"Dad, why are you here?" Li Deyang was slightly startled when he saw the old man at the door, then he quickly walked up to him and helped him take off the checkered cloth bag on his shoulder.

"So heavy? What's in it?"

The old man did not respond, but looked suspiciously at Lin Qiye and the other three as they walked out of the house. Then he withdrew his gaze and asked in a low voice:

"Deyang, what are those four people here for?"

Li Deyang was stunned. "It was just a group of tourists who were about to enter the forest. I persuaded them to go back. What happened?"

The old man shook his head, "Nothing... By the way, these are the winter clothes I brought for you, you can wear them after washing them."

"dad!!"

The little girl next to him threw herself into Li Deyang's arms, a bright smile appearing on her rosy face.

"Hey, my little Tingting!" Li Deyang also smiled. He bent down and picked up the little girl, and began to rub her face with his stubbled chin. "It's been so long since we last met. Do you miss your dad?"

"Yes!" the little girl said while smiling and dodging Li Deyang's stubble.

Li Deyang looked at the full bag of clothes and sighed, "Dad, I already have clothes here, why did you bring so many here from far away?"

"Do you have one? You have nothing else except this military coat!" The old man snorted, "Your heating doesn't work well, and you don't want to buy clothes. If I don't bring them to you, how are you going to survive this winter?"

Li Deyang hugged the little girl and smiled helplessly.

"I have asked you to find a proper job in the city a long time ago. Let's not talk about how much you can earn, but at least you can live a warm life in winter, right? Maybe you can meet a good woman who can take care of you when you are old, and Xiaoting can have a stepmother..." The old man put the luggage on the table and spoke in a nagging manner.

"I'm so old now, why do I need to find a wife? I'm fine here." Li Deyang waved his hand.

"What's good about that?" The old man glared at him.

Li Deyang pretended to cough twice and changed the subject, "You came all the way here, have you booked a hotel?"

"It's booked. It's not far from here... at the Happy Hotel."

Li Deyang frowned, "Why don't you order a better one? Why come to such a remote place?"

"It's just a one-night stay, why do you have to make it so nice?" The old man said confidently, "It's close to you, and it's convenient for you to go back at night. If Xiaoting misses you tomorrow, she can come over again."

"Okay, okay, you have the final say."

The old man packed up his things, took out a few bundles of vegetables and meat from the bag, and walked quickly to the door, "Sit here, I'll make you some dinner..."

Li Deyang held the little girl in his arms, looked at the old man's stubborn back, smiled bitterly and shook his head.

…

"Have you written down everything?" Lin Qiye asked.

"Noted."

An Qingyu pushed his glasses and said, "It can't be wrong. The edge of the map matches the edge of the forest we just passed. That's the map of this forest area. However, I need to go back and study the meaning of some of the marks inside..."

"No, wait a minute." Baili Pangpang's mouth twitched slightly, and he looked at An Qingyu as if he was looking at a monster. "In just a few minutes, you have already memorized the map?"

"It won't take a few minutes." An Qingyu said calmly, "A dozen seconds will be enough."

Baili Pangpang: ...

Listen, is this human language?

"I thought the more direct method you mentioned was to beat them down and then torture them." An Qingyu looked at Lin Qiye.

Lin Qiye's eyelids jumped. "We are all night watchmen, so there is no need to resort to such extreme means... My original intention was to find out the way to the stronghold first, and then find an opportunity to steal some clues. Who knew that they would actually hang the map on the blackboard openly?"

"Speaking of which, this night watch team is indeed a bit too miserable." Baili Pangpang sighed, "There are only two people in total, and they live in such a remote place..."

"Anta County has a small population and low popularity. Generally, there won't be any powerful mysteries appearing there. At most, they are just minions from the Zhan Realm or the Chi Realm. A team of two people is indeed enough." Cao Yuan said.

"If that's the case, why did such a powerful mystery appear this time?"

"I don't know." Lin Qiye shook his head. "This mysterious creature first came out of the primeval forest. There must be some variables in the forest... We have to investigate the specific reasons ourselves."

Cao Yuan nodded. "Now that we have all the equipment and the clues, what should we do next..."

Lin Qiye hummed and looked up.

The dim setting sun gradually sank, and the shadows in the continuous mountains and forests ahead became more and more numerous. This vast primeval forest located at the border of the foggy wall began to be eroded by the darkness bit by bit.

"It's time to go into the woods."

…

The road into the forest was smoother than Lin Qiye had imagined.

This place is not like Jinnan Mountain, where the roads are rugged and the terrain varies greatly. At least on the outskirts of this primeval forest, the terrain is relatively flat.

When you first enter the forest, the surrounding trees are not dense or tall. The original trees here were cut down once when this county town was being developed, and the ones that came later were newly planted.

The four of them carried heavy backpacks, holding flashlights, and moved through the area step by step.

They could definitely go faster, but there was no need to do so now. This was no longer the Jinnan Mountain where they had trained before, but a vast primeval forest. Even if they carried a lot of weight and climbed over it, they would not be able to get through it in a short period of time. Instead, they would consume a lot of physical strength and food.

And in this primeval forest, there are mysterious dormant "River" and even "Sea" realms. They must always keep themselves in the best condition to deal with possible dangers at any time.

"Is this the direction?" Lin Qiye turned and looked at An Qingyu behind him.

An Qingyu nodded, "Yes, it's in this direction, but we need to go a little deeper. About three hours ahead, we will reach an abandoned forest. That's where we first discovered the mysterious traces of ants."

"Abandoned forest farm?" Baili Pangpang asked doubtfully, "If it is abandoned, how could anyone go there? And how did they find the traces?"

Cao Yuan, who was walking in front of him, was stunned and turned around to give Baili Pangpang a strange look.

"Why are you looking at me?" Baili Pangpang asked puzzledly.

"Nothing." Cao Yuan shook his head. "Although your brain doesn't work very well, you always seem to be able to pay attention to some strange things..."

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