It was already noon without anyone noticing, and a small sun hung in the sky, its rays still carrying a hint of warmth.
"Everyone, let's stop and rest."
Seeing Wuweizi gasping for breath, Wanyunting asked Zhou Ruoxi and Jiang Tingxia, Xu Lingwei and Duan Yingying, who were following him, to stop with Li Zihang and the others and find a place to rest. "It's already noon, everyone, eat something and rest for an hour before we go."
"Okay..."
Everyone responded and found places to sit down, some eating dry rations, others replenishing water, seizing the opportunity to rest.
"Uncle Wuwei, how far is it to that small valley you mentioned?" Wanyunting handed Wuweizi a biscuit and asked.
Wuweizi took it and turned to look at the forest, trying hard to recall the location of the small valley he had visited before. However, his memory was still vague, and he sighed, saying, "I can't say for sure now. We can only rely on the general direction."
Jiang Tingxia asked, "Is the Phoenix Tail Grass only found in that small valley? Is it not found anywhere else?"
Zhou Ruoxi, Xu Lingwei, Duan Yingying, Li Zihang, Lu Bao, and Chen Bin were also eating dry rations, turning to look at Wuweizi. They had been walking slowly all morning, observing the snow and grass around them for any sign of Phoenix Tail Grass, as they were in the mountains to find medicine, not to rush to the small valley.
Moreover, since Wuweizi could not confirm the location of the small valley at the moment, he could only rely on his vague memories and general direction to find it. Therefore, Wanyunting had also asked everyone to slow down and search carefully in the surroundings.
"I'm not too sure, but when Uncle Ren and I came into the mountains to gather herbs back then, he did say that there was Phoenix Tail Grass around that small valley!" Wuweizi said.
Wanyunting nodded, took a sip of water, and suggested, "How about this, we'll pick up the pace this afternoon and find that small valley first. After all, wandering aimlessly in these vast mountains is not a solution."
"I agree."
Jiang Tingxia chimed in, and Zhou Ruoxi also nodded.
Xu Lingwei, Duan Yingying, and Li Zihang naturally had no objections, and Wuweizi also nodded, saying, "Alright, let's find that small valley first. If we can't find it, we'll think of other ways. We can search around the mountains, and perhaps with some luck, we'll stumble upon the Phoenix Tail Grass."
"Okay..."
Wanyunting and the others nodded. Although Wuweizi's words were objective, they were meant to instill a proactive mindset in everyone.
However, Phoenix Tail Grass was now very rare. Even in the Chinese medicinal market, the merchants said that Phoenix Tail Grass was completely depleted.
Before coming, Wanyunting had called Gu Yuanbai to help him contact the merchants and see if he could buy Phoenix Tail Grass from the market, but the result was negative.
So now, Wanyunting sighed inwardly. Whether they could find Phoenix Tail Grass to save Abbot Duan truly depended on heaven's mercy.
After everyone ate some dry rations, Li Zihang and Lu Bao simply lay on the ground to rest. Zhou Ruoxi and Jiang Tingxia leaned against a tree, resting with their eyes closed. Wanyunting also lay directly on the ground, checked his phone for a signal, which was very weak. He then kicked Li Zihang, who was lying beside him, and asked, "How's your phone signal?"
"It's fine, I have three bars." Li Zihang took out his phone to check. Wanyunting glared and said, "Why do I only have one bar left?"
Li Zihang looked at Wanyunting's phone, which had a bitten apple logo, and then showed off his Huawei. "Because I have a domestic phone, the signal is stronger than yours!"
Wanyunting's expression froze, and he was immediately speechless. Then he saw Tao Zifu standing up and saying to Chen Bin and the others, "I'm going to relieve myself..."
As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the forest. Wanyunting immediately sat up and watched Tao Zifu walk far ahead into the trees. He was quickly hidden by several piles of tall grass, which made Wanyunting raise an eyebrow. He said to Li Zihang, "You guys rest, I'm going to relieve myself too..."
"I'll go too..."
Li Zihang wanted to follow, but Wanyunting waved him off, telling him to stay. He then walked quickly in the direction Tao Zifu had gone.
Tao Zifu had walked more than fifty meters when he looked back, ensuring no one was following him. Then he walked behind a pile of grass, pretended to squat down, and immediately took out his phone, opening the GPS tracking software. A map appeared, with a red dot moving towards them.
The red dot represented Lei Laohu and his group!
Tao Zifu switched to the WeChat interface and quickly typed to someone named "Shouzi": "When will you arrive? Otherwise, I'll be discovered by them!"
After typing this message, Tao Zifu was about to move his trembling thumb to send it when suddenly a large hand descended from above, grabbing his phone. Wanyunting's icy voice followed: "You've been discovered!"
Looking up, Tao Zifu couldn't see Wanyunting standing behind him, but his voice made Tao Zifu's heart tremble. He thought to himself: It's over, I'm screwed...
"You really are a spy."
Wanyunting held his phone, looking at the chat interface with the person named Shouzi on WeChat. They sent each other a message every three hours to report their locations.
At the same time, Tao Zifu sensed that he might have been exposed, so he took the risk of sending a message while pretending to go to the bathroom, asking them to catch up as soon as possible...
