Jian Dan's ears twitched as she heard that deep male voice cutting through the crowd. Something about it felt familiar, and she started walking toward the stall.
"This is my appraisal. Since you don't accept it, you're free to find another artificer, but I won't change my verdict," the artificer said firmly, refusing to back down.
"Hmph! Arrogant! With an attitude like that, I wonder how long you'll last in any squad!"
"Don't worry about that!"
A soft female voice came from the crowd, drawing everyone's attention. The onlookers all turned, curious about who dared to speak so boldly, even ignoring the leader of the Fu Hu Squad.
The artificer, sitting cross-legged on a cushion, widened his eyes, losing his earlier calm. He followed the voice to the source, looking through the crowd.
Jian Mo, Jian Dan, Hou San, and Lady Di appeared in their line of sight.
This time Jian Dan took the lead, walking toward the male cultivator and the Fu Hu Squad captain who had been arguing with him.
"Su Daoyou, it's been a while!"
Su Chui stood up from his cushion, excitement in his eyes, and cupped his hands.
"Shan Daoyou, I'm so glad to see you!"
Fu Hu scowled. Seeing a delicate female cultivator step up and assert herself, he wanted to act tough, but Lady Di's strong frame immediately blocked his path.
"Boss Fu Hu, trying to bully someone again? She said it's not an immortal artifact. You insisting it is isn't fair!"
Fu Hu's eyes flickered. He recognized Lady Di. She had joined Mao Wu's squad and stayed on the outskirts. He hadn't expected her to appear at this trading gathering.
Mao Wu was ruthless, and judging by the ethereal woman at his side, she was probably his new favorite. Fu Hu imagined the scene, still unaware that Mao Wu's squad had already been wiped out.
"So, Lady Di, you're here to guard the flower today?" Fu Hu's words were sharp, and his eyes rolled slightly, clearly trying to assert dominance verbally without causing real conflict.
"I'm more than happy to be Fairy Lu's bodyguard!" Lady Di didn't feel uncomfortable at all. If Fairy Lu still needed protection, then they certainly needed people standing guard.
"Hmph!"
Fu Hu realized his sarcasm had been recognized, but he didn't care. Clearly, Mao Wu had sent her for protection. He didn't want to linger, pulled back a sphere-shaped magical tool, muttered curses, and turned to leave the circle of spectators. He wasn't going to start a fight here and risk losing his precious immortality stones.
The crowd dispersed once the main character left. Some people stayed behind, quietly observing Jian Mo's squad.
"Shan Daoyou, when did you get here?"
Su Chui's face was resolute. He looked even more mature than when he met Jian Dan in Yunling City a hundred years ago. Years of refining artifacts had broadened his build.
"We've been here less than a month," Jian Dan replied. Both knew the question referred to the same thing.
"Xiao Su, are these your old friends?"
A slightly childish voice spoke behind Su Chui. A boy around thirteen or fourteen, wearing a lotus-colored robe trimmed with red, looked over Jian Dan's group with a scrutinizing gaze.
Jian Dan glanced briefly and lowered her eyes. The boy looked young but had the bones of a millennia-old cultivator. She wasn't sure how cooperative he'd be.
"Cheng Zu, these are my teammates. I got separated from them," Su Chui said, bowing respectfully.
"Cheng Zu greets you, and thanks for taking care of Su Daoyou!"
They all bowed politely in return.
"Xiao Su's helped our squad a lot. I didn't expect you to find him so quickly," Cheng Zu said with a hint of regret.
Jian Dan raised an eyebrow and smiled, then scanned the boy's squad's stall.
They had laid out some broken magical tools, a few wilted plants, and some black objects resembling roots. A wooden board displayed requests for armor and storage rings in exchange.
Jian Dan turned to Jian Mo. "Senior Brother, we need some refining materials. Why don't we trade with Cheng Zu here?"
Jian Mo understood her intent perfectly. They wanted Su Chui back, so he nodded. Jian Dan reached into her sleeve and pulled out two rings, handing them to Hou San. Hou San understood immediately and respectfully presented them to the young boy, Cheng Zu.
Cheng Zu smiled, accepted them without hesitation, and examined them. One ring contained ten complete sets of black and brown armor, and the other was a storage ring, though it couldn't be opened yet.
"Cheng Zu, can we have Xiao Su return to our squad?" Jian Dan asked gently.
Cheng Zu weighed the rings and then smiled.
"Of course. I promised Xiao Su that if he found his teammates, he could return. I won't stop him."
"Thanks, Cheng Zu, for taking care of me all this time. If you ever need my help, just send someone to find me," Su Chui bowed deeply.
"Our stall is at Bing Si. If you need to trade, you can send someone over," Jian Dan said politely, giving their location.
"Alright, I'll stop by when I have time these next few days,"
Su Chui bowing again before leaving with Jian Dan's group. Neither side mentioned taking the items from the stall.
Everyone understood. The two rings were Cheng Zu's squad's way of compensating Su Chui's care.
A tall cultivator in matching robes appeared behind Cheng Zu, whispering.
"Senior Brother, are we really letting Xiao Su leave just like that?"
"He gave us all these valuable items. I have no reason to force him to stay. Xiao Su said when he joined us that if he found his teammates, he'd leave."
"I'll go check on this squad's situation."
"Mm."
Cheng Zu didn't object this time.
Su Chui walked alongside Jian Dan and the others, still feeling a bit unreal. He hadn't expected to meet cultivators from the same continent so soon, and yet here he was, in the central trading gathering. When Su Chui sat on the cushion and greeted everyone from the Heavenly Sword Sect and Purple Sky Sect, he finally felt certain he had met cultivators from his own continent.
"Shan Daoyou, I didn't expect to see you here!"
"We didn't either. If we hadn't heard a familiar voice, we might have missed you."
Jian Dan sighed a little, then asked, "You all entered the spatial rift together. Why are you here alone now? Have you met any of my sectmates?"
"We entered together, but lost two during the rift. We lingered on the outskirts for a while, then gradually explored the inner areas. We learned the rules here. Our squad has no spirit beasts, and to return to Lingyun Continent, we had to figure something else out.
Who knew that after entering the inner area, we'd run into these immortals? They forced our squad to gather resources for them and suppressed us with their immortal cultivations!"