The maze of Sand City is not difficult to solve; it just requires spending more time memorizing the route and more effort dealing with the monsters at the end of dead ends.

Compared to the church in Silent Valley, it is nothing.

Three days later, Xia Chuhe and Li Qiusheng walked out of the rules of Shacheng together.

The quicksand on the watch face was almost completely filled.

The sandstorm in the air of Sand City subsided, becoming the same as in other areas of the wasteland.

Before leaving Shacheng, the old man placed someone next to Xia Chuhe.

This man was tall and strong, with a neat short haircut and an imposing air. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his beautifully shaped forearms. He had a sand scorpion tattooed on his left arm and a spear tattooed on his right arm.

The old man still had that toothless grin: "You can keep this person; he'll stay by your side and serve you."

Xia Chuhe was shocked. Although the beauty was lovely, without an emotional foundation, she was not her type and had no chance to enjoy her.

"No need, no need, I..." Xia Chuhe lied against his conscience, "I don't need anyone to serve me."

The old man's words drew objections from two people. One of them pleaded sweetly, "Grandma, I'm not leaving! You only told me you'd introduce someone to me, but you didn't say I should go with her!"

As soon as she spoke, Xia Chuhe recognized it as a woman's voice.

The person's appearance was so androgynous that Xia Chuhe dared not rashly determine her gender, fearing that he might have misunderstood.

Sure enough, the old man patted the beauty's hand: "Good grandson, be good. City Lord Xia is capable. It's your good fortune to be able to serve her."

Seeing that Xia Chuhe and Li Qiusheng emerged from the Land of Rules almost unharmed, the old man was convinced that the two were highly capable individuals. Moreover, Xia Chuhe was the lord of a city, and it would only bring benefits to his granddaughter to learn from her.

The old man forcefully pushed his granddaughter toward Xia Chuhe: "Lord Xia, this is my granddaughter, Sha Feng. She's strong, naive, obedient, and will do whatever you want with her. Besides, we have a business relationship, so I'd like her to learn from you for a while, serve you tea and water, and take care of you however you like."

Xia Chuhe understood what she meant. She was worried about the contract and feared that the processing plant's promises would not be fulfilled, so she specially arranged for someone to monitor her.

Although she could understand, Xia Chuhe really couldn't stand the word "serve," as it always reminded her of the presumptuous misunderstanding she had just made.

"Alright, alright, I understand... I will definitely teach Sha and Feng well when they come to me, and I won't let them be bullied. Since I have granted Sha City the authority to open the Food and Amusement Park, you can bring people to Taotie City to inspect it at any time."

Xia Chuhe always felt that no matter what he said, it didn't seem quite right.

However, they managed to cheer up the old lady. She patted Sha Feng's strong forearm, her face beaming with joy: "Hurry up and thank Lord Xia, and go pack your things."

Sha Feng reluctantly thanked Xia Chuhe, slowly packed his things, and left Shacheng.

Sitting in the car leaving home, Sha Feng kept clinging to the back seat and looking back.

Once she was out of the territory of Shacheng, she turned around and leaned back in her chair, looking exceptionally relaxed, as if she had become a different person.

Xia Chuhe's gaze towards her couldn't help but carry a hint of inquiry.

Sha Feng shrugged and smiled, "Just putting on an act to fool my grandmother and make her happy. I'm very happy to be able to learn from you from now on, Lord Xia."

Xia Chuhe: "...What do you want to learn?"

"Methods for procuring supplies?" Sha Feng wasn't quite sure.

"What did you do with those prisoners?" Xia Chuhe asked.

Sha Feng smiled, her expression unreadable.

...

Sand City.

After seeing his granddaughter off, the old city lord finally remembered what to do with the prisoners.

She's old, and her authority over those below her has greatly diminished, but it's not time for them to treat her like she's dead yet.

"Where are those traitors who betrayed Sand City being held?" the old city lord asked his confidant.

"Huh?" The confidant looked bewildered. "The young city lord has already sent them underground to mine, just as you wished."

The old city lord nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. His child had grown up and could handle things independently.

In the final stage of his life, the old city lord was very content to be able to find a good teacher for his child.

...

City Lord Xia was still assessing her new student: "What is your special ability?"

"Mining".

Sha Feng can see the exact location of mineral veins; for resources hidden underground, her eyes are like rulers.

Sha Feng returned the favor: "What about your special ability?"

Xia Chuhe placed his hand in front of Sha Feng and produced an apple out of thin air: "Please have this."

"Thank you." Sha Feng picked up the apple, assuming that Xia Chuhe was a space-type user.

While Sha Feng was eating an apple, Xia Chuhe snapped his fingers, and a small flame flashed by.

Sha Feng paused in her bite of the apple, her evaluation of Xia Chuhe slightly higher: a combination of spatial and fire elemental abilities.

"By the way, I also did a fortune telling for you, and you're very lucky today," Xia Chuhe said with a smile. "Let's not go back yet, let's find a place to have some fun."

Sha Feng began to have trouble understanding Xia Chuhe. Did she have the ability to predict the future?

How can someone possess so many abilities at the same time? It's terrifying.

Xia Chuhe was going to a small town with rules and energy, not far from Shacheng.

Having experienced the Silent Valley incident, Xia Chuhe had a new idea—perhaps, she wouldn't need to go to great lengths to attack others; people would beg her to come and take away the rule energy.

Many cities have rules that are so outrageous that they are unbearable for ordinary people, similar to the rule in Silent Valley that forces residents to remain silent.

Xia Chuhe told Bu Yi about his idea, and Bu Yi posted it on the Haijiao Forum. In just two or three days, many people asked for help in the comments section, eager to invite Xia Chuhe over immediately and offer him the power of the rules.

Xia Chuhe was heading to a small town nearby.

This small town is an extremely hot place with no water source, forcing residents to search for water outside the town. Even more absurdly, even when they manage to bring in a water source, it quickly dries up.

Therefore, most people left after discovering that the place was unsuitable for living. Only a hundred or so people, for various reasons, stayed there for a long time.

If the town weren't part of the wasteland and allowed for long-term habitation, its rules would be almost identical to those of a dungeon.

Xia Chuhe, Li Qiusheng, Sha Feng, and two other ice-type and water-type evolvers entered the rule-bound area of ​​the small town together. It took them quite a bit of effort to break the rules and obtain the energy.

Having absorbed the energy of the town's rules, the dial of the time watch was immediately filled.

In a trance, Xia Chuhe felt something inside his watch calling to him…

The artifact that Changsheng gave her to stabilize her fate showed signs of losing its effectiveness, and Xia Chuhe couldn't wait to return to Taotie City.

She hurriedly gave Li Qiusheng a few instructions, telling her to take good care of Taotie City and to let Sha Feng learn management from Bu Yi and Li Yue. She also sent a message in the group saying, "I'm leaving for a while. If you see anyone who looks like me in the next few days, be sure to distinguish them." Then she found a quiet corner in the small town and turned the knob on her watch.

The energy within the dial rotates counter-clockwise, gradually forming a vortex.

A youthful face emerged from the vortex.

That was Xia Chuhe's face when he was a child.