Snake Aunt

This Ruin Exploration was fraught with too many unknown factors, so Zhu Bo had made extremely thorough preparations. Besides Feng Si at his side, he had also brought Liu Xiong and Liu Meng, who took another route to the destination.

The Liu brothers had worked with Zhu Bo many times. They were trustworthy and highly capable. Whether digging up tombs underground or throwing punches aboveground, they were both experts in their fields.

After that came the professional bodyguards, Luo Ban and Lu Bei, whose specialty was beating people up whenever negotiations fell through.

Six people in total—no more.

As Zhu Bo put it, quality mattered more than quantity. Bringing too many would just be like plastering ointment onto a dead man—completely pointless.

By noon, the carriage stopped. Four of them took food from their Qiankun Bags and hurriedly filled their stomachs. Zhu Bo used the opportunity to explain the opposing team's situation, mainly to inform Luo Ban and Lu Bei. The two enforcers had to stay alert at all times and avoid getting stabbed in the back by the other side.

Lu Bei nodded, then looked toward the silent Luo Ban beside him. After leveling up, he wanted to find an expert to spar with and accurately assess his own position.

Winning or losing did not matter. He only wanted to find a trustworthy back to hide behind, so that when danger came, he would know whose back to duck behind.

Luo Ban did not say a word. He had followed Zhu Ting for many years. On the surface, he was a personal guard, but his true profession was assassination. With his professional expertise, he had helped Zhu Ting repeatedly and thus earned deep trust.

In his line of work, losing one's composure was the greatest taboo. So no matter how scorching Lu Bei's gaze became, he treated it as a breeze brushing across his face, as though nothing had happened.

Once they set off again, Zhu Bo took out bottle after bottle and jar after jar. He gave Lu Bei a bottle of Detoxification Pills and three Poison Repelling Beads, then hastily tried to cram experience into him, explaining the dangers they might encounter underground.

The lecture lasted two whole days. While imparting knowledge and resolving doubts, he directly talked Lu Bei into gaining a new Secondary Profession.

Grave Robber Lv4 (10/10000)

Absurd!

Utterly absurd!

Lu Bei declared that he refused to accept this. He was extremely dissatisfied with the title Grave Robber. He was not demanding Archaeologist—even a Gold-Probing Captain would have been fine.

Besides, he had only listened to two days of theoretical knowledge. He had not even gone underground yet!

Three days later, Dongyang County, Hongling County.

At the city gate, several hoodlums and ruffians saw that Zhu Bo and the others looked unfamiliar and came forward to demand pocket money. They were knocked flat on the ground by three punches and two kicks.

Before running away, they still refused to let the matter go, declaring that this was not over. And then...

There was no "and then." These people had hard mouths but soft hands, and their legs moved quickly. Their bodies were very honest, and they never appeared again.

After the minor interlude ended, Zhu Bo successfully met up with the Liu brothers. The brothers had arrived in Hongling County the day before yesterday and had secretly observed the area while gathering intelligence. Yesterday, they had discovered that the team they were cooperating with had arrived. There were seven people in total. After resting briefly, they had left and spent the night outside the county.

"Big Brother, aside from that chilly woman, they're all unfamiliar faces. We didn't dare alert them, so we couldn't find out much information." The Liu brothers pleaded guilty.

"That was within expectations. All the familiar faces have already fallen."

Zhu Bo shook his head, then asked, "Tell me, did they discover you?"

"No."

"Big Brother, you're underestimating us. We brothers aren't lacking in that skill."

"Then this is troublesome..."

Zhu Bo shook his head. They had been provoked upon entering the city, which was clearly a probe from the opposing side. The Liu brothers knew nothing about it, meaning their strength was evidently far inferior to the other side's.

They had failed to obtain intelligence and had instead sold their own information. Their first move had gone disastrously.

Zhu Bo did not dare delay. He briefly introduced Lu Bei and the Liu brothers, abandoned the carriage, and headed straight outside the county.

Feng Si led the way. Following traces left along the road, they caught up with their partners, who had gone ahead, on a riverbank two li from the main road.

