Ye Tiancheng and the little fox on this side of the forest had no way of knowing the true situation of the fat man.
Although the little fox had dreamt of the fat man more times and the dreams were clearer, it didn't help them understand what the fat man was experiencing.
Whenever they touched upon the crucial parts, their memories would become shrouded in a mist, hazy and unclear.
Ye Tiancheng even suspected that the little fox could sense and dream more about the fat man's affairs only because of the little fox himself, due to his own nature.
This was not to say that the little fox had any bad qualities or flaws, but rather that the little fox had stronger intuition and was different from ordinary people, which allowed him to sense more about the fat man.
His perception in the spiritual and uncanny realm had always been more acute than anyone else's. His abilities far surpassed Ye Tiancheng's.
If it weren't for this reason, given Ye Tiancheng's previous aversion to interacting with the little fox, Ye Tiancheng would never have invited the little fox over unless he was truly desperate.
As if to prove this, he had been mocked and ridiculed by Su Muxian when he went to invite the little fox. Comparatively, he preferred to stay away from the little fox.
However, as they walked this time, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but feel that his prejudice against the little fox was truly disappearing. He no longer felt as resistant to the little fox as before.
Because after the little fox came this time, nothing too strange seemed to have happened. After analyzing it in his mind, Ye Tiancheng believed that the bizarre events that had happened to the little fox before might have been related to his strong intuition.
For this reason, the little fox was more talented in matters of the spiritual and uncanny realm than anyone else. However, he was still young, quite young in fact, and his strength was very limited. If he encountered a more powerful existence, the little fox would certainly be helpless.
Ye Tiancheng suspected that if the person with the problem wasn't the little fox, then perhaps the little fox had been influenced by something, which caused him to act in those strange and peculiar ways.
Moreover, it was only now, as Ye Tiancheng recalled, that he felt he had been too extreme. Did the little fox, at his age, truly understand what love was?
If the little fox was influenced by something, coupled with Su Muxian's exceptional beauty, it was possible that the young and not-yet-firm-willed little fox was mesmerized, truly believing he liked Su Muxian, and was then driven by an unknown entity to do things that appeared strange and peculiar to others.
Thinking of it this way, Ye Tiancheng felt somewhat fortunate. Fortunately, during this period, he had placed the little fox with Su Muxian, and Su Muxian had not encountered any trouble.
Thinking back now, Su Muxian's earlier troubles were caused by something underground wanting to form a ghost marriage with Su Muxian, which had even cost the life of the shaman they had met and brought back. It was highly possible that the entity then turned to influence the young and easily controlled little fox.
After all, even the entities underground wouldn't possess just anyone they pleased. Moreover, that entity was specifically targeting Su Muxian for a ghost marriage, so it would definitely prefer to choose a more beautiful, powerful, or easily manipulated guise to approach Su Muxian.
However, if they followed this standard, there were probably no suitable candidates in the Su family for that entity to choose from.
After Su Muxian brought Ye Tiancheng and their group of three, along with the shaman they met and brought back, to the Su family, the situation changed.
Firstly, Ye Tiancheng didn't need to rack his brains to figure out the shaman's body. He could tell with his toes that the entity would not choose her.
And if it were Ye Tiancheng, although he wasn't being narcissistic or arrogant, Su Muxian definitely had a great deal of good feelings, or even affection, for Ye Tiancheng. He was an exceptionally superior choice with innate advantages.
However, Ye Tiancheng also possessed cultivation and was powerful. His willpower was even stronger, making it not easy for him to have a mental breakdown and be influenced. Ye Tiancheng was not someone to be trifled with.
Just as Ye Tiancheng was not to be trifled with, the fat man, who also possessed cultivation, was equally not to be trifled with. Moreover, in terms of the fat man's appearance... the conditions were indeed not superior enough.
But the little fox was different. The little fox was handsome. Although he was a bit young, the advantage of his appearance was too superior. And he wasn't so young as to be completely unreasonable.
Furthermore, because of the little fox's young age, he could bring an advantage: most people would more easily lower their guard and drop their defenses around young children, subconsciously not suspecting them.
For instance, in the end, Su Muxian did not pursue the little fox's strange behavior. Instead, she dismissed it and even dared to take the little fox to her side when Ye Tiancheng was unwilling to accept him.
