Becoming a saint begins with the infinite accumulation of destiny.

Just as Chen Shisheng hid in the cave, a huge black bear, as big as a small mountain, roared and charged down from the side of the mountain. Its fur, as thick as heavy armor, smashed everything in front of it.

The black bear's thick paws rustled softly as they stepped on the fallen leaves and branches.

It walked slowly with its head down, its nose constantly sniffing its surroundings. Its fur emitted a strong, bloody odor, attracting many mosquitoes that hovered and lingered around it.

Roar! !

As if it had smelled something, the black bear raised its forelegs and let out a roar.

It stands like a human, but its height far exceeds that of a human, reaching a staggering ten meters.

Splat!

Its forelimbs slammed down, crushing the burly man into a bloody pulp.

Then the black bear, mixed with bone fragments, dirt, and fallen leaves, held a pair of pieces of meat in its palms and quickly devoured them.

It ate very carefully, occasionally letting out a rapid panting sound from its nostrils.

Chen Shisheng hid in the cave, gazing intently at everything happening outside.

This black bear was larger than any he had ever seen.

The immense pressure emanating from his body was like an invisible force, giving people tremendous stress.

"Black bear..."

Chen Shisheng secretly memorized this demonic creature.

I plan to write down all the characteristics of these monsters when I get back, so that I won't encounter them again.

Black bears have sharp teeth and incredible strength.

The burly man's corpse was swallowed whole in a few gulps and disappeared completely.

Even from a great distance, Chen Shisheng could hear the black bear chewing, as if it were eating some kind of very hard broad bean, making a crunching sound.

Soon, the black bear began searching its surroundings again, licking up the blood on the ground with its long tongue.

Not long after.

As if it had smelled something unpleasant, the black bear snorted in disgust.

The thick bear paws twitched a few times, shaking the surroundings, and it slowly ran towards the other side of the mountain.

After confirming that the black bear had left, Chen Shisheng cautiously poked his head out and carefully observed that there was no danger.

He quickly swept away the signs of the fight around him with branches and leaves, erasing any details that might be discovered.

He even wrapped up the last bit of value and clothes that the burly man had left and threw them far away.

On this Yinshan Mountain, he believed that those things would soon be devoured by wild beasts and taken elsewhere.

Having done all that, Chen Shisheng no longer cared about experiencing the overnight stay.

After packing their things, they immediately headed down the mountain.

He didn't dare to act rashly before because he was unsure of the situation.

But since the rugged man dared to walk around at night, it means that this road is not very dangerous.

Therefore, there was absolutely no need for him to stay there; he might as well just go down the mountain.

soon.

Following the original route, Chen Shisheng successfully descended the mountain.

Upon returning to the city gate, he showed his waist tag to the guards to verify his identity, and then headed straight for the inner city.

When Chen Shisheng returned home, his sister-in-law was already asleep. The surroundings were quiet, with only the distant chirping of grasshoppers and the sounds of neighbors making noises.

After returning to his room and closing the door, Chen Shisheng took off the bag he was carrying and emptied its contents.

A bag of lime and a bag of poison powder, two bags of hidden darts, several aphrodisiacs, a leather money bag, and a waist tag.

Chen Shisheng temporarily set aside the lime, the poison powder bag, and the hidden darts.

This is of no use to him.

With the [Lizard Shadow Poison Body], he has absolutely no need to use any external objects.

Just like this time, he immediately applied the poison to the surface of the nail the moment he made his move.

Taking advantage of the burly man's unpreparedness, she poisoned him without him realizing it.

The effect is far better than using poison powder directly.

Let's focus on what's left.

He opened the leather money bag and poured out its contents.

Inside was a handful of golden beans, about the size of peas, exquisitely crafted.

Chen Shisheng had seen this before; many small gangs that sought to affiliate with him gave him these gold coins.

However, with soaring prices, the amount of food that can be bought at the previously agreed price will be significantly less in two months.

