Three days had passed. After the rain that night, the sky had been clear ever since. Si Yu had been searching tirelessly for three days, but there was still no news of Tang Jun.
Yuan Yu fainted for a day. When she woke up, the first thing she asked was, "Have you found Tang Jun?"
Tang Jun was nowhere to be found, as if he had vanished from the earth without a trace of him anywhere.
The bottom of the cliff had almost been turned upside down by them, but still, they couldn’t find Tang Jun.
Could he have been eaten by a wild animal?
Soone couldn’t help but speculate. Otherwise, how could Tang Jun have fallen from above and not be found?
They had searched the entire vicinity, yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of Tang Jun.
"Brother ng, where do you think Tang Jun could have gone?" Zhao Xiangqian couldn’t help but speculate as well.
Even if he had been eaten by a wild animal, could he not have left even a scrap of clothing behind?
"There must be sothing we’ve overlooked."
Si Yu closed his eyes. They had searched all over the bottom of the cliff, but there was still no trace of Tang Jun.
As for being carried away by a wild animal, Si Yu didn’t believe it. They had been searching here for so long and hadn’t encountered any wolves, tigers, or leopards.
If he wasn’t taken by a wild animal, then they must have overlooked sothing.
"Is there really no underground river around here?" Si Yu asked again.
"No."
Zhao Xiangqian answered confidently.
They had almost turned this place upside down.
"Impossible."
Si Yu decided to search again. This ti, he had to be even more thorough than before.
"I’ll go with you to search," Yuan Yu said after hearing Si Yu, also believing there must be an underground river around here. Perhaps Tang Jun was lucky and fell into it?
Clinging to this hope, Yuan Yu followed Si Yu closely, wishing she could retrace every step to make sure there wasn’t an underground river beneath their feet.
After fainting, Yuan Yu hadn’t rested and was searching again. The warm sunlight made her a bit dizzy; she shook her head, wiped her sweat, and continued searching.
"Brother ng, Doctor Yuan, why don’t you take a rest? We’ll do the searching," Zhao Xiangqian said, worried that Si Yu and Yuan Yu would be too exhausted.
"I’m fine. You should also check the deeper parts of the grass. Maybe you’ll find sothing," Si Yu said, looking at the lush grass around them. He felt their previous search hadn’t been thorough enough.
Because of Tang Jun, Si Yu hadn’t spoken to Tang Yue for three days.
Not being able to see his wife was one thing, but he couldn’t even hear her sweet, soft voice.
If they found Tang Jun, he could give his wife an explanation. If not...
Si Yu’s eyes darkened. They had to find Tang Jun, dead or alive!
Tang Jun, you brat, you surely won’t die that easily, right?
Once you’re back, you’ll have to admit your mistake.
Si Yu was so frustrated he wished he could catch Tang Jun and give him a good beating.
"Ah..."
Yuan Yu scread. A mont later, when Si Yu and Zhao Xiangqian looked in the direction of the scream, she was already gone.
Si Yu and Zhao Xiangqian exchanged glances, as if they saw a glimr of hope.
Perhaps this was the reason for Tang Jun’s disappearance.
Not only Si Yu, but everyone else nearby gathered around.
The spot where Yuan Yu fell didn’t look unusual. But after they parted the grass and pressed down with a stick, they discovered it was a grass-covered pit.
"Doctor Yuan." Zhao Xiangqian called loudly but there was no response from Yuan Yu.
"That’s strange, she clearly fell from here just now." Zhao Xiangqian looked bewildered.
Si Yu said nothing, he just started pulling up the grass. Zhao Xiangqian and Liao Shao joined in quickly, and with many hands working, they uncovered a grass-covered pit. Rather than a pit, it was more like a crevice.
The crevice wasn’t long, but the grass around it was very dense. It was easy to overlook during their previous searches.
"Listen, doesn’t it sound like there’s water underneath?" Si Yu lay at the edge of the hole, listening. It was pitch black inside, but the faint sound of flowing water could be heard.
"It does sound like it. Could it really be an underground river?"
"Who knows where it leads to." Liao Shao and Zhao Xiangqian were pondering. Liao Shao said, "I’ll go get so equipnt for going down imdiately."
Zhao Xiangqian was about to respond when he noticed a shadow flash by him. Si Yu, who had just been at the edge listening, had vanished.
"Brother ng!"
Zhao Xiangqian shouted in agitation. They didn’t know where the underground river led, let alone any potential dangers. Si Yu jumping down was too reckless.
"Stop shouting. We should get the professional equipnt ready to rescue Brother ng and Doctor Yuan," Liao Shao said, then added, "and Tang Jun as well."
"Right."
Zhao Xiangqian said this and imdiately started preparing.
*
In an unknown village, as the sunset’s afterglow lingered, smoke curled up from the roofs. An old man was sorting herbs in a courtyard at the village’s entrance.
In the kitchen, a ten-year-old girl was cooking over a fire.
"Grandpa, co eat." The girl called loudly.
The old man responded and said, "Girl, go see if that person has woken up yet."
"Okay."
The girl answered and rushed inside. She leaned against the bed and reached toward the man lying there. The girl spoke up, "Grandpa, he’s not awake yet."
"Feed him that bowl of dicine after dinner," the old man said, sipping his little wine and eating peanuts.
The girl held the boiled dicine with concern and carefully fed it to the man’s mouth.
"Girl, don’t worry, he won’t die," the old man said, noticing the girl’s cautious deanor and couldn’t help but remind her.
"Grandpa, he’s been burning with fever since we picked him up. Won’t his brain get damaged?" The girl asked, looking at the old man worriedly. This big brother seed to be burning up quite severely.
"Don’t worry, he won’t die."
The old man took a sip of wine, ate a peanut, and assured, "Girl, once he’s had the dicine, he’ll wake up today."
"Really?" The girl, curious, after eating, ran to watch over the bed.
Suddenly, the girl excitedly exclaid, "Grandpa, he’s awake, awake."
The old man walked over, glanced at him, then lay back in his rocking chair, saying, "I told you he wouldn’t die."
For days, Tang Jun had been in a hazy state, the world always in darkness. Finally catching the scent of food, he struggled to open his eyes, greeted by near-total darkness.
"You’re awake? Are you feeling any discomfort?" The girl tilted her head, looking at Tang Jun, thinking how handso this brother they picked up was, more handso than any man in the village.
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