“There is a possibility of that, and it’s not small.”


  “Let’s just wait.” Yang Guanfeng lit a cigarette.

  “What are we waiting for?” Lu Xiufeng asked.

  “We will wait for that person.”


  Since there was someone who had given them a secret message at night, it was likely that the person would give them another one.

  “Oh, that one?”


  “Yes, that one.”


  The night was quiet. The entire stockade was silent. Most of the people had entered dreamland, with the exception of a few people, such as Lu Xiufeng and Yang Guanfeng. They were lying on the bed talking about things and waiting for the person who had delivered the message to them that night.

  “I don’t think he will come back in the first half of the night,” Yang Guanfeng said. “I’ll go to bed first. You keep an eye out.”


  “Hey, that’s not right,” Lu Xiufeng said. “I should have been the one to say that!”


  “I think you are quite energetic. I am a little tired.”


  “Alright, go to bed first.”


  After a short while, Yang Guanfeng began snoring. He had fallen asleep. For some unknown reason, he had felt tired and fatigued that day and just wanted to sleep.

  “Why haven’t you arrived yet? I’ll fall asleep if I don’t come soon.” Lu Xiufeng laid in bed. He was bored beyond words. He picked up his cellphone to read a novel.

  A little after 10 p.m., a small iron ball flew in from outside and landed on the ground with a clink. He hurried out of bed, picked up the small iron ball, and found a blank piece of paper inside.

  “What does that mean?”


  “Write down our contact information.” A voice came from behind him.

  “Goddammit, Lao Yang. When did you wake up? Can you please make some noise? You scared me! This could frighten someone to death!” Lu Xiufeng was really shocked.

  “I just woke up.”


  “I didn’t expect such a little noise to wake you up from the looks of how deep you were sleeping.”


  “Don’t talk so much,” Yang Guanfeng said. “Write it down quickly and throw it out. The other party is probably waiting outside now.”


  Just now, he had indeed fallen asleep, but he had developed a professional habit after many years. No matter how he slept, he was able to get up and react immediately from just a little sound.

  Lu Xiufeng didn’t talk unnecessarily anymore. He quickly wrote down two phone numbers and put them into the small iron ball. He threw it out of the window and listened quietly for a while.

  “That’s strange. Why don’t I hear anything?”


  “He’s gone.” Yang Guanfeng was back in bed.

  “Let’s sleep.”


  “Ah, Lao Yang, you’ve come to bear it,” Lu Xiufeng said with a smile.

  “We have already taken the main step. Next, let’s see what useful news that person can provide us,” Yang Guanfeng said. After a while, he started snoring again.

  “That’s right.” After a short time, Lu Xiufeng also fell asleep.

  The first message came early morning the next morning when most people were asleep. Lu Xiufeng was awakened by his cellphone vibrating. He picked up the phone and saw a message.

  [The stockade is studying the elixir of immortality, presided over by Miao Xihe. Several people have participated in the study. They are conducting human experiments.]

  Human experiments? Lu Xiufeng thought for a while. He turned around and looked at Yang Guanfeng. He hadn’t woken up.

  He softly called out, “Lao Yang?”


  “What’s the matter?” Yang Guanfeng immediately opened his eyes and felt for his waist.

  “Look at this.” He handed Yang Guanfeng his cellphone.

  “Experiments?”


  “Yes.”


  “Where is the evidence and the place?”


  Lu Xiufeng sent back a message with those questions. After a while, the other party replied.

  [Southwest of Houshan Mountain.]

  “Not in the stockade?”


  The two shared a look.

  “Southwest of Houshan Mountain is a little vague for a location.” Lu Xiufeng frowned, which was rare.

  It didn’t matter if the location was vague. It was just a mountain. If they wanted to find it, they could find it. If they could not do it in one day, they would find it in two days. The main problem was not if they wanted to find it. It was if the others wanted them to find it, for example, Miao Qingfeng, who followed them all the time. From morning to night, except when they went to the toilet and sleep, he was always with them and by their side. They couldn’t investigate that place alone.

  “What should we do?”


  “Let’s go and have a look tomorrow,” Yang Guanfeng said. There wasn’t a good way to solve this problem. They were on someone else’s territory.

  “With what reason?”


  “You’re good at that. You think of it,” Yang Guanfeng said.

  The next morning, as usual, Miao Qingfeng came over early.

  “Do the two of you have any plans for today?” he asked with a smile.

