Chen Lishu looked at the steep slope in front of her and shrugged helplessly. "There's no other way. The path here is too treacherous. We'll do as Comrade Lu suggests."
With that, the three of them lined up.
Lu Gen tried to get past Su Nian to hold Chen Lishu's hand, hoping to close the distance between them.
But as soon as he took a step, a pair of fair hands blocked his way. Lu Gen looked up, puzzled, and followed the hands to their owner.
Su Nian blinked her innocent eyes and deliberately asked, "Comrade Lu, where are you going? If you walk behind, what happens if I, a girl, encounter danger walking in front? Didn't you promise President Zhang earlier that you would protect both of us? Besides, how can my judgment as a woman be as good as yours as a man? If we accidentally take the wrong path, all three of us will be finished!"
Lu Gen looked at the troublesome person, his back teeth grinding, but he couldn't vent his anger in front of Chen Lishu. He could only force a smile and say, "You're right. But it's not entirely safe in the back either. What if something jumps out and hurts President Chen? Why don't you walk behind, and President Chen can be in the middle?"
"No!" Su Nian pretended to be scared and shook her head. "Madam, I'm afraid walking behind too. How about we walk side by side? I'll hold your hand, and Comrade Lu will lead the way for us?"
"Miss Su!" Lu Gen was so angry that he clenched his fists, wishing he could hit Su Nian.
Chen Lishu, who had been silent all along, spoke up. "Comrade Lu will walk behind us. We'll take care of leading the way. You just need to pull us along when there's danger."
"President Chen..." Lu Gen tried to say something to show his manliness, but before he could finish, Chen Lishu interrupted him.
"Alright, now is not the time to argue about such things. The rain is getting heavier and shows no sign of stopping. If we don't find Gao Xinyan soon, we might be in trouble too."
With that, Chen Lishu took Su Nian's hand and, without wasting any more words with Lu Gen, took the lead to scout the path.
Lu Gen opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Not wanting to annoy Chen Lishu with too much chatter, he could only obediently follow behind her. The three of them resumed their search for Gao Xinyan.
"Gao Xinyan!"
"Gao Xinyan!"
"..."
They had been calling out for almost the entire way, and their throats were parched, but Gao Xinyan was nowhere to be seen.
Just as Chen Lishu's mood began to grow heavy, Su Nian tugged at her hand and said, "Madam, look quickly, there seems to be someone down there!"
Hearing this, Chen Lishu quickly followed the direction Su Nian was pointing. The person lying in the small pit was indeed Gao Xinyan.
Gao Xinyan, hearing sounds from above, groggily opened her eyes. Seeing Chen Lishu, she weakly called out, "President Chen... I'm here..."
Chen Lishu's eyelids twitched when she saw the bloodstains on Gao Xinyan. She immediately said, "Don't move, we'll come down and save you now!"
With that, they found the lowest point of the pit and jumped down.
Looking at the severely injured Gao Xinyan, Chen Lishu said, "Lu Gen, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you to carry her out."
Lu Gen nodded. "Don't worry, President Chen, leave this to me."
With that, he scooped up Gao Xinyan, and with Su Nian's help, the three of them climbed out of the pit.
Just as they were rejoicing at finding the person, a rustling sound came from behind them.
Su Nian looked alertly in the direction of the sound. A wild boar, about half the height of an adult man, appeared in the jungle. The boar was staring intently in their direction.
"Brother Lu, it's... it's a wild boar!" Gao Xinyan's face suddenly turned pale as she saw the ugly boar. She clutched Lu Gen's neck tightly, seeking comfort.
However, her behavior did not evoke Lu Gen's pity. Instead, he wished he could just throw her down.
Lu Gen said with difficulty, "Can you please take your hands off my neck? I can barely breathe!"
Hearing this, Gao Xinyan withdrew her hands as if she were a child who had done something wrong.
Lu Gen put her aside, assumed a defensive posture, and said to Chen Lishu, "President Chen, don't be afraid, I will protect you!"
Chen Lishu perfunctorily nodded at Lu Gen and then asked Su Nian, "How confident are you that you can deal with this wild boar?"
A hint of sharpness flashed in Su Nian's eyes. "Pretty confident, but I can feel that this wild boar's emotions are a bit off. Madam, please be careful and try to stay out of the way. Leave the rest to me."
"Mm!" Chen Lishu responded softly and then took out a small knife from her怀里.
This small knife was a lesson learned from the Gong Wei incident, primarily for self-defense. If another unexpected situation arose, she would be able to protect herself. She didn't expect the knife to be useful so soon after she started carrying it.
As the three of them and the boar stared at each other, Gao Xinyan suddenly cried out, "Brother Lu! I'm scared!"
The sharp, piercing voice not only startled the wild boar but also made Chen Lishu's heart skip a beat.
Lu Gen glared at Gao Xinyan with disappointment. "Shut up! If you attract the wild boar, none of us will fare well!"
The argument between the two startled the wild boar. It grunted and charged towards them.
Wherever the wild boar went, nothing grew. Its destructive power was immense. Even a thick tree nearby was snapped in half by its charge. Chen Lishu was truly startled.
"Brother Lu!"
"President Chen, let's quickly get into the pit to take shelter. This wild boar can't get in! It can't do anything to us."
Gao Xinyan placed all her hopes on Lu Gen, but she never expected that in the face of danger, Lu Gen would only think of Chen Lishu.
Seeing Lu Gen, whose eyes were only on Chen Lishu, Gao Xinyan's eyes filled with disbelief. This man had confessed his love for her just the day before, but when danger struck, his heart was only with Chen Lishu.
"Liar, liar!" A look of hatred flashed in Gao Xinyan's eyes, and she clenched her fists tightly.
Meanwhile, Su Nian was engaged in a fight with the wild boar. As a former mercenary, a wild boar was not a big problem for her.
She met it head-on with a few blows, and soon the boar was injured.
Enraged, the wild boar let out a howl. It seemed to realize that it was no match for the woman in front of it. It looked around and set its sights on the immobilized Gao Xinyan.