“You have a warehouse, right? I’ll come to your warehouse and see if there’s anything I like. If not, you’ll owe me four favors!” Ru Huan said.
“Alright, I’ll be happy to welcome you then!” Bai Xiaochun said.
"Okay, I've taken care of these people for you. What kind of result do you want? A complete corpse or pieces scattered here and there?"
“Let’s get the whole set, since it’s too fragmented to be easily distinguishable,” Bai Xiaochun said.
"Okay, I'll come find you right away," Ru Huan said and hung up the phone.
"You're really generous, agreeing to let her come to your warehouse and choose what she wants. Aren't you afraid she'll just loot everything in your warehouse at once?" Yang Guodong asked Bai Xiaochun.
"Hehe, let me tell you a joke. There are a lot of things in our warehouse that we don't know how to use or what effects they will have. We're also afraid of causing big trouble if we use them, so a lot of things are just gathering dust there. Maybe when Ruhuan comes, she can give us some pointers on which ones can be used and which ones can't," Bai Xiaochun said expectantly.
"Old demon, if you were covered in hair, even a monkey wouldn't be as clever as you!" Yang Guodong said admiringly.
Qingzhu and the others had no idea that their lives had been decided with just a few words. While the three of them were still running around in the poisonous fog, death was rapidly approaching them...
“Mr. Jack, I’m sorry, as you know, we had some issues with that person in Langcheng. By the time we resolved things with them, your people had become like this. We deeply regret this,” Yang Guodong said, looking at the blond, blue-eyed foreigner opposite him.
"No, no, no, my friend, Yang, I know you've done your best. It was our people who brought this upon themselves by entering the forbidden zone of your Longxia Kingdom. They have only themselves to blame. I thank you for your full help. Thank you, Yang," Jack said with a smile, looking at Yang Guodong. Then he ordered his men to carry away all four corpses. After the handover was completed, Yang Guodong and the foreigner named Jack exchanged a few words, and then everyone went home...
Special Operations Group
storehouse,
Ru Huan looked at the neatly arranged items, all sorts of things: bronze mirrors, bronze coin swords, Bagua mirrors, tattered clothes, jade carvings, jade plaques, bloodstained scissors, bone knives, bone swords, soul-summoning banners, and even more than a dozen coffins, including bronze, stone, jade, and wooden coffins...
Ru Huan wandered among these objects, sensing their past and spiritual energy, looking for any familiar auras from her own world. After wandering around for a long time, she found nothing.
Bai Xiaochun followed behind Ru Huan, watching the girl wander among the items without touching anything, and then return to the starting point after circling around.
"Is there not a single thing here that suits your taste?" Bai Xiaochun felt a sense of frustration.
“These things might be somewhat effective for you, but they are completely useless to me,” Ru Huan said frankly.
"Then could you help me identify which of these things are usable, which are not, and which are dangerous?" Bai Xiaochun asked Ru Huan with a hopeful look.
"Why should I help you? You still owe me four favors."
“Since I’m already in debt, I might as well owe a little more,” Bai Xiaochun said with a smile.
“Alright, these things have relatively abundant spiritual energy, you can handle them, but I don’t know about your underlings, and the things inside those bronze coffins are also restless, as if they want to come out. It would be best if the things inside those wooden coffins sank into the deep sea. If these things come out all at once, you and even this country will be finished, or even the whole world will be finished,” Ru Huan said to Bai Xiaochun.
"Ah... is it that serious? But these things are treasures of our country, we can't throw them away," Bai Xiaochun said with a solemn expression.
"I'm just telling you what to do. How you do it is your business and has nothing to do with me." Then Ru Huan gave Bai Xiaochun some pointers and left the warehouse.
"She didn't take anything?" Yang Guodong looked at Ru Huan, who had nothing in her hands, with surprise. He found it hard to believe. Some of the things inside were terrifying if they were used, but Ru Huan hadn't taken anything.
“Alright, I’m going back now. By the way, I just saw two of my acquaintances here. Could you call them over so I can talk to them?” Ru Huan suddenly turned around and asked Bai Xiaochun.
"Oh? You have acquaintances here too?" Bai Xiaochun was somewhat surprised and uncertain. Could it be that there were people from their world here as well?
