Chapter 44: Finding the Fox! Exploring the Great Mountain!

Frowning, Zhang Hao looked down into the tall grass.

He nudged the weeds with the walking stick in his hand, his gaze following the movement.

Half-hidden among the weeds was a backpack, vaguely bearing a character printed in red.

The moment he saw this backpack, every hair on his body stood on end. His entire being instantly grew tense, and his pupils contracted uncontrollably.

If his memory served him correctly, this should be one of the backpacks carried by the procession of foxes bearing betrothal gifts that he had witnessed the other night.

How on earth did this backpack end up here?

Countless thoughts raced through Zhang Hao’s mind. Swallowing hard, he bent down and picked up the backpack, only to realize that it was merely a tattered remnant. The side with the red character had been completely torn off.

The fabric of the backpack scrap looked like ordinary leather, clearly man-made.

However, judging from the torn edges, the scattered claw marks left across the fragment, and a tuft of pale orange fur...

Combined with the red paper on the backpack, the fur from the foxes...

And these claw marks.

It was certain that those foxes had done this.

And the backpacks the foxes were carrying that day—were they stolen or picked up?

Only those two possibilities existed, since foxes obviously lacked the capability to manufacture leather backpacks.

Yet why would those foxes tear this backpack apart?

There seemed to be no corresponding record of this in the *Travelogues of the Mountain Wanderer*...

Still, since this tattered backpack fragment appeared here, could it mean that those foxes had also been here previously?

If the foxes had been here, they would inevitably have left traces behind. As long as he followed those tracks, wouldn't it be possible to directly discover the foxes' lair?

Such a possibility indeed existed.

A surge of joy welled up in Zhang Hao's heart.

No sooner thought than done. Besides, it was currently daytime—the hour when the vital energy of *yang* was at its peak. Even if he were discovered, those foxes would not dare to act rashly.

By the time night fell, he would have long since departed, taking refuge in a safe place where the foxes naturally could not harm him.

He was a Mountain Wanderer, after all; he still possessed that much self-confidence.

Standing up, Zhang Hao used his walking stick to push aside the weeds on the ground. Utilizing his enhanced vision, he stared intently at the patch of undergrowth beneath his feet.

Generally speaking, if that group of foxes had discarded this backpack remnant here before leaving, they would definitely have left marks on the weeds. Whether it was stray hairs or flattened vegetation from their footsteps, the traces would be quite clear.

All he needed to do was press forward along these tracks.

Zhang Hao walked forward very slowly, alternating between glancing at the weeds underfoot and scanning the path ahead. He had already drawn the hunting knife tucked into his waist, casually slicing off a small sapling by the roadside to leave a marker, preventing himself from losing his way on the return journey.

Deep in the mountains nowadays, as the date of the foxes' wedding drew progressively closer, the frequency with which mountain spirits and wild monsters wandered about was also increasing.

Ordinary mountain spirits and wild monsters were naturally nothing to fear. With the bonuses granted by his straw sandals and his status as a Mountain Wanderer, ordinary entities would find it rather difficult to trap him.

However, if they were older mountain spirits or those with deeper cultivation, even Zhang Hao could easily find himself trapped if he lowered his guard for even a split second.

Even so, he could avoid such situations simply by exercising a little caution.

*Chirp, chirp, chirp~*

Waves of bird song echoed in his ears. Before him stretched a boundless, dense forest, the earth beneath his boots was soft and loamy, and the crisp, fragrant air filled his nostrils.

Zhang Hao had no idea how long he had been walking, until the fox tracks on the path ahead finally disappeared completely.

He took a deep breath, let out a long sigh, wiped the sweat beading on his forehead, pulled his water canteen from his pack, and took a large, gulping swallow of water.

He raised his head, looking through the gaps in the leaves at the sun hanging high in the sky.

The afternoon had already arrived.

When heading into the mountains this time, Zhang Hao had not brought his cell phone, nor any other electronic devices.

