"Alright, that's all I have to say. Stop the car!" Huo Xiaoxiao suddenly shoved something into Shi Tou's hand: "This is a communicator I bought at a high price. I have another one. If this communicator emits a green light, it means the capital is safe, so you should come back. If it emits a red light, then you..."
Huo Xiaoxiao didn't finish her sentence before jumping out of the car: "Keep going, take Xiaoyi to the nearest city and then come back!"
As the carriage traveled further and further away, Stone peeked out and watched Huo Xiaoxiao's figure grow smaller and smaller, and suddenly felt a sense of loss...
☆, Chapter 185 There is a handsome man named Tina
As instructed by Huo Xiaoxiao, the driver delivered the stone to the next city and then returned to the capital.
Stone stared blankly at the unfamiliar city, lost in thought. Fortunately, she didn't stay long.
“Beautiful lady, where are you headed? Would you like me to accompany you for a stroll in the city?” A man who looked to be about thirty years old approached Shi Tou, smacking his lips as he looked at her.
Stone glanced at the man with disgust, said nothing, and turned to leave.
"Beautiful lady, please don't go! Let me spend this wonderful time with you?" The man moved closer to the stone again, his foul breath spraying directly onto the stone's face.
Stone was furious and was about to take out the spiked club from the ring's space when a sudden voice interrupted her.
"Tsk tsk, I really didn't expect that such a picturesque city like Gergale would have such a despicable scumbag! Sigh..."
Stone instinctively turned his head and saw a man who looked no more than twenty years old. He had a handsome face and wore a single-lens reflex lens, exuding elegance. After seeing the sleazy man from before, and then looking at the man in front of him with his refined appearance, gentle temperament, and aristocratic demeanor, Stone felt the tightness in his chest dissipate instantly.
"Hmph, where did this pretty boy come from? How dare he ruin your grandpa's good time!" The lewd man glared fiercely at the guy who had appeared out of nowhere: "Get the hell out of here right now!"
The man smiled slightly, a smile that could melt ice and snow: "You can get out now, get out of the city of Gergale!"
The lewd man was about to say something more when suddenly a squad of city guards rushed over and, in no time at all, knocked him to the ground and threw him out of the city gate.
"Young lady, are you traveling alone?" The elegant man gave Shi Tou a gentlemanly bow. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Stone stared at the man with starry eyes: "Wow! You're so handsome!" She never expected to encounter a hero rescuing a damsel in distress in this other world. Waaah, it seems fate has been kind to me!
The man was a little stunned. But after a moment, he gave the stone a bright smile: "My father is the city lord of Gergale. If you need any help, young lady, you can go to the city lord's mansion to ask my father for help."
What? He's actually the son of a high-ranking official?
The way Shi Tou looked at the man was absolutely dazzling.
The man felt a little flustered by the stone's gaze and quickly took a step back, saying, "I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Seeing that the man was about to leave the city, Shi Tou quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Hey, I need your help!"
Looking at the stone, its eyes filled with tears and its expression one of utter pitifulness, the man suddenly felt as if he had done something wrong: "Excuse me..."
"I ran away from home." Stone looked at the man with teary eyes and began to tell an extremely tragic story.
"You mean, your parents are forcing you to get married? Or to a man 50 years older than you?" Upon hearing Shi Tou's words, the man instantly lost his composure: "How can there be such shameless parents in this world?"
Despite saying that, Stone still noticed a hint of doubt on the man's face. Clearly, he didn't entirely believe Stone either.
After thinking for a moment, Shi Tou decided to make the lie even more believable: "I'm not actually my parents' biological daughter. I'm an adopted child. I have an older sister. She was originally supposed to marry someone else, but they were afraid she would suffer, so they made me take her place in the marriage."
The man examined the stone carefully, and probably figured that such a young child wouldn't lie, so he began to believe it.
"I had already given up hope and was just waiting to get married. But my sister felt sorry for me and couldn't bear it. She secretly let me out." Two lines of tears slid down Shi Tou's face, making him look even more pitiful. "Before I left, my sister gave me some money, but I don't know where I should go now..."
The man pondered for a moment, then said, "How about this, you come with me to the City Lord's Mansion today, and I'll discuss with my father how to help you."
Stone looked at the man with a grateful expression: "That's wonderful, brother, you're such a kind person!"
The man, who was about to reach for the stone, paused abruptly upon hearing this, then a strange expression appeared on his face: "Come with me."
"Brother, where do you live? This is my first time here!" Stone didn't notice the change in the man's expression and continued to try to get closer to him.
The man was much taller than the stone, and he was trying hard to hide the conflicted look on his face: "Be good, we'll be there soon."
That night, Stone lay in his guest room at the city lord's mansion, feeling incredibly proud of himself. Only Baozi, completely bewildered, asked Stone what he was trying to do.
Shi Tou pursed her lips; she couldn't be bothered with that silly girl anymore. Huo Xiaoxiao's meaning was clear: she wanted her to run away and not return anytime soon. The problem was, she planned to go to the Crimson Forest, but the timing was wrong!
The Crimson Forest usually welcomes a large number of explorers in late autumn, and it's only early summer now. Even at a slow pace, it should take two months to get to the Crimson Forest from here, so Stone decided to linger a little longer.
