After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

After a period of recuperation, Ouyang Jue's injuries were finally fully recovered.

However, a dark stain was left on his leg, and after asking several clinics, the doctors were all helpless.

It's already quite good that the toxins can be removed; as for whether it looks good or not, the doctors can't do anything about that.

Ouyang Jue had said more than once that the doctors in the south were all quacks, and that if he were in the capital, he could even find an imperial physician to treat him.

"Oh dear, Young Master Ouyang, it's nothing for a grown man to have some scars on his legs. In fact, it makes him look more manly!"

You've rested enough; it's time for us to set off into the mountains again.

Or do you want to provide backup outside? We'll go first?

Ouyang Jue was truly rendered powerless by these people; what a jerk of manliness he was!

"We share both good times and bad, so of course I'll go into the mountains with everyone. I've also asked the doctors for some insect repellent powder these past few days, so this time we're sure to be safe."

Not only that, Ouyang Jue wore three layers of pants this time, not caring about the heat; avoiding being bitten was the only real concern.

The group of people also prepared all kinds of equipment again, carrying at least twice as many pickaxes as last time, and the weight was also much heavier.

With everything prepared, the group once again ventured into the deep mountains.

They spent more than ten hours and even spent the night in the tree.

They finally found the stone slab again by following the trail from last time, but to their horror, a bunch of unfamiliar footprints appeared near the stone slab!

They were quite certain the footprints weren't theirs; they were wearing cloth shoes with multi-layered soles for easy travel.

These footprints clearly resemble those left by soldiers' boots, as their shapes are quite different.

Furthermore, the footprints looked very fresh, clearly made not long ago.

This made them very worried. Could it be that another group had also discovered that this place was the burial site of the treasure of the previous dynasty?

The treasure map has always been in their hands, unless it was originally held by the Tong family?

“Young Master Ouyang, look, these footprints look like they were just left in the last two days, they’re very fresh.”

"Hey, could it be that someone else is eyeing this treasure? Looks like we need to speed things up."

These people must have left because they couldn't find a way to deal with this big rock, but there's no guarantee that more of them won't come.

Ouyang Jue made his judgment, and the others agreed that it made sense.

“Young Master Ouyang is right. We need to speed things up. Ideally, we should find the entrance to the treasure today.”

"Alright, enough talk, let's get started!"

Ouyang Jue found a smooth, large rock to sit on. This kind of physical labor was naturally not his responsibility, since everyone knew he was too weak to even kill a chicken.

Even if you force him to dig, he won't be able to do anything, and he might even get injured and have to be carried out of the mountain, which would be even more troublesome.

The group worked until sunset and finally unearthed the entire rock, which, just as the man had described, was a large, square stone.

Even a dozen strong men might not be able to move it an inch; this definitely can't be the entrance to some kind of treasure.

"Damn it! What a waste of effort!"

"That's not entirely true; at least it's certain that this isn't the entrance to the treasure."

Ouyang Jue is talking without understanding the situation. Right now, he's the only one who's completely clean; everyone else is covered in sweat, looking like they've been pulled out of the water.

A gust of wind blew, and everyone couldn't help but shiver.

"What's that sound? It sounds like footsteps."

"Not only were there footsteps, but there also seemed to be scattered lights in the distance."

"No, no, we can't stay here any longer. Someone might be coming."

"We only have less than twenty people. If we encounter a large force, we are no match for them."

"That's right, besides, we've used up too much energy today, we can't even run anymore."

"Alright, let's hide for now, I feel like they're getting closer."

With everyone offering their opinions on the Thirty-Six Stratagems, Ouyang Jue, who was afraid of pain and death, naturally wouldn't object.

He was afraid of running too slowly and being overtaken, and he was also afraid that everyone was running too fast and leaving him behind.

Naturally, no one dared to light torches, but fortunately, there was still a little visibility.

Ouyang Jue looked around and realized that if he kept running like this, he would die. He should find a safe place to hide.

He gradually slowed down, feeling his way along the mountainside, and suddenly discovered a narrow crevice in the distance, only wide enough for one person to pass through.

He didn't care about anything else and crouched down to squeeze inside. Apart from being a little unable to move, it was indeed an excellent hiding place.

At this point, the others also realized what was happening, stopped running, and found good places to hide.

Not long after, a group of people dressed in black and wearing military boots walked over carrying torches.

They went straight to the large rock and began to examine it closely.

Upon discovering signs of further excavation, the leader immediately gave the order, and the men in black scattered.

Ouyang Jue didn't dare to breathe loudly, nervously observing the situation outside through the cracks in the stone.

Then one of the men, who appeared to be the leader, took out a blueprint from his pocket and began comparing it with the stone.

Ouyang Jue was startled. Could this map be similar to the treasure map they had? This Tong family is really dishonest; they even made a copy of the treasure map.

Just then, one of the subordinates whispered something in the leader's ear. The leader's expression changed, and with a wave of his hand, he led his men away in a hurry.

Once those people had gone far away, Ouyang Jue emerged from the crevice in the rock and rejoined the others.

Everyone felt that the matter was becoming increasingly strange and they were considering retreating. They had just seen clearly that the other side's weapons and equipment were very sophisticated, and they couldn't win. They were clearly outmatched.

They were all relieved that hiding was such a wise move, but what they didn't know was that if those people really wanted to search the mountain, they wouldn't be able to escape.

For some reason, the other party seemed to have something more important to do, which is why they left immediately.

Otherwise, these dozen or so "treasure hunters" would have to spend their lives in the deep mountains forever.

"Young Master Ouyang, was that a treasure map they were carrying just now?"

"It's too far away and too dark to see clearly, but I suspect it's very likely."

The Tong family is truly unethical; they even secretly copied the prizes meant as gifts at the poetry gathering!

"It really is a treasure map!?"

The crowd couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.