The little fox suddenly grabbed Ye Tiancheng's hand. Ye Tiancheng looked at the little fox, puzzled, but the little fox pulled his gaze back to the severed hand and said, "Brother Ye, look, look at that hand!"
"There must be something wrong with the scene I saw with that person before. I remember when I saw these people, they were already no match for those beasts and were about to lose. Then, just when it was almost certain they were going to lose, that person covered my eyes."
"After that, I could only hear the sounds of fighting. By the time all sounds disappeared, I hadn't seen how they died. Things like the beasts winning, not eating, not dragging them away, and just leaving, I didn't see any of that."
"All these parts were told to me by that person. However, what that person said is clearly unreasonable!" The little fox's eyes widened in shock.
"Brother Ye, look at that hand. The mark on its severed end, if it were torn off by a beast, how could the edge be so smooth? This must have been done by a sharp human weapon!"
Ye Tiancheng was also enlightened. Lin Shen looked at the hand again, and indeed, it was like that. Beasts only have sharp teeth and claws. If the marks were caused by a beast's teeth and claws, the edges would definitely be uneven.
Only a sharp human weapon, such as a knife or an axe, could create such a smooth severed edge on this severed hand.
This discovery made the little fox confused. He couldn't quite believe his eyes and even looked at Ye Tiancheng blankly, as if seeking confirmation. "But Brother Ye, although I didn't see the whole process, what I saw before was beasts."
"Is everything I saw fake? Are they illusions in this place... Are those beasts not beasts at all? Then what is real?"
"Is this dense forest real? Is that blue lake real? What are those beasts? What was that monster chasing him when that person went into the water before? What is the true appearance of this place? Me? Us... can we really get out?"
Ye Tiancheng didn't have an answer to these questions himself, but he knew he had to give the little fox an answer, an answer that would reassure him.
Facing unknown danger is not frightening; what is frightening is collapsing from the fear of the unknown before the danger has truly threatened you.
Ye Tiancheng suddenly gripped the little fox's hand and told him with a firm tone, "Yes, we can get out! With me here, I will definitely take you and Fatty out of this damned place!"
The little fox's big, grape-like eyes were misty, but under Ye Tiancheng's comfort, he gradually calmed down.
Although it seemed unreasonable, hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, with his assurance, the little fox felt much more at ease and no longer felt so scared. He instinctively believed every word Ye Tiancheng said.
"I understand. I'm sorry, Brother Ye, I was a bit overwhelmed just now. Discovering this made me very scared, and I couldn't think straight. Fortunately, you are here, otherwise, I would have been terrified to death."
Ye Tiancheng sighed softly, then smiled, stroked the little fox's hair, and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, little fox. You're still young. It's normal to be scared when you encounter something like this. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been dragged into this. But don't worry, I will definitely ensure you are safe and send you out safely."
At this moment, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but think why Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian always doted on and protected the little fox so much.
Because just then, Ye Tiancheng himself had a similar thought. He suddenly felt that Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian's attitude was quite normal.
He himself had previously been unable to completely let down his guard due to the abnormal and strange situations surrounding the little fox. This was because he needed to be responsible for his own safety, as well as the lives of his friends, brothers, wife, and daughter. This had curbed that side of him. However, after confirming that the little fox was alright, Ye Tiancheng felt he could no longer maintain his stern demeanor.
"Then, Brother Ye, what do you think we should do now? If what we see could be false, then what should we do?"
Once the little fox recovered, he didn't dwell on useless emotions and focused on the important matters. Solving the current predicament was the most important thing, and the real Fatty was still waiting for them to rescue.
Ye Tiancheng pondered. He didn't have much experience with illusions. In fact, he felt that even in a place where his strength could be fully utilized, facing such a situation, the little fox might be more likely to resolve it.
This was because the little fox's intuition was very strong, and his sense of Fatty was even stronger than Ye Tiancheng's. This seemed to confirm this point. If they truly wanted to leave this damned place, they might have to rely on the little fox, which was a high possibility.
However, Ye Tiancheng had no clue for the moment. If they needed to rely on the little fox's intuition and his sensitivity to such matters to break the current deadlock, how could they successfully utilize this?
