Chapter 2: Ding Ding (Part 1)

Guo Shieru came out of the tent and asked, “How many people?”
Eagle Demon replied, “Just one person… being chased in circles by your Giant Perch Dragon. It doesn’t seem to intend to kill him; it’s just teasing him.”
Guo Shieru smiled bitterly. “That’s not teasing—it’s an attempt to get close… I’ll go take a look.” He ran outside the forest of dead trees. Loud footsteps echoed through the air as a thin figure darted through the gray mist, followed closely by the Giant Perch Dragon. The man cursed frantically, “Get away… you stinky dragon… go away…”
The Giant Perch Dragon roared and quickened its pace, its huge head almost touching the man’s back. The man screamed, “Oh no… stinky dragon! Get… away…” It was a woman’s voice.
Guo Shieru couldn’t help but laugh. He was very curious because the Giant Perch Dragon wasn’t hunting the man but trying to get close to him. For the first time, he noticed that the Giant Perch Dragon showed affection toward others as well, not just himself. He cast a spell, and the Giant Perch Dragon immediately stopped, roared toward the sky, and strode back toward the forest of dead trees.
The woman was also exhausted. She knelt down, gasping for breath, and looked up at the forest. After a while, she cursed angrily, “Who released this beast spirit? I almost died of fear! It’s so disgusting…” As she cursed, she walked over.
When she approached the forest, she was stunned. There wasn’t just one Giant Perch Dragon but also a grotesque, terrifying giant scorpion. Seven people stood beside the scorpion, staring at her with curious eyes. She felt an urge to run away. Their side had both powerful beast spirits and strong insect spirits, plus a large number of people.
Guo Shieru said, “Hello. I’m sorry. My Giant Perch Dragon has no ill intentions. It likes you.” He examined her curiously.
She was a girl about his age but taller than him. Her youthful face showed she was quite young. She wore gorgeous clothes and had a long single braid. Faint talismanic patterns appeared on her pale white face, and her bright eyes sparkled as she looked at everyone.
Eagle Demon whispered in surprise, “Hey, it’s a high-level Great Talisman Martial Artist!”
The girl tilted her head and asked Guo Shieru, “Is this your Giant Perch Dragon?”
Guo Shieru nodded. The girl snapped, “Why don’t you control your Giant Perch Dragon? Do you know? It chased me until I almost vomited blood…”

Everyone was stunned—such a pretty little girl calling herself “old lady”? No one could believe it for a moment. Guo Shier smiled and said, “Juxi Long isn’t chasing you… it likes you!”
The girl shouted, “Who wants it to like me?” Then she realized, “Huh? It likes me? Hehe… Fine, I’ll spare this stinky dragon.”
“My name is Zhou Xiaoling. Everyone calls me Dingding! How… how did so many people gather here?”
Guo Shier replied, “Many hands make light work. It’s not lonely when we’re together.”
That last sentence touched Zhou Xiaoling. In this place, she hadn’t seen a single person in over ten days. Even when she occasionally encountered someone, they acted as if facing a threat—either with ill intentions or by running away immediately. With no one to talk to, she was almost going crazy. Hearing Guo Shier’s words, she nodded vigorously and said, “I want to join too…”
Suddenly, her face turned red as she laughed foolishly and explained, “I fight a lot. If I don’t shout a few words, I don’t feel fierce… I just got used to it.”
Everyone couldn’t help but laugh, realizing this little girl wasn’t cunning at all.
Guo Shier was glad she wanted to join. A high-level Great Talisman Martial Artist was incredibly strong. With such a fighter joining their team, they would become even more formidable. He said, “Dingding, welcome!”
Zhou Xiaoling cheered, “Wow, that’s great!” She spotted Lan Hu at once and ran over to her, asking, “Sis! What’s your name?”
Lan Hu smiled and said, “Finally, a girl has arrived. My name is Lan Hu. Dingding, welcome!”
Everyone stepped forward to greet her and introduce themselves. Zhou Xiaoling was overjoyed. Having been trapped here for so long, seeing so many people at once made her so excited that she kept giggling nonstop.
Guo Shier asked, “Dingding, you’re a high-level Great Talisman Martial Artist. Why did you come to the Gray Mist Area?”
Zhou Xiaoling replied, “There was no food left, so I came here to hunt.”
Guo Shier said, “We’re also hunting. Once we gather enough food, we’ll head to the Black Mist Area.”
Zhou Xiaoling was surprised. “The Black Mist Area? They’re going there too? Isn’t it too dangerous?” Having come from the Black Mist Area, she knew well about its dangers.
Guo Shier smiled and said, “No problem. We have three high-level masters, plus Juxi Long. Even if we can’t win, we can still escape.”
Zhou Xiaoling looked up at Juxi Long and nodded. “True enough. You, Juxi Long, are really strong and fast. You almost caught up with me! Hey! Stinky dragon! You almost scared me to death!” Once again, she couldn’t help calling herself “old lady.”

