7 Substitute teacher (2/2)

Ren Xiaosu was imagining a future where he handed the schoolteacher position to Yan Liuyuan as they walked, but he did not notice Yan Liuyuan slowing down. Looking at Ren Xiaosu's back, Yan Liuyuan experienced an indescribable feeling.

This young man's hand was still wrapped in bandages, and even though he had a sharp tongue, he would always leave the best for him.

When Ren Xiaosu turned around and realized that Yan Liuyuan had fallen quite far behind, he barked, ”What are you doing? Hurry up!”

”Coming!”

Outside the stronghold, a continuous trail of white smoke was billowing out of the factory chimneys into the sky. As the setting sun shone down onto their backs, it was as though they had nothing in life to worry about.

…

On their way back home, Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan suddenly saw a group of people come out of the stronghold. There were around 14 of them in the group, and half of them were wearing fanciful clothes of all colors, while the other half was made up of people who donned the combat uniform of the private army employed by the overseers of Stronghold 113. It looked like their trip would be accompanied by soldiers, so it was no wonder they dared to head out into a place like the Jing Mountains.

These people actually didn't require guides with combat value. They only needed someone who knew the way.

However, Ren Xiaosu did not assume the private troops were strong just because they were employed by the overseers of Stronghold 113. In fact, he rarely saw these private troops leaving the stronghold, so it could still lead to serious issues as they might not even have any actual combat experience or seen blood before.

Ren Xiaosu saw some of the private troops smoking filtered cigarettes, which were rarely seen in town.

A light whiff of cigarette smoke drifted over. Ren Xiaosu could distinctly smell a weird odor. He remembered Old Wang mentioning that many of the cigarettes given out by the factories had addictive substances added into them to give people a high.

Ren Xiaosu was puzzled why the private troops would smoke something like that when their profession required them to keep a clear mind.

He had witnessed people go crazy from smoking these cigarettes, and the private troops only seemed to be smoking the better quality ones.

Slowly, a crowd in town gathered. This was because these people had such clean faces that it sharply contrasted the faces of those in town.

”Bro, is water so abundant in the stronghold that they can wash their faces every day?” Yan Liuyuan blinked with a shimmer in his eyes.

”There's no need to envy them. The grease on our faces acts as a protective layer for our skin,” Ren Xiaosu consoled without actually trying.

But then he noticed a unique presence among that group of people. There was a girl wearing a cap so low he could not tell how old she was. She was dressed in relatively normal clothes that looked loose but fitting.

Ren Xiaosu focused on her because it felt like an encounter with a beast in the wild the moment he saw her.

Something was fishy about these people, and Ren Xiaosu trusted his intuition.

Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan stopped in their tracks, watching from afar. They vaguely knew that this group of people was making inquiries about something with Old Wang from the grocery store.

They could hear Old Wang saying loudly, ”If y'all are going to the Jing Mountains, you must look for Ren Xiaosu. Without him, you definitely can't pass through. Besides, there are also wolves out there in the wilderness. Might I suggest that you don't take that route?”

A soldier in the private army sneered, ”Those wolves will be scared off when they hear our gunshots. Why would we need to worry about them?”

Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. So the wolves were actually afraid of gunshots? This was probably due to the natural instincts of such wild animals. As he had never seen a firearm before, he wasn't sure if the other party was telling the truth. However, some doubts still remained.

Another member of the private army asked, ”Who is Ren Xiaosu? We don't care how skillful he is at combat as long as he knows the way.”

”Oh, Ren Xiaosu is well-known for being the best hunter in town. He knows most of the routes, so it'll be perfectly fine if you get him to lead the way.” Old Wang smiled and said, ”Take my word for it, he's definitely the right choice. But there's something wrong with that kid's head….”

Having heard all this, Ren Xiaosu turned around and led Yan Liuyuan away. ”Is Old Wang's son in your class too? That fat kid?” Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.

Yan Liuyuan gasped at him. ”Bro, you shouldn't involve his family members….”

Ren Xiaosu frowned as he had wanted to steer clear of this issue. However, he never expected that Old Wang would deliberately recommend himself to this mysterious band.