Xiao Jingran brought a few incense sticks with him, and he quickly caught up with the group of people who were now trying to divide themselves into a group of five and six.

The moment Zhou Wenzhi saw him, he motioned for his eldest grandson to come over. Currently, Xiao Jingran should be the one who was the most knowledgeable about the whole situation.

"Jing’er come here, tell us which areas you have searched before. We might be able to obtain some clues from the paths you have taken," Zhou Wenzhi muttered solemnly.

Xiao Jingran had a good memory. He described each path and areas he had taken; how many big trees, the type of trees, and he even went as far as putting marks on the paths.

"I have tied some cloths on the paths I have taken before." He had done it when he searched deeper into the mountain area. It was proven useful now, because the search team could use these cloths to find the way back.

They all listened to Xiao Jingran’s explanation for a while.

"Judging from the traces, we should find them deeper into the mountain," A villager said. It meant that they had to climb up a little bit.

"Which areas usually have bears?"

After obtaining some useful information Xiao Qingya had sent Ling Bo to deliver the information to Xiao Jingran. The bear gave them a better clue.

"There are several areas. The bears generally leave us alone as long as we don’t provoke them."

They all discussed it for a short time, noting all the possible areas where the Xiao siblings might be before they set off.

Xiao Jingran tried to find some ghosts that could help with the search. Alas, most of them were just floating around with their gruesome appearances and ignoring him.

These ghosts had begun to lose their memories because they had been staying in the human world for too long, their wishes remained unfulfilled.

He had no power like his little sister did when it came to dealing with ghosts, so he also had to be careful. One or two were definitely not a problem, but dozens of them would be detrimental for him.

"Jing’er, you have told your mother and sisters to stay home and lock the doors, right?" Zhou Wenzhi asked worriedly.

With such a huge commotion happening, Chen Huayun and Liu Hua would definitely have noticed that Zhou Shiming was missing.

They could easily obtain the information where he was, considering a lot of people had crowded around earlier; even the ones who didn’t join the search.

"Grandfather, I have told Yan’er not to open the door if it’s not us who knocked on it, but... " Xiao Jingran frowned slightly.

Zhou Wenzhi had an ominous premonition, and he sucked in a deep breath. "What about your mother?"

"Yan’er said that she went to grab an oil lamp before running here," Xiao Jingran answered.

If not because they insisted him to stick with the team, he might have chosen to search on his own. His mother was, after all, a weak woman.

"Ran’er is..." Zhou Wenzhi took a deep breath. "Let’s walk quicker. We have to find her before she gets into danger. What a reckless and stubborn girl!"

He took large steps. Despite his white hair, he looked more determined with each step he took. His fists clenched and unclenched.

At that moment, he had made a decision.

Xiao Jingran whispered something to Zhou Wenzhi’s ears. His grandfather had a look of surprise, then with a troubled look, he let him stay in the rockery they were about to pass by.

"Old Zhou, isn’t it dangerous leaving your grandson alone? We have reached deeper into the mountain." A villager frowned when he saw it.

Zhou Wenzhi waved his hand. "It’s fine. Jing’er has learned martial arts from his teachers, so he could protect himself. He also has a good memory and won’t get lost."

They had been searching for a while without yielding any result.

The idea that Xiao Jingran had proposed might be their best bet. Since they had obtained some information from the resentful ghosts following Zhou Shiming, they might be able to get the exact location from them.

Most of the ghosts following Zhou Shiming actually didn’t die because of him, but they were still resentful for what he had done.

Zhou Shiming was cunning and definitely wasn’t a good person. He had wronged a lot of people, including men who wanted to marry Zhou Shuran but were rejected by Chen Huayun; even after they gave a lot of things like their income and wealth.

The wandering souls of these people’s family wanted to take revenge on him for that.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have real power. Still, the yin and resentful aura around them could make him suffer headaches and insomnia once a while.

These ghosts weren’t from the back mountain.

Xiao Jingran lit some incense, allowing the scent to spread out. He watched as the ghosts were attracted by the smell.

His eyes swept over these ghosts, trying to find the ones he could still talk to. He found out that these ghosts generally ignored or even subconsciously avoided him, so he had to use this way.

They couldn’t resist the allure of these incense.

***

In another location, Zhou Anran walked in quick steps, occasionally shouting for her children’s names.

"Hao’er! Xi’er! Where are you two? Mother has come to bring you two home!" She shouted, and then coughed, her voice had become slightly hoarse.

The vegetation and trees had grown more dense. She knew she was heading deeper into the mountain, the places where most villagers rarely visit. Yet, her steps never ceased.

She dragged her feet to walk further, scanning her surroundings and praying that nothing bad would happen to her children.

Soon, she passed by the area and entered another. This time, the trees were less dense and there were even signs of footsteps.

She guessed it was a path used by people from other villages.