Chapter 75: Evidence

"Who are you people?" The old man was cautious, standing not far away with his body slightly bent.

"Sir, we have some business in these mountains. When we saw your traps here, we didn’t dare move carelessly." Knowing that Old Man Chen had once been a skilled hunter, he was almost certain of the man’s identity.

However, if they revealed their intentions too rashly, they might be met with coldness—the old man was hiding here because he'd heard rumors, after all. It was more than suspicious for Zhang Ye and his group to show up at this very moment.

"Oh? And what brings you here? I only set one or two traps around these parts, nothing serious." Hearing that Zhang Ye and the others weren't from Yulong Forest Farm, the old man visibly relaxed, then offered a casual explanation.

At this, Zhang Ye’s face lit up, and he said with easy familiarity, "That’s good to hear. I’ve always admired hunters like you. When you go after game, you never miss your mark." Speaking so, Zhang Ye strolled over in a seemingly relaxed manner, curiously reaching out to touch the mountain goat, which was already exhausted.

It was a black-haired mountain goat, its curved horns sharpened to points, its legs sturdy and strong. Despite its helpless appearance, such goats had often lashed out suddenly and caused injury.

True to form, as Zhang Ye approached, the goat ignored its wounded leg, jerked its head, and charged at him, its sharp horn aimed straight at Zhang Ye’s thigh.

"Careful!" the old man barked, thrusting his long, sharp bamboo pole forward and driving it deep into the goat’s neck. Blood spurted out, and the mountain goat collapsed, limp and powerless.

At that very moment, Zhang Ye suddenly leapt—like an agile monkey, he swung himself up into a shrub as thick as an arm, hanging there for a second before nimbly settling himself atop it, moving with astonishing dexterity.

"Nicely done!" Liu Wentao called out. Even without the old man’s intervention, with Zhang Ye’s agility, that goat wouldn’t have been able to harm him.

"We’re here to gather evidence," Zhang Ye suddenly declared, his expression mysterious. "My cousin is a forest police officer with the Forestry Bureau. We heard someone’s been stealing camphor trees—nationally protected species—so we came here to investigate in secret. I don’t know if you have any information or leads you could share?"

First, Zhang Ye needed to earn the old man’s trust before he could obtain his information. If he just asked outright, he’d be lucky not to be chased off.

"Hmph, the Forestry Bureau? They’re all the same. Crooks in league with businessmen—why would you investigate anything?" the old man scoffed, not bothering to hide his contempt.

"Sir, you can’t say that. There are good people and bad people, even in the Forestry Bureau. And besides, I’m not from around here—I’m with the Guangyang City Forestry Bureau’s Forest Police Division. We came because of a tip, to investigate secretly. If you have any information, I hope you’ll share it with me." Of course, this was a lie, but acting came easily to Zhang Ye, who had played this role before.

"Really?" The old man was skeptical, but seemed more cautious than before.

"Of course it’s true. Why would I lie to you? You’ve lived here so long, and are so close to the forest farm—you must know everyone in the local Forestry Bureau. You can tell I’m not from around here, can’t you?" Liu Wentao seized the opportunity to distance himself from the Lihua County Forestry Bureau.

"You really came to investigate tree theft at the forest farm?" The old man’s suspicion hadn’t entirely dissipated, but his demeanor was noticeably more relaxed.

"What will it take for you to believe us?" Liu Wentao asked with a wry smile.

Zhang Ye chimed in at just the right moment, "Cousin, maybe we should just give up and investigate slowly. Folks here have been scared by those people. Even if they know anything, I doubt they’d dare say so."

"Who says so? What do you know, kid? Who says I’m afraid of them? You want evidence? I have it! If you can chase those bastards out, I’d be deeply grateful!" Unable to stand being challenged, Old Man Chen abandoned his catch and grabbed Liu Wentao, saying he’d fetch the evidence.

Despite his frail appearance, the old man was surprisingly strong. Even Liu Wentao, a burly man with some skill, was half dragged along for several steps.

Zhang Ye was delighted—he knew things were working out. He quickly packed up the trap, hefted the lifeless mountain goat onto his shoulders, and followed. As they walked, he kept pace, eyes full of curiosity as he took in the strange trees around them.

A small bird suddenly darted from the branches, singing a clear, melodious note. A grey mountain hare leapt from the grass into a thicket, and a swarm of bees buzzed past and disappeared into a hornet’s nest the size of a human head.

Soon, they reached the entrance of a cave.

The cave was well hidden, on the far side of Tiger Mountain, with barely any path leading to it. The terrain was even rougher than the route they’d just climbed—jagged rocks, holes everywhere, and a single misstep could send someone tumbling. While the slope wasn’t a sheer cliff, the incline was enough to make one’s heart race.

"I usually rest here when I’m on the mountain. You two wait outside," Old Man Chen said, giving no invitation to enter. With that, he ducked into the cave.

There was a wooden door outside the cave—clearly, in a place like this, caution was necessary. In this season, snakes and rats were everywhere; rats were nothing, but if a venomous snake got in, it could be fatal, or at the very least, frighten someone out of their wits.

"Are these photographs?" Before long, Old Man Chen emerged with a small red pouch. Liu Wentao took it and opened it, his face registering surprise.

Where there were photographs, there must be a camera—and cameras were expensive at this time. How could a mountain villager afford one?

"Yes. I spent all my savings from years past to buy that camera, just to gather proof. I have no family, no children—spending the money is no loss," Old Man Chen said with equanimity, seemingly unconcerned.

For a moment, Zhang Ye felt a deep respect. He’d known of Old Man Chen and admired his willingness to risk his life to protect the trees, but he hadn’t expected such open-mindedness.

"Good, good, good! With these, those people will surely get what they deserve!" Liu Wentao said, thanking Old Man Chen profusely.

The small red pouch contained not only photographs, but negatives and written explanations as well. Clearly, Old Man Chen was well prepared—more than enough to convict the culprits at Yulong Forest Farm. It was only the Forestry Bureau’s inaction that had allowed them to remain at large.