It was now certain that Ke Longxiang's foster grandmother was near Dongling Village, and even without information, a systematic search was likely to reveal their whereabouts.

She must have calculated to deliver the package to her own doorstep, believing that it would lure him here, in an act of revenge for Ke Longxiang.

Xu Fan was about to lead a group out of the house, when the slightly heavy voice of the middle-aged man behind him spoke up.

"She's in the thatched cottage behind the village."

Xu Fan was taken aback for a moment, then turned around, meeting the man's gaze. The man said, "A few days ago, an old woman brought a young girl to our village, and I believe that girl should be the one you're looking for."

"Just be careful, though, that woman seems to practice Demon Art, and there have been a lot of poisonous insects around there lately..."

The reality of his wife's death was hard to accept, but at the moment, he was even more unwilling to see this young man suffer the same fate as himself.

He felt it was unlikely he'd be deceived; the young fellow in front of him must be a good person.

The middle-aged farmer took a deep breath and said, "I hope you can rescue your girlfriend..."

"Thank you..."

Xu Fan looked at the man solemnly and nodded his thanks.

This incident had started because of him, and the man had no reason to help him, but in the end, he had chosen to stand with him.

After taking a deep breath, Xu Fan looked over at the men Zhou Zhanlong had brought.

The group understood what Xu Fan meant and nodded in agreement.

The thatched cottage the man spoke of was in the woods, and they had been there before while hunting game, so leading the way was not going to be a problem.

"Let's get going then."

Xu Fan nodded, and then had them lead the way.

Leaving the house, they followed the mountain path led by the subordinates to Dongling Village, heading deep into the mountains behind the village. The path became increasingly narrow.

The night wind rustled the surrounding leaves, adding to the occasional sounds of animals moving through the underbrush, making the group's scalp tingle.

The journey that had brought them here was truly terrifying, having nearly died from poison served by the simple villagers–the work of the old woman who had poisoned the entire village.

Even Zhou Zhanlong was on full alert now, treading softly for fear a venomous snake might suddenly appear from the surroundings.

"Master, we're about a hundred meters away from that cottage," one of the subordinates reported.

Zhou Zhanlong checked the distance with his subordinates, watching the surroundings cautiously and reporting back to Xu Fan.

Xu Fan nodded, and quietly activated the golden glow in his right eye.

In that instant, the pitch-black environment around them brightened up as if it were daylight, and the vegetation obscuring their view gradually became transparent.

Seeing what lay scattered around them, Xu Fan's brows furrowed slightly.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Zhou Zhanlong, being closest to Xu Fan, noticed the expression on his face and couldn't help asking.

Xu Fan shook his head, choosing not to reveal the truth of what he saw.

At that moment! Suddenly, a cracking sound came from up ahead, as if a subordinate had carelessly broken something. Xu Fan's expression changed and he quickly chastised them to be careful.

From above their heads, a beehive as big as two basketballs dropped directly down!

In an instant, buzzing fiercely, a swarm of deadly bees surged towards the group!

The venomous bees, thrice the size of ordinary honeybees, now attacked like a swirling black wind; even with Xu Fan's warning, most of his followers were too slow to react!

Choosing their victims, the venomous bees left the nest en masse, darting towards the front-most followers!

Those who managed to retreat in time were somewhat safe; those who stood frozen were immediately enveloped by the swarm, blending into the dark night.

Clutching their heads and screaming in agony, they writhed on the ground. These series of actions lasted less than ten seconds.

Very soon, they had completely lost all signs of life.

In such a situation, panicking and fleeing in haste would surely lead to death beneath the sting of the venomous bees!

Xu Fan furrowed his brow, stripped off his outer garment, and charged straight into the fray.

As the venomous bees killed their human targets, they died too; now with their numbers halved, Xu Fan stepped forward, wielding his outer garment and summoning his Inner Strength like he was brandishing a huge flag to fan against the oncoming swarm!

A whooshing sound filled the air as a gust of wind blew, scattering the dense black cloud before Xu Fan. One by one, the bees dropped to the ground as if their wings were clipped off.

Immediately after, Xu Fan took three steps in quick succession and rushed to the beehive, wrapping it entirely with the clothes.

"This..."

Zhou Zhanlong and his men, who had just escaped death, now had their backs soaked with sweat; looking at the three fallen comrades, their scalps tingled with numbness.

Their exposed skin had turned completely dark and swollen, oozing pus.

On their unrecognizable faces, only the eyes bulged in horror; one could hardly imagine the excruciating pain they endured in those brief seconds...

"Boss... boss, should, should we retreat first and come back during the day...?"

Had they not retreated in time, they would probably be sharing the same gruesome fate.

The remaining three followers, swallowing hard, suggested with an evident tremble in their voices.

"Scared, scared of what? Are you even men?"

Zhou Zhanlong roared. To tell the truth, he was frightened too, but if he showed signs of hesitation, the remaining three might very well turn and run now.

Having secured the beehive, Xu Fan turned back to look at the three men.

"There's no way back now; I will lead the way."

Having said that, Xu Fan took the lead and continued deeper into the woods.

At first, they did not quite grasp the meaning of Xu Fan's words, but now, as they glanced around in the dark night, the glimmers of dark green light shining through brought immediate understanding.

The commotion had roused the venomous snakes slumbering in the forest!

The only path left for the group was to follow Xu Fan deeper in and kill the enemy.

To retreat would only mean falling prey to the venomous snake's kiss!

For the short distance of less than 100 meters, Xu Fan advanced with extreme caution, always wary of disturbing something despite knowing the surroundings well.

Leading the way, it took several minutes to finally lead the group out of the woods.

Pushing aside the foliage in front of him, the visibility improved significantly; ahead, not too far away, stood an old thatched cottage.

There was no movement inside the house, only a flickering lamp could be seen through the paper-covered window.

Approaching about five meters in front of the cottage, Xu Fan extended his hand to block the others, signaling them not to proceed any further.

"Zhou Zhanlong, you and the others stay here and be wary of the venomous snakes behind."

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