Ye Tiancheng himself did not want to suspect his brother. If the little fox was not the problem, it would be the best possible outcome for him. He wished for it.
As it was now, Ye Tiancheng felt he could trust the little fox more and follow him into the forest to investigate and search for clues.
They had walked for quite some time. After all, last time, the fake fat man had taken the little fox and the two of them out to investigate, and they had reached that place only when they were almost returning.
After the little fox led Ye Tiancheng to the place where it happened, and after carefully recalling and comparing, and confirming the traces at the scene, he affirmed to Ye Tiancheng, "Brother Ye, we've arrived. It was at this place that we encountered those people fighting with wild beasts when that person and I came out to investigate."
The reason why it was necessary to recall and compare memories, and also to examine the traces at the scene, to confirm if it was this place, was because after the little fox brought Ye Tiancheng here, they discovered that the bodies of those people were nowhere to be found.
Whether they were dragged away by the pack of beasts again, or carried away by other animals, no body remained at the scene.
After all, it was in a forest, and there were fierce beasts in the forest. Such a thing happening was quite possible and not surprising.
However, even though the bodies of those people were gone, there were still other traces at the scene. After all, such a fierce fight could not have left any clues.
Moreover, in this place, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were both certain that it had not rained for such a long time, so there were no elements that could have destroyed the traces and clues. Therefore, as long as it didn't rain, the traces at the scene would definitely not disappear for many days.
Ye Tiancheng walked closer to observe. On the ground where the battle had taken place, the soil was still soaked with blood, which was clearly undeniable.
Ye Tiancheng then looked around for a while longer to confirm if any other traces were preserved. He searched around for a long time, and the little fox didn't dare to disturb him. He tried his best not to run around and to stay within Ye Tiancheng's sight, lest any accident happen and he have to trouble Ye Tiancheng to rescue him.
However, the little fox didn't just stand idly by. Although he stood still and didn't move around, he was also looking around the scene, confirming if there were any other valuable clues that could be discovered.
Suddenly, as the little fox's gaze swept past a patch of low bushes, a reflected glint flashed in his eyes. He then immediately walked towards that spot.
Seeing the little fox suddenly staring intently at a spot and walking straight in that direction, Ye Tiancheng was about to stop him. "Little fox, where are you going? Don't run around in this place, it's very dangerous. If you go somewhere I can't see, and something happens, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you in time."
The little fox shook his head and then suddenly pointed in a direction, saying to Ye Tiancheng, "No, Brother Ye, I'm not going anywhere. But look at that place, isn't that... a hand?"
Ye Tiancheng was startled and followed the direction the little fox was pointing. Then, he also saw a hand wearing a ring in that patch of low bushes.
After hesitating for a moment, Ye Tiancheng protected the little fox, letting him stay behind him, and holding the little fox's hand tightly. Then, together, the two of them slowly approached that patch of low bushes.
Ye Tiancheng had originally thought that perhaps a person was hiding behind that patch of low bushes, or that another body was still there. However, as they got closer to the patch of low bushes, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, who was following closely behind him, both saw it clearly in an instant.
There was no person hiding in that patch of low bushes, but there was a severed limb, a hand wearing a ring. It was precisely because of the ring on that hand, which penetrated through the forest trees and shone on the ring as sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, reflecting light and dazzling the little fox's eyes, that the little fox was able to discover so quickly that there was something unusual under that patch of low bushes.
"It should be from those people who fought with the beasts before... they left it behind. They must have really been dragged away by some beasts? And then this hand was left here, undiscovered, and exposed here."
The little fox said uncertainly. Although this explanation was possible, he always felt that something was still not quite right, and that he had overlooked some clue.
Ye Tiancheng also frowned, looking at the severed hand, and then surveyed the surroundings once more. His tone was as uncertain as the little fox's, "No, this is not right. If beasts dragged these people away, beasts are not like humans; they walk on four limbs. Then how could there be no drag marks on the ground?"
The little fox then suddenly realized what he had overlooked. That's right, beasts couldn't do these things. The scene he and the fake fat man had seen here might have been inaccurate in some way, because the little fox discovered another clue, a clue he had previously overlooked.