The interior of the stone fortress was sparsely furnished. Aside from the talismans on the walls, there were only uniformly made stone tables, stone chairs, and stone beds.

Yue Zhenqiao was sitting on one of the stone chairs. He took a swig from his waterskin to moisten his throat, then began recounting the story to Lin Yu and Li Nian.

"You two Female Warriors may not know this. This Chen Family Fort in Twin Saw Mountain is surrounded by five large Fire Hell towns: Gu Town, Willow Town, Yan Town, Creek Town, and Qi Town. It sits almost directly on the necessary route between them and was once one of the best resting stops for merchant caravans and Escort Teams. After all, even the nearest Five Springs Village is a good half-day's journey for a normal caravan from here."

"Even without encountering unexpected trouble like we did today, using Chen Family Fort as a midday resting point was actually a decent route plan."

"Over ten years ago, when I was just a green, rookie young dart master entering the profession, my master once said that in its heyday, Chen Family Fort was considered a very lively rest stop. Often, three or four merchant caravans and Escort Teams would gather here simultaneously at noon."

"The reason such prosperity is no longer present is naturally because... starting over ten years ago, this Chen Family Fort place became a bit 'jinxed'."

Yue Zhenqiao glanced out the window and lowered his voice.

"Of the merchant caravans and Escort Teams that passed through and camped here, initially about one or two out of ten would encounter some kind of misfortune. Either members would inexplicably disappear, or goods would go missing. In short, legend has it that upon entering 'Chen Family Fort', there was a chance the team would end up with fewer people, or the carts would end up with fewer goods."

"But no one could clearly explain what was happening. Because even the survivors who made it out often felt mentally dazed and were more prone to various dangers and accidents during their subsequent travels."

"Later, that proportion rose to as high as three or four out of ten!"

"This matter even attracted investigations from several major martial arts schools and Taoist temples. However, after all their investigating, those masters and experts couldn't figure out anything concrete..."

"As fewer teams came to Chen Family Fort, the accident rate seemed to drop back down, becoming a probability of about one in fifteen or sixteen. But every so often, rumors still surfaced about which team had suffered another mishap."

"However, what we can be sure of is that up to this point, we all feel clear-headed and sharp-minded, without any sense of daze or confusion, and we haven't lost anyone. Presumably, we haven't been so unlucky as to become that one in fifteen or sixteen."

As Yue Zhenqiao explained, Li Nian nodded.

"So that's how it is... This Chen Family Fort actually has such eerie occurrences."

"But escort work is inherently high-risk. Given the urgency earlier, gambling on a one in fifteen or sixteen chance was indeed acceptable."

As she spoke, Li Nian looked out the window. "No matter how strange this Chen Family Fort is, it's definitely much better than being outside right now."

At this moment, the three suns had reached their highest and most intense point.

Even through the small windows of the stone fortress, one could see the sunlight outside was so dazzlingly brilliant it was almost blinding. The air above the ground was distorted by heat waves, and the stones of the outer walls were cracking and popping from the heat.

And this was under the condition that the entire Chen Family Fort complex was located on a gentle, multi-cave, shaded slope halfway up the mountain. If one were directly exposed to the sunlight in an open, sunny area or on High Ground right now, they'd probably be dehydrated and unconscious within minutes.

Even with items that could ward off the heat, trying to tough it out would be no easy feat.

Flying Knife, who had recovered somewhat, also heard their conversation and nodded in agreement with Li Nian.

"Correct. Within the Fire Hell, it's best not to linger outside."

Hearing the other two's statements, Lin Yu felt somewhat unconvinced.

"A probability of one in fifteen or sixteen, huh..."

With himself in the team, that probability should be raised to at least twelve or thirteen out of fifteen or sixteen.

Thinking this, Lin Yu suddenly recalled Yue Zhenqiao's optimistic words.

"He said that besides losing people, goods could also go missing. Although he sent three people to guard the goods, how does Yue Zhenqiao know those three dart masters are fine right now?"

It couldn't be that entering this place and encountering a 'change' necessarily meant everyone would simultaneously experience discomfort.

In fact, based on this point, Yue Zhenqiao's own perception of being "not mentally dazed" and feeling "clear-headed and sharp-minded" might not be reliable either!

A sudden, inexplicable sense of unease washed over Lin Yu. He looked around and instinctively began counting the number of dart masters currently inside the stone fortress room.

Including the recovering injured, the total was...

Twenty-six people.

Adding the Deputy Head Escort and the two left guarding the carts at the mountain cave shed made twenty-nine people.

Lin Yu asked quietly, "Dart Head Yue, may I ask how many people were in your escort team when you left Gu Town this time?"

"Thirty-one. Why do you ask?"

Yue Zhenqiao stated matter-of-factly.

Lin Yu let out a breath.

"That's the problem. There are twenty-nine people in this room right now."

Yue Zhenqiao's expression changed slightly, and he quickly began counting himself.

"One, two, three, four..."

Soon, Yue Zhenqiao pointed and counted out the number of everyone in the room.

"It really is twenty-nine people?!" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Adding the three previously watching the carts makes thirty-two people in total," Yue Zhenqiao said, treating the situation as a grave threat. "We have an extra person among us. What is going on?!"

"A demon or monster has infiltrated, disguised as a dart master. Damn it, everyone, quickly check, is there anyone beside you that you don't recognize?!"

Yue Zhenqiao shouted. The dart masters immediately began eyeing each other warily.

However, they soon discovered...

"Dart Head Yue, we all know each other. It seems there's no one who's a stranger!"

Yue Zhenqiao's face turned extremely grim. "It seems this monster has already begun clouding our minds..."

Hearing this, Lin Yu finally couldn't hold back.

"Yes, this monster is indeed interfering with your minds. But perhaps not in the 'direction of interference' you imagine!"

"This monster hasn't mixed in among us while simultaneously interfering with your minds to make you think you know it."

"Dart Head Yue—didn't you realize that when you counted just now, you included the three of us who joined later?"

"We aren't part of your original team of thirty-one."

As Lin Yu spoke, Yue Zhenqiao caught on.

"Right... right. Now we actually only have twenty-six plus three, making twenty-nine people in total."

"We've actually lost two brothers!"

Yue Zhenqiao pounded his head in frustration. "Damn it, what kind of thing is this, making me so dull-witted without me even noticing!"

After a brief moment of self-reproach, Yue Zhenqiao issued new instructions to the other dart masters.

"Quick, everyone think. Which two people have gone missing?"