"What can we do now? We have to wait for Little Tiger to come," Dao Lao said, his expression troubled. The Countess had mentioned that if they failed the mission, they would return to the starting point, which they had indeed done. Little Tiger would inevitably return to the campsite as the victim once again.

"I never expected Little Tiger to be so ruthless! All my kindness towards him was for nothing! Humph!" Dream Jia cursed through clenched teeth when Little Tiger was mentioned.

"Hey now, Dream Jia, calm down! Though Little Tiger's betrayal led to our mission's failure, on the bright side, this failure clarified what our mission truly is and who the key figure is!" Hao Yun reassured.

"Sigh! You're right, but I'm still furious! And now we have to redo the whole mission. It's maddening!" Dream Jia vented her frustration.

Hao Yun and Dao Lao also grimaced at the thought of retracing their steps for the next week. However, their experiences with numerous deaths due to failed missions helped them face this death calmly and prepare for the next challenge.

After regaining their composure, Dream Jia said with mixed emotions, "I never imagined Little Tiger would be the material for making the Tiger Pill. And I doubt the 'making' process involves anything harmonious."

"Indeed! Little Tiger harbored such resentment towards us because he sees us as threats to his survival. He wants to lure us into Flashing Forest and eliminate us," Hao Yun said.

"Exactly. It's highly likely that his family's deaths are connected to him. But even if we can't prove it, can Little Tiger escape justice?" Dao Lao analyzed.

"I think it's highly probable. But can we rely on a two-year-old tiger, even if he's mentally mature, to come up with a comprehensive plan?" Dream Jia reminded.

"True. We should seize the opportunity to gather information about Little Tiger. And we need to keep an eye on the village chief. If I'm correct, he must know about Little Tiger's role in making the Tiger Pill," Dao Lao suggested.

Hao Yun nodded in agreement, supporting Dao Lao's viewpoint. "Also, that forest glowing with blue-green light must be crucial to the mission. Otherwise, why would Little Tiger set an ambush there? If he merely wanted to ambush us, he could have done so countless times on our way to Flashing Forest."

"Perhaps those mysterious landslides were orchestrated by Little Tiger? And maybe he led us to the glowing forest to strike because our attention was diverted by the lights," Dream Jia speculated.

Hao Yun thought that perhaps Little Tiger, seeing how they handled the landslides, abandoned the idea of sabotaging their climb to avoid risking his own life. Then, he chose to attack in the glowing forest because they were distracted, providing him with an opportunity.

"So, I think we don't need to complicate things too much. We can push the plot back to before the ambush, avoid Little Tiger's trap, and see what happens next. Our goal isn't to help Little Tiger find his parents or aid the village chief in making the Tiger Pill. It's to leave this cursed place," Hao Yun suggested.

Both Dao Lao and Dream Jia nodded in agreement. Since everything here was orchestrated by the Countess, they didn't need to dwell on the intricacies of the characters' relationships but focus on finding a way out. After setting their next course of action, the three of them sat around the campfire, roasting fish. In the distance, a flickering torch appeared on the winding path. It was followed by a burly figure holding the torch, hurrying towards them upon spotting their campfire.

As they listened to Little Tiger tearfully recount his tragic story, Hao Yun and his companions outwardly expressed concern but inwardly sneered—Heh! We see right through your act! Keep playing your little game!

After a similar conversation as before, they skipped the part about whether to accompany Little Tiger immediately to rescue his parents and simply agreed to accompany him back to the village for help. But before they set off, there was a heated debate about who would carry the basket of poisonous mushrooms. Finally, at Little Tiger's suggestion, they settled it with a game of rock-paper-scissors. Luckily for Hao Yun, he won the privilege of carrying the mushrooms back to the village.

A few days later, the group returned to Yinmu Village as scheduled. After "admiring" the affectionate interaction between two tigers on the street, Hao Yun's group of four once again visited the village chief's house. After meeting with the village chief and others, they returned to Little Tiger's house.

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Once Little Tiger left, Dao Lao immediately entered the room of Little Tiger's parents and carefully examined the small mushroom. He soon noticed something he hadn't paid attention to last time—a noticeable cut mark at the base of the mushroom. Before Dao Lao could contemplate further, he saw Little Tiger returning with Tiger Boss to the thatched house. Carefully, Dao Lao pocketed the mushroom and, without giving Little Tiger much time to speak, ushered Tiger Boss into the house to begin counting the materials they needed to exchange.

"Oh, by the way, Tiger Boss, what would happen if you were to ignite these mushrooms directly?" Hao Yun, while checking the inventory with Tiger Boss, casually asked.

