And the old woman brought out the freshly boiled potatoes and rice balls to share with us, all free of charge.

Frankly, this unexpected trip to Japan revealed a hidden paradise unknown to the outside world.

However, since our ultimate goal was to venture deep into the mountains, we didn't linger long in the village. Instead, we set off on foot, following the vast rapeseed fields toward the nearest large mountain.

Along the way, beside the field ridges, we spotted one of those uniquely Japanese Jizo Bodhisattvas—very small, with perfectly round heads and exceedingly gentle expressions.

In Japan, there are countless stories of Jizo Bodhisattva aiding the poor and suffering, which is why people are so fond of worshipping this deity.

If anyone were to show disrespect toward the Bodhisattva, it would surely incite the anger of the local people.

So, as we passed by, we bowed respectfully in homage.

As the saying goes, "It tires the horse to see the mountain from afar." We thought the undulating peaks in the distance were close, but by the time we reached the base of the mountain, it was already nine o'clock at night.

Thankfully, we had brought dry rations, so we had a simple meal on an open patch of ground at the foot of the mountain.

We—these reigning superstars—ate our food, watching the sun slowly set, without exchanging many words.

Meanwhile, Xie Yuting seemed unable to settle down, pacing back and forth in front of us.

Seeing his restlessness, I asked him what was wrong.

Xie Yuting glanced at me, considered for a moment, and then said, "Come with me." With that, he walked toward the woods in the distance.

I glanced at Da Xiong beside me; he wore an equally puzzled expression and said, "Go on. If he does anything strange to you, just scream 'indecent assault,' and I’ll be right back to save you."

I rolled my eyes at him, stood up, and followed Xie Yuting into the woods.

Once inside, Xie Yuting turned back to ensure no one followed us, then spoke to me: "Look at this."

I moved closer and saw he was holding something resembling a detector—it was blue, patterned with many concentric rings, and dotted with numerous flashing points within those rings.

He pointed to the red dots on the screen and said, "This is a rudimentary anti-tracking device. See these two adjacent red dots? That’s us. I’ve been monitoring this since we entered the scenic area. Initially, it was just us, but once we approached this mountain, several other red dots suddenly appeared."

I looked where Xie Yuting was pointing, about seven or eight hundred meters behind us, where seven small red dots were stationary.

Looking at the dots, I nodded and asked, "What is the principle behind your detector? Thermal sensing or infrared?"

Xie Yuting shook his head and pointed toward the sky. "See that tiny black dot up there?"

I looked up, and through a gap between two trees, I clearly saw a small black speck circling in the sky. If you weren't paying attention, you’d mistake it for a bird.

But upon closer inspection, you’d notice the object was constantly orbiting directly above us.

Xie Yuting pointed at the small black dot and said, "That’s a micro reconnaissance drone. It requires no remote control; it follows the signal I emit."

I sighed. "It seems you’ve invested heavily in this operation. But don’t those kinds of reconnaissance drones usually have cameras? Couldn’t you just use the camera to see who is following us?"

Xie Yuting gave me a look, said nothing, and simply switched the screen display to the tracking image.

My gaze followed the image across the screen, finally freezing on one particular frame.

When I finally saw the image clearly, I was instantly stunned rigid.

Because what the screen displayed were the shadows of seven Jizo Bodhisattvas.

Staring at the bizarre scene, neither of us spoke for a full minute.

Then Xie Yuting asked me, "I heard you served in the Special Forces before. You must have used this kind of equipment. I need to ask: Have you ever encountered a scenario where a reconnaissance drone misidentified something non-human as human?"

I thought to myself, Does he really take me for a former elite soldier? I had never been a special forces operative.

And even if I had, I wouldn't know what to make of this.

After thinking it over, I asked, "You said these things appeared suddenly? Have you seen them move?"

Xie Yuting shook his head. "I didn't see them move, but they certainly popped into existence. And did you notice? We walked through this area before, but we never saw seven Jizo statues clustered together like this."

I figured perhaps the crops had obscured my view earlier and this meant nothing.

But I didn't voice that thought. Instead, I said, "That’s simple. We'll continue up the mountain now and see if these things move. Alternatively, we can send someone back right now to check what those things actually are."

Xie Yuting nodded. "I think the second option is more feasible. The other party might not know we can detect them, making this a good opportunity for a surprise attack. If we keep moving forward and they realize the surveillance drone exists, things could become very complicated."

I replied, "Alright, the two of us will go, and we’ll bring Da Xiong along."

Xie Yuting shook his head. "The three of us going would be too dangerous. If those are the same people from the ship last time, any one of them could take us down easily. That’s why I called them here."

I looked in the direction Xie Yuting indicated—toward the group of other famous figures.

"You mean those few people are even better fighters than you?" My entire worldview seemed shattered.

Xie Yuting looked somewhat exasperated by my reaction. "Why else would I call them? To make up the numbers, or as cannon fodder? Among them are a retired Sanda champion, the heir to a martial arts lineage, and a Qigong master. Any one of them could treat fighting me like child's play."

Although Xie Yuting had tricked me before, he never lied. So, I suppressed my astonished expression, cleared my throat a couple of times, and said, "Fine. Who are you planning to call?"

Xie Yuting said, "It'll be you, me, and Brother Guanxi. His Iron Shirt technique is formidable; he studied under the Shaolin Temple. Da Xiong and Nie Chuan will stay here; with so many experts protecting them, they should be fine."

For some inexplicable reason, the image of Edison Chen with a completely shaved head flashed through my mind, leaving me momentarily speechless again.

Next, the four of us, each gripping a knife, began creeping toward the location like thieves, bent low at the waist.

By this time, it was completely dark, though the full moon above was strikingly bright.

The fields were meticulously clean, devoid of weeds, with only orderly rows of crops faintly reflecting the moonlight. It looked strangely devoid of menace, possessing a certain poetic tranquility.

But we were in no mood to appreciate the scenery. We advanced cautiously, hyper-aware of our surroundings.

Xie Yuting held the detector, keeping the drone following us, feeding us live imagery at all times.

I occasionally checked on Xie Yuting. I noticed those Jizo statues were still there, appearing unremarkable, but because it was aerial photography, their heads looked disproportionately large, like a cluster of stone mushrooms.

Seven hundred meters is not far; we soon neared the target location.

I instinctively tightened my grip on the knife in my hand and swallowed hard.

As we walked, Guanxi, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and said, "Don't move. I’ll check it out first."

He immediately dropped into a firm horse stance and began executing a series of elaborate hand signs, reminiscent of Guo Jing preparing to unleash the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms in The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Then, with a soft shout, the veins on his neck bulged like tangled roots, and his face flushed deep red.

Seeing him like this, looking as if he’d been injected with adrenaline, I almost expected a couple of actors to run out and break wooden sticks over his back. I glanced at Xie Yuting with concern.

Xie Yuting’s gaze was firm, as if to say, What you see on TV is a lie; this is real.

I quietly whispered a warning, then watched as the tensed-up Brother Guanxi strode forward, passing through the mulberry field that had obstructed our view.

"Quick, check the situation on the reconnaissance feed!" I urged Xie Yuting.

Xie Yuting nodded, just about to show me, when three dull thuds echoed ahead, followed by the sound of shattering stone.