157: Chapter 157 The Husky Actor's Secret Exposed

Just as the trekking pole came crashing down, Li Li had only just pushed aside the branches.

The tip of the pole grazed the edge of his helmet, emitting a dull thud.

Li Li rolled to the side, his knees sinking into the mud.

A few leaves fell.

Jiang Rumu stood by the tree roots, the trekking pole still raised. Her cap brim was crooked, her face was smeared with dust, and the red-orange silk scarf on her wrist was gone.

The two of them froze for half a second.

Li Li took off his helmet.

"...Have you had training?"

Jiang Rumu's hand paused.

"Li Li?!"

"It's me."

Li Li stood up and brushed the dirt off his pant legs.

"That angle just now was pretty good. I suggest you sign up for the next season of 'Brave Blue Friends'; you could be exempt from the physical fitness test."

Jiang Rumu leaned the trekking pole against the tree; the words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.

In the end, only one sentence remained.

"How did you get up here?"

"I rode a motorcycle."

Jiang Rumu didn't quite understand.

"You, you rode a motorcycle up the stone steps?"

"Yeah."

Jiang Rumu stared at him for two seconds, but didn't scold him.

Suddenly, sobbing came from the side.

Lu Cheng was squatting on the ground, covering her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking.

"Teacher... Teacher Li..."

Just as Li Li was about to speak, Lu Cheng continued through her tears.

"Xiao Chai saw a cat, so we went over to look. The cat was very small and covered in dust, so we fed it water and dog food."

She wiped her face, getting more anxious as she spoke.

"Then a fire started behind us. It wasn't a slow burn; flames just erupted instantly. We ran towards the mountain trail with the dog, but we hadn't gone far when we ran into a man in black."

Li Li paused.

"Did he have anything in his hands?"

"A shovel."

Lu Cheng's hands were still trembling.

"He wouldn't let us take the mountain trail and forced us into the woods. Xiao Chai lunged first, and then Xiao Qian did too. That man kicked Xiao Chai several times, but eventually, he got annoyed by the dogs and ran downwards."

"Which direction?"

Lu Cheng pointed to the lower left.

"Over there. Limping, but running very fast."

Left foot injury.

It matched the man in black he had encountered on the mountain path.

Lu Cheng added another sentence.

"Xiao Chai couldn't lift its front leg, so we didn't dare walk too fast. After wandering for ten minutes or so, we realized Xiao Qian was gone. That cat was gone, too."

Her voice dropped.

"Then the first person to appear was you."

Jiang Rumu stood to the side, not interrupting.

She simply spread her hands.

The meaning was very clear.

That was pretty much it.

Li Li didn't ask any more questions. He went around behind the tree.

Xiao Chai was lying under the tree roots.

Its two front paws were crossed, its head tilted, ears drooping, and its tail pressed against the ground.

Seeing Li Li, it tried to prop up its body.

Its front leg had only been lifted halfway before it went limp again.

It even let out a pitiful whine.

Li Li squatted down and patted its head.

"Alright, let me take a look."

[Task 1 Completed: Rescue Teacher Jiang Rumu.]

[Reward Distributed: Bone Setting Mastery.]

[Skill Activated.]

A wave of heat surged from his palm into his joints.

Li Li looked down at his hands.

Just in time.

He placed his hand on Xiao Chai's right front leg and felt down along the joints.

Shoulder, fine.

Elbow, fine.

Wrist bone, fine.

Metacarpal bones, also fine.

He changed the angle and checked it again.

No swelling.

No dislocation.

No fractures.

There wasn't even any tenderness.

Li Li was silent for three seconds.

If the system skill hadn't just been issued, he would have suspected he was checking the wrong spot.

He looked up at Jiang Rumu.

"Could it be faking it?"

Jiang Rumu was stunned.

Lu Cheng's crying also stopped.

The three of them looked at Xiao Chai together.

Xiao Chai lay on the ground, its ears slowly pricking up a little.

It looked to the left first.

Then it looked to the right.

The tip of its tail twitched very slightly.

The air went quiet.

Jiang Rumu took a breath and let it out.

"Xiao Chai."

Xiao Chai immediately buried its head into its front paws.

"You were kicked, you were in pain, and you acted pitiful—I can understand that. It's natural for a dog."

Jiang Rumu bent down and tapped its head with her finger.

"But you acted for twenty minutes? Lu Cheng and I almost carried you down the mountain?"

Lu Cheng lifted her face, the tip of her nose still red.

"I even took out the iodine and Band-Aids..."

Li Li patted Xiao Chai on the back.

"Get up, stop faking it."

Xiao Chai didn't move.

Li Li patted it again.

"If you keep acting, I'll sign you up for an acting class when we get back."

Xiao Chai hesitated for two seconds, then stood up.

All four legs were very steady.

After standing up, it even shook its fur.

