“However…”

Luo Ren pointed at Old Yan’s body: “The scratch marks on his body were made by the wild person. An ordinary human’s hand doesn’t have this kind of strength, nor are the fingers spaced this far apart.”

Mu Dai thought for a moment: “You mean… cooperation between a human and the wild person?”

“It’s possible. This wild person has shown unusual intelligence in certain matters, not the kind of intelligence an animal should have—marking trees, using the Clear Weather Woman doll to create supernatural illusions. These actions resemble human behavior. I initially suspected the malevolent tablet was with the wild person. Now it seems more like someone is directing it.”

He supported Mu Dai: “Come, let’s go up.”

The two carefully moved toward the well opening. After moving just a few meters, heavy footsteps sounded from above.

Luo Ren sensed trouble and pushed Mu Dai: “We need to hurry!”

But it was too late. As soon as he spoke, the wild person’s head appeared at the well opening, its gaze fixed first on Luo Ren, then on Mu Dai. Its robust body nearly blocked the entire opening.

Mu Dai’s heart pounded with tension. She softly asked Luo Ren, “What does she want to do?”

Luo Ren said, “If I were her, I’d probably fill the well.”

Mu Dai suddenly remembered the soil Yan Hongsha had dug out and the wooden board they had carried away together.

Luo Ren leaned close to her ear and lowered his voice: “At this distance, Mu Dai, use your qi, and I’ll boost you out with all my strength. If she wants to fill the well, she’ll have to step away from the opening to bend down and get something. Take advantage of that moment to get out and draw her away, then I’ll follow.”

Meeting the wild person’s gaze, Mu Dai nodded and said, “Alright.”

Luo Ren kissed her cheek and said, “Don’t be afraid.”

He slowly changed position, bracing his legs against the wall, bringing his arms together, fork-like, and lowering them. Mu Dai also steadied herself against the wall, placing both feet on Luo Ren’s hands.

Mu Dai was light, with a foundation in lightness kung fu. The chances of making it up the few meters were high.

The wild person made rumbling sounds in her throat. Mu Dai’s heart beat violently. In truth, this plan still had many dangerous aspects, but…

The well opening brightened. Luo Ren, extremely sensitive to changes in light, let out a low roar and thrust his arms upward with all his might.

In an instant, Mu Dai was out of the well. Luo Ren’s thrust was so powerful that at the peak of its force, she flipped mid-air, head down and feet up. By coincidence, she saw the wild person holding the wooden board and looking up angrily. Without thinking, Mu Dai slapped her, using the momentum to kick off the board and land. As soon as she touched ground, she ran, trying to get as far from the well opening as possible.

And she had learned her lesson—with one hand, she gathered all her hair to the front, vowing never to make the same mistake twice.

The wild person was robust, and though her attacks were fierce, her movements were ultimately clumsy. Mu Dai’s movements were nimble, and for a short time, she could evade the wild person, though it was inevitably perilous.

Just as she was panting, she suddenly heard two gunshots. Turning back quickly, she saw the wild person seem to falter, wobbling before falling to her knees. Mu Dai rushed to Luo Ren, who threw aside his gun and grabbed her hand: “Let’s go.”

Mu Dai blurted out: “You’re leaving the gun?”

“I’m out of bullets.”

They quickly retreated into the forest. After just a few steps, Luo Ren stumbled over something. Looking back, they saw Yan Hongsha lying on the ground, startling them. Luo Ren picked up Yan Hongsha and signaled Mu Dai to follow. Mu Dai thought they were escaping, but after running a short distance, Luo Ren chose a concealed position, put Yan Hongsha down, and then hid behind a tree to observe.

Mu Dai checked Yan Hongsha’s breathing. Thank heavens, she was still alive.

She turned to look at Luo Ren. From this angle, she could see the wild person shakily standing up, taking a step or two before falling to her knees again, her steps limping.

A thought crossed Mu Dai’s mind: “You shot her leg?”

Luo Ren nodded: “First, I didn’t have many bullets; second, she has thick skin and flesh. An ordinary person would have been down long ago.”

Mu Dai felt a bit regretful: “It would have been better to hit a vital spot.”

Luo Ren said, “I wanted her to still be able to walk, just not too quickly—finding the person behind her, as well as Yi Wansan and Cao Yanhua, may all depend on her now.”

After several attempts, the wild person finally stood up and limped away in a particular direction.

Luo Ren looked back at Mu Dai, who said, “You go first, I’ll stay here and look after Hongsha.”

“Don’t wander off. I’ll come back for you later.”

As soon as Luo Ren left, Mu Dai’s entire body tensed. It was strange—when he was around, she unconsciously relaxed, always wanting to lean against him. Once he was gone, she stood straight.

Mu Dai watched over Yan Hongsha, focusing on the sounds around them. She pressed Hongsha’s philtrum again, but she didn’t wake up.

It didn’t seem like she had fainted from fright. Could she be injured somewhere?

Mu Dai thought for a moment, gently lifted Yan Hongsha’s head, and felt the back of her skull. Indeed, it was damp blood.

