Strategist Ji's palm, filled with spiritual energy, did not dissipate the energy. He still looked extremely cautious. He shook the piece of silk, and it unfolded.
After it was unfolded, there was nothing inside the silk. But his eyes lit up, because as the silk unfolded, he saw a picture drawn on one side of the silk.
He spread the silk flat on the ground and looked at it with concentration. After a while, he couldn't help but smile sinisterly. "Hehe, I was wondering why you were buying so many clothes every time you came back. It turns out you had a picture drawn on them somewhere in the city. You are truly clever. This way, how could I always be on guard against you bringing this thing in? You didn't dare to put this picture in your room, for fear that I would accidentally discover it. So you moved this patch of flowers and plants here and buried this picture in a remote place. You would usually come over to weed and plant flowers, or even lie here. I wouldn't have cared. It's just that this picture has been buried for a long time, and the flower's roots have lost their moisture, so it will inevitably start to wither a little. Do you usually sit or lie here to study this picture?"
At this moment, on one side of the black cloth on the ground, a map was drawn. It was actually a map of the mountain range near this north city. It had to be said that this kind of map was sold in many shops in the city. This was not a military map, but a kind of map for merchants and nearby residents. This map depicted the geography of the nearby Great Green Mountains and some small paths and shortcuts into the mountains. These were not the main things. The main thing was that this kind of map marked what kind of demonic beasts would be in the nearby mountain range for how many li, as well as the types of demonic beasts, and so on. It was mainly to let the nearby residents and passing merchants have some understanding of this Great Green Mountains, so as not to accidentally go too deep or go to the wrong place, and then never return.
There were two sources for this kind of map. One was that the military would release a part of it. The military would go into the mountains to hunt some demonic beasts every year. One was for training troops, and the other was to prevent too many demonic beasts from appearing on the edge of the Great Green Mountains. Although the level of these demonic beasts was not too high, they were also fatal to ordinary mortals. The other source was some commercial guilds among the common people. They would also explore the Great Green Mountains, and in the process of exploration, they had also slowly formed their own maps.
And the map on this piece of black cloth in front of him was clearly not the kind that was sold. It should have been specially drawn by someone, with the intention of making it difficult for others to discover, and easy to mix in with clothes.
Strategist Ji was no longer concerned about the origin of this map now. He casually thought, Hong Linying definitely doesn't know about this map either. This is also a means for Li Yan to protect his life. How could he let others know his whereabouts? What he was concerned about now was how to know this boy's intentions from this map. So, he turned it over and over and looked at it carefully.
After a while, Strategist Ji's eyebrows were filled with joy. "Hehe, even if you are all kinds of clever, how would you know that there is such a thing as divine sense in the world?"
After careful observation, he did not find much. It was only when he held it up to the sun and looked at it carefully with narrowed eyes that he found that there were faint traces on the black cloth, but he could not see them clearly. So, he simply released his divine sense to probe the piece of black cloth. Instantly, several lines were mapped onto his divine sense. The scratches were of different depths, but one of the thicker lines was very obvious. It was a line that went from not far outside the north city gate, along a small path to the west side of the Great Green Mountains, and finally stopped at a place about seventy or eighty li deep. That place was marked as having very few demonic beasts.
These few lines should have been made by long-term wandering on this black cloth map with a finger or a fingernail. But it was very difficult for the cloth to retain such unintentional scratches. It was only after Strategist Ji used his divine sense that they immediately appeared.
Strategist Ji repeatedly observed the thicker line with his divine sense. After a while, he laughed. He knew that the reason this line was thicker than the other lines was that this route had been traced by hand the most times, leaving the most overlapping scratches, which made it appear thicker. The reason for this was that among these few routes, he had considered this route the most, and it was also the most likely. Moreover, that place was marked as having very few demonic beasts. It was not a bad place to hide.
"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't just escape back to your hometown so easily. That would be too easy to find. Sure enough, the clothes you bought and these flowers and plants were all for a purpose."
