After a period of investigation, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao left the scene and headed in the direction of Shuangyu Town.
"Hey, why are you staying so far away from us?"
The old man consistently kept a considerable distance from Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao.
Being followed from afar made Ye Feng feel uncomfortable.
"I... I smeared myself with goblin urine earlier to avoid being tracked by them. I was afraid... afraid of disgusting you, the explorer!"
The old man's reply was still somewhat obsequious.
"This... then you'd better not follow too closely!"
Ye Feng felt a chill.
He had been to the goblin caves before, and the smell of goblin urine was incredibly foul. The thought alone was revolting.
...
Since the purpose of their outing had been achieved, and the sky was gradually darkening, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao's pace clearly quickened for the rest of the journey.
Around dusk, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao arrived at the entrance of Shuangyu Town, with the somewhat panting old man following not far behind.
Of course, on the way back, Ye Feng had killed several goblins who had attempted to ambush and surprise them.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ye Feng was a little surprised.
The sun had already set, and it was quite dark, yet a figure was sitting on the large stone at the town entrance.
The figure was looking down, hunched over, appearing quite dejected.
"It's you?"
As he approached, Ye Feng couldn't help but be surprised.
This person was the old granny who had previously warned him not to proceed further, stating there was danger ahead.
"Ex... Explorer Sir?"
Hearing Ye Feng's voice, the old granny looked up, also surprised. However, her aged eyes held more confusion and despair.
"Cui Hua, is that you?"
At this moment, the old man's hoarse voice came from not far behind Ye Feng.
"Da Li? Is that you, Da Li? Old man, you... you're still alive?"
Hearing the old man's voice, the old granny was astonished. She then stood up from the stone and walked towards the old man.
The old man also strode towards the old granny.
"Old man, it's really you. I... I thought you weren't coming back~"
"I thought I wouldn't come back either... Thanks to the explorer Sir..."
"Sob sob~"
The old man and the old granny were a couple. They had been attacked by goblins while working, and thought they would be separated forever.
The old granny had been sitting here, waiting with a sliver of faint hope, even though reason told her the old man wouldn't return...
After this reunion... the two embraced and wept.
"Ex... Explorer Sir, thank you. Please accept this old man's gratitude~"
The old man was the first to regain his composure. He used his aged hands to take out the paddy rice he carried on his back. He frowned slightly, then poured out more than half of it to offer to Ye Feng.
However, Ye Feng stopped him. He remembered the old man had said he only had about 10 jin of paddy rice left...
"Here!"
Ye Feng reached into his backpack and casually took out a bag of rice weighing about 20 jin, handing it to the old man.
"Ex... Explorer Sir, what is this?"
The old man looked confused.
He had already felt guilty for not giving all the paddy rice to Ye Feng as payment.
Why was Ye Feng giving him something in return?
"Information fee. Consider it payment for you telling me the location of the carriage just now."
After saying this, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao turned and left.
"This..."
Watching Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao walk away, the old man and the old granny exchanged glances.
"Old... Old man, that large bag you're holding, is that... is that rice?"
...
"Xiao Xiao, why are you so happy?" Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao walked on the road towards the Adventurer's Guild. Seeing Xiao Xiao smiling and humming an unknown tune, he felt a little puzzled.
Xiao Xiao glanced at Ye Feng and shook her head slightly without speaking, but her mood was clearly excellent.
...
After more than twenty minutes,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao finally arrived at the Adventurer's Guild.
On the second and third floors of the Adventurer's Guild's accommodation area, many rooms were lit with various colored lights – red, yellow, blue, green, and purple – from fluorescent gemstones.
Of course, a few rooms emitted bright white light, powered by electric lamps.
Ye Feng's room was one of the latter.
Currently, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao were in their room, enjoying a roasted half-lamb meal with coconut juice.
This roasted half-lamb was a hot dish that had been refreshed in the [Shop] today. Ye Feng had saved it instead of buying it earlier.
After all, eating it required time. They had been on the road in the forest in the morning, and then went to investigate the scene of the prominent figure's daughter's disappearance at noon...
The aroma of roasted lamb soon spread from their room, but no one knocked on the door or tried to steal anything...
...
"Creak~"
After finishing dinner, Ye Feng directly pulled open the room door.
"Thump thump thump~..."
A sound of hurried footsteps instantly echoed.
The adventurers and servants of the Adventurer's Guild who had been loitering around Ye Feng's room all fled.
"What the heck?"
Ye Feng was somewhat baffled, as those people didn't seem like they were looking for an opportunity to ambush him.
Especially one person who was running a bit slower. As he reached a corner, he turned back and took two deep breaths...
"This... the smell of roasted lamb? ... Were these guys hanging around my room earlier just to inhale the aroma of the roasted lamb...?"
Ye Feng was speechless. He and Xiao Xiao then slowly walked towards the first-floor lobby.
After all, it was only a little past seven o'clock, and it was too early to sleep.
At this moment, Ye Feng was unaware that although he had only arrived in Shuangyu Town at noon, he had already gained a fearsome reputation.
He had first beaten up Chen Xinhui near the town entrance, then severely injured Wang Shanghui, who had taken a strengthening serum for revenge, to the point of breaking almost all his ribs... and then annihilated over a dozen members of the Scarred Face Man's poisonous bee adventure team...
After all, few people in Shuangyu Town possessed Arcane Bombs, so it was easy to figure out who had killed the poisonous bee adventure team.
Consequently, everyone unanimously regarded Ye Feng as a super ruthless individual who hid his true strength!
Therefore, even though they could smell the aroma of the roasted whole lamb emanating from Ye Feng's room and were drooling with hunger, no one dared to knock on the door to propose an exchange or anything similar.
They were afraid of angering this formidable force!
Soon,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao arrived at the first floor of the Adventurer's Guild.
Their arrival also attracted the attention of many adventurers.
However, unlike before, this time, the eyes of many adventurers were filled with awe as they looked at Ye Feng.
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao found a table by the window and sat down. They took out their solar-powered thermos, pouring a cup of plain water each.
As many of the adventurers present were drinking various beverages, including beer, and even wine, Ye Feng's action seemed unremarkable, even a little meager, not befitting Ye Feng's "ruthless" status.
"Phew~"
Ye Feng let out a soft breath.
Looking at the colorful gem lights and the scene of toasting and feasting around them, it felt somewhat like returning to a bar.
"Quack~"
Suddenly, a goblin's cry rang out.
"Boom boom boom~..."
A series of crashing sounds followed, as a pile of stones, both large and small, were hurled from outside, hitting the doors and walls of the Adventurer's Guild.
...