An Unexpected Encounter

The next day!

That same little girl came to Xiao Heng's room early again, but Xiao Heng still wasn't used to being waited on by such a young girl, so he could only decline her kindness.

"Qing Lin, where are the two captains?" After washing up, Xiao Heng looked at Qing Lin beside him and asked.

Qing Lin thought for a moment before timidly replying, "The two captains seem to have gone out on a mission today! They left very early!"

Xiao Heng frowned. He had planned to leave today. Counting the days, he had already been away from the Xiao Family for quite some time. Jia Nan Academy's recruitment day would be arriving soon, and Jia Nan Academy was an important part of his plans. He couldn't miss it.

"I'll be leaving shortly. Since the two captains aren't here, I'll have to trouble you to bid them farewell for me."

"Ah! Young Master Xiao Heng is leaving today?" The little girl looked utterly confused. Hadn't Young Master Xiao Heng only arrived two days ago? Why was he leaving already?

Xiao Heng nodded. "Mm! I'll be leaving shortly. Leave these pills for the two captains. Consider them gifts for them."

Qing Lin was caught off guard. Young Master Xiao Ding had told her to take good care of Young Master Xiao Heng. But if Young Master Xiao Ding and the others came back and found that Young Master Xiao Heng was gone, would they blame her? Ah! What should she do? Qing Lin lowered her head, her mind already filled with images of Young Master Xiao Ding and the others scolding her when they returned. Although Young Master Xiao Ding was very kind and rarely scolded her.

"Hey!" Seeing Qing Lin spacing out, Xiao Heng waved a hand before her eyes.

Only then did Qing Lin come back to her senses. Staring blankly at Xiao Heng's waving hand, her face immediately flushed red. Ah! What am I doing? I actually spaced out. She hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, Young Master Xiao Heng! I..."

She wanted to explain herself, only to realize there was nothing she could explain. She was nearly in tears from anxiety.

This little girl! Xiao Heng helplessly shook his head. Then he smiled faintly and said, "It's fine. Did you hear what I just said? Give those pills to the two captains!"

Getting to know Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had been quite interesting, so he didn't mind giving them a few pills. These pills might have been precious to others, but to an Alchemist like him, they were nothing special.

"Oh, oh, oh! Understood, Young Master Xiao Heng!"

Smiling faintly, Xiao Heng patted the little girl's head. The feel was actually rather nice. But that simple action made the little girl tremble.

Lowering his hand, Xiao Heng glanced again at the dozen or so bottles behind him. After confirming that nothing had been missed, he said to the small, skinny girl before him, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore! Remember to give these things to the two captains, then bid them farewell for me. Tell them I have matters to attend to and will be leaving first. I'll come see them again next time."

"And you, little one, eat more. Look how thin you are. Cultivate properly, and once you break through to Dou Zhe, I'll give you a gift!"

"Alright! I'm leaving now! No need to see me off!"

Qing Lin had never heard such a gentle tone before. Although everyone in the mercenary group treated her fairly well, how could those people possibly know how to coax a little girl? Her face instantly turned red. Her mind went blank, and only after Xiao Heng had stepped outside did she finally react.

Her face flushed, she called out, "Wait, Young Master Xiao Heng, I'll see you off!" Then she quickly caught up to Xiao Heng and followed behind him.

Xiao Heng did not refuse. He headed straight for Bear Two's room. Bear Two wasn't sleeping either; he was cultivating. In this world, cultivation was always the mainstream, whether for humans or magical beasts.

"Bear Two, we're leaving!" Xiao Heng called out upon reaching Bear Two's room.

Bear Two grunted. Whatever Xiao Heng told him to do, he did. Neither man nor bear had much to pack. They left the Desert Iron Mercenary Group directly.

After the man and bear left, Qing Lin remained at the entrance, staring intently at Xiao Heng's retreating back. Only after confirming that Xiao Heng had truly gone did she return to the room and put away those bottles. She neatly made the bed before sitting down in a daze.

"Young Master Xiao Heng was really gentle. It's a pity he left so soon!" Xiao Heng's appearance had not caused much of a stir in Qing Lin's life. They had only exchanged a few words in total. Still, that gentle young master remained in her memories. After all, someone as different as Xiao Heng would always leave a deep impression in this mercenary group.

Before leaving Stone Desert City, Xiao Heng bought Bear Two a large pile of food and purchased some medicinal ingredients for himself as well. Unfortunately, he still failed to find Mandala Flowers. But it was fine; he could search slowly. If it truly came down to it, he could leave the problem to Xiao Yan.

As for making another trip to the Snake People Tribe's territory, sorry, he couldn't even be bothered to come up with an excuse anymore. He simply didn't want to go.

"Xiao Heng! Where are we going next?" Bear Two asked as he held a whole string of candied hawthorns and ate them.

Xiao Heng looked at Bear Two. The bear was over a meter tall, with an honest, simple-looking face that made him seem rather adorable. But Xiao Heng had to restrain himself. Bear Two was already a big bear; he couldn't just pet him whenever he wanted.

With a smile on his face, he said, "We're going to..."

Before he could finish, a domineering yet seductive voice rang out. "You two probably aren't going anywhere!"

At the same time, an astonishing aura crashed down fiercely upon Xiao Heng and Bear Two.

Bear Two reacted first. His Dou Qi erupted, and he instantly transformed into a giant bear six or seven meters tall.

Roar...!

A tremendous roar rang out, shattering the sudden pressure and allowing Xiao Heng to straighten up and see who this abrupt aura belonged to.

"Queen Medusa!"

