I Received Messages From Future Self!
Chapter 394 - Chapter 394 Chapter 390 Bizarre Illusion

Chapter 394: Chapter 390: Bizarre Illusion Chapter 394: Chapter 390: Bizarre Illusion Fang Xiaocao slightly furrowed her brows; deep down, she felt as though someone was secretly watching her.

With the constant strengthening of her spiritual power, Fang Xiaocao’s senses had become increasingly sharp.

Her eyes quickly scanned around, searching for any potential peeping toms.

But after a full circle, she found nothing.

“Could it be that there’s some animal nearby that sees me as a threat?”

Fang Xiaocao shook her head and turned to walk towards the campsite, but the elusive feeling of being watched continued to linger in her heart.

“How strange…”

Fang Xiaocao pinched the bridge of her nose, somewhat doubting herself, wondering if she hadn’t rested well the night before and the tension was causing her to hallucinate.

Seeing that Fang Xiaocao had left, the eyes beneath the sand dune slowly retreated, and as the sand rolled down, the two almost imperceptible holes were quickly buried.

“Hm?”

“Did the feeling of being watched disappear?”

Fang Xiaocao stopped in her tracks and turned to look behind her, but saw nothing unusual.

Behind the sand dune, the sand swelled up like there was a humanoid creature lying underneath. It wriggled under the sand resembling a swimming snake, moving incredibly fast and covering several hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

Fang Xiaocao sat down in front of the campfire and started eating her dry ration in small bites, the worry in her eyes never diminishing, just like her constantly furrowed brows.

Noticing Fang Xiaocao’s unusual behavior, Taotie stuffed a piece of dried meat into his father-in-law’s mouth and curiously asked, “Princess Your Highness, what’s wrong?”

Taotie’s raspy voice broke Fang Xiaocao’s contemplation, and she shook her head, “It’s nothing, just that just now outside the campsite, I felt a vague sense of being watched but couldn’t find the source. It makes me feel somewhat uneasy inside.”

Taotie squinted and said, “Could it be that there’s some wild beast nearby that sees you as prey or a threat?”

Taotie’s idea coincided with Fang Xiaocao’s initial reaction, both suspecting that some wild creature living in the desert might be nearby.

Fang Xiaocao took a drink of her dried meat soup, smoothed down the dry, choking compressed biscuits in her mouth, and shook her head, “Initially, I thought so too, but it doesn’t feel quite right. Also, the feeling of being watched suddenly vanished the moment I turned around, which is inconsistent with wild animal hunting behavior. When faced with the back of their prey, wild animals have a genetic hunting instinct, eager to attack. Logically, the feeling of being watched should have intensified when I turned around.”

This knowledge about wild animal hunting had been a life-saving lesson taught by Tom last time they had gone treasure hunting in the mountains and encountered a pack of wolves.

When facing carnivorous wild animals, one must never expose their back to the animal. It triggers their hunting instinct. One must maintain a frontal position, stay calm, and not show any signs of fear to appear formidable and unapproachable. While using one’s voice to intimidate the animal, one should slowly retreat to a safe distance.

Thinking of these points, Fang Xiaocao somewhat missed Tom. If Tom were here, she wouldn’t have to exhaust her brain cells. He would handle any problem beautifully.

Fang Xiaocao’s words furrowed Taotie’s brows deeply enough to crush a fly.

“So, it really doesn’t match the behavior of wild animals hunting. Could it be that there are people nearby?”

Taotie said gravely.

Fang Xiaocao shook her head, “I don’t know.”

“It’s quite a strange feeling, it leaves one feeling uneasy. Let’s pack up the tent right after eating, and once Liu Yishou returns, we’ll immediately…”

At this point, Fang Xiaocao paused.

She turned her head to look at Taotie, only to find Taotie was also staring at her. Both of them looked at each other and said in unison, “Liu Yishou?”

“You think so too?”

Fang Xiaocao pressed.

Taotie nodded, “If your feeling is correct and Liu Yishou is indeed up to something, then the person secretly watching us is most likely Liu Yishou. Our campsite is very secluded, indicating that if someone or some beast had approached, they would have acted by now, why wait for us to return?”

Fang Xiaocao’s eyes brightened, “Taotie, you’ve become smart, that makes a lot of sense.”

Taotie chuckled “Hehe,” scratched his head, and showed a shy smile.

Fang Xiaocao gave Taotie a stern look, “Can you not be so disgusting? Does Xinyan really like beefy guys acting all cute?”

“Ahem…”

Taotie coughed awkwardly.

The subject was too private for Taotie; it made him uncomfortable.

“Since we suspect Liu Yishou the most, keep a close watch on him. The moment he does anything suspicious, seize him for me, but unless absolutely necessary, do not kill him.”

Fang Xiaocao commanded Taotie in a stern voice.

“Yes!”

Taotie nodded in agreement.

Ring, ring, ring–

The crisp sound of camel bells approached from a distance.

Fang Xiaocao and Taotie looked toward the source and saw Liu Yishou, whom they had just been discussing. He leisurely returned, riding a camel and stepping on the golden sand grains.

Seeing Liu Yishou, Fang Xiaocao and Taotie exchanged a glance, and Xiaocao whispered, “Proceed covertly, don’t let him notice.”

Taotie nodded, “Don’t worry, I understand.”

Tossing the half-eaten jerky to Unhappy, Fang Xiaocao stood up and went to meet Liu Yishou.

Taotie, dragging his father-in-law along, followed Fang Xiaocao from behind, closing in on Liu Yishou.

Now aware that Liu Yishou might be problematic, Taotie naturally wouldn’t let Fang Xiaocao stay alone with him,

lest Liu Yishou harbored evil intentions and harmed Fang Xiaocao.

“Princess Your Highness!”

Liu Yishou leapt down from the camel’s back and greeted Fang Xiaocao.

Fang Xiaocao nodded, “You’ve worked hard. Any findings?”

Liu Yishou took out a water bottle and took a gulp, “Found the path; we can leave anytime.”

Fang Xiaocao smiled slightly, “Well done; go have something to eat. I’ll have Taotie and the others pack up the tents, and I’ll set out shortly.”

Liu Yishou nodded and walked toward the campfire.

Fang Xiaocao narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Liu Yishou’s silhouette, and noticed his clothes were full of sand, as if he had rolled around in the sand.

“Liu Yishou, did you take the opportunity to meet with Chen Xiao, discussing how to infiltrate our team?”

Fang Xiaocao silently mused to herself.

Perhaps because of Fang Xiaocao’s intense gaze, Liu Yishou, who was sitting and having breakfast by the fire, suddenly turned around and locked eyes with her.

In that instant, Fang Xiaocao shivered and her eyes widened.

During that brief eye contact, Fang Xiaocao thought she saw Liu Yishou’s pupils elongate, becoming sheep-like.

Fang Xiaocao shook her head, looked again at Liu Yishou but found everything seemed to have been her imagination; Liu Yishou’s pupils weren’t unusual at all.

“Princess Your Highness, is there something wrong?”

Liu Yishou asked, puzzled.

“No, it’s nothing…”