The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 160 Digging Snow

The border guards haven't cleared this area yet; it's indeed remote, and it will take some time to get here.

Shen Hanyu took the shovel and joined them in clearing the snow.

Once the snow is cleared, we can continue forward. It's also a good opportunity to dig around here, in case someone is buried under the snow.

They didn't search this place. The commander of the Imperial Guards exhaled a cold breath. Such a large place would take at least several hours to search.

He glanced at Shen Hanyu, who was personally digging snow, so no one else dared to complain.

Miao Cui also took a shovel and moved the snow under her feet to one side, revealing the dark earth.

"Moving around actually makes me warmer."

Shen Hanyu nodded and quickened her pace. In recent days, she had made some progress in her physical fitness and was no longer as weak as before.

Digging through the layer of snow, Shen Hanyu reached out and touched the ground. Her fingers were stained with a dark red color and smelled of blood.

"There used to be a battle here, so there are bloodstains all over the ground."

The rest consisted of wild animals roaming the area, leaving behind animal fur and bloodstains from their fights.

Shen Hanyu shoveled forward, revealing bloodstains in many places, along with broken arrows and swords.

Ji Yuxiu took a break after digging for a while. Just as she sat down, someone rushed over in a panic.

"General, we've really dug up a corpse!"

Shen Hanyu's heart skipped a beat.

The two got up and went over. Zhang Fengzhi stood in front of the pile of snow, which stood tall. When Shen Hanyu saw his face after brushing away the top layer of snow, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“This person…” Zhang Fengzhi looked him up and down, “is a foreigner.”

Foreigners look different from them because of their bloodline; you can tell if you look closely.

It's good news that it's a foreign tribe, not Pei Du.

Zhang Fengzhi had the body carried back and handed over to Chen Jianshan.

Shen Hanyu's palms were already sweating; she was genuinely afraid that the corpse was Pei Du.

Miao Cui grabbed Shen Hanyu's sleeve: "It's good that it's not Young Master Pei."

Ji Yuxiu wiped the sweat from her forehead: "Keep digging, try to dig half of this place today."

Zhang Fengzhi agreed, but he was in agony. He hadn't expected it to be such a physically demanding job. He should have argued with Chen Jianshan last night and turned down the task.

But since Shen Hanyu had already taken to the field, he, as the team leader, naturally dared not slack off.

After a day of work, they dug up two corpses, both of whom were from other tribes. That was all.

Because Zhang Fengzhi and Ji Yuxiu are both here, today's progress is much faster than expected, and more than half of the excavation has been completed.

"That's it for today."

Ji Yuxiu looked up at the weather. The weather should be pretty good tomorrow. The weather these past few days has helped them a lot.

It was already dark when they returned to the camp. The border at night was particularly torturous. Shen Hanyu stamped her feet inside the tent and warmed her hands over the charcoal fire.

"girl."

Jin Chui entered the tent, holding a dry leaf in his hand.

"what is this?"

Shen Hanyu took it and glanced at it. The words "Mu Yu" were carved on the leaf with a knife, in Pei Du's handwriting.

"This……"

This is the first time I've received news about Pei Du after being here for several days.

“I recognized your handwriting. This leaf suddenly appeared in front of me. I was afraid that something had happened to you, so I didn’t dare to tell anyone and wanted you to make the decision.”

Shen Hanyu held the leaf. If Pei Du wanted to come back, he should have given the leaf to Chen Jianshan and the others. It meant he had something else to do and didn't want others to know.

"Let's go to Muyu Village tomorrow."

Shen Hanyu made a quick decision; since the leaves had been delivered, she naturally had to go over there.

We'll only know what happened to Pei Du tomorrow when we go to check.

Shen Hanyu planned to only tell Ji Yuxiu about this, so that if anything happened, they would be prepared.

Having planned everything carefully, Shen Hanyu headed towards Muyu Village with Jinchui and Miaocui the day after she obtained the leaf.

Ji Yuxiu kept the others calm on the border, preventing them from becoming suspicious.

“These two guys.” Ji Yuxiu shook her head. She knew that these two had always had their own opinions, and no one else could influence their thoughts.

Upon returning to Muyu Village, Shen Hanyu did not see the village chief. Wearing earmuffs and a veil, she walked inside, and a person emerged from a corner.

The other person was dressed similarly to her, and both of them covered their faces.

Pei Du lifted a corner of his veil, "Miss Shen."

When Shen Hanyu saw Pei Du, the weight in her heart finally lifted.

The group found a place to sit down and talk. Looking at Pei Du, Shen Hanyu asked, puzzled, "Why did you contact me with leaves instead of going back directly? And where have you been these past few days?"

Pei Du explained, "I'm in the territory of a foreign tribe, and I can't go back for the time being. I have some things to do."

Golden Hammer appeared: "Young Master, this is too dangerous."

Pei Du indicated that they didn't need to worry.

"I know what I'm doing."

Shen Hanyu looked at Pei Du's face: "How are you going to disguise yourself among the foreign tribes?"

Foreigners look somewhat different from them, so Pei Du should be easily recognized among them.

“They captured some people to be forced into hard labor, and I am now among those people.”

He went there on purpose. Last time, he was given a good opportunity and was captured, so he stayed with the foreign tribe.

Shen Hanyu thought to herself, no wonder so many people couldn't find him.

"It must have been very dangerous for you to come out today, right?"

Pei Du nodded. "I can't stay here for too long. I'll be leaving soon. I knew you were coming, and I contacted you because I was afraid you'd worry."

Shen Hanyu was speechless. This person had suddenly become so ardent in his speech.

"I'll be going back soon. Before that, could you please speak to General Ji for me?"

Pei Du whispered a few words to Shen Hanyu, who took note of them. Now she finally understood what Pei Du was planning to do.

Pei Du got up to leave, and Shen Hanyu followed suit.

"Be more careful."

Pei Du put on his veil and left Muyu Village.

There were many questions left unasked, but Shen Hanyu felt they were no longer important.

She returned to her tent, and Ji Yuxiu immediately came looking for her.

"Have you seen him?"

Shen Hanyu nodded.

Ji Yuxiu sat down. "It's good that we met. But why is Pei Du keeping us in suspense? He didn't do anything wrong, so why didn't he come back?"

This was something Ji Yuxiu couldn't understand, so she asked it out.

Ji Yuxiu is a trustworthy person, Shen Hanyu reported truthfully.

After listening, Ji Yuxiu remained silent for a while and then exclaimed, "They're really bold."

Shen Hanyu also agreed, saying that Pei Du had indeed been incredibly bold this time.

But if Pei Du didn't work so hard, he probably wouldn't be able to achieve anything significant.

He was absolutely certain about this matter, which is why he asked her to tell Ji Yuxiu.

“Yuxiu, no matter what, we should inform General Chen about this matter. He is in charge of this area. If we keep everything from him, Pei Du’s life here will probably not be easy.”