Ye Chen thought it was normal for Alita to be wary.
He didn't explain anything, though. Seeing the woman's expression, he didn't think explaining himself would be helpful. All he had to do now was get the two of them to follow him to Zhongzhou. The rest would become clear over time.
"Alita, right? There's a map shop called 'Gutu' in Shimo City?"
Ye Chen remembered that Hai Bodong seemed to be living in seclusion in Shimo City. Furthermore, he not only had information about the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire, but also the second fragment of the Pure Lotus Demon Fire map...
These things that are so close to us naturally cannot be missed.
"Map shop?" Alita frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "There is indeed a map shop called 'Gutu'. But the owner seems to be a very mysterious old man. It is said that the disappearance of the Black Flag Group, once the first mercenary group in Stone Desert City, was largely related to the owner. Therefore, almost no one in Stone Desert City dares to cause trouble there now..."
"Come on, I'll take you there. The shop is quite far from the city center."
Alita said briskly.
Ye Chen smiled slightly in his heart at her words.
He was one of the ten most powerful men in the Gama Empire. Although he was sealed, he was not someone that a small mercenary group in a remote area could provoke.
The three of them followed Alita and her daughter slowly. At this time, Xiao Qinglin was lying on her mother's shoulder, secretly looking at Ye Chen from time to time. It was obvious that the little girl had a good impression of this big brother who was different from the others.
Although Ye Chen saw every move of the little guy clearly, he pretended not to notice it so as not to scare the other party.
This is the goal he needs to cultivate next, so Ye Chen hopes that she will like him as much as possible...
As they continued to move forward, Ye Chen and the other two found that there were fewer and fewer people around them, and yellow sand began to appear in the surrounding environment. It was obvious that the prosperity here was much lower than that of the city center.
But it's a good place to hide away...
Looking at the shop in front of him, which had a simple and even slightly old-fashioned style, Ye Chen smiled softly at Alita, who was indicating that he had reached his destination, and said, "Wait a moment, I need to change my clothes first..."
Then, under the puzzled gazes of Alita and Xiao Yixian, Ye Chen took out his alchemist robe and put it on quickly.
Although with the current strength of Ye Chen and his men, Hai Bodong would certainly be unable to resist even if they wanted to take him by force, the Ice Emperor might not be able to be forced to surrender by threatening him with death. If the old man refused to surrender, then the Demon Fire Remnant Map, which he had split into two, would be in vain...
Therefore, it is more convenient to do this as a pharmacist.
"You are actually an alchemist?!" Alita widened her eyes in surprise when she saw Ye Chen's outfit at this time.
She had seen an alchemist before. Back when she was with the mercenary group, she had accepted a mission from an alchemist, protecting him as he went into the desert to collect herbs...
Although the alchemist at that time was only a second-grade alchemist, it caused quite a stir in the mercenary world of Shimo City, and many powerful mercenary groups wanted to take over the task!
It was from that time that Alita, a mercenary born and raised in Stone Desert City, truly understood the nobility and power of the alchemist.
Seeing her shocked expression, Ye Chen smiled lightly and shook his head, saying, "Alright, shut up, or your jaw will drop. Let's go in..."
Slowly walking into the shop, Ye Chen glanced around the shop and found that the interior was not too spacious. The faint light from the two moonstones made the shop quite bright.
At this time, there were few customers in the entire store, and it was deserted, which was in line with the temperament of this store.
Perhaps because there were too many of them, the old man who had been carefully drawing a map at the counter couldn't help but stop what he was doing and look up when they entered...
The old man had a head full of snow-white hair, even his beard was white, making him look like a frail man. However, when he raised his head, Ye Chen and others saw the true appearance of his face.
I saw a horrifying scar from his left cheek to the corner of his eye. Although the old man's eyes were quite calm, the scar still made him look vaguely fierce.
Ye Chen raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that the Ice Emperor, who had been sealed for who knows how many years, still had such a murderous aura...
The two little guys, Xiao Yixian and Qinglin, were obviously frightened by each other, and Alia was also startled because she had heard a lot of rumors about this mysterious old man.
"Young master, be careful. This person is not simple. He has a powerful icy force in his body!" Hu Tian's voice was transmitted to Ye Chen's ears under the condensation of fighting spirit.
Ye Chen naturally just nodded at this. He knew very well where the other party came from.
As for Hai Bodong at this moment, all his attention was attracted by the alchemist robes on Ye Chen. More precisely, all his eyes were focused on the alchemist badge on Ye Chen's chest...
"Alchemist?! And he's a suspected fifth-grade alchemist..." Hai Bodong's heart was greatly shocked, and he couldn't help but say inwardly.
Although there are some differences between Danta's alchemist badge and that of the Gama Empire's Alchemist Guild, the difference is only in form; there is no difference in the number of symbols representing the level.
Hai Bodong took a deep breath, his emotions showing no significant fluctuation. Instead, he continued in a flat, slightly hoarse voice, "Are you looking to buy a map of the Tagor Desert?"
Ye Chen replied calmly: "Yes, give me the most detailed desert map..."
As he spoke, Ye Chen's attention slowly shifted to an ancient wooden shelf in the corner of the store.
This wooden frame was noticeably more worn, covered in spiderweb holes. Atop it, a number of yellowed maps were haphazardly stacked. The many marks of damage on their surfaces suggested they were likely failed attempts at mapmaking.
If I remember correctly, in the original novel, Xiao Yan found the remaining map of the Demon Fire from a pile of old maps...
He casually flipped through the yellowed maps, and a faint musty smell hit him. Ye Chen didn't care, but directly picked up the stack of failed works, his palm shaking slightly.
He looked like he was looking for something, which made Hai Bodong's eyes flicker with a trace of fluctuation, and then his expression became even colder.
"The items are all on the counter over here. Please come here to choose..." Hai Bodong's expression remained unchanged and he spoke in an indifferent voice.
Unfortunately, Ye Chen ignored him. Instead, after looking at a stack of old pictures, he picked up another stack next to him and shook it.
Suddenly, a broken picture the size of a palm fell directly from the pile of failed works, which made Ye Chen's eyes light up.