Chapter 7: Xiao Lanzi (Part 1)

Guo Shier turned his head secretly and saw that the girl was following him, so he couldn’t help but smile slightly. He realized now that with just himself and Eagle Demon, even with Xuan Ai added, their strength was still too weak. They needed to find ways to gather more people—more people meant greater strength, so they could take the initiative whether facing strangers or mutated magical beasts.
That’s why, upon seeing this girl, Guo Shier intended to win her over. He knew that those who could appear here were all master-level professionals. Despite her disheveled appearance, her strength was likely not poor.
When they arrived at the tent, Guo Shier saw Xuan Ai standing in front of a large copper pot, fumbling with the meat pieces inside. He wasn’t only eating but also storing the cooked meat. Guo Shier couldn’t help but say, “Xuan Ai, that’s enough. We haven’t eaten yet.”
Xuan Ai’s hand trembled, causing the meat piece he was holding to fall back into the pot, splashing juice that burned him, making him scream in pain. Eagle Demon laughed and said, “I’ve never seen a master like you before. How embarrassing.”
Although Xuan Ai had a thick skin, he turned red from Eagle Demon’s words. Embarrassed, he said, “I’m so hungry… Hm, who’s that? Oh, it’s a woman!” His eyes lit up as he asked, “Who is she? Why is she following you? She seems pretty disheveled.”
Eagle Demon laughed and said, “I also looked pretty disheveled the first time I met you… Now that I’m full, I have the energy to mock others!”
Guo Shier suddenly realized that Uncle Eagle Demon was also quite sharp-tongued. He said to the girl, “Come here, eat something first… No matter what’s going on, let’s talk after we’ve eaten.” He took out a copper basin, picked out a large piece of meat, added seasonings, and handed it to the girl, saying, “Don’t worry. We’re here for the trials too.”
The girl, just like Xuan Ai, was so hungry that her eyes turned green. Unable to resist such temptation, she rushed forward like lightning, snatched the copper basin from Guo Shier, stepped back quickly, used her magic knife to defend herself, and grabbed the hot cooked meat to eat eagerly.
Guo Shier was stunned. He kindly said, “There’s more here. Eat slowly…”
Xuan Ai found it funny and said, “Eat slowly? Brother, when you’re this hungry, you tell her to eat slowly, but she wants to swallow it all at once… Don’t you know how awful it is to be hungry?”

Guo Shier smiled slightly. How could he not know the discomfort of hunger? In his past life, he had gone hungry intermittently for a year and nearly died from it. The memory was so vivid that even in this life, he could feel it in his soul, which was why he liked to prepare plenty of food. Too lazy to argue with Xuan Ai, he said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, let’s eat too.”

Over sixty pounds of meat was devoured by the four of them, with neither Guo Shier nor Eagle Demon eating much. Xuan Ai could hardly eat any more and sat on the ground, holding his stomach, his expression strange. Guo Shier couldn’t help but say, “You’re constipated! You look so miserable!”

It took Xuan Ai a while to respond, “Damn it… I… I just realized how awful hunger is, and it’s even worse to overeat… Ugh, it hurts so much…”

Guo Shier said, “I told you to eat less, but you wouldn’t listen! Luckily, you have a master-level physique and are strong both inside and out. Otherwise, I really doubt… you’d die from overeating!” After saying that, he turned around and saw the girl crouched there as well, a talisman sword planted in the ground. She was holding the hilt of the sword, her expression no less strained than Xuan Ai’s.

Eagle Demon sighed and said, “Shier, they’re still kids with no experience outside. They’re not as good as you… I don’t know what their sect is thinking, sending them to such a dangerous place. It’s just harming them.”

Guo Shier said, “I’m also a kid…” Before he could finish, he felt his face turn red. He turned to the girl and said, “My name is Guo Shier, a senior grand talisman caster. That’s Uncle Eagle Demon, a senior grand talisman martial artist. And… the one who looks about your age is Xuan Ai, an intermediate grand talisman caster. What’s your name?”

The girl struggled to stand up and said, “Lan Hu. My master calls me Xiao Lanzi. I’m a junior grand talisman martial artist… I’m unlucky. As soon as I arrived, I was robbed by several people… Thank you, little brother… I’ll leave now.”

Guo Shier’s face darkened. He said, “Don’t call me little brother. You’re only a few years older than me. Just call me Shier… Xiao Lanzi, you don’t need to leave. The four of us together are stronger than alone… Xuan Ai, are you staying or leaving?”

Xuan Ai nodded and said, “Am I stupid? Of course I’m staying! If I stay alone in this bloody trial ground, I’ll either be eaten by mutated talisman beasts or starve to death… I’m staying!” He saw that Guo Shier was powerful and kind, so following them was much better than wandering around alone.

Lanhu hesitated for a moment. She glanced at Guo Shier and finally gritted her teeth, saying, “I’ll stay!” She couldn’t continue the trial alone; only by joining this team did she have a chance of survival. Most importantly, Guo Shier was a child, and it was clear he was the leader. She preferred him to take command rather than the Eagle Demon or Xuan Ai.

Guo Shier smiled happily and said, “Great, Little Lan, welcome to the team!”

