So polite and considerate—this made the smile on Emily Shaw's face grow even brighter.

A group of four, without realizing it, crossed over a hill and arrived at a shady, tree-covered hollow.

Crash—a sudden rustling of branches and leaves came from ahead on the right.

They immediately saw something darting away at high speed, rustling through the bushes as it sped off into the distance.

“It’s a squirrel!

Ying-mei, wait a moment, I’ll catch it for you to play with!”

Ethan Brooks's eyes lit up. Without waiting for anyone else to speak, he dashed forward.

In the blink of an eye, he plunged into the bushes, chasing after the squirrel.

Emily Shaw was about to call out to him, but it was already too late.

“Brother Wuyou’s movement technique is getting better and better.”

She praised him, straightened her back, but feeling a bit of back pain, leaned against a nearby dark gray tree trunk.

*** A hundred meters away, in a patch of woodland.

Four strong men, all dressed in black and wearing tawny face scarves, were waiting—some standing, some sitting.

Before long, Ethan Brooks burst out of the trees at a quick pace.

“It’s your turn now.

Please make sure you succeed, or we won’t pay you any more for the rest.”

The four men in black immediately stood up.

One of them, a short, stocky man wearing a black round cap, cupped his fists and said, “That Emily Shaw hasn’t even reached the lowest rank. We’ll send two to quickly take her down, and the other two will handle the remaining two Daoists.

Absolutely foolproof.”

“Then I’ll await your good news.”

Ethan Brooks cupped his fists in return.

These four experts were at least first-rank fighters, each with blood on their hands.

Dealing with a little girl with no real combat experience, who hadn’t even passed the basic ranking test, would be a breeze.

As for the other two young Daoists, they were just ordinary people with no training. Getting this job done shouldn’t be a problem.

Very soon, the four men in black hurried off in the direction Ethan Brooks had come from.

*** Brian Bolton frowned slightly.

He actually suspected that Ethan Brooks was the same man whose voice he had overheard before.

But since it had been a while, he wasn’t sure.

It had been quite some time since he’d tipped off Helen Shaw, and with his average memory, things had gotten fuzzy.

Before heading out this time, he had advised Emily Shaw to be careful and not go out because of the danger.

But Emily Shaw replied that with Ethan Brooks’s protection, nothing would happen to her.

After that, she ignored Brian Bolton.

Besides, the place they were going wasn’t far from Qinghe Palace—just two hills away. If anything happened, they could still make it back in time.

Third, Emily Shaw herself was a martial arts disciple. Although she hadn’t reached any official rank, her physical abilities were far above an ordinary person’s.

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade her, Brian Bolton had reported to Helen Shaw in advance, and then, with no other choice, followed along himself.

Now, seeing Ethan Brooks suddenly disappear, and recalling his earlier suspicions, Brian Bolton’s vigilance was instantly heightened.

He glanced sideways at Clark Bolton, who looked completely clueless and was busy wiping sweat with a handkerchief.

The attributes displayed above his head were: ‘Clark Bolton—Life 9-9, Skills: None.’

As for Emily Shaw, her attributes were: ‘Emily Shaw—Life 12-14, Skill: Rejuvenation Cleansing Talisman, Seventh Yue Form.’

In these stats, her life was only two points higher than Brian Bolton’s. If they ran into any danger… he himself had no martial arts skills at all, and couldn’t handle even a slightly trained opponent.

Relying on Emily Shaw alone would be like sending food to the enemy.

“Senior Sister Xiao, I just saw you drop something up ahead—it looked like your waist token!”

Brian Bolton suddenly spoke up.

“My waist token?”

Emily Shaw was startled. She quickly felt at her waist, and sure enough, the token was gone. She couldn’t remember if she’d left it at home or lost it along the way.

“Do you remember where?”

Emily Shaw turned back, looking impatiently at Brian Bolton.

“Just back there. I didn’t see clearly at first—thought it was a stick or a clump of mud.”

Brian Bolton replied earnestly. In fact, he hadn’t seen Emily Shaw’s waist token at all; he was just making up an excuse.

Even if he was wrong, at most he’d get scolded—no real harm done.

“Go help me look for it, then.”

Emily Shaw said impatiently.

“I probably can’t do it alone. Let’s go together. Otherwise, if a monkey or something picks it up, it’ll be a hassle.”

Brian Bolton suggested.

“All right.”

Emily Shaw thought it would be best to find it quickly and get back to wait for Brother Wuyou. As for being tricked, she didn’t think Brian Bolton would dare.

Brian Bolton was only in her father’s good graces because of her. If he dared to deceive her, her father would kick him out for sure.

“I’ll help look too.”

On the side, Ethan Brooks’s follower Clark Bolton quickly spoke up.

“No need. Someone has to stay here and wait for Senior Brother Wuyou. Otherwise, if he comes back and can’t find us, we’ll get separated even more easily.”

Brian Bolton replied.

He didn’t trust this guy.

“That’s right, you stay here and wait for Brother Wuyou to come back.”

Emily Shaw nodded.

Soon,

She and Brian Bolton, one after the other, quickly retraced their steps along the path they’d come.

“It’s this way, let’s hurry.”

Brian Bolton urged.