General Zhou found Tang Wen's reasoning sound: "Old Zhao, would you mind making the trip?"
"Sure," General Zhao agreed without hesitation.
Before nightfall, General Zhao and six commanders gathered at the outer city's Guard Barracks.
Tang Wen assigned tasks to the commanders, pairing them up in twos to monitor: the Scavenger Camp, a stretch of road west of the Hunter Camp leading into the forest, and a small path in the lakeside forest.
After the recent disappearances of scavengers, their footprints had been spotted in these three areas.
In the afternoon, the camp chef prepared a special meal for Tang Wen and the others.
After a hearty meal, night had fully descended.
As they were about to leave, General Zhao came to see them off.
Suddenly, Tang Wen had an idea. Looking at the camp's high stone wall, he said, "Everyone, let's not use the main gate. Let's climb over the wall instead!"
"Climb the wall?"
Everyone immediately nodded in agreement.
The six commanders, after a quick word with the guards, stealthily slipped over the stone wall.
Watching their disappearing figures, General Zhao smiled with satisfaction and turned to Commander Zhang, saying, "That Tang Wen, always full of clever ideas. At critical moments, he always comes up with something new!"
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly for them."
West of the Flame Camp lies the Scavenger Camp.
Further west is a large lake.
The lake is unfathomably deep, and logically, it should be teeming with fish and shrimp.
Yet, even the hungriest scavengers wouldn't come here to fish.
Firstly, the shore is a sheer cliff several meters high.
Smooth and treacherous, with no footholds.
Climbing up or down is extremely dangerous.
Moreover, in the past summers, many scavengers had used rope ladders to descend and swim in the lake.
But beneath the surface lurked a massive creature with sharp steel teeth and a mouth as large as a boat, swallowing people whole and turning the water red.
Since then, everyone has kept a respectful distance from this lake.
Tang Wen and his companion looked from afar.
In the darkness of night, the lake appeared pitch black, like a bottomless abyss.
Tang Wen whispered, "No matter how severe the drought, such a large lake couldn't possibly dry up, right?"
If the lake didn't dry up, they could find a way to irrigate the fields.
Perhaps by building a manual waterwheel?
His thoughts began to wander.
But Zhou Bing gently shook her head: "The elders in the camp said that if it doesn't rain for a while, the lake will dry up. It seems to be connected to some underground river."
Tang Wen sighed in disappointment.
The two fell silent and continued along the lake, moving swiftly.
In less than half an hour, they reached the spot where the scavengers' footprints had been found.
The forest at night was even darker.
But it didn't hinder their vision in the slightest.
On the ground, footprints of various sizes were mixed together.
Some belonged to adults, others to children, all barefoot.
"How heartless, to abduct such young children!"
"Maybe they capture the children first, then threaten the families," Tang Wen speculated.
"Scavengers, when starving, often resort to cannibalism. They might not be swayed by such threats."
"If not coercion, then perhaps bribery?"
"A combination of both," Tang Wen nodded. "Makes sense. After all, those scavengers have little left to lose."
They stopped talking and leaned against the same tree, silently observing their surroundings.
The forest at midnight was as silent as a morgue.
Whoosh!
A black shadow flew overhead.
Zhou Bing looked up and whispered, "A Red-eyed Raven."
Tang Wen furrowed his brows and looked in the direction where it had disappeared. "I've seen this kind of raven several times recently."
"Mm, I've seen it too. This Red-eyed Raven is also called a Blood Raven. Why is it flying around so late at night?" Zhou Bing casually speculated. "Blood Ravens usually fly in flocks. This one must have gotten separated."
Tang Wen's frown deepened, and a bold thought crossed his mind.
Could it be?
Were the eyes monitoring the hunting squad actually Blood Ravens?
Was the ability of that hidden Awakened one to control beasts?
Zhou Bing, who had been looking up at the sky, suddenly felt her hand being grasped.
Then, Tang Wen leaned in close to her fair, crystal-like earlobe, his warm breath brushing against her skin. Zhou Bing's heart fluttered, her thoughts racing: No way, no way! We're on a mission! Here?
The next second, Tang Wen whispered his suspicion.
The fluttering in Zhou Bing's heart calmed down.
"You think it's the Blood Ravens?" She found it hard to believe.
Tang Wen said, "After eliminating all other possibilities, the only remaining explanation, no matter how absurd, must be the truth."
Zhou Bing took a moment to process this, then looked at him. "Alright, if it's the Blood Ravens, what do we do now?"
"Hmm, you go back and find General Zhao, and we'll follow them."
"No!" As expected, Zhou Bing refused.
She wanted to stay, but Tang Wen wouldn't allow it.
Zhou Bing tightened her grip on his hand. "Let's both go back and find General Zhao. After all, this might involve an Awakened one. We need to be cautious."
That was exactly the answer Tang Wen wanted.
"Let's go, shh!"
Before he could finish, Tang Wen suddenly raised a finger and crouched down quietly.
Zhou Bing also sensed something and mimicked his actions. Both of them pressed their ears close to the ground.
"Tap tap tap"
A faint, rhythmic vibration could be heard.
"It's the sound of hooves, probably wrapped in thick cloth," Zhou Bing judged with experience.
Whoosh!
A Blood Raven flew overhead again, this time in the opposite direction.
The two remained motionless, crouched on the ground.
Tang Wen focused intently. Hmm, no sense of panic, no feeling of unease or danger.
Had the enemy not noticed us yet?
He reconsidered. The enemy was using the Blood Ravens to avoid the hunting guards earlier.
This meant they probably didn't have any exceptionally powerful experts.
Otherwise, they could have just approached Flame Camp directly.
There was no need for all this sneaking around.
So, could this Awakened one controlling the Red-eyed Ravens be a General-level expert?
Tang Wen shook his head.
A General-level expert would come and go without a trace.
Would such a strong individual need to deliberately avoid their own hunting squad?
In the blink of an eye, the hunting squad would be wiped out.
He had made up his mind and said to Zhou Bing, "You go back and report. I'll follow them."
Before Zhou Bing could object, he quickly added, "I'm fast, I can fight and retreat. With your speed, you can get back to camp and report to General Zhao. It won't take more than an hour for him to get here. I won't make a move during that hour!"
"Really?"
"Mm."
"Wait for me to come back."
Zhou Bing gently touched his cheek, then slipped away like an elegant and agile female leopard.
Tang Wen steeled himself and ventured deeper into the dark forest.
He was determined to follow from a distance. Unless General Zhao arrived, he wouldn't make a move.
Even if the enemy seemed weak, he couldn't act rashly. What if he alerted them?
This was a lead they had worked so hard to uncover!
Thinking of this, he chose a tree with dense foliage and climbed up.
A few minutes later, Tang Wen peered through the gaps in the leaves and saw a group of ten people leading dozens of ponies, clip-clopping through the forest.
He narrowed his eyes. Hmm, at first glance, they didn't seem strong.
Upon closer inspection, well, they were even less impressive than at first glance!
As they passed by him, he didn't feel the slightest bit of fear.
His intuition told him that if he were to strike unexpectedly now, he might even have a sure chance of winning.
But Tang Wen had no plans to make a move.
After the group had moved further away, there was still
no sign of the Blood Raven in the sky.
He slowly descended from the tree, following the sound of their footsteps.
It didn't matter if he couldn't see them; as long as he could hear them, he wouldn't lose track.
But just a few minutes later, suddenly, the sound of hooves came to a halt.
(End of Chapter)