Qiqika saw the man run away inexplicably, while the woman climbed up the tree, fiddled with something for a while, and then walked towards her.
His gaze fell upon the woman's two long, slender legs, but at that moment, he couldn't muster any evil thoughts, for he was already at his limit.
His eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and his face was as purple as a pig's liver. He felt a throbbing and dizzy head, and it felt like something was crawling out of his ears.
He initially thought this charming woman from the Northern Hemisphere had come to rescue him, but to his surprise, she suddenly stopped in front of him.
She squatted down and fiddled with it for a while, then stood up and didn't move.
Qiqika looked up and saw the dangerous pit in the ground, with sharp wooden spikes pointing right at his face. He could imagine what would happen if he fell in. If he died, that would be fine, but he was afraid of being stabbed through the guts and not dying, and then howling in the pit for two days before finally dying.
So, just like someone with a fear of heights being suddenly pushed to the edge of a cliff, he was so frightened that he trembled all over and burst into tears.
Su Huilan wasn't unwilling to save him; she was simply thinking about how.
Saving Qiqika first was out of the question; that would make them targets for the three wooden arrows. While they might not be fatal with proper precautions, being hit would still be troublesome, not to mention they had to be careful of the pits under their feet.
Deactivating the traps on the tree won't work either; Qiqika will fall into the pit and get impaled. Although this person has no relation to Su Huilan, she was the one who forced him to come find Petru, and she still owes him two hundred dollars. Should she burn the money for him later?
After much thought, Su Huilan realized that she could only rely on her physical strength to pull the rope and lower Qiqika down little by little.
She returned to the tree, holding onto the rope attached to Qiqika with one hand, and used the other to untie the knot on the mechanism.
The two intersecting branches snapped back with a whoosh, making the whole tree tremble and causing leaves to fall in a rustling sound.
Su Huilan felt a tightness in her hand, and a tremendous force straightened her arm. From the other side came Qiqika's heart-wrenching sobs.
She looked back and saw that half of Qiqika's body had fallen into the pit.
Su Huilan pulled the rope, lifting him up a little so his head was sticking out of the pit, and shouted, "Swing to both sides, swing as high as you can!"
Whether it was because Qiqika didn't understand her or because he was too terrified, he just kept screaming for help without moving an inch.
Helpless, Su Huilan could only tie the rope to the tree, then climb down, walk to the edge of Qiqika's pit, pick up a long stick, and whack Qiqika's waist with it, sending Qiqika swinging away.
After a few more thrusts, Su Huilan could reach him. She then pushed him, making him swing more and more, while shouting, "Put your waist in, swing harder, and I'll put you down when you're outside the pit!"
This time, Qiqika seemed to understand, and she swayed her waist and swung vigorously, but this only made her head spin even more.
Seeing that it was about time, Su Huilan returned to the tree, seized the opportunity, and pulled the knot open.
Just as Qiqika swung to a high point, the rope loosened, and he fell to the ground outside the pit with a thud due to inertia.
Whether he was incredibly unlucky or incredibly lucky, there just happened to be a bear trap there, but it didn't catch his hands or feet; instead, it caught his buttocks.
Su Huilan went over and helped him turn over to take a look. His pants were torn, but fortunately his buttocks were flat and fleshy, so the bone wasn't caught.
Qiqika was probably still in shock from the earlier ordeal, and the dizziness caused by the rush of blood to his head had dulled his nerves, so he didn't feel any pain until Su Huilan helped him remove the animal trap, at which point he grimaced and screamed in agony.
"Oh my god, I'm bleeding! So much blood! Oh my god! Is two hundred dollars enough for a band-aid?!"
Su Huilan shook her head, thinking to herself that this guy really was a money-grubber; even at a time like this, he was still thinking about her two hundred US dollars. She turned around and rummaged through her suitcase, pulling out some US dollars, and said, "Take this money to treat your injuries."
Qiqika's eyes, which had been bloodshot and swollen, immediately brightened, and her injuries seemed to have stopped hurting as much.
"This... is that much?" he said a little embarrassedly, but his hand took the money without any hesitation and started counting it quickly.
Su Huilan said, "Your injury isn't serious, but it's prone to infection if left untreated. You should go back quickly and get some medicine to disinfect it, and it would be best to get a tetanus shot."
"Didn't you say you wanted to see Petru..." Qiqika hadn't forgotten her mission, but she immediately realized that the woman in front of her was already planning to let her go, and had even given her more money than previously agreed. "Okay, okay, I understand. Thank you, rich lady, thank you, miss!"
He quickly stuffed the money into his shirt pocket and ran away.
"Wait a minute!" Su Huilan called out.
Qiqika was startled, stopped in her tracks, rubbed her sore bottom, and turned back to look at Su Huilan with a pained expression.
"Remember, don't tell anyone what just happened. If you dare to utter a word—" Su Huilan warned, "I'll tell Petru that you encouraged us to come and cause him trouble."
Qiqika was so frightened that Kuton knelt down on the ground. "No, sister, I promise I won't tell anyone."
Qingmu on the hillside slowly made its way towards the Tapu Stone Pile, while Crow circled overhead, looking from afar like a black eagle searching for food.
Although there seemed to be no danger, and the gunman didn't fire again, whether he was suppressed by Qingmu or for some other reason, Su Huilan wasn't sure if Qingmu had the upper hand. After all, the other party had a gun, and might have other weapons as well, and also had the advantage of terrain.
However, she didn't dare to rush in rashly, unsure if joining in would mess things up.
She carefully moved sideways, intending to avoid the gunman's line of sight and climb the hillside from the side. Once she got close enough, she could use her Mental Power to influence him and help Qingmu.
As Su Huilan passed the bloodstained animal trap that had caught Qiqika and which she had thrown away, she remembered that the orange cat Hanran, was still perched on the suitcase. There were many such traps in the woods, and it would be troublesome if Hanran ran around and got caught in one.
She looked back and saw that the suitcase lid was half open because she had given change to Qiqika, but the orange cat that had been sitting on the suitcase, Hanran, was nowhere to be seen.
Su Huilan was startled and rushed back to check. She found the half-open box lid moving slightly. When she opened it, she saw Hanran munching on a bag of potato chips, with crumbs scattered all over the box.
Hanran looked up and saw Su Huilan. He grinned, revealing a cute but funny expression, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth and food stuck between them, while his two front paws clung tightly to the potato chips.
Su Huilan shook her head helplessly, grabbed Hanran by the neck and lifted him up, saying, "Your master and the Crow are fighting at the front, and you still have the appetite to eat!"
Hanran seemed a little embarrassed, threw away the potato chips, leaned on Su Huilan's shoulder, and looked up at the hillside.
Crow circled high above, while Qingmu stood motionless on the hillside like a statue. Not far ahead of him were piles of rocks that the locals called Tapu.