My guess was basically the same as Song Laosan's. Since we had confirmed that Uncle Tian was from the other two sects, we didn't delve into his identity: "Do you think Wei Shengnan and Qu Ruilin are still at that settlement?"

"It's unlikely. When we talked to Goncharov, he didn't mention meeting any other Chinese people. And judging from the route, even if Wei Shengnan and the others didn't go up the mountain, they set off after us."

Old Song took out the cigarettes he had bought at the settlement, handed one to me, and then lit a twig in the campfire: "When the people at the settlement heard the noise and came to check, my first thought was that their reinforcements had arrived. But now that I think about it, they didn't chase us; instead, they ran in the opposite direction, which means they thought the same thing as us—that we had reinforcements. But I don't recommend going back to the settlement to avoid unnecessary conflict."

I nodded thoughtfully: "Those people clearly said during the conversation that they wanted to stop us from entering Xishan, which means they are also certain that Hu Shahu's tomb is in that area. In that case, we must get ahead of them. Everyone should get some rest and we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

“Young Master Duan, I’m more worried about what will happen after we find Hu Shahu’s tomb.”

The monkey scratched his head: "Look, we came here mainly to find your dad, because he needs to retrieve something from this tomb. But what if we get there before him? What if Qu Ruilin and the others find the tomb, and we find it too, but your dad isn't here? How are we supposed to get along then?"

I had already thought about this problem, so I wasn't worried about it: "We won't meet. Duan Jinyan's purpose in searching for Hu Shahu's tomb is to find the jade seal inside. If we arrive first and Duan Jinyan hasn't arrived yet, then we can go down into the tomb directly, find the jade seal first, and get the item in our hands. Maybe that will force Duan Jinyan to come to me on his own initiative."

"That's good. If we really have to go into the tomb, it can be a battle of wits, where everyone can rely on their own abilities. At least we can avoid a real fight and hurting our harmony."

Song Laosan patted the travel bag next to him: "Luckily, after I made the call, I brought back the supplies we bought on the way. There are three days' worth of food, two guns and the necessary ammunition, as well as some emergency medicines and entrenching tools."

We thought we could finally get a good night's sleep, but due to the sudden attack, we had no choice but to retreat back into the mountains.

Because I was thinking about Hu Shahu's tomb, I didn't get much rest all night. As soon as it was getting light, I woke everyone up.

When I called Zhou Peng, he suddenly let out a strange cry, then pounced on me and grabbed my neck tightly.

"Damn it! Are you crazy?"

The monkey, who had just woken up, saw Zhou Peng's actions and was the first to rush up and pin him down. Zhou Peng then pushed the monkey away and ran away, but was quickly caught by us.

"Ah! Ah!!"

Zhou Peng opened his eyes, looked at the sky, and roared hysterically, "Hu Sha Hu! I am Hu Sha Hu! I am the emperor! I will kill you all! Kill! Kill you all!!"

"Zhou Peng, calm down!" Seeing Zhou Peng's crazed look, I grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard. "Look carefully, we're just in the woods, there's nothing around. You're just having a nightmare. Calm down!"

At this moment, Song Laosan also put a sedative into Zhou Peng's mouth: "Don't be nervous, swallow the pill and relax!"

Zhou Peng lay on the ground shouting and yelling until the effects of the drug took hold, at which point he gradually quieted down and lay on the ground with a vacant look in his eyes.

Song Laosan glanced in Zhou Peng's direction and said to me, "Xiao Duan, Zhou Peng's condition is indeed a bit strange. I've never seen a seriously ill person turn into this state before. It's more like being possessed by an evil spirit, as the legends say. Why don't we leave him here and go into the mountains on our own?"

“No, Zhou Peng’s mental state is too unstable right now. Leaving him here is like watching him die! And we don’t have any extra time to return to the settlement.”

I lit a cigarette and waved my hand, saying, "Besides, without him, we can't communicate with Sasha and Ivan. No one can replace him."

Song Laosan warned, "But you saw his condition just now. If he enters the jungle and shouts, he might expose our location or attract wild animals, which could kill everyone."

“I think he is indeed sick, but he seems to be faking it.”

I glanced at Zhou Peng and whispered, "You said it yourself, Zhou Peng's symptoms don't seem to be caused by a cold at all. And he's the weakest in spirit among our team. Ever since we entered the jungle, he's wanted to leave. After experiencing so much, anyone would be afraid, especially since he's never experienced anything like this before. He definitely wants to leave, and pretending to be crazy is the simplest way."

Hearing our conversation, the monkey chimed in, "Since he's already got this idea, why should we risk keeping him by our side?"

“Actually, Zhou Peng expressed his desire to leave to me last night. I had also considered this matter and even wanted to ask Third Master if he could send the security company to replace him as soon as possible. Who knew that we would be attacked by Wei Shengnan and others by chance.”

I paused for a moment: "Moreover, Zhou Peng revealed a secret to me. He wasn't working as our guide to earn tuition fees at all. He had been expelled from school because he owed a lot of money from gambling. If we let him go, he will betray us without any scruples once he is caught by Wei Shengnan and her gang. As a translator, he knows too much. I can't take that risk. Our plan is about to succeed, and I can't afford any more risks in these last few days."

“In that case, let’s take him with us.” Song Laosan was convinced by me and said to Monkey, “On the way up the mountain, I have to go with Sasha and Ivan to protect the team. You keep an eye on Zhou Peng. I’ll switch his gun to blank rounds later. If he does anything unusual, don’t hold back.”

"Cough! Cough cough cough!"

At this moment, Zhou Peng, who was some distance away, also started coughing violently. He then sat up abruptly, looking around blankly: "Huh? Wasn't I sleeping by the campfire last night? How did I suddenly end up here? And why does my body hurt so much? It feels like I've been beaten up?"

"It's nothing, I just came to pack my things and get ready to leave."

When I heard Zhou Peng say that, I exchanged a glance with Song Laosan, and we both smiled.

Zhou Peng actually tried to play the amnesiac possession trick with us, but his acting was really too clumsy.