Qi Rusong led his troops on the avenue for two days, and the road gradually turned into a trail not much bigger than the forest path. To the west of the road are rugged limestone hills, while to the east are gentle, flat wilderness stretches endlessly to the end of the pole.

Closer to the destination, everything changes dramatically. Beneath his feet are scorched earth, and as far as the eye can see, there is ruined farmland. There were no living creatures in the land they passed, except for a few wandering wild dogs, which fled without a trace when they heard the sound of people.

Guided by the survivors, they discover that they have reached their destination: Yangyuan Town.

But in Qi Rusong's eyes, this place is really not a town, at most it can be regarded as a larger village.

In the very center of the town is a tall, misshapen camphor tree. It was the largest tree he had ever seen in his life, with a trunk nearly eight feet wide and leafy foliage that enveloped the entire village.

But what really unnerved him was not the size of the tree, but the strange pattern on the tree. Especially a mark drawn on the pattern, which he seemed to have seen somewhere.

"An ancient tree." The wolf sat on his horse, frowning. The leader sent by the Demon Hunting Sect this time is him, his friend! "There's power in it." This power can be felt even by the wolf.

"Have you ever seen this?"

"Déjà vu, but I can't remember." Qi Rusong told him truthfully.

"Then which demon clans are doing it this time?"

"Don't jump to conclusions just yet!" Qi Rusong said, "Give me that thing!" He pointed to the skull in the hollow.

A southern soldier dismounted. He crouched down and reached out with his gloved hand into the mouth of the tree. The hollow was filled with dried red sap, charred by the fire.

He saw another, smaller skull under the skull, with a chipped jaw and half-hidden in ash and broken bones. Then the soldier took the skull to Qi Rusong.

Qi Rulet raised his hands and looked into the hollow eye sockets.

"Why did they burn the bodies?" A Demon Hunter Sect disciple asked puzzled.

"If only bones could talk," muttered the wolf, "this guy can tell us a lot: How did he die?" Who burned him? Why burn? Where did all this crumbs go? ”

He sighed, "Legend has it that Elder Wu can examine bones, but it's a pity that he's not here. ”

Qi Rusong threw the skull back into the tree hole, raising a puff of ashes.

"Give me a closer look at these houses. Wild wolf, you go up the tree and take a look. Bring the hounds here, maybe the traces left behind this time are relatively fresh. But his tone was rather dismissive of the latter.

"Two people were sent to search each room so that nothing was missed." Qi Rusong continued to order.

He rolled over and dismounted, and walked into the low threshold, where the house was solid on the dirt floor. The furniture was crooked, the ground was covered with blood, a mess, and there was a lot of charcoal ash under the smoke vent on the roof.

"These brutes are really ruthless!" The wolf walked in after him.

"Look carefully, if there are any clues left!"

Qi Rusong looked at the pile of dry straw in the corner of the house, then squatted down, reached out to pluck the pile of straw to see if there was anything hidden underneath, and then searched carefully along the wall. As he imagined, nothing was found.

"There's nothing here." The Wild Wolf announced. He didn't expect to find out, "What do you think happened to the villagers here?" Demon Clan? Bandit? Or is it a demon? He asked.

"It must be something bad that we can't imagine." Qi Rusong said, "Which one do you think?" ”

"Well, it's not hard to imagine it, but I'll forget it. Knowing that bad luck is not bad enough? What are you thinking about? The wolf smiled bitterly.

When they came out of the house, two hounds were sniffing by the door. The other dogs searched the village, and the soldiers in charge of the dogs shouted at them, and this man always had a bit of a temper.

The light of the sky fell through the branches and leaves of the camphor tree, shining on Qi Rusong's face, causing him to squint. There was a rustling sound from the branches overhead, and the two branches parted sideways, and a small squirrel-like wandered between the branches.

It is recorded in ancient books that certain cultivators of [Nature Affinity] can communicate with animals. If there is such a cultivator at this time, maybe you can ask about the whereabouts of these squirrel villains!

Soon, the others walked out, and the other rooms were in vain.

No remnants, no footprints, no traces! It's as if the people here have disappeared for no apparent reason!

"We can camp here tonight." A general sent by Qi Tai proposed.

Qi Rusong raised his head and searched for the light of the sky through the branches of the camphor tree. "No," he said, "wolf, how long will it be dark?" ”

"About an hour!"

"Then let's move on," Qi Rusong decided, "go to the lake, set up camp there, and maybe catch a few fish and vegetables." Come, bring pen and paper, I should have written to my father a long time ago. ”

His own soldiers took out paper, pen and ink from their saddle bags and handed them to Qi Rusong. He scribbled in handwriting: "Father, I have arrived in Yangyuan Town, no survivors have been found, and the villains have left.

"Crazy wolf, arrange for someone to send the letter out." He handed the letter to the wolf, then climbed on his mount, turned his horse's head, and walked away briskly.

Outside the shade of the trees, the brothers of the Demon Hunter Gate and the soldiers of Lingnan City stood under smaller trees, tending to their horses, munching on strips of dried meat, scratching their heads, and talking to each other.

When the order was given to proceed, the crowd stopped talking and got on their horses.

Suddenly, a demon hunter screamed, "Gone, gone!" ”

Qi Rusong immediately stopped the team.

"Something is missing!" The wolf scolded, "Don't make a fuss! ”

"Skeletons, skulls are gone!" The demon hunter said with a shudder.

Qi Rusong looked back, and the skull before disappeared without a trace. He opened his soul eye and searched around, but still found nothing, "Who was guarding here just now?" ”

"My lord, it's me!" A southern soldier replied. "I promise I never left!"

Qi Rusong stared into the distance, with a thoughtful expression.

"Something isn't quite right here." The wolf murmured, and he suddenly felt a wave of fear.

"A team of 10 people, divided into teams of 10, explore the surroundings, and report any findings immediately. I'm going to be back here in half an hour, no matter what! Qi Rusong ordered, "The rest of the people stay here for half an hour." ”

So the ten squads took the order and left.

After about a cup of tea, a group of soldiers came full of fear to report, "My lord, there is a discovery ahead!" ”

Qi Rusong immediately got up and went, it was a primeval forest, and horses could not go there, so they could only rely on foot.

The soldiers cut through the dense trees and climbed the gentle slopes.

"Are you sure you're seeing dead people?" As he climbed the slope, the wolf asked, "Can a dead man scare you?" ”

"Lord Wolf, you'll find out later!"

Qi Rusong's brows furrowed, he believed that the soldiers sent by Qi Tai to him were definitely not cowards. "Have you seen it all around? Did you find anything else? His voice echoed in the dim forest of twilight,

"I've probed, but I haven't found anything!"

"Are the dead people you are talking about?" Qi Rusong continued to ask him.

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't see that..."

"Can't see it?" The wolf's lips pursed, and his face looked full of suppressed anger.

"It's... Yes! The man replied in a slurching manner.

"Take us there!" Qi Rusong ordered.