"Wh-What do you want!?"

The bearded man, now awake, looked at the people in front of him in terror, swallowing hard.

He turned his head to check the tall, thin guy and the man in the military cap who were also tied up nearby, still lying with their eyes closed. He used his elbow to jab the man in the cap, trying to wake him up.

But after several prods, the man in the military cap remained absolutely still, unsure if he was pretending to be unconscious or truly not awake.

Seeing this, the bearded man felt even more panic inside.

He hoped that these people in front of him were fellow poachers, then perhaps he could negotiate, offer some benefits, and maybe they would release them.

But if they weren't fellow poachers, then things would be quite dire.

He had heard before that poaching was a serious crime in China, let alone the fact that they had snuck over here illegally. If they got caught, they might end up working themselves to death in prison.

Just then, a strong man nearby walked up, grabbed the bearded man's collar, and asked in a deep voice, "Where's the old man? Take me to him!"

"What, what old man, I have no idea what you're talking about." The bearded man was startled, his eyes darted around, denying repeatedly.

Though uncertain how they knew about that matter, he dared not admit it in this situation, lest he add another charge to his name for kidnapping.

The strong man, seeing the denial, turned to look at Chen Wei by his side.

Chen Wei stepped forward, gesturing for the strong man to step aside, indicating he'd handle it.

"I know what you're up to. Now I'll give you a chance, whoever speaks first will be let go." Chen Wei's voice was not loud, but it was steady and firm.

After speaking, he glanced at the two lying beside.

The bearded man heard this, gulped, and a trace of hesitation crossed his face.

He instinctively turned to look at his two companions, quickly weighing the truth of Chen Wei's words in his mind.

But he realized he seemed to have no other choice after thinking it through for a moment.

In this situation, running was not an option, so it'd be better him than his friends...

"I'll take..."

The bearded man was about to speak when the tall, thin guy suddenly sat up and answered first, "I know where the old man is! I'll take you to him, let me go!"

Seeing this, the bearded man was instantly dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open for a good while before he managed to close it.

However, the tall, thin guy ignored him entirely, struggling to get closer to Chen Wei, saying eagerly, "Really, I tied up the old man yesterday, I'll take you to him now!"

Realizing this, the bearded man was furious, glaring at the tall, thin guy as if he wanted to kill him.

"Damn you!"

The tall, thin guy turned a deaf ear, focusing only on showing his loyalty to Chen Wei.

Beside them, a smirk appeared on Qi Yun's lips, observing human nature...

...

More than half an hour later, in a cave on the ridge, Old Zhao, who was previously on the brink of death, finally regained some color in his face after eating a few bites of smoked meat.

"Sir, are you feeling better?" Qi Yun crouched down, handing the canteen to Old Zhao.

Old Zhao gobbled down the jerky, took the canteen, drank some water, and slowly said, "Much better, thanks to you all finding me, or this old life would have been gone."

Seeing this, Qi Yun couldn't help but admire the physical endurance of those who have spent years in the mountains.

If it were an ordinary person, at such an age, not eating or drinking for a day might have already met the end.

Halfway through drinking, Old Zhao suddenly remembered something, stood up quickly, and grabbed the military cap man's collar, yelling, "Where's the ginseng? My ginseng!"

As he spoke, he reached into the military cap man's pockets, searching.

Finally finding the ginseng in the inner lining of the man's coat, Old Zhao breathed a long sigh of relief.

He then raised his hand and slapped the military cap man hard, cursing, "You dog, it's just that I didn't bring my weapon this time, or I'd have shot you three bastards dead!"

After hitting him, he still wasn't satisfied, grabbing the bearded man and slapping him repeatedly, "You damn thing, return my dog, you animal..."

The strong man, worried that the old man's emotions were too intense and afraid something else might arise, quickly pulled him back and sat him down again. "Old Zhao, it's not worth getting angry at them. When dawn breaks, we'll take them back to Captain Fu."

Meanwhile, the tall, thin guy who had been squatting, rose slightly and spoke to Chen Wei, "Brother, I helped you find the guy, can you let me go now?"

Upon hearing that, the military cap man glared at him fiercely.

Actually, he had been awake the whole time. Hearing Chen Wei say that whoever helped find the old man would be freed first, he was about to jump up and seize the opportunity.

But the tall, thin guy had stealthily elbowed his nose, causing such pain that tears came out, preventing him from speaking.

Even now his nose was still red.

"Third brother, don't think betraying us will pay off. Just wait until I'm free, and see what I'll do to you."

The bearded man, Second Old Cui, also said with a grim face, "You filthy dog, you'd better pray I die in here."

The kneeling tall, thin guy shivered uncontrollably, genuinely frightened by their words.

Chen Wei lowered his head, glanced at the tall, thin guy, and said, "Alright."

With that, he bent down, preparing to untie the vine that bound the man's hands behind his back.

The strong man, seeing this, quickly rushed over to stop him, "Brother, you can't let him go! These poachers are wicked; if you let him go, they'll come back and harm the forest again."

The nearby Tiger chimed in in agreement, "That's right, brother. We should take them all back and hand them over to the police."

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