Chapter 178: A Trace of Clues
Lu Chen walked up to the large tree and examined it carefully. Then, he suddenly reached out and gently stroked the trunk. The rough bark felt rocky under his palm.
The surroundings were still quiet, but Lu Chen’s eyes grew brighter. His fingers moved more slowly, and after a while, when his fingers passed over a weathered crack, he suddenly stopped.
The cracked bark appeared dark brown at his fingertips. Lu Chen raised his eyebrows, pressed down gently, and continued to explore. Gradually, a narrow fissure began to appear in the dark bark. As he continued, the fissure widened until a palm-sized piece of bark suddenly shifted and fell from the trunk.
With a soft “thud,” the piece of bark landed on the ground.
Lu Chen didn’t examine it closely. Instead, he stared at the smooth wood revealed behind the bark. There, someone had carved a simple but twisted pattern with a sharp blade.
A thick line, a few thinner lines, varying in length and width—at first glance, it seemed like random scribbles, but upon closer inspection, these twisted lines resembled a tree.
A big tree!
A smile gradually appeared on Lu Chen’s lips. He stared intently at the extremely hidden pattern, as if trying to memorize it. After a while, he flipped his right hand, and a black short sword appeared in his grip. With a flash of black light, he sliced the carved wood down.
He then turned around, called out to A-Tu, and quickly walked out of the forest without looking back.