126. An Unexpected Visitor

Upon reaching the side of the man relieving himself, Zhang Xuan was hit by a wave of "fragrance" that he couldn't help but recoil from—it was no wonder that gang had told him to stay away! He stood up and, with a "generous" stride, stepped directly behind the man.

The man, still busy, heard someone approach from behind but, not knowing who it was, casually remarked, "Are you here to take a dump too? Didn't you all stay far away whenever I was doing my business before? Why today..." Before he could finish, Zhang Xuan clamped a hand firmly over his mouth while simultaneously drawing a small blade across his throat. The entire sequence of movements was as smooth as flowing water. Zhang Xuan waited until the man had stopped struggling and his breath had faded completely before slowly lowering him onto his own filth. Then, suppressing a wave of nausea—whether from the act of killing or the stench, he didn't care to dwell on—he pinched his nose and frisked the body. After all, money was innocent, and he had a large group of people to support. While thinking this, he fished out two pouches and a tablet, though it was too dark for him to make out any markings on the object. Once he had finished, he stood up quickly, offered a brief bow to the corpse, and turned back. He simply couldn't endure that "fragrance" any longer; they were both human, so why was there such a vast difference?

Yang Zaixing caught a glimpse of someone returning. Judging by the silhouette, it was undoubtedly Zhang Xuan. He didn't ask questions; everything seemed to have gone smoothly, and he didn't give it a second thought.

"How much longer do you think he'll be?" one of them suggested. "Once he gets back and we sit for a bit longer, we should head out. Or, why doesn't one of you go check on him?"

The others waved their hands dismissively. "If you want to go, go yourself. I can't stand his stench. One time, I even threw up my dinner from the night before." The other three shuddered at the memory of that smell; why was it so foul? In the end, the four remained seated, discussing other matters.

Zhang Xuan crawled to Yang Zaixing's side and whispered, "Two for you, two for me. Watch for the chance and finish them quickly." With that, he began to crawl slowly toward the other side. Yang Zaixing also made his way toward the group of four, seeking a favorable position for the strike.

"It's been so long, he still isn't back. Could something have happened?"

"Maybe he missed his footing and fell into the pit. If he landed right in the middle of his own mess, that would be hilarious!" The four of them laughed at the image.

Just as Zhang Xuan was preparing to strike, he suddenly saw a familiar figure walking briskly toward the group.

The four men huddled together also heard someone approaching. In these desolate wilds, they assumed it might be a wild beast and instantly tensed their nerves, adopting a defensive posture.

As the person drew near and saw the four, he exclaimed, "It’s you lot! Does anyone here know how to set bones? Can you set mine first? Some brat dislocated both my arms. If you can, hurry up!"

Only then did the four recognize who had arrived. The voice was familiar, and upon closer inspection, it was the very "pervert" they had just been discussing. One of the men fawned as he rushed forward. "Supervisor! What are you doing here? Which brat was so blind as to dislocate your arms? If that guy falls into my hands, I’ll make sure he learns what we're capable of."

"Enough of that. Can anyone set bones or not? Just fix it and stop talking nonsense. Also, do you have any food? Give me something first; I haven't eaten a bite or had a drop of water since lunch." The man who had approached shook his head, and the other three followed suit, all indicating they had no such skill.

Zhang Xuan watched closely. It was indeed the trafficker he had encountered that afternoon and let go. Since they had met again, he would not let him off this time. However, Zhang Xuan recalled the conversation he had just overheard. Was this man a supervisor of this camp, or perhaps the nephew of some "big shot" in their organization? That didn't seem right—a supervisor running out alone to track people didn't make sense, yet the others addressed him as Supervisor. It was quite strange.

As it turned out, after leaving Zhang Xuan, the trafficker had run aimlessly until he became lost. After much effort, he still couldn't find the way back to his camp, but he felt he was in the right vicinity. Seeing the firelight, he had come to try his luck, only to run into familiar faces.

The man standing closest to the supervisor took a flatbread from his pocket and offered it. "Can't you see my arms are broken? I can't use my hands, so why are you just holding it out? Can't you just feed me directly?" The man obeyed, feeding the supervisor. He asked, "Supervisor, what did you run into? Your arms were broken—who in these parts would dare treat you like this? Or was there a betrayal in the camp?"

The supervisor glanced at the man feeding him. These fellows had quite the imagination, but he couldn't tell them the truth about the afternoon's encounter; it would ruin his "wise and mighty" image at the camp. "Don't ask what you shouldn't, or you'll bring trouble upon yourselves. Also, spend the next two days searching these woods for three people. Once found, either tie them up or have someone tail them and rush to the camp to notify me." The supervisor then described the appearances of Zhang Xuan and the Nie brothers to the four men.