Chapter 118: Seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu Again
Under Qin Ming's lead, the group quickly arrived at a small town closest to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Although it was called nearby, it was actually nearly a hundred kilometers away from the forest's edge.
This was mainly to guard against Spirit Beasts that occasionally charged out from the forest.
This small town was a unique place that relied entirely on the Star Dou Great Forest to survive.
Shops lined both sides of the streets. There were general stores selling dried rations and clothes, blacksmith shops specializing in weapons and armor, and pharmacies supplying various potions.
Naturally, the most common establishments were inns and restaurants prepared for Spirit Master teams.
Compared to the outside world, the prices of all goods here had more than doubled.
After all, transporting supplies here involved considerable risk and cost.
By the time they reached the town, the sky had already darkened.
Qin Ming was clearly familiar with this place. He led everyone through the slightly crowded streets and found a clean, tidy restaurant where they could settle down.
After putting away their luggage, the group went to the second floor of the restaurant to eat.
The second floor was an open dining area with more than a dozen square tables.
Quite a few people were already seated there, talking in low voices. The atmosphere was somewhat noisy.
Qin Ming ordered some food, and the group sat around two tables before beginning their meal.
The food was not particularly refined, but the portions were generous.
Just as everyone was burying themselves in their meal, a sudden commotion erupted from an open space not far outside the restaurant, accompanied by intense spirit power fluctuations.
The disturbance was quite obvious. Even from the second floor, they could sense it clearly.
"What's happening outside?" Yu Feng looked curiously out the window, but since it was already dark, he could not see much.
"Looks like a fight broke out." Oslo also put down his chopsticks.
Qin Ming frowned, but he had no intention of getting up.
Conflicts between Spirit Masters were not rare in this town. As long as it did not involve them, he could not be bothered to interfere.
Lin Mo had not paid much attention either, but when he subconsciously focused his vision and looked through the window toward the open space illuminated by torches and spirit power, his movements suddenly froze.
Because his Body Martial Soul had awakened the Spirit Eyes, his vision was now exceptional. Even in such dim light, he could see the scene below with perfect clarity.
In the open space, a total of eight people were locked in combat.
The one being besieged was a short, stout middle-aged man with a gloomy face. Beneath his feet, one white, two yellow, and two purple spirit rings were flashing, five in total.
He was actually a Spirit King.
Judging from the state of his Martial Soul Possession, this person should be the director of the external affairs department of Canghui Academy from Lin Mo's memories, Ye Zhiqiu, who possessed the Black Tortoise Martial Soul.
Those besieging him were seven youths, four boys and three girls. They looked to be about the same age as Lin Mo and the others, but their clothes were much plainer.
However, Lin Mo's gaze instantly locked onto two of them.
One was a boy surrounded by Blue Silver Grass, while the other was a pretty girl with a long scorpion braid and agile movements.
Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Although they had matured quite a bit since their days at Notting College five years ago, Lin Mo recognized them at a glance.
The time, the location, the people, everything matched.
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat, and he inwardly felt that things were not looking good.
He knew exactly what would happen next.
Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape who would sense Xiao Wu's aura, would soon emerge from the Lake of Life in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Once the aura of a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast erupted, it would inevitably cause a massive disturbance.
This was practically a landmark event for this period.
Lin Mo suddenly felt that the food in his mouth had become difficult to swallow.
If possible, he would have turned around and left this town right now, getting as far away from the Star Dou Great Forest as he could.
The problem was, he could not leave now.
His purpose in coming here was to obtain his fifth spirit ring. Now that the spirit ring was nowhere in sight, what would it look like if he ran away first?
He could not exactly run to Teacher Qin and say, "Teacher Qin, I feel like we might run into a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast on the outskirts of the forest, so let's run," could he?
That was impossible and unrealistic.
The most important thing right now was that they could not continue lingering here.
At the very least, they absolutely could not group up with the people from Shrek Academy.
Otherwise, if they ran head-on into Er Ming coming to pick up Xiao Wu, then even if Er Ming would not kill the Shrek people under Xiao Wu's instructions, what if an accident happened?
The wind stirred up by a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast simply walking could knock down large trees. If he were accidentally caught in the crossfire, he would not even have a place to complain.
Lin Mo's brow unconsciously furrowed, and his expression shifted slightly.
His abnormal reaction naturally caught the attention of Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who were sitting beside him.
"Lin Mo, what's wrong?" Dugu Yan leaned closer and asked in a low voice. "Is there someone you know in that group below?"
Lin Mo snapped back to his senses and nodded.
"Yes," he said quietly. "Among the two groups below, two of them are my former classmates from Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy."
"Classmates?" Dugu Yan blinked.
"The two classmates with Innate Full Spirit Power I mentioned to you before," Lin Mo added.
Hearing this, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling's eyes instantly lit up.
Lin Mo had briefly mentioned those two to them in previous conversations, the Blue Silver Grass and the Rabbit Martial Soul.
At the time, they had lamented that it was such a pity for a Waste Martial Soul to be paired with top-tier talent.
They had not expected to run into them here.
"It's them?" Dugu Yan looked out the window again with interest.
"Yes," Lin Mo nodded.
"Then do you want to go down and say hello?" Ye Lingling asked softly. "After all, you haven't seen each other in years."
Hearing this, Lin Mo nodded. "Alright. Since we've run into each other here, let's go over and greet them."
As he spoke, he turned to Qin Ming. "Teacher Qin, two of my former classmates are down there. I'm going down to say hello and will be back soon."
Qin Ming nodded. "Go ahead. Stay safe, and remember not to get involved in their conflict."
"Understood."
Lin Mo stood up, and Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling followed behind him.
The three of them walked downstairs and arrived at the open space outside the restaurant. By this time, the atmosphere had already reached a breaking point.
Just as Ye Zhiqiu was preparing to further pressure the juniors before him, he suddenly turned his head and looked in Lin Mo's direction.
Ye Zhiqiu's gaze first fell on Lin Mo, then swept over Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling behind him.
His gaze finally settled on the black-clothed youth. Although Lin Mo did not look very old, Ye Zhiqiu felt a faint sense of danger from him.
Ye Zhiqiu's movements halted. He stared warily at Lin Mo's group and said in a deep voice, "You three, this is a matter between Canghui Academy and these insolent juniors. Please do not interfere."
Lin Mo ignored him and cast his gaze directly toward the Shrek Seven Devils.
Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others immediately showed wary expressions, treating Lin Mo and his companions as if they were reinforcements from Canghui Academy.
Only Tang San and Xiao Wu froze for a moment when they saw Lin Mo.
Xiao Wu blinked her big eyes, staring at Lin Mo for several seconds before quietly tugging at Tang San's sleeve.
"Little San, doesn't that person... look a bit familiar?"
Tang San frowned and carefully sized Lin Mo up as well.
In five years, Lin Mo's appearance had changed quite a lot. He had grown much taller, and his features had lost their childhood innocence, becoming much more handsome and mature.
Even so, Lin Mo's current appearance still overlapped with the child in Tang San's memory, the one who used to wander around holding an egg.
"Lin Mo...?" Tang San spoke with some uncertainty.
A faint smile appeared on Lin Mo's face as he nodded toward Tang San and Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, Tang San, long time no see."
.....
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