"Did you get a clear look? Are you sure there's no one around him?"
Deep in a snow-covered mountain forest, Wu Jinliang clutched a Mother-Child Talisman and shouted at a scrawny old man.
Wu Jinliang had grown so fat he barely resembled his old self. Tall and heavy, he wore a fur hat and a sable coat, and had grown a thick beard. Even someone who knew him might have walked right past without recognizing the Wu Jinliang of old.
The scrawny old man sighed. "I checked. I really did check, over and over. There's nobody around him, and he doesn't look like he's being controlled."
The person they were discussing was none other than Shi Chun.
Following their agreement from years ago, Shi Chun had dug up the Mother-Child Talisman used to contact Wu Jinliang, then left a signal at the designated location to arrange a meeting. Wu Jinliang had been both startled and delighted to discover it, but he still hadn't dared meet him. Afraid of a trap, he had tested him again and again.
Even after making inquiries as Shi Chun instructed and confirming that he really had been released from prison, Wu Jinliang had dragged his feet for two days, not daring to approach. Even when Shi Chun started cursing him through the Mother-Child Talisman, asking whether he was deliberately making excuses so he could pocket his belongings.
Wu Jinliang stroked his beard, looking deeply worried, and muttered, "I'm afraid the Sky-Gazing Mirror might be watching him. They used it on the Chief before, when they arrested him."
He had learned this from Duan Xiangmei afterward. Her group, in turn, had heard Young Master Nan mention it while chatting with him.
The scrawny old man spread his hands. "You made him go underwater and crawl into