The words of the rune startled the other three, and Fu Lu jumped up, not even caring about the grilled fish he had been craving.

"Master, let’s go! Let’s go over and take a look!" he urgently requested Lu Qing.

The rune knew his brother was impulsive, so he quickly pulled him aside, signaling him not to be reckless and to wait for Lu Qing’s instructions.

"No hurry, finish grilling the fish first." Lu Qing didn’t move, gesturing for Fu Lu to sit down, and then said to the rune, "You must be tired just now, right? Rest for a while, have something to eat.

It would be a pity not to eat the fish you two brothers worked so hard to catch."

"Master, what’s there to pity about a few fish? Since there’s a discovery, why don’t we hurry over and take a look?" Fu Lu was a bit puzzled. His master was never one to indulge in food, so why was he so insistent on eating fish today?!

He turned his gaze to Zhu Yu, musing to himself that perhaps the master was worried the lady hadn’t been eating or sleeping well lately, and her body couldn’t take it...

Zhu Yu could roughly guess his thoughts from the expression on this earnest face and looked at Fu Lu with some helplessness, sighed, and simply explained, "It’s broad daylight now, and it’s dark inside that little building. If someone is hiding inside, we wouldn’t be able to see from the outside.

But if there really are people hiding inside, with the bright light outside, any movement we make outside would easily fall into their sight. They are hidden, we are exposed; the situation is unfavorable to us.

Earlier, when Rune went alone to scout, it was somewhat better. If the four of us were to go together, the situation would be completely different.

So we need to conserve energy here, eat and drink our fill, and wait until it gets completely dark before moving slowly. By then, regardless of any movement or light inside the little building, we’ll be able to see it from the darker outside areas.

Understand now? Quickly turn the fish over, or they’ll be burned to a crisp!"

Fu Lu suddenly realized, feeling a bit embarrassed at how naive his previous thoughts were, chuckled awkwardly, quickly sat back down, and flipped the branches over the fire so the fish wouldn’t become charred and inedible.

They had their fill of the fish. Though there weren’t any seasonings available to enhance the taste, after having gone so long without meat, the simple taste of the fish was quite delightful.

After eating, the four of them found a relatively concealed spot by the water to rest until it was completely dark, then set out again under the guidance of the rune, quietly heading towards the location of that small building.

Because it was pitch dark all around, they couldn’t light torches for illumination, nor make any conspicuous noises, remaining ever-vigilant of their surroundings, so their movement was slow.

Fortunately, they didn’t need to hurry, carefully feeling their way forward, taking quite some time to reach near the small building.

Zhu Yu looked at the small wooden building standing in the darkness from afar, finding the place extremely peculiar.

It’s worth noting, the Shuo Land is different from other places. Although the air here is very humid and the forests dense, it rarely has those tall, large, and sturdy trees; most have numerous branches but are only as thick as those used by Fu Lu to skewer fish.

So in such an uninhabited forest, deep in a mountain hollow, building such a small wooden building is entirely impossible using locally sourced materials.

The timber for the house was evidently transported from afar.

But then, in such a remote mountain valley, what would justify going to such lengths to transport timber for building a house?

In such a damp place, wooden houses suffer significant damage, whereas, in arid places like the Shuo Land, one might expect them to stand for a hundred years.

But placing the same thing in Shuo Land, where the humidity is pervasive year-round, drastically reduces its durability.

Even if there was a need to build a house for shelter in such a remote mountain hollow, stone would definitely be the preferred material.

As for why this small building specifically used the least suitable material, wood...

Zhu Yu speculated it must be because the stone was too heavy, and those who built the building didn’t have adequate help, making transportation and construction with stones unfeasible.

It was highly possible that they intended to live in seclusion for some purpose, with limited manpower forcing them to settle for using wood.

Such a guess might explain why the house appeared suddenly, yet there were aspects that didn’t add up.

For example, if it was just a small shack like a hunter’s hut, it would make complete sense; yet, what stood before him was a two-story structure, standing in the woods, impossible not to notice.

Otherwise, Rune wouldn’t have spotted it vaguely near the small river, prompting a reconnaissance.

In this aspect, the place was extremely bizarre.

That small building seemed to blend nearly into its surroundings under the nighttime veil, with the sealed windows barely visible. However, after dark, the Qilin pattern Rune spoke of couldn’t be seen.

The group circled halfway around but didn’t find any light inside the small building.

They made only a partial sweep because behind the small building was a rather steep small slope. The ravine below was deep, and in the darkness, it was impossible to discern its exact depth. They dared not approach, so they simply looped back.

The four observed from a distance for quite a while, confirming there was no sound or light from inside the small building—a seemingly abandoned abode.

Zhu Yu had noticed earlier that as they came closer, there were remnants of yellow paper on the exterior of the wooden building, with some crooked, strange symbols on the planks resembling some kind of symbol script.

No one in their right mind would allow their house exterior to be purposely meddled like this.

Zhu Yu’s curiosity about the small building grew stronger.

Lu Qing clearly couldn’t shake off the thoughts of the Qilin pattern.

Being someone close to him, Rune was deeply familiar with the design on the brass pendant and couldn’t possibly make a mistake.

The pattern in his family was different from ordinary Qilin designs, so if Rune was certain it was identical, there could be no mistake or coincidence.

Lu Qing glanced at the eager Rune beside him, nodded to him, and whispered, "Don’t take risks, be quick and return fast."

Rune was delighted, nodded, and slipped away silently into the darkness under Fu Lu’s envious gaze, disappearing completely without a trace.