"Sushang, do you live here?" Durandal crouched down to be at eye level with Li Sushang.
Li Sushang nodded. "Yeah, I've been living here with Shifu ever since we came to this base."
With Shifu? So there's someone else here?
Then the person Lord Overseer Otto recommended must be Sushang's Shifu.
Both of them thought the same thing.
Rita noticed that Li Sushang kept glancing at her intentionally. It wasn't the look you give a stranger, but more like seeing a celebrity.
Has she heard of me from somewhere, or seen me before?
Rita quickly racked her brain for any possible places she might have been seen, but couldn't find any opportunity for the girl to have recognized her.
"Are you here this early to see my Shifu?" Li Sushang finally looked back at Durandal after peeking for a while.
Durandal scratched her head. "I think so..."
A look of confusion appeared on Li Sushang's face.
What do you mean, "I think so"? Did these two get lost and end up at the martial arts school's door?
Or could it be...
They're here to challenge us?!
"It's like this..." Durandal didn't know how to start, so she just explained everything that had happened today from the beginning.
"...In the end, Lord Overseer Otto gave me an address and told me to come here to find someone to join my team... I didn't expect you to be here too."
After Durandal finished, Li Sushang put on an adult-like expression, stroking her chin and nodding seriously.
"I see~" Li Sushang's head-bobbing made the corners of Rita's mouth twitch slightly. This little adult act was very much like the scholars of olden times when they were reading and writing.
"It's just me and Shifu here. The only other people living nearby are Sister Theresa's group, and the bad guy... uh... only Sister Theresa's place has people living there."
As she spoke, Li Sushang pointed to the largest house not far away.
However, her finger paused for a moment on the smaller villa next to the large house before she retracted it.
"If Raksha... I mean, Lord Overseer Otto, didn't write the wrong address, then the person you're looking for should be my Shifu."
After all, such a good thing couldn't possibly happen to me... but I can't just sit and wait!
"But..." Just as the two confirmed their target, Li Sushang spoke up hesitantly. "Your team... can I join?"
As she said this, her small, chubby face was full of anticipation.
She hadn't seen the outside world for almost three months! Although many places here were interesting, staying in one place for so long... her clever mind would turn dull!
And Shifu even said that she would find an opportunity in the next two days to send her to Aunt Natasha's to study... Waaah! There must be a bad guy mixed in with the crowd who's been bad-mouthing me to Shifu!
"This..." Durandal was suddenly in a difficult position and could only cast a pleading look at Rita. "Um... Rita, can city exploration teams recruit children?"
"No," Rita's answer was extremely firm. She could accept all sorts of unexpected people in the team, be it Lady Theresa or Lord Overseer, even Kallen was within her range of acceptance.
But she would not allow herself to engage in dangerous work with such a young child. The rules set by Lord Overseer also didn't permit it.
Child labor was impossible, absolutely impossible!
A child this age should be obediently studying.
Durandal had rarely seen Rita this resolute. She could only turn back and give Li Sushang a helpless look.
Visibly, Li Sushang wilted like a dehydrated flower.
"Then you wait here for a moment. I'll go get Shifu..." A dreamless Li Sushang unwillingly dragged her heavy body back, walking step by step toward her Shifu's location.
Durandal stood up, and Rita also began to ponder what kind of person Otto had recommended.
Shifu... there aren't many people in Taixuan Martial Arts who could hold such a title. And seeing how much Li Sushang respects her Shifu, even when she's extremely dissatisfied with something, she only vents her anger on others...
So this Shifu must be a highly respected person... perhaps an elder from Taixuan Martial Arts...
So, someone who was a powerhouse decades ago, retired to peacefully teach disciples to the point of having a grand-disciple... wouldn't they be a seventy or eighty-year-old?
Both of them realized this at almost the same time. Rita came to this conclusion through the analysis above, while Durandal, after mulling over the word "Shifu" a few times, suddenly had a feeling about the "Grand" part.
Someone like that would indeed be very helpful in solving that problem due to their prestige / A child can't join the exploration team, so can an old person?
Their thoughts briefly converged before immediately heading in two completely different directions.
"Shifu, they're waiting at the door," Li Sushang's voice came from the courtyard. The two snapped back to reality and looked up at the entrance.
What kind of old person would it be? A reclusive master with an immortal aura? A playful old rascal? Or a solemn old antique?
Finally, the two saw the figure following behind Li Sushang.
It was a simple, capable, and handsome young wo... man...
So young!!
Rita put on her formulaic smile again and casually reached out to gently tap Durandal, whose eyes were about to pop out, making her instantly regain control of her expression.
"Hello, I am Fu Hua." Fu Hua was still wearing her training clothes, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead. After seeing the two, she gave them a slight nod.
"Sushang said Otto introduced me to you. May I understand what's going on?"
Durandal nodded hastily. "Of course..."
While repeating the story she had just told Li Sushang, she secretly sized up Fu Hua.
Rita couldn't suppress her surprise either. After all, for such a young person to hold the title of "Shifu," who wouldn't be surprised?
After finishing the story, Durandal felt her mouth was a little dry. This was the fifth time she had repeated this spiel today.
Fu Hua nodded seriously. "I see... I understand."
She looked up. "I've roughly understood the problem Otto mentioned. I am willing to help you and join your team."