Xie An did not answer aloud, but he knew in his heart that it was impossible.
Xie An had come into contact with the chamber-pot lad twice before. The other party had never practiced martial arts and was probably a minor servant of some wealthy household. He had stolen some antiques from his master's family and come to sell them because he did not know their true value. That was how Xie An had managed to pick up such a bargain.
However, Zhang Lin did not know the chamber-pot lad, and with such a great distance between them, he could not sense the lad's aura. Since the lad had also been walking behind the red-bearded hunter the whole time, Zhang Lin had guessed that the lad was the Plum Blossom Fiend.
Xie An and Zhang Lin proceeded through the dense forest, continuing to follow them for two or three li. A fork in the road appeared ahead. The red-bearded hunter seemed to know that someone was following him and deliberately stopped at the fork. When the masked chamber-pot lad caught up, the red-bearded hunter glared viciously at him and tightened his grip on his bow and arrows, putting on a highly wary expression.
After the two sides faced off for a moment, the chamber-pot lad entered the fork on the left.
Only then did the red-bearded hunter lower his bow and arrows and turn toward the fork on the right.
"They actually split up. What should we do?" Zhang Lin looked troubled.
Xie An glanced at the sky. "In another half hour, it'll be fully light. I'll follow the lad. You follow the hunter."
Zhang Lin was shocked. "Old Brother, that chamber-pot lad really might be suspicious. It'll be dangerous for you to go..."
He very much wanted to suggest