"Okay, what are their names? I'll go find them and bring them over," Bai Xiaochun said, also wanting to see who these two people were.
“One is called Sanlang, and the other’s surname is Yang,” Ruhuan said.
"You mean Shan Lang and Yang Jifeng, right? It should be those two. I'll call them over for you right away," Bai Xiaochun said, somewhat puzzled. How could Ru Huan know two people who seemed to be acting crazy all the time?
"Team leader, Shan Lang and Yang Jifeng are here," someone said, gently knocking on Bai Xiaochun's office door.
“Let them both in,” Bai Xiaochun said.
The office door opened, and two people who looked like young people walked in. They looked at Bai Xiaochun, and then glanced at Ru Huan sitting next to him.
"Hey, Sanlang, this little girl seems familiar. We feel like we've met her somewhere before!" Yang Jifeng looked at Ruhuan with some confusion. He felt like he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.
"Yes, I feel like I know this little girl very well. It's like we even rescued her. It was a terrifying place, full of paper figures and graves. We almost didn't make it out," Shan Lang said, still feeling lingering fear as he recalled the incident.
"When I left, didn't I put you two in another room in the Taoist temple? I was afraid that those people would find you." Ru Huan was relieved to see that the two of them were alive and well, but they seemed to be in a bad state. It was probably because the hazy fog in the place they went to last time had still caused them harm.
"A Taoist temple? What Taoist temple? When we woke up, we were at home outside, like we had a nightmare. But now that we see you, we don't know if we were having a nightmare or if we really went to that place!" Shan Lang said to Ru Huan with some surprise.
"What happened?" Ru Huan frowned this time. When she woke up, she was in a Taoist temple. The old Taoist priest was very greedy and wanted the cloth bag she was wearing. He was killed by her. His eldest disciple also absorbed most of the spiritual energy of the temple when she left. That's when she met the human trafficker Aunt Mei...
"I seem to remember your name is Ruhuan. When you saw me, you called me 'Junior Brother.' Am I really your Junior Brother?" Dan Lang looked at Ruhuan and felt that he could no longer distinguish whether he was hallucinating or in reality.
"Well, you just look very much like my junior brother, but you are not him. Now, I only want to ask you one question: do you two want to stay here or come back to my Langcheng with me?" Ru Huan looked at her two saviors. No matter what, she couldn't possibly watch her two saviors waste their lives here.
"We don't know either, we'll have to ask our team leader," Shan Lang said, glancing at Bai Xiaochun sitting in the office chair.
"Ahem, these two are elites from our special operations team. It's not right for you to try and poach them on your first visit," Bai Xiaochun said, coughing lightly at Ru Huan.
“What if I forcibly take them away? Besides, I see a dark aura around your face, indicating that you will soon face a bloody disaster. I don’t want my people to perish here, so it’s better for me to take them away!” Ru Huan said, glancing at Bai Xiaochun.
"A bloody disaster? Are you sure?" Bai Xiaochun asked, frowning.
“Yes, not only you, but also your special operations team, they will all suffer, so I must take these two people with me!” Ru Huan said.
"Could you elaborate?" Bai Xiaochun asked Ru Huan.
"Hmph! Come with me, you'll die quickly here!" After saying that, Ru Huan used some unknown means to take Shan Lang and Yang Jifeng away, leaving Bai Xiaochun completely bewildered.
"Is that really the case? Since yesterday, I've been feeling uneasy. I need to cast a divination now." After Ru Huan left, Bai Xiaochun quickly took out his two ancient-looking, golden tortoise shells and began casting a divination...
Langcheng
Zhaixinglou (Star-Picking Tower)
"You two really didn't see that Taoist temple?" Ru Huan asked, looking at Shan Lang and Yang Jifeng.
“We really didn’t see it, but we both had a very strange feeling, like we knew you were about to die, but we knew you weren’t dead yet. It’s like we made a decision against our ancestors’ wishes and found someone with high magical power to summon your soul. As for the Taoist temple or anything, we really didn’t find it. It was all dark, and we didn’t pay attention. But I still clearly remember the old Taoist’s altar and the candlelight. I told them, and they thought we were crazy, doing all sorts of unreliable things,” Yang Jifeng said.
