Xiao Jingyao's expression grew solemn.

Strange.

How could a human figure appear in a place like this?

Despite their surprise, Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang decided to go over and take a look.

However, before they even reached the spot, a small gray wolf suddenly lunged out from somewhere, baring its teeth at the two of them.

"Grr~~~"

The little creature was skin and bones, its gray fur matted and messy, looking severely malnourished.

Its hostile yellowish-brown eyes swept past Zhou Qinglang, and then, as they landed on Lin Xiaodou, they suddenly paused.

The scent emanating from this human was so pleasant; it liked it so much...

Lin Xiaodou met its gaze at that moment.

She understood the meaning behind the small gray wolf's earlier growl: [Don't touch her/him!]

So the small gray wolf knew the person lying on the ground.

Because of the little creature's interruption, Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang had stopped in their tracks.

The two exchanged glances, hesitating whether to continue forward, when the figure on the ground suddenly leaped up, grabbed the small gray wolf by the scruff, and dashed into the nearby bushes.

Then, it sprinted madly through the undergrowth and vanished in a flash.

Lin Xiaodou:......

Zhou Qinglang:......

That was quite fast.

Lin Xiaodou: "Forget it, that person looks like they're fine. Let's continue on our way."

Zhou Qinglang: "Okay."

After walking for a while, the two vaguely felt like two little tails were following them behind.

It was that dirty person whose face was obscured and the small gray wolf.

The human and the wolf were following stealthily on tiptoe, thinking they hadn't been discovered.

Such clumsy tracking skills were truly unmatched.

Zhou Qinglang looked at Lin Xiaodou with his eyes, asking whether they should deal with it, but Lin Xiaodou shook her head to indicate they shouldn't.

She wanted to see what these two fellows actually wanted to do.

Next, Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang hurried along without stopping.

Along the way, they happened to spot a few trees laden with wild fruits.

Exhausted, the two decided to take a short break and pick some wild fruits to appease their hunger.

Since the morning of yesterday, a full day and night had passed without a single drop of water or grain of rice entering their stomachs.

At this moment, hunger struck like a tidal wave, making it hard for them to resist.

Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang eagerly picked the wild fruits, stuffing their pockets to the brim.

Then they sat under the tree, devouring this rare food voraciously.

Bite after bite, it felt as though they could never get enough.

Unawares, they had actually eaten a full five or six wild fruits, before finally feeling a slight sense of fullness in their bellies.

Although these wild fruits tasted somewhat sour and astringent, to their famished selves, they were already culinary delicacies.

After finishing, they stood up, dusted off their clothes, and prepared to set off again.

Before leaving, Lin Xiaodou pretended to turn her head back nonchalantly.

She saw that dirty figure sitting flat on the ground, hands clenched into little claws held in front of their chest, gazing over here with eager anticipation.

The small gray wolf beside them was doing the exact same thing.

Lin Xiaodou raised an eyebrow.

This person's actions and behaviors were very much like an animal's; could it be that they had lived in the mountain forests for a long time?

Lin Xiaodou took another curious glance.

Perhaps sensing her gaze, those two fellows suddenly jumped up as if their fur had been electrified, and fled like refugees into the nearby bushes.

Lin Xiaodou:...... Was she really that terrifying?

Those two fellows didn't seem to harbor any hostility toward her, so she would just leave them be.

Onward!

It was noon by the time the two had covered only half the distance.

Gazing at the endless expanse of the mountain forest with no exit in sight, Lin Xiaodou suggested:

"Why don't we rest here for a bit and look for some food along the way."

Perhaps due to his resilient physical constitution, Zhou Qinglang's mental state was still quite good at present.

Since that was the case, there was no need to rush too much.

Zhou Qinglang nodded: "Okay."

Lin Xiaodou had him sit on a large rock: "You're injured, you sit here and rest, and I'll go find some food."

She planned to look around the surroundings, and if she really couldn't find anything, she would pull a wild chicken out of her spatial dimension later.

Zhou Qinglang felt a warmth in his heart: "Alright, then be careful."

He only said it out of habit; in truth, he had complete peace of mind regarding Lin Xiaodou, considering her formidable combat strength.

Lin Xiaodou tidied her crossbody bag and walked off to the side.

The two fellows behind were momentarily stunned, glanced left and right, and ultimately followed behind Lin Xiaodou.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Qinglang curved the corners of his lips slightly.

It seemed his guess was correct; those two fellows were heading straight for the lass Lin.

That lass possessed a certain magic, naturally making people want to get close to her and like her.

Even he......

He couldn't quite explain these complex emotions himself.

If only... she didn't have a fiancé, how wonderful that would be!

Such a thought flashed through Zhou Qinglang's mind, but he immediately forced it down.

