Just as Luo Xiu was wondering why Xia Chan was here, her gaze swept in his direction. However, she seemed uninterested. After a single, brief glance, she turned back to her tea. This was because both Luo Xiu and Luo Ying had disguised their appearances.

Just then, a tall, buxom woman in explorer's attire emerged from the wooden hut behind Xia Chan. Luo Xiu looked over and recognized another familiar face: Yang Zhilu.

Zhanghai quickly stepped forward, amiably greeting Xia Chan and her group. After the pleasantries, he turned to Luo Xiu. "Dr. Chen, let me introduce you. This is Miss Chu. Her expedition team is also here to assist Master Zheng."

He then turned to Xia Chan. "Miss Chu, this is Dr. Chen Shuisheng, and this is his assistant, Miss Chen Shuijuan."

Luo Xiu adjusted the glasses on his nose, silently sizing up the people with Xia Chan. Besides Yang Zhilu, ninth on the Sky List, there was also a tall and heavyset brute. His imperceptible aura was profound and unfathomable; he had to be an expert. The others, however, had unremarkable auras.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Chu," Luo Xiu said with a polite smile.

Xia Chan remained expressionless, her demeanor cold. "Hello, Dr. Chen."

At the same time, she was scrutinizing Luo Xiu's party of three. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Luo Xiu claimed to be tired from the journey and wished to rest. Zhanghai then led him to another wooden hut.

He didn't want too much contact with Xia Chan. Although his face was different, a person's ingrained habits and mannerisms were difficult to change in an instant. He feared that prolonged interaction would allow her to see through his disguise.

「Inside the wooden hut.」

Zhanghai lit the Zhadala Tribe's unique incense to repel mosquitos, snakes, and rodents. As he lit it, he said, "Dr. Chen, you all can rest for a while. If you get bored, you can walk around, but try not to go too deep into the rainforest. I'm going to greet the chief. I'll come get you when it's time for dinner."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble."

A short while later, after Zhanghai had left, Chi Sha plopped down into a wooden chair, crossed her legs, and radiated the full aura of a queen.

She said to Luo Xiu, "That Xia Chan herself is only at the Great Perfection level of the Grandmaster Realm. Even though you've lost your cultivation, your physical body is so powerful that you still have a chance of winning against her."

"The real threat comes from the two people with her."

"You've encountered that woman before. She's a Sky List Strong One, so it goes without saying how powerful she is."

"As for that fat man, he looks as harmless as a glutton who only knows how to eat, but his strength... by my estimation, it should be even greater than the woman's."

Luo Xiu nodded. "I also sense that fat man is more than he seems."

Chi Sha smiled faintly. "But don't worry, you have me here."

Nearby, Dou Dou waved the big black umbrella in her hand. "And you have me, Dou Dou! Dou Dou isn't afraid of them. If they dare bully Chen Shuisheng, Dou Dou will kill them!"

...

「Meanwhile.」

In another wooden hut, Yang Zhilu said to Xia Chan, "That Dr. Chen has an ordinary presence and seems to be a normal person. But his assistant, that Chen Shuijuan, caught my eye. She must be very strong. She could be a threat."

A heavyset man sitting nearby, his mouth greasy from eating roasted meat, suddenly spoke up. "Miss, if you're unhappy with them, Fei Xiao will go kill them right now!"

Xia Chan waved a dismissive hand. "Forget it, Fei Xiao. Don't be rash. There's no need to stir up trouble."

Yang Zhilu added, "Also, that little girl with the big black umbrella isn't simple either. If I'm not mistaken, she must be one of the Empress's people."

Hearing this, Xia Chan frowned, her expression turning grave.

"One of the Empress's people?"

Yang Zhilu nodded. "That black umbrella should be 'Electric Jiao,' ranked fifth among the ten famous swords. And rumor has it that the Sword Master of Electric Jiao is 'Tian Jiao,' one of the Ageless Beauties."

The news made Xia Chan's expression turn somber. She knew all too well how fearsome both the sword Electric Jiao and its wielder were.

Not long ago in Capital City, the Holy Boi Religion had dispatched Xue Xiao of their Protectorate Group to rescue the Tianyu King, Di Yu, and to help her and Chen Xuanbao retreat. But they ran into the Ageless Beauties. Not only did Xue Xiao fail to rescue the Tianyu King, but he was also severely wounded by Tian Jiao, who was wielding a divine weapon. Xue Xiao only managed to escape with his life through sheer luck.

