Passerby: Secret Image of Ancient Scrolls

The white deer seemed to sense her anxiety, and the tassel on its back swayed gently. Ao Luya flicked the reins to urge the white deer forward, knowing that her urgent matter could not be delayed and she had to set off immediately.

Just then, Old Gu spoke up decisively: "Ao Luya, don't ride the White Deer anymore, it's too slow! The snow on the mountain roads is deep. Although the White Deer is agile, it's still not as fast as a pickup truck. I'll drive you in the pickup truck and put the White Deer in the back. It'll be much faster than you riding the White Deer, saving a lot of time and definitely not delaying your business." He had just checked the condition of the pickup truck, and there wasn't a big problem.

Old Gu's words struck a chord with Ao Luya, and a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes, but she still didn't immediately respond. She had originally wanted to go alone, not wanting to trouble everyone, but time was of the essence, and Old Gu's suggestion was indeed the best solution. What worried her even more was the safety of the forest farm.

"I didn't mean to separate from everyone, but this matter is urgent." Ao Luya's tone was solemn, and the urgency in her eyes was even greater. "When I came to Mohe, I passed through the Mangui Yikesama Forest Farm. The old man at the forest farm was unwell and bedridden. I sensed two opposing auras there. Although there was something unusual, it was still relatively peaceful. At the time, I was in a hurry to get to the Mohe River, so I had to put it aside for the time being. But last night, the evil energy at the riverbank surged, and that evil energy fled to the Xishan Valley and gathered at the forest farm. The old man is probably in danger and his life is in danger."

Before Ao Luya could speak, Ye Zhuo jumped down from the roof of the 2045 car and strode over, his expression firm and decisive: "I'll go with you. Shen Xun and Lu Ye are both here, and with their help, Lin Jian will definitely be fine investigating the high-rise and searching for clues about Grandpa. Moreover, the road conditions are complicated, and Su Jin is also lurking in the shadows. More people mean more protection, and if we encounter any emergencies, we can deal with them together. It's much safer than the two of you traveling alone."

Shen Xun stood to the side, gently stroking the snake head statue. Hearing this, he nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over everyone. His tone was firm and steady: "That's right. Lin Jian has me and Lu Ye here, which is enough to handle any emergencies. You can set off with peace of mind. The important thing is that lives are at stake and needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. If anything happens, contact us by phone immediately. Do not force yourself."

Lin Jianye quickly stepped forward, clutching his phone tightly. Thinking of the photo on his phone that contained clues about his grandfather, his eyes were filled with determination: "I'm really fine. You guys go and take care of your business. Shen Xun and Lu Ye will help me. Don't worry about me. I'll join everyone as soon as I'm done here."

Looking into everyone's sincere eyes, Ao Luya's worries gradually dissipated. Her tone was tinged with apology and urgency: "I was originally planning to go to Xishan'ao together today, but the situation is urgent now, so I have to leave first. Thank you all. Let's set off now and meet at the forest farm."

Just then, Old Gu suddenly frowned, turned around and pointed to the right side of his pickup truck, his tone more worried: "There's just a problem. One of the rearview mirrors on the pickup is broken. But when I went to pick up the supplies that Bai Lu dropped, I retrieved the broken mirror, and it's in the truck now. It's too unsafe to drive with only one rearview mirror. If there's an accident, it will only waste more time."

He paused, then added, his tone pragmatic: "If we take it to a repair shop now, it'll take at least an hour and a half to get it fixed. But if we don't fix it and just drive off, it's just too dangerous."

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned slightly. Ao Luya's urgent matter was pressing, but they couldn't let Lao Gu risk driving. Shen Xun and Lu Ye exchanged a glance, both quickly thinking of emergency solutions. The camp fell into a brief silence, broken only by the howling wind and the low mooing of the white deer.

Just then, Ye Zhuo's eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something. He said with certainty and confidence, "I have a way! There is a small round mirror on the 2045 car. I will knock it into the shape that fits the rearview mirror frame, and then fix it with a combination of putty and transparent tape. It will be usable in less than ten minutes and will not waste any time."

As she spoke, she added with a hint of confidence, "I've encountered similar situations before, and this method works perfectly. Once it's secured, it's perfectly fine for emergencies, and the adhesive will stick even stronger over time, so it will never fall off."

Shen Xun, Lu Ye, and Lao Gu exchanged glances and nodded. This method was both practical and time-saving, perfectly solving the current problem. Ao Luya also breathed a slight sigh of relief, a hint of hope appearing in her anxious eyes, and said softly, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Ye Zhuo."

