Yet he showed no expression on his face. “What about the human trafficking case?”

“That matter is still under investigation. If Wang Juying only exchanged sweet potatoes for someone to bring home and knew nothing about the rest, she probably won’t receive a heavy sentence.”

After all, in those years, such things happened all too often.

Ye Zhoushan let out a shallow breath. “Understood, thank you, Comrade Qi.”

Qi Quanxu could somewhat understand the frustration in Ye Zhoushan’s heart.

But there was no helping it—the country has its laws, and the family has its rules. Acting on impulse wasn’t an option.

“Comrade Ye, try to look on the bright side. You have a child and a wife waiting for you at home. There’s no need to ruin your own happiness over people who don’t matter.”

Ye Zhoushan forced a stiff smile. “I understand, thank you, Comrade Qi.”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now. If you need anything, Comrade Qi, feel free to come find me at the hospital.”

Qi Quanxu acknowledged with a nod.

Ye Zhoushan carried his daughter and left, planning to search for medicine in the mountains.

But little Fuman suddenly spoke up. 【Daddy, the police uncle is bleeding.】

Ye Zhoushan halted mid-step and instinctively glanced back at Qi Quanxu. There was no blood.

“What’s wrong?” Qi Quanxu asked, looking puzzled.

【Lots of blood. Bad people are hurting the police uncle in a long alley.】

【It’s dark, and the alley stinks. A smelly person came out of a smelly ditch and slashed the police uncle with a knife.】

【Many police uncles are bleeding.】

The little one seemed frightened by the vision, her tiny voice trembling.

Ye Zhoushan’s temples throbbed. What on earth had his daughter just seen?

It sounded like Qi Quanxu and his team were on some mission, ambushed by someone who knew their plans in advance, resulting in injuries.

If he said something careless, would he be suspected as a spy?

But now that he knew, saying nothing would weigh on his conscience.

“Um, Comrade Qi, on my way here, I passed by a long alley and saw some people messing around in the sewer, making a mess everywhere. I’m not sure if that’s something the police handle or if it’s for the neighborhood committee?”

Qi Quanxu raised an eyebrow. “We’ll report that to the neighborhood committee.”

Ye Zhoushan smiled awkwardly and left.

The father and daughter headed straight for the mountains outside the city.

These mountains were not like the Pant Mountain near the MinSheng Brigade; they were much larger and deeper.

Some people in the county gathered firewood—either buying it or collecting it from the outskirts of these mountains.

Once in the woods, little Fuman perked up noticeably.

【Go, go, go! Daddy, hurry! Find medicine! Go forward!】

Ye Zhoushan didn’t know what medicine his daughter was looking for, but if she said it could save Lan Qingshuang, he believed her.

He followed her directions, moving straight ahead.

Whenever she said turn, he turned.

They wandered through the woods until the sun was directly overhead. Ye Zhoushan stopped, wiping sweat from his brow.

The forest was dense, the path difficult. His daughter gave directions without considering the actual terrain.

She pointed in straight lines, never mind whether it was passable. If he tried to detour, she’d get upset, calling him a stupid daddy, a bad daddy, a silly daddy.

Ye Zhoushan laughed in exasperation. This leaky little padded jacket was truly infuriating.

Before he knew it, they had reached the inner depths of the forest. The light grew dim, and the atmosphere turned gloomy.

Ye Zhoushan regretted his impulsiveness. He should have prepared better before coming.

His little padded jacket hadn’t told him the medicine was deep in the mountains!

“Sweetie, Daddy came to find medicine for Mommy, but we can’t find it. We have to go back now.”

Little Fuman grew anxious. “Ah, ah, ah…”

【No going back! No going back! We’re almost there! Bad daddy! Fuman won’t go back!】

Ye Zhoushan gritted his teeth and held his wailing daughter tighter. “Good baby, you mustn’t shout. If you call the big bad wolf, we’re done for, you and me.”

“Be good, Daddy won’t go back. We’ll keep looking a bit longer, okay? We’ll go back once we find it.”

