Russian. Lian Youming's heart gave a jolt. Could all three have crossed over from the Russian side?

If that were true, they were formidable indeed.

There were sentries in watchtowers by the river as well as soldiers patrolling day and night. Besides that, they would have had to swim across the river. How could ordinary people manage such a thing?

No. I can't act rashly.

Lian Youming remained prone, shielding Yan Lingyun as he quietly watched the three drink water. He planned to wait until they left, harvest the wild ginseng first, then head down to get help.

But just as Lian Youming was preparing to withdraw for the time being, he faintly heard someone over there curse, "Damn it, if it weren't for that brat, I wouldn't be suffering like this..."

"Hm?"

Lian Youming gave an inward murmur of surprise. That voice actually sounded somewhat familiar. Thinking it over more carefully, his expression immediately turned odd.

"Third Brother Xie?"

(End of chapter)