98: Why are there so many people suddenly here?

"Okay," the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley said, her head bowed.

"Discuss it? With whom? Us?" Su Duo's eyes widened as she pointed at her face.

"Who else but you?" Ximen Chuifeng spread his hands. "Come over, this matter concerns you, so we need to hear your opinions too."

"Concerns us?"

Su Duo was still confused, but Zhuang Sanming seemed to understand something.

"Alright," he said, pulling Su Duo along, following Ximen Chuifeng's pace.

Ximen Chuifeng glanced at Xiong Mao and the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley from afar, then said to Zhuang Sanming, "I probably understand what crisis they're facing now. I can temporarily let the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley hide in my house, you don't need to worry about that. It's just..."

"Just what?" Zhuang Sanming felt things weren't that simple.

"Didn't you want that wood-attribute cultivation method? I thought it would be too slow for the three of us to gather 20,000 spirit stones, so I agreed to find a hiding place for the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley, on the condition that they help us earn money."

This was a deal Ximen Chuifeng came up with on the fly, mainly because he never did business that wasn't profitable. Since the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley had a request for him, she naturally needed to pay a price.

Zhuang Sanming's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea. Even if the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley doesn't have money, Xiong Mao definitely does."

Zhuang Sanming lived in the guild, but he had heard of a new force Outside the Bastion called Hundred Flowers Valley. He just didn't know that Hundred Flowers Valley had been wiped out overnight and become the Axe Gang's territory.

"What about you, Su Duo, do you think it's okay?" Seeing Zhuang Sanming agree, Ximen Chuifeng turned to ask Su Duo.

"Ah, no need to ask me, if Big Brother says it's okay, then it's okay." Su Duo indicated that she had no opinion either.

"Since that's the case, it's settled. She should have already convinced Xiong Mao on her end," Ximen Chuifeng said.

Xiong Mao was indeed convinced. He readily took out 2,000 spirit stones as an advance, saying he had come out in a hurry and didn't have much money on him, and that he would bring more spirit stones next time he came out.

So Ximen Chuifeng left with the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley, while Xiong Mao returned to the Axe Gang.

The Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley had already thought of an excuse for him; as long as Xiong Mao absolutely denied letting her go, Bao Hui couldn't do anything to Xiong Mao.

Zhuang Sanming and Su Duo were the most relaxed. Not only did they benefit from this matter, but they didn't have to give anything in return, only keep the secret.

Zhuang Sanming knew Su Duo was a blabbermouth, so he specifically instructed her not to say anything, and if anyone asked, to say she didn't know.

Su Duo obediently nodded, even making a zipping motion across her mouth with her hand, indicating she would keep her lips sealed. ...Night fell.

Taking advantage of the absence of passengers at night, Lin Feng entered maintenance mode. After an unknown period, Tong Changshan ran towards the Inner Circle.

The train had just been upgraded the day before yesterday, and Tong Changshan was sitting on it. When he opened his eyes, he saw the train had completely changed, which scared him so much that he immediately ran away and didn't dare to come back for two days.

But after returning, Tong Changshan thought about it carefully and felt that there was nothing wrong with the tin train suddenly turning into a green train. The interior space of the train had become much larger than before, and the seats had become soft cushions.

Moreover, after becoming a green train, the train body was more conspicuous and easier to find.

So, after two days of hesitation, Tong Changshan decided to take the train again tonight.

He was now a Level 5 Martial Artist, and after this period of consolidation, his strength was far beyond what it was before.

Times had changed; if he, Tong Changshan, encountered Hao Xing and his group again now, he definitely wouldn't be caught by them!

"Why can't I see the green train anywhere?"

Tong Changshan walked along the small path in the Inner Circle for a long time but still didn't see where the green train was.

Lin Feng was undergoing maintenance, so he naturally couldn't see it, but he didn't know that.

So he could only keep looking. If he couldn't find it on this path, he would look on another.

Unfortunately, he was destined to miss the green train tonight.

Tong Changshan searched in the Inner Circle for a long time, but still didn't see any trace of the green train, so he had to give up and prepare to return to the outer perimeter.

As he walked, he seemed to have arrived at the junction of the Inner Circle and the outer perimeter. Suddenly, many torches appeared before his eyes. He thought he had seen wrong, but then he rubbed his eyes and looked again—

Holy cow, why are there so many people all of a sudden?!

And those people had also discovered him.

"Boss Bao! There's someone here!"

These people were precisely those Bao Hui had brought to search the mountains, looking for Xiong Mao and the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley.

When they first entered the outer perimeter of the forest, it was dusk. After searching the entire outer perimeter, it was already night. The sun had set, and they couldn't see things clearly, so they held torches.

"Go ask him if he's seen those two people," Bao Hui said.

He didn't go over himself; after all, this wasn't the Axe Gang. Anyone who could walk alone in the Inner Circle of the forest wouldn't have too low a level.

If it was some young master from an aristocratic family, or someone with strong power, it would be better for them not to provoke him.

Bao Hui knew very well what he wanted; besides that, he didn't want to get involved in any other relationships.

"Hey, you, have you seen two people? One man and one woman. The man is about this tall, this fat, the woman..."

Someone from Bao Hui's side quickly went to ask Tong Changshan.

They had left in a hurry and didn't have time to draw portraits, so they could only describe them orally.

However, oral descriptions have many drawbacks, as many details cannot be described clearly.

Tong Changshan pointed to his face and asked, "Are you asking me about someone?"

"Yes, have you seen the two people I just described?" Bao Hui's subordinate said.

Tong Changshan fell silent.

Usually, others would ask passersby about him; this was his first time being a "passerby."

"I haven't seen them," Tong Changshan shook his head.

He genuinely hadn't seen the man and woman described by the person in front of him. He hadn't even seen the green train, wandering aimlessly in the forest like a headless fly.

"Let's go." Bao Hui's subordinate didn't pester him; if he couldn't get an answer, he left.

But Tong Changshan's curiosity was piqued by this.

Such a large group of them, carrying torches and rushing into the Inner Circle, just to find two people?

That was the Inner Circle!

Although it was night now, there were quite a few fierce beasts that were active at night. The lowest-ranked fierce beasts in the Inner Circle were at least fifth-tier, and the highest even eighth-tier. Weren't they afraid of going in and not being able to come out?

Don't tell him this group of people were all Level 8 Martial Artists; he wouldn't believe it.

What Tong Changshan was thinking was also what Bao Hui was thinking.

In fact, Bao Hui had also hesitated after pursuing them to the edge of the outer perimeter.

Up to this point, he actually didn't know if the Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley and Xiong Mao had separated, nor did he know where they had gone.

What if they weren't in the forest? Then, for them to grandly enter the Inner Circle and encounter those high-tier fierce beasts, wouldn't that be seeking death?