chapter 22

The surroundings quietened down after the lady stopped struggling and shouting, the few that had been stripped of the ropes* in their pants all went into a daze, not knowing what should be done.

[*tl note: I originally thought what they used were ropes attached to their pants but it seems what she meant was the elastic in the waistband… i’ll still be using ‘ropes’ though]

They’d originally only wanted to clarify what was going on after they’d caught the person, but now that they’d found that this was a lunatic, they’d suddenly lost the direction in which they should head to crack the case.

“Who are all of you?” the lady breaks the silence first.

“We’re here for a holiday,” Old Yang answers, squatting down to help her up into a sitting position, “Who are you?”

“Gao YuFei,” the lady says.

“Gao YuFei?” Old Yang repeats it once.

“Gao YuFang,” the lady says.

“Is it Fang? Gao YuFang?” Old Yang repeats it again.

“Gao YuFen,” the lady says.

“…Which is it exactly?” Old Yang turns to ask the rest of them for help, “This accent is too strong, I can’t understand it.”

“Can you tell which area this accent is from?” Kou Xiao asks as she looks at Huo Ran, “Is it a local villager?”

“It’s a little similar,” Huo Ran gives it a careful analysis, “But I can’t be sure, when I went to resupply in the past, the villager that sold stuff spoke in Standard Chinese, but I also couldn’t quite understand.”

“If she’s speaking the dialect of the local villagers,” Kou Chen says, “Then… were those villagers from yesterday looking for her, their family’s lu… mental patient that had run away?”

“I’m not a lunatic,” Gao YuFeiFangFen speaks suddenly, and this was said rather clearly: the accent had lightened up a great deal and could be understood.

“Mn?” Huo Ran also squats down with some delight, “Can you tell me which village you’re from?”

“I got lost,” Gao YuFeiFangFen furrows her brows, an expression that made her seemed like she’d suffered some injustice on her face, “I got lost, the roads are all the same, not easy to recognise.”

“Which village? Which village is your house in?” Huo Ran asks once again.

Gao YuFeiFangFen looks at him and only speaks half a day later: “Tang Jia Ao.”

“Tang Jia Ao?” Huo Ran stands up, “That’s where I originally wanted to go to eat free-range chicken, but because I’m bringing you guys along this time I hadn’t planned on going.”

“Didn’t you say that it was super far away?” Kou Chen asks, “How did she walk this far?”

“Look at her feet,” Kou Xiao says softly from the side.

The group of them collectively start looking at Gao YuFeiFangFen’s feet.

It was bare, all swelled up, bruised and wounded.

“That…” Kou Xiao furrows her brows, “I have a spare pair of shoes, let her wear them maybe, they’re in the bag, Old Yang please get them.”

“Bag…” Old Yang was momentarily stunned, turning to run back the way they’d come with his waistband clutched in his hand, “They’re still on the road.”

“I’ll help you undo the ropes now,” Kou Chen points at the ropes on Gao YuFeiFangFen’s feet, “Don’t hit people okay.”

“Hit baddies,” Gao YuFeiFangFen says, “Don’t hit good people.”

Kou Chen undoes the ropes, getting up and handing Huo Ran’s to him, speaking quietly: “Even if she’s not considered a lunatic, she’s a fool isn’t she?”

“Mn,” Huo Ran retrieves a safety pin from the zipper of one of his pants’ pockets, swiftly threading the rope back in, “Now what do we do?”

“Fuck, you even prepared this?” Kou Chen looks at him.

“I have one hung onto every zipper, who knows when these would come in handy,” Huo Ran retrieves two more, giving one to Kou Chen and handing the other to Kou Xiao.

“I don’t want one,” Kou Xiao stuffs her rope into Kou Chen’s pocket, lowering her voice, “I’ll just change to another pair of pants in a bit, this rope’s already been on her legs…”

Kou Chen’s voice gets even softer midway: “How long has she not showered? Smells to death.”

