Desert City (Mo City).
The woman in the red dress led a figure around and around until they arrived at a sparsely populated street.
"When you come into Master Bing's shop later, don't say anything out of line. Although you have great talent, whether or not Master Bing will take a liking to you is ultimately in his hands."
The woman in the red dress suddenly stopped, her expression very serious as she gave instructions to the boy beside her.
The boy looked up. "Sister Lan, is that Ice Master really a powerful figure?"
The woman in the red dress's expression changed drastically. She covered his mouth, looked around immediately, and then relaxed.
Snap!
The woman in the red dress flicked the boy's head and threatened, "If Master Bing heard you say that, you'd be an ice sculpture by now!"
The boy was still somewhat skeptical and pursed his lips.
The woman in the red dress struck again, and the boy, in pain, clutched his head with both hands.
Do you know how my father gradually rose to become the most powerful force in Mo City?
The woman in the red dress asked.
The boy immediately replied, "Because Uncle Chen is very powerful!"
"wrong!"
The woman in the red dress shook her finger and said in a low voice, "It's because powerful people all died after provoking Master Bing! If I accidentally provoked Master Bing, even if I was killed, my father wouldn't dare to take revenge."
The boy probably understood now, and stood there, not daring to take a step.
The woman in the red dress sighed helplessly, grabbed his ear, and dragged him to a shop called "Gu Tu".
"Master Ice".
The woman in the red dress called out to the elderly man sitting behind the counter, and before he could respond, she skillfully began to organize the shop map.
The boy stood at the doorway like a piece of wood.
After a while, he probably felt that the other person wasn't as exaggerated as the woman in the red dress had said, so he secretly tiptoed to look behind the counter.
He's just an ordinary old man, nothing scary except for a scar on his face...
The boy thought to himself.
Suddenly, a shadow fell down and enveloped him.
"Get out of the way!"
As the boy turned around, a cold voice rang in his ears, like the ice at the bottom of a cold pool. He couldn't help but tremble, and subconsciously took a few steps back, bumping into the door frame and sitting on the ground.
The woman in the red dress looked towards the doorway, her eyes widening in disbelief. Two words involuntarily flashed through her mind: "So beautiful!"
A woman dressed in a light purple brocade robe walked in from outside the door, holding a person whose head was drooping, presumably unconscious.
A strong smell of blood emanated from the unconscious person and instantly filled the shop.
The woman in the red dress seemed to realize something, her expression changed, and she hurriedly went to meet her, shouting, "Quick, quick, let's go!"
She kept giving Medusa meaningful glances.
Medusa was stunned. Nie Yuan had asked her to come to Mo City to find Gu Tu, but now that she had found him, why was he kicking her out?
Was he referring to a picture, not the store?
"This is not a clinic. Your body odor is disturbing Master Bing's drawing. He will be angry, and the consequences will be severe."
The woman in the red dress noticed the fleeting look of confusion on Medusa's face and quickly explained.
"I only sell maps, I don't rescue people."
Smelling the blood, Hai Bodong paused in his drawing, then coldly said without raising his head.
Upon hearing this, Medusa seemed to remember something, and a smile appeared on her beautiful face.
The woman in the red dress was completely stunned, and didn't even react when Medusa passed by her.
Knock knock!
Medusa helped Nie Yuan to the counter, curled her index finger, and gently knocked on the counter.
The smell of blood suddenly became even stronger.
Hai Bodong's forehead veins throbbed twice as he slowly put down his pen. A chill rose from beneath his feet, and a faint frost appeared on the ground.
"It's over!"
The woman in the red dress twitched and turned around abruptly.
Behind the counter, Hai Bodong looked up impatiently and glanced around.
Clang...
The chair beneath Hai Bodong shattered, and he plopped down on the ground, still looking up, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints.
He shakily raised his hand, pointed at the woman with an stunningly beautiful face in front of the counter, and kept inhaling, as if all the muscles in his body had been frozen at that moment.
