The dark figure seemed somewhat afraid of the flashlight in Peng Fei's hand. It was probably aimed at Zhuang Rui, who was walking behind. While its body was in mid-air, a claw with sharp teeth reached out to grab Zhuang Rui's head.
"Damn it, ouch..."
Zhuang Rui didn't even see what was rushing towards him. He only felt a whooshing sound above his head, and his left arm instinctively rose up. He then heard the sound of clothes being torn, felt a chill on his arm, and felt a sharp pain travel through the nerves in his left arm to his brain.
Before Zhuang Rui could react, another sound of claws scratching against metal came from his chest. It was the shadowy figure that had missed its target and fallen to the ground, and then its other claw swiped at the bullet clip in Zhuang Rui's chest.
"It's a leopard, Zhuang Rui, fire!"
Peng Fei turned around and shone the spotlight on the shadowy figure. In an instant, both of them could see clearly that it was a leopard with very beautiful fur. Its golden fur shone brightly under the light.
Because the leopard and Zhuang Rui were entangled, Peng Fei had no way to fire his gun. Zhuang Rui's submachine gun was slung over his right shoulder, and there was no time to get it. In desperation, he used the military dagger in his right hand to stab the half-standing leopard in the abdomen.
"Ouch..."
The leopard, having been stabbed right through the heart, let out a shrill cry. It now knew these two were no match for it, and it turned and leaped up a tree.
"Bang!"
Peng Fei's gun finally fired, followed by a heavy thud as it hit the ground. Zhuang Rui looked toward the light and saw the leopard, which had been climbing the tree, fall heavily to the ground, convulsing.
"Brother Zhuang, are you alright?"
Peng Fei didn't bother to check if the leopard was alive or dead; he quickly shone the flashlight on Zhuang Rui's arm.
Chapter 503 Savage Mountain (7)
"It's nothing. Ouch, damn it, I can't lift my arm..."
Zhuang Rui tried to move his left arm and immediately felt a sharp pain. It must have been a bone injury. A piece of flesh had been torn off his forearm, and blood was seeping out.
"Brother Zhuang, please sit down..."
"Sizzle..."
Peng Fei tore open Zhuang Rui's tattered camouflage uniform, then looked down and rummaged in his bag, taking out a bottle of alcohol and gauze.
"Hey, oh no, just wrap it up directly..."
When the medical alcohol was splashed onto Zhuang Rui's bloodied and mangled arm, Zhuang Rui screamed in pain and tried to stand up abruptly. The excruciating pain was unbearable; it felt like salt was being rubbed into the wound.
Peng Fei grabbed Zhuang Rui and, without caring about anything else, carefully cleaned away the animal hair from Zhuang Rui's wound, using the light from the lamp he was holding in his mouth.
"Hey bro, I'm not Guan Yu, don't give me that bone-scraping surgery..."
While Peng Fei was looking for gauze and alcohol, Zhuang Rui had already used his spiritual energy to treat himself, but he didn't dare to increase the amount of spiritual energy he used; he only stopped the bleeding.
Seeing Peng Fei take out his small knife, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but struggle again. He wished he had acted faster and treated his injuries before Peng Fei saw them.
However, the wound torn by the leopard's claws was very deep, almost reaching the bone in Zhuang Rui's arm. Even with spiritual energy protecting him, it probably couldn't be completely healed. Although Peng Fei's movements were very gentle, Zhuang Rui's mouth still twitched in pain.
"Brother Zhuang, it looks like you've broken a bone, don't move it..."
Peng Fei's expression was very serious. That leopard weighed at least fifty or sixty pounds. The force with which it pounced down from the tree was enough to break the back of a wild boar. Fortunately, Zhuang Rui had taken a step back just now, otherwise, the consequences of that blow would not have been just a broken arm.
"Bang...bang...bang bang bang..."
"Da da da... da da da..."
Just as Peng Fei finished bandaging Zhuang Rui's wound and made a makeshift sling with gauze so he could hang his left arm around his neck, several gunshots suddenly rang out from the forest. It started with pistols, followed by bursts of submachine gun fire, the sounds echoing for a long time in the silent forest.
"It must be Brother Hu and the others who have come looking for us..."
Zhuang Rui took out a pistol from his bag, and was about to fire when Peng Fei snatched it away.
Peng Fei put Zhuang Rui's pistol, his own, the plastic bombs, and the grenades into a plastic bag, threw it into a small mud puddle behind him, and watched the bag sink before picking up his submachine gun and firing a burst of fire into the air.
