His question was not purely out of curiosity; he wanted to evaluate Qin Sizhi's strength to avoid being led by the nose by Yao Yuzhong all the time.

If this old man tries any tricks and takes them to a dangerous place, it wouldn't be impossible for him to escape during a commotion.

After all, the taste of being stuck in a bitter kiln is hard to endure.

Although Yao Yuzhong seemed quite cooperative on the surface, who knows if he's deliberately putting on an act to make everyone else drop their guard, and then look for an opportunity to escape.

One must be cautious.

This is also one of the reasons why Qi Yun had Xiao Hanguang find two other people to help him.

Qin Sizhi did not directly answer Qi Yun's question but smiled and shook his head: "I walk a different path from him, but Mr. Qi, please rest assured, when it's my turn to act, I won't be ambiguous."

This guy is smart too, and with his assurance, Qi Yun said no more.

While they were talking, raindrops started to fall from the sky. Fortunately, Yao Yuzhong had already found the direction, pointing northeast: "It should be over there."

"But we must first detour north to quickly leave the valley to avoid encountering mudslides!"

"Okay, let's go." With Qi Yun's command, the team set off immediately.

Yao Yuzhong and Brother Quan led the way in the front, while Niu Da closely followed Old Deng, watching him the entire time. Qi Yun's task for him was singular: keep a close watch on the opponent.

They continued walking from daytime until night, and as the rain slightly lessened, the team re-entered the forest.

Yao Yuzhong stopped and, full of fatigue, said to Qi Yun, "Let's rest here tonight. Tomorrow, we'll follow the river below north for a dozen kilometers, and we'll reach that cave."

Qi Yun scanned the surroundings but found nothing unusual under the spotlight's beam.

He turned his gaze to Qin Sizhi, who blinked, prompting Qi Yun to signal his men to start setting up camp.

The nighttime temperature in the mountains had dropped below zero, making everyone shiver. After hastily filling their stomachs, they each crawled into their tents to rest.

Brother Quan called An Zai and Da Pao over for instructions, telling them to take turns keeping watch while the rest could sleep peacefully. Soon, the sound of snoring rose from the tents.

Late at night, the forest was quiet, with only insects chirping and the "tuh-tuh" of raindrops hitting the soil.

An Zai sat in the center of the camp on a small stool, dozing off, his head nodding repeatedly. The bright flashlight in his hand tilted towards the ground, the light flickering on and off.

Behind him in the tent, a head quietly poked out; it was Yao Yuzhong.

With sharp eyes, he scanned the camp. After observing for a moment, he gently lifted the tent corner and stealthily stepped out without making a sound.

As for Niu Da, who was sharing the tent with him, it was unclear when he stopped snoring, seemingly unaware of Yao Yuzhong's departure.

Yao Yuzhong slowly walked under a tree some distance away, unbuckling his pants, pretending to relieve himself, but his peripheral vision never left the camp, quietly observing.

He stood there for four to five minutes, confirming no one noticed him, then darted into the dense forest to the left.

At this moment, he moved with agility, as quick as an antelope, no longer the weak and frail man he appeared to be by day.

Just as he left, An Zai suddenly opened his eyes, shaking off his sleepiness.

He glanced in Yao Yuzhong's direction, a sneer on his face, then rose and approached Qi Yun's tent to wake him.

Qi Yun awoke groggily, rubbing his eyes: "Did he run?"

"He ran; the guy was definitely pretending during the day; his legs are even faster than Bolt's," An Zai affirmed with a nod.

Qi Yun chuckled and picked up his clothes from beside him.

"Go see what's up with Niu Da."

The two approached Yao Yuzhong's tent, where An Zai reached out to touch Niu Da's neck, then patted his cheeks, calling out: "Wake up, Old Niu!"

"Wake up!"

Niu Da was startled awake and quickly sat up, his eyes first dazed, then filled with rage as he glanced at the flattened sleeping bag beside him, cursing: "That old fart made me smell something terrible; when I catch him, I'll thrash him twice!"

