CHAPTER 396: CHAPTER 206: AMBUSH AND SECRET SIGNAL (PART 2)

"Perhaps... it heard the noise of your approach?"

"Did you get a good look at its appearance?" Cash nodded slightly to show he understood and asked again, "Was it a bear man?"

After having just been attacked at close range, even if it was nighttime, Mint should have been able to clearly see the enemy’s identity.

But at this moment, facing Cash’s question, she shook her head somewhat ambiguously.

"It was shrouded in a shadow that even the moonlight couldn’t penetrate. Even standing right in front of it, I couldn’t see clearly."

"I could only roughly judge it to be a beastman through its roar and general physique."

"As for whether it was a bear man..." The girl appeared thoughtful, trying hard to recall, "I can only say its body was much more slender than a normal bear man, I can’t be certain."

"Mint is right." Nearby, Vireis, who was crouching to examine the girl’s injuries, suddenly spoke.

"I was closer, the first one to arrive here." She glanced at Xia Nan on the other side, then turned her eyes to Cash, with a trace of peculiarity in her tone that outsiders could not notice.

"When I arrived, although I missed the direct confrontation, from afar, in the dust of the collapsed cabin, I still saw the silhouette of that beastman."

"Just like Mint said, it was not as bulky as a bear man, completely wrapped in thorns."

"But I only caught a glimpse, as when I arrived, it was already gone."

"Which direction?" Xia Nan, who had been silent since earlier and was listening closely to the conversation, suddenly asked.

"Do you remember which direction that beastman escaped?"

As soon as the words were out, Mint, who was leaning against the wall, lifted her uninjured right hand and pointed to the plains behind the house.

"Over there!"

Xia Nan walked slowly, concentrating as he carefully used his perception while scanning the ground.

Good news, there were footprints.

Bad news, the footprints on the ground, just like the beastman’s shadow-covered body Mint described earlier, were well concealed.

The specific shape and number of toes were entirely unclear, as if it had worn some kind of shoe cover, leaving only a series of uniformly deep oval tracks in the mud.

They abruptly disappeared about ten meters behind the house, as if it could teleport.

The open plains in the distance under the night sky showed no sign of anything fleeing.

"How about it, any discoveries?"

From behind came Vireis’s voice asking.

After spending so much time together, even without any explicit display, the team members all knew that Xia Nan’s perception ability far exceeded that of the average adventurer.

Seeing him take action now, there was an inevitable sense of anticipation.

Xia Nan did not answer directly and pondered silently for a moment.

Turning his back to the others, his eyes suddenly flashed with a gray light.

[Heart-drawing Vision]!

His spiritual power was rapidly consumed at a rate counted by the second, causing his head to feel slightly dizzy.

The world enveloped by the night transformed in an instant into pure black and white color blocks, with complex gravitational ripples colliding and merging, forming fine patterns.

Suddenly sensing something amiss, he noted the position in his mind.

The special vision closed in a flash.

Xia Nan stepped forward, moving towards the peculiar spot revealed with the help of [Heart-drawing Vision].

Bending down, he reached out.

In the next second, a small clump of dark mane was between his fingers.

Turning around, he signaled to his teammates about his discovery while also sharply focusing on their reactions.

Mint behaved very naturally, aligning with the image of someone who had just been attacked by a beastman.

She was first taken aback and then pointed out excitedly upon seeing what Xia Nan held, suggesting it might be the hair left behind by the fleeing beastman.

As for Cash and Vireis, their expressions were somewhat intriguing.

Also stunned, but shortly thereafter followed by a kind of great surprise as if they’d hit the jackpot.

Xia Nan noticed that, although there was a slight timing difference in seeing the mane consecutively, both of them shared the same astonished yet overjoyed expression.

Even after the initial joy, they forcibly suppressed their emotional fluctuations, maintaining a tense expression, which was remarkably similar.

Quietly noting it in his mind, Xia Nan showed no extra expression on his face and handed the mane to Mint.

"Take a closer look, is it from it?"

The girl reached out to take it, rubbed it a bit between her fingers, then brought it close to her nose and sniffed.

"Yes, it’s definitely the mane left by that beastman!"

She seemed very certain, as if quite familiar with the scent of beastmen.

"Cough, cough." Cash interjected with a concerned expression, "How are your injuries? Will you be okay for tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Mint quickly sat up:

"I’m fine, Captain."

"Although it looks serious, it’s really just a minor injury. The wound on my shoulder was even caused by debris falling from the ceiling, so the beastman didn’t even touch me, making infection by beastification not a concern."

"These minor injuries, I can treat them myself back home, and I’ll be mostly healed by tomorrow. It won’t affect the team."

"Hmm." Cash nodded, glancing over at Xia Nan and Vireis before casting an eye over the distant darkness-filled plains.

"Nighttime is a natural domain for wild beasts."

"Plus, the beastman that attacked Mint seems to possess some kind of concealment ability. Rushing to pursue would be too dangerous."

"Even if a beastman falls completely, its personality might become violent and bloodthirsty, but its intelligence remains at the level of an intelligent creature." Vireis added, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Judging from Mint’s description of the situation then, it’s not ruled out that it pre-set traps, deliberately exposing its trail just to lure us into chasing."

"Therefore, I personally suggest that we take turns to watch tonight, giving Mint sufficient rest while also being alert for another attack from the enemy, and then decide in the morning." Cash proposed seriously.

Vireis, having the same idea in her heart as Cash, could not possibly oppose it.

With wounds on her body, Mint found it difficult to move and needed time to heal; fighting out there in her current physical state would only be a burden.

Xia Nan keenly sensed the intention of his teammates, and given that the current environment was indeed not ideal, rashly chasing after the beastman, who had already disappeared without a trace, would only place them in a more dangerous situation, so he nodded in agreement.

Looking around, seeing that no one else in the team objected, Cash quickly gave instructions.

"Xia Nan, you lead Mint back to your place first, and Vireis and I will go pack up our things and meet you later to stay overnight at your place."

"Remember to check all the alert traps around and set more..." Saying this, Cash shook his head, "Forget it, you take Mint back first, and when we meet, we’ll check and set up together."

Understanding his intentions, Xia Nan exerted his right hand strength to pull Mint off the ground, supporting her as they headed towards his house.

Behind them, Vireis and Cash walked together, seemingly on the way to their respective quarters to pack their belongings.

They were silent, not speaking a word.

Until Xia Nan and Mint’s silhouettes in the distance completely disappeared into the depths of the night.

Only then did Vireis finally fail to contain the excitement in her heart, deliberately lowering her voice, which trembled slightly with joy:

"It’s it, right! It is, isn’t it!"

Seeing this, Cash couldn’t help but smile more broadly, eventually grinning.

"Never mind that tuft of mane, didn’t you see the shadow when you got there?"

"Do you think it is?"

"I never thought so." Walking along the road, Vireis’s slightly dark skin seemed to meld into the darkness.

"Beastman... Beastman..."

"I should have realized earlier, normal beasts wouldn’t have such high intelligence, leading us around for so long."

Suddenly, it was as if she remembered something, and her brow furrowed.

"This being the case, Mint is fine, but what about Xia Nan... what do we do?"

"It’s his mission; going back without any result definitely won’t sit well with him, but if we let him carry it through to the end and he discovers..."

"Don’t rush."

At this, Cash gradually calmed down.

"That beast has been playing us for so long, even if we’re closer now, it’s still not easy to capture."

"We need Xia Nan’s perception ability, as for everything else..."

"If he doesn’t find out, it’s fine, the reward for the mission can all go to him."

"If he does find out... watch for my signal."