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Chapter 213 Heading to the Orcish Gathering Place
The little orc's home was also on the outskirts of the Crimson Forest, but it was much deeper into the forest than the tree hollow where the stone was. The three of them walked for five or six hours before finally reaching the little orc's home.
"This is my home. When I was little, I was always placed in that bird's nest up there. Later, when I grew up, I dug a hole in the tree and still lived in the tree." The little beastman's tree-climbing skills were definitely not comparable to those of Stone and Luo Pipi, who were just amateurs. In just a few seconds, she was up in the tree.
"ah!"
Stone and Pipi were standing under the tree, waiting for the little beastman to come down with his things. Then they heard a loud shout from above, the little beastman's voice filled with surprise.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Stone looked up at the tree, but because the trees here were thicker and taller than those on the outside, and the little beastman's den was on a tree trunk nearly a hundred meters high, Stone looked for a long time but still couldn't see what had happened.
"There are people up there," Luo Pipi said after squinting for a while.
Stone glanced at Luo Pipi in surprise, but she didn't say anything. She just took out her spiked club and stood under the tree, ready to strike.
A moment later, the little orc scurried down, and right behind her, another figure landed quickly on the ground: "Stone!"
Stone's eyes widened: "Rice Noodles? So you've come here?"
"The dog is missing, and MiFen is here to find it." MiFen blinked and pointed innocently at the little beastman: "ShiTou, she is my little dog."
puff!
Stone glanced at the little beastman's face, which had instantly turned completely black, and couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Rice Noodles. Are you sure she's your dog?"
“Yes!” Mi Fen’er nodded: “Well, before I met you, I had been taking care of her.”
"And then what happened?"
"Later, I went out to play with you. I forgot about the dog." Mi Fen'er isn't actually very smart, but after all these years, she can at least recount one thing completely.
"Ahem. Xue'er, is that so? Is she the elf sister you're looking for?" Even though he already knew the answer, Stone still asked mischievously.
The little orc nodded with a dark expression: "Hmph, so you still know to come back to find me? Where have you been all these years?"
MiFen'er tilted her head, looking at the little beastman with great confusion: "The dog has grown up, are you hungry?" she said. MiFen'er took out a fruit from her bosom and was about to stuff it into the little beastman's mouth.
The little orc quickly dodged to the side: "I'm not hungry!"
Mifen nodded and obediently put the fruit away: "Shitou, make something to eat."
Stone almost spat blood. Actually, Rice Noodle knew that the fruit didn't taste very good. Moreover, over the years, under Stone's subtle influence, Rice Noodle had tasted all kinds of delicacies in the capital.
Patting his belly, Stone readily took out food to share with everyone. Rice Noodle glanced at the roast chicken in the little beastman's hand, snatched it away, and then stuffed the fruit in her arms into her hands: "Doggy, eat this, it's delicious."
"You!" The little beastman jumped up in anger, "If it's so delicious, why don't you eat it yourself?!"
Stone laughed so hard he coughed repeatedly, but Pipi couldn't stand it anymore and handed the little beastman a roasted deer leg. That finally calmed her down.
So, the trio became a quartet. Stone didn't put the rice noodles back into his ring space because he couldn't fully trust the little beastman.
Leaving the Crimson Forest was easy; at least the little orc was very familiar with the area. Whether by coincidence or not, the direction the little orc chose to leave was the same direction Stone had taken four years ago.
Tingyun Town is a town where mercenaries gather, and it was the first human town Stone encountered after leaving the Crimson Forest. It was here that Stone met Huo Xiaoxiao, and they even went into the Crimson Forest together to search for the Blood Pearl Fruit.
"Miss! I've finally found you!" A cry of surprise rang out, and then a figure lunged straight at the stone.
Stone quickly dodged to the side, successfully avoiding the human cannonball. The human cannonball was unharmed, as it rushed directly into the arms of Luo Pipi, who had been standing behind Stone.
