Chapter 28: The Fox's Hand

About three minutes later, as the breeze died down, the strange rattling sound vanished without a trace, and the scene returned to its former state.

The tender green buds and leaves looked exceptionally delicate.

"Whew."

I let out a long sigh, struggling to process my own emotions. I had heard about the blood-grass in the stories of others, but seeing it with my own eyes now, I realized... its horror could truly penetrate to the depths of a person's soul. Especially since it could drain a rabbit until it was nothing but a shriveled husk in an instant.

Damn! This is even more monstrous than a vampire!

"Sanqi, how do you... feel about this scene now?" Old Master Chen asked leisurely.

I nodded heavily. "It’s truly... absurd! And terrifying..."

"Hmm! If you’re ever alone in the woods later..." Old Master Chen was about to continue when, suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the air from the distance.

"Ah!"

The sound made Old Master Chen and me lock eyes. Without another moment of hesitation, we bolted toward the source of the cry.

Three minutes later, after circling around the patch of blood-grass, we arrived at a wild boar gully. There, a young woman dressed in the uniform of a geological survey team was brandishing a wooden stick, frantically trying to fend off a silly roe deer in front of her.

That’s right! A silly roe deer.

The deer, likely just as startled by the woman’s screaming, was darting left and right, completely unsure of which way to flee.

Old Master Chen and I rushed over, and upon seeing this, we exchanged a look, feeling somewhat speechless. We didn't mock the girl, however; on the contrary, I felt a deep sense of sympathy for her. Looking closely, the girl was covered in grime, her hair a tangled mess, with wounds on her face, hands, and arms. But these were minor; the main issue was... the sheer terror in her eyes. It was clear she had been scared out of her wits by the deep wilderness.

I thought for a moment, picked up a stone from the ground, and tossed it in her direction. The girl froze in surprise. After gulping down a breath, she raised her head and looked slowly toward me.

In an instant, our eyes met. She stood stunned, and I offered her a slight smile.

"Save me! Please, save me!" The girl shouted at me frantically, as if she had grabbed onto a final lifeline.

"Hey, miss," I said, "that’s just a roe deer, not a predator! You can just walk right past it!"

She hesitated for a moment, then gripped her stick and hurried toward us. Seeing this, the roe deer prepared to bolt. Naturally, I couldn't let such an easy meal escape; I drew my bow, notched an arrow, took aim, and let it fly with a sharp whistle.

The arrow pierced the deer’s neck directly. The animal, which had been leaping about, collapsed to the ground and ceased breathing almost instantly.

"How’s that, Old Master Chen? Not a bad shot, right?"

"It’s alright," Old Master Chen replied calmly.

"Tch!" I felt a bit deflated. My marksmanship was considered top-tier throughout the hunting grounds, yet in Old Master Chen's mouth, it was merely "alright."

We turned our attention to the girl, who was scrambling toward us. Old Master Chen spoke first, his eyes fixed on her. "You’re with the geological survey team, aren't you?"

"Y-yes?" The girl’s voice trembled with fear.

"What’s your name?"

"Bai Qi!"

Old Master Chen squinted at her and asked again, "What is the name of the deputy captain of your survey team?"

As soon as those words left his lips, the girl known as Bai Qi went completely still. I knew that Old Master Chen was testing her to see if she was truly part of the survey team. I have to admit, the old man could be quite formidable when he wanted to be.

However, to our surprise, after a long moment of stunned silence, Bai Qi said, "Deputy captain? There is no such thing as a deputy captain in our survey team. There has only ever been a captain!"

Hearing this, my head began to buzz. Old Master Chen looked at her, his expression one of utter disbelief. Eventually, I spoke up first. "Are you certain there’s no deputy captain in your team?"

"I am absolutely certain! I’ve been with the team for years! There has never been such a position!" Seeing how earnest she was, I was momentarily bewildered.

Because... Old Master Chen’s childhood friend, Qi Yang, had told us explicitly that he served as the deputy captain of that survey team.

After a long hesitation, I finally asked, "By the way... do you know someone named Qi Yang?"

"I do! He’s a member of the team, just like me! Is he still alive?" Bai Qi’s expression suddenly brightened with joy.

I nodded. "Yes, he’s alive!"

After a moment of silence, I added, "He’s the one who sent us to find you. He said there were six people in the survey team. We’ve already found the remains of the other three besides the two of you. Do you know where the last person is?"

Tears welled up in Bai Qi’s eyes as she looked at me. "The last one... was our captain. He... he is gone. To save me, he was taken by those wild boars..."

By the end, Bai Qi was sobbing uncontrollably. I felt a pang of pity for her.

"Come on, let’s go back. Qi Yang is waiting for you. He’ll be so happy to see you!"

"Okay!" Bai Qi nodded heavily.

I shared some of my rations with her, and she thanked me profusely, eating the food with great hunger. As we passed the patch of blood-grass, I gave her a well-intentioned warning.

But... it was strange. When Old Master Chen looked at the girl, his gaze always held a sense of scrutiny. I knew exactly what he was thinking.

What this girl, Bai Qi, said didn't match up with what Qi Yang had told us at all. In other words, one of them was lying.

As the three of us walked through the woods on our way back, we reached a bend in the path, and Old Master Chen leaned in to whisper to me.

"Sanqi, I feel... something is wrong with this girl!"

Confused, I turned to look at him. We had cleared the bend, and Old Master Chen pondered for a moment before saying, "Sanqi, give me some food."

"Sure."

As I handed him the rations, he whispered quickly again, "Sanqi, look at that girl’s hands... they seem... they seem like fox paws!"