If circumstances had allowed, Yan Hongsha would probably have laughed until she was rolling on the ground. All her schadenfreude and desire to watch the show had transferred to Yi Wansan and Cao Yanhua.

“Wasn’t there supposed to be a showdown? Weren’t you going to give us a big surprise?”

Yi Wansan glanced at her sideways, busy moving the detector plate like someone using a household vacuum cleaner.

“Is it my fault? Isn’t this your Yan family’s method? It was written so unclearly. Now that it hasn’t worked, are you still feeling proud?”

Cao Yanhua was dejected, holding Cao Liberation as he followed behind. “Forget it, let’s stop fighting among ourselves and get to work.”

He was worried—no one knew if Cao Liberation would wake up. If anything happened, they’d have to take it to… a veterinarian.

Operating the bounty hunter wasn’t simple, and holding it for long periods strained one’s arms. So basically, Luo Ren wielded one, while Yi Wansan, Cao Yanhua, and Yan Hongsha took turns with the other, advancing deeper into the mountains like minesweepers.

Mu Dai kept watch from above. When she saw the others going far ahead, she quickly descended and climbed another suitable tree. Her position was high, with the wind pushing the treetops right beside her. After standing for a short while, she began to feel chilly.

Feng Mountain Ridge was too vast. Looking out, the blackness stretched endlessly. Looking down, the four people were insignificant against the mountain.

How long would it take to get results at this rate of “scanning”?

Luo Ren’s brow was equally furrowed.

Initially, it’s easy to be overly optimistic—working hard, rushing, sacrificing sleep—but all were defeated by reality. The bounty hunter’s detection plate was truly limited. Trying to press over every inch of this mountain, how could it be easy? Even if they spent all 9 remaining days here, they might not get results.

Thinking about it now, collecting the previous six bamboo slips seemed extraordinarily easy—this final step was proving so difficult it made one impatient.

Just after 10 o’clock, he signaled to stop and make camp.

His tone was off, and Yi Wansan and the others noticed, exchanging glances while keeping silent, conscientiously setting up tents, laying ground sheets, and hammering stakes.

Luo Ren sat farther away, the bounty hunter placed beside his feet, his arms resting on his bent knees, his head lowered and wearily pressing against his crossed hands.

Mu Dai walked over and sat beside him, saying nothing, noticing some leaves stuck to his collar and gently removing them.

Luo Ren said quietly, “This method won’t work very well.”

Mu Dai replied: “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”

Her tone was quite relaxed, surprising Luo Ren: “You’re not anxious?”

She answered: “At worst, we don’t find it and waste time. So we waste time, what of it?”

Luo Ren reminded her: “Once we miss the deadline, the other six will can’t be contained either. At that point, all the evil bamboo slips will be targeting us.”

“Then let them come. Who’s afraid of whom?”

Luo Ren stared at her: “Since when did you become so open-minded?”

Mu Dai casually plucked a blade of grass near her foot and bent it back and forth in her fingers for quite a while before saying, “I don’t want to see you worried.”

Luo Ren smiled: “I’m not necessarily worried.”

After a pause, he said softly: “It’s just that everyone follows my lead. I came up with the idea, making everyone work hard for nothing and wasting time. I can’t help feeling apologetic.”

This was sincere. He had been the leader for too long, whether in the Philippines or on this return journey. Giving orders wasn’t glamorous. Were his many decisions right or wrong? Major decisions affected lives; minor ones affected morale.

It was truly tiring. When things went right, others took it for granted. When things went wrong, he found it hard to forgive himself. Yet he had to restrain himself from showing it.

Mu Dai tossed away the grass blade, went over, and hugged his leg, resting her chin on his knee. “Luo Xiaodao, look at me, look at me.”

Luo Ren said, “What, are you very pretty?”

In his heart, he admitted she was beautiful. Beyond her beauty, with her small face looking up, her long hair flowing, and her eyes shining brightly, she was truly adorable.

He always liked to call her “little girl,” “young lady,” not because he truly thought she was young, but because it was so rare—after experiencing so much, she still maintained her sweet and lovable nature.

Mu Dai spoke very seriously.

“Luo Xiaodao, I’m not clever. Unless it’s life or death, I don’t like using my brain. When problems arise, I can’t think of good solutions or make overall arrangements. I’ve long accepted that I’m not leadership material. I can only follow others, going wherever I’m told.”

Luo Ren laughed and reached out to stroke her cheek.

“So I understand clearly—you work hard and bear responsibility. If things go well, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s normal, given how thorny these issues are. No one can guarantee finding the right direction immediately.”

“Why feel apologetic? No one will blame you, nor do they have the right to—people can’t just stand aside, only criticizing with their mouths. Things aren’t that simple. The more you do, the more mistakes you might make; do nothing and make no mistakes. Then there would be no one left to do anything.”

