Chapter 151: I See Qingshan

Miss Jun's eyes slowly opened.

The first thing she saw was the high and clear sky of early autumn in the north, followed by three faces.

They were three unfamiliar faces, about the same age as the two men who kidnapped her. When they met Miss Jun's eyes, they also squeezed out a slight smile.

This smile was somewhat shy and restrained but seemed to convey their hospitality, just like simple farmers.

Miss Jun no longer wanted to ask who they were, so she lowered her gaze.

The men seemed a bit nervous.

"Miss Jun, don't worry, we'll be there soon," one of the men hastily said.

However, this was not the kind of comfort needed at that moment.

"Miss Jun has been lying down for a long time, she might be uncomfortable, perhaps sit up," another man hurriedly said.

Miss Jun's eyes lifted again to look at them.

Seeing her react, the man who suggested it immediately rubbed his hands with pleasure.

"Quick, quick..." he said, and without stepping forward to help, he looked around, "Third Dog."

Called by that name, a somewhat childish voice reluctantly responded.

"I'm grown up too," he said.

Miss Jun found it somewhat amusing.

Were they being cautious about the separation of genders?

Is that interesting?

Could it be that she walked here by herself?

"Miss Jun, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures," the man said as he rubbed his hands, although it made sense, he still appeared somewhat anxious, as if these were not the words he wanted to say.

A farmer indeed could not come up with such words unless taught by someone else.

Miss Jun decided not to delve into these matters for the time being.

After the man finished speaking, he shouted towards the side a few times, and the teenage boy among the three kidnappers reluctantly came over and helped Miss Jun to sit up.

Although there was grass under her, lying down all night was still very uncomfortable. Miss Jun exhaled, moved her stiff body, and at the same time scanned her surroundings.

This was a mountain road, but the terrain ahead seemed flat and was accompanied by the scent of soil, livestock, and cooking smoke.

This really seemed like a village.

"Miss Jun, are you seated comfortably?" the man said as he pushed the cart, with other men following around.

They didn't seem worried at all about Miss Jun running away.

Miss Jun remained silent.

This was probably because they were confident.

However, her quietness, without even a single question or complaint, didn't they find it odd?

Perhaps they didn't care?

Who would care about the cries of a trapped beast in a cage.

"...Was the journey smooth?"

"Of course."

"It's all common tricks."

Miss Jun listened to their low conversation.

Common tricks, what does that refer to?

Guards outside the tent? Hidden weapons inside?

For a thief, guards are common, but hidden weapons inside the tent are probably not so common.

That was something her master taught her.

"When it comes to this Array and Hidden Weapon, if I claim to be the second best, no one would dare claim the first," he would proudly say.

Common... tricks?

The men's conversation continued.

"...has Iron Leg's family's piglet been born yet?"

"...I sold Old Fish Head's dried vegetables, found a big buyer..."

They genuinely started talking about the life of farmers.

The master said if you want to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself, if you want others to believe you are a farmer, then you must truly think you are a farmer.

Miss Jun looked at these people, seeing their faces clearly for the first time.

There were seven men in total, the youngest around eleven or twelve, the oldest over forty, dressed in coarse hemp robes with rough, weather-beaten faces bearing the marks of their toil.

All of them had a local accent.

Seeing her looking over, several of them stopped talking and looked back at her.

"Miss Jun, what do you need?" the older man hurriedly asked.

Miss Jun did not speak and turned her gaze away.

The men did not ask further, and the older man gestured for everyone to continue moving forward.

The cart was pushed around a foothill, and Miss Jun's view suddenly opened up—a flat expanse with scattered houses, children playing and running around, the morning light of autumn bright and peaceful.

Who are they...?

Miss Jun said to herself again, this is too eerie.

Her gaze shifted forward, and suddenly her whole body went numb, freezing in place.

She saw a mountain.

A mountain.

This was a mountain village, with the village lying against a mountain.

This is, this is...

"This is a mountain,"

The man beside her noticed her odd behavior and heard her muttering, responding with confusion.

Could it be that Miss Jun has never seen a mountain? Why does she seem as though she's been struck by lightning?

"I've said before that we are all mountain people; we hunt, we farm..." another man added.

Miss Jun felt so stiff that she thought she might break.

"This mountain is..." her voice was hoarse as she spoke.

Facing the question of where she was, the men exchanged glances, their expressions not tense but relaxed and comfortable.

What's there to fear? Even if she knew what mountain this was, what could she possibly do about it?

"This mountain is..." a man said amiably.

He hadn't finished his sentence when Miss Jun spoke first.

"Zhangqing Mountain," she said, looking at the mountain in front of her.

The man was stunned, and the others were slightly surprised.

"Miss Jun knew already?" the man said. "Is our Zhangqing Mountain that famous?"

Zhangqing Mountain.

Zhangqing Mountain.

It was indeed a false name.

Indeed, everything was false.

Miss Jun looked at the mountain, and suddenly, tears flowed down from her eyes.

"Zhangqing Mountain," she repeated, "Zhangqing Mountain."

The few men were startled.

"What's wrong with Zhangqing Mountain?" they asked in unison.

What's wrong with Zhangqing Mountain?

She finally saw Zhangqing Mountain, but Zhang Qingshan was dead!

Miss Jun covered her face and broke into heavy sobbing.

The few men were so frightened that they took a step back, looking at each other.

"I didn't say anything, did I?" one man said, visibly anxious.

A boy nearby twisted his mouth.

"Women just love to cry," he remarked, making an expression that seemed both understanding and profound.

Unfortunately, the next moment, he was slapped on the head.

"Go away," the older man scolded, lowering his voice and looking at the others, "She must have been holding back her emotions until now, finally breaking down."

That's right, this girl's behavior during the journey was indeed exceptionally unusual.

"Anyway, a person who could develop a vaccination is certainly extraordinary," another man commented, "Nothing surprising there."

This explained why they thought Miss Jun's reaction was only to be expected.

That just made no sense at all now.

The few men looked bewildered, some rubbing their hands and others scratching their heads.

"Anyway, women just love to cry, who knows why they cry," the older man finally said with a slap on his thigh.

"Uncle Kui, that's what I said," Doggie said.

The older man scowled at him and raised his hand, and Doggie had already swiftly dodged away.

"Uncle!" he shouted, waving towards the road ahead.

Everyone looked and saw many people coming from the village, obviously having seen their return.

The few men hurried over to greet them.

"Village chief," they called out to the man at the front.

The man called the village chief was a man in his forties, his gaze landing on Miss Jun.

"What happened?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Who knows, she suddenly started crying," the men said in unison.

How could they not know, anyone would cry if they were kidnapped, the village chief shook his head.

"You guys really don't know how to comfort a child," he said. "You must have scared her."

The men looked aggrieved and wanted to explain, but the village chief had already bypassed them and stood in front of Miss Jun.

"Miss Jun," he said gently and quietly, "don't be afraid, we are not bad people."

Miss Jun stopped crying, put down her sleeve, and looked over.

Indeed, she stopped crying, and everyone around her breathed a sigh of relief.

Miss Jun looked at the man in front of her, her teary eyes suddenly widening.

She recognized him.

Although he looked much older than the soldier depicted on the Military Formation Map she remembered, for someone with her photographic memory, it was easy to recognize him.

Him!

He also appeared!

"You, you..." she mumbled, moving her lips, and before she could speak, she closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and burst into even more intense crying than before.

The people around were taken aback.

The village chief stood awkwardly, while some unobservant heads peeked over.

"Village chief, you scared her."