The main reason was that carrying them was useless; there was nowhere to charge them, and there was essentially no cell service deep in the mountains.

Furthermore, he was afraid that electronic devices might interfere with the magnetic fields of the great mountains.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't matter—let it interfere if it would.

Right now, however, he was preparing to attend the foxes' wedding. If his phone were to suddenly pick up a signal, ring, or receive a notification in the middle of attending the foxes' wedding, he would be utterly and completely doomed.

Therefore, under these circumstances, leaving the phone behind was the wisest choice.

*Rumble~*

A wave of hunger suddenly struck. Zhang Hao patted his stomach, found a random stone to sit on, pulled the remaining half of a flatbread from his pack, and began to eat it in large bites.

After finishing the bread and taking a few swatches of water, he grabbed a handful of sour jujubes and wild berries he had just foraged in the mountains, tossing them into his mouth and chewing heartily.

When one is deep in the mountains, meals are kept simple.

It was just that he hadn't encountered a rabbit or a pheasant; otherwise, he could have whipped up some primitive barbecue.

Forget it; he had better focus on figuring out how to continue tracking the foxes.

With the tracks gone, the simplest method was no longer available.

In that case, he would have to resort to another method...

A certain method for locating lost items recorded in the *Travelogues of the Mountain Wanderer* quickly flashed through Zhang Hao's mind.

It was just that he had no way of knowing whether this method would actually work in finding that group of foxes.

"Oh well, let's give it a try. What if it works?" Zhang Hao chuckled self-deprecatingly, then stood up, leaned on his walking stick, and gazed toward the even deeper, more secluded recesses of the dense forest.

Down the mountain, in Zhao Family Village.

The setting sun sank westward, and evening glow filled the sky, casting its final light across the earth.

dressed in a light purple *hanfu*, Li Siyu carried a vegetable basket, lifted the hem of her skirt, and easily stepped over the threshold.

"Aiyah~ Aiyah~ Aw, aw, awooo~"

As soon as she stepped inside, Little White, who had been lying flat in the courtyard, wobbled to its feet. Its eyes were not yet fully open, yet it stared straight toward Li Siyu at the doorway as if it could actually see her.

Over the past few days, following the change in Little White's diet, the little fellow's vitality had grown increasingly better. Now it could even make sounds, resembling a normal puppy more and more.

It was just that there was still no telling when those eyes would finally open.

Logically speaking, a puppy this old should have opened its eyes long ago, yet Little White alone showed no signs of doing so anytime soon.

What Zhang Hao said had turned out to be completely true: the previous dog dealer simply didn't know how to raise it, which was why Little White had looked so frail, giving the impression that it wouldn't last much longer.

Still, how could a puppy be raised primarily on medicinal herbs from the mountains...

Truly, in a world as vast as this, anything could exist.

Yet Li Siyu didn't dwell on it too much; after all, on the day of Old Grandpa Zhao's funeral, hadn't they even encountered a so-called mountain spirit known as an Illusory Mountain Sprite?

Though she didn't know whether it was true or false, the stories told by those who came down the mountain had been nothing short of miraculous.

Setting down the vegetable basket, Li Siyu did not prepare food for Little White, nor did she start cooking. Instead, she turned and walked into the southern wing room.

She walked straight to the incense table in the southwest corner.

Raising her slender neck slightly, her gaze fell upon the clay statue bearing Zhang Hao's face, which occupied the place of honor for worship.

Li Siyu silently picked up a stick of incense and lit it with a lighter.

Then, following Zhang Hao's instructions, she held the incense—from which wisps of white smoke curled upward—bowed three times before the clay statue, and respectfully inserted it into the incense burner.

Worshiping a clay statue bearing Zhang Hao's face—just hearing about such a thing felt somewhat eerie. Yet Li Siyu knew that since Zhang Hao had asked her to do this, there must be a reason for it.

Fundamentally, she didn't understand, nor did she care to question it.

As long as doing this brought good fortune to Zhang Hao and allowed him to return safely, that was enough.