Yunyi used a dagger to cut the ropes binding their hands and feet. "Yes, it’s me. We’ll talk when it’s safe." Qiao Wenyu’s face burned with shame. If it weren’t for my arrogance, for not listening to others’ advice, for insisting on leading them into the deep mountains, they wouldn’t have fallen into such perilous straits. It would have been one thing if only I had gotten into trouble, but I nearly cost the lives of my good friends and the person I like! Their hands and feet had been bound for so long they were somewhat unresponsive. Yunyi noticed someone moving in their direction and hurriedly called out to the three, "Quickly, find a place to hide! We can’t fall into those people’s hands again." Wei Zijia couldn’t even think of crying anymore. She tried her best to calm down, struggling to get up from the ground using her hands and feet. Yunyi actually quite liked this girl; she appeared soft and delicate, but she wasn’t brainless. She extended a hand to help her. "Follow me." The three followed Yunyi with faltering steps towards a large tree nearby. With Yunyi’s help, she got all three of them up a lush, leafy tree. Then, she passed them the remaining food from her backpack. "Replenish your strength first, and make sure not to make any noise." Qiao Wenyu knew it wasn’t the time to be overly polite. "Chu Zhiqing, words can’t express our gratitude. We already owed you several favors, so owing a few more doesn’t make much difference." He accepted the food from Yunyi’s hands. "Thanks." As Yunyi turned, Qiao Wenyu asked anxiously, "Where are you going?" In a soft voice, Yunyi replied, "To help them." With that, she turned and headed back the way they came. Qiao Wenyu grew worried. "Those people have blood on their hands! Chu Zhiqing, you really shouldn’t go..." He was too embarrassed to say, You’ll just be a hindrance. After all, he was in no position to criticize others now. Yunyi hadn’t forgotten her mission. She didn’t stray far from the three in the tree. Instead, after gathering a number of small stones, she hid behind a large nearby rock and took out the slingshot she had personally made a few days ago from her space. She had originally planned to go up the mountain to gather forest goods after autumn. She didn’t want to reveal her martial arts skills to outsiders, and this slingshot would make some things easier to explain. She hadn’t expected it to be useful so soon. Picking up a stone, she aimed at the group still fighting outside. She saw that one of the armed personnel was losing ground; the opposing Japanese man’s dagger was about to plunge into him. With a strong flick, she sent the stone flying towards the Japanese man’s head. AH! The Japanese man cried out, startling a flock of birds in Lin Zi into flight. The man’s head instantly started bleeding, giving our side an opening to counterattack. The comrade from the Armed Forces Department charged forward, kicked the Japanese man in the stomach, and sent him sprawling backward onto the ground. Quickly, both the Japanese man’s arms were dislocated and his legs broken, rendering him completely incapable of fighting. Yunyi observed from her hiding spot, ready to help wherever needed. The Japanese men in the midst of the fight also noticed something was amiss. One of them, heedless of the danger, charged towards Yunyi’s hiding place. Huo Jingrui had been keeping an eye on her. After swiftly incapacitating his opponent, he dashed towards Yunyi. He was just about to grab the Japanese man rushing towards Yunyi when, unexpectedly, a bullet shot out from behind him. Yunyi too was startled and shouted, "Be careful!" Huo Jingrui quickly sidestepped, yanking the Japanese man who was charging at Yunyi into his former position. THWACK! The sound of a bullet hitting flesh. Read complete version only at novel·fire.net