"You're getting too carried away! That kid is far too clever — he's no easy mark. Don't celebrate too early, or everything will fall apart at the last moment and you'll end up in his hands." Suddenly, the voice of another young man echoed through Doctor Mo's mind.
Doctor Mo's expression changed, frost settling over his face, and he snapped coldly: "Yu Zitong, stay out of my affairs! I don't need you lecturing me. If I succeed, you'll naturally get your benefits — but I suspect the technique you gave me still has flaws. Don't tell me you're hoping something goes wrong when the time comes!" The suspicion in his words was plain as day.
The voice seemed to fear Doctor Mo, and after his threat it hastily offered an explanation: "How could there be any mistakes? Didn't you already test it on animals? As for the one that died, that was just because you hadn't mastered the technique properly. Besides, that one loss shouldn't affect your plan at all."
"Hmph! It had better not. It's a shame I can't get any more practice — otherwise I'd have that much more confidence." After hearing these words, Doctor Mo reflected on his last experiment with the technique, and the last trace of doubt in his mind faded away.
Once he fell silent, the voice — apparently having learned its lesson — said nothing more, leaving Doctor Mo alone to mutter to himself in a neurotic fashion. The atmosphere in the room took on a distinctly sinister quality.
Meanwhile, Han Li found himself in an inconspicuous ravine — a place even more remote and hidden than where he had met Li Feiyu.
The terrain here was long and narrow, squeezed into a straight line between two steep little hills. Both ends of the ravine were packed tight with dense thickets of brush, completely impassable. Apart from a rope that had been secretly lowered from the top of the shorter hill, there was no other way in or out.
Moreover, the ravine was choked with a dense growth of thorny scrub that covered most of the ground, leaving only a small clearing where Han Li could stand. Overhead, countless unknown vines were woven together into a natural green canopy, so that Han Li didn't have to worry about anyone passing by on the ridge accidentally looking down and spotting him below.
Han Li stowed his belongings under a massive boulder, returned to the center of the clearing, closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then opened them with a look of quiet resolve. "I'll start with the Soft Bone Art — the hardest one to practice," he murmured.
And so, Han Li began his solitary path of cultivation.
He did not know that not far away, a small yellow bird perched on a branch was watching him around the clock, day and night. Only because it saw no signs of escape did it refrain from flying back to report to its master.
Time flew, and half of four months passed in the blink of an eye.
The ravine now appeared empty and deserted at first glance. Han Li, who had been there before, was nowhere to be seen. Only the little yellow bird remained, calmly perched in the same spot, slowly preening its feathers with its beak — seemingly oblivious to the disappearance of its surveillance target, as though it had long since thrown its mission to the four winds.
Suddenly, a small gray bird slipped through the green vines above and fluttered into the ravine. After circling overhead a few times, it landed on a weathered wooden stake at the edge of the clearing, apparently intending to rest a moment before continuing on its way.
The yellow bird tilted its head and regarded the newcomer with an arrogant gaze, then displayed a distinctly human look of contempt, seeming to consider the gray bird beneath its notice.
The newcomer balanced on one leg and surveyed its surroundings, finally spotting its fellow bird. It spread its wings as though about to fly over.
Then, without warning, a withered yellowish hand descended from the sky and snatched the bewildered gray bird in a single grip.
The sudden turn of events threw the bird into a panic. It struggled desperately, but it could not break free from its captor's hold.
Only then did the bird realize that the wooden stake beneath its feet had somehow transformed into a yellow-robed youth — a boy with dark skin, plain features, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. Apart from a certain clarity in his gaze, there was nothing particularly striking about him.
The youth smiled as he watched the bird struggle in his hand. When it was nearly worn out, he loosened his grip and said gently: "Off you go. Don't be so foolish next time. Pick your landing spot more carefully before you settle down."
The bird burst into freedom, paying no attention to its fellow, and flapped its wings in a panic, flying out of the ravine bottom without looking back.
After watching it go, the youth stood there motionless for a long while before murmuring slowly to himself: "It seems my Breath Concealment Technique and Pseudo Concealment Technique have reached a decent level. Next, I should practice the Confined Space Assassination Skill."
With that, Han Li moved toward a newly built little wooden cabin nearby. As he passed the tree where the yellow bird perched, he couldn't help but glance up at it.
He had discovered this strangely behaving bird about half a month earlier. It had been perched on a nearby branch ever since, constantly watching him — seemingly possessed of considerable intelligence.
From the very first moment he saw it, Han Li had been captivated by its cleverness and had grown deeply fond of the little yellow bird.
He had tried to lure it away, but no matter what method he used — "bribing," "coaxing," "setting traps" — nothing worked. The bird showed no intention of being fooled and would periodically fix him with the look one might give a fool, leaving Han Li caught between amusement and exasperation.
Later, out of frustration, he tried to grab it by force, but before he could get close it immediately took to the air. The moment Han Li walked away, it flew right back to its perch, leaving him standing there with nothing to do but glare helplessly.
Thinking about this, Han Li turned back with a slight scowl and ignored the bird. In truth, he had already vaguely realized that this little creature was almost certainly connected to Doctor Mo — it had probably been sent as a spy to keep tabs on him.
But Han Li didn't care. As long as Doctor Mo wasn't monitoring him in person, what could a little bird actually report? Besides, he genuinely adored this clever little creature and could not bring himself to use any harsh measures against it.
At that very moment, Doctor Mo was inside a stone chamber, using wild animal bone powder to trace out a strange formation array. As he worked, he conversed with the other person in his mind — completely unaware that Han Li had already seen through his surveillance.
(End of Chapter)