Ji Yijun followed the goblin shaman and walked along the undulating gravel ground. As expected, there had been a landslide in this valley, and there were trees that were crushed and buried everywhere. Because some time had passed, these trees began to wither and looked very bleak.
The goblin shaman had a hard time walking among the gravels because of his short stature. But even though he was panting and his thighs were shaking, he still moved forward without stopping. It seemed that he wanted to take the people behind him away from his tribe as quickly as possible.
After climbing over a dirt slope, the goblin shaman knelt on the ground, took a few breaths, pointed to a crack in the mountain ahead and said, "That's it. Although there's nothing unusual now, you'll be able to see light at night."
Ye Zi followed behind with a serious look on her face. She suddenly covered her ears with both hands, then opened them again. She repeated this several times.
Ji Yijun asked curiously, "What's wrong with you?"
"Didn't you hear any strange sounds?" Ye Zi asked.
"No." Ji Yijun shook his head.
Ye Zi covered his head with his hands and asked Zhang Hong and Cole, "What about you? Did you hear anything? It seemed like someone was talking to you, but you couldn't hear clearly what it was."
Zhang Hong said: "Are you tired? I also hear auditory hallucinations when I'm tired."
"No, no, I heard it very clearly, in waves. Just now in the goblin village, there was a very light sound. Just now on the way here, I vaguely heard it twice, each time clearer than the last. Now that I'm here, the sound is very clear. Listen, it sounds like singing. Although it's strange, I think this voice sounds somewhat familiar and has no ill will towards me."
Ji Yijun listened around and said, "I only heard the wind and the birds singing. There was really no other sound, I promise!"
"But I can really hear it. Listen, it's coming again. It seems I can understand the meaning of that voice. It wants me to go over there!" Ji Yijun looked in the direction where Ye Zi's finger pointed. Isn't that the crack
He walked up to the goblin shaman, pulled it up, and asked, "Tell me, what's going on? Have you ever encountered this situation before?"
"Some people can indeed hear sounds that others cannot. For example, our shamans can communicate with souls. Perhaps a certain existence in the ruins favors her." said the goblin shaman.
"exist?"
"Maybe some spirit is communicating with her."
"You, you mean ghosts? Are there really such things in this world?" Zhang Hong asked.
"Of course. I heard from Captain Kalanda that she had fought against resentful spirits when she was on a convoy escort mission and passed through a ruin. Ordinary weapons are useless against them. Only enchanted weapons or the use of fighting spirit can deal with them." Cole interrupted.
"How long can the soul of a dead person exist? Uh, does he have any memories of his life?" Zhang Hong approached the goblin shaman and asked.
"I only know that the more powerful the soul, the longer it can exist. For example, when a truly strong person dies, or when he dies with strong resentment, it is easy for him to form a ghost. However, it is often only the souls of strong people that have a simple will, just like our ancestral souls. The resentful souls formed by anger are often crazy." said the goblin shaman.
"That's good, that's good." Zhang Hong thought to himself that Hong Lifeng was not a strong man at all, so he felt relieved.
"Why do you care about these?" Ji Yijun asked.
Zhang Hong said innocently: "I am just concerned about Ye Zi. Besides, we have to find out what dangers are in the ruins, right?"
"No matter if it's dangerous or not, I'm going to go anyway!"
Ji Yijun stood on the slope, his hands on his waist, observed from a distance for a while and said, "Let's go! Let's take a closer look along the way to see if there are any traces left by those guys."
Several people dispersed and looked down to search.
After all, Cole was an experienced mercenary and he quickly found the footprints. "Look, this is it. There are twelve people and a goblin. They came here by another path... Well, these people are very careful."
"Be careful? How did you know?" Ye Zi asked.
"The size of a person's feet can be used to determine their approximate height and stride. These people's strides are obviously smaller than normal, and the direction of their footprints often sways from side to side. This means they walk very slowly and are always observing their surroundings." The half-elf analyzed as he approached the cave entrance. However, when he got near the entrance, his lake green eyes suddenly opened, and then he quickly retreated.
"What's going on?" Ji Yijun asked.
"There is another group of people! They are approaching the cave entrance from the other side. There are four of them, and at least three of them are very powerful masters!"
"Could it be that another group of horse thieves have come to join those guys from before?" Zhang Hong asked nervously.
"They don't look like horse thieves. The prints of their shoes are clear and not worn out. They don't look like those of people who have been fleeing in the forest for a month. You'd better think carefully whether you still want to rush in." Cole took out his bow and arrow, lightly placed the arrow on the bowstring, and prepared for battle.
Ji Yijun asked the goblin shaman, "Are there any other forces around here?"
The goblin shaman shook his head.
