Chapter 15: The Man in Military Uniform

Before Yang Cuihua could answer, Tang Wanning was already pulling her mother’s hand and running. This wasn’t the time for heroics—her only option was to shout to Aunt Yang to snap her out of shock. Beyond that, Tang Wanning was powerless; after all, she was just a girl, struggling to protect herself, let alone others.

At this moment, Su Meijuan had already been scared out of her wits. Her legs were trembling uncontrollably, making it impossible for her to run fast, which made Tang Wanning break into a sweat. It wasn’t Su Meijuan’s fault—there were too many village rumors about wild boars. Especially in the years when food was scarce, anyone who encountered a wild boar in the mountains, especially an adult one, would either be killed or seriously injured. Even if there were many people with weapons, injuries were common. And now, they were just a group of women and children.

Su Meijuan deeply regretted venturing so close to the deep mountains, just for a few jujubes and wild grapes. Yang Cuihua and Tiedan weren’t much better—they were both terrified, their legs shaking uncontrollably in the face of an unknown danger.

As they ran, their pace gradually increased, including Su Meijuan’s, but still, they could not match the speed of the wild boar. The boar was closing in fast. Tang Wanning quickly raised her hand toward it.

[Target scanned successfully. Exchange for 80 points? Confirm/Decline]

“Confirm exchange!”

The moment she completed the exchange, two men in military uniforms suddenly emerged from the deep mountains. One furrowed his brow.

“I clearly heard the wild boar and even saw it. Why did it suddenly disappear?”

The other looked equally confused. “Let’s follow it and see.”

Tang Wanning didn’t notice this at all. She only confirmed that nothing was behind them and continued pulling her mother along.

Yang Cuihua, meanwhile, was dragged along by her son while shouting to the others, “Wild boar! Everyone run!”

Hearing this, the people nearby didn’t stop to check if it was true—they all bolted. Even when Yang Cuihua ran out of strength to shout, those on the mountain saw a group running downhill and followed suit.

Only after they reached the foot of the mountain did Yang Cuihua collapse onto the ground, utterly exhausted. She could clearly feel her heart pounding violently in her chest. Su Meijuan and Tang Wanning also sank to the ground, gasping for breath.

After running as if their lives depended on it, all four of them felt weak and sore, barely able to speak.

Before they could recover, a woman with her hands on her knees gasped and asked, “What were you running from? I asked you, but you didn’t answer, just kept running. What happened?”

“Yeah, what happened? Were you chased by a wild boar?”

“Don’t ask me, I don’t know either. I saw them running like crazy, so I just ran along.”

Those who first encountered Tang Wanning and the others had now caught their breath.

“I think I vaguely heard the roar of a wild boar. Before I could react, I saw Meijuan and Cuihua running like mad with the kids. Cuihua kept shouting, ‘Wild boar, run!’” One woman patted her chest in fear. “Yes, yes, I heard it too. At first, I thought I was imagining it. Luckily, we ran fast. Otherwise, with us old and weak women and children, one round from a wild boar would have been enough.”

“These past years, life has gotten better. I thought wild boars in the deep mountains were extinct. Didn’t expect they still exist. From now on, we can’t let kids go into the mountains casually. If a child unknowingly wanders deep in, they might not make it out alive.”

“Exactly. Terrifying.” The woman paused, then asked, “By the way, how big was the wild boar you saw?”

“I didn’t see it, I only vaguely heard a roar.”

Others agreed, “I didn’t see it either.”

Yang Cuihua widened her eyes, full of lingering fear. “I saw it. It was a fully grown wild boar, fatter than a pig raised for a year at home. Its eyes were like copper bells—terrifying!”

After catching her breath, Su Meijuan finally calmed down. “Exactly. Luckily, Wanning pulled me and we ran, or I’d probably be dead today.”

“Yes, yes. Thanks to Wanning reminding me to run with Tiedan.” Yang Cuihua gratefully looked at Tang Wanning. “Otherwise, I’d still be standing there foolishly. You don’t know—I heard the wild boar roar and was scared out of my wits, my legs trembling uncontrollably.”

“Just hearing you describe it makes me terrified,” another woman said, patting her chest. “I can’t believe you went so deep. You’ve got some guts.”

Yang Cuihua looked embarrassed. “It’s because Tiedan wanted wild grapes. We didn’t realize how far we’d gone. By the time we noticed, we were right in front of the grapes. I thought we’d just pick some quickly and leave. Who knew, in those few minutes, we’d run into a wild boar.”

“From now on, don’t be reckless like this again. Don’t risk your life just for some grapes. Not worth it,” Su Meijuan said, nodding repeatedly.

“Everyone should avoid going deep into the mountains for a while. And even if you go, don’t go too far in,” she added.

“I’ll go home and warn my little rascal later,” the woman said, her expression turning serious. “No, I should go now. If that brat takes the younger ones into the mountains again, it’ll really be the death of me.”

Upon hearing this, the others also hurried back home to inform their families not to enter the mountains for the time being. Seeing this, Tang Wanning looked at Yang Cuihua. “Aunt Yang, have you rested enough? If so, we should head back too.”

“Yes, yes,” Yang Cuihua quickly stood up and lifted Tiedan. Even though her legs were still trembling, she didn’t dare linger—what if that beast came down the mountain?

And so, the four of them stumbled their way back home. Although Tang Wanning later managed to collect the wild boar that had chased them, she was still quite frightened. After all, who knew if there were more wild boars behind it? Clearly, before learning internal martial arts or cultivation techniques, she shouldn’t venture into the deep mountains—not even the edges. Life comes first; if one loses their life, no amount of points would matter.

At the foot of the mountain, Shen Cinian looked thoughtfully at Tang Wanning’s back before following his comrades deeper into the mountains. “While we have this time, let’s have the team clear the mountain, so the villagers below won’t get hurt.”

“I understand, Captain,” came the reply.

Back at the Tang residence, Tang Wanning and Su Meijuan had just sat down on a bench when Tang Dehou came running back, panting. “Wife, Wanning, I heard someone encountered a wild boar on the mountain. Are you both alright?”

“We’re fine, we’re fine,” Su Meijuan said, forcing herself to stand and turn in front of her husband to show she was okay.

Seeing both his wife and daughter safe, Tang Dehou finally exhaled in relief. “The village chief said that in a few days, the villagers will organize a sweep of the outer areas of the deep mountains to ensure that it’s safe for the children to play there.”