Chapter 981: Chapter 981

Ye Qing was unfamiliar with the terrain of the Miao Borderlands, and after much effort driving out of the forest, it was already late morning.

During this long time, Ye Qing had essentially lost hope, considering the Miao people's hostility towards the Han people, Huangfu Ziyu was likely in grave danger. Nevertheless, Ye Qing did not stop for a moment and continued driving deeper into the Miao Borderlands. Although the mountain roads were quite complex, as a former Special Forces soldier, Ye Qing would not get lost as long as he kept his bearings in the forest. After driving for over two hours, Ye Qing finally reached a place where people were around.

Ye Qing wanted to rush to Zhenmu Dong to find the group of people led by Huo Lie, but he didn't know the location or direction of Zhenmu Dong at all. Now that he had reached a place where people lived, Ye Qing didn't hesitate for a moment and drove directly into the village, hoping to find someone to ask about the location of Zhenmu Dong.

Previously, Ye Qing had been hesitant to enter places where the Miao people lived because he was afraid of some conflict with them. But now, he couldn't care less. If Huangfu Ziyu was in danger, Ye Qing was also not planning to leave the Miao Borderlands. Therefore, even though this village might hide a Gu Master of the Miao people, Ye Qing did not care.

There were a few small children playing at the entrance of the village, and seeing a car driving in suddenly startled them, causing them to run away hastily. One child ran a bit slower and accidentally fell, landing on the ground with a loud cry.

Even though Ye Qing's heart was filled with hostility towards the Miao people, he couldn't just ignore a child. He stopped the car nearby, got out, and helped the child up, softly comforting him. However, the child seemed afraid of him and kept crying, and Ye Qing couldn't calm him down.

Seeing the child crying more and more, Ye Qing had no choice. Luckily, there were a few candies left in the car. Ye Qing took out the candies, handed them to the child, and softly said, "Come on, don't cry anymore, uncle will give you candy to eat."

The child took the candy, seemingly surprised, and looked at it with an expression like he didn't understand what this thing was. Yet, it was clear that the colorful packaging had attracted him. In the Miao Borderlands, the atmosphere was rustic and backward, and these children had never seen anything so flashy, so it was natural for them to be curious upon seeing it for the first time.

When curiosity arose, he forgot to cry, finally allowing Ye Qing to breathe a sigh of relief. Ye Qing peeled a piece of candy for the child, handed it close to him, and softly said, "Here, try this, it's very tasty."

The child looked at Ye Qing, then at the candy in Ye Qing's hand. The candy was purchased specifically by Ye Qing for Huangfu Ziyu as a snack, and the flavor was quite good. Even before tasting it, it emitted a fragrant sweetness. How could the child resist? After hesitating for quite a while, he couldn't help but lightly lick it with his tongue.

With just one lick, the child's eyes immediately lit up, clearly attracted by the sweetness of the candy. Yet he was still a bit afraid of Ye Qing, so he looked at Ye Qing timidly, while eagerly gazing at the candy in Ye Qing's hand, wanting it but not daring to take it.

Seeing him , Ye Qing sighed gently, put the candy in the child's hand, and softly said, "Here, all of these are for you, don't be afraid."

The child accepted the candy and immediately put the opened candy into his mouth, tasting the delicious sweetness, and his face instantly beamed with an innocent smile. Although there were still tears on his cheeks, his eyes became much brighter.

Seeing the child's joyful smile, Ye Qing also felt somewhat calm. He reached out and gently patted the child's head, softly asking, "Where are your parents?"

Just as Ye Qing finished speaking, an angry shout suddenly came from a distance, followed by a group of barefoot people carrying sticks and hoes, who rushed over directly toward Ye Qing.

Seeing the threatening manner of these people, Ye Qing frowned. While he might not harbor much animosity toward a child, he would not be so kind to others. Frankly speaking, Ye Qing didn't have a good impression of the Miao people at all right now. If these people were truly unreasonable, Ye Qing was not planning to be courteous.

These people rushed over, surrounding Ye Qing in the middle, babbling something incomprehensible. Ye Qing couldn't understand their Miao dialect, but it was evident from their expressions that they were all very angry. Yet because of fear, they only surrounded him and dared not take any action.

Ye Qing looked at the crowd and seeing that they didn't make a move, he wasn't planning to act either, and he loudly said, "Dear Miao friends, I have no hostility here, I just want to ask for directions."

Upon hearing Ye Qing speak, the commotion amongst the crowd immediately calmed down somewhat. However, from their puzzled expressions, it was clear they didn't understand what Ye Qing was saying.

