Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Your Life Will Be on the Line

Ling Zhiwei nodded. As he turned over, he glanced at the ground by the doorway and noticed a fresh set of footprints leading out of the courtyard.

He mentally noted the interval between patrols and saw a half-collapsed mound of earth in a corner of the courtyard wall.

’If I can get around that, maybe I can avoid the guards.’

Plus, Shanshan could understand what small animals were saying.

A casual question revealed which nearby paths were easy to take and where the patrols were stationed—she learned everything.

When no one was looking, she tossed some bread crumbs out through a crack in the window, attracting a few sparrows.

As they chirped and squabbled over the food, she quietly questioned them.

An old crow landed on the eaves and told her in a raspy voice.

Deep in the woods to the west was a small path leading out of the mountains, but two men with a dog would patrol it in the evening.

Although no one guarded the riverbank to the north, the current was too swift for anyone to cross.

Shanshan silently committed this to memory, a plan already forming in her mind.

During their meal, when no one was in the room, Shanshan moved closer to Ling Zhiwei and whispered her plan.

Halfway through, she glanced back at the doorway to make sure no one was approaching.

She traced a rough map on his palm with her finger.

She warned him not to make any rash moves when she made her move to lure the guards away.

She had thought everything was ready and all they had to do was wait for their chance to slip away, but to her surprise, Ling Zhiwei shook his head.

After shaking his head, he looked down at his leg, his brow furrowed into a knot.

The sound of footsteps outside approached from a distance. He raised his eyes and glanced at Shanshan.

"Shanshan, you should go on your own. I’ll stay here and hold them off."

After he spoke, he didn’t look up, instead staring at the small patch of ground before his feet.

"Fourth Brother, what are you saying? You don’t think I can get you out of here?"

Shanshan immediately shot back in a hushed, incredulous tone.

Ling Zhiwei quickly waved his hand, then sighed and pointed to his injured leg.

"I can barely even walk right now, let alone run. It’s impossible. If I’m with you, I’ll only slow you down. It’s better for me to stay and buy you some time so you can make a clean getaway."

Only then did Shanshan notice his leg. It was swollen like a giant steamed bun.

When she pressed it lightly with a fingernail, an indentation formed that took a long time to bounce back.

"Why didn’t you say something sooner?!"

"Would it have helped? We’re in the middle of nowhere. What could I do? It’s enough that I’m not causing you more trouble."

Ling Zhiwei gave a bitter smile, pulled his hand from hers, and slowly tugged a ragged strip of cloth from his waist to cover the wound.

Hearing movement outside again, he immediately sat up straight, pretending nothing was wrong.

He spoke with a casual air, as if he didn’t care at all.

In reality, every breath sent a jolt of pain through his injured leg.

He knew this was no time to act tough, but he didn’t want to distract Shanshan.

Shanshan looked at him, feeling both anxious and angry.

’If I’d known his injury was this bad, I would’ve made my move to escape yesterday.’

The scene from last night kept replaying in her mind. If she had been more decisive then, even if it meant dragging him, she would have taken him with her. Maybe they wouldn’t be in this predicament now.

"Aren’t you afraid that if we wait any longer, you’ll lose your leg? It won’t just be a matter of a limp then."

The color drained from Ling Zhiwei’s face.

"Don’t scare me... I felt it. The bone isn’t broken, it’s just a flesh wound... It should be fine, right?"

He tried to wiggle his toes forcefully as he spoke.

But the slightest large movement sent a sharp pain shooting up his nerves, making his vision go black.

Seeing Shanshan’s silence and her tightly set face, his heart leaped into his throat.

He reached out to grab Shanshan’s hand but stopped mid-air, not daring to complete the motion.

"Little sister... you’re not just trying to scare me, are you? It’s not really that serious, is it?"

But Shanshan didn’t try to soothe him. With a stern face, she said, "If it gets infected, you won’t just lose your leg, you’ll lose your life."

She knelt and lifted the cloth to examine the wound again.

Hearing this, cold sweat immediately started trickling down Ling Zhiwei’s forehead.

"Then... then can it be saved? Can it still be treated?"

"Don’t be afraid. You’ll be okay."

Shanshan knew in her heart that they couldn’t delay any longer.

With every minute that passed, her Fourth Brother’s condition grew more perilous.

The most urgent thing right now was to find help.

Without support, she couldn’t do anything on her own.

Even if those people didn’t kill her Fourth Brother, his wound would go untreated for too long, and the infection would spread rapidly.

Blood loss, fever, necrosis... any of these could take his life.

The two of them quickly discussed a few details.

That evening, after a hasty meal, she took advantage of the darkness to sneak out.

Along the way, she kept her body low, moving along the base of the walls.

Whenever she saw the silhouette of a patrol, she immediately crouched down and hid. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She remained undetected until bedtime.

Once she was clear of that place, Shanshan broke into a dead run, no longer needing to hide.

She could finally stretch her legs and charge forward.

The small animals provided cover for her in secret.

She successfully avoided several dangerous spots.

Following the path pointed out by the little creatures, she ran straight toward a more populated area.

Shanshan followed the markers along the way, not daring to deviate in the slightest.

Unexpectedly, halfway there, she ran right into Ling Anxun, who was leading the search and rescue team.

"Dad!"

Recognizing the familiar scent, Shanshan’s eyes lit up. She leaped up and threw herself into the arms of a dark figure.

The surrounding circle of special forces soldiers immediately tensed up.

"Stand down, it’s my daughter."

Ling Anxun immediately spoke to calm his teammates.

Fearing they might hurt Shanshan, he quickly raised his left hand, signaling for them to lower their weapons.

"Shanshan, how did you get back on your own? Did they let you go?"

"No! I escaped. Fourth Brother is still locked up inside. His leg is badly injured, he’s not going to make it! Dad, you have to go save him, quickly!"

Shanshan slid to the ground. The moment her feet touched the earth, she remembered her urgent task.

Without even stopping to catch her breath, she grabbed Ling Anxun’s hand and tried to pull him back the way she came.

"Slow down, slow down. Don’t rush. We can talk as we go."

The team began to advance quickly.

Everyone immediately adjusted their formation, with two members moving up to clear the path.

Two brought up the rear, while the rest spread out on the flanks, maintaining vigilance.

In just a few words, Shanshan explained everything that had happened.

"Anxun, the people in this village are ruthless. They were already wary of outsiders. Now that your daughter has escaped, if they can’t find her, they’ll probably guess she went to get help. To protect themselves, they might just kill your nephew."

"What did you say?"

Ling Anxun’s heart tightened, and his pace faltered for a moment.

Shanshan shuddered violently.

"D-Dad... could Fourth Brother... could he already be..."

She completely panicked, her mind buzzing.

Regret, fear, and guilt flooded her all at once.

’It’s all my fault... I shouldn’t have run off alone. I’m the one who doomed Fourth Brother...’

"No! Little Si will be fine! We’re almost there. We will definitely get him out!"

Ling Anxun gripped his daughter’s hand tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Everyone, pick up the pace! Full speed ahead!"

The only thing they could do now was race against time to get there.

Just as they had anticipated, back in the woodshed where the two had spent the night, someone suddenly pushed the door open to check on them.

Ling Zhiwei, who hadn’t dared to close his eyes, was instantly jolted awake. He sat up and quickly hugged the straw-wrapped bundle to his chest.

"Don’t be scared, little sister. Don’t cry... your big brother is here."

The person outside didn’t respond, instead ramming open the partially closed door and sweeping a flashlight around the room.

"What are you doing? We were sleeping. Can’t this wait until morning?"

Ling Zhiwei tried his best to make his tone sound aggrieved.