800: Chapter 800 Birds Can Talk Now?

"Greater Khingan Mountains?"

Yan Qingwu's dark brows furrowed slightly.

"That place is a primeval forest region. It's an uninhabited area for hundreds of miles, without even a decent road."

"No road is exactly the point."

Ye Chen put away his phone and gathered the map fragments from the table into his pocket. "The places no one goes to are the most likely to hide good things."

He stretched and walked toward the door.

Yan Qingwu chased after him for two steps. "You've decided just like that? Won't you double-check?"

Ye Chen didn't look back and waved his hand.

"My technique is more precise than your sword."

Yan Qingwu: "..."

Seriously...

Was it necessary to insult herself like that?

Her sword, at the very least, made a hole with every strike, right???

Three days later, the Greater Khingan Mountains.

A military helicopter circled and landed above the dense forest.

The fierce wind bent the surrounding treetops, startling a flock of birds.

The cabin door opened.

Ye Chen jumped down and stretched his neck.

Yan Qingwu followed closely behind. Her silver-white hair was whipped into a frenzy by the wind. She lifted her hand to smooth it down, squinting as she scanned the surroundings.

"This place... is truly primitive."

"Primitive is exactly what makes it good."

Ye Chen took a deep breath.

"This air is ten thousand times better than the smog in the Imperial Capital."

"By the way, where is that forest ranger you contacted?"

Yan Qingwu looked down at her phone. "We agreed to meet at a small cabin nearby. It should be just ahead."

The two walked along the forest path for about twenty minutes and sure enough, they saw a wooden cabin.

A middle-aged man wearing camouflage was squatting at the entrance, smoking a long-stemmed pipe.

When he heard footsteps,

he looked up at Ye Chen and Yan Qingwu. "Are you the archaeological team the higher-ups mentioned?"

Ye Chen nodded.

"Yes, are you Uncle Liu?"

"Just call me Old Liu."

The forest ranger tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe and stood up, his brows slightly furrowed. "You... are just two people?"

"Two people is enough." Yan Qingwu nodded.

Old Liu's frown deepened. "It's not that I want to complain, but the Greater Khingan Mountains are not a park for you city folks to stroll in. There are black bears, wild boars, and even more sinister things in this forest."

"More sinister things?"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "For example?"

Old Liu opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words. He just waved his hand. "Anyway, listen to me—just don't go deep inside."

Ye Chen didn't respond but took out his phone, pulled up the satellite topographic map, and handed it to Old Liu. "Uncle Liu, do you recognize this place?"

Old Liu took the phone and looked down.

The next second.

His expression changed drastically.

That look in his eyes!

That appearance!

It was as if he had seen the most terrifying thing in the world.

Seeing this,

Ye Chen and Yan Qingwu exchanged a glance, then called out, "Uncle Liu?"

Old Liu suddenly snapped back to reality, shoved the phone back into Ye Chen's hand, and waved his hands repeatedly.

"You can't go to this place! Absolutely not!"

"Why?" Ye Chen pressed.

Old Liu was very decisive. "That place is extremely sinister! Whoever goes there meets with disaster!"

Seeing his reaction, Ye Chen became even more interested.

"How is it sinister? Tell me about it."

Old Liu hesitated for a long while, then plopped down on the woodpile at the entrance, took out his pipe, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"Eight years ago."

"An exploration team went into that forest."

"I was on duty at the forestry station at the time and watched them go in with my own eyes. There were twelve of them in total, all fully equipped, with two military guides."

"As a result..."

Old Liu's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Half a month later, only one person came out."

"When that person came out, he was completely insane, muttering endlessly about things like a Blood Moon, a door underground... He died just a few days later."

"As for the remaining eleven, not even their corpses were found."

"The forestry station organized a search and rescue team, went in, and searched for seven days and seven nights, but they didn't find a single bone."

Old Liu looked up at Ye Chen, his eyes full of terror.

"Those twelve people just vanished into thin air, without even leaving a footprint behind."

"Ever since then, that place has become a forbidden zone."

"The hunters nearby don't dare to go near it, and even wild beasts won't run in that direction."

"Tell me, isn't that sinister?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Qingwu's dark brows furrowed slightly.

She had indeed heard of that incident from eight years ago.

The rumors were very bizarre; to this day, the remains of that group have never been found.

So much so that it was listed alongside the Fengmen Village case in the records of bizarre incidents.

And anything that could be listed in that archive was basically impossible to solve.

Ye Chen became even more interested. "Besides that, are there any other sinister aspects?"

