The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 326 Ah~~~~~, all of you, get over here!

No shadow, can't find it?
How can it be?

A woman who has been seriously ill one after another and whose health has long been poor, even if she were to kill Fukuyama Shunji by sheer luck, it would be impossible for her to be completely unharmed.

Nami Kuroiwa was unwilling to accept this.

"I'll find her. I don't believe she can go anywhere."

A fire seemed to burn in Kuroiwa Nami's eyes as she began to question the nearly exhausted Matsuyama Osamu in detail, asking about everything that had happened since their return and the process of their search.

As she listened to his detailed explanation, she also checked her surroundings and soon discovered the missing basket.

Nami Kuroiwa was furious.

They were also driven crazy by Shunji Fukuyama's stupidity.

They have food and drink now, they can hide anywhere during the day and find an opportunity to quietly escape at night.

Indeed, a great reputation is well-deserved.

That person is smart; they can single-handedly cause chaos and disorder among them.

Kuroiwa Nami regretted it; she had been careless.

"She must have known that she couldn't escape the pursuit, so she hid in a place you wouldn't expect."

Kuroiwa Nami gritted her teeth, "She's waiting for it to get dark, waiting for it to get dark so she can run away."

As she spoke, she looked at Matsuyama Osamu, who was already exhausted, and asked, "Where is Yamashita Haru now?"

"He stayed in the village below, watching the main road."

"Then let's just ignore him."

Kuroiwa Nami said, "It's alright for you to occasionally imitate a woman's crying sound while you're here, isn't it?"

what?
Matsuyama was a little confused; he didn't quite understand what she meant.

"It's getting dark," Kuroiwa Nami said softly, looking up at the darkening sky. "Besides tigers and wolves, what can frighten people is—ghosts!"

She turned to look at her few oddballs and deformed subordinates, "From now on, we'll split up and do everything quietly. Every two or three hundred steps, either laugh or cry. Make it as sinister as possible."

As she spoke, she demonstrated what terrifying laughter sounded like: "Hehehehe~~~~~"

Each note carries a different tone, creating a unique echo in the mountains and forests.

Matsuyama Haruhi shuddered.

This place is said to be haunted.

Moreover, Fukuyama Hideji's body was still in the cellar.

he……

He swallowed hard, but ultimately didn't dare to say that he would also go looking for it.

He couldn't search any further; he had been searching all day.

My legs were already trembling.

"Have you learned it?"

Kuroiwa Nami's eyes were like those of a hungry wolf; it seemed she would tear apart anyone who dared to say no.

In fact, she really wanted to tear each and every one of them apart.

The reason these people were able to escape and survive was largely due to their lack of ability; therefore, they were never involved in any operations or negotiations with the Da Zhao people.

Otherwise, given their stupidity, they'd either be in jail or killed and handed over to the authorities, who would then dump them in a mass grave.

Unfortunately, she has no one to rely on now.

The undercover agents in the capital city were 'chivalrous' enough to be thwarted by so-called martial arts figures without the need for any action from the Da Zhao government, all because of a tattered book.

Otherwise, she would never have allowed that idiot Fukuyama Hideji to watch over the Shen family alone.

"Learned it!"

"I've learned it, I've learned it..."

"Yes, yes, we've all learned it."

Under Kuroiwa Nami's sharp gaze, no one dared to say no, and Matsuyama Osamu nodded repeatedly.

"Then let's go to where Shen's footprints disappeared and split up."

She was so angry with them that she drank several mouthfuls of water.

There will be a fierce battle tonight.

Kuroiwa Nami decided to prioritize her own safety. She loosened her hair, letting it flow freely in the wind. "When the night is deep and quiet, I don't believe that woman won't be afraid at all. If she makes even the slightest noise, that's when we'll catch her."

With her hair disheveled, she glared at the group of idiots. "From now on, you all better listen up, you hear me?"

"Hi!"

As Matsuyama and the other three bowed their heads, they loudly agreed.

At this moment, Shen Ning was indeed waiting for it to get dark.

There were a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains, but luckily I pulled up my pajamas to protect my head.

Shen Ning now only hopes that the moonlight tonight won't be too bright, otherwise, it won't be easy for her to escape.

Time passed slowly amidst mutual anticipation, and before the last rays of sunlight faded, the moonlight, like water, poured down upon the earth.

After waiting a little while longer, the light became even dimmer. Just as Shen Ning was about to climb down the tree, she suddenly saw the birds that had quieted down in the distance suddenly scatter and fly away as if their nest had been disturbed.

"Waaaaah~~~~Waaaah~~~~~~~"

Terrifying cries carried on the wind.

