Night fell, and the wind began to pick up.
The wind on the plains was much freer than in the forest; it was unhindered by trees, free to blow and howl as it pleased.
Chen Bugu hurried through the wind, rushing towards the ruins southwest of the city.
After more than ten minutes, he finally saw the seven or eight dilapidated stone houses in the hazy night.
Scattered trees stretched their bare branches in the darkness, making the place appear even more desolate.
Chen Bugu entered the former house and found that it was already empty, indicating that Bai Ting and the others had made preparations before leaving.
“A-Meng” leaped out of his pocket, landed on the ground, regained its form, and then ran towards the back of the house.
Chen Bugu followed him, only to see “A-Meng” rubbing against Old Liu's tombstone, red eyes constantly shedding tears.
“Look… look…”
Chen Bugu felt “A-Meng's” emotions, guessing that it probably wanted Old Liu to see that those who had bullied him had already received their retribution.
Although “A-Meng” was already an Eight-Star, it had only been born for a month, and most of that time was spent with Old Liu and Lin Ye.
Old Liu's death must have been a significant blow to it.
Chen Bugu brushed away the dust from Old Liu's tombstone and suddenly noticed the red whistle hanging on the tombstone had fallen to the ground.
He squatted down, picked up the whistle, and also discovered three pebbles beside the whistle.
The three pebbles were arranged in a triangle, with three leaves pressed beneath them.
That was the mark Bai Ting and the others had left.
The three leaves were arranged in a T-shape, with the vertical bar of the T-shape pointing due west, meaning that the true direction of Bai Ting and the others' departure was the opposite, to the east.
The east was High Heaven City, which matched the information relayed by Old Zhou.
Han Badou must have calculated that if Chen Bugu returned to this place, he would surely come to Old Liu's grave, so he specifically left a message here.
Although Old Zhou had agreed to relay the message, for safety's sake, Han Badou still chose to keep an extra hand; such excessive caution was often considered a commendation in the Zero Realm.
Chen Bugu blew away the leaves, hung the whistle back in its original place, then picked up A-Meng and walked back into the house.
After nightfall, the Magic Beasts on the plains were much more active, so Chen Bugu decided to spend the night here before returning to Obsidian Town.
He took out some frozen, hard beast meat from his storage ring, defrosted and roasted it with Fireball, then sprinkled some spices he had “borrowed” from the Unyielding Hall’s kitchen, and a simple dinner was ready.
After cutting off half the meat and giving it to A-Meng, Chen Bugu also began to eat.
There was no fire lit in the small house, and in the darkness, Chen Bugu could only hear A-Meng's chewing sounds.
He suddenly felt a little dazed.
In his previous life, when he was on missions, he often spent the night alone in wilderness ruins like this.
The difference was that back then, he was weak and lonely, powerless in the face of many things.
Reborn, he had more confidence and courage.
Many things he no longer had to leave for later to regret or lament.
He was grateful to have a team of trustworthy comrades.
For this, he was willing to continue to risk his life.
Although he missed them this time, with Bai Ting and Han Badou's abilities, coupled with the supplies and information Old Zhou provided them, Chen Bugu did not need to worry about them for a short time.
Tomorrow, after he returned to Obsidian Town and greeted Liu Chengfeng and Old Zhou, he would go to High Heaven City to find his companions.
“Eat… eat…”
A-Meng sat beside Chen Bugu again, staring intently at the roasted meat in his hand.
Chen Bugu smiled and took out another piece of meat from his ring to defrost.
Because of the Source of Freezing Water, all the food in the ring had been excessively refrigerated.
The energy of the extreme cold water was too strong; meat was fine, but some smaller big-oranges had already been infiltrated and assimilated by the energy, and even if defrosted, they would only turn into a puddle of liquid.
Thus, the absorption of the Source of Freezing Water must be put on the agenda, Chen Bugu thought, as he threw the defrosted meat back to A-Meng.