Confirming there was no unusual movement nearby, Mu Dai quickly went to the tree where the rope had been tied. The loop was still around it, but the rope had a broken end. Picking it up for closer inspection, she found the cut was smooth—it had been cut with a knife.

Looking at the tree trunk and comparing it with Yan Hongsha’s height, Mu Dai noticed a spot on the bark with obvious impact marks.

Mu Dai carefully recalled the situation at that time.

Everything had happened very quickly. Before Yan Hongsha’s scream had ended, Mu Dai had already tumbled into the well.

This meant Hongsha had been ambushed with no chance to defend herself. Having her watch the rope meant she was facing the tree. If the back of her head hit the tree…

She roughly pieced together the sequence of events.

Hongsha was watching the rope—heard something behind her—turned quickly—screamed—was pushed hard against the tree—the rope was cut.

The rope-cutting and the attack on Hongsha likely happened simultaneously.

If this deduction was correct, it meant Yan Hongsha had seen the attacker.

Mu Dai’s heart pounded. She returned to the treasure well, retrieved Luo Ren’s bag, found gauze inside, and bandaged Yan Hongsha’s wound. After securing it, she took Hongsha’s hand and pinched each fingertip hard.

“Hongsha, wake up, please wake up quickly.”

Luo Ren followed the wild person, stopping and starting, the path growing increasingly remote. He carefully noted each turn, assigning number codes, a long string of numerical sequences forming in his mind.

In the blink of an eye, the wild person suddenly vanished.

Luo Ren drew his knife and slowly approached where the wild person had disappeared. He didn’t believe in ghosts, invisibility, or other absurd explanations. If she had vanished, there had to be a reason.

Indeed, the dense wild grass and vines were merely camouflage for what was almost an entrance to an underground cave.

Luo Ren hesitated briefly, then put his hands on the ground and listened.

He couldn’t hear clearly but knew there was movement.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed his back against the cave wall and sidled in slowly.

After rounding a bend, almost all light disappeared—it was underground, after all.

Luo Ren stood still for a while to let his eyes adapt to the darkness. During this process, his hearing gradually took precedence. He heard the wild person’s muttering sounds.

A series of mutterings, not forming sentences, perhaps a communication language unique to wild people. Holding his breath to listen, he detected faint, strange whispering intermingled with the heavy muttering.

The more he listened, the more alarmed he became. He was almost certain it was a woman.

A woman…

Was there a connection to the woman who was killed years ago?

The wild person’s muttering stopped. Heavy breathing moved outward, suggesting she was about to leave.

Luo Ren quickly retreated, hiding before the wild person emerged.

This was an important location, likely with only one exit. Honestly speaking, the cave was cramped, small, and dark, underground without light—not the kind of place a wild person would inhabit.

So, the wild person lived elsewhere but came to this cave regularly, perhaps daily?

Who was in the cave? What was their relationship with the wild person?

Luo Ren waited patiently until the wild person limped away and disappeared. Only then did he emerge from hiding and re-enter the cave.

Yan Hongsha finally woke up, first frowning in near-pain, a thin whimper escaping her throat.

Mu Dai sighed with relief, looking at her with concern: “Does it still hurt?”

She stared at Mu Dai, seemingly dazed. After a while, her consciousness gradually returned, and fear seemed to return with it. Yan Hongsha suddenly sat up, looking around anxiously.

“Mu Dai, there’s a ghost!”

Mu Dai was both annoyed and amused: “Isn’t a wild person enough? You have to add a ghost too!”

Yan Hongsha trembled: “Really!”

Mu Dai looked at her, her smile slowly fading: “What did you see?”

What did she see?

At that time, she had been diligently focused on the rope knot, not hearing anyone approach.

To be precise, perhaps that woman made no sound when walking.

She felt a breath of cold air on her neck, instantly sending chills down her spine. She turned her head quickly and screamed at what she saw.

“A chalk-white face, skeletal, as if it had never seen sunlight—the kind of white without blood. White hair too, and her neck…”

Mu Dai pressed: “What about her neck?”

Yan Hongsha touched her neck, shuddering: “Her neck was broken, at least halfway severed. You could see the flesh turned outward, the trachea cut open…”

She felt nauseous, her chest constricted.

Mu Dai stroked her back, helping her breathe, finding it hard to believe: “An old woman with her neck half-severed, still walking around… a zombie?”

Yan Hongsha shook her head, seemingly not knowing how to describe it, unconsciously touching her own neck again.

“On her neck, there was a layer, transparent, rouge-red, like amber, or maybe like glue, surrounding the wound, it’s just…”

Yan Hongsha struggled to express herself: “It’s like, her neck was severed, but a layer of rouge-colored transparent glue encircled it from the outside, so she could still breathe…”

Mu Dai’s hair stood on end, hearing this.

What kind of strange entity was this?

Luo Ren sensed something was wrong.

The cave was too dark.

Someone accustomed to living in such a cave for a long time would have extremely good night vision. Exceptionally… good.

He stood still against the stone wall, his hand gripping the knife handle, slightly sweaty.

Something lightly touched his hair.

Luo Ren remained motionless, but he felt it.

An extremely faint breath, carrying a chill, just above his head.