Zhuang Rui looked at the pistol he had only played with for a few days, and it was gone just like that. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful. However, he also knew that the gun was useless now. If it were discovered when he returned to China, it would be a troublesome matter.
Although he knew that it might be Hu Rong and his group coming, Peng Fei still turned off the lights, helped Zhuang Rui to the base of a large tree, and disappeared into the shadows.
"Da da... da da da..."
A few more bursts of submachine gun fire rang out in the distance. They were getting closer to Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei's hiding place. Peng Fei fired a few single shots, pointing out the location to the searchers.
"Zhuang Rui, Brother Zhuang, Brother Peng, is that you?"
About twenty minutes later, several beams of strong flashlights shone into the dense forest, and Hu Rong and Zhang Guojun's voices rang out alternately, loudly calling out Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei's names.
"It's Brother Hu, everything's alright..."
Peng Fei didn't let Zhuang Rui speak until Hu Rong's figure came into view. Only then did Peng Fei stand up and help Zhuang Rui up.
"Brother Hu, it's us..."
Zhuang Rui's voice elicited cheers, and then several beams of bright light shone on him and Peng Fei.
"What? Are you injured?"
Hu Rong spotted Zhuang Rui's sling at a glance and quickly walked over.
"It's nothing, I just got scratched by that leopard, Brother Hu, I'm really sorry for alerting everyone..."
Zhuang Rui pretended not to care and swung his left hand, but he winced in pain. This time the wound was too deep, and even his spiritual energy was not working well.
"Brother Zhuang, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have kept you here..."
Looking guilty, Zhang Guojun emerged from behind Hu Rong. They had been searching in the dense forest for five or six hours. They were almost in despair. If they couldn't find it soon, Hu Rong was prepared to ask the military for help the next day and request a helicopter search.
Upon suddenly seeing Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei, Zhang Guojun was so excited that tears almost streamed down his face. The two had gotten lost because of his mistake.
“Brother Zhang, it’s not your fault, it really isn’t your fault. We saw a wolf and chased after it, and then we inexplicably got lost. It’s not your fault…”
Zhuang Rui felt genuinely guilty because, for reasons that couldn't be explained, he had made this straightforward big guy a scapegoat. He quickly revealed the excuse that he and Peng Fei had discussed.
"Alright, enough talk, Dajun, hurry up, where's the stretcher? Quickly, let's get back to the mine and find a doctor in Hpakant tonight..."
Hu Rong waved his hand, interrupting their self-criticism. He didn't doubt Zhuang Rui's words, because it's easy to get lost in the forest. People often think they're heading out of the mountains, but it's actually the opposite. Getting lost is very common. Even some experienced hunters often don't find their way out for days.
"I'm fine, hey... hey, no... no, can't I just lie down by myself...?"
Zhuang Rui was about to say that he was fine when two men unfolded a stretcher. One supported his shoulders and the other lifted his legs, and they placed Zhuang Rui on the stretcher. Hu Rong had prepared this before they went into the mountains, just in case something happened to the two of them.
"I'm fine, I'm really fine, look, I can run and jump..."
When Peng Fei saw Hu Rong looking at him again, he was so frightened that he quickly ran forward a few steps. Although he was also a little tired, he was not used to lying on a stretcher.
"Brother Hu, take that leopard away..."
Zhuang Rui hadn't forgotten the culprit who had hurt him. Speaking of which, that leopard skin was really beautiful. He would bring it back to China and brag about it to Liu Chuan, making that kid so envious. That way, Liu Chuan wouldn't be so eager to show off after catching a couple of wild rabbits in the fields.
"Wow, that's some serious marksmanship. He hit the eye right away. He's really lucky; the skin wasn't even scratched. Wait, there's another wound underneath. Was that made by a bayonet?"
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Zhang Guojun shone his flashlight on the leopard. After examining it, he clicked his tongue in amazement. Although Peng Fei fired the shot when the leopard turned around to observe the situation after climbing the tree, Zhang Guojun naturally thought it was just a lucky coincidence.
Zhang Guojun picked up the leopard by its hind legs, slung it over his shoulder, and carried it out of the mountains with the group.
Hu Rong divided the search party into four teams, each with more than ten people. Along the forest path, gunfire was frequently heard, and gradually the other teams, hearing the gunfire, converged on the search area. By the time they emerged from the outer edge of the Savage Mountain forest, there was exactly one person present, no one missing. ...
"How did you sleep last night?"
