Chapter 75: Xiao Wu’s Account

When I woke up, the first thing I heard was the noisy chatter of some older folks nearby. They were speaking in dialect, and I couldn’t understand a single word.

The bed beneath me was soft, and I wanted to stay curled up a bit longer. But sunlight streaming through the window stabbed at my eyes, making it nearly impossible to keep them open. I squinted and struggled to sit up, only to see Xiao Wu cheerfully pulling open the curtains. He dragged over a metal stool and sat down beside my bed.

Still groggy and confused, I watched as Xiao Wu peeled two pears and said, “Young Master, you’re finally awake. If you’d stayed out any longer, you might’ve missed seeing the boss again.”

That one sentence jolted my brain awake. I shot upright in bed, only to bang the back of my head on the metal frame. The pain made me want to curse out loud.

Just then, a nurse came in to check on me. She walked over and adjusted my IV, then said, “You better take it easy. Your head’s wrapped in four or five layers of gauze. I’ve never seen someone like you—trying to shoot a pheasant and ending up in the hospital. And even here, you can’t sit still.”

I rubbed the back of my head while Xiao Wu chuckled beside me. “You’re absolutely right. My little brother’s always been a handful. Sorry for all the trouble he’s caused.”

Once the nurse left, I finally started to piece things together. So we’d made it out of Shennongjia. I quickly turned to Xiao Wu, who was now slicing a pear and handing me a piece.

I asked, “What happened? Weren’t you with me when we fell into the water?”

Before I could finish, Xiao Wu hurriedly gestured for me to stop. That’s when I realized we were in a shared hospital room. The other two beds were occupied by an elderly couple chatting away with their family. I shut my mouth immediately as Xiao Wu stood and pulled the curtain around my bed.

After drawing the curtain, he sat back down and handed me the fruit knife. I took it and started gnawing on the pear, which was nearly the size of half my face.

Xiao Wu leaned in, speaking in a low voice. “Young Master, after you pushed me up out of the water, Young Master Lu saved me. I don’t know how he got to the River Channel, but he pulled me ashore and then went back to get you. He told me he’d found a way to get both of us out. I was badly injured, and you were still unconscious, so I agreed.”

What happened next was simple. The cave Lu A’yao had come through was narrow—he could only carry one person at a time. Since Xiao Wu had gunshot wounds and multiple fractures, Lu A’yao decided to take him up first and then come back for me.

After getting Xiao Wu out, Lu A’yao went back into the cave. But Xiao Wu waited at the camp for three days and never saw him return. Then he remembered the radio frequency Lu A’yao had mentioned before leaving. He used the camp’s radio to tune into that channel.

I asked if he heard anything on that frequency. Xiao Wu said no. The channel was strange—it didn’t broadcast anything, just occasional bursts of static.

He didn’t dare rest. With a broken leg, he couldn’t crawl back into the cave either. All he could do was clutch the radio and wait. After about half an hour, he vaguely saw a team of explorers emerge from deeper in the jungle. Without saying a word, they knocked him out and brought him to the county hospital.

Xiao Wu stayed in the hospital for less than four days. He’d planned to head back in once he recovered, even if it meant dying in there, just to find my body. But to his surprise, I was brought in too. What shocked him even more was that Fourth Brother had come with me.

Xiao Wu’s memory was crystal clear. Thanks to his account, we now had a basic explanation for why Lu A’yao had appeared at the Bronze Pillar. Xiao Wu said he had been walking upstream along the River Channel when he heard gunshots and happened to rescue us.

But that raises questions.

Heading upstream doesn’t really make sense for someone exploring a cave. That’s why I suspect Lu A’yao had already been to the Bronze Pillar area and had been exploring it for some time. Maybe he ran out of supplies and had to go back up to restock.

Xiao Wu said the rope Lu A’yao used was badly worn, and it took a lot of effort to haul him up. That detail indirectly supports my theory.

Lu A’yao told me he went back to Nanjing, but there’s a good chance he never did. He probably came straight to Shennongjia and was working with others. Otherwise, why would he leave that strange radio frequency for Xiao Wu to use in an emergency?

He just didn’t expect me to show up too, so he had to make up some flimsy excuse on the spot.

Before I could ask more, the door to the hospital room opened. Fourth Brother walked in, carrying a stainless steel food container shaped like a bucket. He yanked the curtain open, shot a glare at Xiao Wu, and then placed the container on the bedside table with a sour expression.

“I just spoke to the doctor. You’re healing up fine. In two days, I’ll get you discharged and buy you a ticket home. Stay put and stop poking around. Your mom couldn’t reach you and called me, worried sick,” Fourth Brother said in a low, firm voice as he began opening the food container layer by layer.

