In their words.
The crowd immediately arrived at the ant colony's nest, their gazes fixed on the tracks on the ground. After comparing the information they had, they confirmed it was Wan Taisui's trace, and even Hill was excited.
"I didn't expect to find Wan Taisui's trace so deep in the Yunnan Worm Valley."
"Captain Zhang Wei, your eyesight is truly amazing. You found this."
"If it weren't for Captain Zhang Wei, we would have missed the footprints left by Wan Taisui."
The Gu Masters and the others said excitedly.
Zhang Wei smiled:
"I just happened to see it. Judging by the traces, they are quite fresh, not left long ago."
Mr. Old Corpse Herder squatted down and touched the soil on the ground:
"Captain Zhang Wei is right. The soil is very fresh. Judging by the traces, they were made yesterday or today. It might be nearby."
In their words.
Including Zhang Wei, Mr. Old Corpse Herder and the others looked at Huang Xiaodan, and then Mr. Old Corpse Herder took the lead and said:
"Huang Xiaodan, it's time for you to perform. Come and sniff, see if you can smell Wan Taisui's trace."
Huang Xiaodan rubbed his nose and said proudly, puffing out his chest:
"Heh heh, no need for Mr. Old Corpse Herder to say it, I've already smelled it. There's a scent on that branch, the same as the scent from the footprints, and then..."
He pointed in a direction:
"Wan Taisui's scent went that way."
As soon as he spoke.
Everyone looked at a withered branch next to the ant colony. Gu Master Lin excitedly picked it up and examined it, thinking it was from Wan Taisui. But after a quick look:
"Wan Taisui took this branch? Could this be Wan Taisui shedding its skin? We're rich! If we take this back, it can save Old Lady Huang... Uh, no, this seems to be just an ordinary withered branch?"
Hill heard this and walked forward, extending his hand:
"Give me the branch, I'll taste it. I'm a fallen angel, I'm not afraid of death."
Then.
Hill bit the withered branch lightly and swallowed it. After a while, his face was a mixture of crying and laughing:
"It seems our luck isn't that explosive. This is just a simple withered branch. It's probably just Wan Taisui stepping on it, leaving behind some scent or something."
Huang Xiaodan, however, shook his head:
"Stepped on it? That's not right. I smelled a very strong scent on it."
Just as everyone was about to say something.
Zhang Wei's voice suddenly came:
"It's possible that Wan Taisui was playing with this branch, perhaps wanting to poke this ant nest. After all, it has spirituality, and such intelligent creatures usually have a childlike personality."
As soon as he spoke.
Everyone: "??????"
Although Zhang Wei's guess was ridiculous, everyone couldn't refute it for a moment. It was indeed not impossible. At this time, they didn't know that Zhang Wei had already sensed Wan Taisui's vague information through the Golem's feedback from the forest.
At the same time.
Without thinking much, everyone threw away the branch and prepared to follow Huang Xiaodan's sense of smell to the direction Wan Taisui had left.
At this time.
Everyone was focused on finding Wan Taisui and didn't notice that not long after they left, the ant nest, which had been silent all along, began to stir faintly. Ants and Gu insects crawled out one by one, and every pair of ant eyes looked in the direction Zhang Wei and the others had left.
The next moment.
Ants and Gu insects crawled out of the nest one by one and crawled in all directions.
...
Not long after.
Zhang Wei and the others followed the scent all the way to a lake.
"The scent disappeared here. It seems to have jumped into the lake. However, it's possible that it wanted to wash away its tracks. The air humidity here is too high, so I can't smell anything."
Huang Xiaodan pointed at the lake.
Everyone looked at the lake, exchanged glances, and discussed:
"Could Wan Taisui be in the lake?"
"Is it possible? Can Wan Taisui swim?"
"No one knows how Wan Taisui came to be. Maybe it's an aquatic plant."
"Then should we go into the water and take a look?"
The last sentence was proposed by Hu Shiliu, who then picked up a stone from the ground and threw it into the lake.
With a "dong" sound.
The stone splashed water, and the calm lake rippled, but that was all. The lake showed no other movement.
Unintentionally.
Everyone looked at Zhang Wei, who was the captain, and the decision rested with him.
Zhang Wei shook his head:
"I don't recommend going into the water. Don't you think it's a bit too quiet here? From the ant nest just now, and the movement we made over there, there are no ants in the ant nest. It's possible it's an abandoned nest, but all the way here, don't you think it's very quiet around?"
Zhang Wei's sudden words.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and instinctively looked around, their expressions changing slightly.
It was true.
Before, they were excited about Wan Taisui. Although they were still wary of potential dangers, since there were no signs of danger, they assumed it was safe and subconsciously ignored the quiet atmosphere.
"Something's wrong."
"Not just wrong, why isn't there any bird or insect sound this deep?"
Instantly.
Everyone flocked to Zhang Wei, forming a circle and looking around, clearly realizing the situation.
According to the will left by the镇国级 (Zhen Guo Ji - trấn quốc cấp) in foreign countries, the depths of the Yunnan Worm Valley had Gu insects and ghosts, and were more dangerous than the outer areas. But now, in the nearly half an hour since they entered, they hadn't seen a single fly, let alone anything else.
"The Gu insect that left the aphrodisiac powder is also not here. Where have all the Gu insects and ghosts in the depths gone?"
Gu Master Lin, realizing this belatedly, his face changed drastically and he said with a shudder:
"Damn it, why is this place like a horror movie? Could it be that the Gu insects here have all gained sentience? Are they playing hide-and-seek with us?"
"Is that possible?"
Huang Xiaodan also asked fearfully.
Hill responded to him. He glanced at Huang Xiaodan and said:
"It's not impossible. I've seen the information collected by the Huang family. Wan Taisui can cure all diseases and prolong life. Such a miraculous thing, if one could taste a bite, it's not impossible for it to gain sentience, but..."
Just as Hill was about to say more.
Boom!!!
Perhaps seeing that Zhang Wei and the others were still not entering the lake, and not approaching the shore, the poisonous python in the lake could no longer hold back. It suddenly rushed out of the lake, its huge mouth opened, and bit towards Hu Shiliu, who was closest to the shore.
"Ah!!!!"
The sudden change startled Hu Shiliu, her face turned pale and she screamed. She wanted to retreat, but the poisonous python was very powerful, reaching the half-step Zhen Guo Ji level, and her strength was no match for it.
Not only her.
The others also couldn't react. By the time they came to their senses, the huge snake's mouth had already reached Hu Shiliu.
"Be careful!!"
"Shiliu, move away quickly!!"
Hu Da, who was protecting Hu Shiliu, changed color and shouted in panic, wanting to protect her, but it was too late.
At the critical moment.
Zhang Wei made his move.
He stood in front of Hu Shiliu and punched towards the poisonous python's head.
"Hiss!"
The poisonous python let out a roar, twisted its body in mid-air, and dodged Zhang Wei's fist. Its gaping maw remained open, and it lunged towards Zhang Wei.
"Not good!!"
"Captain Zhang Wei!"
"Zhang Wei, be careful!"
Everyone's eyes were wide with rage, wanting to save Zhang Wei, but it was too late. They could only watch as Zhang Wei was bitten by the snake's fangs, swallowed into its belly, and then quickly dived back into the lake.
...