After A-Meng was full, he voluntarily took on the task of keeping watch, so Chen Bugu slept soundly.
The night deepened and the dew thickened, and nothing happened overnight.
The next day, when the sky was dimly lit, Chen Bugu returned to the south gate of Obsidian Town.
Coincidentally, the one who opened the city gate for him this time was the same Magic Lizard Clan member who had troubled him when he first entered the city.
“Please… please come in.”
The Magic Lizard Clan member merely glanced at Chen Bugu before hastily lowering his head, quickly pushing the large gate open to both sides.
A few days ago, Cross Street was still one of the most powerful forces in this town, but because of this man, this force has now been annihilated, and as for the specific reasons, rumors abound.
Although most people were unsure how Cross Street had provoked Chen Bugu, almost all tavern rumors consistently agreed that he was a man who held grudges and would exact revenge.
This Magic Lizard Clan soldier was merely a Black Iron Five-Star; he knew very well that if Chen Bugu harbored even a hint of displeasure or resentment, he probably wouldn't live to see the sun fully rise.
However, when he looked up again, he found that Chen Bugu had already walked away.
Chen Bugu certainly remembered this Magic Lizard Clan soldier, but he didn't care, as they didn't have a death feud after all.
But if it was just that Magic Lizard Clan soldier, then so be it, Chen Bugu didn't know why, but the other soldiers on both sides of the city gate looked at him with a strange sense of fear.
At this moment, the sky was hazy, the streets in the town were sparsely populated, and the doors of the taverns and residences on both sides were tightly closed, making it appear serene.
But after Chen Bugu walked two streets, he suddenly heard dense footsteps coming from around the corner.
Then, more than ten people rushed out of the alley ahead.
Upon seeing Chen Bugu, they all froze, then deliberately looked away naturally, and walked slowly along one side of the road.
The dozen or so people walked stiffly, showing visible “restraint.”
But Chen Bugu didn't know these people, he just vaguely felt that the leader looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere, but he couldn't remember where for the life of him.
Just as Chen Bugu was contemplating, the dozen or so people suddenly started running again, hurrying towards the city gate.
At the same time, Xie An walked out from around the corner and found Chen Bugu standing still, lost in thought.
“Chen Bugu? You're back?”
The moment Chen Bugu saw Xie An, he suddenly remembered why the leader just now looked so familiar.
That person was precisely the Cross Street team leader who had first activated the 【Square Barrier】 yesterday.
“Those people are from Cross Street. Are they… leaving the city?”
“Yes, let them go. Yesterday, the Hall Master asked me to spread the news, and one of the purposes was to give the people of Cross Street a choice. Those who don't want to become Outer Hall members are also given the opportunity to leave on their own.”
“Outer Hall…” Chen Bugu remembered that Liu Chengfeng and Old Zhou had indeed mentioned this matter.
“Then what are you doing here?”
“Counting people, of course. How many left, how many stayed, someone has to keep an eye on it.”
“You're quite a good person.”
“Oh, Old Zhou said that when Cross Street is converted into an Outer Hall, he wants me to be in charge, but I'm only a Six-Star, so I incited all those stronger than me to leave quickly.”
“Then I take back what I said earlier…”
“Oh, just kidding. By the way, their meal yesterday seemed quite good. Old Zhou wants you to find him as soon as you get back.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Chen Bugu bid farewell to Xie An, and after walking only a few steps, he suddenly heard Xie An talking to others behind him.
“Yes, yes, that's Chen Bugu.”
“Hey, don't point at him! If he comes back and chops you up, no one can save you!”
“What? Doesn't look that fierce? Do you think Dongcheng Xiuwu and Alek thought that way before?”
“Ah, I was indeed too loud. Brother, let's go quickly, don't drag you down.”
Listening to Xie An's voice behind him, Chen Bugu suddenly seemed to understand why those people were so afraid of him.