When you're in the Wolf Pack, your ability to obey orders becomes stronger.

Chapter 206 One person is missing!

After leaving the mountain pasture, the shop owner led the four of them down the mountain on the other side.

The four backpacks were still tied to the donkey's back. The nanny walked in front, holding a flashlight, alongside the shop owner, while Xu Ge walked at the back this time.

"You said there's a campsite up ahead, what place is it?" the nanny asked as they walked.

Shop owner: "Go down this mountain, cross that small hill in front, and you'll reach the last grazing point in the Kunlun Mountains. My oil-bearing pens should be there by now."

"your friend?"

"He is the owner of the alpine ranch."

Li Dongshui then asked curiously, "I see there are still quite a few cattle and sheep in the pasture. Your friend is quite carefree. Aren't you afraid that someone will steal all his cattle and sheep?"

The shop owner laughed: "It's in the mountains. Even if someone steals it, they can't escape in a day. They can only go through our village. Going to other places would just be suicide. They won't get lost."

The group continued onward and soon descended into the valley, where they prepared to climb the mountain.

For some reason, there was no grass growing on the small hill in front of us; it was all loose rocks. The nanny told everyone to use both of their hiking poles and we started to slowly walk up the hill.

As they approached the summit, Xu Can reminded Xu Ge, "Cousin, keep an eye on your back. Liu Yang might send someone to follow us."

"Yes, I've been keeping an eye on it." Xu Ge nodded.

Xu Ge walked at the very back to avoid being followed; he would look back from time to time after leaving the ranch.

When hiking, one certainly wouldn't bring military equipment like night vision goggles; among the four, he was the only one with night vision.

About half an hour later, the group reached the top of the mountain, where they could faintly hear the sound of flowing water ahead.

The shop owner pointed to the foot of the mountain: "We're almost there. My friend's sheep pen is down there."

"Then let's hurry down and set up camp to rest. It's getting late, and we have to get up early tomorrow." The nanny took the lead and started to descend the mountain.

Xu Ge habitually looked back, his pupils instantly focusing on a figure at the foot of the mountain.

After observing for a few more seconds and confirming that there was only one person, Xu Ge quickly caught up with the group and patted Xu Can and Li Dongshui on the shoulder.

"Someone's following us!" Xu Ge whispered. "Just one person."

Li Dongshui immediately went forward to inform the wet nurse, while Xu Can and Xu Ge waited where they were.

Shortly after, the nanny returned: "Where is she?"

Xu Ge: "At the foot of the mountain, we're coming up."

"What should we do? Should we deal with him?"

The nanny did not make the decision alone, but discussed it with her three teammates.

Xu Can said, "They came here at this time not just to find out our location, they must have some other purpose!"

Xu Ge thought for a moment and agreed with Xu Can's opinion: "Even if the person is hostile, since it is one person, he probably doesn't intend to fight head-on. He probably wants to use dirty tricks. We shouldn't give him a chance to get close."

Seeing that Xu Ge and Xu Can had both said so, Li Dongshui, who was already too lazy to think, nodded in agreement.

The wet nurse pulled a small axe from behind her waist: "Alright, you three follow the guide down first, I'll take care of him!"

Xu Can cautioned, "Don't kill anyone, or Liu Yang and the others might react excessively."

The nanny thought it made sense, so she put the small axe back, picked up a stone from the ground, and quickly disappeared into the night.

Xu Ge and the other two continued on their way, following the shop owner down the mountain.

. . .

. . .

About fifteen minutes later, Xu Ge smelled sheep dung in his nose, knowing that the last grazing point had been reached.

"who!"

Suddenly, a figure darted out from around the bend in the hillside ahead, holding a hunting rifle in his hand.

The three immediately spread out, and Xu Ge reached for his pistol at his waist.

The shop owner quickly raised his hand: "Hey, it's me, Pengyou! From the Black Mountain Village Shop!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the ranch owner lowered his gun and shone a beam of flashlight over. After seeing the saddlebag on the donkey and the attire of Xu Ge and his companions, he asked curiously, "Tourists, right? Why are you still walking in the mountains so late?"

As the other person spoke, he walked over, and Xu Ge was able to see the appearance of the ranch owner clearly. He was a slightly thin middle-aged man, probably around 40 years old.

"The four of them were originally going to camp on your ranch, but then another group came and they felt it wasn't safe, so they decided to rest here for the night," the shop owner explained.

"Four people?" The ranch owner swung his flashlight. "Why are there only three here?"