Xuan Ai’s mouth dropped open. After a long while, he exclaimed in admiration, “Shier, you’re ruthless… Little Lan, hehe, I like her! Little Lan, sister, call me ‘brother’!”

Lanhu rushed over and kicked him. Xuan Ai screamed in terror, barely managing to dodge sideways while lifting his thigh to protect his vital organs.

Bang!

Xuan Ai flew into the air, tracing a graceful arc before crashing to the ground. He pounded the ground angrily and said, “You… you really hit me…”

Lanhu replied coldly, “Call me ‘sister’ from now on! Otherwise… I’ll hit you every time I see you!”

Guo Shier was sweating profusely. He never expected that a seemingly gentle girl could be so violent.

Noticing Guo Shier’s fear, Lanhu smiled and said, “Shier, you can call me Little Lan. Since you refuse to call me ‘sister,’ don’t call me ‘sister’ either! I’d rather you call me Little Lan!”

Guo Shier instinctively called out, “Little Lan!”

“Ugh—”

Xuan Ai shuddered, thinking, “Why is it so cold… The weather here is usually just right.” He said, “Sister… This is too unfair!” The force of that kick made him change his tone involuntarily, to Guo Shier’s surprise.

The Eagle Demon laughed heartily. He found these three kids quite amusing. Anyway, with all four of them together, survival shouldn’t be a problem—as long as they didn’t encounter too powerful teams or mutated rune beasts of level seven, eight, or nine, they could live well.

Guo Shier summoned the Dark-Winged Scorpion, which was still in defensive mode, and said, “From today on, we’re a team. Four people have a much better chance of survival than one. We need to find suitable mutated rune beasts to hunt… Hehe, we must solve the food problem as soon as possible. I’d rather be killed by a mutated rune beast than starve to death… Is everyone ready?”

It can’t be said that Guo Shieru is wrong, but such serious words coming from a child surprised Xuan Ai and Lan Hu. Both felt the urge to laugh, thinking the child was pretending to be an adult. Only Ying Mo listened carefully; he was well aware of Guo Shieru’s abilities, which were definitely stronger than most adults.

Xuan Ai and Lan Hu nodded in agreement. Though they found it amusing, they admitted Guo Shieru was right.

All four climbed onto the back of the Dark-Wing Scorpion. Guo Shieru drove the scorpion forward and asked, “Are you familiar with this area?”

Xuan Ai replied, “It depends on the place. I only explore this area; I haven’t dared to go elsewhere.”

Lan Hu said, “I know a place where many junior masters operate, along with many Level 5 mutated talisman beasts… There are few advanced mutated talisman beasts. Let’s go that way!” She pointed to the side, and Guo Shieru immediately changed direction.

“Xiao Lanzi, are there many people there? Is it as bloody as here?”

Lan Hu replied, “No. The fog there is gray, not blood-red… I know that blood-red fog is where intermediate masters often go. The most dangerous is the thick black fog, which is where advanced masters go.”

Xuan Ai asked, “Was that where you got robbed?” His tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.

Lan Hu said coldly, “What did you call me? Call me ‘sister’! Otherwise, I’ll kick you off!”

Xuan Ai retracted his head and complained, “Ah, sister… You have a violent tendency…” Then he muttered under his breath, “Strange, why should I be afraid of her… I can’t even beat her…”

Guo Shieru glanced at Xuan Ai in surprise, not expecting this guy to be someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong, scared off by just one kick from Lan Hu. He said, “Let’s first go to the place Xiao Lanzi mentioned, then decide on our next move.”

Xuan Ai said, “Advanced masters go to the Gray Fog Area mostly to look for food. The Gray Fog Area isn’t very helpful for cultivation. If they want to advance, they must stay in the Black Fog Area.”

Guo Shieru wondered, “Why is that?” Since entering, he hadn’t had time to cultivate and didn’t know the difference.

Xuan Ai replied, “Before entering, the sect gave us some guidance… Actually, I don’t know either. I’ve been busy looking for food ever since I got here…”

Guo Shieru asked, “Since you know the food here is scarce, why didn’t you bring more?”

Xuan Ai sighed and said, “The elders say that here… one has to push themselves to the brink to advance quickly. If you bring too much food, you’ll develop fear, which is why we’re not allowed to take much.”
Guo Shier nodded and asked, “Xiao Lanzi, did you also bring very little food?”
Lan Hu smiled bitterly. “I brought quite a bit, but it was stolen by some Kill Embryos as soon as I arrived! I couldn’t defeat them, so I had to leave behind my storage pouches.” As a junior Great Talisman Martial Artist without her own talisman book, she didn’t have any spirit-storing talismans either. Once her storage pouches were taken, she had no reserves left.
Guo Shier said, “Xiao Lanzi, take these storage pouches. There are some talismans and food inside.” He had brought many storage pouches because, with the space for spirit-storing talismans, he could carry a large amount of items.
Lan Hu hesitated for a moment before taking them, whispering, “Thank you, Shier.” She had no choice but to accept them, as she only had one talisman sword, and if it was damaged, she’d be defenseless. Although Great Talisman Martial Artists were skilled in hand-to-hand combat, they couldn’t fully utilize their strength against mutated talisman beasts and had to rely on the power of talismans.