Six men and one woman. The woman leading them was stunningly beautiful. Her blue outfit and fitted clothes outlined the curves of her body, while her slim waist and long legs formed perfect proportions. Lu Bei could only shake his head repeatedly.

In these deep mountains and wild forests, with those long legs and a dozen or so men, it was a pity they did not have a tricycle.

She was She Xuan.

The initiator of the team, she had worked with Zhu Bo several times before and could barely be considered an acquaintance.

Zhu Bo repeatedly reminded Lu Bei and Luo Ban to beware of the most poisonous hearts belonging to women. She Xuan appeared beautiful, but in reality, she was a stunning serpent that devoured people without even spitting out their bones.

He meant that literally. She Xuan possessed Demon Race blood and was a Demon Cultivator.

Also, although she looked young, her actual age was at least fifty-plus. As for whether she was unfathomably deep, Zhu Bo had not dared test that. But he had a fairly good idea of how many unlucky fools had died beneath her serpent's kiss.

In short, out in the wilderness, Zhu Bo truly did not dare be alone with She Xuan without bringing two enforcers along.

"Sister She, you said we'd travel together. Why were you in such a hurry?" Zhu Bo raised a hand in salute, then looked toward She Xuan's seven teammates, signaling her to introduce them.

"Commander Zhu, didn't you hear the news?"

She Xuan countered with a question, then said, "Hongling County hasn't been peaceful lately. The Iron Sword Alliance got into a conflict with Huangji Sect, and even my business was ruined because of it. I'm not surnamed Zhu—I can't afford to provoke them, so I could only hide far away."

"I truly didn't know about that." Zhu Bo shook his head and temporarily committed the matter to memory.

Nearby, Lu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew of the Iron Sword Alliance, a powerful alliance of sword cultivators that ranked among the very best throughout Wu Zhou.

In Version 1.0, Huangji Sect and the Iron Sword Alliance had erupted into a large-scale conflict that ended with the destruction of the Iron Sword Alliance's main altar. It was one of the main storylines within Wu Zhou.

A centipede might be dead, but its legs still writhed. Even in Version 3.0, remnants of the Iron Sword Alliance were still active, making them the wild monsters players aligned with Wu Zhou most loved to hunt.

On the other side, the two team leaders introduced their respective members. For the foreseeable future, everyone would cooperate sincerely. They might not max out their favorability, but exchanging nods was the bare minimum.

When it was Lu Bei's turn—

"Snake Aunt, greetings. My name is Ding Lei. You're my senior, so just call me Little Ding."

"What a sweet little mouth, as if bees had stung it. Call me Sister She."

"Alright, Snake Aunt."

"..."

She Xuan gave a cold snort and frowned at the taciturn Luo Ban. Of everyone present, Luo Ban alone gave her the most troublesome feeling.

Lu Bei had once counted as one of those people too, but after exchanging a few words with her, he had successfully been removed from her blacklist.

"Commander Zhu has no shortage of experts at his side. You've prepared rather thoroughly."

"It concerns our lives. How could I dare be careless?"

"That's good."

The two leaders exchanged several lukewarm remarks. Soon, their professional instincts made them set aside their wariness toward one another and gather together to discuss the details of the Ruin Exploration.

She Xuan pulled out a map and handed a copy to Zhu Bo. Without hiding anything, she laid out all the intelligence she knew.

Aside from the leaders, everyone else remained clearly divided, with no intention whatsoever of exchanging a word or making friends.

Half an hour later, She Xuan and Zhu Bo put away the maps. She Xuan led from the front and Zhu Bo followed behind, each guiding their own team into the deep mountains and wild forests.

"The ruins are about a hundred and fifty li from here. The road ahead is all mountain forest, and there's also a great river that bends back along the way..." Zhu Bo recounted the intelligence he had obtained. To guard against poisonous insects in the mountains, he had everyone place a Poison Repelling Bead beneath their tongues in advance.

Lu Bei looked around. After walking through the mountains for only a short while, they were surrounded by a vast and boundless primeval forest. Strange flowers and exotic grasses grew in bizarre shapes, while clouds and mist sealed off the distant view, making it impossible to see clearly. It stirred in him the anticipation of entering a dungeon.

Everything else was fine, except that it was all too real, making him want to turn tail and run.