Seeing the beautiful figure in the sky with a human body and a snake tail, Xiao Heng couldn't help crying out.

What surprised Xiao Heng was why Queen Medusa had appeared here. He could hardly believe it, but the seven-colored snake scales on that snake-person body already proved her identity.

Xiao Heng stared solemnly at the colorful figure in midair. Though he could hardly believe it, since she was already here, what else could he do?

Looking at the beautiful snake woman in the sky, Xiao Heng asked gravely, "May I ask why Queen Medusa has suddenly taken action?"

If it had been any other Dou Huang, he would still have had the confidence to fight. But if it was Queen Medusa, a peak Dou Huang expert of the Snake People Tribe, then even if he used that Six-star Dou Huang Experience Card, he probably would not be her match. Although the gap between each star of the Dou Huang realm was not that great—

That was only when the difference in stars was small. It was true that he had a Dou Huang Experience Card, but it was only a Six-star Dou Huang one. Not to mention whether he could fully wield the card's power, even if he could, an ordinary Six-star Dou Huang would not be Queen Medusa's match.

Looking at the two ants below, Queen Medusa felt no emotion whatsoever. One was a fifth-tier magical beast, while the other was a human who had not even broken through to Da Dou Shi. She could kill them with a single palm strike. Of course, that magical beast might take a few more strikes.

She had no patience for the weak. She said coldly, "Hand over the Heavenly Flame, and I can let you leave!"

Hearing Queen Medusa's words, Xiao Heng gave a bitter laugh inwardly. He might have understood why Queen Medusa had come looking for him. But simply handing over the Heavenly Flame was unrealistic. It wasn't that he couldn't bear to part with it; rather, even if he handed it over, that venomous queen likely would not let them go. Queen Medusa's reputation for ruthlessness was no empty claim.

So he could only play dumb. "What Heavenly Flame?" His acting was so convincing that he nearly believed it himself.

Queen Medusa ignored him. She had searched the Tagor Desert for traces of the Heavenly Flame for many years, but last night, the Heavenly Flame's aura had suddenly appeared, only to vanish in an instant soon after.

She had searched several towns before finally confirming this place. The moment she arrived, she noticed that something was off about the human's aura. His fire-element aura was far too pure, so she locked onto Xiao Heng.

"I'll say it one more time! Hand over the Heavenly Flame!"

Now she was also worried that this person might hide the Heavenly Flames. But it did not matter—she would first see whether he could hand them over. If he could, she would kill them to silence them. If he could not, she would kill them first and search afterward. Even if that human Kid truly did not have the Heavenly Flames, it would merely cost her some Dou Qi.

"Your Majesty, I really don't have any Heavenly Flames."

Xiao Heng still wanted to explain, but it seemed that Her Majesty the Queen was no longer willing to give him the chance.

Her Dou Qi condensed, and a massive crimson serpent formed from it instantly lunged at Xiao Heng.

Roar!...

Seeing the crimson serpent already upon Xiao Heng, Bear Two let out a huge roar and blocked its path. He tightly wrapped his arms around the serpent's head, preventing it from advancing even an inch, but he had no strength left to spare!

Queen Medusa dealing with Bear Two now was like Bear Two dealing with the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake yesterday—if anything, even easier. After all, the gap between a Dou Ling and a Dou Wang was nowhere near as great as the gap between a Dou Wang and a peak Dou Emperor.

"Interesting!" Seeing Bear Two withstand her attack, Queen Medusa revealed a teasing expression beneath her veil.

Then another giant serpent appeared and lunged at Xiao Heng. "This time, let's see how you block it!"

As the serpent pounced toward him, Xiao Heng's pupils widened slightly. So fast—at this speed, I simply can't...!

Roar...! Xiao Heng! Bear Two tried to break away to rescue him, but Queen Medusa shifted her hand seal and intensified her suppression of Bear Two once more!

The Purple Cloud Wings flapped as Xiao Heng tried to evade, but the serpent was so fast that he had no time to dodge.

Just as Bear Two thought Xiao Heng was certain to die under this strike, an overwhelming aura suddenly surged skyward, forcibly halting the serpent's advance.

Then, a scarlet sword light shot into the sky, cleaving the serpent apart with a single slash. Another sword light followed, annihilating the serpent in front of Bear Two as well!

Queen Medusa did not stop the sword lights from destroying her serpents. Instead, she watched the human below with great interest. Her vermilion lips parted as she uttered two words. "Interesting!"

Such a weak human had actually erupted with such tremendous power in an instant. This could not help but pique her interest. That power seemed to have reached the level of a Dou Emperor!

In midair, the Purple Cloud Wings spread wide, keeping Xiao Heng afloat. He felt power surging through his entire body, giving him the sense that he could defeat anything. But he knew it was only an illusion—the illusion created by a sudden explosive increase in strength.

Bear Two looked happily at Xiao Heng in the air. A pair of earthy yellow wings rose from his back as his body swelled again, growing to over ten meters tall. This was the first time he had used his full strength since breaking through.

Flying into the sky, Bear Two hovered beside Xiao Heng. He was initially happy for Xiao Heng, but then turned a solemn gaze toward Queen Medusa in the distance.

"Xiao Heng, what do we do!"

Xiao Heng smiled, then said confidently, "We can't defeat that woman for now. You run first. I'll follow afterward."

Bear Two said with a serious expression, "If I run, what will happen to you?"

Xiao Heng smiled again. "You're bulkier, so you run first. I'll leave afterward. With my current strength, I may not be able to beat her, but I can still escape! Trust me—I wouldn't lie to you!"