As soon as I put it on, I met a sickly man

Chapter 73: Dangerous Signs Emerge

Yingfeng groaned and his expression suddenly changed.

The iron teeth of the trap dug deep into his flesh, and blood instantly dyed his boots red.

He knelt on one knee, cold sweat oozing from his forehead, but he clenched his teeth and did not make any screams.

"Damn it!" Ding Chen cursed and quickly stepped forward to check Yingfeng's injuries.

General Lin frowned, his eyes like torches as he scanned the surroundings. "This businessman is indeed cunning!"

"General, we can't delay any longer, we must catch up as soon as possible!" Ding Chen said anxiously. He knew that every moment of delay might allow the mysterious businessman to escape further.

"Reckless! Don't you see there are traps everywhere? What if someone gets hurt again?" The old scholar blew his beard and glared, pointing at the dead branches and leaves scattered on the ground, his tone full of deep worry.

These seemingly ordinary leaves may hide deadly mechanisms.

"But..." Ding Chen wanted to say something, but was interrupted by General Lin.

"The old gentleman is right. We cannot act rashly." General Lin said in a deep voice. Although he was also extremely anxious, his reason told him that he must be cautious.

"What should I do? Should I just watch him escape?" Ding Chen clenched his fists, feeling unwilling.

Just when everyone was in a stalemate, Xiaoxuan squatted down and carefully observed the surrounding environment.

She brushed her slender fingers lightly across the ground, feeling the moisture and texture of the soil.

Suddenly, she raised her head and her eyes fell on a crooked tree not far away. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, "I seem to..."

Xiaoxuan calmly observed the surrounding environment, her slender fingers sliding across the tiny scratches on the tree trunk, and a hint of understanding flashed in her eyes.

"I think... I found it." She stood up, her tone firm, "These traps are not placed randomly, but are arranged according to an ancient formation."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this.

The old scholar pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, stepped forward to take a closer look, and indeed found some unusual traces.

He stroked his beard, suddenly realizing, "So that's it! This is the long-lost 'Phantom Array'. No wonder it's so hard to detect."

Xiaoxuan pointed to the crooked trees and the seemingly messy stones on the ground and explained, "The core of the formation is on this tree. As long as we follow a specific route, we can avoid all the traps." She then demonstrated it in front of everyone, lightly passing through the seemingly dangerous area without any harm.

Everyone admired Xiaoxuan's wisdom. The old scholar felt ashamed of his impulsiveness and praised Xiaoxuan's intelligence.

Under Xiaoxuan's leadership, everyone carefully followed the route she indicated. Sure enough, they had a smooth journey and successfully avoided all traps.

They eventually tracked down the mysterious businessman's hiding place - a hidden cave.

Inside the cave, the mysterious merchant and the antique craftsman were sitting around a table, on which was placed the stolen page.

The antique craftsman was holding a carving knife in his hand, carefully carving the same words as on the book page on another blank piece of paper.

"Hurry up! Those treasure hunters will be here soon!" urged the mysterious merchant, greed gleaming in his eyes.

"As long as we create enough false clues, we can make them kill each other, and then we can reap the benefits!"

The antique craftsman wiped the sweat from his forehead and said nervously, "Master, this ancient text is too complicated. I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of? As long as I can fool those idiots, it'll be fine!" The mysterious businessman snatched the carving knife from the antique craftsman's hand and began to carve on the paper roughly.

Outside the cave, Ding Chen and others held their breath and took in the entire scene.

Ding Chen quietly clenched his fists and looked at Xiaoxuan...

Ding Chen quietly clenched his fists. He looked at Xiaoxuan, his eyes filled with anger at the mysterious businessman's behavior.

Xiaoxuan shook her head gently, signaling Ding Chen not to be impulsive. The wisdom and calmness in her eyes were like a clear spring, extinguishing the anger burning in Ding Chen's heart.

General Lin roared and rushed into the cave first. The long sword in his hand gleamed coldly as he charged straight at the mysterious merchant.

The mysterious businessman's thugs pounced on General Lin like hungry wolves, with swords and sabers flashing, instantly turning the cave into a Shura field.

Yingfeng's figure shuttled through the fight like a ghost, and every flash of the dagger in his hand brought with it a scream.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the antique craftsman tried to slip away in the chaos, but was discovered by the sharp-eyed Xiaoxuan.

She shook her wrist and a cloud of light green powder floated away. After the antique craftsman inhaled the powder, his eyes went black and he fell limply to the ground.

When the battle was in full swing, the mysterious businessman suddenly took out an ancient wooden box from his arms with a sinister smile on his face.

"Want to decipher ancient characters? The key is right here!" He held up the wooden box, his tone full of joking, "But I need to use it to exchange for that ancient book!" Everyone looked at each other, wondering what was in this wooden box?

Is it the real key, or another trap?

The mysterious businessman held the box and said with a smug look on his face, "Well? Have you thought about it?"