Jiang Rumu was so angry she closed her eyes, finally reaching out to pinch the loose skin on the back of its neck.

The force wasn't heavy.

"Next time you're actually hurt, I'll feel bad for you. But acting when you're not hurt? I feel bad for myself."

Xiao Chai let out a whine and rubbed its head against the back of her hand.

It was quick to admit its mistake.

The process was also familiar.

Deny, get caught, act cute to reduce the sentence.

Even the best actors in the domestic entertainment industry don't have such a complete business chain.

Li Li re-attached the leash, this time tying a dead knot.

Jiang Rumu smoothed Xiao Chai's fur, then looked around.

"Where's Xiao Qian? Did you see it when you came up?"

"No."

Li Li tucked his helmet back under his arm.

"It was that Leopard Cat that led me to find you. That silk scarf of yours is around its neck."

Jiang Rumu nodded.

"I tied it on. I thought if someone saw it, they might notice. I didn't expect it to actually go find someone."

Li Li looked around.

The Leopard Cat was gone.

There was no sign of Xiao Qian either.

The sound of the wildfire was still pressing in from the left, and the smoke was getting lower.

Li Li took off his walkie-talkie.

"Station Chief Chen, I've found Jiang Rumu, and Lu Cheng is here too. Both are without external injuries. One dog is with us, the other is lost. Location: about 400 meters east of the north side. Preparing to retreat."

There was heavy static on the walkie-talkie.

Station Chief Chen's voice came through after a two-second delay.

"Copy that. Return along the route you marked. A 20-meter firebreak has been opened on the north side, and the wind direction is stable for now. Don't drag it out."

"Copy."

Li Li put away the walkie-talkie and looked at Jiang Rumu and Lu Cheng.

"Can you walk?"

Jiang Rumu picked up her trekking pole.

"I could have walked a long time ago. It was Xiao Chai that wouldn't let me."

She looked down at Xiao Chai.

Xiao Chai immediately strode forward on its four perfectly fine legs, walking at the very front.

Lu Cheng followed behind, hugging her backpack, her legs still a bit weak.

Li Li unfolded the fire blanket and draped it over the shoulders of Jiang Rumu and Lu Cheng.

"Follow the markings I carved on the bark, don't stray."

Jiang Rumu pulled on the fire blanket, her hand touching the edge, then she let go.

She saw that Li Li's combat uniform was covered in mud, his pant legs were snagged with leaf debris, a rope was wrapped around his waist, and his first-aid kit was hanging crookedly on his back.

She opened her mouth.

In the end, she didn't say anything.

Li Li walked in front, using his fire axe to add markings to the tree trunks as he went.

Xiao Chai pulled on the leash, its gait light and quick.

The "unable to stand" casualty from ten minutes ago had completely retired from service.

Lu Cheng's phone suddenly lit up.

She looked down at the screen.

"The signal is back."

Li Li didn't turn around.

"Don't send any location maps or take pictures of the surroundings yet. The suspect hasn't been caught."

Lu Cheng immediately turned the phone screen black.

"Okay."

Hearing this, Jiang Rumu's steps faltered for a moment.

"Is he still in the mountains?"

"Not necessarily."

Li Li looked back at the path they came from.

"He stole a Firefighter's uniform, trying to blend in to get down the mountain; they are checking below."

Jiang Rumu's expression turned colder.

"Was he coming for me?"

"Arson, blocking the road, forcing you into the woods."

Li Li paused.

"It wasn't a random incident, but whether it was aimed at you or me is unclear."

Jiang Rumu didn't ask again.

She gripped her trekking pole tightly and continued walking forward.

The group retreated along the bark markings.

Smoke was pressing in from the left, so Li Li told them to walk low and handed a wet towel to Lu Cheng.

Shouts kept coming through the walkie-talkie.

"Verify identities at the second section of the north line!"

"All retreating personnel report name and station!"

"Left leg injury, check thoroughly!"

Li Li pressed the walkie-talkie.

"Station Chief Chen, the suspect may have changed clothes, don't just check for combat uniforms. Look at the shoes, look at the gait, and check if there's a smell of oil on them."

"Copy."

Li Li's steps faltered.

When he saw the man in black on the mountain path, his backpack had already been flat.

There was a high chance there was more than one piece of clothing in the bag.

Jiang Rumu sensed him stop.

"What's wrong?"

Li Li continued forward.

"Nothing, let's walk faster."

Outside the North Gate of the scenic area.

A middle-aged man wearing a white short-sleeved shirt walked out of the woods from a side path.

He patted the grass off his pant legs and circled back to the main square.

The tourists had been evacuated, and the square was left with only fire trucks, caution tape, and people busy moving water hoses.

He stood outside the caution tape, raised his phone, and took two photos of the mountain peak.

After taking them, he put his phone back in his pants pocket.

Then he continued to stand there.

Waiting.

Only, he didn't notice that something in the distance was staring fixedly at him.