Still in the wooden house at the foot of the mountain, Hu Rong arrived at Zhuang Rui's room early in the morning.
After returning to the camp yesterday, Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei were so exhausted that they didn't go back to Hpakant overnight. There was a doctor at the camp who had come from Hpakant, so he re-bandaged Zhuang Rui's wound, gave him some anti-inflammatory medicine, and then he went to sleep.
"It's alright, Brother Hu. I'm really sorry for the trouble I caused you yesterday..."
Zhuang Rui sat up, but his left arm was still very painful to move. It had injured the bone, and even after using spiritual energy to heal it, the effect was not very good.
Hu Rong stepped forward and supported Zhuang Rui's body, saying, "Don't say anything more. Judging from your condition, you can't take any more hardship. Why don't you spend the New Year in Myanmar before returning home..."
"Oh no, that won't do. I have my exam the day after tomorrow, and I have to go back today..."
Zhuang Rui calculated the time and couldn't help but feel anxious. There were only 3 days left before the postgraduate entrance exam began. If he didn't make it in time, not only would he be letting down Uncle De, but he would also be ashamed to face Professor Meng in the future.
Fortunately, the injury was to his left arm, so it won't interfere with the written exam. If it had been to his right arm, it would have been a real problem.
"Is this... alright?"
After Hu Rong understood what had happened, he frowned.
"It's nothing, Brother Hu, just a minor muscle and bone injury. I can walk perfectly fine..."
Zhuang Rui scrambled off the bed and walked around the room twice to show that he was perfectly fine.
“Alright then, when we get back to Hpakant, I’ll have a helicopter take you to the China-Myanmar border, and then you can cross the border from there. Once you get to Ruili, you can take a direct flight back to Beijing from Dehong Mangshi Airport. This route is even closer than going to Mandalay…”
Seeing that Zhuang Rui insisted and indeed had something to do, Hu Rong arranged the fastest route back to Beijing for him. He often took this route when traveling to China, as it was both quick and convenient.
However, this speed is relative. If you were to travel by car, it would probably take more than ten days to get from Ruili to Mandalay.
"Thank you, Brother Hu. By the way, what are the two professors' opinions on the mineral vein from yesterday's exploration?"
Hearing that he could return to Beijing today, Zhuang Rui relaxed.
"Alas, Professor Chen's opinion is that when this mountain range was formed, the pressure on the earth's crust was not uniform enough, which resulted in only some areas producing jadeite rough. Not only was the quantity small, but the mining was also very difficult, so it was basically a waste mine..."
Hu Rong's smile was somewhat bitter. This mine, which had consumed a huge amount of his financial and material resources, had actually come to such a conclusion, which was hard for him to accept for a while.
Chapter 504 Returning Home (Part 1)
“Brother Hu, I don’t see it that way. This mine covers an area of several square kilometers. Even if the pressure is uniform for a hundred meters in the earth’s crust, that’s a vein of ore hundreds of meters long. We just haven’t found the right spot yet. My suggestion is to keep digging and open up more mine shafts in several locations…”
Fearing that Hu Rong might give up the mine because of Professor Chen's words, Zhuang Rui quickly voiced his opinion: even if Hu Rong found the vein and he didn't make any money, he couldn't let Hu Rong give up the mine for nothing because of his own selfishness.
"You should focus on recovering first. We can talk about these things after the New Year. I might be able to attend your engagement ceremony after the New Year..."
Hu Rong patted Zhuang Rui's uninjured right shoulder. The Chinese in Myanmar also celebrate the New Year. The miners will all be returning home in the next few days, and it will probably be almost a month before work resumes.
Zhuang Rui's engagement ceremony was originally scheduled for before the Lunar New Year, but because he had to take the postgraduate entrance exam and there were too many things to do during the Lunar New Year, the two families discussed it and decided to postpone it until after the Lunar New Year.
"I'll go back and raise some funds as soon as possible. I still have high hopes for this mine..."
Zhuang Rui and Hu Rong didn't stand on ceremony; they each took a toothbrush and went to the front of the wooden house to brush their teeth and wash their faces.
"By the way, Brother Hu, what happened yesterday was just an accident, please don't blame Brother Zhang..."
After washing up, Zhuang Rui returned to his room and said to Hu Rong very seriously that this whole thing was caused by his own selfish motives, and he would feel guilty if it implicated Zhang Guojun.
"Brother Hu, you're here too. Brother Zhuang, this is the leopard you shot yesterday. I skinned it, look at it, it's really beautiful..."