"Since everything's alright, let's go back to sleep!" Many people nodded and returned to the cave.
Those who knew of the existence of the Black Stone did not return. They exchanged glances and then followed the direction from which the sound came.
Shen Yanming looked at Bi Qiaoan: "Shall we go find them?"
Bi Qiaoan glanced at him: "Can't we just not look for it?" It's a special material that can upgrade the space, we have to stock up on some.
"Alright then, let's go take a look." After saying that, he took out a small flashlight from his pocket and led the way.
Bi Qiaoan held An'an's hand with her left hand and Nuannuan's hand with her right, following behind him. The guards beside them weren't too surprised to see that Shen Yanming had this equipment.
Although the earthquake destroyed a lot of supplies, it's not unusual to have some lighters and flashlights left over.
The group didn't follow the guards; instead, they wandered around the mountains at their own pace. Since the spring and autumn seasons disappeared a few years ago, the animals in these mountains have almost vanished, so no one worries about the women and children being in danger.
The family of four encountered Liang Huaxin, Ye Wengui, and even Wen Chaohui on the way. After exchanging greetings, they each went their separate ways.
Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan wandered further and further into the wrong direction, and after walking for more than an hour, they still hadn't seen anything unusual.
An'an and Nuannuan asked, "Did we go the wrong way?"
"I don't know. Your mother and I heard it in the space, but it's hard to say exactly where it was."
"Then why did you choose this direction?"
"It's because they didn't want to be with everyone," Shen Yanming muttered, then lowered his voice and said, "I bet they were just wandering around aimlessly."
The three fell silent.
"Cough, it's nothing, just consider it an outing to enjoy the night view," Bi Qiaoan said, trying to save face for Shen Yanming.
An An and Nuan Nuan nodded without saying anything.
Unsure if they were heading in the right direction, the mother and her two children relaxed and wandered around aimlessly.
Seeing this, Shen Yanming didn't say anything, but slowed down his pace while keeping a watchful eye on the hot air that might erupt at any moment.
Another hour passed, and the family of four was exhausted. Just as they were about to head back, they heard two "poof" sounds and steam rose into the air.
Bi Qiaoan led An'an and Nuan Nuan to the left to avoid something, but they stepped on something and accidentally fell to the ground.
"Ouch!" My foot hurts! Shen Yanming, who was in front, was so frightened that his legs went weak.
He rushed over and asked the mother and her two children, "How are you? Are you hurt?"
"without......"
The word "have" stuck in her throat, but Bi Qiaoan swallowed it down.
Following Bi Qiaoan's gaze, Shen Yanming saw a stone the size of a glass marble at the bottom of her feet. The stone gleamed under the flashlight.
"This is... found it? Wife, you're amazing!" It took Shen Yanming a while to regain his ability to speak.
Bi Qiaoan was also surprised, and picked up the stone, playing with it in her hand for a while. After confirming that it was the mysterious black stone, she put it into Nuannuan's hand.
"Here you go, baby, keep it safe."
"Mom, aren't you going to put it there?" Nuannuan's voice was very low, almost a whisper.
"It will disappear if you put it in. Keep this piece; it might come in handy."
Nuannuan nodded and put the small stone into the pocket inside her cotton-padded coat.
"Now that we've found rubble here, the big rock might be nearby."
After Shen Yanming finished speaking, he helped Bi Qiaoan up: "Feel it, does your foot still hurt?"
Bi Qiaoan moved her ankle, shook her head and said, "It doesn't hurt anymore, I can walk."
"Luckily, no bones were broken." But she was still worried and helped Bi Qiaoan walk.
An'an took the initiative to walk ahead, holding a flashlight, while Nuannuan supported Bi Qiao'an on the other side. The family of four walked very slowly. They searched outwards from the small stones, radiating outwards. After searching a radius of one hundred meters without finding anything, they expanded the search area further.
Two hours later, when it was already daylight, they finally pulled a black stone the size of an egg out of a patch of withered grass.
Since it was An'an who found it, the couple told him to put it away. An'an hesitated for a moment, then gave the larger piece to Nuannuan and kept the smaller one for himself.
The couple didn't stop it when they saw it; on the contrary, they felt very gratified.
"Brother, once we find them again, you can have them all!"
An An nodded, not taking it seriously. He realized how difficult it was to find this black stone. No wonder his parents had made dozens of trips last year to find such a small piece.
With the right orientation, the family of four quickly found the crater from which the steam had erupted. The rocks that had been washed out landed about a hundred meters to the north, and probably because of the great impact of the fall, they broke into several pieces of varying sizes.
What they picked up on the road was just scraps; this is the real prize. Didn't you see the smallest pieces scattered on the ground were the size of bricks?
Bi Qiaoan glanced at Shen Yanming silently, as if to say, "To pick it up or not?"
Shen Yanming coughed twice, looked around, and seeing that no one was around, pointed to a few pieces on the ground: "Put these in!"
Upon seeing this, Bi Qiaoan put several brick-sized black stones into her spatial storage.
A surge of energy coursed through the space, and Bi Qiaoan felt the area on the mountain suddenly expand by a hundred miles. She could now freely control the Spirit Spring Lake with her consciousness.
Shen Yanming quickly grabbed a tree branch and busied himself wiping away the marks on the black stones.
She picked up a few more small stones, about the size of a fingernail, and had An'an and Nuannuan hide them before saying to Bi Qiao'an, "You and the two babies wait here. I'm going back to find Wen Mengguan."
"Then be careful, don't rush."
Shen Yanming nodded, then smiled at Bi Qiaoan: "That's exactly what I wanted to tell you. Cough, honey, even though something was just sprayed here, we can't let our guard down. You and the two babies..."
"Okay, okay, I got it!" Bi Qiaoan interrupted Shen Yanming's rambling and gently pushed his back: "You still remember the way, right?"
"I don't quite remember, but I should be able to find it," Shen Yanming said nonchalantly.
Bi Qiaoan nodded: "Then you should go quickly. The three of us will wait for you here. There's no one along the way, so take something to eat and don't go hungry." She lowered her voice.
Shen Yanming smiled, gave a few more instructions, and then left.
After he left, Bi Qiaoan gathered a pile of firewood from the surrounding area and lit it. Then she took out hot milk and hot buns, and ate them with the two children around the fire.
At the base, Wen Chao and his guards worked all night, but they didn't even see a trace of Hei Shi. Lying in bed, he told them not to bother him unless it was something important. He felt incredibly frustrated, like he'd lost half his life.
"As expected, it wasn't meant to be. I thought that shouting so loudly would bring me some luck!" he muttered, not even hearing anyone calling him from the doorway.
"Captain Chen, you see, Wen Mengguan hasn't responded. He must be busy."
Shen Yanming was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Please try again, I really have something to do!"
"Okay then, I'll give it another try!"
After saying that, he ran to Wen Mengguan's tent, stood at the door and whispered, "Wen Mengguan, are you still busy? Captain Chen said he needs to see you!"
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