Fat Tiger asked doubtfully, "This canyon is already quite deep; most people wouldn't come here. Yet there's still nothing. Could it be that Zhuang Feifei is lying to Li Hongying? She didn't leave anything here at all. She said she left it here just to divert attention and lure Li Hongying in, hoping she'll encounter danger."

"We can't rule out that possibility. Only Zhuang Feifei knows the real location of the bloodstone. She's in the most advantageous position right now, while everyone else is passive. There's nothing we can do. If it's not here, we'll just keep searching. The sixth valley should be the furthest point people have gone in here, and it's the most likely place to find the bloodstone necklace. Let's keep going."

"Okay, keep it up."

After the black tiger recovered its strength, they entered the sixth valley and began a new round of searching.

By the time they emerged from the sixth valley, it was almost dawn.

Black Tiger drooped his head unhappily: "Fat Tiger, do you think my abilities have deteriorated? We've already searched all six valleys, but we still haven't found a trace of the Bloodstone Necklace."

"Black Tiger, it's not your fault. The necklace must not be here at all, which is why you couldn't find it. Let's take another look tonight. If we still can't find it, we'll discuss other methods with our master."

"Um."

Not long after they came down the mountain, the Liu family of three came up the mountain with some dry food.

As they walked, Liu's mother asked Li Hongying, "Hongying, where exactly is that treasure? Is it written on the ground?"

"Mother, it says the treasure is hidden in a valley deep in the mountains, but it doesn't specify which valley. Let's try to go as far as we can."

"Isn't it getting more dangerous the further we go in? Why don't we look around outside first?"

She was full of confidence when she first heard about the treasure yesterday, and she was determined to find it no matter how difficult it was. However, when she went up the mountain and started to work on it, physical inertia and exhaustion made her want to change her mind.

"Mother, don't you think about it? Would someone leave something so important on the outskirts? If it were, it would have been picked up long ago, and we wouldn't have gotten any."

Liu's mother thought Li Hongying's words made sense. "You're right. People who hide treasures won't hide them in places that are easy to find, otherwise they'll just benefit someone else."

“Mother, you’re right, that makes perfect sense.”

Encouraged by Li Hongying's words, Liu's mother was filled with energy again, walking with a brisk pace and rushing to the front.

"Let's hurry up and get our hands on this treasure as soon as possible."

After the three entered the deep mountains, in order to increase their chances of finding the treasure, they went as far as possible. Because their desire for the treasure was so strong, they subconsciously downplayed their consideration of the dangers of the deep mountains.

Li Hongying passed through the canyon she had searched for before, and this time she was going even further in than the previous canyon.

She rallied Liu Aiguo and his mother in a slogan-like tone: "Aiguo, Mom, if you want to get rich, you can't be afraid of hardship. Let's work hard!"

"Yes, yes, keep it up! Keep it up!"

The mother and son were both incredibly energetic, walking with great enthusiasm.

To ease the burden on his mother's journey, Liu Aiguo found a wooden stick for her to use as a walking stick.

Li Hongying passed by the valley she had searched for before, which was actually the fifth valley that Black Tiger and Fat Tiger had searched for.

She originally intended to go down one more valley, but when she reached the edge of the sixth valley, she steeled herself, thinking that one can't catch a wolf without risking one's cub, and decided to cross the sixth valley to go to the seventh valley.

Liu Aiguo, being young and strong, didn't feel tired after walking this distance. Li Hongying was a little tired, but thanks to her desire for wealth, she was still full of energy. However, Liu's mother was getting old, and although she still had some desire for wealth, she couldn't withstand the decline in her physical functions and was unable to keep up.

She pointed to the sixth valley: "Hongying, this valley is already quite far in. Why don't we go down and take a look?"

At this moment, Li Hongying felt that Liu's mother was a burden, and she had tried to hold her back twice since they came up the mountain.

"Mother, I don't think the treasure is here. Let's go further in. I know you might be tired, but think about the abundant life you'll have after you find the treasure. Will you still feel tired then?"

Liu's mother felt like she'd been given another shot of adrenaline, and suddenly felt like she had all the energy back. She waved her cane and said, "Let's go, let's go, let's go quickly."

Half an hour later, they arrived at another valley; this was the seventh valley.

The seventh valley was almost the limit of their reach, because ahead lay an enormous mountain peak that ordinary people could not possibly climb over on foot. For the time being, they could only stop there.

Li Hongying thought to herself, Zhuang Feifei could only get this far at most, so the bloodstone necklace was most likely in this valley.

She stood at the edge of the valley and looked down. This valley was not only deeper than the previous one, but there also seemed to be flowing water at the bottom. She hoped that the bloodstone necklace would not be thrown into the water. If it was in the water, not only would it be difficult to find, but it would also be even worse if it was washed away.

She silently prayed that the bloodstone necklace had been left on the ground in a shallow area, and hoped that they could find it easily.

"Mom, Aiguo, there's a mountain ahead, we can't get through there, let's search in this valley instead."

"OK."

This place was more desolate and treacherous than any place they had been before.

When descending the valley, Liu Aiguo found a relatively gentle slope. Since his mother was old, Liu Aiguo had to help her.

Even so, the road ahead was extremely difficult. Even with Liu Aiguo taking care of her, Liu's mother still stumbled twice, but she endured the pain without uttering a single cry for the sake of the treasure.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!