YOU’LL ALSO LIKE

Spoiled 宠坏 by _pankechi

Spoiled 宠坏

3.4K

145

Spoiled 宠坏 Author：睡芒 (sleeping man) Translator : jin Han Yun was spoiled from childhood. He survived past his emperor dad and crown prince elder brother, and became an…

SAYE [Run Freely] by saehan01

SAYE [Run Freely]

158K

9.5K

Title: 《撒野》SAYE Author: 巫哲 Wu Zhe Chapter: 145 + 5 extras Status: Complete Main: 蔣丞 Jiang Cheng – 顧飛Gu Fei Secondary characters: It doesn’t matter, you guys won’t rememb…

Girl Under Construction by jesswesleybooks

Paid Stories Badge

Paid Story

Girl Under Construction

331K

17.1K

After getting fired from her job, Sammy decides to let loose and attend a wedding with her best friend, but things go awry when she makes a fool of herself in front of N…

Those Days of Saving The School Heartthrob (拯救校草的那些日子) EN Translate by shiraaichan

Those Days of Saving The School Heartthrob (…

55.3K

2K

MTL editing attempt for 拯救校草的那些日子 I saw someone upload the MTL previously and i like the story , figure i can help make sense of the content, if some other translator de…

Jin Se – Priest [English Fan Translation BL Novel] by wangxianbot

Jin Se – Priest [English Fan Translation BL…

14.7K

474

[From Author] A cliché yao(*)-human love story with xianxia background … Fine, it’s just a yao vs human love story. Sanctimonious shou x Obstinate gong. (*) yao: a typ…

through the strait gates(过门/Guomen)//work by priest(CN)//BL by bleachedfish

through the strait gates(过门/Guomen)//work by…

29.7K

1.1K

Translated work//all rights belong to the author//If you are the original author and you wish for this to be taken down, please message me right away. Author: Priest, su…

古董下山 (ENGLISH: Old Fogey Goes Down The Mountain) by MaybeCabbage

古董下山 (ENGLISH: Old Fogey Goes Down The Mount…

29.7K

1.2K

We are fan translators! Please be nice in comments for the community 🙂 Original Author: 缘何故 Yuán hégù In the great and mighty and advanced 21st century, an old fogey w…

Old Yang returns holding onto Kou Xiao’s shoes, and was also holding onto a pair of socks. Huo Ran gives them a glance; the shoes were Arc’teryx.

“About the same, she should be able to wear them,” Kou Xiao carefully measures the shoes against Gao YuFeiFangFen’s feet, “Do you know how to wear socks and shoes? Can you wear them yourself?”

“Can!” Gao YuFeiFangFen nods with all her might, grabbing the socks and shoes, then starts to vigorously and earnestly put the socks and shoes on.

“Slow down, don’t reopen the wound,” Kou Xiao stands up after she’d spoken, exhaling a long breath, and even uses her hand to fan in front of her nose, “Oh my god, she’s too pitiful.”

“You don’t want that pair of Arc’teryx anymore either?” Huo Ran asks.

“I’ll give it to her, how could I still wear them,” Kou Xiao sighs.

Huo Ran sticks his thumb up at her.

“What do we do with this Big Sister now?” Kou Chen looks at Gao YuFeiFangFen, “Bring her along?”

The few were all rather hesitant, lowering their heads to look at Big Sister Gao who had put the shoes on and was currently admiring them; if she were simply a fool or lunatic that had gotten lost, then any method of handling would be alright, the fastest would be to go straight to the nearby village to look for a phone and call the police.

But if it wasn’t as simple as an ordinary case of getting lost… then if they brought Big Sister Gao to a place with villagers to call the police, there would be danger.

But if they didn’t go a place with villagers and used their own phones to call the police, then it would only be when they reached Old XiKou that they’d have signal. Without considering whether Big Sister Gao would leave with them, with her in this condition, even if she followed them, they didn’t know how long it would take for them to reach Old XiKou and furthermore, they needed to resupply in between.