"Don't mention it, we're all friends." Ye Zhuo smiled, turned and strode towards the 2045 SUV, took out a small round mirror, transparent tape and a tactical knife, and then took the wreckage of the rearview mirror from Lao Gu. The mirror body was broken, leaving only a slightly deformed frame with arrow marks on the edges. She moved swiftly, quickly using the knife to hammer the small round mirror into a suitable shape, evenly applying putty to embed it into the frame, and then tightly wrapping it with thick tape to secure it. The whole process took no more than ten minutes, and the rearview mirror was firmly in place.

Old Gu changed his clothes and came to the pickup truck. He opened the door and tested it. The mirror was stable and he could clearly see the road behind him. He nodded in satisfaction: "The workmanship is good, even better than I expected. There definitely won't be any problems. It'll be enough for the journey."

Ye Zhuo fixed the rearview mirror, and without pausing for a moment, turned and dashed towards the 2045 off-road vehicle, her movements swift and decisive. She knew this trip was dangerous, and equipment and supplies were indispensable. A moment later, she pushed a tactical backpack, two sets of cold-weather gear, a compound bow, a shield, two quivers full of arrows, and two large bags of supplies to the passenger door, her voice urgent: "Help me move these to the back of the pickup truck; we'll need them on the road!"

Seeing this, Shen Xun, Lu Ye, and their teammates immediately stepped forward to help. With clear division of labor and swift movements, they loaded all the supplies safely into the back of the pickup truck in just a few dozen seconds. The entire process was seamless, without a single unnecessary word, demonstrating both efficiency and perfect teamwork. Old Gu, looking at the loaded supplies, nodded and said, "All done. The equipment and supplies are all ready; we can leave anytime!"

Without further delay, Ao Luya gently stroked the white deer's neck and whispered a signal. The deer obediently lowered itself and gracefully jumped into the back of the pickup truck, nestling quietly inside. Its nose lightly brushed against Ao Luya's hand, as if trying to soothe her anxious emotions. Ao Luya turned and opened the passenger door, her gaze still fixed on the direction of the forest farm, her tension undiminished. Ye Zhuo quickly packed up his tools, placing the composite bow and quiver in the back seat of the pickup truck. He opened the door and sat in the back seat, his eyes warily scanning the surroundings.

Old Gu had already opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, started the engine, and the pickup truck slowly started moving with a low roar. "We're leaving first. Be careful, we'll meet you at the forest farm!" Old Gu waved to everyone.

"Wait." Lu Ye quickly ran back to his car, holding something in his hand, and ran to the pickup truck in almost an instant.

It was a night vision device, which he handed to Ye Zhuo. "It should be helpful at night."

Ye Zhuo's lips moved slightly as she took the night vision goggles. Something opened in her eyes—not tears, but a hardened shell.

"Thank you, Captain Lu."

Old Gu slowly drove the pickup truck away from the riverbank and sped off towards the forest farm.

Lu Ye watched the pickup truck drive away before turning his gaze away.

He didn't wave. He immediately turned around to arrange the follow-up matters, his tone efficient and decisive: "Two team members will stay by the river to monitor the radar, and contact us immediately if there are any abnormalities; one team member will drive 2045 with me to the repair shop. I will hand over the captured pistol and handle the formalities on the way, and you will take care of the repair matters; the remaining person will escort Shen Xun and Lin to the high-rise building, and report any incidents immediately."

The two team members responded immediately, and the radar screen slowly lit up, the green waves moving smoothly without any abnormal fluctuations. The team member in charge of operating the radar stared at the screen and reported confidently, "Team Leader Lu, Brother Shen, there are no abnormal signals on the river surface or at the bottom. Everything is normal."

The group felt a little more at ease, but Shen Xun remained solemn. He raised his hand to signal his team to continue monitoring, while he walked into the locking formation he had set up the day before and inserted the peach wood staff into the center of the ground once again.

A faint golden light seeped into the riverbed along the earth's veins, spreading through the cracks in the ice, carefully probing every trace of life at the bottom of the river. After a moment, Shen Xun slowly straightened up, the golden light at his fingertips gradually fading, the solemnity in his eyes dissipating somewhat. He turned to the crowd and said, "The malevolent energy at the bottom of the river has dissipated, the barrier is very stable, the original spirit's repair has worked, and there is no danger for the time being."

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint, shimmering white light suddenly appeared on the frozen river surface. A translucent spirit slowly rose from the riverbed, its body enveloped in a soft glow—the primordial spirit of the riverbed. It hovered above the surface, its voice ethereal and calm: "You sensed correctly. I am currently working diligently to repair the barrier at the bottom of the river. There is no danger here for the time being, so you need not worry excessively."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Lu Ye was stunned when he saw the original spirit's form, his eyes widening in surprise. This was the first time he had ever seen a real spirit. However, the spirit's surface was covered with shifting black lines, which dimmed the soft white light.

