Stone Desert City

"So it's Master Lin Qing! I'm willing to work for Master Lin!"

The moment Lin Qing revealed his identity and terms, Hai Bodong changed his attitude as quickly as a Sichuan opera master changing masks.

"Fine, then hand over the materials! No need to give me the Medicinal Pill Formula—consider it your apology!"

Lin Qing extended his left hand toward Hai Bodong, his expression utterly sincere.

"Master, this, this..."

Hai Bodong's withered hand scratched at his beard, his face turning somewhat awkward.

"Forget it, I was just teasing you! Wait here. You're still missing one Medicinal Herb, the Sand Mandrake. We'll find it for you, then refine the Medicinal Pill for you. But that will require additional payment."

Lin Qing smiled.

Hai Bodong gave an embarrassed smile. After hesitating for a moment, he said,

"I wonder if information about a Heavenly Flame could serve as payment?"

A Heavenly Flame? Lin Qing knew that he meant the Green Lotus Core Flame. Once the time came, all he needed to do was get some people to dig around near Stone Desert City, and they would find it.

"Not interested! Forget it, you don't need to pay anything. Once you return to the Mite'er Family, help me look after the family I ask you to protect!"

"Cough, cough! All right!" Hai Bodong choked on Lin Qing's answer. But when he thought about how Lin Qing already possessed a Heavenly Flame, he said nothing more.

"Actually, I know the approximate location of the Heavenly Flame you mentioned."

After saying that, Lin Qing casually grabbed a map of the Tagor Desert from the table and left the map shop with Lin Qi and the others.

Li Qingchan turned to Lin Qing and asked, "Where are we going this time?"

Upon hearing that, Ling Qingzhu also cast him a puzzled look.

"First, we'll find someone. We'll also look for the Heavenly Flame while we're at it, then remove Hai Bodong's seal." Lin Qing spoke. With the Tattered Map in hand, the only things of importance to him in the desert were Qing Lin and the Green Lotus Core Flame.

As for Hai Bodong, he could only wait. Although Hai Bodong had not offended him—it was Lin Qing who had taken his Storage Ring and Tattered Map—Hai Bodong was not irreplaceable to him.

"Big Brother, are you looking for another sister for Xiao Qi again?"

Lin Qi spoke softly. Last time, he had said they were looking for someone, and she had ended up with another sister. She did not want more sisters in the household. She did not want the brother who had once belonged only to her to be coveted by more and more women.

Lin Qing shook his head. "No. It's a little girl with a tragic background."

She was a silly little girl who would sincerely treat you well as long as you sincerely treated her well.

Qing Lin had suffered far more than he had in his previous life. Although he had been an orphan then as well, he had at least had money left behind by his parents, books to read, decent people around him, and some subsidies. He had grown into adulthood normally.

But Qing Lin's mother had been abducted by the snake people before giving birth to Qing Lin. From the moment Qing Lin was born, everyone around her had hated her. He did not know how she had survived. She had probably suffered even more than Little Dragon Maiden and Xiao Yi Xian.

"Is she like Sister Xiao Yi Xian?"

Lin Qi asked curiously.

Lin Qing nodded. "Something like that."

[Ding! A new system mission has been issued. It has been detected that the host is about to head to Stone Desert City in search of Qing Lin and a Heavenly Flame. The following choices have been triggered:]

[Choice 1: Go find Qing Lin first and take her as a younger sister, disciple, or maid—choose one. Reward: ten jin of Earth-Center Body-Tempering Fluid.]

[Choice 2: Go find the Heavenly Flame first. Reward: one Tier 7 Medicinal Herb, Snake-Shedding Fruit. (A snake clan Spirit Fruit used by Tier 6 snakes to transform into Tier 7.)]

[Choice 3: Go find Medusa first, cooperate with her, and excavate the Green Lotus Core Flame. Reward: one map of the Wind Fury Dragon Flame.]

[Choice 4: Immediately go find Qing Lin and remove her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. Reward: one pair of Imperial Eyes. (The left eye governs life, the right eye governs death. They can see through falsehood and come with the divine abilities: Everlasting Vitality and Sin of All Beings.)]

Choices 2 and 3 can be ruled out first. The Imperial Eyes are tempting, but she isn't my enemy. I can't do something like that. I choose 1.

No one felt there was anything inappropriate about Lin Qing's arrangements. Following the map's directions, they headed straight for Stone Desert City.

At the speed of Lin Qing's group, they reached Stone Desert City in less than half a day. However, it was already afternoon.

Compared to the cities within the Empire, a city in the desert possessed a little more simplicity and weight. Perhaps because it was even closer to the Tagor Desert than Desert City, its defenses were also much stricter. Fully armed soldiers could be seen patrolling throughout the city.

However, compared to Desert City, Stone Desert City was still somewhat smaller, and no Dou Wang expert was stationed within it.

Lin Qing considered that a good thing. A smaller city would make the search easier.

Otherwise, relying on only a few pieces of information to find a little girl amid a sea of people would be extremely difficult.

They still descended from the sky outside the city gates. Amid the astonished cries of the surrounding people, Lin Qing used his status as a Dou Ling and Fifth-Grade Alchemist to successfully summon a soldier.

Having just arrived, if he wanted to find someone quickly, he naturally had to seek out the local power brokers. Such people were either from large Mercenary Corps or the City Lord's Manor. The soldiers guarding the city should know something too, right? After all, they held positions of some standing.

"My lord, may I ask what you require of me?"

The soldier respectfully bowed.

"Do you know a little girl named Qing Lin? She should be around seven or eight years old, the descendant of a snake person and a human. Can you take me to find her?"

Lin Qing slightly nodded and directly stated his purpose.

"I do. Seven or eight years ago, a group from Stone Desert City was attacked by snake people and suffered heavy losses. Some people were taken away, and her mother was among them. Later, her mother was rescued and gave birth to her. She is the descendant of a human and a snake person. Everyone originally thought she would not live long, but she has remained fine all this time. Her mother died last year, and she only avoided becoming homeless because of the house her mother left behind. Because of her background, young age, and lack of strength, she has survived until now by doing filthy jobs like cleaning latrines, running errands, serving tea and water, washing clothes, and mending garments. Anyone who has lived in Stone Desert City for a while knows this. May I ask why my lord is looking for her?"

The soldier's outward manner was impeccable, but Lin Qing keenly caught the fleeting disgust in his eyes.

Lin Qing had known some of Qing Lin's circumstances from the original work. He had thought she was merely a little unfortunate, but he had not expected her life to be so difficult. Fortunately, the people of Stone Desert City had not been rotten to the core, or she would not have had the luck to survive.

"Qing Lin..."

Lin Qi felt sympathy for Qing Lin's plight despite never having met her. Her fair, pretty face was filled with disbelief as she unconsciously murmured the name.

Li Qingchan and Ling Qingzhu also looked somewhat incredulous. Both were proud daughters of heaven who had not yet experienced much of the world. How could they have encountered things like this?

Meanwhile, the Lion King, who had seen life and death countless times, and Little Lion, who understood nothing of worldly affairs, did not feel as much.

Lin Qing said, "I'm her distant relative. I came to take her home."