The giant dragon’s huge head shook slightly before slowly lowering. Zhou Xiaoling exclaimed, “What’s it going to do?”
Guo Shier said, “It’s just being friendly to you.”
Zhou Xiaoling was very brave. She stood still until the dragon’s head reached forward, then reached out to pat its chin. Compared to the dragon, she was extremely small and could only touch its chin. She giggled, “Really… Giggles, what a cute dragon…”
Guo Shier was speechless. In just a short while, the dragon had gone from being an ugly one to a cute one—this girl’s mood changed so quickly.
The dragon seemed happy. It raised its head and roared once before slowly moving aside.
Yang Qi didn’t say anything. He kept staring at Zhou Xiaoling with a puzzled expression. Sun Min’er asked softly, “Fatso, do you know her?” Peng Yuanwang asked, “Is she from a sect?”
Yang Qi replied, “Not from a sect… But I seem to have heard this name before. It feels familiar, though I can’t remember where.”
Sun Min’er said, “It’s a shame we can’t ask about their sect.”
Yang Qi nodded. “Yeah, the rule here is not to inquire about others’ factions or families. Hehe, but we can still communicate privately. We can ask later once we get to know each other better.”
Lan Hu and Zhou Xiaoling quickly became familiar with each other, chatting nonstop and laughing from time to time.
Guo Shier smiled slightly and said, “Xuan Ai, Big Beard, Wangwang, Fatso, let’s go grill meat!” Sun Min’er immediately jumped up and shouted, “I’ve heard from Uncle Eagle Demon that Shier’s grilled meat is super delicious! Guys, let’s get ready… Shier, what kind of beast’s meat are we grilling this time?”
Eagle Demon said, “I want to eat… the meat of a mutated brown bear!”
Guo Shier said, “Okay, help us thread the meat! Little Lanzi, Dingding, you two come too!”
After setting up the large grill, Guo Shier inwardly appreciated the convenience of having a talisman bag—otherwise, who would bring along such a big grill? On the one-square-meter grill, a layer of copper grids was laid, and he took out a pile of charcoal, lighting it quickly. Lighting it was easy—just a regular fire talisman would do. Of course, meat had to be grilled with charcoal, not replaced by fire talismans.
Yang Qi brought out the freshly cut meat, while Guo Shier took out dozens of thin copper skewers and said, “Thread the meat on these. Little Lanzi, boil some water and get some big bones—break them open and put them in.”

Zhou Xiaoling watched curiously. The food she ate here was always simple; the faster, the better—there was no time to put effort into preparing meals. She asked, “Sis Lan, do you always make such a big deal out of eating?”
Lan Hu shook her head. “It’s our first time eating roast meat made by Guo Shier too. Hehe, Uncle Eagle Demon said that the roast meat he makes is extraordinary and extremely delicious…” Hearing this, Zhou Xiaoling couldn’t help but salivate.
Zhou Xiaoling said, “Sis Lan, let me help you.” The two of them lifted the large copper pot, filled it with water, and attached fire talismans to it. Lan Hu said, “Fat Yang, give me some big bones!”
Yang Qi rushed over eagerly and asked, “Which kind of bones do you want?”
Lan Hu replied, “Use bones from the one-horned blood rhinoceros—ribs.”
Yang Qi handed over a rib. Lan Hu said, “Can’t you cut it up? It’s so long—I don’t know how to handle it.”
Zhou Xiaoling smiled and said, “Give it to me!”
The ribs from the one-horned blood rhinoceros were as tall as two people and as thick as an adult’s thigh. Zhou Xiaoling reached out, grabbed the bone, and with a firm pull, snapped it in half. Her small hands were as strong as steel; with just a pinch, she broke the rib into smaller pieces.
Lan Hu was stunned. She knew high-level talisman martial artists were powerful, but she was still shocked. Just thinking about being pinched by her made her break out in sweat.
Soon, the aroma of roasted meat filled the air. Guo Shier had plenty of seasonings, which he had made himself based on his experiences from his past life. He hadn’t held much hope for the meat of the mutated brown bear—such a huge talisman beast should have rather coarse meat. But after roasting it, he discovered that the meat was actually top-notch.
He couldn’t resist tasting a piece and praised it highly—soft, tender, fragrant, and smooth; the taste was simply wonderful.
Zhou Xiaoling ate just one skewer before saying to Lan Hu, “Oh… I’ll stay with this team. No one can drive me away! Wow, it’s so delicious!” Suddenly, she shouted, “Shier, let me be your wife! You can roast meat for me every day…”
Lan Hu stared in surprise. Guo Shier nearly knocked over the roasting stove from shock—this girl was too bold. He said, “Eating roast meat is fine, but being my wife? Forget it… What if I don’t roast the meat well someday? You might kill me!”
Everyone was stunned, but upon hearing Guo Shier’s reply, they burst into laughter.
Zhou Xiaoling replied calmly, “Hmm, as long as there’s roast meat, it’s fine. Marrying you… it’s just to make it easier to eat roast meat. Since you’re willing to roast meat, marriage doesn’t really matter. I declare—no marriage!”

Lan Hu involuntarily moved a little to the side; she was scared by this little girl.
Guo Shier turned the grilled meat around, sighing helplessly, “Sigh, I’m not even as good as a skewer of grilled meat…”
Not only was Zhou Xiaoling eating with great joy, but so were the others. Guo Shier knew that while his cooking skills accounted for at most 30% of the deliciousness, the other 70% came from the excellent quality of the meat itself.