The primordial spirit's spirit body swayed slightly, its spiritual light still gentle, but its tone suddenly became solemn, its expression increasingly serious, and its tone carried a clear warning: "But you must not let your guard down. Although there is no unusual activity in the direction of Xishan'ao, we cannot rule out that Su Jin may have some conspiracy in the dark."

Although the evil aura was faint, it was extremely sinister. If the malevolent energy is allowed to continue spreading here, the barrier at the bottom of the river will break down further. At that time, the evil will surely take the opportunity to surge out, and the entire Greater Khingan Mountains will be plunged into crisis. Therefore, you must find out Su Jin's conspiracy as soon as possible.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions instantly turned serious, the slight relaxation they had shown earlier vanishing. Shen Xun frowned slightly, his fingertips tracing the gourd-shaped jade pendant at his waist, his tone grave: "Thank you for the reminder. We will set off immediately, we will not allow the evil energy to spread, and we will definitely uncover Su Jin's conspiracy. Xishan Valley was originally our investigation direction, and now it seems that Su Jin's whereabouts are most likely there as well."

Lu Ye nodded in agreement, his tone urgent and efficient: "Brother Shen, while you investigate the golden light clues on the high-rise building, we'll take the opportunity to replace the vehicle windows and reinforce the vehicle body at the same time. It should be done in a few hours and won't delay the overall itinerary."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xun paused slightly, thought for a moment, and immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay, let's do it your way. We must speed things up. After we finish investigating the clues, let's try to meet up at the forest farm at the same time."

As the primordial spirit watched the orderly arrangements made by everyone, the spiritual light around it softened slightly, and it said in an ethereal voice, "I will continue to do my best to repair the barrier at the bottom of the river and try to stop the spread of the evil energy. You can go with peace of mind, but remember to be cautious." After speaking, its spiritual body gradually dimmed and slowly sank to the bottom of the river, disappearing beneath the ice. Only a faint spiritual light remained, lingering on the surface of the river, as if guarding this area.

Lu Ye looked at Shen Xun and said solemnly, "Let's split up and contact each other immediately if anything happens. Be careful." Shen Xun nodded slightly, then turned to Lin Jian and softened his tone, "Let's set off too. Let's find clues about your grandfather as soon as possible and solve the mystery of the golden light in the high-rise."

Lin Jian nodded vigorously, gripping his phone tightly, his eyes filled with determination and anticipation.

She drew closer to her grandfather, feeling a mix of anticipation and trepidation. With Shen Xun by her side, she felt a sense of security. She quickly followed Shen Xun to the SUV, opened the door, and sat in the back seat, her eyes fixed on the scenery outside the window, her mind filled with images of her grandfather.

Soon, the two vehicles slowly made their way up the hill: Lu Ye and his team drove 2045 toward the repair shop, their wheels leaving two clear tracks as they rolled over the snow; two team members stood guard by the radar equipment, intently monitoring every movement; Shen Xun and Lin Jian, escorted by another team member, headed toward the high-rise buildings in the distance of the city, and the off-road vehicle drove away from the river and toward the city.

Lin Jian glanced back at the direction of that tall building. The buildings outside the car window were hazy in the morning light, as if they hadn't woken up yet.

Just as the three teams drove off into the distance, the white deer in the back of the pickup truck suddenly became unusually agitated. Its front hooves frantically pawed at the truck bed, with such force that it almost crashed into the truck bed guardrail. All the snow-white fur on its body stood on end, each hair clearly visible. Its amber eyes were filled with fear, and its head kept shaking wildly towards the forest farm. Sharp hisses escaped from its throat, as if it were enduring great torment, or as if it was desperately issuing a warning.

Ao Luya's heart sank, a chill instantly running from her feet throughout her body. She abruptly turned her head towards the forest farm, her voice trembling with barely concealed panic: "Oh no! The white deer is issuing a warning! Uncle Forest Farm is in danger!"

The words had barely left his lips when Shen Xun, who was preparing to depart from the riverbank, suddenly changed his expression. His fingers tightened, gripping the peach wood staff tightly. The copper bell beneath the snake's head began to shake wildly, emitting a chaotic and urgent clanging sound. He looked up towards the forest farm, his tone extremely grave: "Something's wrong. The evil aura surrounding the forest farm is rapidly expanding!"

At the same time, the pickup truck seemed to be affected by the spreading evil energy, and the vehicle trembled slightly. Old Gu immediately stepped on the gas and increased the speed by another gear. Ye Zhuo also gripped the composite bow on the back seat tightly, looking around with a solemn expression. The tension and danger in the air instantly reached their peak.