After listening to my suggestion, Jiang Man thought for a moment and said, "According to what you said, the police are already preparing to block off the surrounding mountains, and they might even mobilize the public to search the mountains. If they see us, we'll be in big trouble!"

Lin Que said dismissively, "We didn't kill anyone, so what trouble are we in?"

“Secretary Niu has already said that we are not allowed to enter the mountains, and the police have also decided to close the mountains. If we are found in the mountains at this time, it will be very troublesome and difficult to explain. Even if we are here to help the poor, it is not reasonable to hide from the police and take risks to enter the mountains.”

I explained Jiang Man's meaning clearly, and then said to her, "I know that doing this is very risky, but other teams will not choose to back down just because the police are coming."

Jiang Man is a sensible girl. After listening to me, she understood the pros and cons and nodded, saying, "I'll listen to you!"

I continued, "There's another thing everyone needs to be aware of. Besides the Black Robe Organization, we now have another criminal gang led by He Hai. He's a murderer and should be in Qingyun Town right now. He wants me dead, so everyone needs to be extra careful!"

Lin Que and the others were unfamiliar with this name, and Jiang Man even asked, "Who is this He Hai? Is he also in cahoots with Duan Jinyan?"

I said frankly, "They have no connection. He Hai is looking for me because of a personal grudge. I offended him before, and now he's desperate. He probably knows he'll be caught by the police sooner or later, so he wants to drag me down with him."

Jiang Man raised an eyebrow: "Should I use my family's connections to deal with him?"

“This man is a seasoned veteran, and he doesn’t have a legal identity. It will be very difficult to find him. Even if Uncle Tian intervenes, it won’t make a difference.”

I paused for a moment: "However, you can transfer the security personnel from the county town here and have them stay in Qingyun Town! Two murders have occurred here in one day, which means that these teams have been searching for the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace for so long that they are starting to get restless. These people are capable of anything. If we encounter any emergencies, having more people around will provide more security for us!"

...

Two criminal cases occurred in Qingyun Town within one morning, completely disrupting our plans.

When Secretary Niu heard that we were leaving Qingyun Town, he specially put aside what he was doing and arranged for a car from the town to take us back to the county seat.

When we were halfway there, the vehicle arranged by Jintu Mining arrived. I made an excuse to send the driver from town back, and then walked into the mountains.

In the jungle, I glanced at the map in my hand and drew a line on it with a pen: "Our route is over 100 kilometers long, and it's all mountain roads. It will take at least three days to complete the whole journey. Same as always, we'll travel during the day and set up camp at six o'clock in the evening!"

Back in Ping'an Village, the equipment Wei Shengnan and her group carried made me incredibly envious. This time, Jiang Man was also fully prepared. Each of us was given a stab-proof vest, and we were also equipped with a Taser, night vision goggles, a compound crossbow, and a series of other tools.

The day before, when Lao Zhou led us into the mountains, I had already familiarized myself with the terrain around the town, so this time when we went into the mountains, I deliberately avoided the two points near the town.

At noon sharp, we arrived at the first location that needed to be surveyed.

This is a meadow located in the jungle, with the ground covered with countless tiny holes resembling plum blossoms.

"This place has been visited before!"

The monkey glanced at the hole in the ground and then searched through the surrounding bushes: "The people who explored this place before were too cunning. After they finished surveying the soil, they took all the soil they dug out with them. They clearly weren't planning to do the work for the people who came after them!"

Lin Que cleverly said, "Since they explored this place but didn't stay, it means there's nothing here. We don't need to waste our time!"

"Not necessarily! There are too many teams searching for the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace in this mountain now. Even if someone finds the exact location first, they might not dare to dig a tunnel at this time. It's better to verify this!"

I asked the monkey, "How long would it take to dig a trench here?"

"Have a smoke."

The monkey grinned, then opened his travel bag and deftly assembled the meteorite iron Luoyang shovel set I had bought for him in Fengmen Village.

After receiving training in Fengmen Village, Monkey's skills in digging tunnels have become highly proficient. After assembling the Luoyang shovel, it resembles a human-shaped pile driver, easily drilling into the ground with continuous wrist pulls.

Before I could even finish my cigarette, the monkey had already dug all the plum blossom holes.

He walked up to me, holding two sections of soil, and gestured to me, saying, "The soil in this area hasn't changed much; it's all natural sediment."

I stubbed out my cigarette: "Take the soil with you, then bury all the holes in the ground, and then shovel a few pieces of turf to cover them. Once you're done, leave!"

The monkey was puzzled: "The people who dug the tunnel before only took away the soil. Is it necessary for us to go through all this trouble?"

I smiled and said, "Before we came here, there was only one group of tomb raiders' holes left on the ground. Only they knew what was underground. Now there are too many probe holes here. If we cover up the traces, the people who come later won't be able to figure out if there is anything here. They will have to check again! We are all in competition. The more people we can hold off, the better our chances of winning will be!"

"Buzz!"

Just as we were talking, a buzzing sound suddenly came from the air.

Upon hearing the sound, Jiang Man was the first to speak: "Drone!"

"Hide!"

Upon hearing Jiang Man's words, I plunged headfirst into the nearby woods.

We were well-prepared this time, and we brought two drones as well, but for safety reasons, I did not fly them.

Although Captain Ma hadn't told me in detail about the murder that happened in the woods, I guessed it must be related to the Miao Jiang Fairy Palace.

In just one day, two groups of people have died in Qingyun Town, and there is also Duan Jinyan's gang in the mountains, as well as He Hai, who is wanted by the police.

With so many risk factors combined, safety should be the top priority.

We had just taken cover when a drone appeared from above, hovered over the grass for about half a minute, then rose again and disappeared into the horizon.

Seeing the drone depart, Jiang Man said, "The remote control range of those small drones couldn't exceed five kilometers, which means this team shouldn't be too far from us!"

The monkey made a move to get up: "Five kilometers is still a distance, I'll go and clean up the scene!"

"Forget it, they've already seen what's going on here through their drones. If we continue to conceal ourselves, it will only make them aware of our presence and speed up their investigation of the next location!"

I thought for a moment, then shook my head: "Let's go, straight to the next location!"