The Missing Caravan Escorts

The interior of the stone fortress was simply furnished, consisting only of stone tables, chairs, and beds, apart from the Talismans on the walls.

Yue Zhenqiao sat on a stone chair, picked up a water bag to moisten his throat, and then began to tell Lin Yu and Li Nian his story.

"You two Heroine may not know this, but the Chen Family Fortress of Double Saw Mountain is surrounded by five large Fire Hell towns: Guzhen Town, Willow Town, Xian Town Xi Town, Xi Town, and Qi Town. Moreover, it is almost on their only route, and it used to be one of the best places for caravans and escort teams to stop—after all, the nearest village, Five Springs Village, is still a half-day's journey for a normal caravan."

"Even if we didn't encounter such an unexpected situation as we did today, using Chen Family Fortress as a place to rest and spend the afternoon would still be a good itinerary."

"More than ten years ago, when I was a greenhorn and a young bodyguard, my master once said that Chen Family Fortress was a very lively resting place when it was young— at Noon, three or four caravans and bodyguard teams would often gather here at the same time."

"The reason why such a grand occasion is no longer there is naturally because... Chen Family Fortress has been somewhat 'unlucky' since more than ten years ago."

Yue Zhenqiao glanced out the window and lowered his voice to speak.

"Among the caravans and escort teams that pass through this area and set up camp, one or two out of ten will encounter some kind of misfortune at first—either members mysteriously disappear or goods are lost. In short, it is said that as soon as they enter 'Chen Family Fortress,' there is a chance that the caravan will be short of people or the carts will be short of goods."

"But no one can explain why—because those who survive often feel disoriented and are more prone to various dangerous or unexpected situations during the subsequent journey."

"Later, this proportion could rise to as high as 30% or 40%!"

"This matter even attracted investigations from several large Martial Arts School and Daoist temple, but no matter how much they investigated, those masters and experts couldn't find anything conclusive..."

"As fewer teams came from Chen Family Fortress, the accident rate seemed to have dropped back to one in fifteen or sixteen—but every now and then there were still rumors of which team had suffered an accident."

"However, what is certain is that we have all felt clear-headed and mentally sharp so far, without any sense of disorientation, and no one is missing. It seems we are not so unlucky as to be one in fifteen or sixteen."

Yue Zhenqiao explained, and Li Nian nodded in agreement.

"So that's how it is... This Chen Family Fortress is actually quite strange."

"But escorting goods is inherently high-risk. Given the time constraints, taking a gamble with a one in fifteen or sixteen chance was indeed harmless."

As Li Nian spoke, she looked out the window. "No matter how treacherous Chen Family Fortress is, it's definitely better than being stuck outside like this."

At this moment, the Three Days in the Sky had reached their highest and most intense point in the sky.

Even through the small windows of the stone fortress, one could see that the sunlight outside was so bright and dazzling that it almost blinded one; the ground above was distorted by the heat waves, and the stones of the outer walls crackled and popped from the heat.

This is based on the fact that the entire Chen Family Fortress complex is located on a gentle, shady hillside with many caves. If it were directly exposed to the sun at a higher point, it would probably cause people to become dehydrated and faint within minutes.

Even with Item to keep cool, it's still no easy feat to tough it out.

The recovered Fei Dao overheard their conversation and nodded in agreement with Li Nian.

"That's right, it's best not to wander around outside while in Fire Hell."

Lin Yu, upon hearing the other two's remarks, did not entirely agree with them.

"Is the probability one in fifteen or sixteen...?"

Since I'm already in the team, the probability should be at least 12 or 13 out of 15.

Thinking of this, Lin Yu suddenly recalled Yue Zhenqiao's optimistic words.

"He said that besides the number of people would be less, the goods might also be lost—although three people were sent to guard the goods, how did Yue Zhenqiao know that those three bodyguards would be alright?"

It's impossible that if something "changes" happen upon entering this place, it means that everyone will experience discomfort at the same time.

Based on this point, Yue Zhenqiao's feeling that he was "not mentally confused" and "had a clear mind and sharp thinking" may not be reliable!

Lin Yu suddenly felt a sense of unease. He looked around and subconsciously began to count the number of bodyguards inside the stone fortress.

Including the wounded who are recovering, the total is...

Twenty-six people.

Including the deputy head escort and two other three people who stayed at the cave carport to guard the escort car, there were twenty-nine people.

Lin Yu asked in a low voice, "Biaotou Yue, may I ask how many people were in your escort team when you left Guzhen Town this time?"

"Thirty-one, what's wrong?"

Yue Zhenqiao said matter-of-factly.

Lin Yu let out a sigh of relief.

"That's the problem—there are twenty-nine people in the room now."

Yue Zhenqiao's expression changed slightly, and he quickly began to count as well.

"One, two, three, four..."

Soon, Yue Zhenqiao counted the number of people in the room using his fingers.

"There really are twenty-nine people?!"

"Including the three who were watching the car earlier, that makes a total of thirty-two people," Yue Zhenqiao said, as if facing a major crisis. "There's one more person among us—what's going on?!"

"A Yaomo has infiltrated, disguised as a bodyguard! Damn it! Quickly identify everyone around you—is there anyone you don't recognize?"

Yue Zhenqiao shouted, and the bodyguards all looked at each other warily.

However, they soon discovered...

"Biaotou Yue, we all know each other; it seems like we're all strangers!"

Yue Zhenqiao's face turned extremely pale. "It seems this Yaomo has begun to corrupt our minds..."

Hearing this, Lin Yu finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Yes, this Yaomo has indeed interfered with your minds... but perhaps the 'direction of interference' is different from what you imagine!"

"This Yaomo did not mingle among us, nor did it try to distract you into thinking you knew it."

"Biaotou Yue—didn't you realize that when you were counting just now, you included the three numbers we added later?"

"We weren't part of the original thirty-one people in your team."

As Lin Yu spoke, Yue Zhenqiao realized what was happening.

"Right... right, now we actually only have twenty-six plus three, a total of twenty-nine people."

"We've actually lost two brothers!"

Yue Zhenqiao pounded his head vigorously. "Damn it, what is this thing that has made me so dull without me even realizing it!"

After a brief moment of self-reproach, Yue Zhenqiao issued new instructions to the other bodyguards.

"Think quickly, which two people have gone missing?"