Ye Tiancheng put on a thoughtful expression, then pondered for a long time before saying to the little fox and the fatty, "I don't think waiting here like sitting ducks is going to work. We've been waiting for quite a while with no new discoveries."
"It seems waiting is truly ineffective. We need to find a way to look around and search for any new clues. How about we split into two groups again and scout the surrounding area? Let's not dive into the lake again. It's still too dangerous down there. Without complete certainty, it's best not to go down."
Ye Tiancheng was very uneasy about this fake fatty but also didn't dare to move him, as he wasn't sure if there was any connection between the fake fatty and the real fatty.
If anything were to happen to the fake fatty, the real fatty might also be in danger, which would be a terrible situation. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng still didn't dare to let the fake fatty approach danger.
The fake fatty didn't think much of it. He didn't realize that Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were already suspicious of him. He naturally nodded in agreement and asked, "Is it the same as before? The little fox and I together, and Brother Ye, you go the other way? How should we split up this time?"
Ye Tiancheng dared not move the fake fatty, but now, recalling it, he felt a bit of lingering fear. How could he dare to put the little fox and this fake fatty together again?
"This time, the little fox will stay with me. It will be more convenient for you to go alone. Be careful, and you can walk along the other side of the lake that we haven't explored yet. Prioritize your own safety, and within that premise, investigate the situation. This time, let's look around more and not return to meet up so quickly."
"Before, we returned quickly to meet up for safety. But now, looking at the situation here, as long as we don't actively seek death, there won't be too much danger. So, let's go further and meet up after about five hours."
Ye Tiancheng calmly deceived the fake fatty in front of him, "Let's also roast some fish and shrimp and wrap them up to bring along, in case we get hungry on the road and have nothing to eat. If one party doesn't return on time, wait at the original spot. If more than an hour passes and that party hasn't returned, then follow the markers to find each other. Is that okay?"
The little fox had no objections. He knew that Ye Tiancheng saying this now and wanting to keep him close was for his safety. As for the fake fatty, he certainly wouldn't have any objections.
"That's fine too. Brother Ye, you are much more capable than me, and it's much more convenient for you to take the little fox. I'll continue to scout the situation on the other side of the lake. You two also need to pay attention to safety and be cautious. We'll meet back here in five hours."
After the three of them had made their arrangements, they cooperated by the lake, using the tools they had used before to pan-fry several fish and some lake shrimp. They found some plants in the forest with larger leaves, wrapped the fish and shrimp in the leaves as provisions, and then the three of them split into two groups, separating once again in this strange place.
Watching the fake fatty walk further and further away, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox felt a mix of emotions. Their concern for the real fatty was undeniable, but they also had more important things to do now. If they only worried in their hearts, they wouldn't be able to save Fatty.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were not irrational people, so they suppressed those thoughts and did not voice them aloud, but they shared a tacit understanding.
"Brother Ye, let me carry this food. It will be more convenient for you. In this situation, I can't help much in other aspects, so I can only help you a little with this. If you have less burden, you can react in time if something happens."
"In that case, as long as I don't move, I'm helping Brother Ye the most. Besides sharing some things, I can't do anything else."
Ye Tiancheng was very understanding of the little fox's desire to contribute more, so he didn't insist on carrying the items himself or push back too much. Instead, he handed most of the fish and shrimp wrapped in leaves to the little fox to carry, while keeping a small portion for himself.
"Then these are for you. As we walk, remember to stay close to me and don't get lost... By the way, don't walk behind me. It's best to at least walk beside me, or slightly ahead of me. That way, I can at least see you. If something happens to you behind me without a sound, I won't be able to notice."
The little fox nodded obediently and then walked slightly ahead of Ye Tiancheng. "Okay, Brother Ye. Which way are we heading now?"
When they were discussing earlier, Ye Tiancheng had told the fake fatty that they wanted to enter the forest from another direction to see if there were any new discoveries elsewhere.
