The two continued forward. The swamp was fraught with danger, and both Ye Tiancheng and Fatty sustained minor injuries before they finally managed to pass through.
The black mist had been quite dense earlier, lingering around them like a persistent ghost. Now, it had become very thin, almost disappearing, making it impossible to discern where the black mist had gone.
“Brother Ye, why does everything feel different? What went wrong? I can’t feel the black mist anymore, but my shovel used to point the way. Now it doesn’t. Something must be wrong.”
Fatty began to panic. Ye Tiancheng maintained an outward calm, but inwardly, he was also anxious.
“Don’t worry, let’s wait a bit longer. It’s likely that the woman in red has sensed we’re tracking her, which is why she’s deliberately hiding the black mist. No matter how much I try to conceal it, someone as reckless as that wouldn’t be able to hide it completely. As long as we’re patient, we’ll be able to sense the black mist and find her trail.”
Ye Tiancheng forced himself to calm down and stopped speaking. Suddenly, the world became very quiet. Only the faint sound of the wind could be heard, and even the sound of their own heartbeats was audible, but there were no other noises.
It was too strange. The great demon who had been emitting black mist had only fled a short while ago, and his traces had been present all along the way. How could he have vanished in this valley that lay before them?
This valley, with its relatively good visibility, shouldn’t have allowed someone to disappear so easily.
The main issue was the absence of the black mist. There had been a faint trace just moments ago, but now even that last trace was gone. This was the most terrifying aspect, because the calmer the surface, the more violent the storm that was brewing—everyone knew this principle.
It was as if ghosts were at play. Ye Tiancheng and Fatty would have preferred fireballs raining from the sky, at least proving the black mist still existed. But now, with everything calm, they didn’t even know where to begin searching.
It was truly disheartening. With no other options, Ye Tiancheng decided to use the point where the black mist vanished as a center and quickly searched outwards, hoping to find some clue.
This made the search more exhausting. The valley was empty, with no signs of life. It felt like walking in an endless maze, and over time, it could affect one’s sanity. It felt easy to encounter problems, not physically at first, but mentally.
“This is difficult. This place feels so strange. How could someone disappear without a trace? It doesn’t make sense.”
Ye Tiancheng and Fatty searched aimlessly for half the day. The crucial point was that time was of the essence. Liu Lanying’s body wouldn’t last much longer, and they needed to retrieve the Fuxi Qin as soon as possible, as that might be the only way to save Liu Lanying.
But now, they didn’t even know where the great demon had gone. If the great demon was deliberately playing hide-and-seek with them, it would be their doom. If this continued, they would be worn down.
“Something must have happened. Even Ouyang Xunuo, that scoundrel, was incredibly arrogant. All possessors of black mist have a common trait: they can’t control their arrogance. How could someone choose to hide themselves after being infected with black mist? Even an ordinary person would act strangely.”
After analyzing the situation, Ye Tiancheng concluded that it was highly probable that the girl in red had been attacked, causing her black mist to recede. There had to be a reason for it; she wouldn’t have hidden all the black mist for no reason. It was simply impossible.
“We should speed up. This seems like a good opportunity for a counterattack.”
Fatty and Ye Tiancheng had reached the same conclusion. They had to seize this opportunity and increased their search speed.
Once they had a direction, things quickly took a turn. They saw animals resembling jackals running in one direction, as if they had found prey.
“Brother Ye, look. We haven’t even seen an ant in this valley before, and now suddenly there are jackals. If we follow the jackals, we might find more creatures, and perhaps even a breakthrough.”
Ye Tiancheng didn’t speak but nodded. Perhaps he had been holding back for too long, and now he needed to find the demon quickly. Everything else was meaningless.
They followed the direction of the jackals and soon found themselves on a hilltop with several withered trees and some dirty, scattered rocks. It seemed muddy there, possibly from the black rain that had fallen earlier. It looked uninviting, as if one might sink into it. The feeling was unpleasant, a kind of deep-seated aversion, a reluctance to go there.
The jackals seemed to be circling something, showing great interest in it, as if they were about to attack some animal.
“Brother Ye, I don’t know if my eyes are deceiving me, but that looks like a person, and a child at that!”
Were these jackals targeting a child? Ye Tiancheng found it a bit far-fetched. Regardless, it felt somewhat illogical. What child would be in such a place, which wasn’t even a desolate wilderness, but just an endless valley?
