He paused, the light in his eyes fading. Having already decided to stay with her, why hesitate now?

Fu Yuchi flicked his wide sleeves and then lowered them again, head held high, and said loudly, "Let's go."

Ten miles west of the city, you'll enter a poplar forest that stretches for three or four miles. Around the time of the Autumn Equinox, the forest is often shrouded in fog in the mornings. It's a shortcut into the city, but fewer people use it during this season, as they're afraid of getting lost.

It was already afternoon, and the fog in the woods had mostly dissipated, leaving only wisps of rising white vapor.

Accompanying them was the constable who had just discovered the strip of cloth, who led the way.

Shan Qiu remembered the way he came and marked the route. In case the thugs outnumbered them, they might not be able to handle them. They still needed to be careful. "Where did you find the strip of cloth? Besides the strip of cloth, were there any other clues around?"

The young constable shook his head. "When we led the brothers into the forest this morning, we weren't well prepared. The brothers only found this strip of cloth. The fog inside was too thick. Without your orders, Constable Shan, we dared not act rashly, for fear of alerting the enemy."

"What do you mean you're afraid to alert the enemy?" Shan Qiu sneered. "I think you're all afraid of becoming victims of these thugs."

Upon hearing this, the junior constable stood there speechless, as if he had been dealt a blow.

Danqiu used his knife to make marks on the bark, using the cuts as markers to expose the trunk. Each cut on the bark was aligned with the direction he was moving in, ensuring he wouldn't make a mistake.

Sun Miao'er followed closely behind Fu Yuchi, asking in a low voice, "Master, why did you still come along?"

His attitude just now was so resolute that she almost thought they were going to part ways.

But when he said, "I'll go with you," Sun Miao'er felt a surge of joy, just as she had always hoped. With her master by her side, even danger could be averted.

All she knew was that, no matter what, with her master by her side, there was no hardship she couldn't overcome.

Fu Yuchi's black boots clattered clearly through the silent forest as they crunched on the fallen leaves and twigs. He walked with extra care with each step. "If you run into a bad guy, I don't think he'll be able to protect you. Besides, you still owe your teacher a meal. One meal a day, do you think you've owed him so many?"

His tone was unusually light at this moment, completely unlike his solemn demeanor just now. Sun Miao'er felt that it seemed her master had come to terms with things.

Sun Miao'er covered her face and giggled, tilting her head back. Her eyes, clear and bright like a deer's, were full of spirit. She said, "So that's what Master was thinking about. Then I'll go back and cook a whole table of dishes for Master so that Master can have a good meal."

Fu Yuchi stared at the girl in front of him, lost in thought. She was so lively and obedient, yet at times she seemed unfamiliar to him. For example, at the city gate, when she said she wanted to get a share of the pie in this bustling Pingnan City, he realized that the girl in front of him had an uncontrollable soul and thoughts.

Perhaps, that's what attracted me to her.

He did what he wanted to do but couldn't.

Shan Qiu suddenly slowed down and raised his hand to make a stop gesture. "You need to be careful up ahead."

Sun Miao'er looked down and saw the edges of straw ropes peeking out from under the nearby withered grass. She immediately realized that danger lurked in the forest, not for any other reason than that these straw ropes were used by hunters to set traps.

Although the forest is not deep in the mountains, Pingnan City is surrounded by high mountains, and it is common for birds and beasts to appear here. More importantly, hunting here is much easier than in the mountains.

After all, this place is not too far from the city and is not a remote area. Frightening wild beasts such as tigers, wolves, and bears rarely appear here. Hunters prefer to set traps here, often achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Sun Miao'er became more observant and carefully watched her feet. Before she knew it, Fu Yuchi had grabbed her sleeve from behind.

He pulled her wrist, gesturing for her to stand behind him, and whispered, "Go to the back, follow me."

Before entering this trap area, Fu Yuchi had already figured out the direction of the straw ropes. What looked like a messy straw rope was actually a well-organized rope net under the withered grass.

During his days of surviving in the mountains, he became very familiar with the hunters' tricks. When he first didn't understand, he stepped into several traps, bleeding and suffering a lot. But because of this, he studied the traps even more carefully. After suffering a few losses, he finally understood the secrets.

The forest wasn't large, and the hunters were greedy, so the traps were densely packed together. If you weren't careful, you might step into one.

"Hunters usually weave nets with hemp rope. The place where each knot meets is where the trap is located. The knots are usually arranged in a three-three-four pattern, either horizontally, three or four, and vertically, forming a square. So if you take a stick and pry open the dry grass, as long as you walk around the trap and don't walk in a straight line, you won't step on it."

As Fu Yuchi spoke, he broke off a thick, sturdy branch from the side, which could be used as a small walking stick, and handed it to Sun Miao'er.

Dan Qiu walked silently ahead, having heard Fu Yuchi's words clearly. He was surprised that a doctor would know such things. Dan Qiu had been involved in this network of surveillance and investigations before, when he received guidance from an old hunter.

These are usually the hunters' secret skills, and they are never easily passed on to outsiders. It seems that this doctor is really not simple.

Having learned her master's method, Sun Miao'er used a wooden stick to find the traps along the hemp rope. She only needed to avoid the traps by walking in a curved path, and soon she was out of the depths of the dense forest.

Although the road ahead opened up, there was still hardly anyone around.

“This is an abandoned official road. Apart from the elderly around Pingnan City, few people know about this road anymore.”

Danqiu walked to the side of the official road and carefully examined the soil on the ground. From the moment he entered the trap area, he had sent the junior constable back first. Firstly, he was afraid that bringing along an inexperienced novice would be too much of a burden, and secondly, he wanted the junior constable to go back and arrange manpower so that he could provide support at any time.

You must understand that when the government sends people to provide support, they cannot take the shortcut through the forest. The forest is fraught with danger, and they must come around from the outside of the forest, which takes time.

"Master, look."

Sun Miao'er suddenly felt a bump on the sole of her foot. Looking down, she saw an earring in the shape of a lotus flower. She carefully picked it up. "This is Dongli's earring. I was closest to her that day, and all her headdresses were in the shape of lotus flowers."

"That's right."

Danqiu looked around, first at the strips of cloth twisted with silver thread, then at the silver lotus pendant, and said alertly, "Let's take another look ahead."

Sun Miao'er thought that they had entered the criminals' territory. Could all these things left behind be a trap to lure them in?

Just as she was feeling uneasy, a strong voice suddenly came from beside her: "Don't be afraid, it's all over now."