"But ever since that dream, I've felt like there's a very strange power hidden within me. When we arrived in Langcheng, we realized that this strange power was real. We could have dealt with the insects in Langcheng, but they spread very quickly and used living people as human shields. We had no choice but to fight our way out and retreat from Langcheng with our followers," Shan Lang said.
"Strange power? Can you show it to me?" Ru Huan knew that these two people were probably the result of the two life-extending pills she had given them when she saw that they were about to die.
"Look, this is it," Shan Lang said, and a mysterious light appeared in his hand. Yang Jifeng's palm also had the same mysterious light.
Ru Huan was now certain that these two were her saviors. Now she had an idea: to go back to that Taoist temple and that road to the underworld once again.
"You mean the place where I first met you? That place is forbidden to the living. I don't know how it happened, but you led me inside, and then we were chased all the way there by hyenas and their men. Luckily, we didn't go any deeper, otherwise, we might be lost inside now, or even dead!" Li Xia said, adjusting her glasses.
"Later, I also felt that this dense forest was a bit eerie, so I searched it on my phone and found out that it was the most dangerous primeval forest in Longxia Kingdom. We were very lucky to have come out of it last time!" the hyena said with lingering fear.
"Your luck comes from me. These insects are nothing. There was an even more powerful one that used me, but I killed it. Otherwise, you would have died there long ago," Ru Huan said calmly.
“I still want to go to that place, and all of you should go. Although it’s very dangerous inside, the things there can give you a qualitative leap in your strength. Danger and opportunity go hand in hand. No pie falls from the sky; all opportunities are created and discovered by yourselves,” Ru Huan said.
“I have to go. I’ve already tasted the sweetness of it, hehe. Besides, I was just an ordinary person before and I was able to come out of there alive, let alone me now,” the hyena said with a smile.
“I want to go too. I also want to improve my strength. Look at Hyena, he’s much stronger than me now, especially after he killed those four circus people. His strength has increased dramatically,” Lixia said with great envy.
"We two can just stay here and watch the house for you," Shan Lang said, waving his hand as soon as he heard that the three lunatics wanted to go into the primeval forest.
"You two absolutely have to go! There's no room for discussion!" But Ru Huan directly dashed Shan Lang's hopes.
"Everyone get ready, we're leaving first thing tomorrow morning!" After saying that, Ru Huan told the four of them to do whatever they wanted. Langcheng was so big, and there were no ordinary people around, so the four of them could just take whatever they needed from the shops in Langcheng...
"How could this be?" Bai Xiaochun stared solemnly at the two ancient tortoise shells on his table, then felt extremely frightened. It seemed that what Ru Huan said was true. This time, it wasn't just his own bloodshed; if things went wrong, the entire Longxia Kingdom might be implicated. Just as Bai Xiaochun was filled with worry, his phone suddenly rang.
"If you don't want to die, come to Langcheng. I can save your lives here. I hope you don't come to Langcheng. Once you come to Langcheng, you can live anywhere, but you can't get even half a step closer to the Star-Picking Tower, or I will show you what despair and fear are!" Ru Huan hung up the phone immediately after saying that.
"What do you mean?" Bai Xiaochun was completely bewildered. It meant that he absolutely could not hold this place and would be slaughtered with nowhere to escape!
"Hello, it's me, Bai Xiaochun. I have something to report. It's like this..." Bai Xiaochun began to report Ru Huan's warning and the divination he had performed to his superiors...
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, two off-road vehicles set off from Langcheng, heading towards Cainan Province...
Not long after Ru Huan and the others left, more than a dozen helicopters appeared in the sky above Langcheng. They then circled over Langcheng, and people wearing hazmat suits and gas masks stepped out of the helicopters and onto rope ladders to enter Langcheng. They then began to enter the buildings near the Zhaixing Tower...
"Hello, Yang, we meet again! Hehe, what kind of surprise will you bring me this time?" Sitting on the sofa, with a very sexy beauty in her arms, she smiled at Yang Guodong standing in front of her.
"I've found out that Ru Huan and her people went to Cainan Province, and Bai Xiaochun and his group have started secretly moving something to Langcheng. What should we do now?" Yang Guodong asked Jack with a very humble expression.
