Abstinence Pei, don't be too sweet when chasing your wife

Chapter 475 A bright future

It was just dawn and the rain fog was still floating in the valley of Qingchuan County.

Pei Luonan, wrapped in the military coat handed to him by Kong Haoyu, leaned on the hood of the off-road vehicle, watching the two teams heading towards Black Wind Ridge and Wild Boar Valley.

His low fever had not subsided yet. Whenever he closed his eyes, Gu Fanxing's smiling face would appear in his mind - that smile was so pure that he couldn't believe that he had forced her to hide in the mountains.

"Boss Pei, let's eat something first."

Kong Haoyu handed over the hot buns and said, "The fellows in Waguan Town said there's an abandoned Taoist temple over in Yezhugou. In the past, herbalists would occasionally stop by to rest. Do you want to send a team to focus on searching there?"

Pei Luonan took a bite of the bun and shook his head expressionlessly: "No need. According to the original plan, a carpet search. She understands archaeology and will most likely go to places with kiln sites and old objects. The Song Dynasty kiln site in Black Wind Ridge is the focus."

Just as he finished speaking, the forest ranger's voice came over the intercom: "Boss Pei! We found a cave halfway up Black Wind Ridge. There are signs of fire at the entrance!"

Pei Luonan stood up straight, not even noticing his military coat slipping off his shoulders: "I'll be there soon!"

He jumped onto the off-road vehicle, Kong Haoyu stepped on the accelerator, and the car bumped along the muddy mountain road towards Black Wind Ridge.

The roar of the engine startled the tits on the branches. Pei Luonan held the phone tightly. He had even thought about what to say when he saw her, how to apologize, how to hold her in his arms and tell her "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

The cave is located under a cliff in the leeward area, and the entrance is half covered by vines.

When Pei Luonan pushed aside the vines and rushed in, the embers of the fire were still warm, and scattered around were half a piece of uneaten compressed biscuit and an empty mineral water bottle.

"It's this brand!" Kong Haoyu pointed at the water bottle, "It's exactly the same as the one Miss Gu bought at the bus station!"

Pei Luonan's heart began to beat wildly. He squatted down and brushed his fingertips over the ashes in the embers of the fire.

There were a few pieces of burnt paper mixed in the ashes. He carefully picked up a corner and recognized it as a map of Qingchuan County - the location of Heifengling was circled in red.

"She's been here." Pei Luonan's voice trembled uncontrollably. "Which direction did she go?"

The ranger pointed to a trampled grass path outside the cave and said, "This path leads to the kiln site. Judging by the trampled grass, they must have just left this morning."

Pei Luonan turned around immediately: "Chase!"

He walked up the grass path, his steps as fast as the wind.

The mountain path was even more slippery than yesterday, and he nearly fell several times. The wound on his palm opened, and blood dripped onto the moss, spreading a small dark red. But he ignored the pain, his eyes fixed on the road ahead - he seemed to see Gu Fanxing, with her backpack on her back, looking back at him at the fork in the road ahead, and like countless times before, smiling and calling him "Pei Luonan".

However, the grass path ended near the kiln site.

He looked in both directions and suddenly remembered Ling Jiuer's words - "You forced the stars into the mountains." Yes, she was so afraid of the dark and insects, but to avoid him, she dared to go to the Wild Wolf Valley, which even forest rangers feared.

"Divide into two teams." He took a deep breath, suppressing the fishy-sweet taste in his throat. "You take three people to the forest farm, and I'll take the rest to Wild Wolf Valley."

"Boss Pei! Wild Wolf Valley is too dangerous!" the ranger said anxiously. "A few years ago, a herbalist went in and never came out. There are wild boars in there, and..."

"I know." Pei Luonan interrupted him, his voice calm but unquestionable, "If she is in there, waiting for one more second will increase the danger."

He took the lead and walked towards the Wild Wolf Valley. The gravel under his feet made a "rustling" sound, as if mocking his arrogance.

Kong Haoyu looked at his back, gritted his teeth, and said to the forest ranger: "You take a team to the forest farm, and Mr. Pei and I will go to the Wild Wolf Valley!"

Less than half an hour into the journey, someone in the group exclaimed, "Boss Pei! Look at this!"

The person was holding a hairpin in the shape of a silver butterfly, and the diamonds inlaid on the wings shimmered in the dim light.

