81: Chapter 81 Who Says Xu Is Alone?

In the Other World, Bala City.

Frederica, Saldari, and Alice were wandering around the city.

They had been searching for a week without sleep or rest, yet there was still no sign of Zhang Mu.

If they hadn't followed the pursuit team of the Fritz magic family and confirmed that the other party hadn't caught up to Zhang Mu, they would have thought he had been captured.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Frederica and the two elves sat down against a wall in a secluded alleyway in the city to rest.

"Your Highness, where exactly did Mr. Zhang Mu go?"

Shaking her head, Frederica, who hadn't smiled in days, frowned. "He shook off the people from the magic family. Why didn't he come to find us after he was safe? Did he run into some troublesome issue?"

This was the only possibility she could think of. As for Zhang Mu running off alone with the treasure chest, the three of them subconsciously ruled that out entirely.

After catching their breath, the three stood up and walked towards the exit of the alley, intending to go look elsewhere.

Passing by a pile of household waste, they suddenly stopped in their tracks at the same time.

They heard breathing coming from the trash pile.

Exchanging glances, Saldari, who was responsible for the front line during combat, carefully stepped forward, picked up a broom handle, and flicked away the foul-smelling fruit peels on top.

A pair of somewhat dirty golden cat ears appeared before the three of them.

What is this?

"Lia didn't steal anything, don't hit Lia!"

The cat ears shrank desperately into the trash pile. Frederica remembered something, stepped forward to push the trash pile aside, and quickly pulled out a Cat Girl whose little face was covered in soot.

It was her.

Frederica had a good memory and instantly recalled the Kas Town resident she had met at the city gate a few nights ago.

Not minding the strange odor she had picked up from the trash, she grabbed her under the armpits and pulled her into her arms.

"I remember you. Didn't you return to Kas Town with your human parents?"

Seeing that the group didn't intend to harm her, Lia's ears, which had been pressed tightly against her skull, slowly perked up. "We, we had just set off, and before we could cross the forest to reach the main road, we encountered a beast attack. Mr. Mayor, and Mom and Dad, they all, they all..."

She choked back sobs.

Frederica asked softly, "You ran back by yourself?"

"Lia was outside, and couldn't find anything to eat outside. The Guard wouldn't let Lia into the city, so she snuck onto a cargo carriage and managed to sneak into the city."

Finishing her sentence in broken sobs, Lia saw that the fabric of Frederica's clothes on her chest had been stained black by her, and she struggled violently to get down.

Afraid of hurting her, Frederica didn't dare to use force and let her stand on the ground.

As soon as she landed, Lia pulled up her tattered hood and stumbled toward the depths of the alley. "Thank you, pretty sister."

This demi-human girl, was she worried about dirtying my clothes?

She realized this, but then wondered, what was she thanking me for?

"Your Highness." Alice used her staff to poke at half a rotten apple that had rolled to her feet. "There are fresh bite marks on it. Has she been living by scavenging trash?"

"Lake Kingdom has great malice toward demi-humans. She doesn't even have a chance to find work." Frederica gazed at the thin, small figure that had already disappeared around the distant corner.

"Can we..." Saldari looked at her.

"Find Zhang Mu first." Frederica's eyes were filled with worry. "Normally, if he escaped danger, he would definitely wait for us at the city gate. But we haven't seen him for so many days; perhaps he has encountered trouble."

No matter how powerful an Adventurer Group is, they must eventually return to the city for supplies; it's just that the cycle varies.

Therefore, if one wants to reunite with companions, one only needs to wait at the city gate, and they will inevitably meet.

But the three elves would never have guessed that Zhang Mu, who had an entire set of portable stoves in his inventory, had no concept of returning to the city to restock potions. If he lacked anything, he would just find an open space outside and start brewing on the spot.

Naturally, Zhang Mu also couldn't have guessed that leaving a contact mark at the city gate would be much more effective than at a tavern.

Having made up their minds, the three elves didn't dawdle and turned to walk toward the outside of the city.

