Sarah Foster hesitated slightly before saying, “I definitely saw it at the time, but later I started to doubt whether I was mistaken. Wangchuan Temple is on the outermost edge of the Wangchuan Mountains, completely separated from the dangerous areas of the range—how could there be wolves?”

“So how many days have you been here?”

“Probably two or three days. We’ve been running and terrified this whole time, so I’m not exactly sure how long it’s been…” After answering Jack Dawson’s question, Sarah Foster hesitated, looked at Jack Dawson, and asked, “Big brother, did you get lost just like us?”

Jack Dawson nodded. “That’s right, I’m lost too. My name is Jack Dawson, you can just call me by my name from now on. There’s a lake not far from here—let’s stay by the lake for the night, get something to eat, and then continue looking for a way out tomorrow during the day.”

“Ah…” As soon as Jack Dawson finished speaking, Sarah Foster cried out again, then said in alarm, “I saw the wooden bridge again, right over there.”

Jack Dawson and Emily Young looked in the direction Sarah Foster was pointing, but there was no bridge at all—just a thicket of brambles.

Emily Young also sensed something was wrong, her face turning pale. She didn’t see the wooden bridge, but vaguely felt a shadow disappear in the direction of the brambles.

Jack Dawson grabbed Sarah Foster’s wrist, immediately feeling its chill. He took out a medicinal herb and handed it to Sarah Foster. “Chew this herb and swallow it. Emily Young, help me take a look at this map.”

Jack Dawson had originally planned to rest here for the night, but now he had abandoned that idea. He sensed something strange about this place and didn’t believe that Sarah Foster had suddenly mistaken a thicket for a wooden bridge.

As long as Emily Young could recognize the directions on the map, he’d rather travel through the night.

The map Jack Dawson took out was a flat landscape map. Although it was marked with north, south, east, and west, Jack Dawson didn’t recognize any of the forests, cliffs, or valleys on it.

“I know—past this forest is Wangchuan Temple…” Seeing Jack Dawson take out the map, Emily Young exclaimed in delight. But her excitement lasted only a moment before she said, a bit disappointed, “It’s a pity we don’t have a compass. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to leave.”

After swallowing the herb, Sarah Foster gradually calmed down and added, “We can only rest for a day before moving on. Emily Young doesn’t have the strength to walk at all.”

“I have a compass. If you can’t walk, I’ll carry you. We have to leave now. If you don’t want to go, I’ll go by myself.” Jack Dawson took out a compass and said without hesitation.

After speaking, Jack Dawson also took out two pieces of dry bread and handed them to Sarah Foster and Emily Young.

Because he had also seen the shadow of the wooden bridge, he was sure Sarah Foster wasn’t hallucinating. Standing in this place, he always had a strong sense of unease.

“A compass!” Emily Young and Sarah Foster stared excitedly at the compass in Jack Dawson’s hand. With a compass and a map, they were sure they could find their way out.

“Thank you, Brother Di.” Even though it was her first time meeting Jack Dawson, Emily Young knew that at this point, there was no other way but to let Jack Dawson carry her. As for the dry bread he gave them, it was a real lifesaver.

Jack Dawson picked up Emily Young and headed straight in the direction of Wangchuan Temple.

As soon as he carried Emily Young, Jack Dawson felt two soft sensations pressing against him, and he was pleasantly surprised. But what delighted him wasn’t the softness on his back, but his own stamina.

Because he couldn’t practice martial arts, Jack Dawson had always focused on learning various scientific and medical knowledge, so his physical strength was naturally poor. This time, carrying Emily Young, he didn’t feel it was much of a strain. It seemed his stamina had more than doubled. Jack Dawson looked down at his chest—he was sure the change was still due to that gray stone.

No wonder he hadn’t felt much strain when he climbed up from the bottom of that cliff.

“Brother Di, are you here traveling too?” The surroundings were too quiet, so Emily Young took the initiative to ask.

“Yes.” Jack Dawson replied casually and then fell silent.

Seeing that Jack Dawson wasn’t interested in talking, Emily Young and Sarah Foster finished their bread and didn’t dare say anything more. In the forest, under the faint moonlight, only the sound of their footsteps remained.

Jack Dawson’s stamina was much better than before, but even so, carrying Emily Young for so long was still a bit exhausting.

The three of them walked and rested along the way, but fortunately, nothing happened that night. It wasn’t until the next morning, when a ray of sunlight shone down, that they emerged from the forest and found themselves on a mountaintop.

“We still can’t see anything from here.” Sarah Foster looked at the misty distance, her voice tinged with worry.

Emily Young couldn’t see anything either, so both of them waited for Jack Dawson to speak. Although they knew the forest on the Wangchuan Mountain map pointed toward Wangchuan Temple, neither of them had ever been there.

Only now did Jack Dawson realize how much his eyesight had improved. While Sarah Foster and Emily Young couldn’t see anything, he could vaguely make out a few faint buildings in the far distance. He was sure his eyesight hadn’t been this good before, so being struck by that pale golden lightning must have changed his body in every way.

It was just that, right after he changed, he’d been shocked by the news brought by Lucas Carter, and then escaped from Jiguo.

……

As soon as they left the forest, that uncomfortable feeling vanished without a trace.