Mysterious Hunting Ground

Chapter 238 228. In the East

Caiden raised his right hand obediently, and then his eyelids twitched.

Asuka grabbed his hand and raised it to his red lips. The sharp fangs swept across his palm and opened a long and slender wound. Then he folded his left hand up and touched Kaiden's palm, letting the two of them touch each other. The wounds overlapped and the blood merged.

"Stop self-healing, exchange blood for blood, and you will see what you want." Asuka's clear voice said.

Caiden's eyes dazzled.

The next second, everything in front of him was like ripples on the lake surface blown by the breeze. When the ripples stopped, another completely different picture appeared in front of him.

In the middle of a hillside covered with flowers, there is a pile of rough graves made of cobblestones, surrounded by rings, earrings, jewelry, rusty wool shears, and roses.

A man stood in front of the grave. Like other warriors of the Coyote tribe, he was wearing a waistcoat, leather skirt, and leggings. He was simple and primitive, and his inverted triangular back was densely covered with muscles.

At this time, he held the ocarina in both hands and played desolate and ethereal music to the grave. The music was very emotionally appealing, as if he was describing, commemorating, and sighing deeply.

Even the red, green, and vibrant flowers around her trembled in this sad chant.

A loud whistle broke the sad atmosphere. He stopped playing and turned around, revealing a handsome face with black hair, amber pupils, and tight lips, with a kind of frankness and wildness, but with deep nasolabial folds and empty eyes. The look in his eyes made him feel a little more sad.

He wore a striking pale pendant around his neck. It was made of glass on the outside and gray-white powder was deposited on the inside.

The face shape was almost exactly the same as Caiden's, and the pendant made his breathing stop, and his soul was inexplicably throbbing.

"Huiying, I knew you were here! Forgot what the priest said? Always immersed in the past, people are prone to problems." Asuka's sweet voice rang, "Go back quickly, everyone is waiting together. pray."

The man nodded silently, turned and left.

The breeze blew his long black hair flying, and he was like a lifeless statue that had lost its soul.

……

Kaiden's eyes blurred, and the picture was shattered.

He returned to the tent again, breathing heavily and sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Did you see the gray shadow?" Feiniao took back his palm, stretched out his little tongue and licked his palm playfully, and the wound healed instantly.

Kaiden nodded and asked in disbelief, "What happened just now?"

Asuka smiled and said, "Through blood communication, you saw the picture in my memory. This is the innate ability of all of us in the Coyote tribe, and you are no exception because of your tribal blood."

"Exchange information through blood." Dean nodded repeatedly while listening. This ability is good for collecting information.

"Whose grave is Gray Shadow worshiping?" Kaiden clenched his fists, with a hint of nervousness in his eyes.
Feiniao rubbed his pointed chin and pondered for a moment, "One day a few years ago, Gray Shadow ended his long confinement and couldn't wait to go down the mountain. He brought an urn back from the mountain and buried it in the tribe's land. Some of the ashes were made into necklaces to wear with you.”

"From then on, he would take his ocarina and go sit by the grave for a while every day."

"Since then, he has also rejected all the tribe women who had a good impression of him." Feiniao looked into Kaiden's eyes and said with emotion, "His heart is dead, and all his energy for the rest of his life is devoted to mourning and fighting for The great Kodi."

Kaiden was stunned for two seconds, his nose twitched, and he ruffled his hair frantically.
"No, this is impossible! Lucinda was buried beside the farm down the mountain. Dean, you went to see it with me, you know!"

"I saw that the coffin on the farm was empty...there was no urn. Someone took it away quietly." Dean pointed to his eyes and said seriously.

Caiden's cheeks trembled.

Gray Shadow has never forgotten Lucinda!

"Fake! Fake!" Kaiden punched the cave floor fiercely. The huge force caused the gravel to fly and made a crater in the ground. The shocking movement also caused people near the tent to throw themselves at him. Looks of surprise and sympathy.

After a long time, Kaiden breathed heavily, calmed down his complicated emotions, held Ocarina tightly in his arms,
"Asuka, tell me how he disappeared and where did he disappear?"

"He disappeared unexpectedly two and a half months ago while patrolling in the eastern forest."

"What was found at the scene?" Dean asked,
"There is nothing..." Feiniao looked at the torches on the wall and shook his head and sighed, "There are no fragments of clothing, no blood, no traces of battle, not even footprints."

"Then how did he leave?" Dean, who was standing by the tent, stretched out his hand to touch the tough tent cloth, "Can't he grow wings and fly away?"