"Ugh..." Luo Pipi pushed away the person in her arms, clutching her chest and crying out in pain.
Seeing her like this, Stone couldn't help but laugh. Well, even though Luo Pipi is flat-chested, her chest must still hurt, you know.
"Miss, ah!" After seeing what was in front of him clearly, the human cannonball exclaimed in surprise and quickly crossed his arms: "You, you, you pervert!"
Luo Pipi watched helplessly as the assailant pointed at her, the victim, and yelled "pervert!" She finally couldn't help but glare fiercely at Shitou.
“Um…” Stone grabbed the human cannonball, turned his face towards her, and said, “Oh, Linda! Long time no see.”
"Miss!" Linda burst into tears the moment she saw Stone, whom she hadn't seen in so long. "I thought you were dead!"
Instantly, Stone, who had been gloating, turned completely green-faced, grinding his teeth as he spoke viciously, "I'm really sorry to disappoint you."
“Miss, I’ve been looking for you. The young lady said you ran away, and then she said that you’ve never traveled far before, so if you really ran away, you’d probably come to the Crimson Forest.” Linda wiped away her tears and looked pitifully at Stone.
Stone raised an eyebrow: "You went to see my sister?"
"Yes, it was Miss who gave me the money and told me to come find you."
After thinking for a moment, Stone asked with a puzzled look, "But why don't you go find Wushuang? Logically speaking, you should be more familiar with him, right?" As Stone's contracted servant, Linda was indeed very familiar with Hua Wushuang.
“I’m afraid to go into Ironforge because there are terrifying things inside.” Linda sniffed and said with a look of horror, “The terrifying aura I felt at the palace before is now inside Ironforge.”
Stone remained skeptical of Linda's supposed prophetic abilities: "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, have you found your father and brother?"
"No..." Linda lowered her head, feeling wronged. "Several times, I've sensed my brother's presence, but I haven't been able to find him..."
Seeing that Linda was about to burst into tears again, Stone quickly stopped her: "No, no, don't rush to cry. Tell me first, how did you know I was here?"
"Linda didn't know you were here." Linda looked at the stone pitifully. "Not long ago, there was a riot by the Soul-Eating Beasts, and many people in the nearby towns died. I was very worried that something might happen to you, Miss, but I didn't dare to go to those deserted towns. I thought that since you had been here before, perhaps I could wait for you to appear here."
Well, Stone looked up at the sky helplessly. This child not only had a talent for prophecy, but also an added bonus of luck: "Have you been home? Have you seen your grandma?"
“I saw it.” Linda pouted. “Grandma passed away yesterday. She was waiting for us to come home, and after seeing that I was alright, she… she…”
Stone slapped his forehead hard. Fine, cry if you want to!
"Pipi, Xue'er, let's find a hotel to stay in."
"Miss, let's go to my house. My grandma is already..."
Stone quickly nodded: "Okay, then you lead the way."
Fortunately, Linda stopped crying after she had something to do, but she still begged Stone to help her find her father and brothers.
Stone reluctantly agreed. Thinking about the tasks he carried, Stone felt a sense of "the more debts, the less worries."
Looking for yarn, looking for the cat from the little beastman's house, looking for Linda's father and brothers, and also helping Mifen find the gathering place of the elves...
Damn it, I'm not some selfless Good Samaritan!
After resting at Linda's house for a few days, Stone had Linda buy a lot of food in town. After all, she had been away from the capital for quite some time. There was indeed a lot of food in her ring space, but so much time had passed that many of the good things were gone. Only some rice that didn't spoil easily remained.
After staying in Tingyun Town for about ten days, Shi Tou not only bought all the necessary items, but also went to the Mercenary Association to check on some of her wanted missions.
Actually, calling it a wanted mission is more like a manhunt. Regardless of who issues the mission, the instructions clearly state that the suspect must be found alive, although leads can be reported.