"Yes."

Old Liu nodded, as if opening the floodgates.

"I went there once before. Although I didn't go deep, I nearly lost my life on the periphery."

Ye Chen and Yan Qingwu exchanged a glance without interrupting.

Old Liu tossed the cigarette butt and continued, exhaling rings of smoke.

"That year, I was only twelve. Because life at home was difficult, I had to go into the mountains to find treasures to sell just to make a living."

"I had never made a mistake before, but one time I muddled my way into the periphery of that place."

As a result, that night, bizarre events happened one after another.

What left the deepest impression on him was that the black bears could speak human language, smoke pipes, and the entire forest would move.

It was like a moving maze.

Fear appeared on Old Liu's face. "I told the people in the village, but no one believed me. Since then, I haven't gone deep inside, only making a living on the periphery."

Yan Qingwu was stunned. "Bears that can talk and smoke? If someone told me that, I wouldn't believe it either."

Old Liu smiled bitterly, but he understood.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it either...

But Ye Chen, who was to the side, smiled. "I believe it."

Old Liu froze.

Yan Qingwu was bewildered. "Wait... Ye Chen, you really believe it?"

"Naturally."

Ye Chen nodded. "If a beast lives for a hundred years, it can become a spirit, so it's not strange."

Old Liu's pupils shrank. "Ah? So... that was a black bear spirit?"

"We'll know when we see it." Ye Chen grinned.

Old Liu's expression became even worse, and he shook his head. "Absolutely cannot go there!"

Old Liu's words hadn't even faded.

A bird flew over their heads.

Ye Chen casually pulled a talisman paper from his pocket and flicked his finger.

The talisman turned into a blur and shot straight into the bird's body.

The next second.

It was as if the bird had been grabbed by something; its wings stiffened, and it flapped to change direction.

Then.

It flew toward Ye Chen and landed on his shoulder.

Old Liu's eyes widened.

Wait... what is happening?

However.

Before he could speak, an even more shocking scene followed.

The bird actually! Actually! Actually! Tilted its head, opened its mouth, and spoke in human language: "Now... can we go?"

The bird's pronunciation was clear and standard, not at all like something a bird would produce.

But he could be certain... it was the bird that said it!

The pipe in Old Liu's hand was dropped in shock, and he nearly fell off the woodpile.

"It... it spoke?"

"This bird... has become a spirit?!"

The bird seemed very dissatisfied with Old Liu's reaction, shook its wings, and added, "You're the one who became a spirit, your whole family became spirits."

Old Liu: "..."

Yan Qingwu stood to the side, the corners of her mouth twitching as she held back a laugh.

Ye Chen reached out to stroke the bird's head, casually pulled a peanut from his pocket, and tossed it over.

The next moment.

The bird quickly pecked it up, flew toward the distance, and then vanished.

Yan Qingwu blinked, dumbfounded. "This... what is going on?"

It wasn't just Old Liu who was surprised; she was too.

A bird actually speaking in such a bizarre way, and being so smart...

This was too absurd!

Ye Chen said indifferently, "It's just temporary enlightenment, nothing strange."

The reason the [Houtu Inheritance] is called "Houtu" is because it possesses the ability to manage the earth.

Therefore.

As long as it is a living creature, it cannot escape the control of the Power of Hou Tu.

Including...

The birds flying in the sky.

It's just that he wouldn't tell anyone.

Old Liu finally snapped back to reality, his face full of shock.

"You... you are not an ordinary archaeological team!"

"You are from the 749 Bureau! Right?!"

Ye Chen paused. "Why do you think we are from the 749 Bureau?"

"Isn't that what everyone says online?"

Old Liu pointed tremblingly in the direction where the bird had disappeared.

"The 749 Bureau specializes in handling these kinds of weird things!"

"I've seen it when scrolling through short videos—talking animals in deep mountains, walking houses, glowing graves—you guys are the ones in charge of all that!"

Ye Chen remained silent for two seconds and turned his head to look at Yan Qingwu.

Yan Qingwu was expressionless. "Don't look at me. You caused this, you explain it yourself."

Ye Chen sighed and turned back to look at Old Liu.

"Uncle Liu, if I say we really aren't from the 749 Bureau, would you believe me?"

The 749 Bureau is the 749 Bureau.

Their Dragon Group is the Dragon Group.

Damn it!

The 749 Bureau is really something... making their reputation so loud, even spreading it to ordinary people!

However.

Old Liu stared at Ye Chen for a while and decisively shook his head. "I don't believe you."

Ye Chen: "..."