In the world of martial arts, I can invest in countless realms.

Chapter 48 Waiting for a Rabbit to Run into a Tree Stump

"choke!"

The moment Shen Che's power merged, the leak of his aura caused Bai Xiyu, who was not far away, to quickly draw her sword to defend herself like a cat with its fur standing on end—this was her most instinctive reaction.

For a fleeting moment, for some reason, she suddenly felt a surge of fear deep within her.

The hairs on his body stood on end in that instant, as if he had sensed something extremely terrifying.

The feeling came and went quickly, disappearing without a trace in an instant, as if everything that had just happened was nothing more than her illusion.

"Is it really just my imagination?"

Holding the sword for a while, Bai Xiyu was still somewhat doubtful and uncertain. Although that feeling quickly disappeared, the panic in her heart could not be calmed down.

What was that just now? There's only her and that guy opposite her here. Could it be him? No way, he's so young.

If it wasn't him, then who could it be, or something else entirely?

"Bang!" Just as Bai Xiyu was lost in thought, a rabbit, perhaps having missed a step, fell from above the pit and landed motionless on the ground.

The pit was several meters deep; even a wild boar would be doomed if it fell in, let alone a rabbit.

"Such a fat rabbit!" By the light of the candlelight over Shen Che's side, Bai Xiyu could also see what had fallen, and her eyes lit up instantly.

These past few days, she's been eating mostly cornbread and wild vegetable dumplings, with the occasional steamed bun being a treat.

Even if it's a little oily, it's just from the pickled vegetables they gave us; whether it's there or not depends on the mood of the other person.

These days are truly filled with heartache and tears.

These days, Bai Xiyu doesn't know if it's just her imagination, but she often feels like she can smell the aroma of wine and meat.

It's one or two times, that's fine. After all, it's normal for someone to have some skills from their travels before they fell, and it's normal for them to know those ice-attribute skills and be able to preserve food.

But being able to smell it every few days is very abnormal. When traveling the world, most people carry dry rations; who would carry so much wine and meat on them for no reason?

It seems that people can hallucinate when they are extremely hungry.

These past few days, she's been eating so much cornbread that she feels completely drained. Now, with such a plump rabbit in front of her, it would be a shame not to eat it, given how much the rabbit has sacrificed.

With lightning speed, he used his sword to lift the rabbit up, preparing to dismantle it completely.

Of course, she wouldn't eat it all by herself; she was just worried that such good ingredients would fall into the hands of the other side, resulting in unnecessary waste.

After all, you can keep the rabbit blood and such.

Seeing Bai Xiyu pick up the rabbit, Shen Che calmly said, "If I were you, I wouldn't eat it."

"What do you mean? Don't worry, I won't hog it all. Once it's ready, your share will be there for you."

"It's not that I don't trust your character, I just want to tell you, how do you know this rabbit fell down on its own? Couldn't it have been deliberately thrown down?"

"You mean..." The hand holding the rabbit suddenly stopped there.

"Could I be overthinking it?" Although she didn't want to admit it, she knew she couldn't afford to gamble.

The rabbit I just got my hands on instantly lost its appeal.

"This rabbit's blood contains a sleeping potion. Although it's masked by the smell of blood, I can still smell it. Eating it will make you feel relaxed, but afterward, it will be difficult for you to stand up again."

"Is it a sleeping potion?" Bai Xiyu silently put down the rabbit in her hand. She only needed a little thought to understand.

When people are starving and a rabbit suddenly falls into their laps, they don't have time to tell if there's a problem; they just eat it first.

As long as it fills their stomachs, they'd swallow anything, even poison, let alone sleeping pills. It's better to be poisoned than to starve to death.

It's been more than ten days. It doesn't matter whether the people in the pit are still strong from hunger. Once this rabbit is eaten, even the tiger will have to lie down.

Is this really a solution that a group of mountain people could come up with?

However, Shen Che glanced at the rabbit and smiled slightly. After waiting for so many days, he had finally gotten what he was looking forward to.

The two looked at each other, their eyes meeting, and almost instantly understood each other's thoughts.

The rabbit that had fallen to its death was quickly cleaned up; its fur was thrown aside, and most of the meat and bones were removed.

However, instead of eating the bones and meat, they buried them. The two pretended to faint and lay in wait, hoping their prey would come to them.

After a long time, when the two people with their eyes closed were almost asleep, a rustling sound came from above the pit.

Soon, the obstruction above the pit was removed, and sunlight shone in again.

When the people above saw the rabbit skins piled at the bottom of the pit, and the bloodstains and bits of flesh stained the mouths of the two men, one of them climbed down the rope.

Just as the person climbed down, before even fully touching the ground, the rope above was suddenly cut.

To be precise, the people above were actually preparing to cut the rope if anything unexpected happened.

When those who went down reached the bottom of the pit, the rope would be cut.

After a while, and only after confirming that the two unconscious people had not moved and were truly completely unconscious, another rope was lowered from above.

Shen Che skillfully tied the ropes around their bodies, and he cooperated perfectly, not making a single movement from beginning to end.

In the past, he might have used other means to ensure his absolute safety. But now, he wasn't worried at all.

Given his current physical condition, even if he stood still and let these people hack at him until the blades were dulled, they might not be able to hurt him.

Soon, the two were pulled up with force. The sunlight shone on their faces again, making them feel warm and cozy.

Several familiar figures appeared before him, including the same group of old farmers who had tricked him.

However, they seemed much older than when I first saw them. How could people age so quickly in such a short time?

"Quickly, send them to the envoy!"

The two people were carried up the mountain, and eventually they met up with two other groups of people.

Besides him and Bai Xiyu, there were two other people being carried, seemingly brought out from somewhere else.

Judging from their attire, those two people should also be martial arts practitioners, and their skills shouldn't be too bad.

It seems there's more than one similar trap here. These people are quite the con artists; they've managed to manipulate so many江湖人 (jianghu people, people from all walks of life) with ease.

Come to think of it, those rhetoric portrays them as a group of mountain bandits whom even hunters fear, so aren't they easy targets?

Unfortunately, this group of people had just plundered all the money from the surrounding villages, and they were flush with cash.

Whether driven by a sense of justice or by the allure of wealth, there will always be someone who falls for it.

If you get greedy, you'll fall into a trap!

They were carried all the way to the top of the mountain, where the people were already waiting. When they saw them, they nodded in satisfaction.

"Your Excellency, what do you see..."

The mountain people kneeling on the ground had expectant looks on their faces. When the other party took out a few pills, their eyes immediately lit up. Their greedy and eager eyes were more frightening than those of people who were starving.

"Thank you, Your Excellency! Thank you, Your Excellency!"

"And these are rewards for those who have rendered meritorious service in your village. Tell them that as long as they do their jobs well, they will never be treated unfairly!"

They carefully put the medicine bottle into their pockets, and then hurriedly swallowed the few pills they had just taken.

Then, one by one, the group seemed to fall into a state of mental confusion, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, yet their faces showed a blissful, ethereal feeling, as if they were instantly immersed in their own wonderful world and unable to extricate themselves.

At the same time, their bodies seemed to be aging rapidly, as if their vitality was being quickly drained away.