The shop owner turned around and was somewhat surprised: "Where's that big guy?"

"I had diarrhea in the back, I'll be back in a bit," Xu Ge explained casually.

The ranch owner seemed to have thought of something and looked at Xu Ge and the other two, saying, "Why do you think those people are unsafe?"

Xu Can spoke up: "They outnumber us, nine people in total. We're outnumbered, and we definitely need to consider our safety in the middle of nowhere!"

"No, I have to go back and check on them. I don't want those people to harm my cattle and sheep!" The ranch owner looked at the shop owner. "Hey buddy, could you keep an eye on my sheep for me?"

"no problem."

"Wait a minute!" Xu Ge quickly stopped the other person. "You should wait for our companions to return before you set off, otherwise it's easy for misunderstandings to occur if you two meet on the road."

This guy is carrying a gun. If he runs into the nanny, things could easily escalate into a fight.

The ranch owner thought it made sense, so he led the four into the sheep pen and pointed out a spot for them to set up their tents.

"It's 20 yuan per person, I'm charging you!"

Xu Can handed over a hundred yuan directly: "No problem."

After the shop owner tied up the donkey, he followed the ranch owner to the side and whispered something to each other, while Xu Ge and the other two took out their tents and sleeping bags and set up camp again.

About ten minutes later, the nanny returned.

The ranch owner slung his hunting rifle over his shoulder, mounted his horse, and rode back to the mountain pasture, while the shopkeeper slept in the only wooden hut in the sheepfold.

After the four of them crawled into the tent, they all stuck their heads out.

"I knocked the guy unconscious and dumped him on the roadside. I found a pistol and a bag on him."

The nanny took out the pistol and the bag of powder together and whispered, "That guy didn't see what I looked like when I made the move."

The pistol was an old-fashioned replica of the Type 64. Everyone glanced at it and tossed it aside, focusing their attention on the small bag.

Xu Ge opened the bag, sniffed it briefly, and immediately resealed it, saying in a deep voice, "There are drugs in here, but there's something else mixed in with them!"

"Looks like they're trying to poison us!" Xu Can frowned. "These people really have no bottom line."

"Sister Qing, where did you knock him out and dump him? Won't the ranch owner see him when he gets back?" Xu Ge asked.

The nanny said nonchalantly, "So what if they see? That guy will wake up in two or three hours at most. Even if he doesn't see my face, he can guess that we did it. I just want them to know that we're not to be trifled with!"

At this point, the four of them had already met Liu Yang and his group, and were walking on the same route. The psychological game had begun.

"Should we wait until Liu Yang and the others arrive before setting off tomorrow?" Xu Ge asked.

The nanny shook her head: "There's no need to wait deliberately. If they're interested in us, they'll catch up naturally." "Since they've already sent people, will they send more tonight?"

"It shouldn't be that bad. I spared that guy's life as a warning to them, unless they are also 100% sure they can get through this path."

However, although the wet nurse said that, she still set up a guard post not far from the sheepfold before going to sleep, and then came back and buried the imitation Type 64 pistol in the sheepfold.

Once everything was ready, the four of them went back to their tents to sleep. Naturally, none of them took off their clothes, and all of them had their pistols cocked.

Xu Ge deliberately found a bowl, turned it upside down on the ground, and slept next to it so that he could detect any movement immediately.

. . .

. . .

Nothing happened that night. The next day, just as dawn broke, Xu Ge was awakened by a buzzing sound coming from the bowl.

I immediately sat up, opened the tent flap, and listened intently for a while. The sounds of donkey hooves and rolling stones on the mountain path came through.

Xu Ge was startled; Liu Yang and his group had arrived!
"Sister Qing! Cousin! Ah Shui! Wake up!"

The other three were also quite alert. As soon as Xu Ge finished shouting, they all opened the tent flaps. Xu Can, while tying his hair back up, asked, "What's wrong?"

"Liu Yang and the others are here!"

"Quickly, pack up the tent and bags!"

The nanny immediately got up and removed the security settings from last night, and the four of them quickly packed their things.

The shop owner was also awakened by the commotion of the four people. He opened the door, rubbing his eyes, and came out: "Why are you all up so early... Hey, what are they doing here?"

On a distant hillside, a group of people were following three donkeys down the mountain.

The four had finished packing. As the nanny tied a backpack to the donkey's back, she said, "Boss, let's hurry up and set off. These people probably don't have good intentions."

The shop owner was taken aback: "Really?"

"What do you mean it's not that bad? That woman from yesterday must have been taken in by them. After what you did to her yesterday, now that she's found someone to back her up, do you think they won't come after you?"