The most important thing was, if they bumped into a villager of any sort, they would all possibly be in danger.

“Big Sister,” Old Yang starts to inquire with patience yet again, “Your family, your dad, your mom, your siblings, are they all at Tang Jia Ao?”

Big Sister Gao glances at him, and her expression suddenly becomes a little sorrowful: “Not around, just myself.”

The enunciation of this statement was incredibly muffled, they pretty much had to guess what she’d said.

“Then where are they?” Old Yang continues asking.

“Don’t know,” Big Sister Gao was a little perplexed, and only after a moment does she add: “I don’t remember anymore.”

“Don’t remember anymore?” Kou Chen was baffled.

“My brain isn’t good,” Big Sister Gao smiles with some embarrassment, using a hand to rub at her face, “I’m a fool, a fever burned my brain.”

“Then did you marry into Tang Jia Ao?” Kou Xiao asks.

“Ah?” Big Sister Gao looks at her with a blank face, “You’re a good person, very good.”

“I’m a beauty,” Kou Xiao says, “I’m asking, did you marry someone from Tang Jia Ao? Marry? Your husband is from Tang Jia Ao? Your man?”

“… Husband? Yes!” Big Sister Gao nods her head, then thinks for a bit before suddenly retreating a number of steps, a little frantic, “No no no… Cannot say ‘no’, will hit!”

“Someone hits you, is it?” Old Yang asks.

“Old Tang hits!” Big Sister Gao says, “He hits! He hits with an iron bar! I run out then get dragged back in to get hit!”

“Why do they hit you?”

“Defective goods*!” Big Sister Gao suddenly starts to scold, “Spent money on buying a fool! Can’t even work! Can’t even feed the chickens well…”

[*tl note: would more accurately be something like ‘a product that was a loss of money’]

Huo Ran could tell this time: the accent that Big Sister Gao was imitating was likely the one used by villagers in this area.

Yet this answer was probably the one they’d wanted to hear least, because not only did it prove that Big Sister Gao was a woman that had been sold here and had a miserable history, it also hinted at the difficulties and dangers they were about to face.

“Get back onto the road first, the bags are still on the roadside,” Old Yang says.

The group of them all turn at once, walking in the direction they’d come, and after they’d taken a few steps, Old Yang lowers his voice: “This is too dangerous… XiaoHuo, have you ever come across something like this?”

“No,” Huo Ran answers quietly, “When I came out before it was always by myself, in a situation like the one earlier, I definitely wouldn’t have chased my way over.”

“Fuck, I shouldn’t have chased,” Kou Chen was a little depressed, “Now I’ve gotten us into this kind of trouble.”

“You can’t say it like that,” Kou Xiao says, “It’s normal for you to want to know exactly what’s going on.”

“What do we do now,” Kou Chen turns back for a glance, “She’s following right behind us!”

Not only was she following behind, with this one look back at her, Big Sister Gao seemed to have gotten a fright, running up to them in a few steps and grabbing Old Yang’s shirt.

“Maybe in a while she won’t follow us anymore,” Huo Ran says, “We’ll call the cops when we reach Old XiKou.”

“Can we call the cops even without signal?” Kou Xiao says.

“When I came out with a few other veterans in the past I’ve tried it before,” Huo Ran says, “It didn’t work… we can only go forward if we want to call the cops now, going back to the village next to Bai Mao Po is already too far, a trip to and fro would be enough for us to get to Old XiKou, and if that group of villagers turn back, we’ll bump right into them.”

Returning to the roadside, their bags were still left next to a rock.

Huo Ran shoulders his backpack: “Let’s move forward, if she wants to follow then just… follow.”

“Does she know that we’re walking towards the place she escaped from?” Kou Chen asks.