And the Ageless Beauties were the personal guards of the Empress of Hua Country. Therefore, the presence of one of them here represented the Empress herself.

Mulling this over, Xia Chan said, "Whether they are the Empress's people or not, we'll wait and see. We don't have the Sea Oracle Map yet, so we can't afford any complications."

"When the time comes, we'll just find a way to shake them off."

Yang Zhilu deeply agreed, nodding. "Besides, given the strength of those two women, we wouldn't gain any advantage if a fight broke out now."

"Indeed," Xia Chan sighed softly. "Miss Yang, I'll have to rely on you for the journey ahead."

Yang Zhilu offered a faint smile. "Miss Chu, you're too polite. Since I agreed to cooperate, I will naturally protect you." She then added, "But to be honest, I really didn't want to come here. If that woman hadn't been hunting me down ever since she recovered from her injuries, I never would have come to a place like this with you."

Hearing this, Xia Chan's eyes narrowed slightly. "The tenth on the Sky List, Mu Xueyan... Rest assured, Miss Yang. After this is over, my sect will help you eliminate her and remove that threat for good."

...

「Five days passed in a flash.」

With nothing much to do, Luo Xiu spent his days wandering around the Zhadala Tribe's territory with Dou Dou and Chi Sha, occasionally gathering herbs or catching Wandering Spirits from the graveyards.

One morning, a large group of people suddenly arrived at the tribe. Luo Xiu watched from a distance and saw that they were all heavily armed with high-quality equipment, clearly a team of mercenaries.

The middle-aged man in the lead was the "Master Zheng" that Zhanghai had mentioned. As Luo Xiu walked over to greet them, he spotted another familiar face.

Xu Wei!

Su Hongli's ex-boyfriend. Luo Xiu had spent some time with him during the mission to Africa to rescue Su Shenyun. However, Xu Wei didn't recognize the current Luo Xiu.

From within the crowd, Luo Xiu quietly flicked a small pebble at Xu Wei and then gave him a meaningful look, gesturing for him to step aside.

「Inside the small wooden hut.」

Xu Wei looked arrogantly at the "bookish boy" before him. "You wanted to see me? Do I know you?"

Luo Xiu said nothing. He simply reached up and kneaded his face a few times, restoring his original features.

"It's me."

The moment Xu Wei saw him, he jolted in terror. To this day, the horrific image of Luo Xiu single-handedly slaughtering everyone in that church was still the source of his nightmares. And not long ago, he had heard through his channels that this Martial Champion, Luo Xiu, had single-handedly annihilated the Ye Family, one of the Capital's Four Great Ancient Martial Families.

To him, Luo Xiu was the most terrifying person in the world. No one even came close.

"M-M... Mister Luo? What are you..."

Luo Xiu took out his Silver Needle and quickly reverted to his "Chen Shuisheng" appearance, then spoke in a strained, false voice. "My name is Chen Shuisheng now. I'm a doctor."

"Un... Understood!"

Luo Xiu smiled. "Long time no see."

"Yes... long time no see. Is Hong Li doing well?"

"She's probably fine. I haven't been in touch with her for a long time."

Just then, Zhanghai's voice came from outside the door. "Dr. Chen, Master Zheng would like to see you. Are you available?"

A short while later, Luo Xiu followed Zhanghai to the wooden hut where Master Zheng was staying. As soon as he entered, he saw Master Zheng and Xia Chan chatting and laughing together as if they were old friends.

Master Zheng looked Luo Xiu up and down, his eyes filled with undisguised disdain.

"Zhanghai, is this young man the doctor from the Capital of Hua Country you mentioned? He looks like a mere bookish boy who can't handle hardship. You expect him to go to such a dangerous place?"

"This..." Zhanghai was at a loss. "Don't worry, Master Zheng. Dr. Chen will be fine."

Master Zheng shook his head, speaking bluntly. "Forget it. He's not going."

"I've already paid a hefty sum to hire Ratel, so we have more than enough people. As for archaeological knowledge, we have Miss Chu. This so-called doctor is completely redundant."

"Why would I bring along freeloaders and pay them such a high fee? Do you take me for a sucker?"

Zhanghai clenched his jaw. "Master Zheng, if you still need me to be your guide, then Dr. Chen must come."

Master Zheng raised an eyebrow. "What, you can't manage without him?"

At that moment, Xu Wei strode forward, pulled out a revolver, and pointed it at Master Zheng. He spoke coolly, "You're right. We really can't."

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