Xu Yan thought about this, then slung her bag over her shoulder and walked towards the forest.
When she left, Xu Yan was filthy and disheveled.
When she emerged from the forest, her appearance had completely changed.
Her hair was no longer greasy and lank, but rather a head of slightly damp, long hair.
Her dirty clothes and pants had been replaced by a dress, and her bag was no longer so bulging.
She possessed a supernatural ability, a rather weak and common water ability.
She had just gone into the forest and used her water ability to bathe herself.
After cleaning up, she rummaged through the provisions provided by Su Ling and the others, finding a dress to put on.
To present herself in the best possible state for scouting a new target, she was immaculate from head to toe.
She had even used her privately kept perfume to ensure her hunt would be successful.
Taking out a small mirror to confirm her perfection, Xu Yan slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the temporary encampment of Wen Shangyin and Song Lian.
Meanwhile, at Wen Shangyin and Song Lian's temporary tent.
Having narrowly escaped death and been rescued, Wen Shangyin and Song Lian had just finished eating and were now sitting inside the erected tent.
The tent faced Su Ling's mobile fortress, and from within, one could see the fortress with a mere glance upwards.
Although they couldn't survey the fortress's internal structure, they could see a portion of it.
Wen Shangyin sat in a chair, smoking a cigar and with his legs crossed. "Do you think Shang Qi and Su Ling expected us to be rescued and not still be in prison?"
Song Lian, drinking wine and gazing in the direction of the fortress, had a hazy look in his eyes. "I don't know."
Perhaps they did, perhaps they didn't.
Wen Shangyin glanced at Song Lian, then shifted his gaze to the red wine on the table. He picked it up, drank, and then set it down.
Song Lian lit a cigarette and smoked, enveloped in a haze of smoke. He stared straight ahead, his gaze fixed: "Maybe they know, maybe they don't. But it doesn't matter. We're alive, right under their noses, in plain sight. That's the most satisfying part."
Listening to Song Lian, Wen Shangyin reached out and patted Song Lian's shoulder. "I must say, you're a reliable advisor, never faltering at critical moments. Today, we truly owe it to your prior arrangements; otherwise, we'd have been finished."
Song Lian didn't feel complimented by Wen Shangyin's praise. From ancient times to the present, the saying 'serving a ruler is like accompanying a tiger' applied to any superior-subordinate relationship.
Song Lian withdrew his gaze and looked at Wen Shangyin. "As long as Master Yin doesn't blame me for acting without authorization."
"I won't," Wen Shangyin shook his head. After the experience in the prison area, he had soberly realized who was truly loyal to him and who wished him dead. "Ah Lian, I must thank you. You saved my life. If it weren't for you, I'd still be locked up in the prison area, shouting myself hoarse with no one to rescue me."
After saying this, Wen Shangyin turned his head and looked directly at Song Lian. "From now on, you don't need to call me Master Yin. Just call me Shangyin. Though I have brothers, we've fallen out and are irreconcilable. I can't tolerate them, and they can't tolerate me. We're destined to have no future contact or interaction."
"The two of us, after today's events, have shared life and death. I'm older than you, and if you don't mind, you can call me Brother. I'll recognize you as my younger brother. From now on, we'll interact as brothers. What do you think?"