Pei Luonan's heart sank suddenly - this was the birthday gift he gave her last year, and she had been wearing it on her head.

"She dropped this." Kong Haoyu picked up the hairpin and said in a tense voice, "That means she must have passed by here."

Pei Luonan seemed to be able to imagine her walking here: perhaps her hair was caught on a branch and she pulled out the hairpin in a panic; or perhaps she was walking too fast and didn't even notice the hairpin had fallen off. Whatever the case, it made him feel so distressed that he couldn't breathe.

"Speed ​​up." He put the hairpin into his arms. "She might be just ahead."

But they searched the Wild Wolf Valley for a whole day and didn't find anyone until dark.

Instead, an abandoned backpack was found on the edge of a cliff - there was only half a box of cold medicine, a handkerchief, and a well-read copy of "A Study of Kiln Sites in the Song Dynasty".

"She may have thrown away all the unimportant things in order to reduce the burden." Kong Haoyu's voice was hoarse.

Pei Luonan opened the book "Research on Kiln Sites in the Song Dynasty". On the title page was Gu Fanxing's signature in beautiful handwriting.

There was a slip of paper between the pages, with a few lines of words written on it in pencil: "Very few clay pot kilns remain in the world. The glaze color is bluish-gray, similar to the stone composition of the stone bridges in Jiangnan..."

Jiangnan Stone Bridge? Pei Luonan's fingertips paused.

He always thought that she came to Qingchuan County for the clay pot kiln, but the handwriting on the note clearly pointed in another direction.

"Kong Haoyu," he suddenly said, his voice hoarse, "check to see if there are any places in Jiangnan with Song Dynasty stone bridges. And... they are related to the stone materials used in the Waguan Kiln."

Kong Haoyu was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized: "You mean... Miss Gu's destination might not be Qingchuan County?"

"She always lays the groundwork for everything she does." Pei Luonan closed the book and looked into the distance. "The clay pot kiln might just be her transit station. She really wants to go to Jiangnan."

This thought was like a ray of light, splitting the fog of days.

He recalled Gu Fanxing's frequent comments about Song Dynasty craftsmen mastering the concept of "harmony between man and nature." Whether it was porcelain or stone bridges, traces of the natural environment and the surrounding landscape could be seen. Perhaps her research into the clay pot kilns wasn't just about the kiln sites themselves, but also about tracing the fate of the stones tempered by the kiln fire.

"Withdraw the team." Pei Luonan made a quick decision, "Return to the county."

"Now?" Kong Haoyu looked at the sky. "It's getting dark, and the mountain road is difficult to walk on..."

"Leave now." Pei Luonan's tone left no room for doubt, "If you're a step later, she might have left Jiangnan."

When they walked out of the Wild Wolf Valley in the dark, Pei Luonan's arm was cut by a branch, and blood soaked his shirt, but he was unconscious.

The off-road vehicle was bumping along the mountain road, and Kong Haoyu was typing quickly on the laptop.

Half an hour later, Kong Haoyu handed over a document. "Boss Pei, I've found out! There are three Song Dynasty stone bridges in Jiangnan whose stone composition closely matches that of Waguan Kiln. Two of them are in Suzhou and have been developed into scenic spots. The other one is in Yunxi Town, called 'Wangxi Bridge'. It's hidden deep in Laoshan Mountain and few people know about it."

Yunxi Town.

When Pei Luonan read the name, he suddenly remembered that Gu Fanxing had mentioned that she had been there once with her grandmother when she was a child, and was deeply impressed by the Song Dynasty stone bridge where "you could see stars falling into the water."

"Prepare the planes, head to Yunxi Town." He opened his eyes, the fatigue in them replaced by a new light—a glimmer of hope. "Notify everyone, halt all searches in Qingchuan County, and shift resources to Yunxi Town."

As the car drove away from Qingchuan County, Pei Luonan looked out the window at the rapidly receding mountains and forests. His blood and his cries were left there, but the person he was looking for was not there.

The sky outside the car window was getting brighter and brighter, and Pei Luonan knew that the real search had just begun.

The mountains of Qingchuan County could not trap her, but the misty rain of Jiangnan might make her stop.

As long as he can find her, he is willing to walk across all the stone bridges in the south of the Yangtze River.