Looking for a Needle in the Sea? Better to Catch a Turtle in a Jar!

"First of all, I'm not a liar. I'm not a liar!"

The delicate-looking youth stomped his foot in fury and roared angrily:

"Second, I only follow the instructor's orders. If you have a problem with that, go find the instructor yourself!"

"Lastly, when did I ever become a girl? Which eye of yours saw that I, Qin Yusong, am female!?"

Wu Yingying was startled by his enormous reaction.

No, were the guards of this Guardian Land really that hot-tempered?

And why had Zhao Chen said those things?

Given what Wu Yingying knew about him, there seemed to be no need for him to lie.

"I don't know whether Qin Yusong is a woman, but you definitely aren't Qin Yusong."

Zhao Chen calmly watched the other person stamping about and continued:

"Alright, that's all I have to say. Go on collecting your spirit beast essences. We'll stay here."

He took a canvas tent from his Storage Bag.

He had obtained it from the Zhan Brothers' Storage Bags before, and it was just the thing now.

There were no rules forbidding anyone from camping outside the Guardian Land.

After all, quite a few people had lost their Crimson Tokens. It was perfectly normal for those who wanted to survive until the Spirit Road ended to come outside this Guardian Land.

As long as they did not enter the Guardian Land, there would be no problem.

"Wait, you're really not going in!?"

The delicate-looking youth, whose sore spot Zhao Chen had struck, had intended to argue. But when he saw Zhao Chen setting up the canvas tent, clearly intending to camp here, he panicked.

If Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying really stayed here, then it would basically be impossible to swindle spirit beast essences from them!

"She lost her Crimson Token. Can you help her find it?"

Zhao Chen looked at him with a faint smile and said meaningfully:

"If you can, then of course we'll go in right away."

The delicate-looking youth was actually a girl disguised as a boy. Her real name was Song Yuqing. To better obtain spirit beast essences, she had thought of impersonating the instructor's orders at the Guardian Land's gate and collecting spirit beast essences as a toll.

To avoid bringing trouble upon herself, she had adopted the false name Qin Yusong.

"What? How would I know where her Crimson Token is!?"

Song Yuqing was nearly furious to death. She stomped her feet repeatedly and said in great dissatisfaction, "This is the first time I've ever seen her!"

Wu Yingying looked over suspiciously. Judging solely by the other party's behavior, Zhao Chen had probably guessed right.

She truly was a girl disguised as a boy. That foot-stomping manner could not fool Wu Yingying, another girl.

If Song Yuqing had appeared in the forest earlier, Wu Yingying would have been completely justified in suspecting that she had taken her Crimson Token.

After all, that Little Thief had only dared to steal the Crimson Token...

"Don't look at me like that!"

Song Yuqing grew anxious and hurriedly explained, "Really, I'm telling the truth. It's my first time seeing you. How could I possibly know anything about your Crimson Token?"

"You two... I give up!"

She gritted her teeth in anger. The feeling of failing before even getting started was truly unbearable.

Then, she had no choice but to return to the city gate and continue playing the role of the guard Qin Yusong.

Still, she kept an eye on Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying, worried that someone might arrive later and expose her scam.

Inside the canvas tent, Zhao Chen reminded Wu Yingying, "When someone comes later, there's no need to expose her. Understand?"

Wu Yingying froze for a moment and asked in confusion, "But she's deceiving people."

Under normal circumstances, shouldn't they expose the scam right now?

That way, they could get revenge for her having blocked them earlier.

"In this situation, she won't dare collect spirit beast essences from us again."

Zhao Chen leisurely wiped down the Asura Sword and arranged the Blood-Red Sword Sheath before continuing:

"As for everyone else, they're competitors to begin with. We have no obligation to warn them. Besides, what can you expect from people who can't even see through such an obvious scam?"

Wu Yingying immediately understood.

Zhao Chen's earlier words had mainly been meant to break through Song Yuqing's psychological defenses.

That way, they could enter the Guardian Land without having their spirit beast essences collected by her. At the same time, they would hold leverage over her, keeping her somewhat in check and taking the initiative.

Simply put, Song Yuqing's ability to swindle spirit beast essences from others was her own skill.

If they could not see through such a scam, then they deserved to be deceived.

After learning their lesson, they would know better and grow from it.

Song Yuqing only collected low-level spirit beast essences. Those who could make it to the Guardian Land did not lack such low-level spirit beast essences. Coupled with the so-called instructor's order, she had no trouble deceiving newcomers.

"Besides, didn't you want to find your Crimson Token?"

Zhao Chen paused, a glint flashing in his eyes, before continuing:

"Everyone nearby who is still alive will basically head for the Guardian Land. Since she's guarding the city gate, they'll inevitably take out their Crimson Tokens when they hand over spirit beast essences. You can sense them directly."

"Oh my!"

Wu Yingying was utterly amazed.

"This idea is absolutely brilliant!"

She had been thinking that once they left the forest, finding that Little Thief would be like looking for a needle in the sea—impossible.

Now that Zhao Chen had proposed this method, she was completely thrilled.

She had a chance to recover her Crimson Token!

Then, once she absorbed spirit beast essences, her Spirit Body would definitely improve faster.

Most importantly, she could make it to the end of the Spirit Road and receive Spiritual Energy Empowerment!

"Then, do we need to discuss this with her?"

Wu Yingying was extremely excited. She wanted to recover her Crimson Token right away.

She had lost it while bathing and Playing in Water in the stream. Whenever she thought of it, she felt terribly sad and regretful.

It had truly taught her a lesson.

"If you go to her, that means you have something to ask of her, which hands the initiative over to her."

Zhao Chen shook his head and explained calmly, "We only need to wait here."

Wu Yingying suddenly understood as well.

If it had been her, the moment she realized she could use Song Yuqing to recover the Crimson Token, she would definitely have gone to find her immediately.

Thinking about it now, that would have been far too foolish!

"Then I can look for my Crimson Token and wait for my brother at the same time."

As Wu Yingying thought of this, a smile appeared on her face.

The future seemed bright indeed.

Zhao Chen noticed Wu Yingying's expression and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

This was actually a backup plan he had left for himself.

A way to return the Crimson Token to Wu Yingying without letting her know.

This method was quite good.

Even if the Crimson Token was truly with someone else, they could use this method to retrieve it.

Zhao Chen nodded and said:

"Just wait here for now, and be careful not to let anything slip. I'll go into the Guardian Land first to take a look. I'll pick up a few missions while I'm at it, then hunt spirit beasts and earn some points."

Wu Yingying's gaze toward Zhao Chen softened considerably.

He was such a good person. Not only had he safely brought her to the Guardian Land, but he had also helped her recover her Crimson Token and come up with such a wonderful plan. He was really quite nice.

Remembering how she had once mistaken him for the Little Thief and tried to hunt him down, she felt somewhat guilty.

She raised her delicate fist and waved it in front of herself, muttering:

"Damn Little Thief, if I catch you, I'll definitely strip you naked and throw you into the river to feed the fish!"