Free Web NovelChapter 89: Chapter 89: Trap
Wu Sheng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly whipped his head around, his expression changing slightly. "This is bad."
The two soldiers exchanged a look, their expressions also changing, and chased after Wu Sheng.
The three of them moved nimbly and quickly through the forest, their bodies agile. Their movements were fast, yet they made very little noise.
In an instant, they were back at their original hiding spot.
Ahead of them, a hole had appeared out of nowhere. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Who dug a trap in the middle of the path? Is anyone there?" A clear, melodious female voice, full of frustration, came from the hole.
Wa Wa Lian and his companion looked at each other in dismay for a moment, then turned to Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng furrowed his brow, took a few steps forward, and silently peered down into the hole.
"Is anyone out there? I’m from nearby Xinghua Village, and I was chasing my family’s cows. Can you please help me get out?"
From inside the trap, the unlucky Su Li saw the faint silhouette of a person outside the hole and quickly called out.
’Today is just not my day,’ Su Li thought.
When the two cows had started their mad dash, their hooves kicked up, and they were unbelievably fast. They vanished in an instant, far too quick for a person on two legs to keep up.
For Su Li, the chase had been endless.
Occasionally, she got lucky and could spot a glimpse of the two cows thanks to the terrain; the rest of the time, she was just following their tracks.
It was as if the two cows were toying with her. They would run for a while, graze for a bit, and then take off again just as she caught up. More than two hours had passed like this.
The cows ran farther and farther, heading into a part of the wilderness Su Li didn’t recognize.
Seeing that she couldn’t catch them and noticing the time of day, Su Li was about to head back home and try to find the cows later. But then, cursed with bad luck, she fell right into a trap.
Su Li was startled. Who on earth would dig a trap in the middle of a path out here in the wilderness?
Fortunately, while the trap was large, it wasn’t too deep, and there was nothing sharp at the bottom.
"Those two cows... are they yours?" A cool, aloof voice came from above, making Su Li’s eyes light up.
"Yes, yes, they’re mine! Did you see them? Could you please help pull me up?"
Su Li replied hastily.
Outside the hole, the three men looked at one another, their expressions utterly bizarre.
They had dug the trap for a training exercise, meant to be used against the Blue Team. They never expected that instead of the Blue Team, they’d catch two cows and a cow-herding girl.
And this cowgirl had fallen into their meticulously prepared trap!
’What kind of mess is this?!’
The two soldiers simultaneously looked toward Wu Sheng, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Wu Sheng’s expression darkened, but he wasted no words. He glanced at the other two, then immediately got down on the ground and extended his hand.
"I’ll pull you up."
"Okay, thank you." Su Li let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Brace your feet against the side and push," Wu Sheng instructed.
Su Li struggled to grab Wu Sheng’s hand, but as she tried to climb, she let out a stifled groan.
"What’s wrong?" Wu Sheng heard her.
"I twisted my ankle when I fell. It hurts a little when I put pressure on it. Let me just readjust."
Su Li let go of his hand, furrowed her brow, and felt her ankle. Then she patted her torso.
Actually, it wasn’t just her foot; she had also been scraped by a rock.
When a pit like this was dug, the walls were bound to have rocks sticking out. To climb up, Su Li would have to press against the wall. ’If I have to scrape my way up...’
Su Li looked at the pit’s walls, where rocks jutted out here and there, and her own expression darkened.
"You twisted your ankle?" Wu Sheng confirmed from above.
"Yeah. Let me think of a way... Just don’t leave yet," Su Li said quickly.
"Step aside," Wu Sheng said.
"Huh? Oh." Su Li was confused. "What... AH!"
Before Su Li could finish, Wu Sheng suddenly jumped down into the pit with a THUD.
’That... came out of nowhere!’ Su Li jumped in fright.
Wu Sheng, a man whose actions always spoke louder than his words, jumped down without a second thought. He didn’t see anything wrong with his decision. In the dim light, he glanced at Su Li, squatted into a horse stance, and interlocked his hands.
"Step on my hands to get up. They’ll pull you from above."
"Huh?" Su Li was completely stunned now.
She could finally get a clear look at Wu Sheng. His face was smeared with black paint, and he was wearing black fatigues.
"Come on, get up," Wu Sheng urged, not saying more.
Su Li hesitated, glancing upwards.
"Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. I can support someone twice your weight, and they’ll be pulling you too."
Faced with Su Li’s hesitation, Wu Sheng offered this rare extra bit of explanation.
"Thank you." Su Li hadn’t expected him to jump down to help her just because she’d mentioned a twisted ankle, but she was incredibly grateful.
She no longer hesitated and placed her foot onto Wu Sheng’s hands.
The moment the two men above grabbed Su Li’s hands, Wu Sheng powerfully straightened up, pushing her up in one smooth motion.
Su Li was safely and nimbly out of the trap in no time.
"Thank you," she said, then looked back down into the trap and asked Wu Sheng, "How are you going to get up?"
"Step aside," Wu Sheng said.
"Oh." Su Li had just moved to the side.
Inside, Wu Sheng took two steps back, got a running start, and leaped up. Wa Wa Lian gave him a casual pull, and he was out.
’The entire process... took less than three seconds.’
Su Li marveled at the sight.
"Thank you all so much," Su Li said again, finally getting a good look at the three men.
Two of them looked to be around twenty years old, still young. Wu Sheng was a little older, with a stern and commanding presence. He was the one you would notice first among the three.
As Su Li sized them up, they were also sizing her up.
They knew a girl had fallen into the trap, but they hadn’t expected such a pretty one.
Though her clothes were ordinary, her aura was different from that of a typical village girl—she was poised and graceful.
When such an outstandingly beautiful and polite young woman smiled and thanked them, the two younger soldiers blushed.
Young men often blush when they see a pretty girl.
"You’re welcome." Wa Wa Lian scratched his head, his face red, his expression a little awkward.
Su Li looked at their outfits, then back at the perfectly concealed trap, and it suddenly clicked.
"This trap... you guys didn’t dig it, did you?"
Wa Wa Lian gave an embarrassed laugh.
"We dug it. We’re in the middle of a training exercise right now, so it would be best if you left immediately."
Wu Sheng was the only one who didn’t blush. Although he was also a bit surprised to see Su Li, it was just surprise and nothing more. He glanced at the time and spoke.
"Oh, a training exercise." Su Li understood immediately. "Okay, I’ll get going. Thank you."
Su Li took two steps, and Wu Sheng frowned. "Is your ankle badly hurt?"
Su Li tested it. "It’s fine, just a little sprain. I’ll rub some alcohol on it when I get home and it’ll be fine."
She could handle this bit of pain.
"Can you walk all the way back?" Wa Wa Lian asked, skeptical and concerned.
They wouldn’t think twice about such a minor injury, but for a delicate-looking girl like her, it was probably quite painful.
"I’ll be fine," Su Li said again, then paused and asked, "Did you happen to see..."
"You live in Xinghua Village?" Wu Sheng interrupted, his brow furrowing slightly.
Since they were holding an exercise here, they had definitely surveyed the surrounding area to ensure it would be unaffected. Wu Sheng knew where Xinghua Village was, and it was a long way from here.
"Yes," Su Li nodded.
"Xinghua Village is quite far from here. Can you make it back?" He glanced at Su Li’s foot, his meaning clear.
