The Sensible Hai Bodong

Shimo City.

After arriving here, he made no effort to conceal his aura, lest some ignorant minor villains come out to provoke him and waste his time.

The Dou Zong-level aura of Dou Qi spread without reservation. Pedestrians and vendors along the street all turned pale upon sensing it, hurriedly retreating to the roadside and keeping their distance.

Ling Yuan remained calm and indifferent to the reactions around him as he wandered through the city.

After strolling around for roughly half an hour, he finally stopped before a shop called Gu Tu.

Standing at the entrance, Ling Yuan gave a slight sweep with his senses and clearly detected a hidden Dou Ling-level aura within the shop.

The source of that aura was the old man in the center of the shop, currently seated and drawing maps.

Ice Emperor Hai Bodong?

The moment Ling Yuan's Dou Zong aura entered the shop, it instantly enveloped the entire building.

Hai Bodong, who had been lowering his head and concentrating on drawing a map, suddenly stiffened. The brush in his hand fell onto the paper with a clatter, ink spreading out and staining the map he had just finished.

Startled by that powerful aura, Hai Bodong abruptly looked up at Ling Yuan in the doorway, his eyes filled with shock.

Hai Bodong had originally been a Dou Emperor, but after being sealed by Medusa, he could now only display the strength of a Dou Ling.

Although his strength had greatly diminished, his former knowledge and experience remained. He could clearly distinguish the relative power of different auras.

Ling Yuan's aura was heavy and violent, far more terrifying than that of Medusa, the Nine-Star Dou Emperor who had sealed him back then.

A single term instantly surfaced in his mind—Dou Zong!

A Dou Zong powerhouse had actually come to his inconspicuous little map shop?

To be honest, Hai Bodong was somewhat panicked.

Even before his strength had been sealed, he had not been a match for a Dou Zong powerhouse. Now, he was merely a Dou Ling whose strength had plummeted. The other party could easily crush him to death with a single finger.

Facing a powerhouse like Ling Yuan, Hai Bodong did not dare remain seated and continue drawing maps as though he had seen nothing.

He hurriedly rose to his feet and quickly went forward, forcing a respectful smile onto his face as he spoke humbly:

"Have you come to buy maps, sir? This humble shop has detailed maps of the areas around Shimo City, as well as the Tagor Desert. We have everything you might need."

Hai Bodong's only thought was to serve him quickly and send him away as soon as possible.

Ling Yuan stopped and carefully examined Hai Bodong.

The old man wore a long ice-blue robe and looked somewhat disheveled, no different from an ordinary elderly craftsman.

So this was the legendary 'angel investor,' Hai Bodong?

He did not seem particularly remarkable, no different from any ordinary old man.

In his previous life, Ling Yuan had heard countless netizens joke about Hai Bodong's famous line: "If a cigarette wasn't lit with Heavenly Flames, I won't smoke it."

Now that he had met the real man, the contrast was rather striking.

At the end of the day, he was only a somewhat scruffy-looking old man. After a few glances, Ling Yuan quickly lost interest.

He did not answer Hai Bodong's question. Instead, he walked around the shop, his gaze falling upon the maps displayed on the shelves as he carefully leafed through them.

Though he had been ignored, Hai Bodong showed no anger whatsoever. Instead, he found it perfectly natural.

Powerhouses all had their tempers. Besides, a young Dou Zong powerhouse like Ling Yuan would naturally be proud and arrogant.

So he simply followed Ling Yuan, waiting for this Dou Zong to give an order.

Just then, Hai Bodong's nose twitched slightly. He vaguely sensed a familiar aura mixed in with Ling Yuan's own—it was Medusa's aura!

Having been sealed by Medusa for so many years, he remembered her aura down to his bones. There was no way he could be mistaken.

Countless questions immediately arose in his mind as he secretly pondered: Could this Dou Zong powerhouse have fought Medusa?

With Medusa's strength as a Nine-Star Dou Emperor, she definitely could not have been a Dou Zong's match. Was Medusa still alive now?

If Medusa had died, would the seal on his body be lifted soon?

What Hai Bodong did not know was that Ling Yuan had indeed fought a great battle with Medusa last night, which was why Medusa's aura lingered on him. However, that battle might not have been what Hai Bodong imagined.

At this moment, Ling Yuan had already reached a dilapidated wooden rack in the corner of the shop.

His gaze fell upon several yellowed old maps on the rack, and he stopped.

Ling Yuan reached out and casually flipped through those worn maps, his fingertips brushing over the yellowed pages. His movements were relaxed, as though he were merely browsing without any particular purpose.

When he reached the third map, a palm-sized fragment slipped from between its layers and fell to the ground with a clatter.

Ling Yuan's eyes lit up. He had found it!

He examined the map fragment. It was much smaller than the one he had found in the cave within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, but the patterns on it could vaguely be matched.

"You should still have the other half of the map, right?" Ling Yuan stared intently at Hai Bodong.

Hai Bodong felt as though some terrifying beast had fixed its gaze upon him.

He truly could not understand why this young man before him gave him such overwhelming pressure.

Hai Bodong did not dare lie. Trembling, he took out the other half he had hidden away and offered it up with both hands.

"Sir, the remaining half is here. If you want it, just take it."

He did not know what use the map had. Naturally, it was not worth losing his life over a mere map.

Ling Yuan reached out and accepted it, piecing the two map fragments together. After carefully examining them and confirming that the patterns matched perfectly, he found no problems.

Hai Bodong was quite sensible. In that case, there was no need to make things difficult for him.

To conceal his true purpose, Ling Yuan then pretended to browse casually around the shelves. He picked up two maps marked with the terrain of the Tagor Desert and said to Hai Bodong, "Add these two as well."

After casually tossing down a few gold coins, Ling Yuan left.

Having Ling Yun, a Ban Sheng powerhouse, by his side to protect him was certainly safe, but the only drawback was that he had to deliberately conceal many things and could not be too straightforward.

For example, although he had long known that the map fragment was with Hai Bodong, he could not simply head straight to the shop, take it, and leave.

He had to pretend to be wandering around, then "happen" to discover the map fragment before naturally taking it away. Only then would it seem believable.

And when it came to abducting Qing Lin next, Ling Yuan would need to use the same kind of disguise.

Ling Yuan appeared to wander aimlessly through the streets and alleys of Shimo City, but his gaze continuously swept the surroundings as he secretly searched for Qing Lin.

He remembered that Qing Lin should currently be with the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, so he deliberately headed in that direction.

As soon as he neared the territory of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, Ling Yuan's gaze stopped, accurately locking onto a little girl beneath a wall not far away.

She was a young girl dressed in worn light-green clothes that had been washed nearly white. She looked to be around fourteen, petite and frail, with slightly hunched shoulders and an air of timidity about her.

Despite her slender frame, certain parts of her body had developed surprisingly well, seeming somewhat out of place with her youthful age.

At that moment, she was surrounded by several children her age, all of them blocking her way and refusing to let her leave.

"You're a snake person! A snake-person monster!"