An Encounter with Qinglin

It was already late at night when he entered Rock Desert City, but with his current strength, no one could detect him.

Only after returning to the inn did Lei Luo take out Gu He's Storage Ring.

It was a crimson Storage Ring. With a light tap of his finger, he spent quite some effort erasing the spiritual imprint within it.

At this moment, the effects of the Realm Experience Card were also fading, and his realm gradually fell back to its original level.

Lei Luo had originally intended to abduct Gu He and have him refine Calamity-Breaking Pills for him.

But upon further thought, refining a sixth-tier medicinal pill could not be completed in a single day, and he did not possess many of the required ingredients.

Once Gu He realized that he had lost the strength of a Dou Emperor, things would get out of hand.

After all, with his current strength, dealing with Battle Spirits was manageable, but challenging a Battle King across realms carried quite a bit of risk.

After weighing his options, Lei Luo chose to let him go.

As for destroying the evidence, that was not so easy.

Setting aside whether he could kill Gu He instantly, even if he could, Gu He surely possessed some life-saving trump cards.

If he dragged things out until Yun Yun and the others arrived, things would become awkward.

Yun Yun's aura had been about to arrive at the time, and running into her would have been even more troublesome.

So, settling for the next best option, Lei Luo had directly chosen to play the role of a bandit.

As he examined the treasures within the Storage Ring, Lei Luo's expression also took on a trace of worry.

Having lost his greatest trump card, this desert journey would undoubtedly be filled with far more uncertainties.

And for the time being, he could not rely on Hai Bo Dong.

After all, throughout the entire Jia Ma Empire, perhaps only Old Yao met the requirements to refine a Calamity-Breaking Pill.

But asking them for help was truly...

As he pondered this, Lei Luo's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Perhaps this really can work!"

Although Lei Luo knew that the black-robed man from that day was Xiao Yan, that master and disciple did not know that he knew.

He could simply wait until Xiao Yan arrived at the Snake-People Desert, then ask "Xiao Yan" to help refine it.

As long as the price he offered was heavy enough, Yao Chen would naturally lend a hand.

And what was most tempting to that master-disciple pair?

Naturally, it was nothing more than Heavenly Flames and rare treasures capable of restoring souls.

As it happened, there were quite a few such medicinal herbs in Gu He's Storage Ring.

Moreover, he could take advantage of the information gap and sell Xiao Yan information about Heavenly Flames. That would make his bargaining chip sufficient.

To prevent Hai Bo Dong from encountering Xiao Yan, Lei Luo had persuaded him to close his map shop and find a quiet place in Desert City to enter seclusion.

This also made Lei Luo's next plan feasible.

However, according to his rough calculations, he would have to wait at least another month before Xiao Yan reached the desert.

A month was neither particularly long nor particularly short, but it could be put to good use.

After putting away the several soul-nourishing medicinal herbs from Gu He's Storage Ring, Lei Luo dumped everything else inside into his own Storage Ring.

There were many items, and quite a few valuable ones, but none of them were particularly useful to Lei Luo at the moment.

Once he finished sorting them out, Lei Luo lay down to rest and prepared for what came next.

The next day.

As soon as dawn broke, Lei Luo got up early and washed up.

After the inn waiter delivered his food, Lei Luo finished breakfast and stepped onto the street.

After casually grabbing a passerby and asking for the location of the Desert Iron Mercenary Corps, he strolled along as he headed toward the Desert Iron compound.

Rock Desert City was ultimately smaller than Desert City, and it was not as prosperous either.

However, because it was closer to the desert, there were quite a few mercenaries here.

It was already a little past eight when Lei Luo went out, and cries of vendors hawking their wares had already risen throughout the streets.

Just as he was about to reach the Desert Iron Mercenary Corps' compound, he heard an exceptionally noisy commotion.

"Tsk, tsk, this little bastard still isn't dead? How does she have the nerve to remain in Rock Desert City..."

"Exactly. If I were her, I'd have found somewhere to die long ago. Why stay here and make a spectacle of myself?"

"Hehe, it'd be a pity if she died. This little girl has a pretty nice figure. I just wonder whether she has that snake-person fire in her..."

These filthy words were extremely grating, yet not a single person spoke up to stop them. Everyone watched coldly, as though they were filled with hostility toward the petite figure in the center.

Amid the noisy voices was a clear, tearful sob that made one unable to resist the urge to protect her.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I scared you..."

"Please let me go. I really didn't do it on purpose."

Hearing the girl's pleas seemed to make these people even more excited.

The burly man before her smiled cruelly and actually raised his hand to slap her.

Although the slap did not contain Dou Qi, if it landed solidly on the girl, she would surely be in pain for days.

Seeing this, Lei Luo moved his feet, and his body flashed in front of the girl like a ghost.

Only when the burly man found that his arm could not swing down no matter what did he notice Lei Luo gripping his wrist tightly.

Seeing how young he was, the burly man glared. "Kid, if you don't want to die, get lost. If you want to play the hero saving a beauty, at least weigh whether you've got what it takes!"

The man tried to pull back his hand, but his expression changed in the next instant.

Because he discovered that he could not break free at all.

At this point, the mercenaries around them, delighted by the spectacle, began to jeer.

"Xiong Qi, what are you standing around for? Teach this kid a proper lesson! Don't tell me you gave all your strength to your woman in bed yesterday and turned into a weak-legged shrimp?"

Hearing his companions' teasing, the man called Xiong Qi flushed with embarrassment.

"Brat, I told you to let go!"

As he roared, his other arm was already swinging toward Lei Luo.

And this time, it was still coming as a slap.

Lei Luo's gaze turned cold. The five fingers gripping Xiong Qi's wrist suddenly clenched, followed by a series of piercing cracking sounds.

With a crack, a shrill scream echoed through the street, making everyone retreat again and again.

"You seem to enjoy slapping people?"

Lei Luo's icy voice rang out, and Xiong Qi's expression changed once more.

"N-No, sir, I..."

Before he could finish, Lei Luo slapped him across the face.

He likewise did not use Dou Qi, but even without it, a Great Battle Master striking a Dou Practitioner was clearly more than he could endure.

With a bang, a spray of blood shot from the man's mouth, seemingly mixed with two or three broken teeth.

Xiong Qi's cheek swelled high as stars danced before his eyes, and only incoherent whimpers remained in his mouth.

Just as Lei Luo was about to even things out on the other side, he felt someone gently tugging at his sleeve.

"Young master, please don't hit him anymore. Thank you for helping me, but it's all Qinglin's fault. If anyone is to blame, blame me."

Hearing the tearful voice, Lei Luo released the man and tossed him onto the ground.

Perhaps in his previous life, some people would have called this girl a scheming little green tea, but only those who understood knew that this was the girl's kindness.

Or rather, her instinct to survive.

Only by constantly admitting fault could she get a bite to eat, avoid being beaten too severely, and barely survive in this "human" city...

Her circumstances were no better than those of the Snake-People Tribe. One could even say they were far more miserable.