Shen Ning's heart raced, and she quickly stood close to the tree.

It's often said that the end of science is metaphysics, and that such a thing might actually exist in this world!

she……

It would be a lie to say I wasn't afraid at all.

However, considering that there were still Japanese people here, she didn't seem too afraid!
Perhaps such a thing exists in the world, but whether in her past life or this one, she has never done anything wrong.

People say that if you have never done anything wrong, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door in the middle of the night.

If she really encountered a ghost from the Great Zhao Dynasty, could she ask it for a favor and ask it to kill the Japanese?

Her mind was racing when Nagayama Keio, with his hair down and a stick in his hand, came over.

"Waaaaah~~~~~~"

He screamed and waved the stick wildly, afraid that he would step on the snake again, just like before.

Nagayama Keio was glad he reacted quickly; just as the snake turned to bite him, he grabbed it and threw it onto a tree.

But he may be lucky once, but he may not be lucky all the time.

Summer is the perfect time for snakes to come out.

To prevent any accidents, he simply picked up a long branch and swept along the way.

This is close to the outer perimeter estimated by Kuroiwa Nami.

It's unlikely that the Shen family would happen to come here.

"Waaaaah~~~~~~~~~"

He was faking a sob in his throat. As he passed by, Shen Ning, whose head was covered, saw his shadow through the seam of her clothes in the moonlight.

hiss~
Pretending to be a ghost!

Why would someone be pretending to be a ghost here?

Shen Ning sensed something was wrong.

She slowly sat down again and waited silently.

All day long, the Japanese man searching for her has been running around non-stop.

Now this...

Could he be one of his accomplices?
They still believed that she couldn't have run too far without even shoes, so they kept searching.
Shen Ning sighed softly.

Go find it!

They couldn't find her during the day when the light was good, but now that it's dark, she refuses to believe they can find her.

Shen Ning now suspected that the reason these people were so certain she hadn't gone far was because they had people monitoring the main roads leading in and out of the area.

If she goes out now, there's a high chance she'll still get caught.

Shen Ning leaned close to the tree and waited silently.

The man dressed as a ghost quickly returned with his stick and swept across the area. However, this time he didn't take the shortcut; instead, he emerged from the woods.

Fortunately, they were still a few meters away from the tree where she was hiding.

Shen Ning slowed her breathing, shrank back, and remained motionless.

"Waaaaah~~~~~~~"

Nagayama Keio observes the surrounding grass or ditches.

Kuroiwa Nami told them to be aware of these possible hiding places.

Therefore, he observed things very carefully as he traveled.

Shen Ning silently watched him approach and then walk away. In the meantime, a sound that was neither laughter nor crying could be heard from afar.

Clearly, they now had a few more people with them.

He's not home during the day, but he comes back at night...

Could it be that she spent the whole day observing how the Jia family was looking for her?

If you don't kill her, but imprison her, what are you going to exchange her for?

In exchange for the freedom of all Japanese people?
Or should we send the Japanese delegation back home?

Or perhaps both?
They overestimated her status.

Although she was a first-rank imperial consort and was valued by the emperor and empress, she was still far from being able to exchange one person for the lives of so many Japanese.

Shen Ning was also unwilling to do this.

She listened intently to the sounds around her.

Unexpectedly, a woman's laughter came from above the path again.

This laughter was far more chilling than the Japanese man's cries just now.

Shen Ning let out a soft breath and shrank back even more obediently.

Time passes little by little.

Kuroiwa Nami's patience and confidence were rapidly dwindling.

Could it be that she misjudged?

Or perhaps, Nagayama Keio and his men revealed a flaw, which led to the discovery by the Shen family.
Or perhaps, they're not afraid of ghosts?

I heard she was a scholar, and scholars around here like to say things like "Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits."

Nami Kuroiwa was both angry and helpless.

She was considering changing her strategy and switching to howling wolves.

Hehehehehehe~~~~~~

Each "hu" is connected, but each "hu" has a different tone.

Shen Ning's view was completely blocked by the branches and leaves, so she couldn't see what was happening to the other person. Hearing her walk through the woods and onto the path, she felt inexplicably flustered and didn't even dare to peek anymore.

Nami Kuroiwa is still making her last effort.

She had already searched the woods ahead, but she hadn't been to this outer area yet.

According to Matsuyama Osamu's report, when they rushed back, Fukuyama Hideji's body was still warm because he was still bleeding, so the Shen family had not been gone for long.

When people are fleeing for their lives, they will move faster than usual.

It's very likely that she went to the outskirts and hid there.

Thinking of this, Kuroiwa Nami changed from walking horizontally to walking vertically.

