Upon hearing the woman's reply, I abruptly stood up from my chair: "You're saying that Uncle Qi left the village at this time not to go hunting, but to sell information?"

“Ping An Village is located in a primeval forest, where many wild beasts roam at night. Lao Qi is alone and has no guns, so naturally he dares not go out at night.”

The woman nodded: "Before I went out tonight, Lao Qi told me that someone had contacted him and was going to spend one million to buy some information about Ping An Village from him. I asked him where the information came from, but he didn't tell me. He only said that after the information was sold, he could buy a house for Lao Si in the city."

I pressed further, "Did he say where he was going?"

The woman shook her head: "He didn't say, but I feel he probably wants to go to the willow grove. If you really have something to ask him, you can stay here and wait for him to come back."

I had a feeling that things weren't as simple as the woman made them out to be, so I asked quickly, "If I want to go to the willow grove to find him, can you show us the way?"

“No, I can’t take this risk with you! Before he left, Lao Qi told me that this deal he made was a gamble. If he doesn’t come back, I have to live well and take good care of our children.”

The woman refused my question and instead said, "If you really want to go to the willow grove, there is a way! The woods outside the village are full of traps, but they are not without clues! When you go, you need to pay attention to the branches of the locust trees. Every tree outside has pruned branches. If there is only one branch, go in the opposite direction. If there are two branches, go in the direction indicated. This way you can avoid the traps!"

I pressed further, "What are the mechanisms outside?"

"There are many, besides trapdoors and ropes, there are also some venomous snakes and the like, which are trapped in a fixed area using special methods."

The woman paused for a moment: "But if you just follow the route I tell you, you can completely avoid these dangers."

Jiang Man remained somewhat wary: "Why did you tell us these things?"

"Seventh Brother and I have already broken the taboo by leaking the news about Ping'an Village. The only difference is that he can get money by telling others, but he gets nothing by telling you."

The woman responded frankly, "We did all this for money. Telling one person or two people makes no difference. Letting you go find Lao Qi is at least a guarantee for his safety. Please bring him back safely."

"Don't worry, although we want to get the information, as you said, we don't have any irreconcilable conflict. Once we find Uncle Seven, I will definitely bring him back to you."

I said to the woman, then added after a moment's thought, "To prevent you from betraying us, I need to leave two friends here. I hope you don't mind."

The woman laughed: "You already have something on my family, are you afraid I'll tell on you?"

"One should always be wary of others."

I waved my hand: "Jiang Man and Lin Que stay here, Man Jing and Monkey come with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, we quickly split into two groups.

Our wooden building was located on the edge of the city wall, and since there was no one in the village at night, I quickly led Monkey and Manjing over the wall.

The moon hung high in the sky, its bright light scattering across the locust grove.

When I went out with Miao Xiaoxian to survey the terrain during the day, I noticed the broken branches on these trees, but they were arranged haphazardly and without any pattern, so I didn't think much of it.

It wasn't until I heard Aunt Qi's explanation that I realized that the broken branches on these trees shouldn't be viewed as a whole, but rather individually.

In other words, when we walk in the woods, we don't need to pay attention to the terrain or topography. We just need to keep our eyes on the tree directly in front of us and follow its guidance.

After leaving the village for a while, I walked at the front of the group with a flashlight, following Aunt Qi's instructions, and sure enough, we didn't encounter any danger.

We walked quickly for a while, then soon crossed the boundary river and entered the willow grove.

As soon as they entered the willow grove, the monkey rubbed his arms and said, "Young Master Duan, have you noticed that the temperature around us has dropped significantly since we entered this grove? Is it because the yin energy is heavier?"

"Perhaps."

At this moment, I also felt a sense of palpitation and irritability while I was in this forest: "Something is wrong with this forest. The planting of these willow trees must have been carefully designed, just like an obsessive-compulsive person who can affect people's emotions through a special arrangement. Everyone, please concentrate."

Upon hearing what I said, both Monkey and Manjing drew their knives, ready to guard against any unexpected situations.

According to Aunt Qi, the willow grove was also guided by the tree branches.

After walking for a while, I suddenly stopped and turned my gaze to the bushes on one side, shining my flashlight in the direction.

It was a false alarm; nothing happened.

The monkey glanced in the direction of my light, licked its lips, and asked, "You felt it too?"

When Manjing heard the monkey ask a question, he also said, "Brother, I also feel that something is wrong with this forest. It's like someone is watching us from the shadows. I always feel like there's a pair of eyes behind me whenever I turn around."

"It must just be an illusion, otherwise we would have heard something after walking for so long."

I shone my flashlight around and finally focused on a few colorful mushrooms. I covered my nose with my collar and continued forward: "The problem is most likely with the plants in this forest, but this is an open area with good air circulation, so the impact on us shouldn't be too great."

After hearing my explanation, the monkey covered his nose as well. As we walked, he suddenly asked me, "Young Master Duan, do you think if the three of us in Manjing were to hallucinate at the same time, would we all see the same things?"

I glanced at him and asked, "What did you see?"

The monkey gripped the knife tightly, pointing nervously in one direction: "Why do I see someone standing in the woods to the left?"

I looked in the direction the monkey was pointing and was startled, because there was indeed a figure in the woods over there.

Immediately afterward, I shone my flashlight in that direction and shouted, "Who's there? Come out!"

Quiet!

The person in the woods stood sideways, ignoring what we said.

Seeing that the other party didn't move, the monkey quickly walked over, knife in hand: "What are you doing standing here in the middle of the night, pretending to be a David statue?"