20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 645: A glimpse of the leopard through the pipe
The dense forest returned to silence, and there was no other sound except the chirping of insects.

The situation was just as Erma had said. The rebels did not seem to intend to continue searching the mountain, nor did they have the intention to stay there until dawn.

Although Zhao Guoyan was not clear about the reason, he was not surprised.

When he first saw the rebel group, he realized that they just happened to be passing by. A dozen people, armed with live ammunition, lined up in an orderly manner. They must have a mission to accomplish, and they would not easily change their minds because of an accident.

After about half an hour, a low voice was heard in the distance.

Soon, the short-legged strong man shouted "Retreat" and the sound of footsteps began to rustle.

Erma was also very sincere. Before leaving, he even knocked on the tree trunk twice and reminded him softly: "Brother, I am really leaving this time. Wait for me at night. You must wait for me..."

The sound gradually faded away, but Zhao Guoyan did not dare to be careless. He and Hai Chaoshan hid under the tree pit and smoked a few more packs of cigarettes before he dared to move his body a little and carefully poked his head out from between two birch trees. He took a closer look and found that the rebels had indeed withdrawn.

"How about it?"

Zhao Guoyan quickly squatted down and went to check the condition of Haichao Mountain again.

The old hunter was extremely tired. He was so nervous just now that he didn't dare to breathe heavily. Now that he was breathing heavily, his whole body began to tremble slightly.

After a short pause, Hai Chaoshan struggled to sit up, leaned against the edge of the pit, and said in a rough voice: "It's okay, but I'm too tired... What happened to that person just now?"

"I don't know now." Zhao Guoyan shook his head and suddenly looked towards the entrance of the dense forest. "But we can't wait here foolishly. If that guy cheats, it will be difficult for us to deal with him in our current state. How do you feel? Can we walk a little further?"

"Yes, let's go!"

Hai Chaoshan forced himself to stand up, but before he could even stand up, he fell down again.

The old hunter was a little embarrassed, and he took out his anger on the fallen leaves all over his body. Suddenly he pushed them away and said angrily, "These broken things are really in the way. Let's go!"

Zhao Guoyan saw that Hai Chaoshan was strong, so he thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. I'm a little tired too. Let's take a break before we go."

Hai Chaoshan said no more words and sighed dejectedly, looking somewhat unwilling and ashamed.

As the night grew darker, the two men dared not light a fire and gradually felt cold.

Although Laoyeling is not a rainy area, it is sandwiched between Mudanjiang River and Suifenhe River, with a complex water system and crisscrossing river valleys. It is not a big deal during the day, but it is damp and cold at night.

The two men had just been running around and were covered in sweat. Now they were huddled in the dense forest, with no way to warm themselves by a fire. They could only stand still and shiver from time to time.

Zhao Guoyan was guarding behind a birch tree when he suddenly noticed that Haichaoshan's breathing was getting heavier. He couldn't help but feel a little worried, but he had no choice but to leave everything to fate in this desolate mountain area.

Fortunately, the rebels never came back, so the two men rested there for a while.

About three quarters of an hour later, a faint orange light suddenly appeared on the opposite mountain, like a firefly. It must be that the rebels returned to their original place and made a bonfire.

Seeing this, Zhao Guoyan finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat down dejectedly.

Unexpectedly, as soon as my butt touched the ground, I heard a strange sound coming from the depths of the dense forest...

“Coo, coo, coo…coo, coo…”

The sound was very strange, like the croaking of a rooster, but a little deeper; like the croaking of a frog, but less crisp.

Zhao Guoyan's hair stood on end. He held down his pistol and looked back at the dense forest beside him. After carefully identifying it for a while, he gradually realized that it was the old shaozi's unique skill. So he hurriedly pulled out his hatchet and knocked the birch trunk twice with the back of the knife. Suddenly, a "swish" sound came from above his head, startling a flock of black birds.

The knocking sounds could be heard far away in the dense forest, and it felt like a wild animal was moving slowly.

Soon, three figures were seen creeping over. They suddenly stopped and called out tremblingly, "Lao Zhao—Lao Zhao?"

"Here it is—"

Zhao Guoyan responded softly, and three figures not far away immediately became half an inch taller, wading through the grass and hurried over.

When I got closer, I saw that it was indeed Sun Xiangyang and the other three.

The old whistle squatted down and asked: "Old Zhao, what's wrong? I thought you were a little unsophisticated just now!"

"Bullshit, can't you hope for my good?" Zhao Guoyan cursed a few times, then raised his hand and pointed to the mountain opposite, "They went back. The light over there must be the fire they made."