"Okay then, you can go now. I keep my word. By the way, what's your name?" Ji Yijun asked.
"Name? My name is Zuka Moss. Moss is the name of our tribe." The goblin shaman replied.
"What a strange name." Ji Yijun smiled, then waved his hand and said, "Remember, take care of your moss tribe and don't mess with us again. Now you can go."
Zuka nodded slightly to Ji Yijun and turned to leave.
Ji Yijun looked at his back and suddenly noticed Cole drawing a bow in his peripheral vision. He instantly raised his hand and struck hard. An arrow shot at the goblin was knocked away by him.
At this time, Hou Ye Zi had already rushed in front of Cole, gun in hand, and shouted: "What are you doing!"
"It's just a mission." Cole put down his bow and arrow. "I don't want anyone to slip through the net."
Ye Zi looked back at the goblin shaman, who had already fled into the woods and disappeared. She glared at Zhang Hong and asked, "Did you ask him to do this?"
"No." Zhang Hong looked confused. "I, I only hired him to track down horse thieves. I never asked him to kill goblins."
"What's going on?" Ye Zi's gun tip moved closer to Cole.
"I know!" Ji Yijun slapped his head and said, "Was it Wang Jiyuan who hired you?"
"That's right," Cole replied, "I suggest you let me catch up and kill the goblin. He has short legs and can't run far. Otherwise, he might become a problem for you in the future."
"Is it your trouble?" Ye Zi refused to give in.
"The goblins will only hold this feud against humans, so it makes no difference whether it's you or me," said Cole.
"Murderous feud? Wouldn't it be better if we let the goblin go back to his own village and everyone stopped being hostile to him?" Ye Zi asked puzzledly.
Cole chuckled. "What do you think Gamero is doing here? There may not be a single goblin left alive in that village. Isn't this just a deadly feud? Let me remind you that a goblin shaman is not as simple as you see. If he wants to hide and take revenge secretly, you will be in big trouble."
"You, you are so shameless! The village is full of goblin women and children! Is this also an order from Wang Jiyuan?" Tears welled up in Ye Zi's eyes, not only sympathy, but also a kind of anger of being deceived.
"He just offered a bounty for the goblins. The left ear of a goblin is worth one silver spear coin, regardless of age. If we had to think twice before killing a goblin, we mercenaries would have starved to death long ago. In my eyes, goblins are only females and cubs, where do women and children come from?" Cole replied disdainfully, and he asked Ji Yijun, "You are her leader, what do you say?"
Ji Yijun took two steps forward and blocked Cole's way. "I don't care whether the goblins live or die! But Miss Ye has spoken. You can't get through today."
"Okay." Cole released the arrow from his bow. "You are all the bosses. You have the final say."
Ye Zi wiped away her tears and said to Ji Yijun with red eyes: "We can't trust this person anymore. You have to let him go."
Ji Yijun shrugged and said to Zhang Hong, "Zhang Hong, I don't dare to keep someone with too many secrets. I think you should take your people back first."
"This, these are two different things." Zhang Hong didn't care whether to kill the goblins or not, but killing the horse thieves was a matter of life and death. He hurriedly explained for Cole, "What's the connection between him taking on the task of killing the goblins and the task of killing the horse thieves at the same time? Don't forget, we came to the forest to kill goblins this time. What's wrong with that? You say he is playing tricks on you. But he has no obligation to tell us the tasks given to him by others, right? When he took action, the goblins were useless, right? It wouldn't affect your search for the horse thieves, right? I think you two are overreacting. Why don't you think about it, with him around, we will have a much greater chance of hunting down the horse thieves?"
"Since you value the lives of the goblins so much, I think it would be better if you let me follow you. Otherwise, I will turn around and chase that goblin shaman. According to my methods, he will not be able to escape if we set out now." Cole was playing with an arrow in his hand, and his expression made Ye Zi want to stab him.
"Whatever, let's go!" Ji Yijun spread his hands, bypassed Cole and Zhang Hong, jumped down the slope and walked towards the crevice. Ye Zi didn't even look at them, and went down the slope to catch up with Ji Yijun.
Zhang Hong looked at the two people running away, slapped his forehead, pointed at Cole's nose and said, "You actually hooked up with Wang Jiyuan behind my back, isn't that too unkind? Now you've ruined my business, what do you say I should do?"
Cole used the arrow in his hand to push away Zhang Hong's fingers and sneered, "I'm not your lover, why do you care who I'm hooking up with? Now there are two choices, either we follow or we leave. As long as you make sure to kill those two guys, won't you achieve your goal?"
Zhang Hong watched as Ji Yijun and Ye Zi walked into the cave entrance. He gritted his teeth and waved his hand, saying, "None of them makes me worry! Let's go!"