  “Well, is there a lot of wild game in the mountain?” Lu Xiufeng asked as he rubbed his hands together.

  “Wild game? Captain Lu, do you want to hunt in the mountains?”


  “Oh, yes, that’s what I mean,” Lu Xiufeng said with a smile.

  Perfect! Yang Guanfeng thought to himself. In recent days, Lu Xiufeng had left an impression on them that he was unpredictable, except for the fact that he loved food and wine. The impression he left on other places was the same. Because of that, many people had reported to the provincial hall that he was acting as a public official for his own gains. Fortunately, several leaders in the provincial hall knew about his true ability and did not listen to the rumors. Therefore, even if the people in the stockade had informants outside, the evaluation of the two of them would be the same.

  “OK, no problem,” Miao Qingfeng said with a smile.

  He prepared the bows and arrows.

  “Do we hunt with these?” Looking at the bow and arrow in his hand, Lu Xiufeng was surprised.

  “Yes, we use these for hunting here.”


  “Ah, well, can you teach us how to use it first?”


  “No problem.”


  The two of them quickly learned how to use them. They went up the mountain with the bows and arrows.

  “What wild game are there on this mountain?”


  “There are deer, hare, boar, pheasant, and many other kinds,” Miao Qingfeng replied.

  “There are no fierce beasts like wolves and tigers, right?”


  “There are leopards and wolves, but no tigers,” Miao Qingfeng said.

  “No way! Will they eat people?”


  “In general, they will not take the initiative to attack humans, especially groups like the three of us,” Miao Qingfeng said. “In special cases, for example, when we go near their den and young are in there, they would get very aggressive. If we got closer, they would take the initiative to attack us.”


  “Can you handle them?”


  Miao Qingfeng thought for a moment before replying, “Me? Yes, I can. Besides, even if I couldn’t, don’t both of you have guys on you? No matter how ferocious they are, they can’t compete with guns. In fact, the beasts that can be seen are not the most terrible ones. The most terrible things in the jungle are those little things that are easily ignored.”


  “For example?”


  “For example, poisonous spiders, centipedes, vipers, and other poisonous things. Quite a few of them are highly poisonous. If you happen to get bitten by them accidentally, it will be fatal.”


  “I don’t think we should have come here after hearing what you have said,” Lu Xiufeng said. As he spoke, he continued walking in the general direction of the mountain.

  “It will be fine. I’m here. You won’t have a problem,” Miao Qingfeng said with a smile.

  Swish…… Swish…… Swish…… There suddenly was a noise coming from not far away.

  “Shh.” Lu Xiufeng made a shushing gesture. He looked up and saw a dark wild boar. It was grunting as it pushed against something.

  “A wild boar!”


  “Will our bow and arrow work for this?” Lu Xiufeng softly asked.

  “No, the wild boar has rough and coarse skin,” Miao Qingfeng said. “Although the bows and arrows we carry can occasionally pierce its skin, they can’t cause fatal damage to it unless they happen to hit its eyes and other weak parts. They will only make it crazy.”


  “What do we do if encounter a wild boar while hunting?”


  “We usually smear a special poison on the arrow of the bow and arrow,” Miao Qingfeng said. “When we hit it, it will faint. That is when we will kill it. I didn’t bring that poison today.”


  “Or, shall I just shoot it down?” Lu Xiufeng took out his pistol.

  “Put it away!” Yang Guanfeng glared at him.

  “Just joking,” He said with a smile.

  “It’s quite a pity. Does wild board taste good?”


  “It is good. You’ve eaten it.” Swish……

  “Is that so? Was it in one of the dishes from the other night?”


  “Yes.”


  “Forget it. Let’s go. It won’t attack us on its own accord, will it?”


  “It could,” Miao Qingfeng said. “Boars have a very grumpy temper when they are frightened. Let’s keep our voices down. Don’t disturb him, or it will be very troublesome.”


  The three of them quietly left. They continued to search for their next prey. They soon found some pheasant.

  “Don’t move,” Lu Xiufeng said. “Let me handle this!”


  He drew his bow and nocked the arrow, Unsurprisingly, he missed his shot without. The pheasant flapped its wings frantically as it tried to fly away. As it fluttered, a feathered arrow shot straight into its body. After a flailing around for a few times, it stopped moving.

  “Good archery!” Lu Xiufeng raised his thumb.

  “I’m flattered. I’ve practiced this since I was a child,” Miao Qingfeng said with a smile.