Luo Ren looked at her for a long time before saying, “Mu Dai is like a warm little cotton-padded jacket.”

“Do men like little cotton-padded jackets too?”

“Anyone’s heart will grow cold if not kept warm.”

Mu Dai smiled, and after a while said softly: “Luo Xiaodao, can I tell you a secret?”

“Tell me.”

“Before, I wanted to be a female hero, very cool and impressive, especially after Wenwen died.”

When she mentioned Wenwen, she sniffled, her eyes growing watery.

Luo Ren placed his palm on her hair. Her hair was fine and soft, yet each strand warmed his palm.

“I told my master this, and my senior fellow disciple too. Later, when I met you, I thought you were amazing and wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. I didn’t want to be a little girl. My master also told me I must stand on my own.”

“But later, after experiencing so many things, I discovered…”

Her brows furrowed, as if hesitating whether to say it: “I discovered… I like you taking care of me. When you do things for me in advance, whether it’s cooking, setting up tents, draping a coat over me, or instructing me to be careful with the electric stun gun, I secretly feel happy for a long time.”

She sighed: “Luo Xiaodao, this isn’t good of me, is it? Am I too unambitious? Too dependent on others? Sigh, I’ll change. But I can’t help it, I still like it in my heart.”

She was so serious, talking to herself, afraid of offending others, analyzing herself, earnestly promising to change, completely solemn.

Luo Ren kept smiling as he watched her, but his eyes grew warm.

He thought that the reason was that Mu Dai never lacked for care, ensuring her basic needs were met, but she had always lacked love.

Xiang Silan didn’t love her. Huo Zihong treated her well, but she always knew she was adopted, so she was careful, hiding many thoughts even at a young age. Occasionally, she would act spoiled with Meihua Jiuniang, but as soon as her master’s expression changed, she knew she had to kneel for a long time and observe disciple etiquette.

So, even the tiniest bit of love made her happy. She would tilt her head to listen and look. While others taught girls to be reserved, to treat relationships like battlefields, to use the strategy of appearing to let go to capture, to lure the enemy in deep, she had none of these thoughts. She was the kind of girl who would lower her head, rub her hands together, blush, shuffle her feet, and stammer: “Oh my, why do I like you so much?”

—Luo Xiaodao, this isn’t good of me, is it?

What’s good or not good about it? As long as there’s love, all quirks are sweet as honey.

Luo Ren lowered his voice: “What a coincidence, I especially like taking care of my girlfriend. How about… we date for a while?”

Mu Dai thought for a moment and said, “I think that works.”

The two looked at each other mysteriously, smiles tugging at the corners of their mouths.

Just at that moment, a clear crowing suddenly rang out.

That familiar sound…

“Cock-a-doodle-doo…”

Rewinding time a little bit.

Cao Yanhua and the others were setting up tents. Having reached a consensus not to fight among themselves, they now directed their complaints outward: the elementary school students had supplied poor quality goods, Cao Liberation was too incompetent, the alcohol was probably fake, not as strong as they had imagined…

Just then, Cao Liberation, who had been snoring away at the side, suddenly moved.

All three saw it and almost simultaneously stopped what they were doing.

Then, before their very eyes, Cao Liberation sprang up—not exactly like a carp leaping over a dragon gate, but with abnormally agile and nimble movements.

Its gaze was piercing, with a hint of red that suggested it had gone into a trance.

Yan Hongsha’s scalp tingled. She whispered to Yi Wansan: “Why do I feel… a bit creeped out?”

Yi Wansan also sensed something was wrong. He extended his arm, pushing Yan Hongsha and Cao Yanhua backward: “Let me tell you, Liberation has a history of violence. There’s an old saying: drunk people don’t recognize friends—hitting them is useless. Let’s back up a bit, back up…”

Before he finished speaking, Cao Liberation had already unilaterally sounded the battle horn.

Like a directionless cannonball after leaving the barrel, or a powerful bouncing ball that ricochets in another direction after hitting a wall, or like an angry bird that swoops with a chirp, attacking anyone it sees…

The scene became chaotic with people falling all over. While avoiding the chicken, Cao Yanhua tripped over a tent rope and fell backward, crushing half of the inflated tent. Yan Hongsha tried to catch Cao Liberation but missed several times. The most panicked was Yi Wansan, who was shaking a ground sheet in all directions as if bullfighting.

Luo Ren curiously led Mu Dai over. They had barely taken two steps when they saw a black shadow shooting arrow-like through the air toward them.

It didn’t look good. Quick-eyed and quick-handed, he turned to embrace Mu Dai and rolled to the ground. When he propped himself up on his arms and raised his head, Cao Liberation had crashed into a tree trunk. Strangely enough, its small claws grasped the bark as it fiercely pecked at the trunk with its beak—peck, peck, peck, peck, peck.

What was it thinking? Did it think it was a woodpecker?