"It is precisely because the way he disappeared was so strange that the tribe has been investigating for more than two months but still has no clue."

"What about the other warriors?" Kaiden asked eagerly,
"They disappeared while on patrol in Corn Valley, Salmon River, Birch Forest, Sheep Mountain... The intervals were one week or two weeks, some in the morning, some at night, no pattern, but no traces were left. So recently The tribe strictly prohibits traveling alone, and those who patrol outside are small teams."

"Everyone who walks by will leave traces," Dean lowered his face and analyzed, "unless supernatural factors are mixed into the disappearance case to cover up the traces."

Asuka's big bright eyes dimmed, and he said worriedly, "This is what the priest is most worried about. The tribe has not had an alpha wolf for several years, and our scale has exceeded the standard. The law of supernatural convergence may come at any time, and maybe it has already come, it's like Like poisonous snakes lurking in the shadows, they took action against us.”

"No matter what kind of monster is behind the scenes!" Kaiden said angrily, "We must catch him!"

"Calm down, buddy," Dean patted Kaiden on the shoulder and turned to Asuka, "Do the five missing warriors have anything in common?"

Asuka shook the ponytail on the back of her head,
"They are all men who are brave and good at fighting...well, they are the best warriors in the tribe."

"the best?"

"I'm not exaggerating. Gray Shadow is the most powerful besides the priests. He has never lost in daily training and competition." Feiniao looked in reverence, "The tiger claws, magic leopard, brown bear, red-bellied eagle... lined up behind him... Basically only weaker than the warriors in front.”

"How strong can they be?" Dean asked,

Feiniao nodded the tip of his slightly raised nose and said openly, "The weakest among them can easily kill five of me..."

Dean turned his head and glanced at his companions after hearing this, saying that he could kill five Kaidens, "Did they show any abnormal behavior before they disappeared?"

"No... patrolling, eating, and training as usual." Feiniao sighed. "They are also the most devout warriors, with stronger beliefs than most of their companions. They pray to the statue of Coyote Kodi every day. Without them, the tribe has suffered heavy losses."

Caiden asked again, "Who did they communicate with before they disappeared?"

"Let's go, I'll show you." Feiniao hooked his hands towards the two of them, left the tent and walked out of the cave.

A white light of dawn appeared on the horizon.

The people who were sitting leisurely in the tent to relax and chat have already started a hard day. The civilians with black and white stripes on their faces are waving their nails as sharp as sickles and carefully tending the dozen or so fields of farmland, just like ordinary farmers.

The weeds were cut into the furrows, and the morning dew on the leaves reflected the crystal luster.

Another group of warriors with black and red stripes went out hunting in groups, or patrolled the entire mountainous area, searching for any suspicious traces.

There are also some who are teaching a group of petite and cute wolf cubs in a forest clearing not far from the territory. A small group of five or six-year-old children are running, chasing, and sniffing. The children and the wolf cubs hug each other and hug the ground from time to time. When they fight, their skin and hair are covered with mud and leaves, and their relationship is as harmonious as brothers.

The priest was on the other side of the farmland, writing and drawing with charcoal on an oak board, teaching words and language to a group of teenagers.

Judging from the grammar, there are not only English letters, but also two other scripts. Dean guessed them to be Spanish and Mayan.

"The land under our feet is the legacy of our ancestors. The soil retains the lives of our deceased relatives. The soil is our mother. Whatever happens to the soil will also happen to us, so we must Protect the soil.”

In the melodious reading of the priest, Dean's eyes swept across this busy land and felt a deep and vigorous vitality.

Kaiden's frown relaxed slightly, and his mood became less heavy. He couldn't help but ask the birds next to him, "Why are you learning so many languages?"

Asuka's thick eyebrows wrinkled, "The Alpha Wolf has not been born for a long time, and the tribe may encounter an irresistible disaster. At that time, some children who can master the language of ordinary people will be sent to human society in advance to continue the fire of our tribe. .”

……

"This way..." Asuka led the two of them to a tall, round, bald, bearded old man who was drying dried venison. "This is Kaiden, Gray Shadow's son. He has just returned to the tribe from human society. He is a priest. To authorize him to investigate the disappearance some time ago, he needs to know what Tiger Claw and you last talked about."

"I must have wasted more than ten years outside. I woke up too late, and I am a mixed race." The old man's green eyes like bells glanced at Kaiden's well-proportioned figure, and his calloused palms gave him a heavy squeeze on the shoulder. His gray beard trembled like a broom, "I'm not one-tenth as strong as your father. You have to work hard in the future."

