This locust tree is very large, with lush branches and leaves, and a thick trunk. It would take three or four adult men to encircle it, so cutting it down would not be an easy task.

Old Hei and his men had already used tree-cutting tools on the big locust tree, but even with so many people working together, it still took them two or three hours to cut it down.

"Boom!"

The big tree finally fell, and the strange skeletons hanging from it also fell down. Uncle Zhao, though old, had helped cut down the tree earlier. Now, tired, he was standing aside drinking water. He said, "Phew, it's finally down. But why did those people ask us to help them cut down the tree? And whose are those skeletons? Are they the villagers'?"

Lao Hei and Lao Wu didn't really understand why either, but since the ghost villagers didn't say, no one asked any further questions. They simply agreed to help cut down the tree and started working on it.

Yue Jiu Nian, Yue Jiu Zai, Jiang Yan, and the others were also 'forced' to help cut down the tree. Now that they saw the tree had finally fallen, they squatted down to rest.

Yue Jiu Nian was drinking water from a bottle, and as she did so, she curiously looked towards the roots of the big tree.

Because the tree was cut down from the middle of the trunk, the root area was still intact. However, when Yue Jiu looked over, she noticed that there seemed to be a small hole in the root area of ​​the tree.

The little tree hole was very small, about the size of a basketball. It looked dark and there were some small branches growing around it. If Yue Jiu hadn't been careful, she wouldn't have noticed it.

After Yue Jiu Nian saw the tree hole, she said to Yue Jiu Zai, "Hey, look at that tree, do you see it? There seems to be a tree hole there, do you want to go take a look?"

Yue Jiuzai is currently munching on instant noodles. They bought a lot of snacks to bring up the mountain, and instant noodles were one of them.

Yue Jiuzai overheard what Yue Jiunian was saying in the tree hole, then took a bite of instant noodles and started to casually stroll towards the big tree, and Yue Jiunian followed her.

"Is this it? It's so small. Is there some kind of small animal living inside?"

When Yue Jiuzai found the tree hole, she immediately squatted down to look at it. She felt that the tree hole was too small, so she suspected that it might be the dwelling place of small animals in the mountains.

Upon hearing this, Yue Jiu Nian shook her head and said, "I don't know, but if it's an edible animal, I wouldn't mind catching it and roasting it."

Just as they were discussing what was inside the tree hollow, Uncle Zhao, who was resting nearby, noticed them and walked over, saying, "What are you looking at?"

"Um, it's nothing, I just saw a tree hole here."

Yue Jiuzai was about to peek into the small tree hole, but after hearing Uncle Zhao's words, she turned back and told the truth, saying, "Uncle Zhao, what do you think is inside this tree hole?"

"Hehe~ Why guess? Just reach in and grab it, won't you know?"

Uncle Zhao chuckled upon hearing Yue Jiuzai's words, then ordered her, "You, reach in and feel around to see what's inside!"

Although Uncle Zhao seemed like he didn't care about anything before, he wasn't a good person. Otherwise, why didn't he say anything when Lao Hei said he was going to capture them to be scouts?

Therefore, when Yue Jiuzai heard Uncle Zhao's order, he did not show any surprise. He just gave a slight sneer and then put his hand into the tree hole.

Seeing Yue Jiuzhai's action, Yue Jiunian did not show any worry, because she could not sense any danger inside the tree hole. However, she was also curious about what might be inside.

Seeing that several people had suddenly gathered around the big tree, Lao Hei, the leader of the group, naturally came over to see what was going on.

"Hey, what are you doing? Is there something wrong with this tree?"

As Lao Hei walked over, he asked them questions, and the others followed him when they saw that Lao Hei was going to the tree roots.

However, just as Lao Hei was about to approach the tree hole, he heard Yue Jiuzai's voice.

"Wow~ Why is there a small box here?"

All Yue Jiuzai saw was a dark, dirty, and old wooden box pulled out of the tree hole. The box looked very old, but although it looked worn out, the carvings on it were still perfectly preserved. Yue Jiuzai could even see that the carvings were of several large trees.

"A box? What kind of box is it? Let me see it!"

As soon as Lao Hei heard there was a box, he immediately squeezed over to grab it. However, no matter how fast he moved, he was still a step too late, because Uncle Zhao had already taken the box from Yue Jiuzai's hands.

"Hehe~ I wonder what's inside such an old box~"

Uncle Zhao held the small box in both hands, then grinned smugly at Old Hei: "Let me open this little box and take a look."

The small box was made of wood, and there was a brass lock on the outside. When Lao Hei saw that Uncle Zhao had already taken the small box, he could only stand there and watch Uncle Zhao pick the lock.

The copper lock was small. Uncle Zhao held the lock in one hand and pulled out a wire from his pocket with the other. He then skillfully used the wire to gently pry open the lock, and with a 'click,' the lock was opened.

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