Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The next morning, Zhou Rui gave the two of them some more anti-inflammatory medicine and touched Wu Jiajia's forehead with his hand.

It seems this military-grade medicine is really good; the effect is undeniable, and the fever completely subsided overnight.

"Wang Pao, Gu Pao. What did you find out last night? What's the plan for today?"

Xie Zhijie took the initiative to come forward and inquire, seemingly having gained some recognition of Wang Shouye and Gu Dayong's abilities.

"We found a cave yesterday, but it was just a temporary base. There wasn't much left inside, but you could tell there were two people there."

"We discussed it briefly last night and decided to have Brother Gu take Zhou Rui to the front lines."

"One is to search and see if we can find these people. The other is to keep them at a distance so we can conduct a safe search and rescue operation."

"Alright, then I'll have to trouble Gu Pao."

Xie Zhijie softened his stance, after all, the people from Hongqi Town had done the most dangerous work, and he couldn't afford to give them a hard time.

After that, Zhou Rui and Gu Dayong ignored everyone else, quickly finished their breakfast, and left.

"These two people are carrying a lot of weight." Gu Dayong touched several deep footprints with his gloved hands.

"It seems they came down the mountain to buy supplies."

"So there are more than two of them."

"Moreover, there were no footprints indicating that after these people went back, none of them came down the mountain again."

"That's good news. At least it means your master and the others won't encounter any enemies suddenly returning to the mountain."

"Then let's move forward a bit further, and try to keep them all inside so they can't come out and cause trouble."

The two quickly reached a consensus: if possible, they wanted to nip the enemy in the bud.

Gu Dayong was very satisfied; working with smart people was easy.

With more than an hour left before sunset, Zhou Rui and Gu Dayong left the mountains behind them.

The terrain suddenly changed ahead, revealing a snow-covered mountain plain, beyond which stretched endless mountain ranges.

"Finally out of there, those places were so confusing. Let's go."

Gu Dayong was about to walk forward. The footprints on the road were so clear, like guiding lights.

"Uncle Dayong, wait a minute." Zhou Rui grabbed Gu Dayong's elbow, his expression somewhat serious.

Although he didn't find anything within his perception range, he still felt that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

Gu Dayong looked at the snowfield in front of him. It was still five or six miles away from the opposite mountain range. The ground was flat and unobstructed, with nothing in sight.

"We can only leave at night. There isn't a single tree here. If someone on the opposite mountain has binoculars, we'll be exposed immediately."

"Yes, yes, you're so thoughtful. It seems that going to junior high school makes a difference."

"What are you saying? Jiacheng is also a junior high school student." Zhou Rui smiled, thinking that Gu Dayong was just making up an excuse to praise him.

"That's different. You had good grades in school, and if it weren't for your family's heavy financial burden and your grandparents' lack of support, you would have been in high school by now."

"My third son is such a blockhead. I'm paying for him to go to school, but he won't go."

Gu Dayong was somewhat annoyed, feeling that Gu Jiacheng was so stupid because he hadn't read enough books.

"Uncle Dayong, let's go back to the mountains behind the village first. While it's still early, let's go and get some meat to eat. We've been eating nothing but biscuits for the past two days, and our mouths are getting so bland."

Zhou Rui quickly changed the subject; he didn't want to be that "other people's child," lest it affect his brotherly relationship with Gu Jiacheng.

So, Gu Dayong and Zhou Rui's figures disappeared again as soon as they stepped out of the mountains.

On the other side, Wang Shouye and his group had been searching for almost a day, but had not found a single clue.

Although they outnumbered each other, their search efficiency was actually not high because they had to care for two wounded soldiers. After all, they needed to leave someone specifically to look after them.

"What happened? Logically speaking, now that Brother Lü and Miss Wu have been found, the others shouldn't be too far away. How come there's not a single clue?"

Xie Zhijie then found Wang Shouye. His older brother, being too old, was left at the campsite with his young apprentice to take care of the two young city kids.

At this point, he could only consult with Wang Shouye if he had any problems.

"I was wondering the same thing. We've searched every nook and cranny of this hill and valley. Logically, we should be able to find some traces of their footsteps."

"But after searching for so long, we haven't found any human footprints except for the tracks of wild boars and roe deer."

"Did they fly into the sky? Or did they burrow underground?"

Wang Shouye shook his head, feeling completely baffled and unable to figure out the reason.

"If only my little apprentice were here, he's so bright, but unfortunately Da Yong borrowed him."

Hearing this, Xie Zhijie was somewhat displeased. What? So only your apprentice is smart, and everyone else's apprentices are all good-for-nothings?

"There are so many of us, why don't we call them all over? Let's think of a solution together."

boom……

boom……

Two gunshots, spaced a few seconds apart, rang out and echoed far away from the valley path.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Xie Yongjiang and the other three split into two groups and arrived from the north and south respectively.

"Second Uncle, what's the matter? Have you found the person?" Xie Yongjiang asked impatiently before even reaching the edge of the area, as he arrived with Luo Hao.

The first two were found in Hongqi Town. If the remaining three cannot be found, then they have played no role at all, and they will lose face big time.

Gu Jiacheng and Hu Dongmu also came over, but they only looked at Wang Shouye and didn't say anything.

"Here's the thing, Wang Pao and I discussed it. We've been searching all day, but we haven't found any trace."

"That's why I called you all back, to think together about what happened. Why is there no trace of the remaining three people being here?"

At this moment, everyone looked at Hu Dongmu. He was most familiar with this place, and perhaps he knew some reasons that others did not.

"I...I don't know either. This place is just a bit shorter and denser than other mountains, and there are more paths in the valley, but nothing special about it."

Hu Dongmu felt immense pressure being watched by so many people, but he was truly helpless. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke under their gaze.

"Don't rush, I'm not forcing you to figure it out."

Wang Shouye could tell that Hu Dongmu was just an ordinary mountain herder, not very bright, and far inferior to his own Zhou Rui.

"We've been searching this mountain area for two days now. You must have a good idea of ​​how much of the area we haven't explored yet, right?"

From being missing for three days to entering the mountains for two days, the longer the time drags on, the slimmer the hope of completing the mission becomes.

"We've searched about half of the area in the last two days. To search the rest of the area, it will take at least another three days."

When Wang Shouye and Xie Zhijie saw Hu Dongmu raise three fingers, they exchanged a glance and their faces darkened.

"Master, do you think they might have skied away, which is why there are no footprints?" Luo Hao wondered, perhaps these people just like skiing.

Xie Yongjiang glanced at Luo Hao: "Does this winding trail look like a place for skiing?"

"If you ask me, I would say they were walking backwards to avoid the enemy and used tree branches to clear away their footprints on the ground."

"No, that's unreasonable," Wang Shouye interrupted.

"They may not know there is an enemy."

"How could that be? Didn't the enemy fire?" Xie Yongjiang retorted, unconvinced that Wang Shouye had denied his answer.

"If Lü Zhijun and his men heard gunshots, what would be their first thought?"

Gu Jiacheng was stroking his chin, mimicking Zhou Rui's thoughtful manner, when he heard Wang Shouye's question, he immediately and subconsciously replied.

"I thought the shot was fired by a comrade, and I would follow the sound of the gunshot to meet up with them."

Wang Shouye's eyes lit up; this Gu Dayong's son was something else.

"So what are your thoughts?"

While the iron was hot, Wang Shouye asked another question.

Gu Jiacheng was still posing, touching his chin and looking at the ground.

"Let's not worry about why there are no footprints. Let's just assume we lost them. How should we reunite? Their original purpose in coming here was..."

"Eagle Cliff, they're going to capture the Falcon."