Chapter 1778
Not flustered at all
After dealing with the human and two horse carcasses, Mu Xueli looked in the direction the three ruffled horses had run off in and asked Wang An:
"Brother-in-law, we don't know where those three horses have gone. Should we go look for them?"
Wang An paused for two seconds before speaking:
"I'm not looking anymore. This mountain is so big, where am I supposed to look? Whatever."
Wang An was also quite worried about the three horses that had disappeared to who-knows-where.
However, what Wang An was worried about was not the safety of the three horses, but that if they were not dead, the bullet holes in their bodies would be discovered.
As the saying goes, an old horse knows the way. If their gunshot wounds don't kill them and they run back to the horse farm where they were kept, or back to the group of people, then the group will determine from the gunshot wounds on the horses that their comrades have been shot dead.
This would make it highly likely that the group would send out more people to investigate the cause of their comrade's death.
But if things develop to this point, then Wang An and his three companions will be in danger.
That's why, after Wang An and his three companions killed the two men, they didn't kill the two horses as well.
If the horse is still alive and well, but the rider is nowhere to be found, there are several possibilities. But if the horse returns with a bullet hole in its body, but the rider is gone, everyone would immediately assume that the rider was shot.
Unfortunately, just as Wang An said, the mountain was so big that there was no way to find a horse.
Moreover, once a horse that has already started running has its mane standing on end, it will only stop when it is tired and can no longer run. But by then, the horse will have already run a long way.
After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli added with considerable concern:
"That's true, where the hell are we going to find them? I'm not worried about the three horses getting lost, I'm just afraid they'll wander around in the mountains and then run back."
Although Wang An was also worried, he remained very calm and said:
"Don't worry, it's alright. By this time tomorrow, we won't even know how far we've gone. They won't be able to find us even if they want to."
Mu Xueli nodded and said nothing more.
Wang An and his companions waited a while longer, and when they saw the horses raise their heads from the grass, indicating that they had eaten their fill, they tied the supplies to the horses' backs and continued on their journey.
Perhaps those people hadn't reacted yet, or perhaps the three horses hadn't run back, and those people didn't know that the five people who returned were all dead. In any case, Wang An and his three companions left very quietly and smoothly that afternoon, and nothing happened.
Most importantly, Wang An and his three companions took a detour, so they did not encounter any more gold prospectors.
That evening, Wang An and his three companions ate fresh roasted horse meat and stewed horse meat.
And you know what? Because these two horses have small teeth, meaning they're still young, their meat is actually quite tender. It cooks very easily when stewed, and it's not dry at all. It tastes much better than dried venison.
The only frustrating thing was that Wang An and his three companions could not carry too much, so they only took four horse legs. Most of the horse meat was thrown into the dark, muddy swamp to be used as fertilizer, which was a real waste.
But there's nothing we can do about it.
After the meal, Wang An and the other three men dug three pits with shovels, shoveled some burnt firewood into the pits, threw the remaining three horse legs into the pits, and finally covered the horse legs with charcoal embers.
Although the temperature is very low at night in the mountains during this season, the daytime temperature is still very high.
Since they couldn't finish the delicious horse meat, and Wang An and his companions didn't want it to spoil, they simply grilled it over charcoal and coated it with wood ash as a simple treatment. After processing the horse meat, they prepared the pot for the next day's meal before finally crawling into their tents to sleep.
The night passed in the blink of an eye, and Wang An and the other three slept quite well that night.
At four o'clock in the morning, Wang An and his three companions once again skipped their martial arts practice, packed up their tents and supplies, and continued their journey on horseback.
There have been too many troubles these past two days, not to mention a lot of messy things. Wang An and his companions, who just wanted to get home quickly and travel in peace, really didn't want to encounter any more trouble.
Therefore, setting off early to avoid trouble became a consensus among Wang An and the other three.
On the way, Wang Li said thoughtfully:
"Fourth Brother, at this rate, how many more days do you think it will take us to get home?"
By this time, Wang An was also a bit confused. Although he hadn't gotten lost, he couldn't estimate the distance anymore.
The main problem is that the correct route for Wang An and his group is to go northeast, but they are currently taking a detour to the northwest. By the time they finish this detour, they will have already taken countless wrong turns.
So, Wang An pondered for a moment and said:
"Well, I think if I walk for another two days, I'll be home by now."
Mu Xueli sighed beside her, saying with a hint of helplessness:
"Well, as long as we don't run into any trouble, it's actually quite good to just walk safely like this."
After Mu Xueli finished speaking, Huang Zhong, looking exhausted, said:
"Yeah, I think walking a little more is fine, as long as we don't run into those lousy donkeys and horses."
As soon as Huang Zhong finished speaking, Xiao Bai and Xiao Hei, who had been following Wang An, suddenly started barking very aggressively. Then, the two dogs quickly ran in front of the horse and continued barking wildly.
The barking of the dog instantly made Wang An and his three companions' expressions turn serious. They immediately stopped their horses, jumped off, and disappeared into the woods on either side.
Riding on horseback, you're a sitting duck.
Therefore, abandoning the horse and everything on its back, and finding cover to hide in time, was what Wang An and his companions needed to do.
After all, anything is possible as long as a person is alive. If a person dies, what use are all the treasures on a horse, no matter how many or how valuable they are?
Wang An had already instructed Mu Xueli and the other two on this matter.
Therefore, although Wang An and his three companions dismounted quickly, they did so in a steady and orderly manner, without any panic.
Wang An and Huang Zhong ran to the right side of the road, while Mu Xueli and Wang Li ran to the left side.
While running, Wang An and the other three took the Type 56 assault rifles off their shoulders, casually pushed on the magazines, pulled the bolts, and chambered the bullets.
Soon, Wang An and the other three found cover, but they all hid behind big trees.
There was no other way; the four of them were in a red pine forest, and they had nowhere else to hide but behind the trees.
Not long after Wang An and his companions hid, the reason for Xiao Bai and Xiao Hei's restless barking became clear! (End of Chapter)