The tree was towering.
Half an incense stick's worth of time had passed, yet Bu Er still had not come down.
"I wonder how Bu Er is doing up there. Shall I go up and take a look?"
Pei Buji stepped forward and sprang up, ready to climb the tree.
"Wait. Let's discuss what's up there once Bu Er comes down," Yang Qing said, stopping him.
Yang Qing already had a guess as to what might be in the tree.
Still, they would have to wait for Bu Er to return.
Another half an incense stick's worth of time passed before Bu Er finally emerged from the dense foliage.
Bu Gan descended far more slowly than he had climbed.
Not only that, Jiang Zhizhou and Yang Qing spotted several red marks on his body.
Seeing this, Pei Buji did not dare rush forward. He simply kept his eyes glued to Bu Er, watching him slide down the trunk little by little.
Only when Bu Er finally reached the ground did Yang Qing and the others gather around him.
"Young master, something's happened."
Bu Er caught his breath and pointed overhead. "Ouyang is up there."
"What? Ouyang's up there? Then why isn't he coming down?" Pei Buji rolled up his sleeves as soon as he heard this, preparing to climb.
"Great Hero Pei, this tree isn't easy to climb. Please hear me out first."
Having caught his breath, Bu Er straightened up.
"Young master, you were right. Someone has trapped Ouyang."
Bu Er slowly recounted what he had seen after climbing the tree.
When he first started climbing, he had thought nothing of the tree.
He had assumed Yang Qing merely wanted him to look for clues.
But once he was up there, he realized with a start that he seemed