The place where we rested before was on the west side of this hill.

At this moment, the forest on the east side of the mountain peak was already shrouded in the mountain's shadow.

Looking in the direction the monkey was pointing, a faint light could indeed be seen in the forest below.

The monkey looked in that direction and said to me, "Young Master Duan, you were right. When are we going to meet these people?"

"Wait a little longer. We're not sure yet whether these people are the ones we're looking for or the forest rangers in these mountains."

I waved my hand and said, "Let's call Manjing and the others to have dinner. If the lights down there don't move in half an hour, we'll go check it out."

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

By the time I finished eating a box of self-heating rice, it was already quite dark.

Looking down from the mountaintop, the lights in the woods appear even brighter, and their positions remain unchanged.

"Let's go down the mountain."

I grabbed the travel bag next to me, slung it over my shoulder, and was the first to walk down the hillside.

There's a saying: "Looking at a mountain makes your horse run itself to death."

When we stood on high ground and looked down, we didn't realize how far away the light was.

But once you actually walk it, it's a winding route of at least ten kilometers.

"Giggle!"

Just as I saw a light coming from the distant woods, the sound of a rooster crowing also came from within the woods.

Before I could pinpoint the source of the rooster's crow, another male voice echoed from the woods: "Friends ahead, now that you're here, why don't you show yourself!"

"I am here to show myself, but I have no intention of disturbing you."

Seeing that the other party had already noticed me, I said loudly, "May I ask if the person in front is a friend of the Hu family from the Northeast?"

The voice chuckled heartily: "We've brewed some tea here, come and sit down."

I heard what the other person said and started walking into the woods.

The sun had not yet completely set, but the woods were already pitch black.

Manjing, carrying a flashlight, walked in front and quickly noticed something unusual. He shone the flashlight on the ground and said, "Brother, look here!"

I looked in the direction the light from the well was shining, and there was a dead chicken on the ground not far in front of us.

This chicken looked like it had just died; its body was still twitching slightly, and there was a large pool of blood next to its head.

The monkey walked over, picked up the chicken and examined it: "There are no external injuries, and the neck isn't broken. It looks like it died of poisoning."

When I was talking to someone just now, I felt like they were only about ten meters away from me.

But looking out at the woods, the light seemed ethereal and unattainable.

This strange phenomenon made me wary, and I drew my dagger, saying, "Everyone, be careful."

Upon hearing this, the others also pulled out stun guns and machetes and followed me.

The further I went, the more uneasy I felt.

This distance is too far.

If it weren't for the constantly changing scenery around me, I would even feel like I'm standing still.

After walking for about a minute, the monkey was the first to lose patience: "Young Master Duan, something's not right! That light looks like it's only twenty or thirty meters long at most, so why can't we get closer?"

"Wei Shengnan is the most adept at handling these strange phenomena, it's a pity she's not here."

I stood still and shouted, "Friends in front, I was introduced by Grandma Ma from Daqing. Please show yourselves."

Another voice came from ahead: "We're right here, come on over."

"Damn it! We're here to help, what are you guys doing here with this charade!"

The monkey got angry and started cursing: "Since you're asking for our help, you should at least show some respect. Either step forward, or we're leaving."

As soon as the monkey said this, there was a sudden silence ahead.

"Retreat."

I felt increasingly uneasy about what was going on, and slowly backed away, saying, "The people we met might not be from the Hu family."

The monkey frowned: "If it's not someone from the Hu family, then who else could it be in this deep mountain forest?"

"The Xingan Mountains are the dragon vein of the world. In such a place, there are all sorts of mountain spirits and wild ghosts. Moreover, other competitors of the Hu family are also active in this area. We should be more cautious."

Given the unclear situation, my first reaction was to return to the location of the dead chicken to avoid being hit.

Unexpectedly, when I turned around, I found that there was also light coming from behind me.

Look around.

We were surrounded by a beam of light.

These lights were only a dozen meters away from us, clearly right in front of us, but it was as if there was a thick fog in the woods, making it impossible for me to see anything.

"Young Master Duan, we think we're really possessed by some evil spirit!"

The monkey swallowed hard: "The same old method, cut down trees and build a straight path, find a straight line?"

"It's too late. We've already been caught in the trap. The direction we thought we were on has probably already changed."

I waved my hand, then took off my travel bag and took out the banana leaves I had prepared inside.

This method was taught to me by Old Ma's wife.

She told me that if I encountered anything strange, I should dip a banana leaf in dew, sprinkle it on my head, and then go out to sunbathe.

With the sun setting, I definitely can't sunbathe anymore.

All we can do right now is try to see if this method will work.

Although I have some knowledge of metaphysics, the Duan family's traditions are mostly used to deal with things in tombs, so what I encountered in this forest was beyond my comprehension.

Looking around, there were quite a few leaves in the grass nearby, with water droplets condensing on them due to the temperature difference in the evening.

I swept the grass with a banana leaf, then dusted it off my head.

The others couldn't understand what I was doing, so they all waited quietly on the side without making a sound.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, or if Old Ma's method really worked.

When those water droplets hit my head, I felt a stinging pain, like something was piercing my scalp.

This intense pain also brought me to my senses.

The halo of light that had surrounded me quickly disappeared from my sight, leaving only a spot on my left.

I asked the people around me, "What you see now, is it still a circle of light all around?"

"That's right!"

The monkey nodded: "What you see is different from what we see?"

"This way."

Once I was sure I had broken free from my confusion, I strode toward the source of the light.

This time, the light ahead was no longer getting further and further away from me.

After passing through a thicket of trees, we finally arrived at the front of a campsite.

There were two camping tents at the campsite, and four men sitting around the campfire were watching us with smiles.