"Uh... If you ignite these mushrooms without grinding them into powder, it would still cause an explosion, but the power of the explosion would be significantly reduced. Because the entire mushroom wouldn't fully burn instantaneously, it would explode into fragments. However, the explosion in this case would be much weaker. But, since the mushroom would explode into fragments, the toxins secreted from its entire body would coat the fragments, making them highly toxic and potentially lethal to anyone who touches them," Tiger Boss explained seriously.

"Since these mushrooms are so dangerous, how do you grind them into powder to make explosives?" Dream Jia asked with curiosity.

"Haha! Grinding poisonous mushrooms is a highly dangerous technique. Several daredevils who tried it before ended up accidentally poisoning themselves to death. So, out of safety concerns and to protect our family's craftsmanship, I can't divulge the method of handling these poisonous mushrooms to anyone unqualified. I wouldn't want you to accidentally harm yourselves or others due to lack of skill," Tiger Boss praised his own expertise while refusing to reveal the method of handling the mushrooms.

Hao Yun quickly waved his hand, saying, "Tiger Boss, please don't misunderstand. We're not trying to steal your trade secrets or do anything illegal. We're just newcomers and want to learn more about the precautions when gathering materials to avoid risking our lives during the job."

Tiger Boss nodded and said, "Well said. It's good to do some research before starting a task. But, I believe you three shouldn't worry too much about these mushrooms. Since you were able to collect so many of them, you likely have some unique resistance. Otherwise, you wouldn't have survived after gathering so many poisonous mushrooms and enduring the toxic gas released when they were severed."

"So, if you agree, I'd be very willing to establish a long-term cooperation agreement with you three. Regardless of how many poisonous mushrooms you collect, I'll buy them all and guarantee competitive prices. How about it? Would you consider it?" Tiger Boss asked eagerly, handing a card with the quantity of fish snacks to be exchanged to Dao Lao.

Of course, Hao Yun's group had no interest in Tiger Boss's proposal. However, to avoid embarrassing Tiger Boss with a direct rejection, they explained again that they were newcomers who needed to think it over before giving him a suitable reply. So, to seize the opportunity for cooperation with Hao Yun's group, Tiger Boss emphasized the advantages of working with him again and gave them an additional card of fish snacks before eagerly leaving Little Tiger's thatched house.

"So, this mushroom in your hand is also Tiger Boss's handiwork?" After sending Tiger Boss away, Hao Yun immediately asked in the system channel.

"Most likely. If Tiger Boss is telling the truth, then no one but him would dare to tamper with these mushrooms," Dao Lao said as he scanned the small mushroom into the system with the help of the Mold Spirit Energy Tracker. Simultaneously, he noticed that something seemed to seal the mushroom's cut.

"Could it be that Little Tiger's parents bought this mushroom from Tiger Boss? But didn't Tiger Boss say that these mushrooms are forbidden items? How could they have acquired poisonous mushrooms?" Dream Jia wondered.

"Although we don't know how they obtained this mushroom, according to Tiger Boss, Little Tiger caused harm to us by detonating mushrooms hidden in the trees," Hao Yun replied.

"So, as long as we avoid the fallen mushroom fragments, we won't risk being poisoned by the mushroom toxins? Excellent. This time, I want to see what Little Tiger can do after we dodge his ambush!" Dream Jia said, eager for action.

The events that followed that night were no different from a replay of the recording. The three of them endured watching the circus performance again, then received the Tiger Pill manufacturing task from the "coincidentally encountered" village chief. However, knowing that Little Tiger and the female tiger would return home to enjoy themselves, Hao Yun's group had no intention of returning to Little Tiger's house for rest this time. Instead, they left a note on Little Tiger's door, indicating that they would meet at the village chief's house early the next morning and exchanged the extra fish snack voucher given by Tiger Boss for a room at the village chief's house, where they spent the night quietly.

Their purpose in staying at the village chief's house was to gather some information about Little Tiger and the village chief. Unfortunately, the servants at the village chief's house were much more tight-lipped than expected, and the three of them never managed to pry any valuable information from them throughout the conversation.

The next morning, after another round of pleasantries with the village chief, Hao Yun's group, along with Bai Hu's group, once again set out on their mission with Little Tiger. After a few days, the group of seven successfully arrived at the tent at the foot of the Sparkling Forest. Upon discovering Tiger Brother's body, they almost got into a fight again due to the volatile situation. In the blink of an eye, Hao Yun's group of seven found themselves once again standing on the rugged steps at the back of the mountain.