A Time-Traveling Mishap: I Became an Ancient Nobleman

Chapter 180: Unknown Cause

Zhou Hanzhang became alert and walked over to He Shi and Shen Moli, waking them up.

There's something there.

One of these two men often camped out in the wild to collect herbs, while the other had been trained as a former head of the secret guards, so their vigilance was naturally quite high.

They snapped back to reality almost instantly, and just as they were about to speak, they saw Zhou Hanzhang's finger to his lips.

The group exchanged glances and assumed defensive postures.

Zhou Hanzhang carefully placed the little emerald flame into his bundle and then hung it on his body.

The rustling sound grew louder as it approached them.

As they got closer, they seemed to hear muffled sounds, which sounded like someone had their mouth covered.

They each found a place to hide, carefully controlling their breathing to try not to make the slightest sound.

Although their night vision was slightly impaired, they could still make out some things by observing a firefly-like creature in the dense forest, though it was difficult to see clearly.

Soon, the voice reached them.

There were two women.

I just don't know if Liu Niang is among them.

Zhou Hanzhang stared wide-eyed at the newcomer, but couldn't make out the person at all; only the figure did resemble the person somewhat.

But she couldn't rush forward rashly, or she wouldn't even know how she died.

The other person seemed to have been held hostage by one of them. She had bound him up and her mouth appeared to be stuffed with a rag. Even in the darkness, you could tell that the person looked extremely disheveled.

She kept gesturing wildly, as if she was trying her best to explain something.

The man remained unmoved and simply threw him under a tree.

It was the very tree where Zhou Hanzhang was hiding.

Zhou Hanzhang was startled.

At this moment, not knowing whether the person who came was someone he knew, he dared not show himself rashly.

The best course of action is to play dead.

But the man seemed to have spotted them long ago, and shouted in an unfriendly tone in their direction, "Aren't you getting out here yet?! Don't force me to take action."

Upon hearing the voice, the group agreed.

I was immediately relieved.

Just as the man was about to attack their hiding place, Zhou Hanzhang quickly spoke up, "Master, it was me and my senior brother."

That person was none other than Liu Niang.

Upon hearing the voice, Liu Niang realized it was none other than her newly acquired and precious disciple.

How did I end up in this godforsaken place?

And she said it was with her senior brother?

Was he the senior brother she imagined?

No way?

Her eyes lit up with surprise as she stared intently at Shen Moli, who was following Zhou Hanzhang out.

When Shen Moli's figure was fully exposed in front of her, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

She rushed over and hugged Shen Moli tightly, "You brat, what are you doing here?"

Shen Moli's eyes also welled up with tears, but he forced a smile and said, "I knew you had taken on a new disciple, and I was afraid you wouldn't want me anymore, so I rushed over here."

Liu Niang was amused by him and slapped him on the shoulder, "You brat, you're making fun of your master! How could I not want you?"

Then she straightened her face again, "You two, don't try to change the subject. What are you doing here? Don't you know how dangerous this place is?"

Zhou Hanzhang walked to Liu Niang's side and said, "Master said he would be back in three days. So many days have passed. We are worried because we haven't seen him. Besides, Master is helping me find my father and uncle. If something happens to him, I will never be able to eat or sleep in peace for the rest of my life. I have to come."

"And what about you?!"

Looking at her newly accepted disciple, Liu Niang thought that since she was a young lady, she shouldn't be too harsh on her, so she could only direct her anger at Shen Moli.

Shen Moli looked at Liu Niang with confusion as she suddenly turned her attention to him, and quickly explained, "I received a teleport from Xiangxiang saying that you and your new junior brother have entered the Stone Mountain and haven't returned for many days. How could I not come? You two are my only family. If something happens to you, wouldn't I become an orphan again?"

Shen Moli had indeed spent a lot of time with Liu Niang and knew where Liu Niang's weakness lay, so he directly struck at the softest spot in her heart.

Since he had said that, Liu Niang couldn't vent her anger no matter how much she wanted to.

He could only glare at the two of them.

Zhou Hanzhang, noticing Liu Niang's expression, realized she wasn't truly angry and quickly changed the subject, "Master, how did you come to this dense forest, and also..."

She glanced at the woman who had been left aside by Liu Niang and whose appearance was completely obscured, and asked, "Who is this?"

Liu Niang then came to her senses. "Oh, this girl says she knows you and came from the capital to Jiangnan to find you. Why don't you go and see if you recognize her?"

Zhou Hanzhang was surprised. Who would travel all the way from the capital to Jiangnan just to find him?

The original owner didn't seem to have gotten into any romantic entanglements, right?

Zhou Hanzhang stepped forward, and the woman became even more excited when she saw her coming, waving her arms and legs and making whimpering noises.

But it was too dark, and the person was too dirty, so Zhou Hanzhang really didn't recognize him.

Liu Niang stepped forward and snatched the wad of cloth from his mouth.

The girl spoke, "Brother Hanzhang, I am Mingyun!"

Then she started crying.

Zhou Hanzhang was startled. He recognized Jiang Mingyun's voice and leaned closer. Finally, he recognized her. It was indeed Jiang Mingyun!

"No, what are you doing here? Don't your family care?"

Jiang Mingyun sobbed, "Brother Hanzhang, you came to Jiangnan without saying a word, and without taking me with you. I was afraid something would happen to you, so I rushed over to find you."

Seeing her crying pitifully, as if she had suffered a great torment, Zhou Hanzhang quickly untied the ropes binding her.

"My goodness, you've come, but how can a young girl like you enter the Stone Mountain? What if something happens to you? Or what if you hadn't met me today and my master had treated you as a bad person?"

Jiang Mingyun sniffled, "I was just worried something might happen to you, I..."

She wanted to say something, but seeing everyone around her looking at her, she changed the subject, "I came prepared before coming here, and I brought quite a few people with me."

But when I got to a certain place, I accidentally got separated from them and unknowingly wandered into this dense forest, where I met this person.

This person is utterly unreasonable. The moment he saw me, he accused me of being a spy from Yunmeng Kingdom. Brother Hanzhang, tell me, what spy could be as pathetic as me?

She seemed extremely heartbroken as she spoke, and then burst into tears again.

"You do have some self-awareness. You know you're incompetent, yet you still came. Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

Zhou Hanzhang had no choice but to hug and comfort her.

Liu Niang and Shen Moli exchanged a glance and raised their eyebrows, their unspoken understanding unspoken.

Liu Niang was already exhausted from her antics, and seeing her cry for so long, she couldn't help but get annoyed. "Stop crying! Who knows what your crying will attract later!"

Upon hearing Liu Niang's voice, Jiang Mingyun seemed to recall something terrifying, and shrank back slightly, no longer daring to continue crying.