Having confirmed several times that nothing had happened to the Huo family, Shi Tou put the matter out of her mind. Even if the royal family had no evidence that she had smuggled Princess Doragar, she didn't plan to return to the capital for the time being.
Regardless, such a big thing has happened, it's only right that he stays away for a few days.
Finally, it was time to set off again. Luo Pipi originally went to the Crimson Forest hoping to obtain a crystal core from a seventh-tier or higher magical beast, but having lost all her subordinates, she naturally dared not covet high-tier magical beasts anymore. Shi Tou thought she would choose to go back, but unexpectedly, after thinking for a long time, Luo Pipi surprisingly chose to wander the world with Shi Tou.
For a moment, Stone even thought that the guy had lost his mind. However, Luo Pipi later told her in private that her father had made it clear to her that this was her last time going out to explore, and after this was over, she would go home to get married.
The thought of getting married terribly shocked not only Luo Pipi, but even Shi Tou.
Um, if Luo Pipi gets married, won't people think her husband has a problem with his sexual orientation?
After discussing with Stone and the little orc, the three finally came up with the following itinerary: First, they would go to the orc settlement closest to the Scarlet Forest.
The little orc is determined to find her kitten, and she is also very curious about her own origins, so she decides to go to the orc community to find out more.
Stone is just there for show; as long as she doesn't have to go back to the capital, she can go anywhere. As for MiFen'er and Linda, I'm sorry, these two have no right to comment.
They inquired as they went, and it was a month later when they finally arrived at the first orc settlement.
"Xue'er, is this the orc settlement? I feel like..." Under the little orc's piercing gaze, Stone swallowed the words he was about to say.
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A terrifying old friend is about to appear. Can you guess who it is?
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☆, Chapter 214 The Whereabouts of the Xue'er Clan
(Dingtian Novel Website.dtxsj.) It's just like a zoo!
Stone genuinely felt that the scene before her was strikingly similar to the zoo she frequented in her past life. Cat people, dog people, cow people... in short, all these beastmen looked more like animals than humans.
"This is the closest orc settlement to the Luo Ming Empire." Among the group, Luo Pipi was the most educated. Seeing this, she explained, "Actually, hundreds of years ago, this area belonged to the orc kingdom. However, their kingdom was destroyed, and the orcs went their own way."
The destruction of a nation?
Stone looked at Luo Pipi in surprise: "I thought the orcs were very powerful."
"No matter how powerful the force, it is no match for dozens of nine-star mages." Luo Pipi seemed lost in memories: "I remember reading a book once, where the goddess of magic, Princess Irene, led her thirty-seven nine-star mages to wage war against the orc kingdom. Within seven days, the orc kingdom was destroyed and its people perished. Even now, they have been unable to rebuild their former glory."
Stone was instantly speechless. So, in her past life, she was an animal rights activist! She cared deeply for cats and dogs; how could she have done something so cruel?
"Duo'er, what's wrong?" Luo Pipi asked with concern when she saw that Shi Tou's expression was off.
Stone was speechless again: "Um, let's discuss this. Let's all call me Stone. I'm having trouble keeping up with each of your different names."
“But Miss, aren’t you called Huo Yi? Oh, no, you told me first. Your name is Serena.” Linda was an honest child, and she betrayed the stone without hesitation.
Stone looked conflicted: "Anyway, I've already said my name is Stone now, do you understand?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"So, what should we do next?" Stone's gaze fell on the little orc. "Xue'er, what do you say?"
The little orc looked at the stone blankly: "I don't know either, is this Chapter 216?"
The little mouse nodded quickly: "Yes."
"Do you know where the orc elders are?" Normally, outside of human kingdoms, the highest-ranking members of other races are elders. Stone thought that going to the elders' council would be a good idea if he wanted to find out information.
"Elder? Ah!" To everyone's surprise, the little mouse boy fainted instantly upon hearing the word "elder."