In Panjiayuan, the first thing they did was trick Lao Hu into going tomb raiding.

Chapter 72: A Terrifying Journey

After the raft entered the water cave, Su Mo picked up a searchlight to illuminate the cave, while Fatty and Lao Hu were responsible for paddling.

After several rounds of practice and coordination, the team had a clear division of labor, and the raft sailed steadily forward.

The journey was uneventful, and Old Hu sighed, "It's all thanks to Peacock. Otherwise, we would have really had to cross Zhelong Mountain, climb snow-capped mountains, and traverse snowfields, truly living the life of young revolutionaries..."

Although he often talks about the life of a young revolutionary, Old Hu's old arms and legs can't withstand any more hardship!

Su Mo pondered for a moment and said, "I just calculated Peacock's situation. She's currently in a 'trapped' state, so she's probably locked up right now. The Zhelong Village people are likely coming after her..."

The fat man was somewhat worried about Peacock's safety, but he was even more disgusted by the actions of the Dragon-Slaying Village. "These people actually went after a little girl! They're despicable..."

Su Mo sighed, "We've also caused Peacock's misfortune, but I've already calculated it. Peacock's life isn't in danger. We just need to find the Muchen Pearl as soon as possible, then go back and rescue her..."

"Bang!"

The raft seemed to have hit something, and the hull shook violently, as if it was about to fall apart. Su Mo reacted quickly and helped Fatty and Lao Hu up to prevent them from falling into the water.

Su Mo looked around warily. "There's danger, everyone slow down..."

"what!"

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, Old Hu, Fatty, Shirley, and Yang were all quite surprised.

We haven't even reached Insect Valley yet, and there's already danger?

This Prince Xian has gone too far!

Despite their surprise, everyone was completely reassured by Su Mo's assessment and immediately became on high alert.

The raft moved very slowly.

Not long after, Shirley Yang stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the rows of upside-down black objects in front of her, and couldn't help but ask, "What are these?"

Su Mo glanced at it and said, "Human pupa, it seems we just triggered a nearby mechanism. Everyone be careful!"

"Squeak!"

At that moment, everyone heard the sliding sound of the vine-like mechanism inside the rock being activated.

Everyone cautiously looked around.

Su Mo added, "That's the sound of vines sliding. Look, aren't all these human cocoons suspended by vines? It seems the mechanism has been activated!"

The fat man shone his flashlight around and said, "It really is. The Prince of Xian is too ruthless; he even set up traps here..."

Su Mo pondered for a moment, then took out two fragrant jade pieces and handed them to Xue Li Yang and Lao Hu, saying, "Wear these. They have a bit of mosquito-repelling and evil-repelling properties, so they might be useful!"

Seeing that Lao Hu and Shirley Yang both had treasures, Fatty got anxious, "Brother Su, what about mine? Where's my treasure?"

Yunnan is full of wonders, and these two fragrant jade pieces that can repel insects are rare treasures.

Su Mo said directly, "Your ability to commit evil is too high; Wen Xiangyu can't protect you. Come with me, and I'll protect you personally..."

With Su Mo's protection, it was much better than any fragrant jade. However, listening to Su Mo's words, the fat man felt very wronged.

What does it mean to have an extremely high level of wickedness?

Back in the day, Fatty was a March 8th Red Banner Pacesetter!

The raft glided past the human pupa, and Shirley Yang used her flashlight to carefully examine the pupa.

Old Hu stared at them for a while and said, "These people come in all shapes and sizes. There are men, women, young and old. They don't look like the human cocoons made according to a standardized pattern during the Qin and Han dynasties at all. To make them like this would be too costly and unrealistic."

"Old Hu is right. This should be the ancient Yunnan folk song popular during the reign of King Xian. It's a traditional Yunnan folk song, a style of singing and dancing."

Shirley Yang suddenly remembered something and urged Fatty and Old Hu, "Old Hu, Fatty, hurry up and run! These people have Gu worms inside them!"

Su Mo also said, "Let's go quickly, we can't stay here any longer. Once the vines above are severed, the poisonous insects inside will awaken!"

Seeing that Su Mo had said so, the fat man naturally dared not slack off in the slightest. He took the oar and rowed the raft with all his might.

A short while later, the group passed through the human cocoon area and just breathed a sigh of relief when they suddenly heard a "thump" in their ears.

The dull thud of the water splashed up a large spray.

The fat man subconsciously glanced back and saw that the human cocoons, which had been standing upside down, were falling into the water one after another.

The fat man's expression changed. "What does this mean? You don't want me to leave?"

Old Hu's face twitched. "Fatty, stop joking. If a pupa is put into water, the Gu worms inside will definitely awaken. Let's go..."

Old Hu and Fatty quickly started rowing faster, and even Shirley Yang pulled out her Vajra Umbrella and started rowing to help.

"Whoosh!"

