"Because after the outsider got the treasure, he was afraid that the villagers would come after him for it, so he ran away," Gu Nanxun said while turning the meat over.

"Ah, so that's the answer!" Wang Haoran excitedly rolled around on the ground like a maggot, while Chen Bin moved aside in disgust.

"No, let's try another one! What kind of ghost story is this? It's a riddle!"

Suddenly, Zhao Youcai cleared his throat. "Let me tell you a story! It's something I heard from an elder in my village when I was a child."

"Long, long ago, there was an ancient temple in our village. It was said that a guardian deity lived there, but this guardian deity was no ordinary god; it had a side that no one knew about..."

"Stop! You're not saying the same thing as Haoran, are you?" Liu Guoqing said, staring at Zhao Youcai warily.

"Don't interrupt, are you listening or not?" Zhao Youcai nudged Liu Guoqing and said.

"Listen to what you have to say, but if you dare say the same thing as Haoran, see how I deal with you." After Liu Guoqing finished speaking, he shut his mouth tightly and stared intently at Zhao Youcai.

Zhao Youcai ignored Liu Guoqing and continued telling the story. As the tale unfolded, the atmosphere around the fire grew increasingly tense. The aroma of roasted meat mingled with the steam of the mutton soup, creating a chilling atmosphere alongside the terrifying elements of the story.

As Wang Haoran listened to the story, he secretly observed the reactions of the others. He noticed that although Gu Nanxun appeared calm on the surface, he unconsciously slowed down the speed at which he flipped the grilled meat. Feng Yu Lei Dian and the others, on the other hand, looked tense and curious, clearly deeply captivated by the story.

As the story reached its climax, Zhao Youcai deliberately lowered his voice, making everyone's heart race. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, causing the fire flames to flicker, as if something unseen was wandering around.

"Ah!" Wang Haoran pretended to be startled and shouted loudly, breaking the tense atmosphere. Everyone was stunned at first, then they all laughed, and the tension dissipated.

Gu Nanxun shook his head with a smile, "Haoran, you're scaring yourself. Alright, the story's over, everyone continue eating, the mutton soup will be ready soon."

After a short rest, everyone returned to the mutton soup table, and the unfinished ghost story made the night even more unforgettable.

"Oh dear! The mutton soup is ready, and I'm full." Liu Guoqing said with a sigh, patting his round belly. He had been trying to control himself from eating barbecue in order to drink the mutton soup, but while listening to the story, he had unknowingly eaten too much.

"Those who still have stomachs can each have a bowl of mutton soup before going to sleep; it won't be cold at night," Gu Nanxun said to everyone.

"Nanxun, let's start another fire! We can bury the embers underground so we can sleep on them and stay warm all night," Zhao Dong suddenly suggested to Gu Nanxun. This was how they used to spend the night when they were on missions.

Gu Nanxun nodded and said, "Okay, you can do it."

"Woof woof..."

Suddenly, a dog barked from outside the cave.

"Thunder and Lightning..." Upon hearing the sound, Gu Nanxun hurried towards the cave entrance. Before he even reached it, two large dogs ran in from outside. Thunder was dragging a deer in its mouth. The deer was not completely dead and was still struggling from time to time.

Gu Nanxun took the deer from Lei Ting and said to everyone, "Go and have two people clean up the bloodstains."

"Why did you come here? Weren't you supposed to stay home and protect Qingqing?" Gu Nanxun asked, stroking Lei Ting Shandian's head.

"Woof woof..." Thunder barked twice at Gu Nanxun. Gu Nanxun understood; it must have been Lin Qing who sent them.

While inspecting the cave, Gu Nanxun had already informed Lin Qing through his spatial storage, and he had also secretly smuggled a bowl of mutton soup into his spatial storage.

Soon, another campfire was lit, and Zhao Dong buried the embers in the place where they would sleep that night. Lei Dian and his companion, who had been cleaning up the bloodstains, also returned.

Gu Nanxun glanced at Zhao Qiu, "You arrange the people on duty tonight, I'm going out to take Thunder and Lightning for a spin."

"I'll go out with you!" Lin Yunfeng said with a worried look when he saw Gu Nanxun about to leave.

"It's alright, Third Brother, you should rest. I'll stay in the vicinity and not go far."

"Are you sure you don't need to? I'll go with you; I'm worried about you going alone."

"Really, no need. I know this area well, don't worry! I'll call you if anything happens."

Seeing that Gu Nanxun insisted, Lin Yunfeng didn't press the matter further, but still worriedly instructed, "Alright, then take care of yourself and don't go too far."

Gu Nanxun led Leiting and Shandian out of the cave, walked to a secluded place, and went directly into the space.

Inside the room, Lin Qing was sipping mutton soup when she saw Gu Nanxun enter. Her eyes lit up. "Brother Nanxun, you're here."

Gu Nanxun sat down next to Lin Qing. "How is it? Is the mutton soup good?"

"It's delicious, not gamey at all." Lin Qing nodded as he drank. He had thought that since the seasoning was insufficient outside, it would definitely have a bit of a gamey smell, but he didn't expect it to be so.

"Brother Nanxun, did you release the spiritual spring water?" Lin Qing asked curiously.

Gu Nanxun poured himself a glass of water and said as he drank, "Hmm, I added a little! I discovered that spiritual spring water can also remove the gamey smell. No matter how gamey or fishy something is, as long as you add a little spiritual spring water, it won't smell gamey or fishy anymore."

"I'll bring you another bowl tomorrow morning. You can cook some vermicelli in the mutton soup."

"Okay, Nanxun, how did things go today? Did it go smoothly?" Lin Qing nodded in agreement as she asked Gu Nanxun.

"It went quite smoothly. I took them to the air-raid shelter we found earlier, and now we've arranged for them to rest."

"Did you travel that far? Did you go deep into the mountains? How was your harvest today?" Lin Qing asked with a puzzled look after hearing Gu Nanxun say that he had taken them to an air-raid shelter.

“I heard from the villagers that they don’t go deep into the mountains for winter hunting. They say it’s more dangerous to go deep into the mountains in winter because there’s less food in the mountains and the prey there is starving, making it much more dangerous than usual.”

"I didn't go in. I plan to wander around the area near the mountains and take a look. After all, I have other people with me. There are more prey near the mountains, and I want to go back as soon as possible."

Lin Qing hugged Gu Nanxun's arm and shook it coquettishly, saying, "Brother Nanxun, I'm fine at home, don't risk your life for me."

Gu Nanxun tapped Lin Qing's head. "Silly girl, have you forgotten that I've cultivated the Mind Enhancement Cultivation Method? I can now project my mental energy and directly capture animals. If we encounter real danger, I can just capture them."

"By the way, didn't we agree that Thunder and Lightning would stay home with you? Why did you let them out too?"

“I’ve been worried ever since you left. After thinking about it, I decided to send Thunder and Lightning to find you. They can definitely help you a lot in the mountains.”