Pan Lun, seeing Yu Daohen nervously scanning their surroundings, realized something was amiss and became vigilant. He then sniffed the air, his expression turning grim. "Could this be the smell of blood?"
Yu Daohen nodded, gesturing with his mouth towards the thicket of weeds ahead, indicating the source of the bloody scent.
Pan Lun nodded. Yu Daohen gripped his Soul Suppressing Stone short sword and cautiously approached.
Reaching the weeds, Yu Daohen used his sword to push them aside. Before he could even assess the situation, Pan Lun behind him vomited.
Yu Daohen looked closely and saw a corpse lying in the weeds. Its head was missing, blood flowed from the neck, and several small fish and shrimp were gathered around, feeding on it.
"I knew it tasted a bit like iron, I thought it was minerals," Pan Lun said, gagging.
Yu Daohen shot Pan Lun a look and carefully examined the corpse. It appeared to have died the previous night. The clothes and pants were the same as Wang Fei's group.
Pan Lun walked closer and took a careful look, only to realize that this corpse's clothes and pants were identical to Wang Fei's group.
"Yu Ye, aren't these Wang Fei and his men?" Pan Lun's words were slurred.
Yu Daohen nodded gravely. The wound on the neck was clean, as if severed by a single, powerful strike. He himself could not possess such strength. Anyone with this level of power would at least be ranked on the Heaven List.
"Yu Ye, could someone among Wang Fei's group be a ghost?" Pan Lun asked, looking at the corpse.
Yu Daohen nodded. It was impossible for anyone in their group to have Heaven List strength. The only plausible explanation was that one of them was a ghost.
"Let's not speak of this for now. Let's see what this ghost intends to do," Yu Daohen cautioned.
"We don't know who the ghost is yet, so let's not let everyone know, to avoid alerting them."
Pan Lun nodded. The two then went upstream to fetch water before returning to the camp.
When they returned to the camp, everyone had already packed their belongings and were waiting. Yu Daohen and Pan Lun quickly packed their things, with Pan Lun leading the way.
Along the way, Pan Lun kept scrutinizing Wang Fei and the others, while Yu Daohen had one hand resting on the Kang Long rod at his waist, warily observing Wang Fei's group.
"Yu Ye, I don't think anyone is a ghost," Pan Lun whispered, leaning closer to Yu Daohen.
Yu Daohen nodded. He had observed them throughout their journey and found no one suspicious. "We'll know who the ghost is tonight."
At lunchtime, Yu Daohen deliberately added a small amount of black dog blood to the pot. All evil spirits feared black dog blood, especially from a five-year-old black dog. Yu Daohen had prepared some before setting out, just in case.
He had learned this trick from a guy named Qiang Zi.
Yu Daohen watched everyone eat, and to his surprise, no one reacted.
After lunch, everyone packed their belongings and resumed their journey. It wasn't until around seven in the evening that they found a clearing to set up their tents.
Wang Fei's two subordinates approached with the tents. One of them spoke, "Apologies to you two masters. Our boss sent us to protect you. You don't mind, do you?"
Pan Lun knew exactly what they meant. This wasn't protection; it was clearly surveillance.
As Pan Lun was about to explain, Yu Daohen pulled him back and said with a smile, "We appreciate your trouble."
Pan Lun was somewhat confused but followed Yu Daohen into the tent.
Seeing Yu Daohen and Pan Lun enter the tent, one of the subordinates snorted, "Our boss said if they dare to leave the tent, shoot them full of holes like a beehive."
The subordinate's voice was quite loud, and Yu Daohen and Pan Lun inside heard it clearly.
Pan Lun was furious and cursed under his breath, "Damn it, when I get the chance, I'll kill you bastards."
Yu Daohen, on the other hand, lay down nonchalantly. "Someone else is likely to die tonight."
Pan Lun lay down, tossing and turning, increasingly annoyed. He was a well-known figure in the martial world, and today he was being threatened by two brats. If word got out, he'd be laughed to scorn.
"Alright, we still have to travel tomorrow. Let's get some sleep," Yu Daohen said from beside him.
Pan Lun could only endure it, especially since Yu Ye, the renowned figure in the martial world, hadn't said anything.
Of course, Yu Daohen also felt stifled. In the martial world, even experts ranked on the Earth List would respectfully make way for him. Today, he was being threatened by two ordinary people, but they did have guns.
As the saying goes, a tiger on the plains is bullied by dogs. He'd just have to endure it.
Later that night, as Yu Daohen and Pan Lun were sound asleep, a scream pierced the quiet.
Yu Daohen and Pan Lun's eyes snapped open. They exchanged a look, and Yu Daohen drew his Soul Suppressing Stone short sword and walked out. Pan Lun followed him.
Outside, the two subordinates from the adjacent tent had already emerged.
Wang Fei, with a few of his men, was running towards the woods.
"Let's go see," Yu Daohen said, leading Pan Lun towards where Wang Fei had gone. The two subordinates followed closely behind.
Upon entering the woods, Wang Fei and his group had already formed a circle.
Pan Lun nudged Yu Daohen with his elbow, signaling him to look up.