He Kao left his phone in the room to charge, then went to the Gu Mountain Secret Mansion to prepare some items before traveling through space to Maoluo Country, appearing near the river valley again.

He cautiously did not approach the valley but found a high vantage point and observed with infrared binoculars, noticing the camp of Zeng Hongye and his foreign disciple Xiaosi still there.

Actually, not much time had passed. He Kao discovered the two in the afternoon, then called Qian Guran, waited for Qian Guran to return his call, and recently contacted Second Uncle... all of this happened this afternoon.

Now it was just past dinner time, but the sky darkened early in the North, and the light in the mountains was dim, with the temperature dropping quickly. If someone didn't return to the camp in time, a prolonged stay outside might result in being frozen by the cold wind.

The two seemed misled as they found the tracks of He Kao's activities ending in the river valley and thus searched the area, obviously not finding anything unless Xiaowu coincidentally escaped here too.

Suddenly, He Kao recalled that the day after he crossed Wulong River, in the morning, he had also discovered signs of human activity in the mountains.

At that time, he saw a tree branch that seemed broken by someone, as there were many twigs on the snow, and the marks were clearly carved with a small knife.

But after walking a whole day without seeing a single person, he found it strange… thinking back now, could it have been left by Xiaowu?

The location was not far from where he crossed the river, and He Kao could still remember it, crossing over there in the next instant.

The place was a mountain nest sheltered from the wind on all sides, and no snow had fallen since that night, so many traces remained.

He Kao observed closely; someone had broken a stick as thick as a walnut, also cutting off the smaller branches—likely processing it into a wooden stick or a simple spear. The person must have carried a small knife.

Zeng Hongye, pursuing Xiaowu, was a Tier Four Sorcerer; such simple tools were of little consequence to him. So it must have been Xiaowu?

Zeng Hongye mentioned that he and Xiaosi were chasing Wu Yanjun across Wulong River, but a storm erased all traces that night. Therefore, they crossed at roughly the same time as He Kao, three days ago.

Shortly after crossing, both He Kao's and Xiaowu's tracks coincidentally converged where Xiaowu was working on the stick.

On the first day after crossing the river, He Kao walked northward; on the second day, he reached the river valley and unexpectedly found a snow cold snap, then continued searching along the valley; the third day, today, he discovered Zeng Hongye and Xiaosi.

Why did Zeng Hongye and Xiaosi pursue the river valley? Because they found He Kao's tracks, leading them off course!

Tracking He Kao in this environment was a confusing endeavor.

Because He Kao is the Hidden Moth, he can disregard concerns about outdoor equipment and supplies, retrieving whatever he needs anytime, eating, and resting in hotels when hungry or cold without needing to camp overnight.

Thus, his travel was quick, and his movements seemed extraordinarily mysterious.

The two inadvertently followed the wrong trail into the valley, only to be discovered by He Kao.

If Wu Yanjun were to flee in haste, he wouldn't be well-prepared; escaping this far is a stroke of luck, and survival in such harsh conditions would be difficult.

Considering Wu Yanjun is also a Tier Two Sorcerer, he might have a good chance to survive; the priority now is to find him quickly.

To spend a night here, one must find a cave or dig a snow nest, ideally make a fire if conditions permit. Deploying a drone with an infrared camera to search the area might be the best approach.

But drones cannot be used here as the temperature is too low, exceeding civilian drone performance limits.

The northern mountain wilds beyond Wulong River are colder than the Crane Ridge area, with recent nighttime temperatures approaching minus thirty degrees, while the highest daytime temperature reached only minus ten-something degrees. With wind, the perceived temperature would be even lower.

He Kao stood there, trying to think like Wu Yanjun—if he were Xiaowu, where would he hide, and where would he run?

It turns out Zeng Hongye had lost the trail, meaning from Xiaowu's perspective, he shook off the pursuers over the past two days, surely not continuing further into the deserted northern territories!

The wise choice would be to make a loop back, escape into the Eastern Country, and find a populated place to hide, like an empty house in a village, or send out a distress signal.

Villages and towns here, including counties and cities, have many vacant houses during winter.

Xiaowu escaped from the Yimei region but left marks here, indicating after crossing Wulong River, he didn't continue north but traveled east along the river... This guy sure has great stamina, running as far as he did.

Braving the nighttime chill, He Kao searched nearby with infrared night vision equipment, finding no infrared signals but traces to the east.

Here lay a snowy field, where human passage leaves distinct marks. However, the mountains often have winds, especially during dramatic temperature shifts at dawn and dusk, causing gusts from air convection.

The snow here isn't wet snow like the South but close to powder, crunching underfoot, blowing around like sand or salt in the wind, often erasing tracks, leaving only faint clues.

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