Going up the mountain, going down the mountain...

Under the moonlight, in the quiet forest, with her hair disheveled, she truly looked like a vengeful ghost.

"Aaaaaah~~~~" A scream came from afar, and Kuroiwa Nami suddenly turned around and ran in the direction of the scream.

Shen Ning swallowed hard, feeling that if she continued searching like this, her place wouldn't be safe anymore.

To prevent any accidents, she quickly climbed down the tree and ran further away.

She observed from day to night, and although she had taken a nap in the tree in between, she could tell that the Japanese were not looking for her any further away.

So, if she runs a few more miles, she will be much safer.

This time, Shen Ning didn't carry a basket.

There was only one steamed bun left. He wrapped it up with the remaining five pieces of mung bean cake, stuffed it tightly into his sleeve, grabbed a water pouch in one hand and a dagger in the other, crouched down, turned onto the side path, and ran as fast as he could.

She dared not walk into the woods, in case there were snakes.
The person screamed so horribly just now, maybe they encountered a snake?
Also, there are many dead branches in the forest, and if you accidentally break one, the sound can travel quite far at night.

This narrow path is safer and easier to walk on.

She had just turned a corner when Kuroiwa Nami came back.

My companion screamed only once; he must have been bitten by a snake.

She originally wanted to go and take a look, but for some reason, the further she got from here, the more anxious she became.

The Shen family is very likely hiding in what she originally thought was the outer perimeter!
Just now... she might have been observing her from somewhere.

Realizing this, she decisively turned back.

However, it was too late.

But what Kuroiwa Nami didn't know was that this time she was not only observing the grass and ditches, but also checking the trees.

If Ms. Shen could climb trees, she really could climb up a tree!

As she went up and down the mountain to check the trees, she was unaware that Shen Ning had already run two miles.

She had run quite a distance, but she still didn't dare to stop.

If we run further and further away, we might be able to avoid the Japanese on the main road when we go down the mountain.

Having escaped the wolf's den, her most pressing issue now is returning to Beijing.

She had no idea where she was, and she had no idea how difficult the journey back to Beijing would be.

Therefore, she still needs to get a set of clothes that ordinary people would wear.

Shen Ning ran breathlessly, and when she got tired, she walked. Finally, the path widened, and under the moonlight, she saw another village.

She desperately wanted to go down, but what if there were pursuers behind her, and what if she went down and the village kept dogs...?

Shen Ning suppressed the urge to enter the village, stepped on the ridges of the fields at the foot of the mountain, and ran further away.

She rested all day today, and now she's running for her life with great energy.

Even the headaches and colds that usually come on her have not bothered her.

Shen Ning bypassed one village, then another, and stopped at the end of the third village.

This is the only house within a 500-meter stretch, and the fence is broken, so mischievous children must have crawled through it many times.

Shen Ning felt that she could also drill through it.

Then, she actually went inside and stole a set of tattered clothes and a pair of worn-out straw sandals that someone had hung out to dry on the porch.

At this time, clothes were extremely precious to farmers; even if they were torn, they would still be washed clean.

As Shen Ning emerged and ran to a secluded spot to change, she silently told the family that she would return a hundred sets of their clothes to them when she returned to Beijing.

The people chasing her were Japanese. It was fine for this family to lose their clothes, but if they were to gossip and say that someone had replaced them with a set of dirty, frayed clothes that were clearly made of good material, it could easily cause misunderstandings.

If things go wrong, the whole family could be targeted and become victims of violence.

Shen Ning dared not stay. She crumpled her clothes into a bundle, put the dagger, steamed buns, and mung bean cakes inside, tied them to her body, and then went further away.

As the night wind began to rise, she walked and rested, then turned onto a wider country road. Instead of continuing along the road, she crossed the narrow path ahead and headed towards the village on the other side.

Finally, she lost count of how far she had walked. As the wind grew stronger and her feet ached more and more, she crouched down in a woodpile.

Before dawn, a light rain began to fall, but the farmers' habit of getting up early together remained unchanged.

Grandma Liu now lives with her son-in-law, and she dotes on her daughter, so she naturally makes breakfast for her.

But unexpectedly, while carrying firewood, he saw a living person.

At the same time, because of the strong wind, the oil paper that Shen Ning left in the basket was blown out and happened to float right in front of Heiwan Nami, who was in despair and had given up.

She looked at many trees but couldn't find anyone, but this oil paper...

For farmers, even a piece of oiled paper is something they would not easily part with.

Therefore, this was left behind by the Shen family.

When Kuroiwa Nami picked up the oil paper, she immediately yelled, "Ah~~~~~, all of you, get over here!"

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