“Probably doesn’t know, didn’t she say that she’d gotten lost,” Huo Ran sighs, “We were supposed to set up camp up ahead to eat a little something, but right now it’s best we don’t stop, if you guys don’t feel tired yet then we should keep walking first. Let’s eat as we walk.”

“Not tired,” Kou Xiao says, “I feel like munching on dry instant noodles, do we still have instant noodles?”

“Instant noodles, bread, all available,” Old Yang says.

The group took the dry rations out of their bags and divided them, Big Sister Gao was still clutching Old Yang’s clothes, and even when they handed her bread, she still didn’t let go.

It took about two seconds for the piece of bread to disappear into her mouth.

“You’re a magician aren’t you?” Kou Chen was stunned.

Big Sister Gao giggles for a moment, reaching a hand out to take the bread in his hand away and makes it disappear as well.

“Fuck,” Kou Chen watches her, only turning away after half a day, “Alright then you can have it all, you seem like you’ve been starving for days.”

The group each ate one piece of bread and gave the rest to Big Sister Gao, this way they didn’t need to eat as they walked anymore.

When they set off again, Big Sister Gao was no longer clutching onto Old Yang’s clothes because Old Yang now had his backpack on, so she changed to grasping onto the rope on the bag. It was probably because she’d always been living in the mountains, however, that although she had wounds on her feet, her walking speed was not slow and she could keep up with their pace.

It was just that the expression on Old Yang’s face made him seem like someone that had nothing left to tie him to this world.

“Big Sister, how long has it been since you left Tang Jia Ao?” he asks.

“A year,” Big Sister answers very quickly, “I ran out yesterday.”

“…Forget it pretend I never asked,” Old Yang sighs.

“To the village for re-supplementation,” Kou Chen was walking at the head of the group with Huo Ran, holding his phone out and testing for signal, “How long do we have to walk for? We can call the cops when we get there, right?”

“Don’t need to get there, that village and Old XiKou…” Huo Ran had spoken midway when Big Sister Gao starts singing behind him.

It was the one they’d heard the night before, of an erratic tune, they couldn’t even tell if this was a Shan Ge* or a song of another sort.

[*tl note: translates to ‘mountain song’]

“Don’t sing,” Kou Chen says, “What if someone hears…”

It was as though Big Sister Gao hadn’t heard him, continuing to sing, and although the pitch wasn’t stable, her vocal chords were really not bad: if it weren’t for the woods and mud slopes on both sides, if she put a little more power into this voice it could be transmitted directly to the family that had bought her in Tang Jia Ao.

“Don’t sing!” Huo Ran roars, “If Old Tang hears he’ll come over to hit you!”

Big Sister Gao seemed to have gotten a fright, the singing voice instantly disappearing, and after two seconds, she lowers her head and starts to talk.

What she was saying couldn’t be heard clearly nor understood, she was just going off about something, but at least the volume had gone down.

The group continue moving forward, at this moment they weren’t in the mood to appreciate the joys of trekking, it was only Kou Xiao who still lifted her phone up to take a few pictures of the scenery every now and then.

Big Sister Gao just followed behind them while blathering on, occasionally even singing a few lines quietly.

“Say,” Kou Chen sighs, “What we’re doing, that is, bringing her along, going to report to the police and what not, is it right or not, exactly?”

“If it were just me by myself, I definitely wouldn’t care,” Huo Ran says, “It’s too dangerous, but now that there are four of us, I feel that maybe we can manage.”

“Courage boosted?” Kou Chen grins.

“Maybe, it’s just like how people who are witnessing injustice always hope for someone to step up and help, but as long as one person steps up, usually everyone can launch a group attack,” Huo Ran says, “Need a sense of security probably.”

“Bravery is needed for doing bad things, and is also needed for doing good things,” Kou Chen says.

“Mn, I’ll admit it,” Huo Ran says, “I’m the kind of person that needs my courage boosted for doing anything.”

Kou Chen starts laughing, placing his arm onto his shoulder and turning to look at him: “I just love it when you’re this honest.”

