Chapter 11: Tracking (Seeking Recommendation Tickets)

  "Where did this little green snake come from?" Xu Mo was startled.

  "Scared me to death!" Liu Qian looked around in all directions, but didn't see any other snakes or insects, and let out a sigh of relief. He pointed at the plant and said loudly, "Just now that little snake was coiled on one of the branches, sticking out its tongue to lick one of the fruits."

  He reached out and plucked a green fruit from that plant, then said, "I still remember, it was this one that he licked back then."

  Xu Mo glanced at the green fruit and was stunned. The green fruit was extremely small, less than half the size of the others, and it seemed to have grown out for a short time. However, more than half of its surface was covered with white hair.

  "How strange!" Xu Mo muttered to himself.

  "What's wrong?" Liu Qian heard and hastily inquired.

  Xu Mo pointed at the green fruit and said, "This white down, really only grows after the green fruit is ripe? This fruit is obviously still far from being ripe."

  Liu Qian looked at the green fruit with a puzzled expression, then glanced at other fruits, and suddenly exclaimed as if he had an epiphany: "I understand now! Damn it, this fruit must have been born with white hair. Those without white hair were licked away by that small snake."

  He glared into the crack in the stone with a scowl, cursing loudly: "This little beast, next time it comes out, if I catch it, I'll smash it to death with this stone!"

  Xu Mo also felt that his guess was reasonable, and suggested: "Let's first scrape off the remaining white hair on the other green fruits, otherwise I'm afraid they will be licked away by that little snake."

  Liu Qianlian nodded in agreement, and the two of them each plucked a leaf from the plant. They carefully scraped off the remaining white down from the surface of the green fruit onto small paper packets on their bodies, and then transplanted one of the plants to a nearby location.

  Liu Qian continued, "From now on, we'll come over every day to take a look. Once we find new fruit growing, we'll immediately scrape off the white fluff on top, lest that little beast ruins it again. This white fluff contains hallucinogenic components, and who knows, maybe other animals will like it too, aside from that small snake."

  Xu Mo nodded, suddenly remembering the golden scorpion, black toad, silver-white centipede, and palm-sized white spider from yesterday. He thought: This little snake must also be venomous. Is it because of the white hairs on the surface of the Qingguo that this mountain attracts so many poisonous insects? Do these poisonous insects all like to eat these white hairs?

  The thought flashed through his mind and he didn't think deeply about it. The two of them transplanted a plant to the side and then returned to their residence.

  At night, before falling asleep, Xu Mo took out the Fantasy Powder in his quilt and looked at it. He couldn't help but feel curious: would this thing really be useful for his Quiet Breathing? If it was indeed useful, he would cultivate Quiet Breathing to perfection. Besides not fearing cold, would there be other benefits?

  Worried that the fairy powder would be addictive, but recalling the wonders of quiet breathing, I couldn't resist the urge and brought the powder to my lips, licking a bit with my tongue and sucking it in.

  The powder is bland and tasteless, when it passes over the tongue, there is a very slight numbness, if not paying attention, almost can't feel it.

  The powder dissolved in water instantly, and in the blink of an eye, it had merged into his saliva, as if it had turned into a clear stream that flowed down his throat. His mind was like when he first drank wine, suddenly becoming dizzy.

  "Don't waste the efficacy of the medicine!"

  Immediately pick up the powder paper bag, lie down sideways, and concentrate on imagining yourself running.

  That fantasy powder really had an amazing effect, and this imagination was like it was real, a three-dimensional picture suddenly appeared in his mind, it was the scene of him running on the road he imagined, for a moment, if he wasn't still somewhat clear-headed, he would have almost doubted that the self who was running was the real one.

  He struggled to stay awake, but sweat began to seep out of his forehead, and his heart rate accelerated, breathing becoming heavier.

  He knew that the effect of the medicine would soon pass, so he calmed down and made an effort to experience the feeling thoroughly, trying hard to find out the reason why such a result was produced.

  The effect of the Dream Powder didn't last very long, and after a few minutes, that feeling disappeared. In such a short period of time, he naturally couldn't experience anything.

  He stood still for a moment, feeling as if he had just woken up from a dream, with nothing left behind. He let out a sigh and took out the powder again, wanting to try once more.

  Just as I was about to take it, I couldn't help but think: the off-road driver had said that this powder was extremely expensive. Although my own stock wasn't much, if I sold it, with its high price, at least it could temporarily solve my living problems.

  My mind suddenly became contradictory, hesitant and uncertain. But then I thought again: I don't have a sales channel, even if I had the powder, who would I sell it to? If I went out on the streets to peddle it, this is a banned product, what if I got caught, my life would be over.

  He never did anything illegal, and he couldn't shake off the mental shackles in a short time. After some thought, he gave up his plan to sell medicine powder and focused on practicing his quiet breathing exercises.

  He took some more medicine powder, imagined various exercise scenes, and quietly experienced the effect of quiet breathing. This continued for three or four times, but still with no result. He felt tired and unknowingly fell asleep.

  In the midst of drowsiness, but just as she heard the creaking sound of the door, Xu Mo was startled awake and glanced at the doorway, just in time to see a figure sneak out stealthily and quietly close the door.