Kaiden bared his teeth as he felt the huge force in his palm and did not protest.

Immediately afterwards, the old man bit the palm of his hand and faced his palm, and blood exchanged again.

Dean saw Kaiden closing his eyes, his muscles contracting, and his eyeballs under his eyelids swinging from side to side, as if he was falling into sleep.

10 minutes passed.

He suddenly opened his eyes, digesting the information he had seen before, with a look of deep thinking on his face. Soon he shook his head at his two companions in disappointment, and turned to leave.

"My child, may you inherit Gray Shadow's wisdom."

The bald old man looked at their backs and blessed them.

"What do you think of this boy that the priest is interested in?" Another middle-aged man with a slender figure and thick chest hair came close to him, took off a piece of dried meat and stuffed it into his mouth, and asked,
The bald head shook his head in disappointment, "Young, confused, full of anger..."

"Then will he be the son of destiny?"

"Who knows? No one can see through the fog of fate, just like no one can fully understand the Bobo Martial Sutra."

... Dean withdrew his perspective, raised his eyebrows, and continued to follow Feiniao to investigate the clues.

The three of them visited four more tribe members in succession, who were professional wolf trainers, guards, ocarina performers, and sculptors.

They had the last contact and communication with the magic leopard, brown bear, red-bellied eagle, and gray shadow before disappearing, and transmitted this part of their memories to Caiden.

Caiden dictated it to Dean again.

Disappointingly, these contents are almost all daily topics, such as inviting companions to race in the forest after work, dueling, training wolves, praying to Cody Cody,

Of course, there is also the topic that men are most passionate about, the discussion of beautiful tribal women.

"Among the female warriors under the age of 20, the strongest one with the sharpest butt is probably Black Fox. If you combine with her, you might be able to give birth to a destined son for the tribe."

"No, it's a flying bird. She is more valued by the priests, her breasts are taller, and she can breed stronger children."

As soon as Kaiden conveyed these two sentences from his blood memory, he looked at the sweet girl next to him in embarrassment.

In the past, it was extremely disrespectful to talk about a girl's appearance in person.

But on the mountain, in front of me, Feiniao was not angry at all after hearing this. Instead, he laughed quite proudly, his emerald eyes sparkling.

Whether viewed from the perspective of humans or coyotes, her smile is extremely charming, revealing neat white teeth and sweet dimples.

Kaiden suddenly realized that she was looking at him from head to toe, with a hint of aggression and a hint of expectation in her eyes, and the clear laughter beat his heart like a drumstick, and he couldn't help but stare at the birds, and then lost He lost his composure, his cheeks were hot, his hands and feet had nowhere to rest, and he stood there stupidly.

"Ahem." Dean coughed softly, saving Caiden from his strange situation.

Asuka smiled generously, flicked her long braid,
"Kayden, the tribe values ​​directness. If you think I'm beautiful and attractive, you can tell me directly. One day, if you defeat me in a duel, I might give birth to a child for you."

"Back to the topic!" Kaiden hurriedly changed the subject, "The testimonies of these five witnesses are basically meaningless."

"In fact, after the first missing person appeared," Feiniao added slightly disappointedly, "the priest has exchanged blood for blood to read through the relevant memories of everyone in the tribe, but no useful clues were found. This also rules out the possibility of a traitor within. possible."

"Take us around the scene of the disappearance." Kaiden took a deep breath and made another suggestion.
Dean shook his head in denial, "It is impossible for us to be as meticulous as so many people in the Coyote tribe. They have proven that conventional investigation methods are completely ineffective. Repeating them again will be in vain. Feiyang, how long ago was the last time you disappeared?"

"Two weeks ago."

"It's not short. Did you try other methods after that, such as 'fishing'?"

Asuka blinked his big confused eyes.

Dean said, "I'm referring to the use of bait, deliberately arranging a lone companion to lure the murderer to attack."

"The priest had already tried setting up bait three days ago," Asuka nodded, "The murderer didn't take the bait at all."

Kaiden expressed surprise, "That's strange. The murderer is not one of your insiders, but he can perfectly avoid your bait. What's the reason?"

No one can answer.

"I can only use the last method," Dean lowered his head and said solemnly, "Asuka, give me the portraits of the five missing soldiers."

Kaiden was puzzled, "Why do we need a portrait? We shouldn't post missing persons notices in the mountains and forests, right?"

"Didn't I tell you? My best field is finding people. Superpowers are not only used for fighting. When used as assistance, you can ignore the tedious steps and reach the end!"

