I nervously followed behind. After Geofei Yao revealed its true form, it escaped into the woods at the first moment, and its speed was very fast, weaving among the grass and trees.
Lingqian and the others ran ahead of me, but Geofei Yao was very cunning. In no time, it disappeared without a trace, leaving only the whistling wind in our ears and occasionally a low roar coming from the woods.
"Gone?"
Lingqian stood outside of the bushes, panting and looking around, completely lost in the forest. We gasped for breath as we ran out of the forest for nearly three hundred meters. Several big men were looking around with hunting rifles.
Luoyang and Fatty arrived late, and the two of them stood behind me, appearing cautious and careful.
"Damn it, they all run like birds, light as a feather... I... I need to catch my breath."
Fatty, this fatty, ran like a big ball of flesh, he had never passed the physical education class back in school, and he basically walked the long-distance running route.
I pulled Luoyang aside and whispered, "Is there a way to find that little thing that just escaped?"
Although the people brought by Lingqian were good at dealing with earth beasts, but in terms of tracking and navigating in this big mountain, they were really not as good as Luoyang beside me. This guy had been in the mountains since he was a child, and going through the woods was no different to him than walking in a small garden.
"Brother Shan, what do you want to do?" Luoyang still didn't understand my meaning.
Actually, I have a plan. Based on the so-called principles demonstrated by Ling Xiu, it can be summarized as "you respect me, I return the favor." It means absolute fairness without any debt between us. If I could catch Gu Feng Yao first and give it to Ling Xiu, maybe I could exchange it for the antidote. Even if I can't exchange it for the antidote, I can still get some benefits, like getting some treasure. At least it's still a gain.
"You mean you have a way?"
I patted Luo Qiong's shoulder.
He thought for a moment and reluctantly nodded, "There is a way, but it's an old method my dad taught me. If I use it, I may not be able to accomplish it in one step."
"It's okay, just be prepared. It's okay if it doesn't work out."
The method that Luo Qiong mentioned is an old method used by hunters in the mountains, called insect tracking method. The name is simple and straightforward, but it's actually very difficult to put into practice. Simply put, this method involves tracking the traces left by certain earth or fierce animals as they move through the mountains, including footprints, feces, and even smells. Of course, these are more obvious traces. There are also less intuitive traces, such as when earth animals pass through other plants, small wild animals are likely to sense danger earlier than humans. Among them, the most sensitive are insects, which can often detect the danger of fierce animals early and avoid them from a distance. If this is used well, it can determine the whereabouts of the fierce animal, and even track it all the way.
Of course, this method is very difficult to achieve, and not many hunters can do it.
Luo Qiong took a few steps back and stood behind a nearby tree. Then he took out two small wooden jars from his pocket and gently unscrewed the lids, hearing a buzzing sound. After a while, a dark head emerged from the small wooden jar, which, upon closer inspection, was actually a small insect.
This type of insect is all black, round, and about the size of a peanut. It has long antennae on its head and can fly. When it flies, its wings make a slight buzzing sound.
"This is a type of insect my dad started raising back then. In our village, this kind of insect is called 'Qi Dian.' They usually gather in groups of about ten, with a leader that commands the others with simple sounds. Qi Dian are very sensitive to smells and have a keen sense of powerful creatures. I can use them to track the flying guy we just encountered."
As he spoke, Luo Qiong placed the wooden jar on the ground and then pulled out a thumb-sized whistle from his waist. He put it in his mouth and blew, expecting a loud sound, but to my surprise, the whistle emitted a sharp and light sound that was barely audible.
Luo Qiong blew the whistle a few more times, and the black bugs around flew up and fluttered aimlessly. Luo Qiong's face looked a little ugly, and he embarrassedly said to me, "Shan, sorry, I'm not very skilled at using this. Wait for me to try it..."
Naturally, I couldn't blame him. I have often heard people say that hunters in the mountains also vary in skill. A hunter who can use dogs can usually fill his stomach, and a hunter who can shoot well often makes a modest living. But a hunter who can manipulate insects is considered top-notch in the profession.
Luo Qiong was only 18 years old at that time, and it takes time to learn such skills, especially since his old man passed away early. His ability was already exceptional.
After tinkering for about five or six minutes, a slight smile suddenly appeared on Luo Qiong's face, and he turned to me and said in a soft voice, "Shan, it's done!"
I quickly looked over and saw that the several black bugs had actually lined up in the air, resembling a formation of fighter planes in the sky.
Luo Qiong blew the whistle again, and with the sharp and slight sound, the lineup of insects flew out quickly. Luo Qiong hastily said to me, "Shan, let's wait here. When the bugs come back, if they have found something, they will fly around me in circles, and then we can follow them."
While we were patiently waiting here, Ling Qian's side seemed clueless. Ling Xiu should have a way to track the aura of the Gu Feng Yao, but the premise is that the Gu Feng Yao must first stay in one place for a long time. The Gu Feng Yao, which was previously defeated by the thunder method, is definitely now desperately fleeing, so it won't be so easy to track its aura.
As time passed, almost half an hour later, I was still waiting when the "Qi Dian" finally began to slowly fly back. The first few landed on Luo Qiong's palm without moving, indicating that they had found nothing.
"It looks hopeless."
I sighed, never expecting that the last "Qi Dian" to return began to fly around Luo Qiong. A big smile appeared on my face, it seemed like there really was a way!
"I'll go call Fatty, the three of us will work secretly. Don't let them find out."
From the beginning, I had planned to catch the Gu Feng Yao myself. Fatty had also learned the divine methods for some time, so he definitely had some ability. Without the magnetic armor, the main body of the Gu Feng Yao looked very weak. Once we located it, I would have Luo Qiong set a trap, and I would approach from the periphery to drive the Gu Feng Yao into the trap. If this earth animal dared to resist, then I would let Fatty use his divine methods on it. I didn't believe that such a small thing could cause any trouble!
The three of us sneaked into the woods, and Ling Qian's group didn't notice our movements at all. After entering the woods, the "Qi Dian" that had found something was flying slowly in the air. I whispered to Fatty, "Hey, Fatty, I need to tell you something."
"What's up?"
The fat man looked at me with suspicion.
I pointed at Luoqiong walking ahead and said, "What do you think of this kid?"
The fat man was startled, his small eyes turning before he said, "What, you want to bring Xiao Luo in?"
"Yeah," I nodded and said, "This time coming to Daheshan to broaden my horizons, I saw that everyone works as a team, at least three to four people, with clear division of labor and good cooperation. The two of us are still outsiders. If we want to get a piece of the action, there are only two ways. The first is to join someone else's team, but that's similar to working for a boss. If the boss is good, it's okay, but if we encounter a boss who doesn't treat his subordinates well, we can't say for sure when we'll be in trouble. The second way is to form our own team, but we are still apprentices, and experts outside won't want to work with us. So, if we want to find someone to join us, we need to find someone who is inexperienced and like-minded. I think Xiao Luo is good. In the future, I'll be in charge of gathering intelligence on earthy beasts and planning, while you'll mainly be responsible for using divine power and doing business with others. Xiao Luo's tracking skills and familiarity with the forest are beyond comparison with ours. What do you think?"
The fat man smiled and patted my shoulder, shouting, "I thought the same before, to bring this kid in. After that, we won't be afraid of getting lost in the woods. But, would he be willing to follow us?"
As we were talking, Luoqiong ahead suddenly raised his hand to signal us to stop, then turned around and said, "Found something!"