Chapter 326: Chapter 326

Chen Ke squatted on the ground and lifted a patch of withered grass, revealing the trace of half a footprint. This trace was clearly covered up after being cleaned, but the job was sloppily done.

He glanced at Jiang Kechu and then continued to clear away more leaves and grass, exposing more traces.

Jiang Kechu squinted his eyes and took a careful look at these footprints.

"Four people, all trained."

After saying this, he looked around and returned to the road, walking to the opposite cliff. He advanced about ten more meters, then squatted at the edge of the cliff and wiped a tire track on the ground with his hand.

Chen Ke ran over and took a look with his binoculars, excitedly saying, "There’s a van down there, stuck in the middle of the bushes."

Jiang Kechu’s expression turned solemn and after some thought, he said, "Go grab your gear and let’s check it out."

Chen Ke was taken aback; this cliff was extremely steep, and now it was dusk, the light was already dimming, with a fifty meters distance below and an unclear situation in the woods.

What was more important was that due to their hurried departure, they didn’t have a full set of tools.

Under these circumstances, heading down at least fifty meters on the cliff to investigate was far too dangerous.

Seeing Chen Ke hesitate, Jiang Kechu kicked him, then went back to the foot of the opposite mountain, drove the car over, and opened the trunk. He took out a bundle of rope and some other tools.

As Jiang Kechu was about to secure the rope on himself, Chen Ke quickly snatched it away.

"Captain Jiang, let me do it."

Jiang Kechu kept moving, resolutely saying, "You stay on top and keep watch."

He quickly got ready, taking a trench shovel and some other things, and slowly descended the cliff, pulling the rope.

Chen Ke, nerve-wracked on top, watched the moving figure below, feeling that time was dragging on endlessly.

After forty minutes, Jiang Kechu climbed back up again. He pulled out a ladies’ watch from his pocket; it was a gift he had given to Wan Chu’er.

"Let’s go, we’ve found the right direction."

The two returned to the base of the opposite mountain, hid the car in a hollow, and started climbing.

Deep in the mountains, Wan Chu’er realized that after they had reached this mountain cave, they stopped moving forward. It seemed they intended to hide her and Yan Hui in this cave.

Of the four kidnappers, one had left. She guessed that he might have gone to meet with the mastermind or to lend a hand.

Inside the cave, Wan Chu’er tried to ask for their hands and feet to be untied and the cloth from their eyes to be removed, but nobody paid them any attention. However, their mouths were no longer sealed with tape.

Yan Hui whispered to Wan Chu’er, "No use wasting words with them. Come and sit down for a rest."

Wan Chu’er thought Yan Hui had something to say and sat down next to him as instructed.

The two of them were in the cave, with the other three kidnappers guarding the entrance, watching them.

Since their hands were tied in front of them, it was hard for the two to do anything. Yan Hui could only lean close to her ear and whisper:

"Don’t worry, they should start making demands to the old man soon. As long as we can communicate with him, we’ll have a chance."

But they had barely exchanged a word when a burly man came over and kicked them, separating the two and pulling them apart to finish the job.

Damn you all to hell!

Wan Chu’er gasped for air, cursing in her heart, her leg had also been kicked. Yan Hui probably took an even heavier blow; she overheard Yan Hui’s gasp of pain. Yan Hui must be afraid of worrying her, so he clenched his teeth and endured silently, not making a sound.

Tonight, she must take action.

She could no longer wait, they were given only two bottles of water and a piece of bread for the whole day. If she waited any longer, hunger would trap them.

It was a good time now since another person had left, leaving only three behind, increasing the chance of success. She prayed the one who left wouldn’t return too soon.

She had to admit she was impressed by these people; not a word said, not a whisper heard on their journey.

With no communication, there was no way to gather any information.

Chuchu leaned against the cave wall and sat for a while, then lay down against the wall when she felt tired.

The cave was very dry, and she guessed it might be in the mountains north of Beijing.

While Chuchu was lost in thought, her calf touched something protruding. She continued to explore the protrusion with her leg, and as she rubbed it more, she felt something was off.

She sat up again. After a while, she laid down in the opposite direction from where her leg was just now, facing the stonewall—appearing as if she were asleep. Only after listening for the movements of the three people did she reach out and slowly touch it.

The protruding stone was only an inch off the ground and amidst some weeds on the cave floor—easy to miss without paying attention; protruding only half an inch, it was hard to get a firm grasp.

Chuchu tried shaking it and found it was hollow, but it seemed difficult to dislodge.

The book on Mechanical Techniques taught by the old master flashed through her mind, and a wild idea struck her—could there be a mechanism in this cave?

As the thought occurred to her, she laughed at herself, thinking she might be getting obsessed.

However, her hands didn’t stop, they continued to feel around the area.

Soon, when her hands found the second, third, fourth, and fifth protrusions, Chuchu grew more serious.

She touched slowly—the five protrusions consisted of three on the wall and two on the floor, with the first one being the highest.

According to the positions she felt, these five points formed a circle.

After pondering, Chuchu turned her back and carefully lifted the black cloth covering her eyes just a little, revealing a sliver of light.

Once she got a clear view of the conditions of the five protrusions, her eyebrows twitched.

It really was a Mechanical Technique!

The five stones were colored according to the five elements: blue, red, white, yellow, black, corresponding to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, with the two stones at the bottom representing metal and earth.

Chuchu’s heart pulsated wildly, and she quickly pulled down the cloth covering her eyes, not daring to touch the five stones anymore, instead closing her eyes to think deeply.

Time passed both slowly and quickly.

The kidnapper who had left hadn’t returned yet.

At about three o’clock in the morning, Chuchu counted the breaths of the three kidnappers, then quietly untied the ropes around her hands and feet.

Li Shan had trained her several times in escape techniques when tied up; even if her hands were tied behind her back she could easily free herself, let alone with her hands tied in front, and with her teeth able to help.

After moving her wrists and ankles a bit, she pulled down the black cloth covering her head.

She turned her head and looked intently at the three snoozing kidnappers, and Yan Hui lying motionless on the ground, before Chuchu began to carefully observe the cave.

The cave was about seven or eight square meters, three meters deep, with a pocket-shaped entrance that two people could guard effectively. No wonder those three were confident to leave them in the cave; as long as they guarded the entrance, there was no escape.

The cave wasn’t tall, about the height of a person, pitch-black inside, only able to roughly see with the help of some moonlight from outside.

She crouched on the ground, pushing aside the weeds, looking again at those five protruding stones.