"It's you, little girl,"
Xiao Guang's face lit up with some excitement upon seeing Kongque.
It was as if they were reuniting after many years.
Moreover, Kongque had saved their lives, so Xiao Guang naturally paid her more attention.
Seeing Kongque again, Professor Li also showed a few more smiles.
"Yes, I didn't expect you to still be alive, that's wonderful. By the way, where are those people? I remember you had many people with you before."
"And who are they, are they also your people?"
Kongque looked at Zhang Tian and the others, her large eyes filled with confusion.
Zhang Tian and the others were dressed very differently from Professor Li.
Of course, this excluded Shirley Yang.
Zhang Tian wore a long black robe with gold trim. Coupled with his imposing presence and clean features, it was hard to imagine he had just returned from an expedition.
Zhang Qilin was even more peculiar.
Beneath his black robe, his fair face was vaguely visible. The Black Gold Ancient Saber was sheathed at his waist, and his slender figure exuded an aura of mystery.
People like them hardly seemed to belong to Professor Li's group.
Professor Li and his companions weren't this trendy.
"Yes, they are ours. We haven't properly thanked you for what happened last time. Thank you for saving us."
Professor Li bowed deeply to Kongque.
If it weren't for Kongque, they might not have survived.
"It's nothing, it's what I should have done."
Kongque flashed a brilliant smile.
Her slightly sallow face appeared innocent and guileless.
"By the way, why are you here? This place is very dangerous."
Professor Li asked with concern.
This was a poisonous area, and what they called a sacred land. By all rights, even locals shouldn't be here.
"Alas, because of my actions, Ah Ge was punished, and I was sentenced to guard this place for ten years, so I can't leave."
Kongque sighed, a hint of helplessness on her face.
When Kongque had secretly let Professor Li and his group out, she was naturally punished. But Professor Li didn't know that the punishment would be so severe.
"Miss Kongque, please don't worry, we can help you, right boss?"
Fatty chimed in at this point.
Zhang Tian shot Fatty a glare. How could Fatty say all the good things, leaving nothing for him?
"Yes, I suppose so. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been exposed."
Zhang Tian nodded.
Professor Li's eyes widened.
"So it was you who were discovered then! You helped us draw their fire."
Professor Li's voice was tinged with surprise.
Zhang Tian shrugged, saying no more.
If Professor Li and his group hadn't made such a commotion, Zhang Tian wouldn't have wasted time and could have passed directly.
"I apologize, Young Master Zhang. We didn't expect that at the time."
Xiao Guang lowered her head and apologized.
Zhang Tian waved his hand.
"It's fine. Things are as they are. Little girl, let's go. Ten years is too long. We'll discuss with them to shorten it to today."
Zhang Tian walked at the front.
He soon reached Kongque.
Kongque wasn't short. On the contrary, she seemed to have inherited her family's genes, standing at almost 1.7 meters.
"But..."
Kongque hesitated.
"Don't worry, with us here, they won't dare to act."
Zhang Tian said.
Kongque was a kind girl, otherwise she wouldn't have risked saving Professor Li and the others.
Kind people shouldn't be treated like this. Ten years of guarding? What were those people thinking?
"But, this was decided by Grandmother. I don't dare."
Kongque lowered her head and whispered.
"It's fine. I've already cleared the蛊虫 on you. You can leave now."
Zhang Tian flicked his hand, crushing a black insect.
Since arriving here, Zhang Tian found that dealing with 蛊虫 felt more proficient.
Seeing the insect within her die, Kongque's eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Ah, this, thank you."
Kongque's face showed a hint of surprise and joy.
Who would want to stay here if they could leave?
Zhang Tian nodded and didn't say anything more, only handing Kongque a talisman.
"This talisman can save your life. It's for you."
Saying this, Kongque took the talisman, still looking somewhat incredulous.
After giving the item, Zhang Tian directly headed towards the outskirts of the sacred land.
Zhang Qilin and the others followed suit.
"Let's go, Miss Kongque. With Young Master Zhang here, it will be fine."
Xiao Guang came to Kongque's side and said.
Kongque gritted her teeth and followed.
The group walked across the grassy land, their pace unhurried.
This kind of grassland was much more comfortable than traversing the jungle.
Soon, after cresting a small hill, a tribal village appeared before them.
There was still the smell of cooking fires within the village.
Seeing her home, Kongque's eyes welled up with tears.
"Brother Zhang, why are you willing to help her?"
Professor Li approached Zhang Tian and asked in a low voice.
"Kind people should not be ignored or abused. What do you say?"
Zhang Tian replied.
Professor Li smiled and nodded.
In his heart, he thought:
"As expected of the mysterious secret agent. To help me, he even used such an excuse."
"Alas, he has truly paid a great price for this."
Professor Li mused, his opinion of Zhang Tian, the mysterious secret agent, growing even more favorable.
Zhang Tian, unaware of Professor Li's thoughts, had already spotted the old woman from before.
The old woman stood in the center of the village. Before her was a cauldron used for sacrifices, and she seemed to be sacrificing something.
"That's my brother!"
Kongque spotted Ada in front of the cauldron from afar.
Ada had sacrificed a lot to compete for the position of chieftain back then.
How had he ended up in this state?
"Sir, please save my brother."
Kongque looked around and finally fixed her gaze on Zhang Tian.
Her eyes were filled with entreaty.
Zhang Tian said nothing, simply walking slowly towards them.
"Colluding with foreign powers, forming factions, and resorting to despicable means to seize control of our village."
"You must be a descendant of the Xian King, and for that, we shall offer this sacrifice to heaven."
"Forty-nine days have passed. Please return to your rightful place, Celestial Master."
The old woman muttered something at the altar.
And the tribesmen below knelt in reverence.
Only Ada, who was bound and gagged above, could not utter a word.
He was falsely accused of being a great villain of the Xian King's lineage and was now being sacrificed. In the past, he would never have imagined such a thing.
Yet, it was happening now.
This was all his sister's fault for insisting on saving those outsiders.
Being exiled to the sacred land, in Ada's opinion, was no different from execution.
"At the hour of the noon, the ritual will begin."
The old woman shouted, and then countless people stood up.
"Long time no see."
Just as the tribesmen all stood up, Zhang Tian and the others appeared on the altar.
Of course, Kongque's tall figure also appeared.
"It's you!"
"You're not dead!"
At this moment, not only the chieftain but also the old woman's face was filled with shock.
In hundreds of years, not a single person had been seen to emerge from the sacred land unscathed.
Yet, Zhang Tian and his group had not only come out but seemed as if nothing had happened.
"Brother!"
Kongque cried out and rushed over, unlocking Ada's shackles.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The old woman looked at Zhang Tian, her eyes stern.
Although she couldn't defeat them, she couldn't let outsiders disrupt the sacrifice.
"Nothing, we're just passing good Samaritans, helping a misguided young lady and a promising young man."
Fatty said loudly from the side.
The old woman and the tribesmen were completely bewildered.
Misguided young lady, promising young man, what did that even mean?