The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 892 - 870 Calculation

Chapter 892: Chapter 870 Calculation

Zhou Silang pointed at several circles on the map, saying, "We’ve searched all these places already. The closest one to us now is here. I know this place; it’s just over a mountain ridge, but it’s tough terrain, lots of trees, so we can only get around it from the other side."

Manbao and the others didn’t understand, so they naturally followed Zhou Silang’s lead.

Thus, the group packed up the map and headed deeper into the territory.

It was only now that Bai Erlang found the opportunity to ask, "What are those circles on the map for?"

Manbao glanced at him and said, "Places my Third Uncle has been to."

"Why are we going to places your Third Uncle has been to?"

Manbao didn’t answer him but instead turned to ask Zhou Silang, "That’s so far away; why would he go to such a distant place?"

"For hunting, of course. The easy-to-reach places have fewer game. When Third Uncle Zhou was still around, he often took Brother Dahu and Third Uncle into the mountains to hunt. Sometimes they would be gone for three or four days before coming back." Zhou Silang said, "I’ve only been to that place once, and it was Third Uncle and Brother Dahu who secretly took us there. But we only stayed one night before getting a beating when we returned home. My mother doted on Third Uncle so much that year, she actually broke the stick she used to stoke the fires."

Manbao was astounded; she hadn’t expected her father to have been so tough as a child.

Bai Shan looked at Manbao and thought she truly had inherited the family trait.

"The further places I haven’t been to, but Brother Dahu said the other three remote places are just around the mountain ridge. We can just turn over a few stones and look around. I feel we’re so pressed for time, Third Uncle might not have had the chance to search the familiar places thoroughly."

Manbao nodded and, while following Zhou Silang, commanded Keke to scan the surroundings. They found nothing along the way since they had passed through this area before and there was nothing, not even unrecorded plants.

Upon reaching the mountain ridge, Zhou Silang led them around it and they finally found the place just before sunset. Then, he began searching the area with Daji.

Bai Erlang was exhausted and simply sat down on the ground with a thud.

From the moment they arrived, Manbao knew there was nothing there because Keke had directly told her that nothing they were looking for was within a kilometer of this place.

Manbao took out the map once more and discussed it with Bai Shan. She took out a charcoal pencil from her basket, marked a small circle on the path, and said, "Erji said they probably met around here. So if my Third Uncle went into the mountains, he would only come from this section. That means we can rule this area out first..."

Manbao crossed out a section of the map, reducing the area they had to search by quite a bit.

Bai Shan watched and took the pencil from her hand, drawing a line from Qili Village to the small path, outlining the area they could cover. Half of one circle was precisely in the middle of this area.

Manbao saw this and looked up to exchange a glance with Bai Shan.

Bai Shan, recalling what County Magistrate Tang had said about putting oneself in another’s shoes to solve a case, began wondering what he would do if he were Zhou Yin, carrying a hot potato and accompanied by a dear one.

What to do, naturally, was to hide the object as soon as possible, temporarily conceal it in a place no one would discover, then hurry away with his relative. If no one caught up to them, all was well; if they did, he could play innocent. With nothing on him, he might just escape unscathed...

Bai Shan snapped back to the present and pointed at one of the circles close to the path, saying, "Let’s go check this place."

Zhou Silang heard this and moved closer to have a look, immediately shaking his head, "It couldn’t be there, could it? That’s far from the small path, and it’s off course. Look at the map you drew; half of it is outside this smudged area."

Even though he didn’t understand how the map was drawn or the calculations behind the large smudge, he had a rough understanding that it was possible his Third Uncle would pass through the place marked with many slashes, while other areas were unlikely.

Manbao, on the other hand, said, "But isn’t half of the circle still inside? Plus, the circles that Brother Zhou Hu drew didn’t take any measurements into account; who knows if they’re accurate? Since this is the farthest place that Third Uncle has been to, then we should go here."

"Manbao, do you know where this is?"

"I don’t."

"Although it’s not the most central part of Dahu Mountain, it is one of the most dangerous places. Third Uncle Zhou didn’t even go there when he was alive."

Manbao asked, "How do you know?"

"Brother Zhou Hu told me. He said they accidentally passed through there when they were twelve, getting lost and having to spend an extra day on the mountain. Then it rained that day, and they only stayed out of trouble because they hid under a big stone. When the sun came out the next day, they followed it out of the woods. It’s very far from here."

Manbao then declared, "Let’s go!"

Zhou Silang: ...

He quickly looked to Daji and said, "It’s not that I’m afraid of getting tired, I’m worried about encountering tigers, wolves, or something inside. I daren’t go alone, let alone with you three. If we really run into something, Daji, how many can you handle?"

Daji fell silent for a moment before saying, "I could send two up a tree."

Zhou Silang immediately said, "See, he can only handle two. Manbao, we definitely would be the last ones, so let’s not go today. If you really want to go, I’ll gather more people tomorrow, call in Brother Dahu, Second Brother, Third Brother, Five, Sixth, and everyone else. With more people, even the animals would be afraid of us."

Manbao earnestly consulted Keke, "Keke, are there tigers in this mountain?"

"There are not, but there are wolves. If the host could record a live wolf, the points would certainly be high. I just checked, and the points for recording a wolf are over 20,000."

Manbao let out an emotionless "whoa" and then asked, "Can you level up after your commission?"

Keke: "...Not yet."

Sensing Manbao’s enthusiasm taking a hit, it added, "But it will be soon."

Manbao’s spirits lifted again, and she patted her chest along with her Fourth Brother, saying, "Don’t worry, Fourth Brother, there are no tigers in these mountains, only wolves. If we encounter them, I can climb a tree by myself. Once we’re up, let Daji handle the wolves. Daji, I want a live wolf."

Daji stood up and asked, "Are we not searching this place anymore?"

"There’s nothing here."

Seeing her so certain, Daji didn’t ask why and simply turned and said, "Then let’s go."

Zhou Silang was astonished and hurried after them, asking, "Wait, you can really fight wolves?"

Daji said, "If it’s not a pack, it should be possible."

He had killed wolves while escorting convoys, but the thought of capturing one alive was out of the question. However, he could kill one and prop it up for Miss Man to see, pretending it was alive.

The group continued onward, with Zhou Silang making torches along the way until it was completely dark and they stopped to rest, finding a reasonably decent clearing to light a fire.