Sun Xiangyang glanced at Hai Chaoshan in the tree pit and asked with a half-smile, "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Hai Chaoshan was still panting, his head drooping, and he said in a competitive tone: "It's okay, it's okay... We're all back, so let's go..."

Old Whistle laughed, and although he didn't seem to have any malicious intent, he couldn't help but tease, "Old Bangcai, you can't do it either!"

Hai Chaoshan said nothing, staring silently at the shotgun in his hand.

Zhao Guoyan held his arm and suddenly found that his sleeves were damp. He turned around and cursed at the two bandits, "That's enough. Everyone will have this day. It's a matter of time."

This is true. In fact, all five of them were exhausted.

Hai Chaoshan wanted to save face, so he insisted, "We can walk, we can walk... Don't rest, the more you rest, the less you want to walk..."

"Why are you still leaving? We've already found the people." Sun Xiangyang smiled and said, "Shaozi and I just checked. The short-legged guy among them is Lao Mang's man. There's no doubt about it."

"Then have you seen Lao Mang himself?" Zhao Guoyan asked hurriedly.

The old whistle shook his head and said, "That's not the case, but it's not surprising. Lao Mang shouldn't have only a dozen people left."

"What should we do now?" Yang Lazi suggested, "Find a chance to capture someone alive and ask them where they set up camp?"

Sun Xiangyang sat down on the grass, fiddling with his rifle, and pouted, "That's easy for you to say. This is in the wilderness, not in the city. With just five of us, there's no chance of catching them alive. It's hard to even follow them, let alone catch them. We have to pick a time when they're alone. I think it's going to be tough."

"If it doesn't work, let's go back and get some help," said the old whistle.

Zhao Guoyan shook his head and said, "As for the chance, it's not that there isn't one, it's just a little strange..."

"What do you mean?" the three asked hurriedly.

So Zhao Guoyan briefly recounted what had just happened.

Speaking of Erma, he still feels that it is too coincidental. After hearing this, Sun Xiangyang and others also became suspicious.

"Could it be that they made an appointment in advance, and then they will take us all down at once when the three of us come over?" Yang Lazi muttered a few words in a low voice.

Sun Xiangyang also said: "It's possible. Anyway, they must know that we are running separately. It's possible that they have set a trap. We don't have enough manpower now, and we are not in good condition-"

"But this is also an opportunity, we can't let it slip away." Zhao Guoyan is the pillar of the Jiang family after all, he immediately interrupted Sun Xiangyang and then said in a deep voice: "If you guys trust me, let me take care of this matter."

The three of them looked at each other. Of course, Yang Lazi was the "Xiangzi" of the Jiang family. When the boss was not around, the second cabinet had the final say.

Sun Xiangyang and Lao Shaozi hesitated for a moment, and thought about what the boss had said before they left. Finally, they agreed and said, "Okay, Lao Zhao, we'll listen to you. It's come to this point anyway. If we go back without knowing the reason, we'll probably get scolded by the boss. Just tell us what you say, and we'll do it."

Zhao Guoyan nodded, then stood up and walked around the two birch trees a few times, occasionally looking up at the sky, sometimes looking left and right at the trees, wondering what he was thinking about.

Haichaoshan remained silent, watching the young man's plan quietly.

After walking around for a while, Zhao Guoyan suddenly stopped and said, "It was too dark in the forest just now. Although Erma found Haichaoshan and me, we were in a tree pit at the time, so he might not be able to see us clearly. Haichaoshan is tired now, so it's not suitable for him to come out. Sun Dayan, you and I wait here for Erma to come over."

Sun Xiangyang nodded and smiled nonchalantly, "No problem, I have to do this. The whistle is not good enough, it's almost useless."

"Bullshit, what's wrong with me, your father?" Old Shaozi cursed back immediately, not because he was dissatisfied with the arrangement, but because the two brothers had the habit of insulting each other.

Zhao Guoyan continued, "Lao Shaozi and Hai Chaoshan, the two of you stand on the left and the right, ten steps away, hide with your rifles, and cover Sun Dayan and me. Remember, when we touch the code later, we will not step over these two trees. If something unexpected happens, we will shoot from the boundary between these two trees."

Although Hai Chaoshan couldn't walk, he still had the strength and accuracy to shoot, so he readily agreed.

"Brother Yan, what about me?" Yang Lazi stepped forward and asked.

Zhao Guoyan raised his head, looked around, and suddenly pointed to a towering tree and said, "You stay on the tree, pick the tallest one. When Erma comes later, you keep a close eye on him. If he comes alone, forget it. But if there is a second person, there is no need to shoot. Just give a squeak and everyone will retreat quickly."

