Shocking! My Rugged Husband is the Hidden Tycoon in the 70s Novel-Chapter 331: As Long As the Letter Exists, Its Bearer Lives; If the Letter Perishes, So Does Its Bearer
It seemed that at the moment he saw her, Jian Jingchuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just now, his tense demeanor was particularly frightening.
Xu Qinghuan felt that this person was worried about her, and she was somewhat touched. Thinking that this person might be one of her father’s comrades, she nodded and smiled obediently. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Li Shouzhi rushed to her, held her shoulders, looked her up and down, and only then relaxed when he saw she was safe and sound. "It’s good that you’re okay, really good!"
Though they had already heard from Jiang Xingye that she was fine, his heart was still uneasy until he saw her himself.
Xu Qinghuan kicked the person on the ground a couple of times, "Uncle Li, we’ll leave them to you. There are also some dead people in the mountains; should we take you there to have a look?"
"Let Comrade Xiao Jiang take us. You go home and have your aunt prepare a hot meal for you and rest well," Li Shouzhi said.
However, Jian Jingchuan attempted several times to step closer to Xu Qinghuan, his fingers twitched slightly, but in the end, he could only give up.
After coming back, the organization asked him to conceal his identity, which he was initially reluctant to do. He had been undercover for fourteen years, only getting a single photo of his daughter each year, which he had to burn after viewing.
To say that he had no complaints in his heart was impossible.
Now, he could only say that the organization’s arrangement was correct.
Xu Qinghuan politely declined Li Shouzhi’s kindness, "I was involved in last night’s events, too. It’s better if I go to the site because only I can explain certain things. Also, we didn’t go back last night and are worried the team might be concerned. Once we report to you, we’ll return to the team."
"I’ll send someone to inform your team in Shangjiang, telling them you’re assisting with the military’s operation so they won’t worry," Jian Jingchuan said, and then ordered a soldier to deliver the message to the Shangjiang team.
He also sent a squad to take away the suspects and personally led a team into the mountains.
The group trudged through the mountains, with Li Shouzhi also following.
Xu Qinghuan tactfully said, "The mountain path isn’t easy. Do you both insist on going in?"
Jian Jingchuan’s heart warmed, feeling a bit of bittersweetness, and he couldn’t help but pat her gently on her head, smiling, "Leading by example isn’t just a saying."
However, as they walked, Xu Qinghuan discovered that these two could still keep up quite well.
They weren’t slower than the young men.
As the path grew harder and more slippery due to snow, Jiang Xingye carried Xu Qinghuan on his back, leading the way, climbing with ease like a nimble monkey.
The soldiers following, seeing Jiang Xingye’s actions, couldn’t help but admire his excellent physical fitness.
Xu Qinghuan placed a Qi Blood Pill into his mouth, which instantly dissolved, wiping away his fatigue and invigorating him.
"Did you notice he hasn’t slowed down at all despite the weight?"
"I feel like he’s actually gotten faster."
"His physical condition is truly wasted if not in the military."
...
The soldiers were also carrying weapons and ammunition, but nowhere near the weight of Xu Qinghuan. Though they had cold-weather training, they were no match for Jiang Xingye.
Being outdone by a countryside man, their pride was quite bruised.
After hiking for most of the day, they finally reached Hot Spring Valley.
"What a beautiful place!" Li Shouzhi said, standing on a hillside. If circumstances allowed, he would have liked to stay there.
Jian Jingchuan looked at the cultivated land, finding it both amusing and frustrating. He’d been wondering all along why these kids were in the mountains and was suspicious of Jiang Xingye, tempted to give him a good scolding. But now he realized he might have misunderstood them.
"What are you growing here?"
"Medicinal herbs, particularly Jiangzhu Star, the primary ingredient for making Bone Adhesive. The growth conditions are extremely demanding, and we searched for a long time before finding this place for cultivation."
Xu Qinghuan didn’t give it much thought, "Aan and I came here yesterday morning to plant these and were about to leave when we were attacked."
"Report!"
A lieutenant approached, "Reporting, Commander, all these people died from gunshots. The involved firearms include T98 sniper rifles and Colt Single Action revolvers."
These firearms are standard issue for Japanese troops. Since Xu Qinghuan and Jiang Xingye didn’t have weapons themselves, her claim that she used a sedative to take weapons from them and fight back went unquestioned.
The deceased showed no signs of struggle, and with the enemy’s numbers, it was impossible for Jiang Xingye to have gained firearms through combat.
After the site investigation, night had fallen, and Jiang Xingye invited everyone to rest in a cave.
There was a stove outside. Jiang Xingye asked Xu Qinghuan to rest and went to fetch stream water to cook a meal.
Jian Jingchuan’s aide-de-camp assisted him.
They cooked two large pots of rice and made a rich pot of stew with previously preserved wild game, feeding everyone until they were full. They camped there for the night and planned to leave the mountains the next morning.
At night, Xu Qinghuan slept on a bed inside the cave, while some remained on guard nearby and others rested outside the cave.
Jiang Xingye fetched a large bucket of water from the hot spring for Xu Qinghuan, poured it into a basin, and invited her to wash up.
As he was about to step outside to stand guard, Xu Qinghuan stopped him, "Why don’t you wash up inside? I prepared some clothes for you in there."
Though interested in this space, Jiang Xingye glanced outside, "No, I won’t."
With so many people outside, he didn’t want any exposure risk for his fiancée. "I’ll wash in the hot spring pool behind, it’s just the same."
Xu Qinghuan washed briefly and then took out several letters and photos from her space, handing them to Jiang Xingye, "Just say they were found on the Japanese."
At night, Jiang Xingye leaned against the cave wall to sleep, and beside him was Jian Jingchuan, who couldn’t sleep.
Jiang Xingye said, "Commander, Huanhuan heard those Japanese saying they were targeting Commander Jian’s daughter, who’s supposedly a student at the Shangjiang team. We don’t have any students named Jian at the Shangjiang team, and if this isn’t cleared up, it might put the female students in danger."
Jian Jingchuan sat up; he hadn’t expected that they were indeed after his daughter. "Did you interrogate those Japanese?"
Li Shouzhi was also shocked.
"No, we only fought them, but Huanhuan overheard during their discussions."
"Huanhuan... I mean, does Xu the student understand Japanese?" Jian Jingchuan was visibly pleased, his face showing the pride of ’my daughter is grown up.’
Thinking of his fiancée’s background, Jiang Xingye was wary of inquiries and his expression turned stern, "She understands a bit, mainly recognized the name clearly."
Jian Jingchuan understood and stopped his questioning, "I’ll make arrangements. Rest assured, no one will target the Shangjiang team again."
Jiang Xingye handed him several letters and photos, "Commander, there’s also this, found on the Japanese, we didn’t dare look at it ourselves."
Jian Jingchuan opened the envelope, glanced under the dim light, and immediately tensed up. He called over a lieutenant and gave him the documents, "Leave overnight, find a way to deliver it."
"Yes! The items will not be lost as long as I’m alive!"
Jiang Xingye thought to himself that there were more than just these letters, losing them wouldn’t be critical. However, this thought he only dared to keep to himself.