After all, she wasn't confident enough to go looking for trouble in the Crimson Forest during the most dangerous time of summer...
While Shi Tou was thinking about how to flirt with the handsome man in the future, the handsome man had already started investigating her.
"You said she was brought here in a rather grand-looking carriage?" The man sat in a chair, one hand adjusting his glasses, the other tapping his knee on his lap. "Anything else?"
"I heard the coachman say, 'Second Miss, you can get off now. The Eldest Miss only instructed that we be taken this far.'" A man standing below the man, with his hands at his sides, bowed his head and answered respectfully.
The man looked up at the window: "It seems what she said is true..."
The sleeping Stone had no idea that the story she made up on the spot would actually be believed. Even less did she expect that the man would bring her such a bizarre and inexplicable disaster.
“Young lady, I have already told my father about your situation. You can stay at the city lord’s mansion for the time being until you grow up and get married.” The next morning, the man knocked on the stone’s door.
With sleepy eyes, Stone looked at him blankly: "Who are you? Oh, handsome brother, hello!" Sticking out his tongue, Stone looked at the man with embarrassment.
The man's face darkened again: "I'm leaving Gelgarel today, so I've come to say goodbye."
Shi Tou jumped up and grabbed the man's arm: "Brother, don't go! Don't abandon me!" What a joke! If it weren't for this handsome man, she wouldn't be staying in this godforsaken place!
The man was covered in cold sweat: "I..." What the hell does "abandoned" even mean?!
"Brother, where are you going? Can I go with you?" Stone blinked and looked at him with a face full of affection.
"This..." the man hesitated, "I'm going on an adventure, not just playing around!"
adventure?!
Stone paused for a moment. Could this person be heading to the Crimson Forest?
"Are you going to the Crimson Forest?" Stone asked in surprise.
The man looked even more astonished than a stone: "How did you know?"
Orz, I'm not telling you, I just guessed!
"I heard my sister say that the Crimson Forest is the most dangerous place. Brother, please don't go there to risk your life, okay?" Stone was a little confused. Big brother, it's early summer now, shouldn't it be the season when monsters are rampant in the Crimson Forest?
"Looks like your family isn't ordinary!" The man scrutinized the stone. "Would you be interested in joining me for a stroll through the Crimson Forest?"
~~o(>_<)o ~~
Can we say no?
"Since that's the case, then come with me! At worst, we'll just lose our lives," the man said boldly, picking up the stone as he did so.
Shi Tou didn't react for a moment. Although she wasn't as tall as Huo Xiaoxiao, she was still twelve years old. How could that man have picked her up so easily? Hey, I'm a girl!
Just as Stone was about to yell "molestation," he suddenly shut his mouth and reached out to tap the man's chest: "Wow! Brother, you have pectoral muscles!"
"Smack!"
The stone was tragically thrown upside down, looking at the man with a wronged expression: "Brother..."
The man's eyes were filled with resentment: "Come with me!"
If you're going to leave, then leave. Why are you being so fierce?
Stone patted her little bottom and followed the man into the carriage. Before she was even settled, the man ordered them to set off.
"Brother, are we really going to the Crimson Forest? Isn't it very scary?" Stone lowered his head, innocently poking his finger at the other person. "I'm so scared!"
"I didn't force you to go, it was your own choice." The man crossed his arms and looked at the stone expressionlessly: "Are you immune to magic?"
"Huh?" Stone, unable to keep up with the handsome man's leaping thoughts, looked up blankly.
"I said, you're a magic-immune person, meaning you can't practice magic, right?"
Stone was stunned again. Was that so?
"Probably, I don't know. I'm a Qi Master." In this world, those without strength will definitely be looked down upon. Even if you're as beautiful as Daji, it still depends on whether King Zhou appreciates you.
The man looked at the stone meaningfully: "I still don't know your name."
Stone is depressed. What's her name again?
Stone? Huo Yi? Or Yun Xiangxiang from her past life?
"My name is Serena." Stone hesitated for a long time before deciding to use this name to get by. The name Huo Yi was just too Eastern in connotation: "Brother, what's your name?"
The man's lips twitched slightly: "Longaha. My full name is Tina Longaha."
-----
It's time for the second watch!
...
☆, Chapter 186 My name is Guo'er Bess
Tina Longaha...
Stone didn't quite understand the naming system of the Fallen Nether Empire, but based solely on his English from his previous life, he knew that the name Tina was definitely for a girl.
"You...you...you..." Stone pointed his index finger at the handsome man in front of him and asked tremblingly, "You're not a man?"
The handsome Tina Longaha smiled at the stone: "When did I ever say I was a man?"
The meaning of this sentence couldn't be clearer.
Stone was promptly choked, and after a long pause, he finally managed to ask, "You're a woman?"
"I think so!" Tina forced a smile, looking helpless. "Don't you think so?"
That's a dangerous tone.
Stone immediately shrank back: "Yes, that's what I think! Sister, you're so beautiful, so beautiful that I'm momentarily stunned."
“That’s a good reason.” Tina was still smiling, but in Stone’s eyes, it was a typical forced smile.