After all, this was merely his own wishful thinking.

Not long after, Lin Xiaodou walked over holding a lively, kicking wild chicken.

Her face beamed with a triumphant smile as she excitedly called out to Zhou Qinglang:

"Look! I caught a plump wild chicken!"

Zhou Qinglang's lips curled upward into a faint smile: "Impressive."

Then, he suddenly asked: "Are those two fellows still following you?"

Lin Xiaodou nodded and replied: "Yeah, they've been following the whole time. Wherever I go, they go."

Fortunately, the distance was relatively far, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to pull this wild chicken out from her space.

Coincidentally, there was a small stream nearby, so Lin Xiaodou went to the water's edge to clean the feathers and internal organs.

Zhou Qinglang was responsible for building a makeshift earthen stove and starting a fire.

With the two of them dividing the labor, the wild chicken was soon threaded onto tree branches and roasted over the fire.

Lacking cookware, they could only roast the wild chicken to eat.

The wild chicken sizzled with oil over the fire, emitting an irresistible aroma.

That rich scent diffused into the air, making mouths water.

Not far away, the dirty figure and the small gray wolf were also unable to resist this temptation, unable to stop themselves from frantically swallowing their saliva.

With wide eyes, they stared fixedly at the wild chicken roasting on the fire, wishing they could charge over and take a bite.

Who knew how much time passed before they finally saw the two humans start holding the fragrant roasted chicken in their hands to eat.

"Wuwuwu~~~"

The small gray wolf whimpered twice, its round eyes filled with tearful yearning.

"Don't... hit..."

The dirty figure managed to squeeze out two difficult words.

The small gray wolf had depended on her for mutual survival for many years and knew what she meant.

[Don't go, you'll get beaten.]

The small gray wolf whimpered and obediently rubbed against her thigh.

The figure reached out a blackened hand, smeared with grime, and stroked its withered fur: "Good..."

The voice was hoarse and dry, as if she hadn't spoken in a very long time.

..............................

Over on Lin Xiaodou's side.

Just as the wild chicken was about to finish roasting.

Lin Xiaodou pulled a shaker of pepper powder from her crossbody bag and sprinkled it on top.

Immediately, a peculiar and enticing fragrance rushed forth.

Zhou Qinglang's eyes brightened: "What is this? It smells so good."

Lin Xiaodou: "Pepper powder, a kind of seasoning. I brought it from Guizhou Province."

Zhou Qinglang smiled: "It feels like you carry so many things in that crossbody bag of yours, just like a treasure chest."

First medical tools, now seasonings—she really was a capable lass who knew how to manage a household.

Lin Xiaodou raised an eyebrow; he had guessed correctly indeed—it was a treasure chest, otherwise known as her spatial dimension.

Whenever she lacked something, she would transfer items from her space into her crossbody bag, and then take them out from the bag.

With the crossbody bag serving as a cover, no one would ever suspect the source of her goods.

Lin Xiaodou: "That's right, I just like stuffing a lot of useful things into my bag for unexpected needs."

Zhou Qinglang smiled gently: "That's good."

The roasted wild chicken was split into two, with Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang each taking half.

Although the wild chicken only had pepper powder on it and no other seasonings, it tasted quite good.

Both of them had been hungry for quite a while, and throwing aside all manners, they began to eat heartily in large bites.

In less than 20 minutes, the wild chicken was completely devoured, leaving nothing behind except a ground full of chicken bones.

There were also the chicken head, chicken rump, and claws; neither of them liked eating these scraps, so they were left behind.

Zhou Qinglang found a large, broad leaf, gathered all the chicken bones and scraps together, and placed them under a large tree to serve as fertilizer.

Just as the two of them had walked away, two figures rushed over like lightning.

Arriving under the tree, they quickly brushed aside the leaves, exposing the chicken bones, chicken head, and other remnants inside.

Without hesitation, they grabbed these morsels of food and crunched down on them loudly, chewing with great relish and eating with deep satisfaction.

"Awooo~"

The small gray wolf let out a satisfied cry, thoroughly enjoying these delicious treats.

"Awooo~~"

Gnawing on a chicken rump, the dirty figure also joined in, howling excitedly.

Lin Xiaodou turned back to retrace her steps and happened to witness this exact scene.

The human and the wolf were flat on the ground, gnawing on the chicken bones left behind, wagging their behinds as they ate with gusto.

Lin Xiaodou:......

Why did she inexplicably feel a tiny pang of pity?

Her watch had been dropped nearby, and Lin Xiaodou had originally intended to come back just to retrieve it.

But upon seeing this sight, her steps paused nonetheless.

Forget it, she would play the good Samaritan this once.