Luo Ren grabbed a stone in his hand, half-minded to knock it down, but feared using too much force and causing injury.

Just in this moment of hesitation, Cao Liberation suddenly flew into the forest and disappeared.

In the confusion, they could still faintly hear the “cock-a-doodle-doo” crowing.

Turning to look back, the half-formed campsite was in disarray. Luo Ren was both angry and amused: “Drunk? This isn’t ordinary drunkenness, is it? What did you do for the Cao Liberation?”

No one spoke. Cao Yanhua, unwilling to give up, stared at the spot on the tree trunk where Cao Liberation had pecked. Though he knew it was impossible, he still made a last-ditch effort: “Brother Luo, why don’t you… Try the bounty hunter on that tree? Maybe the phoenix clasp grew into the tree…”

Before Luo Ren could answer, his expression suddenly changed.

In the night, there was a subtle direction to the air’s movement, a chaotic wave of sound, sharp “cluck-cluck” noises approaching rapidly in this direction.

Luo Ren grabbed the infrared night-vision device and quickly climbed the nearest tree. After looking in that direction for a few moments, his expression changed dramatically. He shouted: “Get into the tents immediately! Cao Liberation has startled a pheasant flock!”

Pheasant flock? Was that so terrible? How could it sound as fierce as a wolf pack?

But since Luo Ren said so, it couldn’t be an empty threat.

The camp had two tents, one half-collapsed and one not yet set up. Yi Wansan and his companions quickly crawled into the half-collapsed tent. Cao Yanhua was the last to enter, his backside still outside when they could already hear the flapping wings of the approaching pheasant flock.

Mu Dai was anxious. She had just found the aluminum alloy supports for the tent when the lead pheasants were already flying over her head, their claws catching in her hair—fortunately, they didn’t scratch her scalp.

Mu Dai’s body went numb all over. She heard Luo Ren shout: “Come here!”

Without thinking, she lunged toward him. Luo Ren whipped out the large tent canvas and directly covered both of them with it, stepping on the bottom edge and ordering Mu Dai sternly: “Crouch down!”

Mu Dai obeyed, looking up as Luo Ren stood holding the tent open, the support in his mouth. A pheasant crashed into his back, and others began pecking through the tent. He quickly pulled out the supports, connected them, and bent them into a cross shape, then immediately crouched down. The tent draped over the cross at the top, forming a simple, unstable shelter. Luo Ren struggled to control the cross-shaped frame and signaled to Mu Dai: “Come into my arms.”

A man’s body provided good support, and the extended cross frame was even larger. Mu Dai sheltered under his body, curling up as small as possible, and asked: “Is there anything I can do to help?”

She helped Luo Ren control two of the cross frame’s arms. Luo Ren freed his hands and used his feet to pin down the tent edges. Some pheasants pecked at his military boots through the tent—peck, peck, peck—but fortunately, the boots were hard and thick, so it was just like being tickled through the boots.

Outside was a clattering din. The swinging lantern cast erratic light. Looking up, the tent top was covered with shadows cast by the light, wings magnified to infinity by the light and shadow. The cries came in waves from all directions, making one’s eardrums buzz.

However, although this small, hastily erected shelter swayed and shook, it was temporarily safe inside.

Mu Dai looked up and asked Luo Ren, “Are wild pheasants very scary?”

He thought for a moment and answered: “Actually, they’re not that scary, not as frightening as hornets.”

He probably recalled the incident at Four Village, when Mu Dai had hidden in the water.

“Do pheasants attack people so easily?”

“They were probably startled by Cao Liberation,” Luo Ren kept listening to the sounds outside. “During the breeding season, they become more aggressive to protect their young and will actively attack people. Also, breeding groups are generally centered around male pheasants, which won’t allow other outside males to intrude, easily leading to fights.”

He added, “Don’t underestimate pheasants. They’re not slow—flying at full speed; they can reach over 80 kilometers per hour, about the same as cars on a highway. Being hit like that is no joke, and if they peck you a couple of times… So let’s avoid the brunt of it first.”

Indeed, one or two wouldn’t be concerning, but a flock…

Poor little Cao Liberation—hopefully it wouldn’t be eliminated by the native wild pheasants of Feng Mountain Ridge.

After quite a while, the sounds outside seemed to have diminished. Mu Dai tentatively called out: “Cao Fatty? Hongsha? Wansan?”

No one answered.

The two exchanged a glance. Luo Ren pressed his lips together and lifted one corner of the tent. A pheasant still lurking outside scratched at the ground, trying to get in. Luo Ren reacted quickly, kicking it away, then pulling back the tent canvas. With a few twists in midair, he cleared the area around them while pulling Mu Dai up.

Three or four pheasants remained, flying away in alarm, no longer a threat.

Mu Dai was still catching her breath. Scanning the area, she suddenly froze.

“Where… where are Cao Fatty and the others?”

Indeed, the other tent was gone.