Poisoned! Wolf Head Mercenary Group!

After Xiao Yi Xian disappeared into the pitch-black rift, the sky nearby suddenly twisted. Before long, the figure of a silver-haired little girl emerged from that distorted space.

With a light step, the silver-haired little girl followed Xiao Yi Xian into the pitch-black rift.

After Xiao Yi Xian stepped into the pitch-black rift, her surroundings remained an abyssal black. However, a faint silver glimmer seemed to flicker at the edge of her vision.

Xiao Yi Xian focused all her attention and flew toward the silver light at the end.

Before long, a silver halo gradually became clearer in her sight.

This silver halo should have been the true entrance to the ruins.

After considering it for a moment, Xiao Yi Xian slowly lifted her foot and stepped into the silver halo. Once her entire body had entered it, an intense wave of dizziness struck her.

When Xiao Yi Xian opened her eyes again, she found herself standing on a boundless grassland. Ma Dayuan's group was nowhere to be seen.

After scanning her surroundings, Xiao Yi Xian said excitedly, "Looks like I guessed right. That spatial rift really was the entrance to the ruins!"

Afterward, Xiao Yi Xian chose a direction and flapped the purple Dou Qi wings on her back, flying toward it.

After flying for a long time, the endless grassland before Xiao Yi Xian finally gave way to trees. Moreover, these trees were generally far larger than those outside.

"This space is a little too big, isn't it? That grassland alone spans nearly a hundred li..." Xiao Yi Xian muttered. She then continued flying above the ancient forest without stopping.

However, as she kept flying, she suddenly discovered that other living creatures actually existed within the dense forest below.

Curious, Xiao Yi Xian found a relatively open area and descended into the forest.

At the same time.

Jia Ma Empire, edge of the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

In Qingshan Town, a young woman in snow-white robes, a treasured sword hanging at her waist, stepped onto the crowded street and headed straight for a small restaurant.

The young woman had delicate features and a slender figure, and her entire bearing carried an uncommon heroic air.

Placing her sword on the table, Nalan Yanran took several different kinds of monster beast meat, each weighing over ten jin, from her Storage Ring and set them on a nearby table. Then she called out loudly, "Boss, make a few dishes from these pieces of monster beast meat. You can keep whatever is left over. And bring me a pot of wine as well!"

"Right away!"

Upon hearing Nalan Yanran's voice, the burly owner behind the counter hurriedly called for the waiters.

"Miss Lan, please wait a moment. We'll arrange it for you right away." Two waiters came over and greeted Nalan Yanran with great familiarity, then carried the dozen or so jin of monster beast meat to the kitchen.

During her days of training in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, Nalan Yanran would leave that dreary environment every so often and come to bustling Qingshan Town to rest for a while.

Today, as usual, she had brought some monster beast meat from her hunts for the restaurant to prepare. After eating, she intended to stroll around before finding an inn to bathe and rest for the night.

Yet when Nalan Yanran entered the restaurant today, two strange gazes glanced her way. At the time, however, she did not notice them.

Before long, the waiters placed dish after dish made from monster beast meat, along with a jar of fine wine, on Nalan Yanran's table.

"Miss Lan, all the dishes have been served. Please enjoy!"

Hearing the waiter, Nalan Yanran nodded lightly. She then picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth, chewing with a relaxed expression.

After swallowing, she set down her chopsticks and quickly poured herself a bowl of wine. The strong liquor swiftly ran down her throat and into her stomach.

"Fine wine!"

After praising the wine, Nalan Yanran suddenly furrowed her brows.

"The wine is poisoned!"

"Who poisoned it?!"

Her gaze began searching through the hall.

"Hahaha!"

"We finally found a chance to deal with you, beauty."

As Nalan Yanran looked around, two rather lecherous figures suddenly rose from a table in the corner.

"Did you two poison me?" Nalan Yanran asked weakly.

"Haha, that's right! We poisoned it!" the two lecherous men beside the corner replied without the slightest restraint.

"They're from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group!"

"Poisoning a young girl? How shameless!"

"If this girl falls into the hands of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, she won't have a good end."

The commotion around Nalan Yanran naturally drew the attention of the other customers and the restaurant staff.

However, these people merely made a few comments. None of them truly dared to step forward and help Nalan Yanran.

The two middle-aged men, both around thirty, approached Nalan Yanran with sinister grins. One of them said loudly, "How could we not do our utmost for a girl our Second Commander has taken a liking to?"

Nalan Yanran stared sharply at the two men and asked softly, "Your Second Commander ordered you to do this?"

"That's right!"

"Our Second Commander once caught a glimpse of your back and has never been able to forget it. He simply didn't have time to find you then, so he ordered us brothers to keep a close watch in Qingshan Town. We finally caught you today."

The two men did not hide anything and told Nalan Yanran nearly everything they knew. In their eyes, she had already been poisoned and was completely incapable of resisting.

"Fourth Brother, go tell the Second Commander the good news. Tell him that the beauty he's been thinking about day and night has fallen into our brothers' hands."

After saying this, the man reached out to touch Nalan Yanran's face.

But at that moment, an incomparably sharp flash of sword light suddenly swept past everyone's eyes. In the next instant, the man's outstretched hand fell cleanly to the ground.

A miserable scream followed.

"Ah! My hand! You weren't poisoned—"

Before the man could finish his sentence, Nalan Yanran had already thrust out her second sword. As a streak of white light flashed, blood gushed from his chest, and he collapsed to the ground.

The other man had not taken more than a few steps when he sensed the disturbance. Just as he turned around to look, he felt a chill sweep across his neck. In the next moment, he clutched his throat with both hands, his eyes filled with utter shock as he fell backward.

Ignoring the stunned gazes of everyone else in the restaurant, Nalan Yanran turned to the owner with a hint of coldness in her eyes and asked, "Where is the Wolf Head Mercenary Group?"