"Never mind, let's just hide from these two first. We'll figure out how to get back when we go out at night!"
Pingtíng had no idea what to do and followed her sister-in-law's lead.
They buried their heads in their knees. Pingtíng rubbed her nose and sneezed, her voice thick with congestion, "What's that smell in here!"
"Earthy!"
It smelled of everything but anything pleasant!
Zhao Jiaqi patted her shoulder, "Hang in there. Just pretend... you're smelling meat. Think about the roast duck and roast chicken you ate!"
Pingtíng really did recall the delicious food her sister-in-law made. Thinking about it, she no longer found the smell in there so bad.
She licked her lips, "Sister-in-law, if we survive this disaster, will you make roast duck for me again when we get back? I want fried duck bones!"
"Yes, I'll let you eat until you never want to eat it again!"
This silly girl, sitting on bones, wanting to gnaw on duck bones. She was truly something else!
They waited like that. Before an hour had passed, voices could be heard outside.
The two people in the grave put their heads together and peered outside. The wild grass was too tall and dense, so they could only see legs, four of them. It was clearly two people.
A: "Damn it, where did these two women run off to? We've searched everywhere nearby, and there's not even a ghost of a shadow!"
B patted A's shoulder and gestured with his chin, "Don't talk nonsense!"
Seeing B give him a look, he lowered his head and indeed saw a grave. He immediately clasped his hands together, bowed, and recited scriptures!
B couldn't stand this about him. He believed in gods and ghosts, yet ended up being an assassin.
He wondered what state of mind he was in after killing someone!
He said irritably, "Stop reciting scriptures. Let's find them quickly, or we won't be able to report back to the master!"
The two men left. Pingtíng was confused!
"Sister-in-law, what was that man doing? Why was he bowing to us?"
Zhao Jiaqi:.......
This child must be scared silly. If those two knew they were hiding here, they'd be lucky if they weren't killed, let alone bowed to!
"You're overthinking it. That man... he probably saw an immortal... saw an immortal, that's why he bowed!"
Pingtíng didn't feel it was as her sister-in-law said, but she couldn't find any other explanation. She was half-convinced. After the two men in black left, they never reappeared.
Seeing that there was no more movement outside, Zhao Jiaqi poked her head out to observe the surroundings. She didn't see anyone. The sun was already setting.
While there was still daylight, she pulled Pingtíng, "Let's go!"
"Didn't... didn't you say we should run when it gets dark? What if we're discovered now?" Pingtíng hesitated.
"The temperature in the mountains is low at night, and many carnivorous animals come out then. Secondly, it's inconvenient to find a campsite at night!"
While hiding, Zhao Jiaqi had thought for a long time and felt that finding a campsite at night was too dangerous. If they found the right direction, it would be fine, but if they didn't, it would be over. It was better to act while it was still light.
Pingtíng felt her sister-in-law made sense. The two of them walked west for a while, then north for a bit, following their memory. They had walked for an hour and still saw no one.
"It's strange, how big is this forest? Where are the hunters? I'm lost, won't Fan Lao Er look for me?"
Pingtíng became angrier as she spoke, tugging at the tall wild grass and venting her frustration.
"If they knew our situation, they'd be more anxious than us. What's the point of saying so much? Conserve your energy and keep walking!"
In the dense forest, Zhao Jiaqi couldn't distinguish east from west. She wasn't good at geography in school. If she had known it would be useful one day, she would have definitely studied harder.
As the two were discussing which way to go, the men in black appeared not far away again. Zhao Jiaqi and Pingtíng quickly crouched down, not caring where they went, as long as they could escape the assassins, it would be a success.
As the two moved, the wild grass swayed with them. The assassins spotted them, and the two women ran, pursued by the men through the dense forest.
"Pingtíng, running like this won't work. We're too visible. You run to the left, I'll run to the right. We'll meet back at the place we hid at noon."
As she spoke, she pulled off Pingtíng's outer garment, put it on herself, straightened up, and started running with her short legs, using all her might.
Pingtíng was about to speak, but seeing her sister-in-law had already run several meters ahead, she could only run in the opposite direction.
She didn't know how far or how long she ran, until Zhao Jiaqi was out of breath and could only stop.
Seeing this, she couldn't help but curse!
Her luck was too bad, she had run to the edge of a cliff.
The two men in black also stopped and slowly approached her. "You're quite good at running, aren't you? Keep running, why aren't you running anymore?"
She wished she could run, but there was no path, and no wings on her back!
She couldn't run, she couldn't fly!
So, she decided to stop struggling pointlessly. She was exhausted and wouldn't survive anyway.
"Since I'm in this situation, can you tell me who wants me dead? So I can at least die with some understanding. Otherwise, as a vengeful spirit, I won't let either of you go!"
"No comment!"
Zhao Jiaqi saw this wouldn't work, so she tried to entice them with money and official positions.
"If you let me go, you can have any amount of silver or official posts you want. I guarantee I'll satisfy you! You know, my husband dotes on me. Whatever you want, he'll agree to!"
The masked man A chuckled, "Everyone in Yun Kingdom knows that the Zhenguo Princess has the trading city, a place that makes fortunes daily. She has plenty of silver and gold. Unfortunately, we want none of that. Blame your husband, if you must blame someone."
After saying this, he struck Zhao Jiaqi's chest with his palm. In a daze, she fell off the cliff.
Meanwhile, the campsite had descended into chaos.
The princess and the princess consort were missing. These two were the most important people in all of Yun Kingdom.
The Zhenguo King's doting on his consort was well-known. Now that the consort was gone, no one could bear his wrath.
That day, he ordered Xiao Ce to lead elite soldiers to search the forest meticulously and thoroughly within the shortest possible time.
Fan Xudong, with red eyes, entered the mountain with his elder brother and Xiao Ce. Twenty thousand soldiers formed a line, their torches illuminating half the sky, searching and shouting.
Late in the night, they woke up a groggy Pingtíng. Listening carefully, she heard them calling her name and her sister-in-law's. Tears of excitement streamed down her face.
She emerged from her hiding place and shouted towards the light, "I'm here! I'm here!"
The forest responded. Fan Zehao immediately rushed towards the sound and saw Pingtíng. There was no sign of anyone else around. He hurried forward and asked, "Where's my wife? Where is she?"