He’d trapped himself with his own trickery. Ye Zhoushan was frantic now. This little girl, why was she so impatient?

“Ah, oh…”

【Find! Fuman find! No going back.】

The little one protested in a hushed voice, urging her father to hurry—she was afraid of the big bad wolf, too.

Ye Zhoushan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, muttering to himself about which way to go, where the medicine was, and how much farther it was.

His daughter automatically responded to him.

【Left, left, go left.】

After walking for another half hour, they reached a depth where it was truly impossible to go further, and the little one started shouting again.

“Ah, ah, ah…”

【Red berry, Daddy, red berry. Medicine to save Mommy.】

Ye Zhoushan saw it too—it turned out the medicine his daughter was looking for was ginseng.

He had found a ginseng plant on Pant Mountain before, about ten years old, and sold it for a good sum.

But he hadn’t used a single penny of that money.

Ye Zhoushan’s mood darkened for a moment as he carefully approached the ginseng.

It had six compound leaves. He couldn’t tell the exact age, but it was definitely older than the one he’d dug up before.

There were no hidden snakes, insects, or rodents around.

Suppressing his excitement, Ye Zhoushan found a branch and began carefully digging. He couldn’t rush—it would be a shame if the roots broke.

Little Fuman was well-behaved now, knowing Daddy was busy. She stayed silent.

Blowing little bubbles, she soon fell asleep.

Ye Zhoushan dug for over an hour, then wrapped the ginseng in moss and large leaves, tucked it into his shirt, and hurried back out.

As the sun set, the forest grew dark and eerily frightening.

“Crack, crack…”

Faint, rustling sounds echoed in the silent woods.

It made Ye Zhoushan’s scalp tingle.

He muttered prayers to every god he could think of, held his daughter tight, and quickened his pace.

But no matter how fast he walked, the cracking sounds didn’t stop—in fact, they seemed to be getting closer.

Ye Zhoushan felt cold sweat pouring down his back and wished he could fly.

In his panic, he didn’t notice the ground beneath him give way, and he tumbled down a slope.

In the chaos, he forgot about himself and focused only on protecting his daughter in his arms.

He expected to be severely injured, if not killed, but instead, he landed on a thick patch of soft grass.

Aside from being disheveled, he wasn’t hurt at all.

His little daughter, dreaming of something, even broke into a happy grin in her sleep.

Ye Zhoushan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

When he looked up, he saw a deer bathed in the golden sunset glow—beautiful.

“Deep in the woods, one encounters a deer.” Spotting such a creature was purely a matter of luck.

His luck was truly great today.

Ye Zhoushan couldn’t help rubbing his hands together. If he could catch it, his wife’s medical expenses would be covered.

Yesterday, Ye Zhoushan had gone to make an additional payment. The money borrowed from everyone, plus what Old Man Ye had given him, wasn’t enough—he was still short over a hundred yuan.

And there would be more expenses later.

Lan Qingshuang had lost too much blood, and transfusions alone would cost a fortune.

But wild deer were hard to catch. Though they were herbivores, they were strong and fast—one kick could break a bone.

And he was holding his daughter.

Ye Zhoushan hesitated, standing still and not daring to move.

“Sweetie, can you give Daddy an idea?”

Asking a not-yet-one-month-old baby for ideas—truly a father’s move.

Ye Zhoushan was just muttering to himself, but unexpectedly, his daughter actually gave him an idea.

Little Fuman had woken up at some point, her big, dark eyes darting around.

【Deer, fall, fall down.】

Something about this struck her as funny, and she started giggling uncontrollably.

Ye Zhoushan amusedly patted his daughter’s little bottom. What kind of idea was “fall down”?

The well-fed deer stomped its hooves and trotted away.

Ye Zhoushan thought about chasing it but decided against it—there was no way he could catch up.

Just as he felt regret, the next moment left him stunned.

The deer, running perfectly fine, tripped and fell flat on the ground.

It struggled a couple of times but couldn’t get up, then fainted.

Ye Zhoushan: “…”