He had been sleeping deeply to cooperate with Yao Yuzhong's escape. Otherwise, given their elite special forces alertness and preparedness, how could he have fallen for such a trick?

Qi Yun shone his flashlight around the tent, discovering some plant resembling petals, in light purple and green hues.

He picked them up with two sticks to inspect, but couldn't identify what type of flower they were.

In another tent not far away, Qin Sizhi had long been awake, shaking his head with a bitter smile and sighing softly: "Old Yao, you're really limiting yourself here..."

"Did they know he was going to run all along?" His disciple Jin Bao, now energized, asked his master.

Qin Sizhi nodded: "This Mr. Qi is sharp; bringing us here proves he never truly trusted Old Yao."

"Old Yao has been locked up too long; his mind is muddled..."

..... 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

The next morning, everyone gradually crawled out of their tents.

Qi Yun found Qin Sizhi and showed him the petals discovered last night: "Mr. Qin, can you identify what kind of flower this is?"

Qin Sizhi took the petals directly with his hand, sniffing them at the nose, then pinching the fine fuzz on the petals with his fingertips, furrowing his brow: "This should be a variant of the hypnosis flower, some places call it the drunken flower, used to brew alcohol."

"I've seen similar flowers like this in the Shu Region. They usually grow in areas where poisonous gases breed. Smelling too long causes dizziness, but they're not poisonous, and the effects wear off after a few hours."

He pointed to the green one: "This is called snake grass; it has a nerve-paralyzing effect and is commonly found in dark, damp places."

Assured the plants were non-toxic, Qi Yun said no more, and called for Niu Da and the others to pack up their tents.

When they set off again, their group was two people short: Yao Yuzhong and Brother Quan.

However, Qi Yun and the others, including Qin Sizhi and his pupil, tacitly avoided discussing them.

This time, the one clearing the path at the forefront was the old eagle.

He walked, stopped, his gaze constantly scanning ahead, seemingly searching for something.

Moreover, the direction of the team's advance had changed; it was no longer following the northern river path Yao Yuzhong mentioned last night but heading east.

After about an hour, the old eagle suddenly stopped in his tracks, furrowing his brow and observing around.

Qi Yun came to his side and asked: "Can't find the mark?"

The old eagle nodded: "Yes, I haven't seen his marks for almost two kilometers."

Qi Yun heard this, not the least bit anxious, turned and shouted to Qin Sizhi: "Master Qin, it's your turn."

Qin Sizhi chuckled and slowly stepped forward.

After roughly observing the terrain, he crouched, his fingers sinking into the soil. He pinched some dirt and smelled it, then rose to provide an answer.

"This way."

Qi Yun gestured to the old eagle, who continued to lead the way in the direction Qin Sizhi indicated.

After moving a distance, Qi Yun's ears twitched, faintly hearing the sound of water ahead. Upon approaching, they indeed found a stream meandering through the rocks.

The old eagle also found a deliberately placed stone nearby and led the team upstream along the river.

The stream led to a wider river, striding through the valley for seven or eight kilometers, with towering mountain ranges appearing ahead.

Mountain peaks rose one after another, surrounded by clouds and mist, extending endlessly.

Seeing this scene, Qi Yun understood they had reached the destination.

The cave Yao Yuzhong spoke of was inside these mountain bodies, and the river water also flowed from the underground rivers within.

Qin Sizhi stroked his beard, surveying the mountain range: "This ridge is shaped like a hidden dragon, with peaks embracing on both sides, winds gathering in the middle—truly a feng shui treasure."

Qi Yun didn't care about feng shui; he stood on a massive rock for a better view, noticing two figures at the mountain's foot in the distance.

He quickly jumped off the rock and signaled the team to move forward.

Upon reaching closer, he recognized the two silhouettes, feeling relieved.

If it's not Brother Quan and Yao Yuzhong, who else could it be...