As a result, this thing is now mainly used in the inner city, while the outer city has gradually degenerated into a barter system.

"Keep this for your sister-in-law to use for grocery shopping."

Chen Shisheng first put away the gold beans, then looked at the sign.

The sign was made of wood of poor quality, with some cracks visible in the middle. A blackened rope was tied to it, with a large black pendant attached to the end.

What caught Chen Shisheng's attention was not the material of the brand.

It's the content above.

The sign had a few short, delicate words written on it, worn down to the point of being illegible, but the original characters were still vaguely discernible.

It reads:

The Northern Army, Vanguard Battalion, Vanguard Banner, Armored Squad, Squad Leader Xu Niu.

This is a military identification token!

Looking at these words, Chen Shisheng suddenly remembered the military service documents that Wen Fengling had found for his elder brother and father.

The team name on there is exactly the same as this one named Xu Niu!

Chen Shisheng immediately thought of the previous rumors.

Prince Fu suffered a crushing defeat, his troops fled the front lines, and a large number of his soldiers were gathered and regrouped by others...

"Could my elder brother and the others be in the Ghost's Sorrow village?"

This idea popped into Chen Shisheng's mind.

Soon, his idea became more and more firm.

Defeated soldiers fleeing will surely be heading home, unless Wuhe City has fallen and they cannot return.

Otherwise, given the personalities of my elder brother and his group, they would definitely head towards Wuhe City.

It is highly likely that Guijianchou itself was a gathering place for a large number of defeated soldiers, and that it would gather the defeated soldiers along the way and concentrate them in the mountain stronghold.

The thought of this possibility made Chen Shisheng somewhat uneasy.

He had to find out if his older brother and the others were safe, or...

The next morning.

Chen Shisheng went out early in the morning and found Wen Lingfeng to ask about Guijianchou.

"You're asking about the 'Ghost's Sorrow'?"

Wen Lingfeng was slightly surprised. With a large movement, her full breasts immediately jiggled.

However, considering Chen Shisheng's previous victory, he actually killed a bandit from the Bone Forging Mountain.

Moreover, the entire team reaped considerable rewards; aside from two unlucky individuals dying, they accomplished a remarkably perfect feat.

This earned her a lot of face from her father and helped her recover some of her losses in the competition with her younger brother.

Unconsciously, her bright eyes looked at Chen Shisheng across from her, full of admiration, and she said softly:

"Well... Guijianchou was just a small bandit den before, mostly filled with herbalists from the mountains, not many martial artists. Later, when things didn't go well at the front, many soldiers deserted, and they gradually gathered together."

She sighed, feeling somewhat weary.

"Later, it was unified by those with ulterior motives and developed into what it is now. Because most of the people inside are soldiers, and the leaders are strong warriors, our bows and crossbows are not good enough, which is why we have been unable to resolve the situation for so long."

"Is it possible to know which soldiers they are? Or is there any way to find out?"

Chen Shisheng nodded and asked again.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it..."

Wen Fengling shook her head.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something,

"The Ironclad Army captured some prisoners and they're all locked up in the inner city's jail. If you really want to know something, the people there can probably help you."

"Jail?"

"That's right! It was during the last bandit suppression operation that several bandits tried to feign surrender, but they were exposed and captured. We haven't had time to deal with them yet."

Wen Lingfeng explained.

"Here's what we'll do: take my identification token. The prison guard there is my best friend's father. He should give me some face and let you in."

"Jail... okay, thank you."

Chen Shisheng thought for a moment and then thanked him.

He took the waist tag and glanced at it. The front had the Wen family's exclusive mark, and the back had Wen Lingfeng's name.

The waist tag, made of some unknown material, has a subtle fragrance.

Holding it in my hand, I could still feel a trace of Wen Fengling's body temperature.

Having taken the token, Chen Shisheng didn't waste any time and headed straight for the outer city.