Beside the campfire by the river, Miao Xiaoxian's cheeks were flushed by the firelight as she whispered, "Below the council hall of Ping'an Village, there is an underground space. Whenever something important happens in the village, the elders will discuss it in the underground council hall and keep records!"

All the historical records and secret recipes for raising Gu poison in Ping'an Village are stored in the basement. The ancient books there are only accessible to those of certain levels. I've seen my great-grandfather emerge from the basement several times with ink stains on his palms; I suspect he was also recording something! Since we've been guarding the Temple of the Evil God for generations, I believe it must contain related information. If we can get there, we're sure to find some clues!

When I heard Miao Xiaoxian say that, and combined with the man I had met in the cafeteria earlier, I was certain that there was something under the council chamber: "According to you, what is kept under the council chamber should be the most important information of Ping'an Village. Ordinary people probably can't get in there, right?"

"Most people can't do it, but I can!"

Miao Xiaoxian explained, "In Ping'an Village, making human Gu requires coating the corpse with a layer of wax to preserve it and seal the Gu worms. This process takes a whole day! That means my great-grandfather won't be at the council chamber before noon tomorrow. And since I'm the village's holy maiden, I can freely enter and leave the council chamber! I'll find an excuse to bring you in. As long as we control the guards inside, we'll have enough time to open the door to the basement."

"Can!"

When I heard Miao Xiaoxian's solution, I immediately agreed: "But before that, I have to find my lost friends. We've agreed on a meeting point, and we can find them downstream!"

...

When Miao Xiaoxian and I returned, Wei Shengnan was still in a coma, waking up and falling asleep intermittently.

According to Miao Xiaoxian, the Gu worm was able to grow so large inside her body by absorbing nutrients from her body, and it would take a long time to recover. However, once the Gu worm left her body, she would no longer be in danger.

Because I met Miao Xiaoxian in the jungle, I was the first person to return, and I got back to the place we had agreed upon with Qu Ruilin before dawn.

I had already exhausted a lot of energy fighting the paper doll, and with my injuries, I quickly fell into a deep sleep after confirming that I was safe.

I was awakened by the shouting.

Jiang Man and Manjing's team successfully found Song Laosan and two other missing people, and Qu Ruilin also brought back two more.

Like me, Song Laosan was also bitten by the spotted insect, but he wasn't as lucky as me to meet Miao Xiaoxian.

When he was carried back, his whole body was swollen like a water balloon, his skin was swollen all over, and his lower body looked like it was filled with water, and it would sway with the movement of his body.

When Qu Ruilin saw that I had brought Wei Shengnan back, he rushed to our side. Seeing that she was still unconscious and wearing my coat, he immediately became furious and grabbed my collar: "Duan Shenxing, you fucking explain yourself! What's going on here! Why is Shengnan in this state? Where are her clothes?"

"Qu Ruilin, show me some respect!"

I slapped Qu Ruilin's arm away: "It's not my fault that Wei Shengnan is like this. You can have your emotions, but don't take them out on me! You need to understand that we came into this forest because you begged us to rescue her. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have seen Wei Shengnan like this, understand?"

Jiang Man then stood beside me, glaring angrily at Qu Ruilin: "That's right, you can distrust us, but you can't insult Duan Shenxing's character, or I'll be the first to object!"

As soon as I said that, everyone on my side gathered around.

Miao Xiaoxian, who was treating Song Laosan and the other injured people, was annoyed by the noise and turned around to shout, "Enough! I'm treating people here! Can you all be quiet?"

Hearing Miao Xiaoxian's shout, I sighed to Qu Ruilin: "I know you like Wei Shengnan, which is why you're so emotional now. But when I found Wei Shengnan yesterday, she was already like this. If I didn't cover her with clothes, could I just bring her back naked like that? Miao Xiaoxian stayed with me the whole night; she can prove my innocence!"

Qu Ruilin had only lost control of his emotions because he was worried about Wei Shengnan. Now that he had calmed down, he took off his clothes and covered Wei Shengnan's legs with them. Then he looked at me with a pained expression and asked, "How did Shengnan end up like this?"

"Miao Xiaoxian said that the things those paper figures threw out in this forest were all raised Gu creatures, which are highly poisonous! We were tricked because of this, and if Miao Xiaoxian hadn't come, we would all have lost our lives here!"

I briefly introduced Wei Shengnan's situation, and then said quickly, "I have reached an agreement with Miao Xiaoxian. She will help us find the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, but time is of the essence. We must see results by noon today. So, once Miao Xiaoxian has finished treating their wounds, we must deal with this matter immediately!"

"You mean Miao Xiaoxian knows about the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace?"

Qu Ruilin frowned immediately: "So our previous guess was correct, and the people living in Ping'an Village are indeed the tomb keepers of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace?"

"Currently, that is indeed the case. However, the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is a secret that only the clan leader can know. We need to cooperate with Miao Xiaoxian to obtain the information hidden in the village in order to find out the specifics."

I continued, "The clan leader will return to the council chamber before noon, so our time to act is extremely limited. If we can't find out the information before noon, the difficulty will increase dramatically!"

Qu Ruilin thought for a moment: "Is there a risk of exposure?"

I replied quickly, "The place we're going to is the most important location in Ping'an Village. There will definitely be risks, but this is our only chance."

Qu Ruilin frowned: "I'm not worried about myself, but about Sheng Nan and the others! You've seen it yourself, they're all injured now. If we fail and face retaliation from Ping'an Village, how can we ensure their safety during the evacuation?"

“If you’re worried about her, you can stay and take care of her. We’ll handle this ourselves, but let’s make it clear beforehand that since we’re taking on the risks, the intelligence we obtain will belong to us.”

After I finished speaking, I immediately added, "We have agreed to cooperate in finding the Miao Immortal Palace, and I am willing to take the risk to come here to help you rescue people. I have already done more than enough. So, whether you go to this council hall or not is up to you!"