Looking at his phone's GPS software, the red dot was moving towards them. The distance remaining was only 2.6 kilometers!
Wanyunting's brow furrowed tightly. Then Tao Zifu suddenly lunged forward, intending to run.
Thump!
In the next second, just as Tao Zifu was about to run, Wanyunting kicked him, sending him sprawling to the ground like a dog eating dirt. Wanyunting stepped on his back and coldly snorted, "Trying to run? Can you escape? Get up..."
Saying that, Wanyunting pulled him up. Tao Zifu put on a pleading look. "Senior Brother Wan, I was wrong. I was forced by them. I really didn't intend to harm you."
"Hmph, do you think I'll believe you?"
Wanyunting glared at him and pointed to the cloth belt tied around his waist. "Untie it."
"No, Senior Brother Wan, I'm truly sorry. Please let me go, won't you..."
"I told you to untie it!"
Wanyunting's eyes were furious. He said coldly, "Hurry up."
Tao Zifu was startled by his gaze and had no choice but to untie the cloth belt from his waist and hand it over. Wanyunting, holding it, commanded, "Turn around, keep your hands away..."
Tao Zifu still wanted to beg for mercy, but Wanyunting ignored him and tied his hands behind his back. Then he pushed Tao Zifu's head, "Go, come back with me..."
Tao Zifu's heart sank, knowing he was finished this time.
"Hurry..."
Wanyunting, with a cold face, pushed the bound Tao Zifu back, making Wuweizi, Xu Lingwei, Duan Yingying, Zhou Ruoxi, Jiang Tingxia, and Li Zihang look confused and ask, "Junior Brother Wan, what is this?"
"Oh, a spy!"
Li Zihang immediately jumped up, pointing at Tao Zifu, whom Wanyunting was escorting back, and shouted.
"What? Zifu is a spy?"
Lu Bao, Chen Bin, and the others widened their eyes, looking at the head-bowed Tao Zifu in disbelief.
Wanyunting raised his phone, showing the GPS software interface. "He's Sima Boyong's man. His phone and Sima Boyong's people have been remotely tracking us. Those people are probably here to stop us from finding the Phoenix Tail Grass, or even to kill us!"
"What, this..."
Hearing this, Lu Bao, Chen Bin, and the other five disciples were shocked and nervous.
Jiang Tingxia and Zhou Ruoxi also exchanged glances, not expecting that someone would be chasing them while they were in the mountains gathering herbs.
Wuweizi's brows furrowed deeply and he asked, "Little Wan, what should we do now?"
"At worst, we can wait here for them and kill them!" Xu Lingwei said with a cold gaze, unafraid.
"What if they are numerous and strong? We won't be a match for them."
Wanyunting glanced at her and said, "We are in the mountains this time to find medicine to treat the Abbot, so we cannot act rashly and confront Sima Boyong's people!"
Li Zihang glared and said, "Then Junior Brother Wan, what exactly should we do now?"
"Turn off his phone's GPS!"
Lu Bao thought of something and pointed at Tao Zifu's phone in Wanyunting's hand. "As long as we turn off the GPS, they won't be able to find us."
"Yes, yes, turn it off quickly..."
Chen Bin and Zhang Zixiu nodded in agreement.
"This is indeed a solution! But..."
Wanyunting turned to look at Lu Bao, Chen Bin, Zhang Zixiu, Lin Jie, and Peng Lei, the five disciples, and said expressionlessly, "Do any of you still have spies among you?"
As soon as he said this, Wuweizi, Xu Lingwei, Li Zihang, Zhou Ruoxi, and Jiang Tingxia were startled, and their eyes turned to Lu Bao and the other five disciples.
"Senior Brother Wan, what are you saying? Do you suspect us too?" Peng Lei glared, a little angry.
"Exactly! How could we be Sima Boyong's spies? Senior Brother Wan, don't frame us."
"If we had known, we wouldn't have come..."
Suddenly, Lu Bao and the five became angry.
"Heh heh."
Wanyunting smiled and said, "Since you all claim to be innocent, then take out your phones and let me check them one by one."
"You, you're going too far."
Peng Lei glared at Wanyunting, feeling that his request was excessive.
"Master Wuwei, please uphold justice for us." Lu Bao and Zhang Zixiu immediately shouted to Wuweizi.
However, Wuweizi waved his old hand and said sternly, "If you truly have nothing to hide, then show us your phones. If you are truly wrongly accused, I will ask the Abbot to reward you handsomely when we return."
Wanyunting also smiled and said, "If you feel unbalanced, you can also check our phones. If I have truly wronged you, I will apologize."
"Then let's check."
Lu Bao immediately took out his phone and gave it directly to Wanyunting. "This is no big deal, and Senior Brother Wan is also considering our safety."
"Fine..."
Zhang Zixiu, Chen Bin, Peng Lei, and Lin Jie also took out their phones one after another. Wanyunting and Li Zihang carefully checked their phones. They did not find any tracking or GPS software. For now, this proved that none of them were in cahoots with Tao Zifu.
But it didn't mean there were none!