Dean's confidence impressed the two of them, and Asuka quickly went to ask the tribe's painter for five parchment paintings.

The five missing warriors all had dignified and majestic faces, their bodies were as strong as cattle, and they exuded an oppressive aura.

Then the three of them took the portrait to an empty forest outside the tribe. Dean took out the portrait of the gray figure with black hair and golden eyes, and examined his eyes, nose, appearance, figure, and temperament...

"Feiniao, tell me all the life experiences of Gray Shadow from his birth to his disappearance. The more detailed it is, the greater the chance I will find him."

Asuka couldn't understand the behavior of this outsider at all, but out of the priest's order, he still told the story obediently,

"Grey Shadow was born one winter 36 years ago..."

Dean listened and thought, a gust of wind flew out of the wooden board and picked up a few fallen leaves on the ground.

Pieces of black scales pieced together a "shadow" like an armored knight around Dean, affecting his telekinesis.

Calorie deprivation!

zizi…

Feiniao paused and shrank his shoulders.

The temperature nearby suddenly dropped several degrees, and a touch of humidity surged in the air. The next second, drops of crystal liquid condensed in front of the three people, suspended in mid-air, and accumulated more and more.

Asuka watched this scene in amazement. For half an hour, these droplets slowly formed a pure and transparent water ball the size of a watermelon. Her story also came to an end.

"Two and a half months ago, Gray Shadow disappeared for no reason while in the Starry Night Forest..."

Dean took out an eye mask from the fantasy space and put it on his face to block all light. Then he fell back and his body was suspended in the air, as if he was lying on a transparent air bed.

The watermelon-sized ball of water, like a slime, split into several groups, covering Dean's hands, feet, and head respectively, and then quickly spread to the whole body, turning into a transparent liquid film covering all parts, leaving only the mouth and nose. several breathing holes.

This is one of Dean's gains from searching for "Lena" from north to southwest.

He no longer needs to spend a lot of salt, water, and rubber swimming pools to build a sensory deprivation tank like he did in Hawkins.

Now, using his mind's fine control over various forms of energy, he can easily create a temporary, miniature sensory deprivation tank to amplify the search effect in the dark areas of his mind.

"Shadow" snapped his fingers again.

Heat transfer!

The temperature of the liquid film begins to rise slowly.

When the most suitable temperature is reached.

Dean felt as warm as if he was immersed in his mother's amniotic fluid. He had lost gravity, and also lost the body sensations of temperature, sound, and smell. The complicated thoughts were gradually peeled away, leaving only the only thought, finding the gray shadow.

The "dark area of ​​the mind" rushes towards you.

……

2 minutes later,
Whoa!

The liquid film peeled off Dean's body, and the water molecules returned to form a ball of elastic slime, suspended to the side.

Dean took off his blindfold, shook his head and sighed, "I'm sorry, I can't see the gray shadow... A supernatural force prevented me from prying."

Kaiden's face darkened, and Asuka standing side by side with him asked curiously, "What exactly is your method, divination? It's completely different from that of a priest."

"This is a kind of superpower. There is no time to explain it now," Dean picked up the second sheepskin portrait, "Tell me more about the life of the second missing person, Tiger Claw."

……

Next, the same scene continued to play out in this forest clearing.

Every time Dean uses search, he rests in static meditation for two hours to recover his energy and calm his aching nerves.

Keep searching.

But from morning to afternoon, he searched for tiger claws, magic leopards, and brown bears...all were blocked by a mysterious force, and there was only a gray fog in the dark area of ​​his mind.

The last red-bellied eagle missing until two weeks ago.

Dean saw a strange scene: a big man nearly two meters tall, covered in blood, was chained to the wall of a truck compartment with several thick chains, his eyes closed and he fell into a coma.

The bloody skin and flesh on his body rolled up to reveal his bones, which also meant that he had been seriously injured and had lost the ability to heal himself.

Standing on top of him were several figures whose true faces were obscured by the black mist. One of them seemed to feel something and suddenly turned his head, looking at Dean with his deep eyes, lighting up with a huge and dazzling light.

hiss--

Dean groaned and took off his blindfold, rubbed his temples that were stinging like needles, and exited the "sink" with a solemn expression.
"I found him," Dean turned his head and looked east, pursuing that clear feeling. "He was imprisoned nearly ten miles east of the Ozark Mountains!"

"Ten miles to the east?" Kaiden thought for a moment and raised his eyebrows, "Isn't that close to the mine?"

"Well, there are other superpowers hiding there!"

(End of this chapter)