Qing Lin

West of Stone Desert City, the Mo Tie Mercenary Group's headquarters.

"Two elder brothers, these are the things Xiao Yan asked me to bring you." Lu Bu touched his Ring, took out two bottles of Qi Replenishing Pills, one bottle of third-grade Wind Hành Pills, and one bottle of third-grade Qi Replenishing Pills, each containing five pills.

The moment they saw the pills, both Xiao Ding's and Xiao Li's eyes filled with burning desire.

Third-grade pills were worth at least nearly ten thousand gold coins each. Now, a full ten of them lay before them... Even after all their years as mercenaries, the money they had earned might not have been enough to buy such things.

"Brother Lu Bu, don't joke around." Xiao Ding suppressed the longing in his heart and pushed the pills back.

"You said my third brother is only a First Grade Alchemist. How could he possibly produce third-grade pills? These are your own things. Don't do this."

"I'm not joking." Lu Bu smiled. "His teacher refined these. I'm not capable of such generosity. If you truly don't want them, then don't blame me."

"Ahem... Big Brother, since they're from Third Brother, let's accept them." Xiao Li said. "Brother Lu came all this way to deliver them. We can't act like this."

"This... all right. Thank you for your trouble, Brother Lu." Xiao Ding clasped his hands and put the items into his Ring.

Afterward, they gathered all the mercenaries for a celebratory banquet. Chickens were slaughtered, cattle were butchered, and the entire group ate to their hearts' content. With ten third-grade pills in hand, the Mo Tie Mercenary Group was hardly short on funds. They could certainly afford this bit of food.

Drunk as he was, Lu Bu waved his hand and scattered several more Power Accumulation Pills and Spring Return Pills. Everyone in the Mo Tie Mercenary Group got thoroughly drunk that night, happier than they would have been during the New Year.

The next day, Lu Bu slowly woke as Qing Lin wiped him down. This had been arranged by Xiao Ding. Considering Lu Bu was a pampered alchemist, he had assigned him a maid.

"Ah... sir, you're awake..." Seeing Lu Bu open his eyes, Qing Lin recoiled like a startled rabbit, standing before him at a complete loss.

"Oh, it's fine. Continue." Lu Bu chuckled. Qing Lin hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded and used a soft cloth to wipe the droplets of water from Lu Bu's face.

"Girl, what's your name?" Lu Bu asked softly, his tone gentle for fear of frightening the little girl.

"I... I'm Qing Lin..." the little girl said timidly. "The commander asked me to come serve you, as your maid, sir."

Lu Bu chuckled. Those pills hadn't gone to waste after all... He had finally obtained the person he wanted.

The reason Lu Bu had gone through so much trouble was simple. He did not want to cause any problems, nor did he want to leave a thorn in Qing Lin's heart.

He could have simply snatched Qing Lin away, but then he would have had no idea what Qing Lin thought of him. To be safe, this was the only way.

"Oh... where is your commander?"

"I... I don't know." Qing Lin lowered her head as though she had done something wrong. "I'm only a maid. I'm not qualified to know..."

"Oh, I see." Lu Bu rubbed her head. "It's all right. I'm not blaming you. I was just asking casually, so don't overthink it."

"Ah... okay..." Qing Lin nodded meekly, her little face flushed red.

Once she had finished tidying up, Lu Bu took her to find Xiao Ding. He was going to begin searching for the Heavenly Flames. Perhaps that kid Xiao Yan was already on his way to the desert.

When they stepped out of the room, many mercenaries were already awake. Although they had been free to eat and drink as much as they wanted the night before, no mercenary dared lower their guard, because letting down one's guard could very well mean death.

When they saw Lu Bu emerge, everyone he passed nodded and smiled, showing him great respect. Yet the moment they saw Qing Lin at his side, their expressions inexplicably turned cold.

Qing Lin followed closely behind Lu Bu, not daring to raise her head the entire time.

Lu Bu rubbed her little head. "Girl, it seems you haven't had a very good life here?"

"That's not true..." Qing Lin waved her hands repeatedly and hurriedly said, "The commander and Sister Xue Lan have both treated me very well. They let me eat my fill every day. They never hit or scold me, and they never let me go hungry..."

Lu Bu's expression shifted slightly. Going hungry... He had not experienced that in a long time. Perhaps it had happened once when he was very young, when his family had gone through a difficult period. After that, it had never happened again. But in the memories of this body's original owner, going hungry for nine meals out of every three days was commonplace.

"Will you stay by my side from now on?" Lu Bu rubbed her head and smiled. "By my side, no one will look down on you. No one will dare hit you or bully you..."

Qing Lin froze for a moment and stammered, "Sir... the commander has already... already given me to you..."

