Volume One Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Visitor

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Upright grip, reverse grip, switching hands left and right. Mo De was continuously familiarizing himself with this new weapon, but in Mu Qing’s eyes, he seemed utterly lost in the sense of achievement from “finishing his first blade,” unable to extricate himself.

A gentle knock sounded outside. Mu Qing stepped down from the kang to greet Cui Hua, the visitor at the door, while Mo De sheathed the short knife and rose to remove the hanging curtain.

This time, Cui Hua didn’t stay for a meal. After retrieving the lunchbox from the previous meal, she bid farewell and left. The village was about to hold a gathering soon, where Village Chief Shang Qingwen would announce the new patrol assignments.

From Cui Hua’s demeanor, both Mo De and Mu Qing sensed the caution and seriousness of Dongsha Village.

Dongsha Village was situated on a wasteland near the desert. To the east and south lay a massive dried riverbed, forming a natural gully, so most of the beast attacks occurred from the west and north of the village.

Thus, all guest houses were built on the eastern side, to maximize the safety of visiting outsiders.

Suddenly sensing someone else approaching, Mo De and Mu Qing pretended not to notice until the knock finally came, prompting them to open the door.

There were two visitors, both women in their twenties. One was the short-haired woman who had appeared before, but her companion was not her roommate; instead, it was a serene woman with waist-length hair.

“Hello, both of you. We’re members of the ‘Changlong’ Scientific Expedition, here to seek shelter from this lunar tide, just like you,” the short-haired woman greeted Mo De and Mu Qing familiarly, and then introduced herself, “I’m Zhou Meiqiong, and this is our deputy leader, Chen Luoluo.”

The long-haired woman smiled gently, radiating a soft warmth.

“My name is Qin Mo, and this is my elder sister, Qin Qing,” Mo De likewise introduced their false identities.

After inviting the two inside and to their seats, Mo De took the initiative, “May I ask what brings you here?”

“We just wanted to check in, since the village seems wary and doesn’t want us wandering about. By the way, we heard some commotion to the northwest earlier—was something happening?” Zhou Meiqiong asked, probing indirectly.

“It was nothing, just a pack of sand jackals attacking the village. The chief and his men have already dealt with it,” Mo De replied with a smile, omitting much of the process.

“Another sand jackal attack, huh? These things are really relentless. Aunt Liu said they’ve already come twice before...”

With one remark after another, Mo De and Zhou Meiqiong fell into conversation.

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Curiously, though four people were present, only their voices filled the room.

Chen Luoluo sat quietly beside Zhou Meiqiong, like a porcelain doll, her face always adorned with a gentle, shallow smile. Only when Mo De’s gaze landed on her would she nod slightly in acknowledgment.

On Mo De’s side, Mu Qing remained equally silent, the oversized sunglasses hiding most of her expression, making her seem like a statue.

But in truth, she simply found mimicking Chen Luoluo amusing.

Through their conversation, Mo De learned that the expedition had arrived in Dongsha Village three days prior to the lunar tide. They had visited the first group of guests but were met with closed doors, not seeing the man and two women at all.

The entire expedition team had returned from northern Zhong Continent, and upon arriving back in the Huaxia realm, received notice of the lunar tide’s eruption, seeking nearby shelter at Dongsha Village. The team comprised ten members, four men and six women. The leader, Luo Qinghe, was busy sorting data, so the deputy leader Chen Luoluo and Zhou Meiqiong were sent instead.

Hearing Mo De and Mu Qing mention their merchant association identities, Zhou Meiqiong finally understood why the chief had treated these two differently. In terms of connections, no power in the world could compare to the merchant guild.

“By the way, why does Sister Qing still wear sunglasses indoors?” Zhou Meiqiong asked Mu Qing unintentionally.

“My elder sister has had photon sensitivity since childhood. Taking them off would overstimulate her eyes,” Mo De explained for his “sister.”

There he went, adding another odd trait to himself. Mu Qing rolled her eyes behind the sunglasses but let Mo De be.

After an enjoyable conversation, Zhou Meiqiong and Chen Luoluo took their leave.

Once the two beauties were sent off, Mo De returned to the room to find Mu Qing had broken her icy facade, switching from ice-sculpture beauty to sand-sculpture mode, hugging someone’s pillow and rolling back and forth across the kang.

She must have been stifled from a whole afternoon of silence.

“Silent master act?” Mo De teased, looking at the “sand sculpture” on the kang. He hadn’t expected her to stay this quiet for so long.

“I just wanted to compete with that girl to see who’d speak first. Who knew she wouldn’t utter a single word. But I didn’t lose, hmph!” Mu Qing pouted like a child.

“Maybe she’s just naturally that way; why compete with her?” Mo De was speechless after learning the truth—his companion was simply bored.

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“How trustworthy do you think that girl is?” Lying on the kang, legs swinging, Mu Qing looked up at Mo De.

“Sister Meiqiong is older than both of us—don’t call her a girl,” Mo De admonished, then thought for a moment. “I think she’s honest. There’s an academic air about both of them, so they’re unlikely to be the bandits Cui Hua mentioned. Still, it pays to stay alert.”

“Tsk tsk, you call her ‘sister’ after just one meeting, but you’ve spent so long with me and never sincerely called me that. My heart is shattered...” Mu Qing clutched her chest in exaggerated misery.

Clearly, her mind had been stifled by the afternoon of silence. Mo De sighed, sat cross-legged, and ignored her antics.

“Hey! This beauty is heartbroken here!”

“I’ll tell Cui Hua later to make you some chilled pork heart for dinner, to mend it.”

“That’ll do—extra chili, extra garlic...”

...

“So, did you learn anything?” Zhou Meiqiong had barely opened her door when she found the blond youth sitting outside on a stool, evidently waiting for the two women.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Menghan?” Zhou Meiqiong was surprised he’d waited so long.

“She’s inside, playing cards with Shaokang and the others. Without you, that card shark, Menghan’s little stash is about to be cleaned out.” The blond youth pouted, got up, dusted himself off, and followed the girls inside.

“Meiqiong...” The golden-haired girl nearly cried with joy at Zhou Meiqiong’s return, while Du Shaokang and the others turned away, whistling guiltily.

“Well, bullying Menghan the rookie, are you? Come on, none of you are leaving tonight—we’ll battle until dawn!”