Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 1059 - 1058: Going Around in Circles

Liu Sisi was still threading her way through the mountain forest.

The initial frantic sprint had drained her strength significantly, and by now she was already gasping for air, her legs felt as if they had been filled with lead, moving a single step exhausted all her strength.

Sweat poured down her face as her already soaked clothes, chilled by the mountain breeze, had no chance to dry before becoming drenched again.

Suddenly, she stumbled, tripped over a protruding tree root, and fell to the ground. Struggling a few times to no avail to get up, she eventually gave up and flopped onto her back, sprawling out and gasping for breath heavily.

She couldn’t walk another step.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps approached rapidly from ahead, closing in on her location.

Liu Sisi was startled and quickly scrambled to hide behind a big tree.

It wasn’t her fault, after all. How could she have the energy to escape at the moment?

The running footsteps drew closer rapidly and soon were near. That’s when Liu Sisi could see who it was, and a wave of joy washed over her. She had truly found her!

No longer caring for concealment, she burst from her hiding place: "Here, I’m here!"

The other person, originally busy making haste, was startled by Liu Sisi’s sudden appearance. Her face changed instantly.

"How could you be here? Didn’t I tell you to turn right? How did you end up here?"

As for that, Liu Sisi was somewhat speechless: "I was being chased and in my desperate escape, I just randomly chose a direction to the right to run. But I’m sure I was running towards the right, I definitely didn’t run the wrong way!"

As for this, Liu Sisi was quite certain, sure that she had been running straight forward.

"How is that possible! I came from the left... Oh no! I forgot something."

The person slapped their forehead suddenly: "We were both running around the mountain top, weren’t we? This mountain top is round, so... "

That’s how the two of them had encountered each other midway.

Liu Sisi was also stunned; although the reason given by the other person was a bit far-fetched, it was most likely the real situation.

The newcomer seemed very frustrated and suddenly turned around, started pushing Liu Sisi.

"Bad news! The ones chasing me are coming. We have to run!"

After saying this, she grabbed Liu Sisi’s hand and started to run at full speed.

Liu Sisi was already unable to run, but hearing the pursuing troops were catching up, she quickly tried to follow suit.

However, after just a few steps, she shook her head repeatedly and stopped: "No, I can’t do it anymore, I... I just can’t run anymore, I’m already... Go ahead, you can definitely escape if you don’t take me with you."

"What are you talking about! Didn’t I go through hell and back, suffering every hardship just to rescue you? If you give up now, would that do justice to my efforts in saving you three times?"

While speaking, she forcibly dragged Liu Sisi to continue running forward.

Liu Sisi didn’t even have the energy to smile bitterly!

Yes, Granny Peng had saved her three times before, once in the sky prison, once during her illness, and now, risking her life to save her again today. Giving up on saving herself would indeed be unjustifiable.

"Granny Peng..."

She clenched her teeth and without another word, buried her head and ran wildly along with the other person.

Although she couldn’t understand why Granny Peng, who had always done hard labor at the wharf, was suddenly moving as if flying and had acquired martial arts skills, the fact remained that Granny had indeed rescued her. This was undeniably real and could not be faked.

"Over here! Quick, quick, quick, they are right in front of us, let’s catch up!" frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

The voices of the pursuing troops came from behind, indistinct but getting closer. Granny Peng seemed to be in a great hurry too, pulling Liu Sisi ahead of her: "Quick, take this small path down. I’ll cover our retreat!"

"No! Granny Peng, if we go, we’ll retreat together. I absolutely won’t leave first this time."

Just for the mere fact that she had saved her three times, Liu Sisi could not leave Granny alone to escape.

Granny Peng gritted her teeth, stared at Liu Sisi for a moment, and nodded with determination: "Fine! We shall advance or retreat together!"

She continued to lead Liu Sisi forward, and they suddenly stopped at a bend in the mountain path, scrambling up along a withered vine. Granny Peng then reached her hand back down: "Sisi, quick! Give me your hand."

Liu Sisi glanced back at the way they had come, as a series of messy footsteps grew ever nearer.

Hurriedly, she extended her hand. Granny Peng promptly pulled her up with a strong tug. They had barely squatted down when dozens of people appeared on another path and briskly passed right under their feet.

Liu Sisi crouched, head down, not daring to breathe heavily.

As the sound of footsteps approached quickly from below and then faded away into the distance, the two finally breathed a sigh of relief—both of their faces showed the joy of a narrow escape.

"Let’s go! While we have the chance, let’s head down the mountain quickly so they don’t make a comeback and catch us squarely."

Naturally, Liu Sisi had no objections, and the two began to descend along the mountain path.

Elsewhere.

Di Yelei was following Zuo Xingyu closely, chasing after the traces left by those people.

"The last of the enemy troops must have passed here about four hours ago. Look at this."

Zuo Xingyu examined the scene for a moment, then pointed to some faint traces beside him and leaves that were accidentally torn off: "Their numbers are roughly around 3,000 men, their discipline is strict, and most of them are on foot, moving at a high speed. It seems that if their troops encounter yours, it’s hard to say who would win or lose."

This wasn’t him underestimating Di Yelei’s troops; rather, the other side’s forces were indeed formidable.

Di Yelei’s eyebrows were deeply furrowed as he looked into the distance—the sky was about to light up!

"Based on our current speed, how long will it take us to catch up with them?"

Zuo Xingyu thought for a moment: "If we keep up with the current pace, and they don’t stop, we will never catch them. However, they can’t possibly keep moving without stopping, so we still have hope." The hope lay in them halting their advance sooner rather than later.

This statement made Di Yelei frown even more.

"Continue forward! Quicken our pace, hurry!"

As he watched figures rushing by, he knew his trusted soldiers could keep up with the pace, but the two hundred men provided by the Magistrate of Macheng County were indeed slowing everyone down.

"Let’s go. These deep mountains are no easy territory for moving troops. Everyone, do your duty and leave the rest to fate. At least we need not worry about the Princess’s safety."

Zhang Peng reassured Di Yelei, patting his shoulder firmly.

Di Yelei patted him back in response. Everyone understood the reasoning, but at present, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

"No matter what, I won’t let her conspiracy succeed!"

He clenched his fist instinctively.