...

Blue Star, Municipal Building conference room.

Zhao Qi and Shi Ming had already left. The latter said that the "investigation work" these past few days had been very exhausting, and he was going to find a room to sleep in.

As for the former, he left aggressively, and no one knew what he was going to do.

The Bureau Chief sat back in his seat and stopped Ye Ming and Yue Ruo, who were going to prepare for the establishment of the investigation team.

Then, he explained his thoughts to Elder Sun.

The Special Investigation Bureau's problem wasn't a lack of manpower, but rather that the entire structure needed to be reconstructed.

After all, dealing with so-called abnormal events is far different from coming into contact with a genuine Cultivator.

He was in the middle of a passionate speech about how the Special Investigation Bureau should be reformed when he suddenly noticed that Elder Sun and the other two were all looking at him.

He was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses; they weren't looking at him, but behind him.

Subconsciously turning around, sure enough, Immortal Xu was standing there.

"You..." The Bureau Chief was shocked and about to stand up, but was stunned to find that he couldn't stand up at all.

"It's fine, just talk while sitting."

Immortal Xu sat in the seat next to the Bureau Chief, scaring the Bureau Chief so much that he didn't dare to move, while feeling curious about what kind of technique had held him down out of thin air just now.

Immortal technique?

Seemingly seeing through his thoughts, Immortal Xu chuckled, "Just a little trick."

After speaking, he looked toward Elder Sun, who was examining him. "This matter is concluded. I, Xu, must return to the Mountain Gate. Goodbye, until the time is right."

Mountain Gate?

The four of them scanned Immortal Xu up and down, their eyes suddenly widening in shock. Elder Sun stood up abruptly, pressing his hands on the table. "Immortal Xu, you, are you saying that there is more than one Cultivator in the world besides you?"

"Rather than asking such a question." Xu's face, which had been calm with a faint smile, became strange. "Everyone, why do you assume that I, Xu, am alone?"

Elder Sun was somewhat excited, a hint of flush appearing on his aged face. "Could, could I have the honor to visit your Mountain Gate..."

"Sir." Xu interrupted him. "Even if I, Xu, were to agree, you couldn't go."

Seeing that Immortal Xu did not explain the reason, Elder Sun's back, which had been just straightened, involuntarily slumped. He then asked, "Then, how many years has your Mountain Gate been established?"

"How many years?"

Xu looked out the window at the already bright sky. "I, Xu, never asked my Master, so I, Xu, do not know. But my Master once told me that the fertile fields not far outside the Mountain Gate used to be an ocean."

Oceans turning into fields?!

The group subconsciously thought of this idiom.

Then, how long has Immortal Xu lived?

Elder Sun felt like a cat was scratching at his heart, but asking about age wasn't very polite, so he gave the Bureau Chief a look.

The Bureau Chief didn't want to ask either, but official rank differences are overwhelming, let alone this one who was of an unknown magnitude higher.

After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and asked in a low voice, "Um, Immortal Xu, how old are you this year?"

"Forgotten."

Seeing their skeptical faces, Xu's figure began to fade, and he said with a smile, "An insignificant matter, why remember it?"

Why do humans care so much about age?

Because it directly indicates how far an individual human's life has progressed and when it will end.

At this moment, Elder Sun and the Bureau Chief finally realized, yes, how could an Immortal have the same lifespan as an ordinary person?

The air in the conference room stagnated for a moment.

In the depths of Elder Sun's heart, a rare feeling of panic emerged.

He dared not imagine what kind of madness would be unleashed on Blue Star if longevity, or even immortality, became a reality right before their eyes.

Back home, Zhang Mu dispelled his Shadow Technique and Transformation Technique, then ducked into the bathroom to take a shower.

After changing his clothes and coming out, he didn't waste any more time; he directly summoned a portal and rushed to the Other World.

He needed to hurry and find Frederica and the others, open the treasure chest together, and then, there were accounts to settle.