The facial muscles seemed to have a mind of their own, twitching incessantly.
Hai Bodong couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
The woman in the red dress stared wide-eyed at the sight.
She had never seen Master Bing so out of control.
"You, how did you find this place, Queen Medusa!" Hai Bodong managed to squeeze out a complete sentence.
The battle in the desert years ago still haunts him to this day.
The serpent seal curse that had been within his body for decades made him fear Medusa as if she were a venomous snake.
At this very moment, the woman who frequently appeared in my nightmares was standing right in front of me.
Hai Bodong felt that he was already lucky not to have died outright.
The woman in the red dress looked horrified when she heard the title used by Master Bing.
The person I just stopped was actually Medusa, the queen of the snake people?
Medusa ignored Hai Bodong's reaction, grabbed Nie Yuan's drooping head with one hand, and lifted it up forcefully. "Do you know him?"
Hai Bodong took a closer look and immediately nodded.
Although Nie Yuan's face was swollen like a pig's head, he still remembered.
However, he immediately regretted it after admitting it.
Nie Yuan is in such a terrible state, it might have been Medusa who did it, why should he admit it?
Medusa was probably able to find her way here thanks to Nie Yuan's guidance.
"It's good that you know him. Find someone to treat him; he's dying."
As if she had completed her mission, Medusa breathed a sigh of relief, flipped her jade hand, and enveloped Nie Yuan's body with her fighting spirit, placing him on the counter.
Hai Bodong was stunned for a moment, wondering if he had misheard. Queen Medusa was actually asking him to save people?
He looked at Nie Yuan, then at Medusa, his eyes filled with a complex expression of confusion, bewilderment, and incomprehension.
Do you want me to repeat myself a second time?
Medusa frowned, a hint of murderous intent flashing in her pale purple pupils.
"No, no!"
Hai Bodong hurriedly got up from the ground, and after passing Medusa, he saw the woman in the red dress. His gaze swept over the map on the shelf, and his hand landed on her shoulder.
"Quickly, go and fetch the most skilled physician in Mo City!"
Hai Bodong sternly ordered, pushing the woman in the red dress outside the door.
The woman in the red dress seemed to awaken from a dream, and quickly left with the boy.
Hai Bodong stood at the doorway and saw Medusa walk past him. He froze, staring at the ground, not daring to look around.
Only after Medusa left did he look at Nie Yuan, who lay on the counter, his life hanging in the balance, and let out a long howl, "What a tragedy!"
...
"Cough...cough, water, give me water."
Nie Yuan felt as if someone had stuffed a piece of burning coal into his throat, making him extremely uncomfortable.
The next second, it seemed as if someone brought the bowl to his lips, and he opened his mouth and drank it in big gulps.
The cool liquid flowed over the gums and into the mouth, down the throat.
After a while, Nie Yuan finally felt a little better. He opened his eyes with difficulty and found himself in a room. He was stunned for a moment and asked, "Where am I?"
"In Mo City."
A woman's voice came from the side.
Nie Yuan turned his head and looked over, thinking for two seconds, "It's you?"
"Hmm, we meet again. Master Bing has never taken care of anyone before, so he asked me to help him."
The woman in the red dress smiled and brought over another bowl of water.
This time, Nie Yuan took over the task himself.
"I'll go call Master."
The woman in the red dress got up and left the room.
A moment later, hurried and somewhat chaotic footsteps sounded outside, and then Hai Bodong burst into the room with a look of panic and anger on his face.
Nie Yuan forced a smile.
The next second, his smile froze, turning into confusion.
Thump!
Hai Bodong knelt by the bedside, completely unseemly, his old face full of bitterness. "Nie Yuan, I haven't offended you before, have I?"
"What?"
Nie Yuan looked completely bewildered.
Just then, another figure in pale purple entered the room.
Nie Yuan froze, as memories flooded back into his mind.