Chapter 630 - 628: Midnight Sounds
Chapter 630: Chapter 628: Midnight Sounds
Su Qing sat on a tree branch, watching the three men not far away. She had clearly overheard the plot Wu Qiao Ping and the three men hatched that day. They had decided to make their move tonight, and she was actually looking forward to it.
At this moment, the three men had no idea that their whereabouts and plan were already completely known to Su Qing. They were still laughing and discussing how they would live it up with the money they’d get from selling Su Qing and the other girls.
After talking for a while, the third brother said, "Big Brother, after we deal with these women, how are we supposed to find the Golden Eagle? We can’t just drag them along while we search, can we?"
The Golden Eagle!
Su Qing raised an eyebrow. ’So these guys are connected to the Golden Eagle?’ She thought of the injury on the eagle’s wing!
’Could it be? Was the Golden Eagle’s injury caused by them?’
She then heard the man they called Big Brother reply, "It’s fine, we still have time. We’ll deal with these women first, then come back and look for the Golden Eagle. It’s not like the buyers gave us a deadline. It seems to be a long-term offer."
"Ah, that’s good then." The third brother breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he added resentfully, "That Golden Eagle Second Brother injured... who knows if it just ran off or if someone picked it up. We’ve been busting our asses for days and haven’t seen another one. It’s so damn infuriating when you think about it."
"Maybe there just aren’t many Golden Eagles around here," the big brother said. "After we finish tonight’s business, we’ll switch locations and look somewhere else. We’re bound to find one eventually."
"Yeah, I guess that’s our only option." The third brother sighed, still looking sullen.
Su Qing hid quietly in the tree, listening to them talk. When they said nothing more, she returned to the campsite. Before she went back, she pulled the small wild boar out of her dimensional space. It would be more than enough to feed the ten of them.
When everyone saw Su Qing return carrying a small wild boar, the camp erupted in excitement. The boar looked to be sixty or seventy pounds, which meant there would be about thirty pounds of meat even after gutting it and removing the head and hooves.
One of the male students said happily, "I’ve never had wild boar in my entire life. Wow, I finally get to try something new today!"
Cao Zhengming also smiled. "Su Qing, you’re just incredible. You’ve really done so much for us on this trip into the mountains."
Su Qing smiled. "It’s nothing. It’s a rare chance to be in the mountains, so we have to eat some of the local game. Otherwise, the trip would be a waste."
Bai Qingyuan laughed. "That’s right. Su Qing is right. Since we’ve come to the mountains, we can’t miss out on the wild game."
After speaking, Bai Qingyuan added to Su Qing, "But in any case, you’ve worked hard this time. When we get back, I’ll give you some of our Bai Family’s specially formulated Vitality pills. They’re very good for one’s health. You can take them back for your grandparents."
Su Qing smiled. "Then I’ll have to thank you, Uncle Bai."
As they spoke, some of the boys had already enthusiastically carried the wild boar away to be prepared. When the Golden Eagle saw Su Qing return, it excitedly straightened up in Bai Minyun’s arms, wanting to leap into Su Qing’s embrace.
Beaming, Su Qing took the Golden Eagle into her arms, tapped its beak, and said, "Have you been good?"
Bai Minyun laughed. "It was very well-behaved. It stayed in my arms the whole time. Wu Wei and the others wanted to hold it, but it wouldn’t let them."
Nearby, Zhao Ying, who was setting up the roasting rack, also chimed in with a smile, "Speaking of which, this Golden Eagle really knows its people. You told it to stay with Minyun, and it just stayed there obediently without trying to go anywhere. It’s been incredibly good. Su Qing, you’re amazing. Even a wild Golden Eagle listens to you like this."
That day, Zhao Ying had tried to reason with Wu Qiao Ping, but after being rudely dismissed, she had started ignoring her. Instead, she had grown quite close to Su Qing and Bai Minyun.
Su Qing just smiled and said, "Maybe I just have an affinity for small animals. Animals have always seemed to like me, ever since I was a kid."
"That’s so great. I’m so jealous," Zhao Ying replied with a smile.
Not far away, Wu Qiao Ping, who was weaving grass cages, secretly glanced over at Su Qing’s group. Seeing the three of them talking and laughing, she cursed them hatefully in her heart. But then, thinking of her plan for that night, the corners of her mouth curved up in a pleased smirk. ’Since the three of them want to isolate me, they can just suffer together. Serves them right!’
Wu Qiao Ping did feel a slight twinge of regret that the powder she had prepared would likely go to waste. But when she thought about Su Qing’s probable fate, her mood instantly improved.
After dinner that evening, Wu Qiao Ping finished weaving the ten grass cages. She placed the prepared herbs inside them, handed one to each person, and said with a smile, "With these, we’ll all be able to get a good night’s sleep."
Both Cao Zhengming and Bai Qingyuan smiled. "Thank you for your hard work, Classmate Wu."
Wu Qiao Ping put on a slightly embarrassed look. "It’s nothing. I just happen to know how to weave grass cages, so it wasn’t any trouble. It’s just a little something I whipped up. I’m just glad you two teachers don’t mind them."
Bai Qingyuan examined the grass cage in his hand and nodded. "Classmate Wu, your herb mixture is quite good. You must have put in a lot of hard work in your daily studies."
Wu Qiao Ping smiled. "Thank you for the praise, Mr. Bai. I’ll continue to work hard."
Seeing her second uncle praise Wu Qiao Ping, Bai Minyun felt a surge of displeasure. She felt like tossing the grass cage in her hand aside and muttered under her breath, "Always showing off."
Su Qing stopped her. "Keep it. We wouldn’t want to waste Classmate Wu’s ’good intentions.’"
Bai Minyun looked at the cage in her hand and tried to identify the herbs inside. Her heart felt unsettled. She whispered to Su Qing, "Su Qing, the herbs in this cage don’t look like there’s anything wrong with them, but... why do I have this feeling that something is off?"
Su Qing just smiled. ’Of course the sleep-inducing herbs in the cage are normal. They were given to everyone, and besides myself, everyone here has studied traditional Chinese medicine. Bai Qingyuan, in particular, is a prodigy of the Bai Family. If Wu Qiao Ping dared to tamper with the herbs in the cages, she’d be giving herself away. From the beginning, Wu Qiao Ping never intended to use the herbs to do anything. Her real plan was something else entirely. Tonight, she and another boy named An Zhijiang were on night watch together.’
"Don’t worry, I’m here," Su Qing said softly.
Bai Minyun’s eyes widened at her words. She whispered to Su Qing, "Su Qing, is something going to happen?"
"No," Su Qing said calmly. "I can take down a wild boar. With me here, what do you think could possibly happen?"
"That’s true." Thinking of the delicious roasted boar they had for dinner, Bai Minyun chuckled. "Su Qing, I’m counting on you out here in these mountains. Let me taste all the delicacies this place has to offer!"
Su Qing laughed and gave Bai Minyun a light shove. "You wish."
Night fell quickly. Aside from Wu Qiao Ping and An Zhijiang, who were on watch, everyone else gradually drifted off to sleep. Su Qing’s group was still resting in the cave she had found. As the night deepened, a faint noise was suddenly heard from outside the cave entrance.