At dusk, dozens of men moved together, swiftly threading through the mountain forests and ruins of the Desolate Ruins.
They were Pi Hou, Du Gang, and Zhu Neng, along with more than twenty of Chen Shi'an's subordinates.
They were following Ye Xicheng's orders, combing every inch of the ground ahead in one direction.
Over three days, they had traveled more than two hundred li from Windrise Stronghold. They had not found Chen Shi'an, but they had encountered a demon beast.
Fortunately, it had only been a first-level demon beast. Seeing their strength in numbers, it had chosen to retreat.
"Pi, our boss couldn't have..." Du Gang had been groping through the woods for three days, with those words on his mind all along. Now, he finally failed to hold them back.
"Shut up!"
Pi Hou glared at him. "If you can't say anything sensible, say less! What kind of man is our boss? He'll surely turn misfortune into good fortune.
"Let's hurry and keep searching. We might run into him if we search a little farther."
Zhu Neng added, "Du Gang, just focus on the job. Don't think so much for now.
"Old Pi is right. Our boss took fourth place at the Gathering of Heroes. He's no ordinary man. He'll definitely be all right."
Du Gang gave an acknowledgment. "Actually, what I meant was, there's certainly nothing wrong with us searching here.
"But the City Lord and Commander Ye might have overlooked something."
Pi Hou blinked. "Let's hear it, then."
Du Gang cleared his throat. "I heard that people from Flowing Stone Stronghold were among those hunting our boss.
"In that case, Flowing Stone Stronghold must know some clues about him.
"Why hasn't the City Lord sent anyone to Flowing Stone Stronghold to ask around?"
At his words, both