"Oh dear! Let's hurry up and have breakfast on the way!"

The shop owner's expression immediately changed. He led the donkey out of the sheepfold and headed directly west with the four of them.

After walking for a short while, Xu Can suddenly spoke up: "They've caught up with us. It seems they're after us!"

Xu Ge glanced back and saw that the group had sped up and no longer stopped at the sheepfold; they were now less than 500 meters away.

"Wait a minute, there are only nine of them?" Li Dong suddenly said.

The other three were taken aback: "Isn't nine people the correct number?"

Li Dongshui: "No, there should be 10 people in total, including the guide and Chen Lu!"

The nanny turned around and looked carefully for a while, then her face suddenly changed: "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?" All three were startled by the nanny's expression.

"I remember the person I knocked unconscious yesterday was short. You see, there aren't any particularly small people among these people!"

The nanny's face was grim. "Damn it, could it be that that guy didn't go back, and Liu Yang and his gang are coming after us demanding his return?"

Xu Can: "Are you sure you didn't hit too hard?"

The nanny nodded: "I know what I'm doing. I'll just be dizzy for a while at most."

Xu Ge thought of something: "Could it be that the ranch owner who went back last night took the person away?"

"For now, let's not worry about where that guy went. Just remember to pretend this never happened. We had no idea someone followed us last night. Let's see what they have to say later."

"understand!"

After making up their minds, the four of them decided not to rush on their way.

But they weren't in a hurry. The shop owner was. He had just turned around and seen Chen Lu riding on the donkey. The nanny's words had touched his heart, and now he was terrified that the woman would retaliate. He kept leading the donkey forward without stopping.

The two groups of people moved forward one after the other, several hundred meters apart, at a fairly fast pace.

However, Xu Ge's group of four was clearly in better physical condition, and after walking for another two hours, the two sides gradually widened the gap.

Around noon, a high mountain appeared in front of us; it was the Hakarda Pass, which is over 4400 meters above sea level.

According to the map, after crossing the Khakale River, you will reach the first Rinchi River Valley, which requires crossing the river.

The shop owner looked back for a moment, then plopped down on the ground, panting heavily: "These people are really following me closely. I'd better get out of here as soon as I get over the mountain!"

The group behind them had already sat down on a grassy area to have lunch, and Xu Ge and his three companions also stopped to rest.

Twenty minutes later, the shop owner, who had been watching the commotion behind them, immediately stood up and urged, "They've set off, let's hurry up and leave too!"

We started climbing the mountain.

From the foot of the mountain, the Hakkale Pass doesn't seem very high, but the slope is very steep, and the oxygen content in the air gradually decreases as the altitude increases.

The shopkeeper began to pant heavily, and the donkey even knelt down on the ground several times.

Seeing this, the four of them each picked up their backpacks and, after more than an hour, finally climbed to the top of the pass.

"Quick, give me the money!"

The shop owner approached the nanny and pointed down, saying, "See that water flowing down the mountain? That's the Renqi River."

"There's no road ahead. I can only take you this far. You'll have to cross the Renqi River more than ten times from here. Take care of yourselves!"

The shop owner took the money, got on his donkey without saying a word, and rode off, but instead of returning the way he came, he sneakily went down the side of the mountain.

The four of them didn't bother arguing with him, and after a short rest, they continued on their way.

Xu Ge looked into the distance for a while and found that there were no more meadows a few kilometers ahead, only scree beaches and snow-capped mountains and glaciers.

We have now reached the true heart of the Kunlun Mountains.

Because the slope was so steep, it took longer to go down the mountain than to go up.

Without lingering, the four of them made their way down to the foot of the mountain in one go.

Wow!
A swift-flowing river blocked our way; we had arrived at the Renqi River.

boom! boom!
Xu Ge heard a heart-stopping roar coming from the valley ahead, and it was rapidly approaching. His expression changed, and he quickly stopped the wet nurse who was about to head towards the river.

"Wait a minute! Did you hear something?"

All three shook their heads: "No? What was that sound?"

Xu Ge frowned: "It looks like something is coming. We'd better not cross the river yet!"

The wet nurse said, "Liu Yang and his men will be catching up soon. We need to cross the river first to show them our capabilities before they will..."

boom! boom! boom!
The wet nurse was interrupted by a loud noise halfway through her story.

Upstream, a pale yellow torrent is rapidly pouring down!

"Holy crap! A flash flood is coming! Run!"

(End of this chapter)