"Wei Wu?"
Just as Qin He was lost in thought, a startled cry came from the entrance of the tavern.
Qin He looked up and saw a burly man standing at the door, clad in beast hide with his upper body bare, his skin dark as charcoal. His eyes were wide as he stared at Qin He, then he turned to the man and woman who had just entered the tavern. "Dong Ming, Zi Zhen, look who this is!"
The man and woman exchanged a glance, both looking utterly incredulous.
Qin He blinked, somewhat surprised as well.
They were Fan Gu, Huo Dong Ming, and Tian Zi Zhen—the three he had traveled with briefly in Black Wind Mountain "a few days" ago.
There were three of them, but Mo Fan was missing.
"It really is Young Brother Wei."
Fan Gu strode over with a hearty laugh and gave Qin He's shoulder a heavy pat. "You suddenly vanished behind us that night. We searched for you for ages."
"There was a small mishap at the time, but fortunately, it was all danger and no disaster." Qin He brushed it off, exchanged pleasantries with the three, and ordered more wine and food.
"Young Brother Wei, what happened back then? We all thought you had already..." Once they were seated, Huo Dong Ming asked curiously.
"I stepped into a trap and was trapped for quite a long time. Later, I was sent somewhere far away. I happened to pass through here recently, so I came back for a look." Qin He made up an almost flawless explanation.
Back when the five of them had formed a fruit-seeking party, Qin He had joined simply because having someone to lead the way was better than blundering around blindly. Yet he had discovered that these four