Strategist Ji put the piece of black cloth in his robes and then shot out of the valley like lightning. He arrived in the clearing outside the valley, raised his voice, and called for Chen An and Li Yin. Amidst the uneasy expressions of the two of them, he gave them a few instructions in a low voice and then quickly went down the mountain.
After Chen An and Li Yin received the order, a thoughtful expression also appeared on their faces. From time to time, they would enter the forest and lead out their horses, then they also rode down the mountain.
The two of them had received Strategist Ji's order to secretly go to Li Family Village at the foot of the Great Green Mountains and carefully investigate the situation in the village. If they found Li Yan in the village, one of them was to stay and guard, and the other was to come back and report to him. Although Strategist Ji was basically sure that Li Yan would not return to the village, he still did not want to let go of any possibility.
After Strategist Ji went down the mountain, he did not immediately go to find Li Yan according to the map. Instead, he went into the city again and secretly searched the "Natural Inn" and the "Ironware Pavilion." After confirming that Li Yan was not there, he finally felt relieved.
Strategist Ji looked at the sky. It was almost noon now. He got some food at the "Natural Inn" and after a simple meal, he stood up and went outside the city.
The mountain road was rugged and covered with thorns. This mountain road was like many mountain roads entering the Great Green Mountains. Not many people usually walked on it, and the weeds and vines in the mountains grew extremely fast, and would soon cover the small paths that had been occasionally opened up by people with interlocking branches and stems.
It was already starting to get hot in the mountains in the early summer noon. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow, and there would be a trace of coolness. The wind was mixed with the fragrance of wildflowers, which also gave people a comfortable feeling.
But the person walking in it at this time was not feeling very well. Strategist Ji, in his black robe, his face "dark," would occasionally bend down to look for something, and then continue to walk forward. He was now covered in sweat.
Here, divine sense did not seem to be very useful. Looking at the place he was going from the map, it was about seventy or eighty li from the turnoff from the main road. It was not too far, especially for a person with his skills. But the bottom was covered with thorns, and the top was lined with massive tree canopies. As you walked, you would often encounter many forks in the road. These small paths were also covered with thorns and shrubs. If you were not careful, you would go in the wrong direction, and then you might find yourself in a very deviated position.
Although with his current spiritual power, he could fly across the flat ground, this would inevitably startle the birds and beasts in the forest. That boy might hear it from a distance and would surely become a "startled bird." It would increase the difficulty of his search. Therefore, he had to proceed cautiously to get close to Li Yan and capture him in one fell swoop.
Looking at the shrubs on the ground, the veins on Strategist Ji's forehead bulged. It was obvious that someone had tampered with this again. He had walked cautiously for the time it takes for a cup of tea and had already encountered this situation several times. This time, he had no choice but to adjust his direction again. That boy actually knew how to make disguises, traps, and the like. And these physical changes could not be detected by his divine sense. His divine sense could only be used in place of his eyes to see more clearly or farther. Of course, with Strategist Ji's current spiritual power, his divine sense could not see farther than his eyes. But seeing is one thing. Whether it is right or wrong, true or false, still needs to be judged by a human.
Since he had entered the mountain, in a short journey of about twenty li, he had adjusted his direction at least four times. One time, he had almost startled the birds in the forest. Although he did not think that Li Yan could see him here, he did not dare to be careless. He now had a new understanding of Li Yan. He knew that this boy was patient and his mind might not be inferior to his. This made even him a little shaken. He could not guarantee that Li Yan was going to the place marked on the map. Maybe he had changed direction halfway or was hiding halfway.
This was because he still had a lack of detailed understanding of Li Yan. Li Yan had been hunting in the mountains with the adults in the village since he was a child. Half of the village's income came from hunting. They naturally had a set of hunting methods passed down from their ancestors. Disguises and traps like this were just things they often did. Otherwise, with the agility of demonic beasts, even unranked ones, their natural alertness would make them extremely difficult to capture.
Although Strategist Ji's "Immortal-Seeking Lineage" also had methods of hiding and searching, they were mainly for avoiding demonic beasts. The searching methods were for the various clues left by immortals.
Time passed bit by bit, and the sun also slowly slanted to the west. When night was about to fall, he finally arrived at the halfway point of a mountain peak without disturbing too many birds and beasts.
