Chapter 491: Chapter 491

Jiang Xiaoxiao arrived home, and Fan Xiuying met her at the door.

As soon as she heard the news that her daughter was coming home, she held Nuonuo at the door, always looking out. There was no way; something terrible had happened at home, and Jiang Xiaoxiao would definitely come back. No matter how she tried to persuade, it would be useless.

Now, except for Jiang Xin and his wife who hadn’t returned, all the family members had gone out.

Even Jiang Yue and Qin Ming had already returned, and Fan Xiuying was at home taking care of Nuonuo.

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at her mother, then at her mother’s eyes swollen like walnuts, "Mom, let’s go inside first."

Half an hour later, Jiang Xiaoxiao headed up the mountain.

Wolong Ridge was very large.

Jiang Xiaoxiao knew it would be difficult for just a few people to handle it.

She came without much thought.

Upon arriving here, she realized that the foot of the mountain had been cordoned off by the police, with officers guarding it, prohibiting entry.

She couldn’t get in at all.

Upon hearing she was a family member of the missing persons, the police informed her that so far, the two elderly people were still missing.

Moreover, they had received a notification from provincial weather experts that there would be heavy rain in the next few days, and there had been risks of landslides and mudslides on this mountain in the past. They had already notified people to evacuate the mountain promptly.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was anxious.

She also knew that mudslides were very dangerous, but this way, the older people’s danger would only increase.

Even though her grandparents were in good health, with her peaches as support, she believed they were stronger than the average person.

However, this was the mountain, and the heavy rain would make it impossible for rescue teams to climb for days.

The last glimmer of hope for the elders might be extinguished by this weather.

Even if they were alive and drinking and eating nothing, how could they survive for so many days!

What worried Jiang Xiaoxiao more was that if they were injured, coupled with having nothing to eat or drink, it would almost mean all hope for survival was gone.

By the time the rain passed, the two elderly people would probably have no way out but death.

Betting on that one-in-a-million chance of survival, Jiang Xiaoxiao felt she couldn’t gamble.

What made her feel most desperate was that in her previous life, her grandpa had recently died of illness. She had thought she had changed all the outcomes, that at least her grandpa wouldn’t die, nor leave her grandma to live in lonely misery.

But now, both her grandma and grandpa were missing.

She was afraid that the delay might lead to a result for the two old people that she didn’t want to see.

But the police comrades were very firm.

No one was allowed to climb the mountain now.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was anxious.

The road up the mountain was blocked.

But not going up the mountain meant watching her grandparents wait for death.

Jiang Xiaoxiao turned and left.

"Uncle, is there another way up the mountain?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao suddenly appeared from the side of the road, almost scaring the old farmer to death.

Rain was about to fall; he got up to check on the livestock of the production team, fearing the rain might damage team property.

Now, on the dark road, seeing someone emerge could indeed be startling.

"You! Who are you? People coming out in the dead of night scare people to death!"

The flashlight shone on a young girl; he thought to himself, what is this about?

Jiang Xiaoxiao apologized, realizing she acted impulsively.

She had been pondering, and if her memory served right, Wolong Ridge was indeed surrounded by mountains.

If those people were genuinely planning something sinister.

Jiang Xiaoxiao had inquired about the specifics, and Fan Xiuying didn’t hide anything; she truthfully said that the kidnapper had taken her grandparents up the mountain alone.

Up until now, no bodies had been found, so the biggest possibility wasn’t that one person buried the two old people, nor that anyone would do something so foolish, and certainly not throwing living people off a cliff.

Except for the insanely malicious.

The most likely scenario was that the old couple had been dumped into a concealed pit or some unnoticeable place.

If her memory was correct, this mountain indeed had mines on it.

Of course, due to geographical constraints, transportation was inconvenient, so coal mining here was semi-developed and semi-abandoned.

But there were numerous pits of various sizes on the mountain.

As long as they were thrown into any pit, it would be difficult to find the old couple.

From what the police said, it was evident that people’s focus recently had been around these pits.

But after searching through dozens of them, there had been no discoveries so far.

She had already learned about the mountain path from the police, which was the one they had closed.

Besides that known path, the conditions of the other roads were uncertain, as the area was high and the roads steep.

She thought she might make it, but the roads were difficult, and after trying for a while, they turned into dead ends, forcing her to climb back down.

Walking around led her near the village, unexpectedly seeing someone on the road.

It made Jiang Xiaoxiao pleasantly surprised for a moment.

Although it wasn’t quite the middle of the night anymore, being past 3:00 AM. Still, it wasn’t fully light out, and seeing someone in the dim shadows was quite startling, understandably scaring the person half to death.

"Uncle, sorry I startled you. You must know about the recent mountain closure. I’m just here to look for the missing elderly on the mountain; I’m their granddaughter. But the police won’t let us go up, so I’m asking you for directions as I’m at a loss for options."

The uncle looked at Jiang Xiaoxiao. Indeed, the police had closed the mountain, and they had also heard that a couple had been thrown on the mountain by a heartless person. Still, no one knew whether they were alive or dead, as the police had been searching for two days without news.

The uncle’s heart was not at ease either, seeing it appeared to be a family member wanting to search.

"Girl, don’t wander around Wolong Ridge. The mountain’s forests are deep, the slopes are steep, and the roads are hard to navigate. If the police have trouble finding them, how can you do it alone? If you risk danger, it would be inappropriate to rely on them to find you too. You’d better wait for the police."

Knowing how anxious she was, Wolong Ridge was truly dangerous.

Jiang Xiaoxiao sighed helplessly, "Uncle, it’s not that I don’t want to wait for the police. They’re saying it will rain soon. They’re evacuating people from the mountain, and who knows when the rain will stop. I’m afraid my grandparents can’t hold on that long.

Please let me go up, tell me a path. Otherwise, I’ll have to rush blindly up there, which could be more dangerous.

I’m asking you to guide me! They’re my grandparents, and if I can’t find them, I’ll never be at peace."

The uncle was conflicted, "Child, it’s about to rain, and the mountain is dangerous. We often have mudslides; if you wander on the mountain, you might endanger yourself while trying to save your grandparents. I can’t tell you the path; telling it to you would harm you."

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at the sky’s dark clouds and lightning that could start raining any moment.

But she couldn’t just do nothing; it wasn’t possible.

She had a strong feeling her grandparents were waiting somewhere for her to rescue, and if she didn’t try, she might regret it forever.

Seeing her about to leave.

The uncle was anxious too, "Girl, wait! If you’re really going, don’t go . Over there, there’s a small path we villagers often use. It’s not easy to walk but relatively safe. Be careful and come down if it’s no good; don’t be reckless. Life is precious."

Watching Jiang Xiaoxiao go stubbornly, the uncle had to compromise, unsure if helping her was good or bad for the child.