At night, Big Pillar and Qi Yun appeared at the door of Old Zhao's wooden cabin.

The old man and the dog named Tiger have yet to return.

Qi Yun frowned and asked, "Brother Pillar, how far is the place where Zhao went from here?"

Big Pillar scratched his head and, after thinking for a moment, said, "Old Zhao told me last night that he was going to Wild Wolf Gully, which is about twenty kilometers from here. With his pace, it would take him five or six hours to get there."

"But he's been gone quite a while today; he should have been back by now."

Qi Yun looked at the sky anxiously and asked, "Is there anything dangerous over there? Could something have happened to him?"

Big Pillar frowned slightly and sighed, "Wild Wolf Gully is a tough place to visit. It's called Wild Wolf Gully because there are many wild animals, especially wolves which roam in packs, so we rarely venture there."

Cao Yufei chimed in, "Could Old Zhao have run into a pack of wolves?"

"It's hard to say." Big Pillar shook his head, worry written all over his face, "I advised him not to go there last night, but for his grandson, Old Zhao took the risk."

"With nightfall, we can't head into the mountains to look for him. We can only hope he was delayed on the way and returns safely tomorrow."

Everyone returned to Big Pillar's house, feeling anxious.

Just like they said, there was nothing to be done now, just wait and see.

After dinner, they went to bed early.

The next day, when Qi Yun and the others woke up, Big Pillar just returned from checking near the mountain foot.

Qi Yun hurriedly asked, "Brother Pillar, any news of Old Zhao?"

Big Pillar shook his head, disappointment on his face, "No."

"Let's wait and see. If he was delayed on the way back from Wildman Gully, he should return by noon at the latest."

"If there's no news by noon, I'll head up the mountain to find him."

Qi Yun nodded, "We'll go with you."

In the morning, none of them had much appetite, so they simply drank some porridge.

After breakfast, Qi Yun went outside, lit up a cigarette, and decided to check today's intelligence report in hopes of some news about Old Zhao.

[Current Intelligence Points: 7]

[Today's Intelligence 1 (Red): An adult brown bear struggling to find food is wandering near the wooden cabin you once lived in]

"So it really is a brown bear… lucky I didn't run into it that day."

This creature isn't easy to handle; if provoked, it's bold enough to confront a tiger.

[Today's Intelligence 2 (Blue): There is a 50-meter tall red pine on Erlong Ridge, and two kilometers north along this pine grows a large patch of ginseng, including multiple plants over a hundred years old]

"Hiss~"

Upon seeing this intelligence, Qi Yun inhaled sharply.

Multiple plants over a hundred years old!

From this trip to obtain ginseng, he understands how precious this is.

The wild ginseng happens to be the indispensable main ingredient in the prescription, so for a steady supply of medicine, he must go all out to collect qualified ginseng.

He has decided that once Old Zhao's situation is resolved, he'll go search for that ginseng.

[Today's Intelligence 3 (Red): Yesterday, three poachers were spotted near Wild Wolf Gully. In fear of being reported, they took control of the person and temporarily detained them in a cave on the ridge]

Wild Wolf Gully!

Yesterday?

What a coincidence, could it be Old Zhao who encountered the poaching gang?

At this thought, Qi Yun's heart shivered, thinking it's highly likely his guess is correct.

This could explain why Old Zhao hasn't returned yet.

But whether it is or not, they must go rescue the person to find out...

Given the situation, reporting to the police might result in nighttime arrival, and it would be tomorrow before heading into the mountains. Whether Old Zhao can endure till then is uncertain.

The current plan is to go into the mountain later and look for opportunities for Chen Wei to take action against those poachers.

If those men are daring enough to poach in the dangerous Wild Wolf Gully, they're likely armed, and only Chen Wei among them is capable of dealing with them.

Qi Yun extinguished the cigarette butt, pondering how to convey this information to Chen Wei...

Noon came, and Old Zhao still hadn't returned.

The group packed some provisions and began heading into the mountains to find him.

In preparation for encountering wild beasts, Big Pillar made a point of taking his hunting rifle.

The first part of the path was relatively easy, with a trail carved out.

After crossing a few peaks, there was no trail ahead.

Big Pillar pointed to the right, toward a dense forest, and said, "Heading that way is the direction to Wild Wolf Gully."

They nodded and followed him onward.

All these trees looked the same, making navigation difficult; unless one were a long-time inhabitant of the mountains, they might easily lose their way.

The group trudged through the forest, staying alert and mindful of the surroundings.

The sun gradually set in the west. After nearly three or four hours of walking, Big Pillar stopped and, pointing to an endless ravine on the slope below, said, "Ahead is Wild Wolf Gully."

Qi Yun followed Big Pillar's direction and saw a deep ravine appearing ahead, as if cleaved by a giant axe, with trees densely populating its sides and the grass below nearly half a meter high, faintly accompanied by odd noises.

Big Pillar took the rifle off his back and held it in hand, his expression serious, "We need to be cautious moving forward; there are many wild animals here."

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