Ye Tiancheng pondered for a long time, then asked the little fox, "Little fox, I want to ask you, every time you can sense or dream of Fatty, is there really no trigger?"
Although the little fox didn't understand why Ye Tiancheng was asking this, he thought about it seriously and then replied to Ye Tiancheng with certainty, "No, Brother Ye. It always happens suddenly, with no common or connected triggers."
"Alas... I'm so useless. I can't help at all, can't find any clues, and I'm just holding Brother Ye back..." After thinking for a long time without any results, the little fox couldn't help but sigh, feeling a moment of self-pity.
Seeing the little fox like this, Ye Tiancheng immediately went to comfort him. "Little fox, don't think like that. Didn't you discover that severed hand first? If you hadn't found that severed hand, we wouldn't have noticed other problems so quickly."
"Besides, I'm asking you these questions because I believe you are indispensable in solving the current predicament. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet. You are definitely not useless, so don't overthink it."
"Moreover, I believe in you, little fox. I believe that if anything happens, you will always listen to me and absolutely won't drag me down, right?"
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, the little fox looked up at Ye Tiancheng's sincere smile. He could be sure that Ye Tiancheng was truly speaking to him like this, not lying. Ye Tiancheng's attitude towards him had changed; Ye Tiancheng seemed to truly believe him now.
Thinking this, the little fox felt a surge of joy, a joy he felt was somewhat inappropriate. He hesitated for a moment and looked at Ye Tiancheng. "Brother Ye, are you... are you no longer angry with me? Do you... believe me now?"
Ye Tiancheng looked at the little fox's cautious demeanor, and his heart felt a pang of sorrow. There had been many misunderstandings between them. Fortunately, the little fox was a good child. Even after being treated that way, he didn't resent him and only wanted to gain his trust and stay by his side, not becoming estranged or parting ways because of it.
It was precisely because of the little fox's concern for him that the little fox's emotional changes were so obvious and that he quickly noticed the softening of his attitude.
Ye Tiancheng also knew that he should give the little fox the trust he deserved, so he affirmed this point with certainty. "Yes, little fox. I apologize for what happened before. Although I had to be responsible for everyone, I still did something very bad to you. Please forgive me."
The moment he received confirmation, the little fox felt his heart pound, almost leaping out of his chest. Tears immediately streamed down his face. Seeing Ye Tiancheng's flustered expression, he realized this and hastily raised his hand, haphazardly wiping his face with his sleeve.
He was anxious to answer Ye Tiancheng, but his voice was choked with sobs due to crying. Moreover, because he couldn't control his surging emotions, he was crying and laughing, so his words were somewhat stammering.
"I never blamed, blamed Brother Ye... I also know, I did have many, many strange things before, Brother Ye did nothing wrong, so I know... I know as long as I, I prove myself to Brother Ye, and let Brother Ye, be able to, believe me again, that would be enough."
"Then, are we reconciled now, right? I'm so happy, so happy... I didn't mean to cry, oh, let's not talk about this. My small matters are not important, we shouldn't waste time, let's talk, talk about business."
Ye Tiancheng was also deeply moved, and looking at the little fox like this, he couldn't help but feel amused and a little exasperated. So he also reached out and used his sleeve to wipe away the little fox's tears.
He said with a smile, "Alright, alright, let's talk about business. But the little fox's matters are also important matters. We are good brothers. When I brought you here, we became a team. How can the little fox's matters not be important?"
"Even compared to Fatty, Hou Mingzhu, and my daughter, the little fox's position in my heart is the same. It was my previous actions that were wrong, which made you think this way."
"We are reconciled. Let's consider all past matters as the past. From now on, we will start anew, continue to be good brothers, and such things will never happen again."
The little fox nodded desperately. This was exactly what he had been longing for. Ever since their relationship had almost completely broken down, it was something he had hoped for even in his dreams. Being reconciled with Ye Tiancheng made him happier than anything.
"Thank you, Brother Ye. I won't think like this anymore. I'm truly happy. I will definitely find ways to help Brother Ye more. We will definitely find Brother Fatty."