“Oh? My friend, Yang, the information you gave me is really valuable. Don’t worry, your son and daughter are living very well in our beautiful country. Our country takes good care of them. As long as we cooperate well, your two children will live carefree and very happily in our country,” Jack said with a smile to Yang Guodong.
"I hope you keep your word, otherwise I... ah..." Yang Guodong looked at Jack, ready to say a few harsh words, but suddenly it felt like someone had hit his head hard with a hammer, and he fell to the ground, clutching his head and howling in pain...
"Yang, my friend, I've been so polite to you, and you're threatening me instead? Isn't that a bit impolite?" Jack approached Yang Guodong, who was curled up in a ball, and gently patted his face as he spoke.
"Let me see what these five kids are planning to do in Cainan Province?" Jack opened his phone, looked at the map of Cainan Province, and fell into deep thought...
Langcheng is not far from Cainan Province. Ru Huan and the others arrived in Cainan Province after driving for a day and a night. If it weren't for the fact that they had to make do with Shan Lang and Yang Jifeng, two ordinary people, they would have had to find a guesthouse near the dense forest they entered last time to rest. Otherwise, they would have gone straight into the mountains with the two spirit slaves.
"Hey Xiaofeng, I heard you went to Langcheng. How are you doing there? Are you settling in?"
"Oh, Uncle, don't even mention it. I had barely settled into my seat in Langcheng when a bunch of lunatics dragged me to Cainan Province, planning to go treasure hunting in the primeval forest!"
"Huh? So you mean you're no longer in Langcheng, and have gone to Cainan Province?"
"Yes, Uncle, I'm really worried about whether I'll make it out alive this time!"
"Don't worry so much. Aren't there three experts going with you? Since they dare to take you, it means they can keep you safe. Don't worry, just think of it as going outside for a walk and breathing some fresh air."
"I hope so," Yang Jifeng said, then hung up the phone in frustration, pulled up his pants, and walked out of the bathroom...
"The primeval forest of Cainan Province? Isn't that the Ailao Mountain? What are they doing in there? Whatever they're doing, this is our circus's chance for revenge! I'll call our ringmaster right now and see what good ideas he has," Jack's eyes lit up, and he picked up the satellite phone and dialed the ringmaster's number...
"I never expected these two idle people to have such a wonderful encounter. If I had known, I would have kept them firmly under my control. Wouldn't it have been so much easier to get Ru Huan to help me in the future?" Bai Xiaochun thought to himself. But as he thought, if he really wanted to stop Ru Huan, he might still be lying in the hospital right now. It didn't matter much to his distant relative named Shan Lang; he could easily make up an excuse to get away with it. But this Yang Jifeng was Yang Guodong's nephew. If he found out that Ru Huan had taken him away, how would he explain it to her?
Last time I sent these two to Langcheng, it almost caused a huge disaster. I thought they wouldn't come back. But not only did they return, they also rescued more than a dozen survivors. If it weren't for these two constantly talking about how they saved people on their way to the underworld and spouting all sorts of nonsensical nonsense, I would have really put them to good use. After all, in the current situation, I simply can't afford to hire those people from those celestial palaces, famous temples, and ancient monasteries. They wouldn't even look at a small special operations team like yours. So I can only search among the common people, and I have to pray that I don't find any charlatans or swindlers. Just thinking about it makes me tired.
"Who were you talking to on the phone just now?" Lixia asked.
“My uncle, whom you all know, Yang Guodong from the National Security Bureau, asked me where I am now, and I told him,” Yang Jifeng replied.
Ru Huan glanced at Yang Jifeng but said nothing, continuing to eat the local specialties brought over by the guesthouse owner...
"Are you going to Ailaoshan?" the guesthouse owner asked.
“Yes, how did you know we were going there?” Lixia asked.
"Judging from your outfits, I can tell you're going into the mountains. Judging from your appearance, you're just amateurs. You can just wander around the outer areas and take some photos. Don't go inside, understand?" the guesthouse owner said.
"What? Are there monsters or aliens inside? Making it all mysterious, is this just a gimmick by you locals?" Yang Jifeng said nonchalantly.
