Chu Feng had long since noticed the little girl, but since she was just a child who probably didn't understand anything, he had ignored her when asking around.
Unexpectedly, when everyone else was avoiding Chu Feng like the plague, this little girl was the one who stepped forward to speak to him.
Truly, the ignorant know no fear.
"Little girl, eat this."
As he spoke, Chu Feng took out some pastries and handed them to the little girl.
The moment she saw the pastries, the little girl's eyes lit up. She tossed aside the grimy steamed bun in her hands, hastily accepted the pastries, and wolfed them down.
"Wow, these are so delicious! How can anything taste this good?"
"Big brother, do you have more? I want to eat more."
The little girl's appearance had the distinctive features of someone from the Ancient World — she wasn't the big-eyed type, but her eyes were naturally crescent-shaped, and when she smiled now, that crescent shape became even more pronounced, making her quite adorable.
"There's more. Eat slowly, don't rush."
Chu Feng produced another round of pastries.
"Thank you, big brother!"
But this time, the little girl didn't eat them. Instead, she stuffed them into the Universe Bag at her waist.
"Little girl, what happened here?" Chu Feng asked.
"Big brother, you're so clueless. Can't you see that our village was plundered by another tribe?" the little girl said.
"The other tribe you mentioned — are they also from the Ancient World?" Chu Feng asked.
"Yeah. Wait, aren't you from the Ancient World?" The little girl blinked and sized Chu Feng up.
"You seem different from us. You really aren't from the Ancient World?" Her eyes widened. "Oh! You must be someone the Ancient World invited!"
"That's right. I came at the invitation of the Ancient World. Little girl, what about your parents?"
Chu Feng figured the girl's family might know more about this place, so he wanted to ask about them.
"My parents are both dead." When the little girl said this, there wasn't a trace of sadness on her face, as though she'd long since grown used to it.
"Dead?" Chu Feng was somewhat taken aback, and suddenly regretted asking, worried it might upset her.
"They died from illness. They fell sick not long after I was born."
After saying this, the little girl turned to Chu Feng. "Big brother, you were invited to come here for the ancestral worship, right?"
"Ancestral worship?"
"I didn't come for ancestral worship. I was invited to the Ancient World to take part in an examination," Chu Feng said.
"Ai, the examination is all a trick. In truth, you invitees are really here for the ancestral worship."
"Quick, bind with me, then take me to do the ancestral worship!" The little girl held out her arm as she spoke. On it was a circular symbol — a miniature formation.
Chu Feng recognized at a glance that it was a temporary binding formation. For a short period, the two of them would enter into a contract, maintaining a special linked relationship, but it would automatically dissolve once the time was up.
As for what the formation did, it wasn't much of a restraint for Chu Feng. Essentially, whenever Chu Feng gained some benefit related to the little girl, she would also receive a corresponding benefit.
But only if the benefit was tied to the little girl's bloodline — otherwise she wouldn't receive anything.
"Little girl, you said we're here for ancestral worship?"
"What exactly does this ancestral worship involve?" Chu Feng asked. He had a feeling this binding formation had been prepared specifically for outsiders like him.
So the girl's talk about ancestral worship didn't seem like a joke.
Sure enough, despite her young age, the little girl actually knew quite a lot.
In her sweet, childish voice, she explained things to Chu Feng, helping him understand that the Ancient World had always been inviting outsiders in, and the real purpose was ancestral worship.
On the surface, the Ancient World appeared to be showing great mercy, doing good deeds, and even giving everyone something as valuable as Sacred Hall Pearls.
But in reality, they used the Sacred Hall Pearls to lure people into the Ancient World and then have them perform ancestral worship, all to preserve their own lives.
"Chu Feng, do you think what this little girl is saying could be true?" the Queen asked.
"The little girl doesn't seem like she's lying. I think it's true," Chu Feng said.
"Could there be danger?" The Queen sounded worried.
"There shouldn't be. After all, I've never heard of anyone who left the Ancient World being affected."
"And didn't they say the Ancient World used to invite people from the Totem Dragon Clan too? The Ancient World wouldn't dare offend a force like that, would they?"
"Besides, if there really were consequences, would the Totem Dragon Clan keep coming back?" Chu Feng reasoned.
"As long as everything is fine. If they dare to harm you, this Queen will slaughter them all," the Queen declared.
"My dear Queen, the Ancient World seems fairly powerful too."
Chu Feng said this because just from that Ancient World elder who had stopped Mo Wuxiang and Xia Xingchen from fighting, he could tell that the Ancient World's strength was far from ordinary.
"Don't be afraid. This Queen has your back. At worst, it'll be a fight to the death — if they dare harm you, they absolutely won't survive," the Queen declared with absolute confidence.
"That's why I love my Queen." Chu Feng chuckled. Whether he could win or not, the Queen's unwavering attitude alone was enough to lift his spirits.
The little girl noticed that Chu Feng had gone quiet and said, "Big brother, don't be scared. The ancestral worship won't hurt you. It's just that it sounds bad when you say it outright, so they lie about it. And they really do give you Sacred Hall Pearls."
"Little girl, do you know which direction the ancestral worship site is?" Chu Feng asked.
"I don't," the little girl said.
"You don't?" Chu Feng was momentarily speechless.
"I've never been there, so of course I don't know." The little girl looked as though this were the most obvious thing in the world.
"This…"
Chu Feng looked all around, hoping to use his Heavenly Eye to locate the direction of the ancestral worship site, but the spatial world of this Ancient World was simply too vast.
There were paths in every direction, yet no signposts. He had no idea which way to go.
Just then, the little girl's small hand suddenly grabbed Chu Feng's sleeve, and she started tugging him toward the outskirts of the city.
"Big brother, I don't know, but someone does! I'll take you to find him, and he can lead us there!"
Despite her tiny age, the little girl actually had a modest level of cultivation. It was still very weak, of course, but she could run much faster than an ordinary person.
Still, Chu Feng felt she was too slow. So he simply scooped her up in his arms and took to the sky.
"Little girl, point me in the right direction, and I'll take us there," Chu Feng said.
"That way." The little girl pointed toward a stretch of forest outside the city.
"There's no one there." Chu Feng had already scanned the area with his Heavenly Eye, and there was indeed nobody in the direction she indicated.
"Trust me, big brother. Just go there first — I can definitely find the person. I know that place really well," the little girl said.