Chapter 30: 30, That crazy Ren Xiaosu

The band has returned? Ren Xiaosu felt a flicker of doubt—traveling to the 112th Barrier and back should take over two months.

Calculating the time since their departure, the interval was likely no more than a week. So… they never reached the 112th Barrier at all, not even the foot of Jingwu Mountain.

Along the way, there had been no real danger, save for the wolves. But the wolves had arrived here out of sync with the band’s schedule. If they had encountered the wolves, they would never have returned.

After all, the wolves no longer fear gunfire!

Thinking of the wolves, Ren Xiaosu’s heart tightened. Yesterday, he had spoken to Wang Fugui about them, and Wang Fugui had shared a message from Chen Haidong, the settlement’s administrator: the wolves had ambushed the private soldiers with heavy casualties, retreating en masse into Yangshan toward the 111th Barrier. They likely dared not return here.

Yet Ren Xiaosu did not think so. The wolves had left before, and now they had returned, even more ferocious.

What had caused this evolution? Ren Xiaosu could not fathom.

Peering through the clinic’s window, he saw the refugees emerging from their dwellings to gaze silently. They had always been curious about the band; now, sensing something had befallen them, their curiosity deepened.

When the band departed, they had four off-road vehicles. Now, only one remained, crawling forward with Luo Xinyu, the star from the barrier, and three private soldiers aboard. The others trailed on foot, their garments tattered.

Yan Liuyuan mused, “They were all pristine when they left, and now they’re as ragged as us.”

Though their lives had improved slightly, water remained scarce. Among refugees, water was an equalizer, and the Refuge Barrier enforced strict rationing.

Thus, if there was surplus at home, Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan usually offered it to Xiao Yuju for washing, using only a sip to scrub their teeth.

To brush their teeth meant scraping coarse salt on bamboo sticks against their teeth for half the day, then rinsing their mouths.

Now, the dark-complexioned Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan saw the band’s members had become like them, and felt a strange warmth…

The girl with the perfect firearm skills, her face hidden beneath a duck-bill cap, trailed behind the vehicle. Her clothes bore tears, yet Ren Xiaosu noticed, despite her disheveled appearance, her steps remained light and steady.

Judging solely by this, she far surpassed the private soldiers accompanying her.

This was no surprise to Ren Xiaosu. How could one with perfect marksmanship be outdone by mere mercenaries?

Inside the vehicle, Luo Xinyu commanded, “Report immediately upon entering the barrier. Don’t let these refugees gawk at us like monkeys.”

The private soldiers raised their rifles at the onlookers. One snarled, “Get back to your pigpens!”

Seeing the soldiers ready to escalate, the refugees scattered.

“Also,” Luo Xinyu added coldly, “find Wang Fugui!”

The clamor of the settlement gradually quieted. Families dared only whisper within their huts, or gossip through the cloth walls with neighbors—sound carried easily anyway…

Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan pressed against the window, watching as the band split into two groups: one entered the barrier’s procession, the other stormed toward Wang Fugui’s general store.

“Brother, what do they want with Old Wang?” Yan Liuyuan wondered.

“Probably to settle accounts. Old Wang recommended a guide, but the hunter never returned. Perhaps he stirred up trouble, forcing their premature return,” Ren Xiaosu deduced.

He felt a pang of regret. When the guide had left the settlement, he had glared proudly at Ren Xiaosu—never imagining it would be their last meeting…

Ren Xiaosu watched the group pound on Wang Fugui’s store door. Wang Fugui emerged slowly, unperturbed.

Initially worried, Ren Xiaosu relaxed, seeing Wang Fugui’s composure.

The vehicle’s occupants disembarked. Luo Xinyu wore white casual clothes—or rather, clothes that had once been white. She fixed Wang Fugui with a glare: “What kind of guide did you find for us?”

Wang Fugui asked, “What’s wrong?”

He was genuinely curious. The guide should have been an experienced hunter, unlikely to make such basic errors. Why were they so enraged?

“What’s wrong?” Luo Xinyu’s voice turned icy. “Before even entering Jingwu Mountain’s range, he led us astray. We spent three days searching for the correct path.”

The route into Jingwu Mountain was drivable; many knew of it, for there lay a gravel-paved canyon, once a riverbed now dried.

Ordinary vehicles could not traverse it, but off-road cars managed easily.

Thus, the guide had failed to lead them directly to that path…

“Then? Where is he?” Old Wang asked blankly.

“Before we found the way, he was gone,” a private soldier replied coldly. “A hunter nearby, yet unaware of the river’s dangers. He went to wash his face in the morning and was devoured—his face was torn to shreds. By the time we found him, he was already dead! And the path he chose was swarming with vicious monkeys—we nearly perished!”

Ren Xiaosu froze. This was wrong—he had never heard the river’s fish were man-eaters. Were they fish?

Wang Fugui leaned against the doorframe: “Oh, so that’s what happened. But I’m too busy helping Luo Lan’s boss with something to find you a new guide.”

In truth, the boss had assigned him nothing. He merely wished to convey that he was Luo Lan’s man.

The private soldiers frowned. Even Luo Xinyu was stunned—they had not expected their target to be backed by Luo Lan.

Wang Fugui said leisurely, “I told you before—you need Ren Xiaosu to get there.”

“That madman? The one who imagines himself a doctor?” A private soldier’s brow furrowed into a Sichuan character.

Wang Fugui suddenly clutched his jaw. He pointed to the clinic across the way: “You wouldn’t believe it, but he’s truly a doctor now…”

Luo Xinyu: “???”

Private soldier: “???”

All followed his gesture, spotting two dark faces peering from the clinic window, eyeing them curiously…

Truth be told, Wang Fugui felt a twinge of emotion. Yes, how had that boy stumbled into becoming a doctor…