Lu Bu was stunned as well, then his face immediately lit up with joy. "That's even better!"

"From now on, um... just call me Young Master. No need to call me sir, understand?" Lu Bu said with a smile. In the Profound Region, he had been the young master of a noble family. He could bear that form of address.

"Yes, Young Master." Qing Lin's eyes curved into crescents as she called out sweetly.

"Come on. This young master will take you to your new home." Lu Bu took her hand. After bidding farewell to Xiao Ding, he went into the city and purchased a house.

Watching Lu Bu and Qing Lin's backs as they departed, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li fell silent for a while.

"Big Brother, do you think what he said was true or false?" Xiao Li asked. They had not built a fairly capable mercenary group in this man-eating desert through luck, but through their minds.

"I don't know... Perhaps half true and half false." Xiao Ding shook his head.

"I can't see what his purpose is, nor do I know what he wants. But at least one thing is certain: he bears us no ill will."

"And we... have nothing worth coveting. He did not take anything from us either. Perhaps he truly is close with Little Yan."

"We haven't lost out. Put your mind at ease."

"Yes, Big Brother!"

At the Sand Mercenary Group, under Hai Bodong's command, Rob led his men to a stretch of flat sand southeast of Stone Desert City and began digging.

Many people in the city noticed this. After observing for a while, they all left. The Sand Mercenary Group's actions were utterly baffling. It looked as though they had simply picked a random spot and started digging away.

They had dug for a full hour or two, yet found nothing but sand. Moreover, the sand was loose, and the holes they dug were quickly filled back in. They were completely wasting their efforts.

Not to mention the onlookers—even Rob himself could not help growing irritated. They had worked so hard for so long, yet found nothing. He was becoming rather annoyed.

"Commander?"

"Keep digging!" Rob snorted. "For every hour you dig today, you'll be rewarded with one hundred gold coins. No one is allowed to stop!"

At that, the mercenaries' eyes lit up. One hundred gold coins was less than they could earn on a mission, but it was much safer!

All the mercenaries were instantly invigorated, their earlier irritation gone.

Rob returned to the camp alone and reported the matter to Hai Bodong.

After hearing Rob's report, Hai Bodong's snowy-white brows immediately furrowed. He had drawn the map himself; there was no reason for it to be wrong.

After thinking it over, Hai Bodong took out the map and a ruler, making markings across it. He then went to inspect the site himself, marked out a smaller area, and had the Sand Mercenary Group continue digging.

But... Rob stared speechlessly at the area Hai Bodong had marked out. It was even larger than the area he had dug before.

In the bedroom of a two-story building in the center of the city.

Qing Lin's little face was flushed red, her porcelain-doll skin as red as a small apple. Holding a jade shard in her tiny hand, she tremblingly helped Lu Bu scrape and apply the Burning Blood.

"Careful, little girl. This is a fourth-grade medicinal pill," Lu Bu said with a soft laugh.

"Ah..." Qing Lin's small hand trembled, startled by his words.

"Haha, I'm teasing you. Don't worry, it's only Burning Blood. It isn't anything particularly precious," Lu Bu laughed, joking with her.

"You... you're always scaring me, Young Master..." Qing Lin muttered quietly. Yet her movements became much steadier, no longer as bashful as before.

"How old are you this year, little girl?" Lu Bu asked.

"I don't know..." Qing Lin sniffled and lowered her head. "I was abandoned when I was little. I don't know when I was born..."

Lu Bu fell silent. Like his original body, born a slave, he did not know where he had come from.

"But Sister Xue Lan said I should be fifteen this year," Qing Lin added. The Sister Xue Lan she spoke of was someone from the Mo Tie Mercenary Group who had treated her rather well, and Qing Lin had always remembered her kindness.

"Fifteen... good thing it's not illegal..." Lu Bu muttered, feeling somewhat relieved.

"Young Master, what did you say? Qing Lin didn't hear clearly."

"Ahahaha, it's nothing." Lu Bu gave an awkward laugh.

Just then, there was a rustle outside the window, and Hai Bodong climbed in through it.

"Ah!" Qing Lin jumped in fright. Seeing the unfamiliar person hanging by the window, she immediately hid behind Lu Bu.

"It's fine. This is my... mm, guard," Lu Bu said, stroking Qing Lin's head.

Hai Bodong's mouth twitched. How had he become a guard?

Whatever. So be it. A crippled Dou Emperor like himself would not lose face serving as the guard of a Sixth Grade Alchemist.

"Lu Bu, the search for the Heavenly Flames hasn't gone very smoothly," Hai Bodong said gravely.

Thanks to reader Blue Fierce Battle for the reward O(∩_∩)O