Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Entering the Mountains

Gu Kaiyuan hurried along the path, using the moonlight to guide his way, and arrived at the entrance of a mountain cave.

"Young Master," Lin Hua and Lin Wei, who had been waiting here, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing Gu Kaiyuan arrive as promised.

The two of them were dressed in coarse linen clothes, looking dusty and worn, indistinguishable from the local mountain villagers.

"You’ve worked hard. How’s everything you’ve been handling?"

"Everything’s settled. We’ve been waiting here for two days. Please give us your next instructions, Young Master."

Gu Kaiyuan noticed that it was just the two of them there and was a bit puzzled, "Where are the others?"

"We had them go ahead and wait, too many people here might expose us." Lin Wei was a bit worried, "Young Master, today we saw several groups of people here. Could they be accomplices of those who killed the old madam before?"

Gu Kaiyuan said, "Don’t confront them; you’re no match for them."

Lin Hua and Lin Wei nodded simultaneously, "We figured that out too, they’re all experts. Maybe we should find a way to stay by your side, Young Master, and the young madam."

Gu Kaiyuan replied, "No need for that right now. I came today because it’s related to this issue. Go ahead and find an escort agency, blend our people in, and find a way to meet up with us."

Lin Hua’s eyes lit up; this was a really good plan.

"Then we could contact a couple more escort agencies."

"Don’t be too conspicuous, but make sure to find those with strength, because moving further south, there will be more bandits." Although Gu Kaiyuan had already arranged for personnel, he believed in having multiple plans ready.

Gu Kaiyuan gave a few more instructions and was preparing to go hunting in the mountains when he saw Lin Wei dragging a wild boar out of the cave, holding a string of wild chickens and rabbits in his hand.

"Did you enter the mountains?" Gu Kaiyuan eyed the large wild boar in his hands. "You weren’t injured, were you?"

Lin Wei said, "No injuries. When we brought the brothers over earlier to find a place, we happened upon this family. The brothers worked together and left them. We kept one for you, Young Master, and let the brothers take the rest away."

Gu Kaiyuan looked over and said, "This meat’s a bit tough and hard to explain if taken back. You take all these things away; I’m going for a walk in the mountains." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Young Master, how about we go with you?"

Gu Kaiyuan replied, "I’m skilled enough to handle it. Leave before anyone finds you, and make sure you clean up behind you."

"Don’t worry, Young Master, even if they find us, we’ll just assume the identities of local hunters." Lin Hua and the others weren’t bothered about not sending out the game, as they were just following the Young Master’s orders.

Seeing their outfits, Gu Kaiyuan didn’t say more; with a few leaps, he had already entered the deep mountains.

"The Young Master’s martial arts seem to have improved," Lin Wei remarked with some envy.

"If you work hard, you can be just as formidable. We’re supposed to protect the Young Master, not have him protect us in critical moments," Lin Hua said as he tugged a wild boar leg, "Let’s head off."

"Are we taking this wild boar with us?"

"Of course, we should take it. A few taels of silver," Lin Hua gave Lin Wei a look, "We’re hunters. We wouldn’t come back empty-handed from the mountains.

If we’re lucky and meet those people, maybe we can even sell it for a high price."

"No way, you’re going to provoke them on purpose..."

"That depends on fate. If fortune favors us today, we might save a bit more for the Young Master, maybe even earn a small profit..."

The two chatted and laughed as they went down the mountain. They turned a corner and happened upon a group of people who generously bought out all their game.

...

Gu Kaiyuan returned to the base of the mountain, with the moon high in the sky, placing the deer he had brought down in front of Liu Pingkang and the others. "Mr. Liu, luck wasn’t on our side today; I only managed this one. I’ll keep a leg; the rest is for the guys to add a dish."

Liu Pingkang asked, "There are deer on the mountain?"

Gu Kaiyuan replied, "Just happened upon a herd of deer, but these creatures are too agile, only managed to catch this one."

"There’s really good stuff on this mountain," Liu Pingkang felt a bit tempted. If he had known there were deer, he would have taken the risk to venture into the mountains with the guys.

These deer, weighing dozens of pounds, could sell for dozens of taels of silver. These nobles love it, thinking it’s the best kind of nourishment.

"It’s true, but unfortunately, they all got away," Gu Kaiyuan lamented, thinking if Bai Suihe were by his side, he certainly would have caught more.

It’s not that he couldn’t catch them, but whatever he brought back, he couldn’t keep much of it safe.

"Thanks a lot. Once the guys are done preparing it, I’ll have them send it over to you."

Gu Kaiyuan returned the knife to Liu Pingkang and then left.

Having been running around on the mountain for so long, he was indeed a bit tired. He needed to find Bai Suihe to recover his strength.

Bai Suihe sighed in relief seeing him return; whether or not he caught any game wasn’t important.

"When the baby is born, teach me martial arts too." Bai Suihe genuinely wanted to learn more, believing that skills in one’s hands are the true way to survive.

"Learning martial arts is tough. I’ll protect you in the future." Gu Kaiyuan had endured a lot of hardship to make these martial arts moves fully fuse with his body.

These were ingrained in his soul, allowing him to quickly regain mastery upon his return.

"Give it a shot. Who knows, I might have a talent for martial arts," Bai Suihe was determined, just in case she turned out to be a martial arts prodigy.

Thinking about being able to leap across rooftops in the future, Bai Suihe grinned from ear to ear, laughing foolishly.

Gu Kaiyuan shook his head with a wry smile; perhaps it was best not to shatter her dreams for now.

The two of them used the pretext of going out to take care of their personal needs to find a hidden spot and returned to their secluded space for a good rest for two days before returning to the real world.

Back in the carriage, Gu Kaiyuan told Bai Suihe and Dongmei to rest inside, even sending Zhuang Datou and the others to go rest, as he sat alone by the fire to keep watch.

Initially, Zhuang Datou and the others were reluctant, thinking it inappropriate for the son-in-law to guard while they rest.

Gu Kaiyuan said, "You all need to drive during the day, I can find opportunities to rest in the carriage. Let’s not stand on ceremony; working together to overcome this difficulty is what’s most important.

Go and rest, I’ll be here waiting for Mr. Liu and them to send over the venison. I’ll wake you when I’m tired."

The surroundings gradually quieted down; the watchmen sat by the fire, dozing off. Only then did Liu Pingkang instruct someone to bring over the deer leg.

Seeing the nearly ten-pound deer leg, Gu Kaiyuan reflected that Liu Pingkang knew how to conduct himself, giving them enough of a share.

With a wry smile in his heart, he thought, clearly, it’s his own thing, yet when others give a bit extra, he feels greatly satisfied.

Taking out the cleaned pot from Zhuang Datou and the others, he gave it a quick rinse with the water they’d stored earlier, then took out the dagger Bai Suihe had previously given him and began to cut it into pieces.