"Hehe, ignorance is bliss. Anyway, I've already advised you. No matter what you do, I can't go with you, right? Our village chief told us to advise you tourists like this: what kind of donkey? I forgot, but the point is, don't go too deep inside. If there's an accident, no one will dare to go in to rescue you. So if you're looking for thrills or adventure, think about whether you can come back first. If you're not sure, don't endanger yourself and others, and put the search and rescue team and rescue personnel in danger!" The guesthouse owner looked at Yang Jifeng's nonchalant expression and immediately said with a serious face.
"Don't worry, we won't bother the rescue teams. We'll take care of ourselves. Thank you for reminding us," the hyena said, thanking the guesthouse owner for his advice, and then asked him to leave.
"Hmph! You can't reason with a damned ghost. This is all I can do. No, I should talk to the village chief. If these hotheads really go deep inside and something happens, I'll have to take responsibility," the guesthouse owner thought, and dialed his village chief's number...
"I heard you're going to Ailao Mountain?" A middle-aged man with a wrinkled, dark face entered Ruhuan's house and asked.
“We’re just having some fun. We know our own limitations, Uncle. Don’t worry about it,” the hyena said, looking at the village chief and offering him a cigarette.
"Yes, yes, I'm afraid you'll say one thing and do another. Many of our people have gone in and disappeared, so we have to let you know about this!" The village chief took the cigarette from the hyena, glanced at the mouthpiece, lit it, took a deep drag, and then spoke.
"Yes, Uncle, we know. We won't cause you any trouble. Don't worry about us, we know," the hyena said with a smile.
"Is this little girl going with you too?" the village chief asked, looking at Ruhuan who was sitting silently on the sofa.
“Yes, she’s coming with us too,” Lixia quickly replied.
"Little girl, are you an adult? Show your ID card to your uncle." The village chief came up to Ruhuan and asked her to show him her ID card. The village chief now suspected that it was a bit strange that these four men were with a girl who looked like an underage girl.
"ID card? What's that?" Ru Huan asked the village chief.
"Where are you from? Do your parents know you're here? Girl, the houses here are a bit cramped. Come to my house. I have two empty rooms. My daughter is in high school and lives at school. She rarely comes home," the village chief said, seemingly understanding something. He then gestured for Ruhuan to come with him.
"It's fine here, no need to trouble yourself, you should go back!" Ru Huan replied coldly.
"Sigh... alright, then I won't disturb your rest any longer. I'll head back now," the village chief said, glancing at the four hyenas, then at Ruhuan, sighing before leaving.
"If my daughter were out there messing around like this, I'd break her legs! She's so young and already so corrupt, hanging out with a bunch of social scum. She'll regret this someday! Hello, police station? I need to report something. This afternoon, a few young people in our village…!" The village chief said, making a phone call as he walked.
"Do we look like bad guys?" The hyena asked with a wry smile.
"You know what, you two really do look like bad guys. Any normal person would immediately categorize you as 'spirited young men' just by looking at your hair," Shan Lang said with a laugh.
"I have a feeling the police are coming soon," Li Xia said with a wry smile.
"Then what do we do? They can't possibly treat us like bad guys, can they?" The hyena looked helpless.
“Call Bai Xiaochun and tell those police officers not to cause us any trouble, or they’ll face the consequences!” Ru Huan said coldly.
"Yes, how come I didn't think of that? Master is really amazing!" The hyena flattered Ru Huan while dialing Bai Xiaochun's number...
"What? Okay, okay, I understand. Don't worry, we'll treat them well. Okay, that's all, you go ahead with your work." Just as the police station chief was about to send someone to check on the situation, his office phone rang. His superior called to say that Ru Huan and her group belonged to a secret national organization, and they were going to Ailaoshan to carry out a secret mission. "Don't disturb them." The police station chief quickly assured him that he would not disturb them and would treat them well.
That evening, the police station chief, the village chief, and several village officials came to Ruhuan's place, carrying all sorts of local specialties. They came to show their faces, hoping these people would remember them.
"Gentlemen, would you like me to introduce you to a guide this time? After all, we locals are quite familiar with this area," the village chief suggested.
“A guide? We really haven’t thought about that,” the hyena said, glancing at Ruhuan. He didn’t know what his master was thinking, and he couldn’t make a decision himself.
