I had just loaded the flare gun when that hairy monster came chasing after me.

"Mr. Duan!"

"Mr. Duan?"

"Mr. Duan!"

"...!"

Its intonation was melodious, like a hunter teasing its prey that was destined to have no escape.

I heard the sound getting closer and closer, and my hand holding the signal gun trembled slightly.

Not just because of tension, nor because of fear, but because my body was almost exhausted. The fight had drained all my strength.

I knew very well that if this shot failed to scare away or injure the monster, given my current state and that of the Wei family members, we would only face certain death.

"Mr. Duan..."

The hairy monster's voice rang out again, and it slowly moved to the left of the rock.

"Your grandfather is here!"

I identified the direction of the hairy monster by its sound, stepped out from behind the rock, and raised my flare gun to aim at it.

"roar!"

The spearhead saw me and let out a sharp howl.

"call out--"

As the hairy monster made its sound, I decisively pulled the flare gun in retaliation.

Unlike a pistol, a flare gun's trajectory is not accurate at all. However, I was very close to this thing, so the shot hit it precisely in the face.

"Aww!"

The hairy monster let out a strange cry as it was scalded by the high temperature. Its fur was ignited by the flare, and its entire body was instantly burned into a fireball.

"Awooo!"

The hairy monster's face was already covered with eyes, and after being scorched by the flare, it began to writhe on the ground in agony.

Seeing that the hairy monster was finally injured, I felt a huge weight lifted from my heart. I waved to the Wei family members and said, "Let's leave this place immediately while it can't attack!"

"good!"

Seeing the monster rolling around on the ground, the Wei family members didn't waste any time and ran with me into the depths of the forest.

"Whoosh!"

As soon as we took a step, the surrounding tree canopy suddenly swayed, and a gust of cold wind rushed towards us.

I looked up at the violently shaking treetops and gripped the knife in my hand warily: "Did you just see something?"

"No, I just felt a breeze brush against my face!"

The Wei family members looked around us warily: "Mr. Duan, could it be that there's something we can't see here?"

Hearing the screams of the hairy monster behind me, I quickened my pace: "This place is getting weirder and weirder, let's get out of here first!"

"Bang!"

We took a few steps, and the Wei family member next to me was suddenly thrown forward as if he had been hit by a car.

I saw him fall into the bushes ahead and ran over quickly.

At this moment, apart from the swaying of the treetops, there was not a soul around us, but the Wei family member was lying on the grass with three deep, bone-revealing wounds on his left shoulder.

The Wei family member, lying on the ground with a grim expression, said, "Mr. Duan, something's wrong here. Don't worry about me, let's go!"

“I’ve said it before, Wei Shengnan is a member of the Fourth Gate, and so are you! In my eyes, your life is just as precious as Wei Shengnan’s.”

I bent down and carried the Wei family member on my back: "We don't know what's in here, so hang in there. I'll bandage your wounds after we've confirmed we're safe!"

“Mr. Duan, I’m just a worthless person. From the day I joined the team, I was prepared to die. I’m already very grateful that you were willing to come with me to rescue Miss! Since we can’t find Miss, there’s no need for you to make me continue to risk my life!”

The Wei family member struggled on my back: "Right now, I'm just a burden. You can't help with me at all, and I'll only hold you back. If you leave me behind, you'll still have a chance to escape!"

"If you just shut up and say less nonsense, that'll be doing me a favor!"

I scolded the Wei family member, then carried him on my back and ran towards the denser woods nearby.

Just as I approached the grove of trees, the grass in front of me suddenly rustled, causing me to stop abruptly.

"Splash!"

Immediately afterwards, the sound of flowing water came from the bushes, but it only lasted for two or three seconds before returning to silence.

A few seconds later, the sound of flowing water came from the grass again.

Hearing the sound from the bushes, a member of the Wei family whispered, "Mr. Duan, there can't be a river in this forest, can there?"

"Indeed not! That voice must have been imitated by that hairy monster! That thing has a very strong ability to imitate; we've seen it before..."

I swallowed hard and slowly backed away: "It seems there's more than just one monster in this area!"

"Splash!"

Just as I was about to leave, the grass in front of me was suddenly parted, and a wrinkled face with eight eyes peeked out from the grass. Looking at my figure, the corners of its mouth slightly raised, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.

Seeing the monster's many eyes fixed on me, and fearing that any sudden movement would provoke an attack, I whispered to the Wei family member on my back, "My signal gun is in the holster on the right. Slowly pull it out and get ready to fire!"

"good!"

The Wei family members were also extremely nervous at this moment. After hearing what I said, they reached their hands towards my waist.

"roar!"

Before the Wei family members could even get their guns, the monster in the bushes suddenly roared and charged out at us.

"Bang! Bang!"

As the monster charged forward, two gunshots suddenly rang out from our side. The monster was hit by the bullets, and two lines of blood spurted from its body. It then turned and returned to the woods.

Immediately afterward, Jiang Man rushed out from the other side: "Duan Shenxing, why are you covered in so much blood? Where are you injured?"

"I'm fine, the blood is on him!"

I saw the monkey run out from behind Jiang Man and wave his hand: "This person is injured, come and help!"

"This is not a place to stay for long. Let's find somewhere else to talk!"

After Jiang Man and the other monkeys took the Wei family members off my back, they led us quickly toward the woods behind.

Led by Jiang Man, we quickly left the woods and headed towards the hillside.

I saw some lights in the distance and instinctively reached for my sword, but Jiang Man patted my arm and said, "Don't be nervous, it's Lin Que and Man Jing!"

"Have you all assembled yet?"

When I heard Jiang Man's reply, I was immediately delighted: "When did you two meet?"

"It's a long story! This forest is very unsafe. Let's regroup with them first!"

As Jiang Man spoke, she quickly led me behind a rock at the foot of the hillside.

Between the rock and the hillside, a campfire was burning. When Lin Que, who was adding firewood, saw me, his face lit up with excitement: "Brother, you're finally back!"

I saw Manjing lying beside me with her eyes closed, and my heart tightened: "What happened to Manjing?"