Early morning.

In the dense forests of the deep mountains of western Southern Yunnan, a man with a square face trekked through the mountains. Although it was pitch black in the middle of the night and the roads were rugged, the man walked as if on flat ground.

Suddenly, a roar sounded from the side, and surprisingly, a wild boar leapt out, attacking the square-faced man.

If it were an average person, seeing a wild boar, their first reaction would likely be shock, and if the boar attacked, they’d be even more terrified—either freezing in fear or fleeing swiftly.

But this square-faced man wasn’t scared in the least, instead, he revealed a delighted smile: "Just in time."

Half an hour later.

Near this mountainous forest, in a Half Mountain cave, the square-faced man sat on a large rock. In front of him was a fire, and on a makeshift rack above the flames, wild boar meat was roasting, sizzling with oil, wafting a savory aroma. The square-faced man carved the meat with a knife and feasted on it heartily...

Nearly three in the morning.

Cyan Ox Stronghold, a mountain village near the Ten Thousand Mountains in western Southern Yunnan, was in complete darkness, with the entire village asleep, surrounded by silence.

Two dazzling headlights and the sound of a moving vehicle broke the village’s calm, as a Hummer slowly drove into Cyan Ox Stronghold.

The Hummer’s arrival disturbed the village dogs, causing a cacophony of barking. Some unleashed dogs even ran out onto the village road, standing by the roadside, barking furiously at the Hummer.

Lin Fan ignored these dogs as he drove, observing outside the car. Following the navigation, he had driven for nearly three hours and finally arrived here—Cyan Ox Stronghold, not far from the Yun Sect.

Lin Fan soon noticed a taxi parked ahead by the roadside. He drove up and parked behind the taxi.

Lin Fan promptly got out of the car.

In the chilly dawn of the deep mountains, mist was falling from the sky, enveloping everything in a coolness.

Fortunately, Lin Fan’s robust physique kept him warm enough.

Lin Fan walked to the driver’s side of the taxi, where through the window, he could see someone slumped in the driver’s seat, head against the steering wheel—clearly not a normal sleeping posture, but a sign of having been knocked unconscious.

Lin Fan opened the car door, reached in, and helped lift the driver’s head, leaning it against the seat, then pressed a pressure point on the driver’s face.

The driver jerked awake, inhaling sharply, suddenly appearing full of fright, as if having experienced something terrifying.

Lin Fan said, "Don’t be afraid, you’re fine now. Tell me, what happened?"

The driver glanced at Lin Fan, seeing his kind demeanor and not looking like a bad person, gradually calmed down and began to recount his ordeal to Lin Fan.

"Tonight, I picked up a woman in Kun City. She seemed awfully anxious and rushed, wanting to go to Cyan Ox Stronghold. I checked this place on the map and saw it was too far and remote, not worth the fare, so I refused her and told her to call another cab. But she said she was in urgent need to get home and would pay double for the round trip, so I relented and agreed..."

"She was urging me along the way, and I didn’t think she was faking it, as there seemed to be an emergency at home. Out of goodwill, I even took a shortcut to bring her here. Once we arrived, she told me to stop, and I asked for the fare. She asked how much, and I said double the fare, 400 yuan, which she agreed to. But then she told me she had no money, and I got anxious—what’s the point of taking a cab if you can’t pay, right? Then she told me to wait here a bit; someone would help pay her fare. Naturally, I refused, and before I could say more, she suddenly attacked me. My vision went black instantly, and I collapsed completely."

Lin Fan said, sweating, "Was this woman wearing a blue shirt, white casual pants, and a mask?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The driver replied, "Yes, great figure."

Lin Fan asked, "How long have you been here?"

The driver checked the time, "It’s been over half an hour."

Originally, Lin Fan had sped up, trying to catch Yun Qingyao, but hadn’t anticipated the driver taking a shortcut. After all the calculations, Yun Qingyao still beat him by half an hour.

Lin Fan asked, "Do you know where she went?"

The driver looked outside, trying to figure it out, "I... I think she went over there. Late at night, I couldn’t see clearly. I was dizzy at the time, just saw her silhouette blurring, then I didn’t know anything else."

Lin Fan nodded, pulled out his wallet, took out five red banknotes, and handed them to the driver, "Here’s 500 for you; consider tonight’s events as never happening, understand? Don’t make trouble for yourself."

Even though mobile payments are very convenient today, Lin Fan still kept enough cash in his wallet, because sometimes cash works better. If he had tried mobile payment now and the other party turned around and reported to the police, the cops might hassle him, and unnecessary trouble would be best avoided.

The driver thankfully accepted the banknotes, nodding quickly, "Alright."

Finally getting paid for the trip, and even more than the expected amount by 100 yuan, the driver felt relieved and naturally didn’t want further trouble. Late at night, people heading deep into the mountains are surely up to something unusual.

Lin Fan said, "Hold on a moment, I’ll check your car, then you can leave."

With that, Lin Fan moved to the passenger side, crouched down, activated top-level Insight, and began to observe.

The mountain mist assisted him, wetting the ground, leaving clear footprints in the moist earth. Lin Fan, with his top-level Insight, could see them distinctly.

Lin Fan examined for a bit, then stood up and followed the footprints forward. After walking a certain distance, he turned and waved at the driver, signaling him it was alright to leave. The driver, who wouldn’t dare leave without Lin Fan’s indication, promptly started his car and took off.

He swore he’d never return here in his lifetime.

Lin Fan ignored the driver, continuing down the path marked by footprints.

A black dog emerged from the roadside, barking furiously at Lin Fan. This breed of farm dog seemed troublesome at first glance, very fierce, ready to leap at Lin Fan, this stranger, at any moment.

Lin Fan turned his head to look but paid no attention to the dog. Instead, his gaze settled on a house not far away, where he noticed someone hiding behind it, secretly watching him.

Noticing Lin Fan’s gaze, the person immediately pulled back, vanishing from sight.

Lin Fan frowned slightly and walked towards where the person had been hiding.

Seeing Lin Fan step into its domain, the ferocious village dog finally couldn’t stand it and bared its sharp teeth, lunging at Lin Fan, trying to bite him.

A few seconds later.

Lin Fan walked calmly into the village, while the fierce village dog lay motionless on the ground, whimpering softly.

In an alley of the village, a limping man hurriedly walked, trying to leave quickly.

Suddenly, a shadow emerged ahead, blocking his path. Lin Fan, without anyone noticing, had already reached ahead of him.

The limping man was startled, realizing he had encountered something tough and intended to turn and flee, but within moments, Lin Fan was in front of him, gripping him by the back.

"What do you want?" the limping man exclaimed fearfully.

Lin Fan asked in a deep voice, "I’m looking for the Yun Sect. Do you know it?"