The little one's purse connects the two worlds, turning a desolate village into a paradise.

Following the directions given by Brother Zhao Hu, Gou Ya, with her nimble legs and agile movements, arrived at the place where Zhao Hu and Da Niu had previously discovered horse manure in less than an hour.

There was no longer any animal droppings on the ground, only two sets of blurry footprints.

That was left behind by Da Niu and Zhao Hu.

Brother Zhao Hu said that they encountered people when they continued up the slope and down the slope from here.

In addition, Da Niu kept picking up manure along the way, so it took about half an hour to walk.

That should still be quite a distance, but Gou Ya did not let her guard down at all. She shuffled along, carefully following the large footprints on the ground, and even suppressed her breathing.

The forest was completely silent; even the soft rustling of withered leaves against the ground could be clearly heard. The oppressive and gloomy atmosphere hung heavy like an impenetrable net.

Gou Ya's forehead was covered in a fine layer of white sweat, and she walked with exceptionally light and slow steps.

It took her more than half an hour to walk that short distance to the top of the mountain.

The downhill path was even more difficult to walk. The vegetation on the mountaintop was sparse, and there was even less cover. Sweat dripped down Gou Ya's face, and her heart pounded like a drum in her ears.

More hoofprints and shoe prints appeared on the ground. Gou Ya held her breath and moved slowly to the first fork in the road. There were scattered droppings mixed with hay on the ground.

She tiptoed over and, in the instant she looked down, suddenly noticed several marks under the branches and leaves next to the excrement.

Gou Ya's pupils dilated, and she slowly squatted down, gently parting the grass blades to reveal three staggered, long marks.

It's a mark, a mark left by a master!

It was a secret code that Xinghua had specifically mentioned to her before they went up the mountain, a code used by the three of them to communicate.

Gou Ya looked down at the path hidden by grass on the slope. The coded marker was to the right, which was the opposite direction from the grain storage forest.

She silently memorized the location and did not venture any further. After roughly determining the direction, she immediately turned back.

This is something the village chief has repeatedly told us: once you've roughly figured it out, don't get too close.

Having gotten away from the dangerous area marked with hoofprints, Gouya breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickened her pace as the sun gradually rose overhead.

She pulled out half a crumpled piece of steamed cake from her bosom, quickly ate a couple of bites to fill her stomach, and caught her breath. Instead of returning to Lotus Village, she crossed the mudslide gully that blocked the road and headed towards the forest where she used to hide acorns.

Is the legendary treasure truly hidden deep within these mountains and forests?

The recent rains have long since disappeared from the village, but their traces still linger in the mountains and forests.

The forest was damp and the ground was muddy, with murky water reaching over my feet. My simple straw sandals were soaked with water, becoming soft and loose, making walking very difficult.

Gou Ya simply took off her straw sandals and stepped barefoot into the cold mud, walking step by step toward the ground that felt strangely familiar under her feet.

The soil was so wet and bubbly that it was impossible to tell what was underneath.

Gou Ya walked back and forth several times, but still couldn't find any clues.

I decided to leave this place for the time being and slowly walked to the mountain wall to the side. I reached out and gently parted the drooping vines, brushing away the decaying leaves and moss that had accumulated on the surface.

She explored every nook and cranny with her hands, not daring to miss a single corner, her expression focused and vigilant.

Suddenly, my fingertips brushed against something slippery and damp.

Gou Ya's hair stood on end instantly. She instinctively clenched her fist and forcefully grabbed the thing, throwing it to the ground.

What landed was a black snake, about two fingers thick, still writhing and struggling on the ground. Gou Ya picked up a stone and smashed it down hard on the snake's head.

After dealing with the snake, she looked at it on the ground for a moment, then bent down, picked it up, and put it into her bamboo basket.

It's at least a piece of meat, we can't waste it.

After calming down a bit, Gou Ya refocused her attention on the mountain wall. The journey into the mountains was fraught with danger, and it was no easy feat to make the trip. She couldn't return easily without thoroughly exploring the area.

After an unknown amount of time, my fingertips suddenly touched a tiny indentation, followed by a slightly raised stone surface.

A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in Gou Ya's eyes. She quickly raised her hand, parted the surrounding grass, and peered closer.

On the rock face were several blurry lines of varying depths, which extended down to the bottom, where a strange-looking object, seemingly a mechanism, was embedded. Next to it was a huge stone slab that was almost integrated with the rock face.

She picked up the stone she had used to smash the snake and gently tapped it on the stone slab; a dull, hollow sound came from the slab.

The stone slab is hollow behind it!

Gou Ya broke out in a cold sweat again. A place that could be hidden so secretly in the deep mountains, and which had attracted several groups of important people to come and search for it, could not be a hiding place that she could hide in by simply making a disguise and digging a hole. There must be some powerful mechanism there!

You absolutely mustn't touch any of these things!

Gou Ya suppressed her restless heart and carefully put the vines and decaying leaves back in their places. She meticulously wiped away all traces of her touch, and only after confirming that everything had been restored to normal did she back away step by step, clearing away her own traces as she left the forest.

……

"Sister Gouya, did you go up the mountain to find Brother Daniu? Why aren't you wearing shoes? You'll be cold." Ya Ya was peering out from behind the courtyard gate, her little face full of curiosity.

Big Brother Da Niu hadn't been seen for two days, and Sister Gou Ya hadn't come this morning either. The absence of two people at the dinner table made her feel a little strange.

"Did you go see the wild boar? Big Brother Niu hasn't killed it yet? Is that electric numbing device I brought back last night not working well?"

Ya Ya frowned. This cost a full 5,800 yuan, which was very expensive. If it didn't work well, it would be a waste of money.

Five thousand eight hundred can buy so many cabbages and so much white rice!

Gou Ya felt a chill run down her spine, then looked up and smiled gently at the little guy.

"Yes, I went to check on Da Niu's situation. We haven't brought the electric numbing device up yet. They say it's dangerous, so we have to wait until your Grandpa Fang completely figures out how to use it before we can bring it up to help Da Niu."

"Oh, I see!" Ya Ya nodded, relieved that she hadn't bought anything bad.

Gouya nodded in agreement. Yaya turned to the side and said, "Gouya, go inside and wash your feet and change your shoes, or you'll catch a cold."

"Gou Ya's back?" Ji Chuntao looked up. "I left some food for you on the stove, it's been keeping it warm. Change your clothes and come over for a bite."

"Aunt Chuntao, I caught one of these in the mountains. Do you think it's edible?"

Gou Ya took a few steps closer and handed the bamboo basket to Ji Chuntao.

"What good stuff did you catch?" Ya Ya trotted over, hopped around a couple of times, and her eyes fell on the long, black, and slippery snake in the bamboo basket.

"Wow! It's a snake! Snake meat is so delicious!" The little guy smacked his lips twice and jumped up to confirm it again.