Pretending to rummage through her crossbody bag, Lin Xiaodou pulled out two bowls of fragrant meat porridge.

By this time, the human and the wolf had stopped eating, both staring at Lin Xiaodou with vigilant and fearful expressions.

Catching the scent of the fragrant meat porridge emanating from her hands, both fellows showed expressions of utter astonishment on their faces.

Lin Xiaodou placed the bowls of meat porridge on the ground and said in a gentle voice: "Eat up, these are for you."

The small gray wolf's jet-black eyes lit up in a flash.

Just as it wanted to charge forward, it was tightly grabbed and held back by the dirty figure, who muttered, "No......"

Their defensive guard was quite high.

Picking up her watch from the ground, Lin Xiaodou turned around and walked away without even looking back at them.

The human and the wolf watched her departing back, exchanging glances.

The next second, they dashed over.

Plunging flat onto the ground, they buried their entire heads into the bowls and devoured the food voraciously.

In less than a minute, the two fellows had finished the meat porridge, even licking the bowls completely clean.

The small gray wolf: "Awooo~" That human is really nice.

The dirty figure raised a face obscured by disheveled, long hair, revealing only a pair of clear, bright eyes.

Those eyes were filled with determination and courage.

"Go......"

She had made up her mind to follow that glowing, beautiful older sister home.

Shortly after Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang set off again, they noticed those two tails had caught up once more.

Zhou Qinglang: "Should we deal with them?"

Lin Xiaodou: "No need, these two fellows......"

Lin Xiaodou recounted the scene she had witnessed earlier, and then added:

"I suspect that person was likely abandoned in the mountains since childhood and lived alongside wolves, which is why her living habits are just like a wolf's.

Since they want to follow us back, let them come. We can talk to the livestock farm manager when we arrive and see how he arranges it."

Anyway, the livestock farm was huge; casually arranging a job for her there would allow her to get by.

......

While Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang were on their journey.

On the other side, another group of people was also searching for them.

Last night, Liu Yan'er had followed the small Tibetan mastiff all the way to that cave in one breath.

At that moment, Zhu Damei and the others had just regained consciousness, and they were overjoyed upon seeing Liu Yan'er suddenly pop up.

Zhu Damei and Liu Yan'er embraced tightly, unable to contain their excitement.

Upon learning that Lin Xiaodou had headed back in to rescue Zhou Qinglang, everyone grew extremely worried.

Xiao Kaile immediately declared that he was going to look for Zhou Qinglang.

Zhou Qinglang was his sworn brother since childhood, sharing a bond of life and death; he would never allow anything to happen to him.

Seeing him about to leave, Liu Yan'er grabbed hold of him:

"No, you can't go. Little Dou said we should wait here for them to return.

What if you go and run into those ruthless bandits, get captured again, and then someone has to go rescue you all over again?"

Little Dou was so formidable; she believed Little Dou would definitely bring Zhou Qinglang back!

Zhu Damei echoed: "Yan'er is right. We can't keep tossing back and forth like this. We'd better wait until the armed police force arrives."

Xiao Kaile grew anxious: "Who knows when the armed police will get here? What if Qing朗 and the others get into trouble..."

Just as his voice trailed off, the sound of dog barking echoed from outside the cave.

"Woof woof woof!"

It was the small Tibetan mastiff keeping watch outside the entrance.

Their hearts tightened, and they rushed out, just in time to see a group of armed police officers in uniform running toward them.

Liu Yan'er was overjoyed: "It's the armed police force, they're here!"

There were over 20 men in this armed police detachment, led by a tall, handsome man with an upright posture.

Upon seeing his face, Zhu Damei let out an exclamation:

"Officer Xiao, why is it you? Aren't you in Guizhou Province?!"

This person was none other than the police captain, Xiao Jingyao, who had previously infiltrated the pig farm in Guizhou Province to capture enemy agents.

Liu Yan'er was well aware of the events that had occurred at the pig farm back then.

Though she hadn't met Xiao Jingyao in person, she had heard all about him from Lin Xiaodou and Zhu Damei.

Hearing Zhu Damei's voice now, she immediately reacted:

"Sister Damei, is this the police comrade whom Little Dou saved twice, and whose mother later made a terrible fuss over Little Dou?"

This sentence revealed a massive amount of information, and many pricked up their ears in gossip.

Xiao Jingyao gave a cough: "It's me, but that matter is already in the past."

With that, Xiao Jingyao swept his gaze over the group and frowned:

"Why isn't Comrade Lin Xiaodou here? Didn't she come with you all to look for someone?"

"Little Dou went to save Comrade Zhou......"

Liu Yan'er immediately spilled every detail of what had transpired.

Upon hearing the whole story, Xiao Jingyao's expression turned stern......