Chapter 402 – It’s Good for You All

“Take these with you.”
She pulled out several bottles and dozens of sticks of beast-repelling incense from her person and placed them in his hands.

“Wife, what’s all this?”
Looking at what she’d handed him, he stared at her in surprise.

Li Yiyi looked at him and said, “Aren’t you planning to head deeper into the mountains tonight? Take these with you—they’ll be useful.”

Hearing this, Jiang Hong’s eyes widened even more in astonishment. “How did you know?”

Li Yiyi smiled at him. “I’m your wife, aren’t I? We’ve been married for so many years. If I can’t even guess a little of what’s on your mind, then what kind of wife am I?”

Jiang Hong gave a soft chuckle at her words, then stepped forward and gently pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I promise, at the latest, I’ll make it back by noon tomorrow and regroup with all of you.”

Li Yiyi patted his shoulder. She understood both his plans and his responsibilities. That was exactly why she hadn’t tried to stop him—even though she knew how dangerous it was for them to go deeper into the mountains.

Because she knew he was doing this out of a sense of duty. So even if she knew the risks, she chose not to stand in his way.

“Make sure you come back to me safe and sound. If you come back injured, I won’t let you off. Got it?” she said seriously, just before he left.

Jiang Hong hugged her tightly, his heart aching. In this moment, he didn’t care if there were others watching—he just wanted to hold his worried wife properly.

“Alright, I’ll do exactly as you say. I’ll come back to you in one piece, not a scratch on me.”
As he said this, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

The next second, Li Yiyi heard a chorus of gasps from behind them.

She looked up from his arms and saw that quite a few soldiers were standing behind them. All of them had red faces, wanting to look but too embarrassed to do so.

Flushing, Li Yiyi quickly pushed Jiang Hong away and whispered to him, “Cut it out—there are so many people watching!”

Jiang Hong turned around and realized his soldiers had all turned their backs… but every so often, one or two would sneak a glance their way.

Thinking about how he hadn’t had the chance to hold his wife properly thanks to these guys, Jiang Hong shot them a warning glare. Instantly, the sneaky soldiers all snapped their gazes forward, flustered and terrified.

Li Yiyi saw this and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Hearing her laughter, the stern look in Jiang Hong’s eyes finally softened into a smile.

“Stay with the group, and be good. Wait for me to come back,” he whispered into her ear just before leaving.

Li Yiyi nodded, her eyes full of reluctance, but she still watched him leave until he was out of sight.

That night, she didn’t fall asleep until dawn.

After about an hour of sleep, the rest of the group began to stir. The sounds around her made it impossible to go back to sleep, so she got up to help with the morning tasks.

Each person was given a grilled fish for breakfast.

When Li Yiyi received hers, she realized that Jiang Hong had left Hong Shuo and seven or eight other soldiers behind to take care of them.

After what happened the night before, everyone seemed a bit down.

They quietly ate breakfast together, then organized their belongings, and followed Hong Shuo and the others down the mountain.

The journey back was fairly smooth. Aside from a few venomous snakes, they were lucky not to run into any large beasts.

Nearing noon, some of the older folks looked pale. After discussing with Comrade Shen, Hong Shuo decided they should take a break on the spot.

Li Yiyi took Gu Weiwei and a few others to collect firewood nearby.

They had just started gathering when they suddenly heard a terrified scream not far away.

Li Yiyi and Gu Weiwei were closest, so they rushed toward the sound. There, they saw a group of people huddled together in fear. Not far from them lay a mangled, unrecognizable body.

Even though the face was no longer intact, everyone could still tell from the build and clothing—it was Ye Fan, the man who had run off the night before.

“Why… why is Comrade Ye dead here?”
Someone covered their mouth in disbelief at the sight.

After all, this was someone who had hiked the mountain alongside them. Now he was suddenly dead—it was hard for many to accept.

“What happened to his face? It’s terrifying…”
Liu Caifeng turned pale, covered her mouth, and turned to the side to vomit while asking.

Li Yiyi stepped forward and glanced at the body. She had a rough idea.
“He probably ran into wolves or something like that last night. It’s not just his face—he’s been chewed up all over.”

“Oh my god, what a horrible way to die…” someone exclaimed.

“Horrible? Don’t forget, he was from R country. He helped them try to steal our Bai Xian Grass. Just based on that, he doesn’t deserve our sympathy,” another said angrily.

Li Yiyi glanced one last time at Ye Fan’s disfigured body, then turned to Comrade Shen, who had also come over.
“Comrade Shen, even though Ye Fan was despicable, we should still bury him. The scent of blood is too strong. It might attract bigger predators.”

Comrade Shen nodded immediately. “Comrade Li is right. I’ll get someone to dig a grave for him right away.”

Li Yiyi didn’t look back at Ye Fan again. She picked up the firewood she had gathered and walked away.

After this incident, the already exhausted group became even more quiet and subdued.

At that moment, Tang Qingwen, who had been sitting among the group, suddenly came over to Li Yiyi excitedly, holding a small stone.

“Comrade Li, can I ask where you found this stone?”

Li Yiyi looked at the stone in his hand. It was small, but she had no memory of it.

“Why do you ask, Comrade Tang? I don’t even know where it came from.”
She stared at it for a while but just couldn’t remember ever picking it up.