Xiao Yan stayed on A Lie's back for nearly half a day. It wasn't until dusk that the group of dozens of people finally arrived at a camp surrounded by earth and rocks.
There were many wagons and tents here, and the traces of some extinguished campfires on the ground told Xiao Yan that this group of people had been here for some time. Even the wagons carrying goods were covered with a layer of sand, which further confirmed Xiao Yan's guess.
Judging from the group's attire and their gait, Xiao Yan roughly guessed that they were a mercenary group, and it seemed they were escorting goods.
I overheard their conversation earlier; the reason this group wanted to kill the Desolate Wolf was to enter the nearest city, Wuyou City.
As the only large city in this Gobi Desert, everyone must pay a certain fee to enter Wuyou City. On the way, they had already consumed a lot of supplies to cross the desert. Now that they had arrived here, in order to facilitate entry into the city, they had no choice but to kill the Desolate Wolf and use the valuable items on the Desolate Wolf as the entry fee.
"Alright, brothers, we've been here for a while now. Since we've raised enough money to pay, let's get going without delay. It's getting dark, so be careful. Those beasts go really wild at night; don't get torn to pieces!"
The middle-aged man at the head of the group gave a warning to everyone, and they all nodded in agreement. The man then said no more and walked straight to A Lie. He could trust the others, but A Lie was the only one who always gave him endless worries.
"Uncle Feng Lun, don't worry, I will be careful."
Upon seeing the middle-aged man approaching, A Lie nodded heavily to Feng Lun and smiled.
"Hmph, I hope so. You're coming with me tonight, and you're not allowed to go anywhere else."
Feng Lun spoke with a hint of disappointment in his tone, but as soon as he finished speaking, he looked up at Xiao Yan and said in an impatient tone:
"You come along too."
As he said this, Feng Lun glanced at Xiao Yan again, a reason he himself didn't know.
Upon hearing Feng Lun's words, Xiao Yan, who was sitting cross-legged beside A Lie, slowly recovering his strength with the help of pills, was slightly taken aback. He looked up at the latter with a somewhat strange expression in his eyes.
An Eight-Star Half-Emperor, the strongest member of the entire team, wants me, a Five-Star Dou Di, to follow behind him?
Unfortunately, Feng Lun had already let the two pass and headed towards a tent, so he couldn't see the expression on Xiao Yan's face.
"Haha, don't mind him, young man. Although Uncle Feng Lun seems cold, he's actually the one who cares most about our lives. He doesn't want anything to happen to us and always tries his best to protect everyone in the team. Unfortunately... although I want to help him share this burden, I always disappoint Uncle Feng Lun and always cause him trouble..."
As he finished speaking, a sense of self-reproach crept into A Lie's words, and the smile that had just appeared on his face involuntarily vanished.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled and nodded, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to A Lie and said:
"I am very grateful to Brother A Lie for saving my life today; otherwise, I'm afraid I would have died under the claws of that Desolate Wolf."
"Haha, young brother, no need to be so polite. Desolate Wolf are our prey, and since we are both human, helping each other is only natural."
A Lie smiled, and his smile looked quite comfortable and radiant.
"Oh, right, I haven't asked the young man's name yet."
A Lie suddenly snapped out of his reverie, as if remembering something. When Xiao Yan heard the former's words, he was also slightly taken aback. After a moment's hesitation, he said:
"My name is Xiao Yan."
" Feng Lie, they all call me A Lie, you can call me that too."
Xiao Yan smiled and nodded, calling out "A Lie." The latter repeated his name, and the two smiled at each other. Then, just as Xiao Yan looked up, he saw a pretty girl in a white dress slowly walking out of a magnificent tent not far away.
Slightly taken aback, Xiao Yan didn't investigate too thoroughly. He hadn't expected there to be a woman here, and judging from her cultivation level, she was among the top three in this group— Seven-Star Half-Emperor.
When Xiao Yan's gaze moved upwards, sweeping over the latter's exquisite and shapely body, he saw a face as beautiful as a flower roll.
Her eyebrows were like willow leaves, her skin as white as snow; her eyes were almond-shaped, her nose delicate, and her mouth like sandalwood.
However, although she was born beautiful, the aloofness that emanated from her made her seem like a snow lotus on an iceberg, proud and independent, keeping everyone at arm's length.
"Uncle Feng, who is this person, and why is he in our group?"
Soon, the girl noticed the gaze Xiao Yan was giving her. That gaze was quite different from that of ordinary people; it wasn't one of awe, but rather one of pure appreciation.
"Uh, hehe, Miss Fang, please don't worry about it. We rescued this person on the way. Once we reach Wuyou City, we'll let him go."
When Feng Lun saw that the girl in front of him had turned her attention to Xiao Yan, a complete stranger, he was taken aback for a moment before respectfully telling the truth.
"Oh."
The woman nodded slightly, her expression seeming to say: No wonder you dare to look at me like that.
Soon, the entire team was ready to depart. The goods that had been left on the ground were loaded back onto the wagons, and everyone stood up. Dozens of people surrounded the wagons on both sides to protect them.
In some ways, the goods on the wagon were more important than their lives, which was the most cohesive aspect of the mercenary group.
The sky quickly darkened, and the pitch-black night seemed to draw a black curtain over the world. No one knew what story would unfold next, but everyone hoped that the night would be peaceful and windless, like a blank sheet of paper, better left untouched than stained with unnecessary colors.
" A Lie, who is that woman? She doesn't seem to be one of your people, does she?"
With the carriage in hand, Xiao Yan and A Lie sat lazily inside, while the others around them seemed indifferent. Out of boredom, Xiao Yan asked about the girl with some curiosity.
"Hehe, isn't she beautiful? Miss Fang is the daughter of a prominent family. Our main purpose in crossing the desert this time, besides transporting goods, is to protect Miss Fang's safety. Monsters roam the desert, and you should understand this all too well, now that you're like this."
A Lie grinned, and Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He immediately recalled the scene of seeing Xun'er in the broken jade slip in his mind, and his hands under his sleeves clenched tightly at that moment.
" Xun'er, wait for me!"