The woman in white frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "That little guy is of great importance. Regardless of whether the information is accurate, we must do our best to find him. Now, several forces have heard the news, and someone must have already taken a step ahead of us. We need to act quickly. Even if we can't get it, we can't let it fall into the wrong hands. Quickly let Xiao Bai take a sniff."
"This mountain is so vast; who knows when we will find it?" The girl in yellow pouted, showing some impatience.
She put the white dog on the ground. The puppy sniffed around, suddenly looked up and barked, then ran down the mountain. The girl in yellow immediately followed.
The woman in white sighed and hurried after them.
---
On the other side, at Antzi Slope.
Four or five men in their thirties were moving around in the forest. Three hunting dogs were sniffing everywhere, seemingly searching for something. Each of them carried a hunting rifle, perhaps they were poachers.
The man in front, dressed in black, had an empty right sleeve; he was one-armed.
His face was stern, and his sharp eyes were constantly watching the three dogs sniffing around, as if he was expecting something.
"Mr. Leng came in person; is the thing we are looking for this time so important?" One of the men, with a scar on his face, holding a hunting dog, glanced at the man in black and whispered to the man next to him, who also carried a hunting rifle.
The man also looked at the one-armed man in black, his face full of respect, and lowered his voice, "There are some things we don't know. But I heard that the thing we are looking for this time ran down from Mount Emei. Our brothers in the gang found out about it, but the boss didn't want to get involved. However, after Mr. Leng heard about it, he volunteered to come. He said many people are eyeing it, but we don't know what it is."
The scar-faced man thought for a moment, "If it ran down from Mount Emei, it must be a living thing. There are many monkeys on Mount Emei. Could it be a monkey?"
"Who knows? But if Mr. Leng is personally involved, it must be no ordinary thing," another man said.
"Woof, woof!"
At that moment, one of the hunting dogs reacted, and soon the other two also reacted, barking fiercely as if trying to break free from their leashes.
The one-armed man in black's eyes lit up, but then dimmed. He wasn't overly excited; it was normal for hunting dogs to react like this in the deep mountains. Once before, he had followed them with high hopes, only to find a python waiting for them.
Hunting dogs, after all, are not police dogs. Although they are trained, they still have a significant gap compared to police dogs. However, since they had a reaction, it was better to be safe than sorry. Without a word, he waved his arm at the three men and immediately followed the three hunting dogs down the slope.
---
In a small bamboo grove by Black Bear Gully, Su Hang was sweating profusely as he collected a pile of bamboo fungus. This was a good thing, an unexpected harvest.
The forest under the bamboo roots was sprouting small mushrooms like spring after rain. They had deep green caps, snow-white cylindrical stems, and pink egg-shaped bases. At the top of the stems, there was a delicate white net-like skirt spreading down from the cap, resembling a layer of snake skin, looking extremely beautiful.
Bamboo fungus is known as the "Snow Skirt Fairy," "Flower of Mountain Delicacies," "Flower of Fungi," and "Queen of Mushrooms." It is rich in nutrients, has a strong aroma, and a fresh, delicious taste. Since ancient times, it has been listed as one of the "Eight Treasures of Vegetables" by food connoisseurs. Even villagers who often walk in the mountains need luck to find them.
It must be said that Su Hang's luck was good today. He found more than twenty bamboo fungi in this forest, enough to cook a pot of delicious soup.
This thing is definitely a rare delicacy among fungi. In Su Hang's memory, only chicken truffles could match its freshness. Nowadays, artificial cultivation is widespread, but no matter how it is cultivated, it cannot replicate the wild flavor.
He brushed off the dirt, put the more than twenty bamboo fungi into his basket, which was already filled with various spices. Adding a pile of bamboo fungi almost filled it to the brim.
He wiped the mud off his hands, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Brother, I feel like something is wrong in this forest. It feels like there are eyes watching us," Su Xi, holding Su Hang's bird gun, walked up to him. Perhaps because she had heard stories from her father and Uncle Three last night, ever since they entered Black Bear Gully, Su Xi felt something was watching her, as if there was a terrifying mountain ghost hidden in the forest, obscured by the trees and invisible to the naked eye.
Humans are naturally curious about the unknown, but they are also afraid of it. This is an instinct. For Su Hang, his skills gave him confidence. Even if he were left here at night, he wouldn't be afraid. But Su Xi was different; she was a girl not yet fifteen. Initially, her curiosity overcame her fear, but now, in this environment, the initial excitement had worn off, and she finally felt afraid.
It's like many people who want to hear scary ghost stories from adults but are afraid to sleep alone at night. Curiosity, the unknown, and fear are human instincts.
Su Hang laughed inwardly, "This morning, you insisted on coming. Now you're afraid?"
"I, I'm not afraid. You're the one who's afraid," the little girl said, clearly unwilling to admit it, but she couldn't help moving closer to Su Hang.
Su Hang just smiled, not mocking her. He looked up at the sky, "It's about time. Let's go down the mountain and have lunch at home."
He took the bird gun, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out of the bamboo grove. After a few steps, he realized Su Xi wasn't following. He turned around and saw her standing there, dazed.
"What's wrong? Don't want to go? Want to find the mountain ghost?" Su Hang asked.
"Wait for me a moment."
Su Xi snapped back to reality, realizing Su Hang had already walked quite far. She hurriedly ran over, panicked, "Brother, I think I heard some strange sounds in the forest."
"Rustle, rustle!"
As soon as she said that, a sudden noise came from nearby, scaring Su Xi, who quickly hid behind Su Hang.
Su Hang looked in the direction of the sound and couldn't help but smile wryly. About thirty meters away, a few bamboo pheasants were foraging. They must have been startled by Su Xi's voice and flown up, causing the sudden noise. Bamboo leaves were still floating in the air.
He glanced back at Su Xi, who was blushing. She had been scared by a few bamboo pheasants, which was ridiculous.