"Splash!"

Those hanging human cocoons began to fall rapidly like rain.

Not long after.

The suspended human pupae all fell into the water, and all the Gu worms began to awaken. They broke through their protective membranes and started leaping in the water.

The fat man exclaimed, "Holy crap, what is this thing?"

Old Hu, with his vast experience, immediately recognized the creature. "This is probably a water wasp; it sucks blood, but it won't... As long as it doesn't fall into the water, it should be fine!"

"Buzz!"

As soon as Lao Hu finished speaking, all the water hog bees flapped their wings and flew into the air towards Su Mo and the others.

Slap on the face!

Before the fat man could even criticize Lao Hu, he paddled the boat with all his might, while Shirley Yang opened her Vajra Umbrella to protect everyone.

The leaping water slugs crashed into the golden umbrella and fell back into the water.

Seeing the countless water hog bees leaping towards him, Su Mo shook his body, channeled his Azure Dragon blood energy, and immediately roared, "Get lost!"

The air surged and the sound reached the sky. Instantly, all the water slugs fell into the water and dared not surface again.

Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that the water hog wasps stopped showing themselves, Su Mo said, "Old Hu is right, these are indeed water hog wasps, but they've probably mutated..."

Shirley Yang looked around warily, then suddenly exclaimed, "Why has the water turned red?!"

Old Hu, Fatty Su Mo looked back and saw that it was indeed the case.

The spot where the four had just been was now stained crimson with blood, dripping with blood and emitting a pungent stench.

Su Mo activated his Golden Eyes and glanced at the water's surface. "There are piranhas underwater, and the water hog bees have been completely devoured by the piranhas!"

Although the water surface turned red, the piranhas underwater were clearly visible under Su Mo's golden eyes.

The fat man, a survivor, was somewhat angry. "What does this mean? Human cocoons again, raising Gu poison... and now this... [a series of unrelated phrases and sentences, likely from different sources, and don't form coherent sentences.]"

Old Hu shook his head. "Who knows? But it's fine, let the water hog bees and piranhas kill each other. It's better than them causing us trouble!"

Shirley Yang echoed, "That's right. Let's hurry, don't forget we still have the Zhelong Village people behind us!"

"Yes. We need to find the Muchen Pearl as soon as possible so we can go back and save the peacock!"

After finishing his sentence, the fat man continued working.

Soon, the four of them left safely and arrived at a place where they could log in.

"We're so grateful to Brother Su again, otherwise we would have been in real trouble. This water is teeming with water slugs and piranhas, it's fucking terrifying."

The fat man jumped ashore and thanked him.

Su Mo smiled, "We're all brothers, don't say that..."

"Let's go, next stop!"

Chapter 73: Morse Code in the Forest

Meanwhile, just as Su Mo and his group of four stepped off the raft, the Zhelong Village team also followed them into the water cave in several bamboo rafts.

With no one in sight, many people immediately became suspicious. "Chief, we've been chasing them for so long. Why haven't we seen any trace of them yet?"

"It's alright!"

The chieftain of Zhelong Village, holding his hunting rifle, exuded confidence. "If they want to go to the Insect Valley, there's only one path. Once you exit the water cave, you're in a vast forest. For outsiders like them to try and get out, it's harder than climbing to heaven..."

After thinking about it, everyone felt that what the clan chief said made sense. Their ancestors had walked this road for thousands of years, and they knew every blade of grass and every tree here very well.

"Walk…"

The people of Zhelong Village quickened their pace and sped towards the Insect Valley.

.........

Su Mo led Lao Hu, Xue Li Yang, and the other two out of the water cave and, following the map provided by Blind Chen, entered the boundless jungle.

The four walked for several hours, from the scorching daylight to the approaching dusk.

Finally, it slowly turned into night.

The four of them turned on their flashlights and gradually slowed down.

The fat man looked at the big tree in front of him and said, "Hey. I said, there's a big banyan tree here. Hey. Look, these two trees that are embracing each other, aren't they the 'Couple Trees'?"

Shirley Yang glanced at the moonlight and said to Su Mo, "It's hard to tell which way is which at night. I think we should rest here and continue tomorrow..."

Su Mo knew there was something very important here, so he nodded and said, "Alright, we've been traveling all day, let's rest here tonight."

Old Hu nodded in agreement, "Fatty, let's go find some branches and start a fire..."

"Alright..."

The fat man still had the awareness of being a lowly soldier, and turned around to go with Old Hu to find firewood.

Before long, the two returned carrying a pile of firewood.

Su Mo set up the firewood, took out a lighter and lit it. The flames roared up, and the four of them sat together, feeling much more comfortable.

Su Mo then took out some canned food, water bottles, and rations from his backpack and distributed them to everyone.

"Ding ding ding, ding ding, ding ding ding!"

Shirley Yang frowned deeply. "Listen, what's that sound?"