Miss Loser is too enchanting
Chapter 27 The Old Man is a Foodie_1

Chapter 27: Chapter 27 The Old Man is a Foodie_1

"My name is Baili Xie," Dugu Qianye casually gave a name.

"Baili Xie? From the Imperial Capital?" Meng Sanniang asked.

"No, I’m from a small city," Dugu Qianye said.

Qifeng City really isn’t big!

"Considering your age, this must be your first time traveling far from home, right?"

Dugu Qianye nodded.

"Hehe, then do you know we have to cross Mengjiao Ridge this time?"

"Mengjiao Ridge? I’ve never heard of it. Is it dangerous?" Dugu Qianye asked.

Meng Sanniang glanced at Dugu Qianye and said, "You actually don’t know about Mengjiao Ridge? Now I believe you’re from a small place. There are two routes from Baishi City to Feier City: one is to go straight through Mengjiao Ridge, and the other is to go around it. However, going around would add nearly two months to the journey. Although Mengjiao Ridge isn’t as dangerous as the Cangmang Mountains, it’s still very risky. There are seldom seen groups of Holy Beasts, and even Divine Beasts. Ordinary people wouldn’t dare to cross Mengjiao Ridge alone. Even in a group, if your Phantom Power is too low, it’s no good. That’s why the Liu Family from Baishi City posted a mercenary job requiring at least a Great Phantom Master. You’ve accepted the task, and you can’t back out now. Stick close to us when the time comes, and don’t lose your life, got it?"

"Um, thank you, Sister Meng," Dugu Qianye said. She didn’t want to call her ’Sanniang’ because it would make her seem a generation younger. However, since Meng Sanniang was being so kind, there was no need to refuse.

"Come on, I’ll take you to our Mercenary Group," Meng Sanniang said as she stood up.

Meng Sanniang’s Mercenary Group was small, with just seven members, four men and three women. However, a group with five people could already register as a Mercenary Group. Sanniang was the leader, and the other members were somewhat surprised when they saw Meng Sanniang bring Dugu Qianye back.

"This is Baili Xie. He’ll be with us for a while," Meng Sanniang said. "This is our strategist Wei Dong, and his sister Wei Lin. There’s Uncle Hong, Liu Han, Ziren, and Bei Feng."

Meng Sanniang held a lot of authority in the group; when she spoke, there was hardly any opposition from the others. Dugu Qianye looked around, noticing that besides Meng Sanniang being a Level 5 Great Phantom Master, another member, Uncle Hong, was a Level 7 Great Phantom Master, with the other five around Level 3 or 4. Such overall strength was already quite high for a Mercenary Group. Dugu Qianye greeted each of them in turn.

Gradually, a few more people arrived. At 9 o’clock, someone from the Liu Family came to take them to meet the others. Dugu Qianye counted, and there were a total of 24 people, mostly Great Phantom Masters, with just a few Phantom Kings; the highest-ranked among them was a Level 3 Phantom King.

Dugu Qianye and the other mercenaries headed to the North Gate, where the young master and the young ladies of the Liu Family, along with the other ten people, were already waiting.

A butler-looking figure furrowed his brow at the sight of Dugu Qianye’s small stature and remarked, "Why is someone so young coming along?"

Although Dugu Qianye was formerly thin and had a pale complexion, she wasn’t actually short. Over the past year, she had grown quite a bit, and at a little over 1.6 meters, her height wasn’t considered short among girls. But now, clad in men’s attire, she was subject to discrimination.

"If she’s accepted the task, it’s because she meets the requirements," Meng Sanniang said.

"Hmph, it better be that way. We don’t want someone holding us back when the time comes," the butler hadn’t finished speaking when the young Miss Liu interjected.

"Let’s go." Young Master Liu didn’t want to waste time and was the first to get on the carriage ahead.

In total, there were 36 people. A small carriage accommodated Young Master Liu and three others, while four large carriages, each seated eight people. Dugu Qianye and Meng Sanniang’s group exactly filled one carriage. Dugu Qianye sat by the window, sometimes admiring the scenery flashing by outside, sometimes chatting with Meng Sanniang and the others. Their hearty nature gradually made her enjoy their company.

The carriages ran by day and rested at night. When they encountered towns, everyone stayed in inns. Without towns, they pitched tents and camped in the wilderness. Rushing like this, they finally reached the legendary Mengjiao Ridge in mid-July.

This journey made Dugu Qianye realize the vastness of Xuanyue Continent. By this scale, how many Earths would it take to compare?!

As they entered the domain of Mengjiao Ridge, their pace slowed down. Later, when the group reached the mountainous area with narrow roads, they had to abandon the carriages and proceed on foot. Once off the carriage, Dugu Qianye could properly take in the sights of Mengjiao Ridge.

Mengjiao Ridge was somewhat similar to Cangmang Mountain, both composed of numerous mountains. However, Mengjiao Ridge was far less deep and mysterious than Cangmang Mountain, and there were fewer Phantom Beasts. Still, the dense forests teeming with Phantom Beasts and various unexpected dangers maintained its notorious reputation.

At dusk, the sun withdrew its last rays. The clouds at the horizon turned into a fiery display, changing into various patterns. Mengjiao Ridge began to enter another long night.

The main group had been in Mengjiao Ridge for three days. Before the darkness fell, they set up tents on a clearing, and Dugu Qianye’s group chose a position at the very edge. Although this area was relatively dangerous compared to other places—Phantom Beasts attacking would hit the perimeter first—it was slightly away from the center, so they didn’t have to be too close to Miss Liu.

Everyone’s dissatisfaction with Miss Liu had been apparent since the first day of travel. She always liked to give orders in a haughty manner, telling you to do this and that. One time, she even wanted Dugu Qianye to serve her as a maid, but Dugu Qianye scared her off with a cold glare. Eventually, she settled down after finding someone else to wait on her. Everyone was born into the mercenary life, accustomed to casual spontaneity, and disliked being ordered around, so whenever it was time to pitch tents, everyone would stay away from the center.

After settling everything, Dugu Qianye went to a nearby stream to wash her face. Hearing some noise behind her, she turned around and saw Meng Sanniang and a few others walking towards her.

"You sure move quickly, already here washing your face. You’re even more fastidious about cleanliness than us women," teased Meng Sanniang. The others laughed.

"Heh, I just don’t like feeling dirty. How does that make me more meticulous than a woman?" Now familiar with everyone, she occasionally responded to their teasing.

"Wow, there are fish in the river!" Bei Feng exclaimed upon seeing fish swimming in the water.

Following Bei Feng’s gaze, Dugu Qianye indeed spotted several fish.

"Let’s catch them and grill them. Damn it, we haven’t eaten well lately with all the rushing," Liu Han said, rolling up his sleeves to catch the fish.

Dugu Qianye was also pleased. Recently, with the rush of travel, no one had a proper meal. She too missed good food. Seeing Liu Han scare the fish into a frenzy, Dugu Qianye and the others shook their heads, laughing.

"Let me do it." Dugu Qianye took out a longsword from her Space Ring, stabbed at the fish in the water, and when she lifted it out, a fat fish was skewered on it.

"Wow, Baili Xie, you’re really good," Wei Lin said.

Dugu Qianye smiled. In the past, when she and Baili Ruyan went on missions in the jungles, they often speared fish in the rivers. Only back then, it was a competition between the two of them, but now, it was just her alone.