Chapter 1855: Chapter 1855: Lost Wilderness (12)
"It’s possible," Lan Chen pondered for a moment, "let’s take a look first before deciding."
"Brother Lan... I have a bad feeling, maybe we should head back," Xie Ningfeng cautiously suggested.
Lan Chen frowned, "Even if we want to leave, we can’t just leave like this, can we? You’ve seen how dangerous it was all the way here."
There is only one guide after all.
Brother Gao and the others aren’t leaving, so who would the guide follow?
Could they rely on themselves to find their way out of these identical-looking mountains?
Li Tian and Xie Ningfeng exchanged glances and each let out a sigh.
Li Tian suddenly waved them over and whispered, "Hey, what do you think Liu Chuzheng is... up to?"
-
At this moment, Chuzheng was in a fight with someone.
She had been attacked as soon as she came down from there. The opponent’s martial arts were a bit strange, silent like a ghost.
Chuzheng had a hard time pinning the person to the ground.
By this time, the mist had dissipated a lot, and Chuzheng could see the person she was pinning down.
The other person was wearing clothes from the seventies or eighties, with somewhat long hair. Just by looking at them, it seemed as though they were from the wrong era.
Chuzheng’s gaze sank slightly, "Xin Zhu?"
The person pinned to the ground turned their head with difficulty, an alert yet somewhat surprised look in their eyes, "You know me?"
This person...
There’s something strange about them.
Chuzheng warned, "I’ll let you go, but don’t start anything again."
The person on the ground nodded after a while, "Okay."
Chuzheng cautiously loosened her grip, making sure Xin Zhu didn’t intend to attack, and gradually let go, but as soon as she completely released him, Xin Zhu suddenly rolled over and kicked at her.
Chuzheng quickly pressed down on his leg, and the two grappled, rolling a few times on the ground.
In the end, Chuzheng gained the upper hand, holding Xin Zhu’s hands down, exuding a fierce aura, "Do you believe I could kill you?"
Xin Zhu: "..."
This time, Chuzheng didn’t bother with pleasantries and tied him up directly.
Chuzheng stood up, dusting off the dirt and dead leaves from her clothes, looking down at the person she had tied up.
Xin Zhu appeared to be around twenty years old, his attire very reminiscent of a different era, even the watch on his wrist felt vintage.
Xin Zhu struggled for a while, his wrists rubbed sore with no success, then he looked up at Chuzheng, "How do you know my name?"
His long hair fell to the sides of his forehead, revealing his entire face.
His features were delicate, leaning towards a feminine beauty, yet not making him seem effeminate. His outdated clothing made him look like a time traveler crossing through eras.
In his clear, dark pupils, the mist and Chuzheng’s silhouette were reflected, they were truly beautiful eyes.
Chuzheng discreetly studied him from head to toe, then countered with a question, "Why are you here?"
Dressed like this, with such peculiar behavior...
Still, he didn’t seem like a wild man.
Xin Zhu’s dark eyes blinked, responding with confidence, "I’ve always been here."
"What?" Is he really a wild man? But aren’t wild men supposed to be unable to speak?
Xin Zhu pursed his lips, "Who are you?"
Chuzheng glanced upward, then pulled him up, "Let’s get out of here first."
Xin Zhu’s face suddenly changed, cold sweat forming on his forehead.
"What’s wrong?" Chuzheng felt a pang of unease.
Xin Zhu bit down and didn’t make a sound. Chuzheng’s gaze quickly scanned over his body and saw blood on his back shoulder.
"Got hit just now?"
-
Xin Zhu led Chuzheng downwards, to an area with rocks and some caves where Xin Zhu lived.
The cave had quite a few things, a table, chairs, kitchen utensils, and even a tape recorder with some tapes beside it.
In one corner there was a bed with old bedding, and just like his clothes, it had a vintage feel.
There was a pile of miscellaneous items on the ground, which appeared to have been brought down from above by him.
Chuzheng helped him sit down, "Take off your clothes."
Xin Zhu’s eyes widened slightly.
Chuzheng added, "Let me check your wound."
"No... no need!"
"You can’t beat me," Chuzheng calmly threatened, "If you don’t want to be tied up again, you’d better listen to me."
Xin Zhu: "..."
-
Chuzheng extracted the bullet, applied medicine, and bandaged the wound with quick efficiency, while Xin Zhu gritted his teeth in silence.
After treating the wound, Chuzheng wiped her hands and asked, "Earlier, you said you always lived here, what did you mean?"
Xin Zhu paused while dressing, his dark eyes flicked towards her.
He seemed to be weighing something, finally, with a stiff face, said, "Nothing, I was just talking nonsense."
"You don’t have to tell me, but the guys up there won’t be as kind as I am to listen to you. If they find you, they might just..."
Chuzheng made a throat-slitting gesture.
Xin Zhu: "..."
You don’t exactly look like a good person either.
Xin Zhu remained silent, and Chuzheng clicked her tongue, scanning the cave with her eyes.
The cave was well-organized with distinct areas: a living area, a storage area, and even a... workspace.
The table over there was covered with books, and the walls had some stuff pinned to them.
Immediately, Chuzheng’s eyes fell on a black and white photograph on the wall.
Xin Zhu was very noticeable in the photo since he hadn’t changed at all from his current appearance, as if the picture had just been taken recently.
However...
The date on the photograph was March 1988.
"You..."
Xin Zhu stood, tearing down the photo and hiding it behind him. His movement was too abrupt, affecting his wound, causing his face to turn a shade paler.
Chuzheng’s gaze darkened, if the photo wasn’t of Xin Zhu’s father or grandfather, then... it was of him.
Xin Zhu had said before he lived here all along...
Chuzheng suddenly had a bold idea.
"Do you know what year it is now?"
"You came here in 1988 with those people, right?"
Xin Zhu slowly lifted his eyes, his pupils flickering, eventually nodding slowly.
-
Xin Zhu couldn’t remember how long he had been here. When he initially awoke, it wasn’t in this place but somewhere else.
When he first came to, his memories were fragmented.
He couldn’t remember why he was here or where this place was.
He collected those items from above, gradually getting some of his memory back.
He recalled coming here with a teacher for research, but couldn’t remember certain details.
He couldn’t remember when that photo was taken either.
The person in the photo looked distinctly unfamiliar, yet he could still recall the name.
The leftovers felt unfamiliar in his memory, yet he knew how to use them when he held them.
Piece by piece, he tried to piece together his memory, but to little effect.
Year after year, day after day in this place...
Chuzheng felt she needed to calm down.
This is supposed to be a normal, modern world, so why is this happening?!
This setup is all wrong!
Chuzheng exhaled, calmly asking, "Your appearance... it hasn’t changed at all?"
Xin Zhu shook his head, "No."
"Then you could be this body’s grandfather by now?" Chuzheng muttered, and Xin Zhu didn’t catch it, looking at her in confusion.
"So... what year is it now?"
"2019."
Xin Zhu was stunned; he hadn’t felt like thirty years had gone by while he was here.
