Brother Ming nodded. Just as he was about to leave, Brother Sheng spoke again. "Oh, and don’t bring that woman of yours. A little pillow talk and you’re so turned around you don’t know which way is up. She’ll just be trouble if you take her back."

Hearing this, Brother Ming frowned. "She didn’t expect this outcome either. Who could’ve guessed that Su Qing was so capable? A bunch of grown men couldn’t restrain her, and she even turned the tables on us."

Brother Sheng lifted his gaze to look at Brother Ming. "What, you’ve really taken a liking to her?"

Brother Ming pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Brother Sheng frowned and snorted coldly. "Fine. Bring her if you want. I can’t control you anymore. When we get back, you can explain it to the big boss and the second boss yourself."

Brother Ming glanced at Brother Sheng, said nothing, and left the tent.

Brother Sheng watched Brother Ming’s retreating figure with a dark expression, then swept his hand out, smashing the teacup beside him onto the ground.

Just outside the tent, Brother Ming heard the crash and froze for a moment. His face darkened as well, but he quickly composed himself and strode away.

Su Qing gently tapped a locust tree beside her. While Brother Ming and Brother Sheng had been talking, her climbing vines had already swept through and meticulously searched a radius of about a mile and a half. Su Qing had taken note of every single hidden sentry.

’Thinking of leaving?’ Su Qing murmured softly. ’It won’t be that easy.’

Then, at Su Qing’s command, the climbing vines shot out. The hidden sentries lying prone in the bushes and tall grass were tightly bound before they could even react. Their mouths were gagged, so even if they came to their senses, they had no way of sending a message back to the camp.

Meanwhile, the thirty or forty people back at the camp were completely oblivious to what was happening around them. They were still going about their business in an orderly fashion; some were preparing lunch, while others had begun to pack up their gear.

Su Qing narrowed her eyes, secretly directing the vines to take them down one by one. Within minutes, everyone in the camp, including Su Tao, was securely tied up. The vines then dragged them out and piled them together in a heap. Even the sentries who had been posted about a mile away were dragged back by the vines.

The whole thing was absolutely terrifying!

The inconspicuous climbing vines had suddenly attacked them. The realization sent a cold sweat down everyone’s backs. This was some fantasy bullshit! What kind of vines had this level of intelligence? Had they become sentient?

Remembering they were deep in the old mountain forests, many of them started wailing that they had encountered a ghost. After all, the situation was just too bizarre.

But Brother Sheng wasn’t one for superstitions. He glared viciously at his surroundings and bellowed, "Who is it? If you’ve got the guts, come out and fight me face-to-face! What kind of hero attacks from the shadows?"

Su Qing stood at a distance, using the trees to conceal her figure. She had no intention of revealing herself. After all, a method like using vines to capture people was sensational enough to cause a huge stir. She didn’t want to become a focal point, much less attract the attention of others.

Brother Sheng was still roaring when Su Qing raised an eyebrow. With a casual wave of her hand, a wisp of gray mist drifted toward the group.

"Ah, wait, it’s a sedative!" Brother Ming sensed something was wrong. He had just shouted the warning when he lost consciousness.

Tears streamed down Su Tao’s face. She was terrified. She had a premonition that there was no escaping this time; she was definitely going to be caught. Bound tightly by the vines, she couldn’t run even if she wanted to. The fear in her heart grew deeper and deeper. Her last thought before losing consciousness was, ’If I could do it all over again, I would never have encouraged Grandma to sell Su Qing to that fool.’

Once everyone had fallen unconscious, Su Qing finally approached and counted them. There were fifty-one people in total. She sent another wisp of gray mist over them to ensure they wouldn’t wake up, then turned and left.

「That afternoon」

A security guard at the Xiyuan County police station was suddenly hit in the face by a wad of paper. He initially thought it was a prank by some kid, but when he opened it, he was stunned. He hastily handed the note over to his superiors.

"Where did this note come from?" Captain Du Changting of the county bureau shot to his feet the moment he saw it. The note not only clearly detailed information about an underground casino and the men from the recent street slashing incident, but it also included information on the wanted fugitive, Su Tao. Furthermore, the note provided the group’s precise location. Although they were on Baihua Mountain, the route to them was marked with perfect clarity.

"Someone threw it at the security guard," the team member reporting the situation said quickly. "He sent it in as soon as he saw what was written on it."

"Okay, I understand." Du Changting nodded, then took the note and hurried to find Director Sun.

"What do you make of this?" Director Sun asked, looking at the note Du Changting had brought him.

"Director Sun, I think there’s a chance the information on this note isn’t real. It could be a trap," Du Changting said to Director Sun with a frown. "However, we can’t rule out the possibility that the contents are genuine. I think we need to get to the scene and assess the situation as soon as possible."

"Mm." Clearly, Director Sun was thinking the same thing. He thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, let’s split into two teams. One team will go ahead as the vanguard to scout out the situation. The other team will hang back as rearguards. If the first team runs into trouble, the second will provide immediate support. Remember, be extremely cautious of an ambush."

Du Changting immediately stood, saluted, and said, "Yes, sir."

Soon, Du Changting and his fully equipped team were heading toward Baihua Mountain.

Watching from the shadows, Su Qing smiled slightly. She turned and walked into a nearby alley. She had recently gathered a new batch of game and other mountain goods that it was time to sell to Zhang Erlai. She also needed to take the Purple Danshen she had acquired to have Mr. Gong appraise it.

"Su, you’re here!" Inside Hongji Hall, Mr. Gong was grinding medicinal herbs. He greeted Su Qing happily when he saw her arrive.

"Mr. Gong," Su Qing called out with a smile.

"What brings you over today? Looking to sell some herbs?"

"I was hoping you could appraise something for me, sir," Su Qing said with a smile. She took out the over one-hundred-year-old Purple Danshen and placed it on the counter in front of Mr. Gong.

With just one glance at the Purple Danshen, Mr. Gong shot to his feet, startling Su Qing. "Careful, sir!"

Mr. Gong waved his hand excitedly and examined the Purple Danshen more closely. He looked up at Su Qing, his voice trembling with excitement. "Su, this Century-old Purple Danshen... you picked this in the mountains?"

Su Qing nodded. "Yes, I just found it in the last couple of days. I brought it over for you to see if it really is a century-old Purple Danshen."

"It is, it is!" Mr. Gong was so thrilled his beard was trembling. He gently and carefully stroked the Century-old Purple Danshen as if it were a priceless treasure. "This is a genuine Century-old Purple Danshen, no doubt about it! Su, you are truly amazing."