In this way, all the heights, heights, left and right in the dense forest were arranged.

This arrangement may not be very clever, but considering the limited manpower and exhaustion, it can be considered as making the best use of the geographical advantages.

Apart from the fact that the specific ambush location still needed to be discussed, no one had any objection. After hearing this, Hai Chaoshan looked at the plan with a higher opinion and began to prepare for it in full swing.

A few people first set up Haichaoshan, walked to the left side of the two birch trees, found a suitable position, let him lean against it, and scattered some dead branches and leaves on him to cover him, leaving only half of the black muzzle of the gun sticking out.

Then, Old Whistle did the same on the right side of the birch.

Yang Lazi was also very tired. He climbed the tree for a long time. Finally, he climbed up by stepping on the shoulders of Zhao Guoyan and Sun Xiangyang. He found a suitable position from which he could see the open valley in the distance and provide fire support when necessary.

When everything was ready, I noticed the moon setting in the west.

Unexpectedly, a heavy fog suddenly fell in Laoyeling. The already dim vision became even more blurred. Finally, even the fire on the opposite mountain was gradually swallowed up.

Yang Lazi couldn't tell whether the fire on the mountain had gone out or had disappeared.

"Brother Yan, what should we do now?" he asked anxiously in a low voice from the tree.

"Don't talk, just look as far as you can. Your position is the safest if it's safe, and the most dangerous if it's dangerous. Stay still and don't worry about anything else!"

The weather was not good and there was nothing Zhao Guoyan could do.

When things come to a critical moment, it is best not to make any temporary changes. For now, we can only grit our teeth and go against the wind.

Fortunately, as time passed, the sudden mountain fog gradually faded away. The crickets in the grass had been chirping all night, but finally they got tired and stopped making any sound.

The forest was dead silent. Zhao Guoyan stood beside a tree, a Mabao pistol in hand. Sun Xiangyang held his rifle to his chest, staring closely at the movements in the mist.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound of leaves. It was Yang Lazi reporting the news - the visitor had arrived and there was nothing unusual.

Even so, Zhao Guoyan and Sun Xiangyang still secretly turned off the safety on the gun.

Immediately afterwards, I saw the mist in front of me surging.

Faintly, a figure approached quietly.

The shadow seemed to be diluted by the mist and became very faint, as faint as a mandrill ghost.

He held his hands flat, groped his way closer in the mist, then suddenly stopped, took two steps back as if feeling guilty, and then shouted something in a low voice, as light as a breeze.

"Brother, you are still here, it's me, we have an appointment--"

Zhao Guoyan and Sun Xiangyang looked at each other and responded softly: "Waiting for you here, why did you come just now?"

The man was stunned for a moment, his figure slightly bent, and he stammered, "Um... buddy, I'm a coward, don't scare me!"

"If you don't come, I'll leave."

Zhao Guoyan had followed Jiang Lianheng for many years and was already familiar with various negotiation skills. This was an old tactic of playing hard to get but hard to refuse, but in the woods late at night, it seemed a little weird.

"Come on, come on, don't rush me!" The man plucked up his courage and quickly took a few steps forward.

As he spoke, a round head gradually appeared between the two birch trees.

When I took a closer look, I saw that the bald man was not very old, probably around 30 at most, but he had a big beard and his face was full of pits and depressions, so big that even a mosquito could fall into it and couldn't get out.

The two sides met and looked at each other, both looking skeptical.

Before touching the code, Zhao Guoyan had anticipated countless opening remarks, but he never expected that the first sentence this person said would be:

"Brother, big brother, help me, do you have any cigarettes?"

"What do you say?"

"Do you have any cigarettes?" the man repeated, looking anxious.

Zhao Guoyan was careful about his health and never had the habit of smoking. He was stunned by the sudden question and could not help but turn to look at Sun Xiangyang.

Sun Xiangyang was also stunned, then he quickly patted his pockets left and right, fumbled around, and finally took out half a box of wrinkled old knives from his trouser pocket. He knocked out one, but before he could make a move, it was snatched away by the man.

"Where's the fire?" the man asked bitterly, "I've run out of matches, do you have any?"

Sun Xiangyang glanced at Zhao Guoyan and after getting permission, he immediately took out a match. However, the fog was too thick, and he struck three matches before he finally started a fire.

The man was so anxious that he tilted his head and moved forward. He took a deep breath, filled his lungs, and then exhaled again, revealing a look of drunkenness.

Zhao Guoyan watched him smoke quietly, and suddenly understood, so he asked: "How long can you last?"

(End of this chapter)