An Old Friend in Desert City

Aboard the flying magical beast,

"Xiao Yan'er, help me watch the door. Don't let anyone come in."

Xiao Fan took out the third-tier ice-element Magic Core given by the Alchemist Guild, along with Blood Lotus Essence and Ice Spirit Flame Grass, preparing to refine the fifth-tier Blood Lotus Pill.

"With my current Dou Qi, refining a fifth-tier pill is still somewhat difficult."

Xiao Fan was only a Dou Master at present. Even though his Dou Qi reserves exceeded those of ordinary people, refining a fifth-tier pill inevitably required the support of pills such as Qi Recovery Pills.

With Zi Yan standing guard, Xiao Fan did not need to worry about anyone taking advantage of his depleted Dou Qi to launch a sneak attack. However, his concerns were clearly unnecessary. His earlier use of that flying Dou Technique had already intimidated quite a few people.

"Mm!"

After getting off the flying magical beast, Zi Yan stretched with her hands braced overhead. Though they had been in a private cabin, the constant jolting in the air had still made sleeping somewhat uncomfortable for her.

"Come on. I'll take you to meet an old friend."

Xiao Fan naturally picked Zi Yan up. Once the little girl found a comfortable position, he supported her little bottom with both hands, letting her softly snore on his back.

As he entered the Ancient Map Shop, he saw a familiar figure wearing a gold-rimmed monocle, painstakingly drawing a map stroke by stroke.

Seeing customers arrive, the old man did not even raise his head, remaining focused on his work.

Xiao Fan casually browsed through the Ancient Map Shop. Of course, he was not simply killing time—he was searching for the other fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map. Yet after searching for a long while, he still could not find the other half of the ancient map.

"Could it be that Old Hai hasn't found it yet?" Xiao Fan unconsciously used his soul power to sense Hai Bodong's current strength.

"A Dou Emperor?"

Only then did Xiao Fan realize that Hai Bodong's strength seemed not to have regressed at all.

Hai Bodong had clearly noticed Xiao Fan's probing as well. He raised his face, stern and weathered by time.

Yet that imposing air quickly vanished. With tears welling in his eyes, he said, "Wuwu, little fellow, you've finally come."

Ignoring his image, Hai Bodong hurried to Xiao Fan's side, looking as though they had been reunited after a long separation.

This left Xiao Fan deeply puzzled. He clearly had never met Hai Bodong in this life.

Naturally, Hai Bodong had never met Xiao Fan, nor did he know him at all. But Medusa had put far too much pressure on him.

She had made him wait in Desert City for the appearance of a young man. Though her description had been extremely vague, the instant he saw Xiao Fan, he became certain that Xiao Fan had to be the person Medusa was looking for.

"Wuwu, little fellow, do you know that I've been a mercenary for many years and survived countless life-and-death crises, yet none of them ever put as much pressure on me as that madwoman Medusa?"

"Wuwu, I've waited so painfully for you. If you hadn't come soon, that woman Medusa... gulp."

Hai Bodong suddenly swallowed unconsciously. He had sensed a burst of killing intent. If he continued speaking ill of Medusa, he feared his life would not be safe.

Xiao Fan froze. Where had that Old Hai, once so obsessed with peak matches, gone? Why was he being so humble? Like... like a dog.

Naturally, Xiao Fan could not possibly say that aloud. He merely asked in confusion,

"You know me?"

"No."

"..." After a long silence, Xiao Fan continued, "Then why are you so excited to see me...?"

"Wuwu, how could I not be excited?!"

"You have no idea what I've been through. I'm like a dog!"

"A dog led around by Medusa!"

"That ruthless, vicious..."

"Argh!" Hai Bodong suddenly let out a miserable howl. Curling up, he dropped to his knees, looking utterly pitiful.

"I, Hai Bodong, belong to no one in my life! Don't even think..."

"Argh, argh, argh!" Hai Bodong had completely lost the dignity of a Dou Emperor, rolling around on the ground.

Xiao Fan set Zi Yan down from his back and hurriedly checked on Hai Bodong. "Old Hai, what's wrong with you?!"

Xiao Fan's pupils abruptly contracted. He saw the mark on Hai Bodong's shoulder and could not help crying out, "The Snake Curse Seal!"

That curse seal also reminded Xiao Fan of some rather unpleasant memories. For a moment, he felt a faint ache in his own shoulder as well.

But it was precisely because he was familiar with the mark that Xiao Fan injected fire-element Dou Qi mixed with a trace of Heavenly Flame energy into it. Soon, with Xiao Fan's help, Hai Bodong's condition eased, though his face remained severely twisted.

"Medusa! You vicious woman!"

Hai Bodong seemed not to have fully recovered yet. He continued cursing Medusa, but after cursing her, he instinctively reached up to touch his shoulder again.

"Old Hai, don't keep cursing her. This mark can sense both your location and your emotions. No matter where you hide, Medusa can activate this mark through a secret technique."

"Wuwu, little fellow, do you know what I've gone through these past few years?"

After Xiao Fan saved him, Hai Bodong finally opened up. Perhaps it was the bond between them from their previous lives, or perhaps it was because both had experienced having a Snake Seal planted by Medusa. At that moment, they felt like kindred spirits.

Hai Bodong began repeating his glorious past achievements. "Back then, as the Ice Emperor, I was admired by tens of thousands. But who could have thought that after I lost to that vicious... woman Medusa, she planted this humiliating mark on me?"

"I'm like a dog!"

"A dog driven by Medusa!"

"Over the past year, she simply hasn't treated me like a person. I'd barely finished one task before she issued the next!"

"I am a Dou Emperor, one of the ten strongest experts in the Jia Ma Empire. I've fought countless peak matches, walked the edge of blades and swords..."

"Wuwuwu, I've never suffered such humiliation in my life!"

"Little fellow, you're the person Medusa wants to find. She must care greatly about you. Could you help persuade Medusa to remove this Snake Seal for me? I am willing never to set foot in the Tagor Desert again, and I am even willing to guard you for three years!"

The more Xiao Fan listened, the more confused he became. "What do you mean, Medusa is looking for me?"

In this life, I haven't even met Medusa. How could she know me? Xiao Fan muttered inwardly.

"Old Hai, I do have a way to deal with your Snake Seal, but you have to tell me why Medusa is looking for me."

"What?! You have a way?"

"Of course I do."

It was just that even though Xiao Fan in his previous life had known how to remove the Snake Seal, he had never taken the initiative to remove it. After all, that mark held not only painful memories, but also...

"Little fellow, the promise I made to you earlier still stands. As long as you're willing to remove the Snake Seal for me!"

Hai Bodong looked excited. Though Medusa had controlled him for only a few short years, her inexplicable commands had made him sleep later than a dog and wake earlier than a rooster. If not for the task of waiting for Xiao Fan these past few days, which had given him a little breathing room, he truly felt he would have been worked to death.

"Old Hai, I naturally trust you." Xiao Fan had always had a good impression of Hai Bodong. Aside from his love of peak matches, he was someone who kept his promises.

"Good! Little fellow, what's your name?"

"Xiao Fan."

"..."