Greater Dreams

"Young master, may I come in?"

In the early morning, a girl who looked about seven or eight, but was actually eleven years old, entered a guest room in the city lord's mansion, carrying a basin of water and a towel.

Chen Guan, who was meditating cross-legged on the bed, opened his eyes and calmly accepted the girl's service, as usual. Under the gentle pressure of her tender hands, he comfortably narrowed his eyes.

He admitted it: he had been corrupted by old customs.

This feeling was indeed quite enjoyable.

"Alright, girl, take a break. I told you, there's no need to come running to me every day. Have you had breakfast?"

"I was waiting to eat with you, young master."

The girl, who had become much closer to him than when they first met a few days ago, seriously tidied his hair and replied with anticipation.

Chen Guan didn't refuse. Although, with his growing strength, his need for food was diminishing, and he could even go without eating for ten days to half a month thanks to medicinal pills that restored his energy.

However, eating meals with the girl always made her happy, and Chen Guan was content with that.

The two of them headed to the dining hall together. Breakfast consisted of simple grains and miscellaneous foods, not lavish, but the girl's eyes shone with satisfaction.

These past few days had been the happiest days of her life!

She wore new clothes she had never dared to dream of, no longer feared being bullied, no longer worried about food, and no longer dreaded being frozen awake at night. The young master was kind and treated her like a sister.

For a girl who had endured so much hardship, her heart was easily contented. Her favorite moments were like this: eating breakfast while listening to the young master tell her stories about the outside world. Anything he said made these the happiest times.

Her former dreams had been fulfilled, and now the girl had bigger dreams.

She wanted to train diligently, hoping to help the young master more in the future. She also wanted to experience what the young master had described: the delicious taste of various cooking methods like frying, grilling, and roasting on a Fire Fox.

"Young master, are we going to dig holes in the desert again today?"

Chen Guan wanted to explain that he wasn't digging holes; he was searching for the Green Lotus Core Flame.

He already knew that the Green Lotus Core Flame was somewhere underground in this region. He hadn't pressed Haibodong for more information about the flame after learning it was nearby.

His status granted him great convenience. Every day, he led a group to continue their exploration, relying on his sense of fire attribute energy. After about ten days, Chen Guan had roughly identified a location. It would likely be just a few more days before they found the flame.

Qinglin, who had only recently started sensing Dou Qi energy, hadn't even reached the first stage of Dou Disciple. Chen Guan originally didn't want her to suffer in the desert.

However, the girl was more resilient than he had imagined, with excellent stamina. She insisted on following every day without a single complaint, seeming to enjoy the work.

When the two finished breakfast and arrived in the front hall, General Huang and the Wang brothers were already waiting.

The three of them were the main force in the search for the flame.

Especially General Huang, whose earth attribute Dou Qi was just as good, if not better, than Chen Guan's fire attribute for detecting underground movements.

At first, Chen Guan had worried that he might be distracting the general from his duties, giving the snake-people an opportunity. But the general reassured him that as long as he wasn't gone for more than a dozen days, it wouldn't be a problem. Even if the snake-people launched an attack, it would likely be led by someone at the Dou Spirit level at most.

Similarly, human hunts in the desert also involved people at the same level.

A tacit understanding had long been formed between the two sides.

If anyone stronger than a Dou King interfered, the situation would become far more complicated, something neither side wanted to see.

"Let's go."

As they walked out of the city lord's mansion, outside waiting for them were not just a few soldiers but also a large number of mercenaries from the city, all hired for the mission. They had been staying within the city lord's estate to prevent any leaks of information.

Among them were Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, whose faces Chen Guan had noted on the very first day. He remembered these faces, knowing he might have dealings with them in the future.

But for now, Chen Guan treated everyone equally, as he had no current ties with them.

Over ten mercenary groups were helping with the exploration. Chen Guan was spending about 100,000 gold coins a day on their services. Without some serious cash flow, it wouldn't have been sustainable.

Such a large-scale operation inevitably raised suspicions. Among the mercenaries, many had taken the job with dreams of striking it lucky, hoping to secretly snatch the opportunity.

There had even been some unlucky snake-people trying to sneak in and ambush them, but none had escaped. It wasn't just about the enmity between the two races; it was also to prevent information from leaking.

The only thing that made Chen Guan cautious during this quest for the Green Lotus Core Flame was Hai Bodong's nemesis in the desert: Queen Medusa.

He knew very well that she, too, was seeking the flame.

If he hadn't shown up, the Green Lotus Core Flame would have fallen into Queen Medusa's hands within the next couple of years.

The group headed into the desert, continuing their exploration from the previous day's location.

Another fruitless day, as expected.

But there was some progress; the search area had narrowed.

On the second day, another 100,000 gold coins were wasted.

At this rate, the "subsidiary gold card" Yao Ye had recently given him was on the verge of being maxed out.

Fortunately, it didn't come to that. On the third day, as Chen Guan and Qinglin were playing with snakes in the rear, a loud-voiced mercenary suddenly shouted in excitement.

"I found it! I found it!"

He couldn't help but be excited. Chen Guan had promised a Refreshing Pill to whoever found it first.

The Refreshing Pill, a tier-three pill, had powerful blood-stopping and healing effects and could quickly restore Dou Qi.

For these mercenaries, who lived on the edge of life and death, such a pill could mean an extra life.

Even Chen Guan didn't have many of them—he had fewer than twenty in total.

"Let's go take a look."

Chen Guan felt a surge of excitement and anticipation. He had been preparing for this Green Lotus Core Flame for a long time.

From acquiring Blood Lotus Essence to Ice Spirit Cold Spring and Acceptance Soul, it had all taken considerable effort, even costing him a Dou Kinglevel puppet. Now, everything was ready.

At this moment, the Green Lotus Core Flame was within reach!

(End of chapter)

P.S

Advance 25 Chapters are up on my Patreon.

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