“Is that so, can’t tell though?” Huo Ran says, “Someone whose bluffs the solar system almost isn’t able to contain saying he likes honesty.”

“Get lost okay,” Kou Chen glares at him.

“If I were to get lost right now, the three of you plus that Gao YuFei, Gao YuFang and Gao YuFen,” Huo Ran says, “Will immediately be finished.”

“Gao what…” Kou Chen was stupefied for almost two whole seconds before he gets it, hanging off his shoulder and laughing so hard he couldn’t stop, “Fuck, we have three, four five six people, such a big group, the crap would we be afraid about.”

Huo Ran ignores him.

“Why are you this cute,” Kou Chen asks.

“You’re the number one cutie in the universe,” Huo Ran gives him a look, “Is that how you want me to cooperate?”

“No!” Kou Chen lowers his voice to shout quietly, “I just wanted to express it a bit, come.”

“Come what?” Huo Ran alertly dodges to the side.

“Let Ge give you a kiss,” Kou Chen pulls his arm in and Huo Ran along with it, puckering his lips and moving closer.

“You’ve been poisoned haven’t you!” Huo Ran pushes his face away in terror, “In broad daylight…”

There was something not quite right with what he’d just said out loud, and just as Huo Ran thought to correct himself, Kou Chen had already swiftly caught onto it: “Okay, we’ll leave it for tonight then.”

“You and Gao YuFei, Gao YuFang and Gao YuFen are from the same family aren’t you?” Huo Ran starts laughing, “Seriously fucking ill.”

“I really gotta hand it to you, do you not bite your tongue when you say all that out?” Kou Chen asks.

“I…” Huo Ran had yet to finish speaking, when Big Sister Gao suddenly lets a short scream out from behind them. He and Kou Chen both turn their heads back at the same time with a start, “Wha…”

Big Sister was no longer behind Old Yang, and had already shot into the woods on the side like an arrow. Being able to shoot off at this speed with wounds on her feet… Arc’teryx shoes really are good.

The next second, Huo Ran sees that a few villagers were running over from the winding road behind.

Rods, ropes.

These were the ones they’d bumped into at the campsite yesterday.

Huo Ran instantly felt cold from his head down to his feet; he pushes Kou Chen’s arm off his shoulder, speaking calmly: “Run.”

“What?” Kou Xiao was stunned.

“Run!” Huo Ran grabs Kou Xiao’s wrist, pulling her along and starting to run, “Run run run run!”

Old Yang and Kou Chen immediately come to their senses, also starting off in a run.

The villagers behind them started shouting, but their voices mixed together and what they were shouting couldn’t be heard clearly. When Kou Chen turns his head back, he only sees that they’d split into two teams, with three heading towards the woods that Big Sister Gao had run into and the other three starting on a chase after them.

“How many!” Huo Ran shouts his question.

“Three!” Kou Chen answers loudly, “They have rods!”

Huo Ran retrieves his baton backhandedly as he runs: “Yang-ge do you have anything!”

“I have a knife,” Old Yang answers.

“Wait till they get closer,” Huo Ran says.

Although Kou Xiao hadn’t been a burden the whole journey, she was a girl after all; her running speed was not fast, and even if they didn’t have Kou Xiao, the group of them trying to shake these villagers who had grown up in the mountains off while running on a mountain road that was full of mud and rocky potholes would be impossible in terms of both speed and physical capabilities.

“There’s a ditch up ahead!” Huo Ran shouts, “Jie, you go into it!”

“Okay!” Kou Xiao’s hair was all over her face from the running, but her voice was still very loud.

“They’re coming!” Kou Chen says.

“One, two,” Huo Ran gives the baton in his hand a flick, and after seeing Kou Xiao scramble to jump into the ditch, he shouts, “Three!”

The three of them turn simultaneously, and in the face of the villagers who were already only a few steps away from them, they pounced.