Strategist Ji was now lying in the canopy of a giant tree, looking up ahead. About a li away from him, at the halfway point of the mountain peak, there was a platform of about seven or eight zhang. On the platform, a few giant pine trees swayed with the gentle wind, and there was a faint sound of soughing pines. At this time, under a pine tree, a person was sitting and eating.
Strategist Ji circulated his spiritual power to his eyes and looked with concentration. The person was also in a black robe, sitting on a huge rock under the pine tree, eating listlessly, looking around from time to time. And behind him was a cliff.
"You are here?" After looking for a while, the person was indeed Li Yan. He couldn't help but mutter.
"Although there are few demonic beasts here, and it's a good place to hide, on this halfway point of the mountain, where else can you go?"
Strategist Ji did not act immediately while lying in the huge tree canopy. He was considering how to strike in one blow, because Li Yan was sitting on the rock under the giant pine tree, and the cliff behind him was very close. As for how deep the cliff was, it could not be judged from the direction he had come from. It was possible that from some point after he had entered the mountain, he had been climbing up a slope. It was just that this side was a gentle slope.
If he could not capture Li Yan in one blow, and Li Yan was forced into a desperate situation, there was no guarantee that he would not fight to the death. In a desperate situation, all he had to do was turn around, and he could go into the cliff. At that time, he would have nothing.
He just lay in the huge canopy and observed quietly. After Li Yan finished eating, he took out a water pouch from the bundle on the ground and took a sip. Then he placed the water pouch on the stone slab at his feet.
Suddenly, he seemed to have heard something. He suddenly lay down on the ground. This made Strategist Ji's heart tighten.
He clearly had not made any sound just now. Had this boy discovered him? Then he saw Li Yan, after lying down, slowly raise his head slightly and slowly look in his direction. His heart immediately leaped to his throat. "Damn it, this boy has really discovered me. How did he discover me?" Strategist Ji cursed in his heart. Since he had been discovered, he had to speak up. Yes, "speak up." This was also a method he had just considered. The distance was a bit too far, and it was a journey of about a li from bottom to top. He could not, in the time it took for Li Yan to turn around, reach Li Yan and capture him.
Just as he was about to stand up and speak to stabilize Li Yan, he suddenly felt that something was wrong again. The boy's eyes left here and slowly scanned to the left of his body, and his eyes began to become extremely vigilant.
"Could there be someone else to my left? No, I had just searched the vicinity when I arrived and did not find anything there, so I hid here. Is this boy too sensitive? Maybe it's just a false alarm." So, Strategist Ji stabilized his body again and looked to see what to do next.
Sure enough, after a short while, Li Yan on the halfway point of the mountain looked for a while longer. It was just that it was not only to the left of Strategist Ji's current position, but he also looked carefully at the right side for a while. Then he slowly got up again.
"Damn it, he really is just nervous. This boy is a bit paranoid. He's like this with just a gust of wind." Strategist Ji was furious in his heart and couldn't help but curse. He had almost exposed his tracks just now. If he had really gone out and hadn't been able to stabilize the boy, he would have regretted it so much.
At this time, after Li Yan stood up on the halfway point of the mountain, he looked around again, then listened carefully for a while with his ear cocked. Finally, he sat down on the huge rock again dejectedly. He looked down and couldn't help but scramble to pick up the water pouch that he had just placed beside him. It turned out that when he had suddenly lain down just now, he had kicked over the water pouch that he had casually placed by the huge rock and had not yet covered. At this time, clear water was gurgling out of the mouth of the water pouch. Although there were clear springs in this mountain, there were none nearby. He had to walk a long way to get water.
Li Yan quickly picked up the water pouch, put the stopper on it, and then shook it by his ear. He couldn't help but sigh.
And just at this time, Strategist Ji on the huge tree canopy unexpectedly discovered a situation. As the water from the water pouch poured out, the color of the rock on Li Yan's side was different. His heart moved, and he once again focused his mind and filled his eyes with spiritual power to look. After looking carefully for a while, he couldn't help but be shocked.