“You’re probably mistaken. It’s likely some sort of spirit transformed. Let’s be careful. They might be working with these jackals, deliberately luring us here to capture us all. We must not fall into their trap.”
Ye Tiancheng couldn’t believe it. He sent out a surge of true energy to investigate. As a result, he found that the child opposite the jackals didn’t react to the true energy at all. Only ordinary humans were like this. Even a trace of black mist would immediately reveal them.
“Heavens, it really is a child! Who would bring a child to such an environment? This is too bizarre!”
Ye Tiancheng was truly stunned. Were there such strange parents in the world? He always felt that some places in this world were peaceful, and he couldn’t imagine abandoning a six or seven-year-old child in the wilderness. It seemed irresponsible.
As the child’s cries echoed, the jackals were about to pounce and devour the child. Faced with this bloody scene, Ye Tiancheng didn’t hesitate and unleashed his true energy.
The jackals were immediately sent flying, emitting pained howls. Then, Fatty quickly rushed forward with his shovel. With a few swift moves, Fatty eliminated all the jackals. The jackals had some black mist on them. After being struck rapidly, the black mist dissipated, and the bodies of the jackals lying on the ground vanished within a short time.
This indicated that the jackals were all illusions created by the black mist and had no real substance. It made sense; the valley was empty and desolate, so how could there be any real animals? These jackals wouldn’t survive without anything to eat.
After the jackals dispersed, they saw the child curled up beside a rock, looking lonely and pitiful, with red eyes.
Ye Tiancheng quickly went to check on him. He didn’t say much, mainly because he didn’t know how to comfort a child. Fatty was more experienced and had a kinder demeanor.
“Little friend, why are you here? Where are your parents?”
Although Fatty’s actions were somewhat like a strange uncle, his tone was as kind as possible, better than Ye Tiancheng’s demeanor.
“Wuwuwu…”
The child buried his face in his knees, crying with a low voice, looking pitiful. His hair was extremely messy, and his clothes were dirty. It was hard not to feel sympathetic.
Ye Tiancheng’s heart softened. After all, Ye Tiancheng had a daughter. As a father, he felt more compassion for all children, unlike before when he would worry if a child was a “problem child” who would cry or fuss, naturally feeling a sense of dread and resistance.
“Little friend, don’t cry. The bad guys have been driven away, and you are absolutely safe now. If you’re scared of anything, you can tell your uncles, and we can help you solve it.”
Ye Tiancheng also came over to comfort him. Soon, the child’s emotions stabilized considerably. He had been quite agitated at first, but then gradually calmed down and finally looked up.
“I’m lost. I live alone over there, and I don’t have any relatives.”
No wonder he was dressed so shabbily and didn’t look like a normal city child. A child doted on by parents wouldn’t look like this. The situation was clearly not right.
When the boy looked up, Ye Tiancheng finally saw his appearance clearly. He looked to be around ten years old, very delicate, and it was evident at a glance that he was no ordinary child. His genes seemed excellent, with such fair and clean skin, looking as beautiful as a little fox. However, his temperament was vastly different from a child weathered by the sun and wind. They couldn’t possibly have grown up in the same environment.
“Where do you live? We can take you back.”
Sometimes, the truth or falsehood of something can be quickly determined by a little inquiry. As long as one remains vigilant, everything can be easily resolved.
“But I don’t remember the way back. I vaguely remember living in a small thatched hut, but I don’t remember anything else. I can’t recall… wuwuwu…”
His emotions had stabilized considerably, but now he started crying again. This crying made one feel quite unsettled. One didn’t know what was wrong with this child. If he really threw a tantrum, it would be difficult to handle.
After all, children don’t act logically, and Ye Tiancheng and Fatty were two grown men who, by nature, weren’t as adept at comforting children as women were.
The child’s crying confused Fatty, so he quickly reminded Ye Tiancheng, “Brother Ye, don’t push the child too hard. Take it slow. Children often forget things after being frightened. But as long as we are patient, the child will gradually remember.”
Fatty probably didn’t notice anything unusual, but Ye Tiancheng refused to believe that such a fair-skinned, refined, and beautiful child would be in these desolate mountains.
This situation was like finding a beautiful woman in a dilapidated temple late at night. It was either a ghost or a demon. However, the child wasn’t emitting any spiritual energy, true energy, or black mist. He looked like an ordinary child, so Ye Tiancheng couldn’t draw a conclusion.