The people who come here are generally shrewd. When they saw that these four men insisted on looking at this girl who looked like an underage girl, they knew that this girl was the backbone of these men.
Everyone began to flatter Ru Huan, but Ru Huan was neither pleased nor saddened by the flattery, feeling as if these people were not flattering her.
"We can take a guide, but the guide I need must be brave, have strong mental fortitude, and not panic in the face of any situation. I don't want someone who screams and shouts; I don't want to die quickly. The guide must also be physically strong and able to keep up with our speed. All the requirements must be met; otherwise, it's better not to take him at all!" Ru Huan said directly, fearing that these people might bring a useless person into their team just to build connections, otherwise it would cause them a lot of trouble.
“You know what, we actually have someone like that here. Last time, when the higher-ups went to investigate, they organized so many people to go together, but the casualties were still heavy. Some of the people who came back had mental problems. Only this one of us went in with the work team, and he came back without any problems or post-traumatic stress disorder,” the village chief said with a radiant face.
"Really? I remember the last people who came out were already under close surveillance, for fear that they might do something unbelievable," the police station chief said, somewhat incredulous.
"It's true. This person is still in our village. Apart from being a bit quiet, he's just like any other normal person. When we first started providing psychological counseling, he was perfectly fine and everything seemed normal to him," the village secretary said.
“Really? I’m very interested in this person. Let’s call him over to take a look,” Ru Huan said thoughtfully.
Before long, the village chief led a young man who looked to be only in his early thirties to Ruhuan.
"That's him. His name is Chi Hu. He's a native of this area. The last time he went with the work team to help them carry equipment, five or six years have passed in the blink of an eye," the village chief introduced him very solemnly, as if Chi Hu were himself.
“Hmm, it still looks the same, but we won’t follow the old path of the previous work teams. We will forge a new path,” Ru Huan said, implying that this guide might not be useful.
"It's alright. After all, he's been inside before, which is better than those of us who haven't been in there," the village chief continued to strongly recommend.
"You're going to Ailao Mountain?" Chi Hu looked at Ru Huan and her group, and then finally understood why the village chief had called him over in such a hurry. The village chief wanted him to be their guide.
"Yes! Do you have any good suggestions?" Yang Jifeng asked.
"My advice is that you'd better not go. If you're lucky, you might be able to keep a whole corpse. But if you're unlucky, you won't even know how you died, and it will be even more cruel than dying in the eighteen levels of hell!" Chi Hu said to Yang Jifeng.
"Hehe, Chi Hu is just a greenhorn, lacking in social experience and not good at speaking, please don't take offense," the village chief hurriedly apologized upon seeing Chi Hu say this. They hadn't even started their journey yet, and this son of a bitch was already saying such unlucky things.
“He’s right, I know that too. We know it’s very dangerous inside, but we still have to go. If you don’t want to, we won’t force you. Alright, you can all go back now. We’re going to rest too. We’ll head into the mountains first thing tomorrow morning,” Ru Huan said, dismissing them.
Chi Hu gave Ru Huan a cold look, then followed the group of village officials and left the guesthouse...
“This person is not simple. I can sense a flow of spiritual energy on his body,” Li Xia said with a frown.
"Could it be that he, like you, is an extraordinary being?" Shan Lang asked.
“It can’t be a superhuman. I feel like something has possessed me!” the hyena said.
"I don't care what it is, as long as it doesn't mess with us. Otherwise, I don't care what it is, I'll just kill it!" Li Xia said.
In the early morning, a cool breeze carrying the fresh scent of plants wafted over them. The group, carrying their packs, drove their vehicles toward the foot of Ailao Mountain.
After more than half an hour, the group finally arrived at the foot of Ailao Mountain. Looking at the undulating Ailao Mountain, the mountaintop was always shrouded in a gray mist, making it look very mysterious.
Everyone got off the car, grabbed their equipment, and started heading into the Ailao Mountains!
Hyena led the way, Yang Jifeng followed, ready to take over for Hyena at any time, Ru Huan was third, in the middle, Shan Lang was fourth, and Li Xia brought up the rear. The group of five entered Ailao Mountain from the foot of the mountain...
