Ye Xi was silent for a moment, then she asked, "Is their stronghold here or did they just flee here?"
"They fled here. They were just going to leave in a few days." Zhazha stopped for a while before continuing," Because of this, if you follow common sense, they may try to hide from you if they find you, just so they can leave worry-free. But the way the people in this world think are a bit difficult to say, so it's best if you try to avoid them."
Ye Xi hummed in acknowledgment. Before she could ask anything more, she heard a scream from the back.
Ye Xi was shocked. She quickly hung up and went over just to see Ding Xiuxiu sitting on the ground shaking and holding Wei Shenglan's thigh...
Wei Shenglan's face was sullen as he tried to push her away.
Ye Xi looked all around them and then asked Ding Xiuxiu, "What happened?"
Ding Xiuxiu raised her head to look at her with tears in her eyes. "There are snakes..."
Ye Xi asked, "Where are they?"
Ding Xiuxiu responded, "They ran away..."
Ye Xi was pissed. "Then what are you shaking for?"
Ding Xiuxiu's face looked dumbfounded for a moment. Then, she finally realized, "Oh right!"
Seeing that she had finally calmed down, Wei Shenglan shook his leg, saying, "Get up."
Only then did Ding Xiuxiu realize that she had held onto Wei Shenglan's thigh after falling down in a panic. She immediately climbed back up and her face that was pale with fear was now ruddy with embarrassment.
The three of them were fine at this moment. They just had to keep going.
Ye Xi just remembered that she had forgotten to ask Zhazha which way they should take, but records of Zhazha's calls would always disappear after the call ends. She couldn't call her back and could only wait for Zhazha to call. But there was a faster method, which was to find Luo Nuanfeng. He knew the terrain of this place. Even though he had only seen this place from afar, it's better than bumping headfirst into the unknown.
With that decision in mind, Ye Xi looked towards the two of them and said, "I think it's better if we go and look for Luo Nuanfeng. At the very least, he knows the terrain here. What's more, we don't know what sort of dangers we'll find here. It's better to stay in a large group."
Wei Shenglan nodded. He had been listening to her thoughts this whole time, and with what he understood of her thoughts, he could also guess a few things from it. There was no need to deny her now.
Ding Xiuxiu nodded fiercely. This entire situation was too embarrassing for her right now. It's better if Luo Nuanfeng was here.
After a moment of joy, Ding Xiuxiu asked, "How are we going to look for them?"
Ye Xi responded, "We'll go back from where we came, then we can go the direction they headed off to. This area is completely undeveloped and nobody really comes here. They'll definitely leave marks as they go. If we follow those traces, we should be able to find them soon enough."
"Okay." Ding Xiuxiu nodded obediently. She was in a state of confusion right now and was completely unable to think. So, she just nodded to Ye Xi's words and did not pay too much attention. As long as it made sense, it was reassuring enough.
The three turned back the same way they went. They did not get lost since they followed the tracks they left from earlier and reached the cliff where they were at before.
Ye Xi looked around the area. She had forgotten which direction Luo Nuanfeng and the rest took.
Ding Xiuxiu was anxious as she asked, "Why did we stop? I'm tired and hungry, I want to go home."
Wei Shenglan looked at the big tree to the right and said, "They were going in that direction."
Ye Xi was very confident in Wei Shenglan's memory, but for the sake of insurance, she still asked, "Are you sure?"
Wei Shenglan nodded.
"Alright, let's go that way." Then, Ye Xi began walking towards the tree.
Wei Shenglan followed behind her.
Seeing that nobody was paying attention to her pain, Ding Xiuxiu followed them with many grievances.
After getting close to the big tree, they could see that the weeds behind it had been stepped on by something. They looked pitifully wilted while the weeds on the side were all growing tall and strong.
Ye Xi followed along the weeds.
The three went a long way and finally saw three people climbing trees in the distance.
Ye Xi walked closer to them and saw Luo Nuanfeng and the other boys climbing up the trees to pick fruits. There were many branches on this tree and they were pretty strong. It's a good tree that's easy to climb and won't break and throw you off.
Dong Fangyu was at the very bottom. He tried to climb up the tree with much difficulty, but then he slipped off and pulled his shirt out, saying, "Throw them here."
Luo Nuanfeng picked a fruit from the tree and looked down. When he saw Ye Xi and co, he was surprised. "Were we going in the same direction?"
Dong Fangyu: ???
Ye Xi smiled and said, "We came to look for you guys."
Dong Fangyu was shocked. When he turned back and saw that it was them, he finally calmed down.
When Nan Gonghai heard her voice, he turned back to look. He was a little surprised, but he was mostly happy to see her. He grabbed a branch with one hand and plucked off a fruit with the other before waving at them and saying, "Long time no see."
Ye Xi asked, "What fruit is this?"