Jiang Xi knew she couldn't let them get distracted, so without saying a word she went into the courtyard, then into the main house, bolted the door, and closed all the windows tightly.

Then she sat by the door, leaning against the door panel to listen to the sounds outside.

Little Black looked at her with curiosity. Jiang Xi called it over, hugged it tightly, and stood guard at the door.

Yan Jing'an entered the woods and, hearing the commotion ahead, took a deep breath and followed.

Within a few breaths, Yan Zheng was spotted, patrolling the woods vigilantly by himself.

Where are they?

Yan Zheng said in a deep voice, "They went south."

The thing was incredibly fast and knew the forest paths very well. It ran straight into the thicket of thorns and disappeared in the blink of an eye while Yan Zheng was crossing them.

Yan Jing'an, who was behind him, pulled out the rope from his waist and chased after him, saying, "I want to see what this thing is."

No one could match Yan Jing'an's speed. He moved freely through the forest using ropes and grappling hooks, and the thorns on the ground did not affect his speed at all.

Less than a hundred meters after running, Yan Jing'an spotted the gray-brown figure. It looked small, about 1.5 or 1.6 meters tall, with gray-brown fur on its head and body.

He aimed in the right direction, leaped down from the tree, and kicked the thing in the back.

He kicked it to the ground.

Yan Jing'an loosened the rope in his hand and stepped directly onto the creature's back. Ignoring the creature's struggles, he tightly restrained it and drew the dagger from his waist.

The grayish-brown thing beneath me was still making a lot of whimpering noises.

Yan Jing'an said breathlessly, "You dare to mess with your grandpa? I'll take care of you today."

But before the dagger was even in place, a sound came from the thing beneath him.

"don't want."

The "no" startled him. Yan Jing'an's hand trembled, and he immediately got off the thing as if he had been shocked: "What the hell are you?"

As soon as he let go, the person crawling on the ground tried to run away.

Yan Jing'an reacted immediately, pounced on him, pressed his face to the ground, grabbed his hands and pressed them back forcefully.

Yan Zheng also caught up and asked him, "What happened?"

He wondered why Yan Jing'an hadn't made a move yet.

Yan Jing'an held the person beneath him with both hands, swallowed hard, and said with a dry mouth, "Big brother... he's a person."

people?

Yan Zheng also showed a surprised expression.

He strode over and grabbed the man by the back of the neck. To his surprise, the man was only wearing a gray-brown fur hat. When he lifted the hat, his long, messy, dark brown hair was revealed.

Half of his face was pressed against the ground, but at this moment his face was covered with something that looked like mud or herbs, and his whole face was black except for a pair of red eyes.

Yan Zheng was also startled at first glance.

After struggling for a long time, the man finally managed to utter, "I... am a person."

He spoke slowly, his voice was hoarse, and he sounded like a boy going through puberty.

Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an exchanged a glance, and Yan Jing'an didn't know what to do.

He was still a child; you couldn't kill him, but you were unwilling to let him go.

Yan Zheng asked with a stern face, "Is there anyone else besides you?"

The person beneath him was clearly stunned for a moment after hearing this, and did not answer him.

Yan Jing'an had no patience and tightened his grip even more: "Speak."

The man opened his mouth but made no sound, and finally shook his head as an answer.

The two of them naturally didn't believe it, but the forest wasn't safe either.

Yan Zheng glanced around and said warily, "Take him back first."

Yan Jing'an then pulled out his own rope and tied his hands behind his back. For safety, he also tied it around his neck.

So Yan Zheng walked in front, the other person followed behind, and Yan Jing'an brought up the rear.

Yan Jing'an observed the man the whole way.

The man was dressed in a gray-brown fur coat and a gray-brown hat, the workmanship of which was clearly very rough.

From a distance, it looked like a large, ferocious beast; it was quite intimidating.

His entire body was covered in some kind of black liquid or mud, and although his hair was long, it was all stuck together in clumps.

When Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an asked him his name and where he was from, he either looked blank or could only utter one or two words.

He seems to be inarticulate, or even unable to speak.

Yan Jing'an was so angry that his face turned black. He really couldn't understand why he would be defeated by this person.

Jiang Xi, who was hiding in the house, heard the noise from the front. She peeked through the crack in the door and saw the two of them return. She quickly opened the door to greet them.

Before they even got close, they saw a person dressed in a fur coat and completely black.

Jiang Xi subconsciously took two steps back.

His hair was a mess of dark brown, and every exposed part of his body was covered in black mud. Only his eyes were red. When he saw Jiang Xi, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he stared at her intently.

His eyes were bloodshot and looked creepy no matter how you looked at them.

Jiang Xi was clearly frightened by his makeup and appearance, and her voice stammered, "He...he is the one who attacked you."

Yan Zheng shook his head. They weren't quite sure either, since they hadn't seen the man on the day they fought the wild bear.

Yan Jing'an temporarily tied him up in a corner of the deer shed.

Then he came out and discussed with the two of them: "What should we do?"

The three of them, who were not fluent in speech and were still young, stared at each other without coming up with a solution.

Yan Zheng sighed: "I'll go ask first."

He entered the shed, where the man remained calm, staring intently at Yan Zheng's face with his red eyes.

Yan Zheng spoke in a deep voice: "Can't you speak?"

After a long while, the person finally realized what was happening. He first shook his head, then nodded.

Yan Zheng's brows were furrowed so deeply they almost formed a "川" shape. He had never done this kind of work before. If it were an animal, he could have just dealt with it, but it had to be a person, a living, breathing human struggling in the jungle just like them.

Yan Zheng changed his strategy.

"You don't need to speak. When I ask you a question, you just need to answer by shaking your head or nodding your head."

The person remained expressionless, as always, neither nodding nor shaking their head.

Yan Zheng asked, "Do you live alone?"

The man seemed to be thinking, then nodded.

Yan Zheng asked again, "Do you have any friends?"

He thought about it for a long time again, first shaking his head, then nodding.

This time, however, he didn't look at Yan Zheng when he answered; instead, he stared at his own feet.

Yan Jing'an only tied his two hands to the wooden post, so his feet were still free at this time.

Yan Zheng noticed that he was wearing a pair of straw-woven shoes. The craftsmanship was very meticulous. Some parts were torn because of the struggle just now, but it was clear that a lot of effort had been put into them.

This set off alarm bells in Yan Zheng's mind, raising the possibility that there might be other accomplices.