"Master, I keep feeling like someone is hiding somewhere and spying on us," Lixia kept meowing around, feeling like someone was watching them from not far away.
"Lixia, don't scare me, I'm timid," Shan Lang said, looking around. There were only trees and bushes around, so where did this person come from?
“Let’s keep going deeper. Ignore them. Maybe they’re just villagers from the neighborhood coming in to gather herbs or hunt. They’re just curious about us,” the hyena chuckled, then continued to lead the way with the Jungle King.
"Alright, let's rest here for today," Ru Huan said, looking at a relatively clean large blue stone slab. This place was relatively high, with few bushes around and a wide view.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted," Yang Jifeng groaned as he put down his luggage and lay down on the stone slab.
Dan Lang wasn't much better off. He put down his luggage and sat down, panting heavily and wiping away his sweat.
"Do you two want to die?" The hyena frowned as it looked at the two men. If they weren't the two men who had saved its master's life, it wouldn't have bothered with these two idiots at all.
"No, we're both exhausted, shouldn't we take a break?" Yang Jifeng said indignantly, looking at the hyena's disgusted expression.
"Hehe, tired? Who isn't tired? It'll be dark in three hours. Do you think we should just lie here like this tonight, doing nothing, and ordering takeout on our phones?" Li Xia joked.
“Hey, that’s a good idea, but I don’t know if these delivery guys can actually get here,” Shan Lang said, standing up abruptly.
"You come with me to find some firewood, and you go with him to see if there's any water nearby. Go find some water and bring it back. Don't lie there pretending to be dead, hurry up!" The hyena began to give instructions.
Hyena took Shan Lang to find firewood, while Li Xia took Yang Jifeng to find a water source nearby. They said they were looking for water and firewood, but actually they just wanted to check the surrounding area to see if there was any danger.
“We’ve all left, are you sure you don’t feel safe leaving a little girl there? Should I go back and protect her?” Yang Jifeng said to the hyena in front of him.
“Hehe, no need, just mind your own business. Come on, I see a piece of dry tree ahead, let’s take it back,” the hyena said, pointing to the dead tree not far away. Yang Jifeng followed behind the hyena with a look of utter despair.
"I'm telling you, aren't you afraid of starting a forest fire by doing this? If that happens, every single one of us here will be arrested and forced to work on sewing machines, and we might even get peanuts!" Yang Jifeng looked at the flames in front of him, which were more than a meter high, and felt a little scared. If he went in, he didn't know if his uncles and aunts could rescue him.
"What are you afraid of? This fire won't spread anywhere else," the hyena said, still fiddling with the roasted rabbit in its hands. When it and Yang Jifeng returned, a very plump wild rabbit suddenly darted out. The hyena grabbed it, then lit the solid fuel, put the dry firewood it had carried back on it, and began to quickly skin the rabbit. Since Li Xia and the other hadn't found a water source nearby, the hyena simply skinned the rabbit, removed its internal organs, and then rinsed it casually with a bottle of mineral water.
Then, a layer of sesame oil was spread on the rabbit meat, followed by chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, cumin powder, five-spice powder, and so on.
An incredibly tempting aroma wafted from the rabbit meat, almost making Yang Jifeng and Shan Lang drool.
Five people, one rabbit leg each. Hyena was gnawing on the rabbit head with relish, while Yang Jifeng and Shan Lang were wolfing down their rabbit legs, grimacing from the heat, looking like starving ghosts...
After eating and drinking their fill, the group sat comfortably by the fire. It had already gotten dark inside the woods, as the woods blocked out the darkness earlier than the outside. The fire was no longer as big as it had been at the beginning; it was just glowing red embers. A mountain breeze blew by, and the purplish-red flames drifted back and forth with the wind…
“Tonight, we’ll be on watch one by one, one hour at a time. Yang Jifeng, you’ll be on watch the first time, Shan Lang the second, Li Xia the third, and me the last. It’s 6:47 now, and the first watch will start at 7:00,” Hyena said.
The hyenas had their reasons for making this arrangement. They had these two hotheads guard the first two rounds because none of them had slept. By nine o'clock, these two ordinary people were exhausted after a long day. Asking them to guard the night in this situation was practically suicide...
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