I wasn’t having it. I’d finally found him and had a million questions. Now he was trying to rush me out?

I immediately asked, “Where’s Hou Jinshan? I still have questions for him.”

“I already told you, stop digging. Swallow those questions. You won’t be able to ask him anything,” Fourth Brother said without looking up, stuffing the bottom layer of plain porridge into my arms.

“Why not?” I said. “Fourth Brother, you can’t do this. I’m not a kid anymore. I deserve to know what’s going on. Why are you all acting so nervous?”

His hand, which had been reaching for the next dish, froze. The metal container clanged loudly as it slammed onto the bedside table. The air in the room instantly turned icy. Even the old lady next door lowered her voice on the phone without realizing it.

Chen Si’s expression darkened as he looked at me. In a voice only I could hear, he said, “Hou Jinshan is dead. You won’t be getting any answers from him.”

I was stunned.

Hou Jinshan… is dead?

Fourth Brother instinctively reached into his pocket for a cigarette, but maybe he remembered he was in a hospital room. He switched and shoved his hand into his jacket pocket instead. He motioned to me and said, “Eat first. We’ll talk after this IV finishes.”

I was still trying to process it. A guy like Hou Jinshan wouldn’t die so easily. Or maybe… maybe Fourth Brother was just saying that to throw me off.

You can’t go head-to-head with someone like Fourth Brother. I realized then that I needed to change tactics. I’d been too aggressive before, too blunt with my questions. It came off like I was interrogating him. That clatter of the lunchbox earlier had already been a warning shot. I couldn’t cross the line again.

So I decided to let it go for now. I picked up some food with my chopsticks, pretending to be obedient, and asked softly, “By the way, Fourth Brother, did you find Liu Wan when you got out?”

“That’s none of your business. Eat your food.” Sure enough, his tone was sharp and dismissive.

But this time, I didn’t push back. Instead, I softened my voice even more and said, “That’s a bit harsh. Liu Wan’s basically my future sister-in-law. Why wouldn’t I care? You scored big, the least you can do is take good care of her.”

Fourth Brother stared at me for a long moment, completely speechless. I figured his brain hadn’t caught up yet. He hadn’t expected me to bring that up. The guy’s never even been in a relationship—he had no defense against this kind of talk.

Xiao Wu overheard us and tried to hold it in for three minutes before bursting out laughing. Fourth Brother’s face turned bright red as he told him to shut up, then coughed a few times and said to me:

“Speaking of which, I need to tell you something. I can only bring you food one more time. After that, I’ve got to go. The project with Xiao Wan and the others still isn’t finished.”

I asked, “Still the Nine-Ring Project?”

Fourth Brother froze, then snapped, “None of your business! Just focus on getting better.”

Then he placed my phone on the bedside table and reminded me, “Call me when you get back to school. And call your mom too. She’s been worried about you.”

He sat with me for a while, watching as I finished my meal. After my last IV drip of the day was done, he pulled Xiao Wu outside and talked to him for a long time before letting him back in. When Xiao Wu returned, he told me Fourth Brother had left and had already bought my return ticket. I was to go back on my own once I was discharged.

It was a familiar feeling. When I was little, my mom left our hometown to make a living. Last time, Tian Yuqing dumped me in Gansu. This time, it was Fourth Brother. But at least none of them left me completely alone. Back then, I had Grandpa. Last time, I had He Yu. This time, I had Xiao Wu.

“So, what, he told you to keep an eye on me? Report back to him if anything happens?” I looked at Xiao Wu.

I must’ve hit the mark. He looked uncomfortable under my gaze, gave a sheepish smile, and stammered, “Young Master, the stuff you left at the shop got taken by the boss. The box too. This is murky water… maybe we shouldn’t get involved. It’s too dangerous. Let’s just go back, okay?”

I climbed out of bed and crossed my arms, watching Fourth Brother walk out of the hospital building. Just as he stepped outside, a black business van pulled up in front of him. What the hell is this guy up to? If he thinks he can shake me off that easily, he’s dreaming.

Once that rebellious streak kicks in, nothing can stop it. I picked up the phone from the bedside, twirled it in my hand, then opened the photo album. Staring at the mural photos, a sudden idea struck me. I scrolled through my contacts, found the name I was looking for, and dialed.

The call connected immediately. “Who is it? I’m eating. What’s up?”

I grinned. “I’ve got something good I want you to take a look at. Interested? I’ll treat you to some stewed noodles.”