Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Choosing to take Zhong Hongyao away was not because of friendship or lust, but because staying behind might not be a good thing.

Zhao He and Chen Mu were acquaintances, and it would be convenient for them to stay and look after each other. If he took one of them away, the other would inevitably be left isolated and helpless.

He walked towards the women's barracks. Since it was inconvenient to go in, he casually asked someone who needed to enter to let him know. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a beautiful figure emerged from the barracks.

It was Zhong Hongyao.

She wore a form-fitting, deep blue outfit embroidered with silver patterns, her long hair tied high with a silk ribbon, revealing her smooth forehead. Her delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her tone carried a distant politeness:

"I wonder why the Star Team is specifically looking for me? What brings you here?"

Ning Che cut to the chase: "You're part of this mission."

"I've been ill lately, so it's a pity I can't accompany you, Captain." She said calmly, without any regret, and then turned to leave.

Ning Che didn't stop her, but waited for her to take two steps before speaking slowly:

"It's good that Miss Zhong is recuperating in the camp; Commander Zhao will take care of her. It's just, alas—what a pity."

Zhong Hongyao stopped in her tracks.

Ning Che shook his head and sighed, as if he were truly heartbroken: "Firstly, the young lady herself has an incurable illness, which makes me really doubt the quality of the Zhong family's elixirs."

Secondly, I saw that Zhong Siqi, the mountain guardian stationed in Heiyan Village, died in that poor and desolate place, and his own family refused to even claim his body. Sigh, this makes me suspicious of the Zhong family. Sigh—”

This long sigh did indeed make Zhong Hongyao turn around.

The aloofness in her delicate eyes had vanished, replaced by a coldness of offense: "Captain Xing, are you threatening me?"

"I'm trying to reason with you." Ning Che said seriously, meeting her gaze sharply.

"Commander Mu, in selecting his generals, of all people, chose me, the newcomer; then, of all people, he assigned me Lin Ye; and then, of all people, he separated those I knew. Do you, Miss Zhong, think this series of 'of all people' is just a coincidence, or do you simply believe you can escape unscathed?"

Zhong Hongyao was silent for a moment.

She naturally understood this series of unexpected events.

This is undoubtedly a trap, and how could she possibly escape being involved?

Ning Che came to call her, ostensibly to give her a choice, but in reality to tell her: you have been seen.

Since Mu Qingming could understand everyone's relationships so clearly, how could he not know that Zhong Hongyao was under Ning Che's command?

If she feigns illness and doesn't go, and the mission goes wrong, Mu Qingming will have plenty of leverage to use the charge that "Zhong Hongyao disobeyed orders" when he investigates. This matter could be minor or serious, but as a member of a prominent family, having enjoyed the family's resources, she cannot fail to consider the family's interests.

But if I go...

Zhong Hongyao looked at Ning Che and realized that she had been too arrogant. This was the first time she had really looked at this country boy who had won the championship.

At this moment, he stood before her, his eyes clear and bright, inexplicably reminding her of autumn frost under the moonlight.

"Team Leader Xing." She suddenly spoke, the distant politeness in her tone largely gone, replaced by a businesslike decisiveness. "I'll go back and prepare. See you at the mountain gate in fifteen minutes."

Ning Che nodded without saying anything more, packed his things, and led Lin Ye to the mountain gate.

Before long, the three met up.

Zhong Hongyao changed into a pair of short boots more suitable for traveling, and a bulging blue cloth bag was now at her waist, its contents unknown. Her long hair was still tied up high, revealing her slender neck, which was dazzlingly white in the morning light.

Lin Ye stood alone, unprepared, with his hands behind his back, staring blankly at the sky.

Only Ning Che carried large and small bags, like an "attached wart," looking rustic and like a country bumpkin going to the city market.

This situation only eased when Ning Che used his official seal to take possession of the carriage and unloaded all his belongings into the carriage.

Just before setting off, an awkward situation arose. Ning Che couldn't ride a horse, and neither could the other two. It was only after Zhong Hongyao found a coachman from her family that they were able to set off.

The carriage drove out of the mountain gate. It was already late. The sun was shining obliquely, and all that could be heard was the sound of the wheels rolling over the gravel.

After a long silence, Ning Che broke it first. He opened the file, took out a brand-new charcoal pencil from a small bag, and looked at Lin Ye:

"Speak. What's the situation in Blackrock Village? Where is the mountain guardian's post? Do you know those two guards? And what do you think might be the reason they haven't been able to send out any information? Tell me from the beginning, don't leave anything out."

The forest was silent.

Ning Che didn't rush him, and briefly sorted out the information he already knew. Apart from the original owner's knowledge of Black Rock Village, there was only basic information about the two mountain guardians.

They were all ninth-grade cultivators, but before any news could be sent out, their blood pacts were broken, which meant that they had met with misfortune.

The only sounds in the carriage were the clatter of wheels and whips. Zhong Hongyao turned her gaze from the window to Ning Che's face, a hint of scrutiny in her eyes: "Will charcoal work?"

"It'll do, it'll be the same no matter what you write down." Ning Che didn't care.

"It's nothing," Lin Ye finally spoke. "Black Rock Village isn't big, just about a hundred households, a total of a few hundred people. The village is bordered by a mountain on one side and a river on the other, and the only way out is the wilderness. If you wander around a bit, you can find the way to the city."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "The mountain guards are stationed at the west end of the village, next to the pass leading into the mountains. Zhong Siqi and Lin Dayou have been stationed there for almost a year."

I don't know Zhong Siqi well; I only know he's a young master from a prominent family in the city who doesn't often leave his post. Lin Dayou is a local from Heiyan Village, a distant relative of mine, and he volunteered to be stationed here. When I was there, everything was normal.

Later, the calamity worsened, and the beast tide became too ferocious. Fortunately, Commander Mu arrived. He not only dealt with the beast tide but also hunted enough meat for us to eat for a year…”

Ning Che didn't hear any useful information, but based on the principle that something is better than nothing, he still wrote it down for the time being.

The further out of the city you go, the more pronounced the signs of the calamity become.

The roadside weeds had all withered into a dark gray, and the century-old trees were cracked and parched. A gust of wind blew, filling the air with dust, and even the sun overhead was veiled in a dim, yellowish haze. Only a deathly, desolate atmosphere remained between heaven and earth.

On the road, I encountered two refugees fleeing from disaster. They were emaciated and had numb eyes. They were running around in the night, and when they saw a carriage, they knelt down by the roadside and kowtowed.

Just as Lin Ye was about to take out his dry rations, Zhong Hongyao had already told the driver to rush over.

Ning Che didn't speak, but took out two coarse grain cakes from a bundle, opened the carriage window, and tossed them out. The cakes drew a graceful arc in mid-air and landed perfectly in the hands of the two men.

Further on, the ground turned into bare rock, clearly indicating that we had reached the wasteland, and Black Rock Village was not far away.