Chapter 173: Chapter 169: Treasure Trove or Tomb

Wen Ran had thought a lot about the secret base.

But when they actually arrived, they realized the so-called secret base was purely a stone cavern, pitch black.

And because it’s not ventilated, it even had a weird smell.

If Xiao Chenye weren’t so good-looking, she would have definitely refused to enter this broken place.

Xiao Chenye took a flint from his pocket, blew on it gently, and the flame flickered to life.

With the help of the faint light, Xiao Chenye held Wen Ran’s hand and guided her to watch her step, saying, “Actually, when I played hide and seek as a child, I loved hiding here.”

His eyes showed nostalgia, “Once I crouched down here, no one could find me.”

Indeed, following Xiao Chenye here, the crooked and tangled path nearly made her dizzy.

Let alone when playing hide and seek.

Moreover…

She looked at Xiao Chenye with disdain, “You’re really reckless, who hides here for hide and seek? Why didn’t Uncle and Aunt Xiao just beat you to death for being so careless?”

Speaking of this, Xiao Chenye awkwardly said, “They did beat me, half to death. I lay on the bed for a week before I could get up.”

Wen Ran: “?”

“What did you do to make them so angry?”

Mentioning his dark past, Xiao Chenye’s face reddened slightly, “While playing hide and seek, they couldn’t find me. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, it was almost dark…”

The kids in the village, all pretty much raised free-range, ate breakfast, went out to play, and returned home around meal times.

But that day, Xiao Chenye went out in the morning and didn’t come back.

At mealtime, there was no sign of him, so Mrs. Xiao decided to check in with other families, but after making rounds, everyone said they hadn’t seen Xiao Chenye.

Coincidentally, someone who had gone up the mountain to gather goods was coming down and casually said, “Oh, Old Five? I saw him heading up the mountain.”

Mrs. Xiao nearly fainted on the spot.

She immediately mobilized the entire village to search the mountain.

They searched from mealtime until sunset.

Mrs. Xiao was heartbroken.

Dusk fell.

The sunset was beautiful.

Xiao Chenye clearly remembered the sunset that day was pink.

It didn’t take long for him to come across Mrs. Xiao, who was looking for him.

Then, needless to say.

The beating started right on the mountain.

Rumor has it that the cries were loud.

Loud enough to spook the birds in the forest into miscarriage.

Wen Ran: “…”

Tsk, he deserved the beating.

Since then, Xiao Chenye hadn’t shared his secret base with anyone, hiding his treasures in the cave.

Sensing they were about where they should be, Xiao Chenye stopped and had Wen Ran hold the flint while he grabbed some dry grass and sticks, lighting a fire.

As the cave brightened, Wen Ran found the place indeed dirty and messy.

In the corners were a few skeletons, half-buried in the dirt, yellowed.

After so many years, Xiao Chenye revisited his old haunt and dug out his treasure.

Three glass marbles, a small seashell, and a pitch-black stone whose shape was indistinct.

Just as Xiao Chenye was about to indulge in some pure romance, Wen Ran covered his mouth.

She felt something was not quite right.

Quickly extinguishing the fire, she pulled Xiao Chenye into a corner.

Xiao Chenye whispered, “What’s wrong?”

“Shh~”

Outside, the sound of footsteps could indeed be heard.

Each step heavy.

Then, the footsteps turned chaotic.

With a dull thud, something seemed to be tossed to the ground.

The sound of tearing flesh and chewing occasionally reached them, and Xiao Chenye’s face turned pale.

This damn sure was a large wild beast.

Wen Ran was speechless.

Beyond speechless, still speechless.

Who would believe it!

Coming here hand in hand with a partner to feed a wild beast.

Hahaha! Absolutely hilarious.

“Woo woo~~ roar~~”

That thing called out twice outside and then continued to devour the prey, savoring every bite.

“Ranran, why don’t you leave first?” Xiao Chenye, hearing the sounds, had already figured out what that thing was.

“It’s a bear; if I’m not mistaken, we probably wandered into its den.”

Indeed~

Even hunters can’t track it this accurately.

Hey!

See how amazing her partner is, hiding in a bear’s den while playing hide and seek.

And still not eaten by the bear.

Over the years, every so often he managed to come in and always avoided the bear.

Impressive!

Impressive enough to admit defeat.

This damn is no different from a living king of hell, right?

“Stop talking nonsense,” Wen Ran gritted her teeth, “How am I supposed to leave?”

She peered outside.

The winding cave allowed her to faintly see the big fat bear blocking the entrance.

Sitting there, the flesh on its belly nearly overflowing.

Turning around, she twisted Xiao Chenye’s ear, “Am I supposed to fly out with wings?”

Xiao Chenye was ready to cry, “Then what do we do? I’ll feed myself to the bear, and you run fast, will that work?”

“If you keep babbling, I’ll kill you.”

Xiao Chenye looked at the bear, “Do you think it knows we’re here?”

“Of course.”

Although bears are like blind people, their strong sense of smell wouldn’t miss the appearance of two unfamiliar scents in its den.

Oh wait, maybe just Wen Ran is unfamiliar.

After all, all these years, Xiao Chenye got close here often; perhaps the bear saw him as one of its own, who knows.

Mentioning this, Xiao Chenye was genuinely about to cry.

“Boohoo, at this time, you’re still joking? What now? Why don’t you run?”

Xiao Chenye had already thought through his aftermath, “Originally taking care of my parents’ old age was on me, but if I die, that all falls to third brother.”

With a pale face, he rambled on, “Most of my assets will go to you, remember to keep them safe.

I have some more, stored under the bed at home, buried thirty small yellow fishes and ten big yellow fishes…”

Midway through, Xiao Chenye choked up, “There’s also the gold bracelet and gold necklace I collected, planning to use them as a dowry for you, boohoohoo…”

He sobbed twice, “As for the gold bars, split them with my parents. The gold bracelet and necklace are all yours, but I have one request.”

Watching the bear turning around to glance into the cave, Wen Ran’s heart was in her throat.

Right now, it was a matter of the enemy not moving, nor would she.

Seeing Xiao Chenye pause, Wen Ran lowered her eyes, “Go ahead.”

“When you marry someone else, don’t wear the gold bracelet I gave you, okay?”

That was his final request.

Wen Ran was infuriated, raising her hand to give Xiao Chenye a hard slap.

“Just shut up already.”

“Can’t shut up.”

Xiao Chenye felt extremely jittery.

Previously, when driving, he once faced a similar situation where the car broke down midway.

But back then, he had thermal weapons; as long as the bear didn’t start trouble, basically they’d get along fine.

If it did start trouble, having weapons on hand meant he could at least try to fight back.

But now…

Bear is the knife, and I’m the fish meat.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep