Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Chance Encounter

Lin Shen looked over warily and saw a dark figure standing behind a large tree in the forest, revealing half of its body and watching him with a cold gaze.

“It’s that Black-Capped Mushroom Beast.” Lin Shen recognized it immediately, his heart tightening.

The creature was secretly watching him, apparently holding a grudge. This made Lin Shen realize his plan to leave before the beast tide was now completely foiled.

After being spotted by Fei Zai, the Black-Capped Mushroom Beast stared intently at Lin Shen before slowly receding into the forest and vanishing from sight.

From the way it looked at him as it left, Lin Shen knew that if he didn’t deal with it, it would surely be the first to seek him out for retribution when the beast tide arrived.

“So you think I’m easy to bully?” Lin Shen frowned slightly, contemplating how he could take it down the next time they met.

“Go back?” Wei Wufu asked, looking at Lin Shen.

“No need. It’s quite intelligent and knows it can’t handle us now. As long as we don’t stray too far from the base, it probably won’t attack us,” Lin Shen said after some thought.

He still wanted to see if there were other types of Poison Mushroom Beasts and collect some Base Mutation Fluid with toxins to strengthen himself, which would definitely be a great help with the impending beast tide.

Lin Shen took out a waterskin and collected all the residual Base Mutation Fluid from the Poison Mushroom Beast’s body. Such Base Mutation Fluid could not be directly consumed by most Mutators, but for Lin Shen, it couldn’t be a better supplement.

Lin Shen found the erroneous “Evolution Theory” increasingly useful. With its power, he could directly consume various Base Mutation Fluids without worrying that untreated Base Mutation Fluids might harm his body.

The two didn’t venture too deep, just hunting Mushroom Beasts for Base Mutation Eggs and Base Mutation Fluid nearby the base.

Poison Mushroom Beasts were obviously rare; they hadn’t encountered a second one even after half a day.

As they continued searching for Mushroom Beasts, they saw a group of people, dressed quite elaborately and riding high-level pets, coming their way.

Those people were not aiming for them but as they passed not far from them, one of the girls riding a White Gold Beast stopped and scrutinized Lin Shen, who was standing to the side.

As their eyes met, Lin Shen’s expression did not change much, but the girl looked surprised.

“Lin Shen, what are you doing here?” Lu Qing looked at Lin Shen, her expression complex, as she dismounted from the White Gold Beast and walked up to Lin Shen.

The others also paused, their gazes sizing up Lin Shen and Wei Wufu.

Seeing that neither man had a mount, and with Lin Shen having a snowball-like Fatty pigeon perched on his shoulder, they regarded them with a degree of disdain.

In this era, almost no one kept ordinary pets anymore.

“Long time no see.” Lin Shen greeted Lu Qing with a smile.

Their parting couldn’t really be said to be anyone’s fault. Distance had grown between them, and without seeing each other, feelings naturally faded over time.

Although Ye Yuzhen played a part in it, if their relationship had been truly firm, Ye Yuzhen wouldn’t have been able to damage it so easily.

Even without Ye Yuzhen, there could be a Li Yuzhen or a Zhao Yuzhen in the future. If two people can’t stay together over a long distance, issues are always going to arise.

When Lu Qing hadn’t seen Lin Shen, she was very confident, but the moment she actually met him, she seemed to lose that confidence instantly.

“About the incident with my older sister, I asked my family to help, but because the Lu Family and the Xu Family have been having some unpleasant disputes recently, the Xu Family didn’t agree to release the people nor did they admit to hijacking my sister’s merchant caravan…” Lu Qing explained in a low voice.

“Thank you, it’s fine, the issue has been resolved.” It was a thing of the past, and Lin Shen didn’t want to dwell on it any further, as it would benefit no one, he paused then added, “If you have things to do, you can go ahead.”

“Resolved?” Lu Qing was slightly taken aback.

Seeing her expression, Lin Shen couldn’t help but feel puzzled, thinking, “Didn’t Ye Yuzhen tell her that I already rescued my sister?”

“Yes, resolved.” Lin Shen didn’t want to make a fuss and didn’t elaborate further.

Lu Qing, somewhat in disbelief and with a complex expression, said, “We… are still friends… If there’s anything I can help you with, I will definitely do so.”

“Thank you, it really is resolved.” Lin Shen still maintained a smile and a distance.

Feeling Lin Shen’s detachment, Lu Qing felt inexplicably uncomfortable. She bit her lip, seemingly wanting to say more, but then she heard someone in the team behind her say, “Lu Qing, since they do not appreciate it, why bother? Maybe they have ways to reach the heavens, and the Xu Family was perhaps begging for forgiveness and sent the people back already.”

The speaker was a young man about the same age as Lin Shen, obviously aware of the incident with the Lin Family caravan, his words laden with a hint of sarcasm.

“Zheng Yan, this is my business, you don’t have to interfere,” Lu Qing glared at the man, then turned to Lin Shen and sighed, “I had Yuzhen pass a message to you previously, she said you had left Yashen Base and gone back, I didn’t expect to find you still here. If there’s anything I can help with, come find me at ‘With You’ store number 3, I’m usually there.”

“I’m a bit busy today, but I should be able to return by tomorrow at the latest,” Lu Qing added.

“Alright, I will definitely come to you if there’s anything,” Lin Shen sighed inwardly and said.

Lu Qing was actually quite nice, and when they were together in the past, they indeed had a good relationship, but the past was the past, and Lin Shen didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore.

“Lu Qing, we should prioritize important matters, let’s not let the Xu Family get ahead,” Zheng Yan urged.

Lu Qing wanted to say something, but seeing that Lin Shen seemed to have no desire to continue the conversation, she bit her lip and said nothing more, only bidding farewell before mounting the White Gold Beast, ready to leave. Just then, the sound of hoofbeats came from behind.

Everyone turned to look, only to see another group riding high-level pets approaching them.

From a distance, Lin Shen could see Xu Tiange leading the way at the front, and he thought to himself, “What are both the Lu and Xu families doing here? This isn’t the way to the Blue Tree Sea.”

Almost instinctively, Lu Qing controlled her mount to block in front of Lin Shen, worried that Xu Tiange would cause trouble for him.

The possibility she feared seemingly became reality, as Xu Tiange really did come their way, heading directly toward Lin Shen.

“Xu Tiange, what do you want?” Lu Qing asked coldly as Xu Tiange, who had already arrived in front of her, approached.

“Miss Lu, I’m not here for you, why so nervous,” Xu Tiange dismounted and, bypassing Lu Qing, walked toward Lin Shen.

Lu Qing tried to stop him again but was held back by Zheng Yan, “He doesn’t appreciate your concern, why bother like this. Let’s wait and see what happens. When he gets into trouble, he’ll naturally come to you.”

“I’ve said it’s my matter, and it’s none of your business,” Lu Qing shook off Zheng Yan’s hand on her arm, ready to stop Xu Tiange again, but Xu Tiange’s actions stunned her.