"Doesn't anyone here understand Mandarin?" Ye Qing asked.

Still, there was no response; the crowd simply surrounded Ye Qing with bewildered faces, completely clueless about what Ye Qing was saying.

Ye Qing was also speechless. Asking for directions was proving difficult. He shook his head, waved his hand, and said, "Never mind, I'll go ask in the next village. I'm really sorry for inconveniencing everyone."

After speaking, Ye Qing turned to head back to the car, but this action seemed to provoke those Miao people, who immediately surrounded him with a fierce posture, blocking him from getting back in the car. Their mouths were babbling words he couldn't understand, but it was evident that they were not intending to let Ye Qing get into the car.

Ye Qing frowned, saying sternly, "I have no grievance with any of you; I'm just here to ask for directions. If you don't want to tell me, I will leave. What more do you want?"

The others still couldn't understand, but the leading man waved his hand at Ye Qing, making a few gestures, seemingly indicating Ye Qing to wait a moment.

Ye Qing wasn't sure what they intended to do, but since the man made such a gesture, Ye Qing didn't hurry to leave. After waiting for about two minutes, three people emerged from the village, one of them wearing Han clothing, which stood out awkwardly among the Miao people.

Seeing this person, Ye Qing felt relieved, thinking that this person might understand Chinese. This was good; they could communicate, and at least he could inquire about the route to Zhenmu Dong.

The three people ran over, the man in Han clothes spoke a few words in gibberish to the leading man, then directly walked up to Ye Qing, looked him up and down, and said, "Han person?"

The man spoke in Chinese, and Ye Qing understood clearly. He nodded and said, "I only came to ask for directions, nothing else."

"Ask for directions? For what road?" The man asked strangely.

"Zhenmu Dong…" Ye Qing paused and said, "How should I get there?"

"You want to go to Zhenmu Dong?" The man's expression changed noticeably, staring at Ye Qing for a while, he said in a deep voice, "You're a Han, why do you want to attend the Miao People's Ten Thousand Gu Festival? Aren't you afraid of getting into Zhenmu Dong and not being able to come out alive?"

Ye Qing sighed and said, "That's my business, I just want to ask how to get to Zhenmu Dong."

The man was silent for a long while and looked at the car behind Ye Qing, saying, "Is this your car?"

"Yes." Ye Qing nodded in response.

"You really want to go to Zhenmu Dong?" The man asked again.

"Yes!" Ye Qing replied decisively.

"Yes!" Ye Qing answered the same thing three times in a row; he didn't want to say much more to this man. He only wanted to get to Zhenmu Dong as soon as possible.

"Alright then!" The man nodded and said, "Help me take three people, and I'll lead you to Zhenmu Dong!"

"Three people?" Ye Qing was somewhat surprised, unsure what the man meant.

"We're also going to Zhenmu Dong…" The man paused and said, "It's just that time is running out. You have a car; take us along, and I can guide you there. How about it?"

Ye Qing was silent for a while, pondering whether the man had other intentions. But after thinking it over, reaching Zhenmu Dong was the most crucial task; whatever trickery these Miao might have was less important. If he couldn't rescue Huangfu Ziyu, Ye Qing wasn't planning to leave the Miao Borderlands alive; he had already disregarded his own life and death, so why would he fear the Miao's tactics?

"Alright, I'll take you there!" Ye Qing said, "Can we hurry? I want to get to Zhenmu Dong quickly!"

"Alright!" The man was delighted, quickly turning to the leading man and speaking a few words. The leading man looked at Ye Qing, nodded, and turned to gesture and say something indistinctly, but whatever it was, after he waved his hand, several people ran back. Not long after, they returned with two people.

Coming over again was a man and a woman; the man was about forty or fifty years old, seeming quite prestigious among the people. However, Ye Qing could clearly see that the man's spirit was somewhat lethargic. Although he was barely holding on, seemingly appearing strong, his gait was unsteady, clearly lacking strength. As for the woman, she was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl with a fair and clean face. Amidst the natural scenery of the Miao Borderlands, she appeared elegant and beautiful, destined to become a beauty upon growing up.

The girl's eyes were slightly red, she clung closely to the middle-aged man's side, showing a great affection for him. It seemed likely that they were father and daughter.

Seeing these two come out, the man wearing Han clothes hurried over, speaking with them in gibberish. The middle-aged man stared at Ye Qing for a while and spoke a few unknown words. However, you could see that the man in Han clothes seemed anxious, as if trying to persuade him.