Chapter 1711
Obtained Without Any Effort
Wang An naturally couldn't say that he felt something was wrong as soon as he woke up, mainly because no one would believe him even if he said it out loud.
However, in later generations, Wang An's behavior would have a very reasonable description: "sixth sense".
So, Wang An thought for a moment and said:
"Yesterday, that kid said they were out to buy food and supplies. I think if the four of them didn't manage to get the food out, they'll definitely have to send more people out. If they manage to trap us in the tent, we're doomed."
After a pause, Wang An continued:
"Besides, the place smells so strongly of blood. What if it attracts a pack of wolves or a pack of red dogs and hurts our horses?"
Mu Xueli smacked her lips, about to ask again, when she heard Wang An say impatiently:
"The sooner we leave, the easier it will be. Anyway, that old embankment is no longer of any use. Let's hurry up and get to the next old embankment. Once we've waded through all the remaining 12 old embankments, we can get down the mountain and go home quickly. It's so boring to just wander around in these mountains every day."
After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li said to Mu Xueli:
"Yeah, you talk too much. Just listen to your fourth brother and that's it. All you do is ask questions. Why do you have so many problems?"
Mu Xueli was taken aback upon hearing this, and with her eyes wide open, she retorted to Wang Li:
"Hey, how dare you say that? You were the one who started this whole thing, how come it's become me meddling?"
Wang Li said with an air of self-righteousness:
"That's definitely because you're being nosy. Fourth Brother already explained what happened, and you're still asking. You're not even as nice as a woman."
Mu Xueli naturally wouldn't back down, and immediately said:
"You keep going on and on, you're just an old woman."
Wang Li: "."
Mu Xueli: "."
And so, the two of them started bickering again.
Wang An and Huang Zhong listened as if they were listening to a crosstalk performance; their journey was quite serious and interesting.
The next old village wasn't too far from here, only about 30 li away. Wang An and his three companions arrived at their destination around 9 a.m.
When Wang An pulled out a deerskin map and compared it with the hill in front of them, Wang Li belatedly asked:
"Fourth Brother, are we not going to look for that gold mine anymore?"
Wang An shook his head and said:
"Let's find a secluded spot to set up the tent first. We need a place to stay, after all. Besides, this old village is right here. If we don't find the gold mine right here, we'll just have to wade through this old village. I don't think anyone will come here anymore."
The deeper you go into the mountains, the fewer people there are, and the lower the probability of encountering strangers. Of course, the cruelest side of human nature will also be magnified infinitely.
Therefore, digging for ginseng in these deep mountains is not so bad if you don't find a large one, but even if you do find one, you still have to bear a very big risk.
After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li nodded and said nothing more.
Soon, Wang An and his three companions determined the approximate location of the old village, but instead of immediately setting up their sticks, they wandered around the area around the old village.
After searching for more than an hour, Wang An and his three companions finally found a perfect spot to pitch their tents on the other side of a dense forest.
This place is a meadow on a hillside, and the meadow is about 30 acres in size.
Most importantly, this meadow is surrounded by dense forest, and normal people would never choose to travel through dense forest when hiking mountain trails.
Therefore, the likelihood of this place being discovered is reduced.
As Wang An and his three companions were busy setting up the tent, they heard two muffled thuds in the distance, sounding like thunder. Wang Li looked up at the sky, his face full of surprise, and said:
"Holy crap? Why is it thundering on such a sunny day? The sky doesn't look like it's going to rain at all."
After Wang Li finished speaking, everyone looked up at the sky. However, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was blue with white clouds, so no one paid much attention and continued with their own business.
But then, one muffled rumble of thunder after another rang out again.
Wang An's heart skipped a beat, and he frowned as he said:
"This isn't right. This isn't thunder; it's the sound of artillery shells exploding."
After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli also said with a serious expression:
"Yes, that's right. That's the sound we heard before the mortar bomb exploded in that forbidden area."
After a pause, Mu Xueli asked with great confusion:
"Is someone starting a fight or what? Are they going to use cannons for this? Holy crap, this looks like a pretty big deal."
Wang Li interjected:
"Maybe someone planted a bomb to blow something up?"
Wang An shook his head and said:
"Impossible. One after another, how many explosives would that take? Besides, what's there to blast in these mountains? That's the sound of a mortar."
These four people were truly puzzled.
Using guns to fight was already quite impressive, but now they've even started using cannons.
The four continued setting up the tent when Huang Zhong suddenly said thoughtfully:
"Brother, do you think that cannon fire came from the gold mine that bandit mentioned yesterday?"
After Huang Zhong finished speaking, Wang An, Mu Xueli, and Wang Li were all stunned.
After a long while, Wang An slapped his thigh and said:
"Yeah, is that place in trouble again? Let's not even talk about how big that gold mine is, but there must be a bunch of people fighting over it. Damn, Xiao Zhong, you're really sharp."
Wang Li chuckled and replied:
"What was that line from TV again? I think it was something like, 'You can search high and low without finding it, but then it comes to you effortlessly,' hahaha. Yes, that's it."
"We've been searching high and low, and now we've found it! We don't even need to look for that gold mine anymore; the sound of artillery shells has attracted us. Hahaha, how lucky we are!"
It was clear that Wang Li was genuinely happy at that moment.
Ignoring Wang Li's lament, Wang An hurriedly said:
"Quick, quick, set up the tent quickly, then we'll go join the fun. Damn, maybe they'll fight like dogs and we'll be the ones who benefit, hahaha."
Wang An felt that things must be like this, because normally, it would be quite difficult to meet a stranger in these mountains. Even if the two groups had a conflict, they would fight to the death as soon as possible, and then go about their business.
But now, things have escalated to the point where both sides are even using heavy weaponry like mortars. This clearly indicates that what these two groups are fighting over must be extremely important, or rather, very valuable. (End of Chapter)