Qing Lin

Gazing at the outline of the enormous city in the distance, dyed crimson beneath the setting sun.

Lin Feng wiped away the sand blown onto his body by the wind and stuck there by sweat.

A faint smile appeared on his bitter face.

Since he had never been to the desert before, and it was inconvenient to use the Dou Qi Gauze Robe along the way.

The past few days of traveling through the desert had left him feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, aside from several attacks by magical beasts along the way.

There had been no incidents of the caravan turning into bandits and robbing him.

Looking at Stone Desert City not far away, Lin Feng was not the only one to breathe a sigh of relief.

The smiles on the faces of the other caravan members also grew a little wider.

They had handled security throughout the entire journey, leaving both their bodies and minds thoroughly exhausted.

Now that they had arrived at Stone Desert City, they could finally rest and ease the fatigue accumulated over the past few days.

Amid everyone's anticipation, the caravan slowly made its way to the city gate before streaming inside.

After entering the city, Lin Feng paid the remaining balance, bid farewell to the caravan members, and began strolling around the city.

As he wandered, Lin Feng discovered that this city in the desert.

Compared to the cities within the empire, it possessed an added sense of simplicity and solidity.

Moreover, perhaps because it was close to the Tagor Desert, its defenses were much tighter than those within the empire.

Fully armed soldiers could be seen patrolling everywhere in the city.

"Ouch!"

At a corner, a little girl of twelve or thirteen suddenly darted out.

Although Lin Feng noticed her in advance and immediately stopped walking, the little girl clearly did not have that ability.

While running, her little head slammed straight into Lin Feng's abdomen. She bounced back with a cry of pain.

The cloth sack in her hands was flung away as well, and its contents scattered all over the ground.

"Little sister, are you all right?"

Seeing the little girl fall to the ground, Lin Feng quickly stepped forward, helped her up, and asked softly.

"I-I'm fine."

The little girl seemed afraid that Lin Feng would get angry and cautiously glanced at him.

Then, seeing that Lin Feng truly had no intention of hitting her, she immediately let out a heavy sigh of relief.

However, when she saw the food scattered across the ground, her pretty little face instantly crumpled like a bitter melon.

"Ah, no... that was my only meal today."

The girl cried out and hurried over to the pile of food on the ground.

Though she knew that the food had inevitably been covered in dust.

She still held onto a sliver of hope, picked it up from the ground, and looked closely.

Then, the faint green in her eyes instantly dimmed. Her legs gave out, and she sat back down on the ground.

"Uh..."

Seeing this, Lin Feng scratched the back of his head, somewhat at a loss.

If it had been an adult, he would have known how to handle it much more easily, but he truly had no idea what to do with a crying child.

He looked at the somewhat worn clothing on the girl.

It was about the same as what he had worn before advancing to the Dou Zhe level, so her life was probably not easy either.

And now, she had scattered her only meal of the day onto the ground. Would she have to go hungry tonight?

Thinking this, Lin Feng walked over and crouched in front of the girl. He then took out a small bag of Gold Coins.

Taking her little hand, he placed the Gold Coins in her palm and smiled gently. "Take these and buy another meal."

Looking at the heavy cloth bag in her hand, the little girl's head buzzed.

The amount of Gold Coins in this bag was probably more than she could ever earn even if she sold herself.

But thinking of her food, she took one coin out of the bag. After hesitating for a moment.

She reluctantly extended the arm holding the bag toward him.

"Big brother, one Gold Coin is more than enough for my things..."

The girl wrinkled her little nose and spoke timidly.

Seeing what the girl did, Lin Feng was slightly surprised.

He had not expected her to act this way. If it were him, he probably would have run off with the Gold Coins long ago.

But then he thought that since this girl lived in Stone Desert City, she should be very familiar with the place.

If someone familiar with the city guided him while he searched for Qing Lin, things would probably go much more smoothly.

He patted the girl's hair and smiled. "Little sister, what's your name? How about this: help big brother with something, and this bag of Gold Coins will be your payment. All right?"

Hearing this, the girl looked Lin Feng up and down before saying, "My name is Qing Lin. If big brother wants to hire me, just let me eat my fill."

"Your name is Qing Lin?!"

Upon hearing the name Qing Lin, Lin Feng's eyes immediately lit up, and he stared fixedly at the girl.

"Yes, but, big brother, I... I didn't mean to."

Seeing Lin Feng's expression, Qing Lin's heart abruptly tightened. She thought Lin Feng had discovered that she possessed Snake People Tribe blood.

So frightened that she dropped the Gold Coins, she instinctively covered her little head with both hands, drew up her legs, and waited for the blows to come.

That movement immediately exposed the green snake scales on Qing Lin's arm.

Confirming for Lin Feng that the girl before him was indeed Qing Lin.

"Hehe, I just thought your name sounded beautiful."

The fists and kicks she had imagined did not arrive. Instead, a gentle male voice sounded by her ear.

Qing Lin slightly raised her head and looked at the smiling Lin Feng before her.

Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed that the scales on her arm were exposed. Her pretty face instantly turned pale again.

"S-Sorry... I-I didn't mean to scare you."

Qing Lin hurriedly withdrew her arm and buried her head between her knees.

Her body trembled slightly, and her timid voice carried a trace of pleading.

Looking at Qing Lin's frightened appearance, Lin Feng sighed softly in his heart.

He truly did not know how Qing Lin had endured the past dozen years.

Applying a little force, he pulled Qing Lin's arm out. Then, amid her terrified expression, he carefully lifted her sleeve with his other hand.

Looking at the green snake scales, he said gently, "They're beautiful scales."

Qing Lin froze at his words. Ever since she was born, Lin Feng was the first person to say that the scales which even she herself feared were beautiful...

Within her frail heart, already almost covered in wounds, a strange feeling quietly rippled forth.

Blinking those eyes that faintly gave off a peculiar, bewitching charm, she asked timidly, "Big brother, aren't you afraid?"

Lin Feng stared intently into Qing Lin's pair of clear green eyes.

After observing them carefully for a while, he indeed discovered three extremely tiny jade-green dots hidden deep within her pupils.

Staring fixedly at those somewhat eerie jade-green pupils, Lin Feng suddenly felt his mind become slightly dazed.

An instant later, Lin Feng's heart jolted. He quickly recovered, and a trace of amazement appeared on his face.

The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils truly deserved to be called the continent's greatest strange pupils. Even with his soul power, he had been slightly distracted.

Looking at Qing Lin's adorable, delicate face, he rubbed her little head again.

With a smile on his lips, he said, "They really are beautiful. If I were afraid, I wouldn't be here talking to you."

Lin Feng truly was not deceiving Qing Lin with those words.

After all, he had not experienced the war against the Snake People Tribe, so he did not harbor such great hostility toward them.

Besides, he himself did not feel much sense of belonging to the Jia Ma Empire.

And in his previous life, he had seen things like this in many entertainment works.

Therefore, he was more curious than anything else.

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