"Wu Liang, is there anything unusual outside?" Huo Lei asked, standing at the foot of the watchtower.
Wu Liang poked his head out from the watchtower. "Brother Lei, there are many more scouts outside."
Huo Lei had already anticipated this situation. After all, they had conquered Yanhu Village, and other villages would definitely come to gather information. He wasn't worried about other villages, but he feared that Taiyang Village and Heibao Village might also get involved.
"Can you tell which villages they are from?"
"Scouts from almost all villages have come, even those from Taiyang Village and Heibao Village have been here."
Huo Lei frowned, a sense of unease growing in his heart. If these two villages joined forces, they would be in danger.
"I'm going to see the Shaman." As Huo Lei approached the Great Shaman's door, he encountered Xiao Man coming out. He immediately stopped. "Xiao Man, you were looking for the Great Shaman."
"Yes, I want to go out for a walk."
"No," Huo Lei refused flatly. "Do you know how dangerous it is outside? Now that even Taiyang Village and Heibao Village have been alerted, and you don't know how to use battle qi, it would be very dangerous to go out rashly."
"Speaking of which, I wanted to talk to you about this," Xiao Man said sincerely. "Please teach me how to use battle qi."
Huo Lei was stunned. "You want me to teach you how to use battle qi? I... can I do it?"
"You are an excellent warrior, I believe you can," Xiao Man affirmed. "Can you teach me?"
"Yes, I can spare an hour each day to teach you. What do you think?" Huo Lei suppressed the excitement in his heart, trying to speak in a calm tone.
"It's already very good that you can spare an hour. Thank you."
"We are all people of the same village now, why be so polite?" Huo Lei said gently. "If it weren't for you, we would still be bullied by Yanhu Village."
"That's not my merit. It's the merit of everyone in Bailang Village, Jindiao Village, and Changyuan Village."
"You always give credit to others," Huo Lei said with some helplessness. "Lately, you should try not to go out. There are many scouts outside, probably targeting Bailang Village. If you go out rashly, you'll become a target."
"We can't always stay inside. We have to go out eventually," Xiao Man looked towards the outside of the village. "We need to have normal hunting activities. If we attack Yanhu Village and then hide in the village, wouldn't that show we are guilty?"
"This..." Huo Lei was momentarily speechless. They attacked Yanhu Village for self-preservation. After all, Yanhu Village had a notorious reputation, and they were forced to resist. If they hid after resisting, it would indeed seem like they were guilty.
"But there are so many scouts outside..."
"They are just observing," Xiao Man said faintly, or rather, looking for opportunities. People outside wanted to know the situation inside, and she also wanted to know if people in other villages knew the way out.
"I'm just worried about the danger of going out..."
"Huo Lei, when you go hunting, is there danger?"
"Yes, after all, it's a fight with fierce beasts."
"Are you afraid?"
Huo Lei fell silent. Yes, they would encounter danger when they went out before. Those fierce beasts hid in the dark, and they might appear at any moment to harm them, but they had never been afraid. Now that the village was protected by a barrier, they didn't have to worry about their family's safety when they went out, so why had their courage diminished? Su Dan Novel Network
"Where do you want to go?" Huo Lei asked. "I'll accompany you."
"Ruoshui River."
Huo Lei's expression changed slightly. "Why are you thinking of going to Ruoshui River?"
"When I first appeared here, I was at Ruoshui River. There might be clues there. I want to go and see," Xiao Man said truthfully. "If you find it difficult, you don't have to accompany me."
"I'll accompany you. Ruoshui River is some distance from here, it takes a while to walk..."
"Let's ride them there," Xiao Man pointed to the two stout white wolves waiting at the village entrance.
Huo Lei shook his head like a rattle drum. "No, no, white wolves are our guardian spirits. We can't ride them, absolutely cannot ride them!"
"Then I'll go by myself," Xiao Man said with a smile. "I'll be back soon, don't worry about me."
"No!" Huo Lei grabbed Xiao Man's arm. After thinking for a moment, he finally gritted his teeth. "I'll accompany you!"
"Huo Lei, you really don't have to force yourself."
"No forcing!" Huo Lei followed Xiao Man out of the village, stood in front of the white wolves, bowed deeply to them, and then climbed onto the wolf's back. Together with Xiao Man, they quickly headed towards Ruoshui River.
As soon as the two left the village, the surrounding scouts reported back: the people from Bailang Village had come out, and that rumored outsider had also come out!
While Xiao Man and Huo Lei were looking for evidence by Ruoshui River, Taiyang Village and Heibao Village were in an uproar. They thought that the people from Bailang Village would hide for at least a few months, but they didn't expect them to come out so soon.
"That outsider has come out?" Elder Shi asked in surprise. In his opinion, the outsider was the one who truly needed to hide, as outsiders were easily identifiable here.
"Yes, she has come out, and she's riding a white wolf with Huo Lei of Bailang Village towards Ruoshui River."
Elder Shi's expression changed. Could it be that she intended to take Huo Lei away from here? No, absolutely not. If she left, he might never know the way out.
"Go to Ruoshui River," Elder Shi decided. The resources here were becoming increasingly scarce, and they had to seek a place more suitable for survival. However, Ruoshui River was like a chasm, isolating them and leaving them with nowhere to escape.
Xiao Man touched here and looked there by Ruoshui River. She threw what she picked up into the river, but without exception, they all sank to the bottom. Even a stone thrown onto Ruoshui River would fall vertically. Crossing Ruoshui River was not an easy task.
Xiao Man stood by the river, looking at the vast lake surface, lost in thought. When she had sunk to the bottom, she clearly saw something floating on the water. But Huo Lei said he pulled her up from the bank. For a moment, she couldn't distinguish whether what she saw was reality or an illusion.
After a moment of thought, Xiao Man walked towards Ruoshui River without hesitation. Just as she was about to fall in, Huo Lei pulled her back. "What are you doing?"
"I want to see what's at the bottom of the lake."
"There's nothing at the bottom of the lake," Huo Lei said word by word. "Didn't you fall in once already?"
"Nothing?" Xiao Man recalled carefully. She hadn't seen anything when she fell to the bottom of the lake. However, she wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but she thought she heard someone calling her. At first, she thought it was Huowu calling her, but after careful recollection, she realized something was wrong. The voice was coming from the bottom of the water!