"If you don’t want to be discovered, then simply don’t do it," Bai Lu said, walking over with her arms crossed. "You people are so sly, setting so many animal traps. Do you know how easily they could injure someone?"
Chen Manman looked at the small knife pressing against Ai Xiaochun’s waist. "And what about you guys?"
Jiang Li put away the knife and released Ai Xiaochun.
"I was just scaring her, it’s a knife made of stone, it can only knock on things, it can’t injure people."
Chen Manman’s face stiffened, and she stood silent in her place.
Ai Xiaochun wanted to move but didn’t dare, her face turning green as she looked at the unkindly arriving group.
"Where’s Xuan? What did you do to my boyfriend? It’s too much of you people to deceive us ."
Shang Shuyue laughed, "Listen to what you’re saying. It’s clearly you who are too stupid and easily fooled and now you’re accusing us of deceiving you? That’s really funny, you took a few shouts seriously? Think this is a game of house?"
[Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, Sister Yue’s mouth sure does the job.]
[I acknowledge this ability to dish out.]
[So where’s the young master??? Doesn’t anyone care where he went???]
Chen Manman spoke with a somber face, "Play the game and admit defeat. If you’re going to eliminate us, just do it quickly, don’t waste everyone’s time."
"Who said we were going to eliminate you?" Jiang Li gave Yu Li a look, prompting him to release Chen Manman.
Jiang Cheng frowned in dissatisfaction, "Are you crazy, female devil? We’ve already caught them, why not eliminate them?"
"Told you to read more books but you wouldn’t listen," Jiang Li said indifferently. "There aren’t many people here to begin with, it’s quite hidden. If we were to eliminate them now, the crew would come to pick them up and make a big commotion. Wouldn’t then everyone know there’s an endless freshwater lake here?"
Jiang Cheng was choked with words, unable to say anything as his face contorted.
Hearing this, Chen Manman was quite surprised.
This young girl didn’t look old, but she seemed to have more tricks up her sleeve than her. Could this be the strength of Team A?
But that’s not right; the captain of Team A was clearly a man.
Seeing Chen Manman free from constraints, Ai Xiaochun quickly ran to stand behind her. "Don’t think that just because you released us we’ll let it go. Where’s Xuan? What did you do with him?"
"Alright, Xiao Chun, say less," Chen Manman chided her softly, then turned to Jiang Li, "What exactly do you want to do?"
"Nothing much, just the same as you, stay here for a while," Jiang Li clapped her hands and said, "I know you’re unhappy that your secret base was discovered, but after all, this place is a public resource. The lake is big enough for both our teams to survive. We don’t interfere with each other—the incident just now, let’s call it even, how about that?"
Ai Xiaochun widened her eyes.
Taking over their territory and making it sound so nice, was this not the very definition of a bandit?
"It’s okay, Xiao Chun," Chen Manman looked at Jiang Li. "Fine, as long as you don’t do anything out of line, we can let you stay here."
Ai Xiaochun looked at her discontentedly.
Chen Manman pulled her aside and advised, "A moment of patience can calm great waves, and a step back can open up the wide sea and sky. Didn’t you see? That girl is clever and skilled. We cannot underestimate their strength, and today we chose defense. Rather than a lose-lose situation, it’s better to watch and wait. After all, they don’t seem to mean us any harm for now."
"But Ah Xuan was pushed by them into a hole, we don’t even know if he’s injured or not, why should we share resources with them?"
"As long as the green hills last, there will be wood to burn."
"Forget the buts. I’m the captain, and what I say goes. That’s the decision for now."
Seeing Chen Manman’s resolute attitude, Ai Xiaochun found it difficult to say anything more and had to swallow back all his frustration.
After a verbal agreement was reached, Jiang Li led her team to rest on the other side of the lake until a call for help came from a nearby pit—
"Hey, is anyone there, help me!"
"Jiang Li, Shang Shuyue, Bai Lu, Yu Li, save me! I’ve damn fallen into a pit!"
"Shit, why is there such a huge pit here... fuck, I’ve even got a lump on my head... Did I just pass out there?!"
Only then did everyone remember Jiang Yan, and they hurried over to pull him out of the pit.
After coming out, Jiang Yan still saw stars, clutching his head with one hand and his waist with the other.
"Damn, what’s happening here?"
Everyone: "Uh......."
[Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, why is it always the young master who gets unlucky?]
[Serves him right for not listening to Lili’s advice.]
[Tsk tsk, he’s not that smart to begin with, and after that fall, he seems even dumber.]
[Sometimes I really doubt if he’s actually Jiang Li’s real elder brother. Even Jiang Cheng is smarter than him, for goodness’ sake.]
Jiang Li handed him a package without further ado, "Stop talking nonsense and come over to pack up. You deserve it for not listening to me earlier when I told you not to run around."
He didn’t dare to do it again.
On the other side, Ai Xiaochun and Chen Manman had worked incredibly hard to extract Luo Xuan and Guo Xing from the pit.
They had also overheard most of the conversation above, and both had rather unpleasant expressions on their faces now.
Frowning, Luo Xuan said, "Are we really going to let them stay here?"
Even though the other side had agreed to coexist peacefully, human nature is unpredictable. If they reneged on their promise, they would still not be able to escape.
That was essentially like living with a ticking time bomb.
Moreover, they had long regarded this place as their territory, and having another group move in was bound to be uncomfortable.
"What else can we do?" Guo Xing sighed, "They are strong; we can’t beat them or outsmart them. Compromise is the only option left."
"I hate these people so much, they’ll get theirs eventually!" Ai Xiaochun stamped her foot angrily.
"But..." Guo Xing stroked his chin, "Those girls are really pretty, especially the one in white clothes. She looks like a celebrity."
Upon hearing this, Ai Xiaochun immediately grew unhappy. Seeing Luo Xuan also glancing in that direction, she quickly stepped in to block her boyfriend’s view.
"Guo Xing, is your brain clogged by your urges? What are you thinking about at a time ?"
Guo Xing glanced away dismissively, "What’s the harm in just looking? I don’t have a partner. Can’t I appreciate a pretty girl?"
"Alright, stop arguing," Chen Manman scolded. "We’ll leave things as they are for now. If they don’t act, neither do we; let’s try to keep the peace."
She had decided upon this because the girl called Jiang Li didn’t seem to have any ill intent. Her gaze was clear, giving off a very stable and trustworthy vibe.
Having been a lawyer for so many years, she could usually tell good from bad at a glance.
Hopefully, she wasn’t wrong this time.