  Xu Mo was startled: Could it be a thief?

  He then felt that the possibility was not great, and looked at other beds. He slept on the upper berth, so he slightly turned his head, and the situation of other beds came into view. Everyone else was lying in bed, only Ma Wu's bed was empty.

  "It turned out to be Ma Wu."

  His heart suddenly calmed down, closed his eyes, and was about to continue sleeping. But at this moment, Liu Gan sat up from the bed opposite him, gently pushed him on the leg, and then lowered his voice, calling out softly: "Xu brother, Xu brother!"

  Xu Mo slightly raised his head, "What's up?"

  Others were still sleeping, so he lowered his voice as well.

  Liu Qian beckoned him over with a wave of his hand and whispered: "Come a little closer."

  Xu Mo's heart was filled with doubts, and he had no choice but to sit up like him, lean forward, and ask again in a low voice: "What's going on?"

  Liu Qian suppressed his voice, "The one with the surname Ma just went out."

  "What?" Xu Mo couldn't help but smile wryly, thinking he was going to say something, but it turned out to be just this matter. He said nonchalantly, "I saw him, maybe he went out to the restroom."

  "No." Liu Qian hastily said: "Last night he also went out, and returned only after three or four hours. This guy surnamed Ma is suspicious, he came to the mountain for a reason. Didn't you notice? He sleeps at night without taking off his clothes."

  Xu Mo slept too early last night, and tonight he's been pondering the matter of quiet breathing, and indeed hadn't noticed it until he mentioned it, but upon careful thought, it seems to be true.

  But he is taciturn and doesn't like to interfere with others' business. "What's it to us what he does?"

  Liu Qiandao said, "Things on the road are not that simple. This guy lives with us, what if something happens? It's fine if it's a small matter, but big things will definitely implicate us, and it can't be explained."

  Xu Mo was stunned for a moment, and only then did he remember that the guy in front of him had also been involved with the underworld. He didn't have any experience handling this kind of thing, so he could only ask Liu Qian, "What should we do?"

  Liu Qiandao said: "Let's go and take a look."

  Xu Mo hesitated and said: "If we follow him, what if we get caught? We'll be considered his accomplices, and even with a good reason, it's hard to explain."

  "Heh heh!" Liu Qian chuckled, "That guy's goal, I'm guessing, is very likely related to the Fantasy Powder. Let's take a look at the past and we can also gain some benefits along the way."

  Xu Mo suddenly had a feeling of being deceived, Liu Qian insisted that the reason was in the past, but he was afraid that it was still because of this Fantasy Powder. The effect of Fantasy Powder, he had also tried it, and indeed it was effective, naturally wanting to get more, only if accidentally discovered...

  Liu Qian looked at him and immediately guessed something, persuading: "Wealth and honor are sought in danger, Brother Xu, do you want to be down on your luck for the rest of your life?"

  Xu Mo hesitated and said: "We've already found the plant that produces the Fantasy Powder, why must we take another risk?"

  Liu Qian sneered, "Who knows if that plant will survive after being transplanted? Opportunities are fleeting, and if you don't seize them, they'll be gone forever. Have you forgotten how that little girl treated us today? We're all born of the same parents, no one is inferior to anyone else, lacking two arms or a leg. Why did she treat us like this? Don't you understand yet? Living in such humiliation, what's the difference between it and death?"

  These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Xu Mo's heart. He felt a sudden chill, thought of his own experiences, and gritted his teeth, making up his mind. "You're right, let's take a look at the past."

  Liu Qian smiled slightly. The two of them got up from the bed and quietly walked out the door.

  The night temperature was no different from the daytime, but Xiang Mo's thin clothes were blown by the mountain wind, and he suddenly felt that his clothes were full of cold air. His body couldn't stop trembling, his teeth chattering, making a rattling sound.

  Liu Qian glanced at him and sneered: "You've fallen to this state, yet you still care about danger?"

  He was obviously well-versed in human nature, and these words, heard at this time by Xu Mo, not only didn't feel unpleasant to the ear, but instead increased his conviction, adding a few points of determination.

  He was originally frozen and shrank his body, but after hearing this, he had a rebellious idea, "Liu Qian is right, it's just cold, if I can't even bear this little pain, how can I get through the current difficulties?"

  Stretching out his limbs, he thought to himself: "I don't believe it, this damned weather can still freeze me to death."

  He was self-pitying and suffering, but felt that the world was his enemy. As he looked out with both eyes, this vast heaven and earth, the weather and celestial phenomena, all became his enemies in an instant.

  The two of them lingered in the room for a while, and when they came out of the house, Ma Wu had already disappeared without a trace.

  Liu Qian looked around in all directions, but couldn't see Ma Wu anywhere. He couldn't help but let out a sigh, "What a pity, he's gone."

  Xu Mo secretly regretted not making a decision earlier, and with a sudden kick, he sent a stone on the ground flying away. Suddenly remembering the heavily guarded courtyard by the river, an idea flashed through his mind, and he gritted his teeth, saying: "Follow me!"

  Pulling Liu Gan along, they rushed towards the courtyard by the river. The two of them quickened their pace and before long, they saw a furtive figure in front of them.