However, since the little fox knew that Fatty was fake, he couldn't be completely sure whether Ye Tiancheng's statement was his genuine intention or just to mislead the fake fatty. Therefore, to confirm Ye Tiancheng's thoughts, the little fox chose to ask Ye Tiancheng again.
After all, the little fox was going to walk ahead of Ye Tiancheng, and only after confirming Ye Tiancheng's intentions could he know which direction he should go.
As expected, Ye Tiancheng did have other ideas. When he had previously asked the fake fatty to scout along the lake with the little fox, he hadn't suspected that Fatty might be fake. At that time, Ye Tiancheng hadn't thought that much and had believed the fake fatty.
Because of this, Ye Tiancheng hadn't doubted much of what the fake fatty told him, basically believing everything he said and analyzing it as truth.
However, in the current situation, Ye Tiancheng now knew that the fatty was a fake fatty, and he didn't know what intentions the fake fatty harbored or if he held any malice towards them.
Therefore, even though the little fox, who was confirmed to be real, had accompanied him on the previous trip, Ye Tiancheng worried that even if the fake fatty hadn't lied about the situation, the little fox was always by his side, and it would be difficult for him to deceive the little fox's eyes.
Ye Tiancheng now suspected that the fake fatty might have intentionally led the little fox to places where they couldn't discover anything, which was why the fake fatty and the little fox had basically no discoveries.
But then again, Ye Tiancheng suddenly thought that the fake fatty wasn't entirely without opportunities to blind the little fox's eyes. At that time, the fake fatty and the little fox had both confirmed to him that there was a period of time when specific events occurred that the little fox absolutely couldn't be sure of.
It was at that time that the fake fatty and the little fox said they saw several beasts fighting with several people, and the fake fatty stated that because the scene was too brutal, he covered the little fox's eyes, and the little fox saw nothing.
The little fox had also confirmed that his eyes had indeed been covered by the fake fatty. At that time, Ye Tiancheng was still concerned about the little fox's physical and mental health, so he was rather glad that the little fox hadn't seen anything. However, in the current situation, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but reconfirm with the little fox.
"Let's head towards the direction you and... that person explored before. Let's retrace that path and investigate the situation there again. I need to confirm something."
Ye Tiancheng said this to the little fox, who obediently followed Ye Tiancheng's instructions and headed towards the route they had previously taken. He was perfectly capable of doing this. The little fox had a good memory and could remember the route. Moreover, he and the fake fatty hadn't taken any particularly complex routes; they had mainly followed the lakeshore, so the path was easy to find.
Then, as Ye Tiancheng walked with the little fox, he asked, "By the way, little fox, I remember you told that person before that when you were about to return here, you encountered several people fighting with beasts, and at that time, that person covered your eyes, is that right?"
Ye Tiancheng felt a slight awkwardness in referring to the fake fatty, because Ye Tiancheng did not acknowledge the fake fatty as Fatty, so he did not want to use the title "Fatty" to refer to the fake fatty. After hesitating several times, he finally chose to awkwardly refer to the fake fatty as "that person."
As for the little fox, as soon as he heard Ye Tiancheng say they were going to retrace the route that he and the fake fatty had explored, he knew that Ye Tiancheng had suspicions and wanted to verify something.
Regarding the address of the fake fatty, the little fox also did not acknowledge the fake fatty as Brother Fatty, so he readily followed Ye Tiancheng's lead and chose to directly refer to the fake fatty as "that person," and he carefully recalled all the details of when he followed the fake fatty to scout along the lakeshore.
"Yes, Brother Ye. At that time, it couldn't be said that I saw absolutely nothing, because at that time, I did see, approximately three to five people, fighting with several beasts."
"Then those people couldn't fight the beasts very well. In short, they were clearly at a disadvantage. After that, just as they were about to lose, that person covered my eyes. After a while, it should have been a period of time, but then I could no longer hear the sounds of those people and the beasts."
"After that, other things, the situation on the scene, was basically all told to me by that person. Before letting me open my eyes, he even changed my direction, so in reality, I didn't personally see the outcome of that battle, only that person told me that those people were all defeated and bitten to death by the beasts, and the beasts didn't eat them and simply left."