The only place she had heard about pandas was in Alex's world. These animals didn't exist. But she had never heard it exist in her own, making her wonder.
"In the past, this was named White Bamboo Forest, but my master changed it to Panda Bamboo Grove. He said it reminded him of something from his hometown."
Luca let out a soft chuckle as she knew panda had other meanings for them. It was from one of their early dates after they started dating.
Her heart softened as she felt relieved; at least Edward's life here didn't sound bad so far.
"Does your master have some wounds on him?" she asked.
"Wounds? Don't worry, Madam, Master may not be the strongest here, but if he wants to run, no one can stop him."
"Uncle, is that strong? What is Uncle's current realm?" MingYue asked.
The feat of being able to escape from everyone is easier said than done. MingYue suspected Alex's father, Edward, was at least at the Transcendent Stage.
"Yes, I don't know what Master's current realm is, but I know he has fought with a few immortals and still survived unscathed," Aira said with a respectful tone.
Hearing this, Luca looked at her in a better light; it was clear she really respected her husband as a master.
"MingYue, is Zold here?" Luca asked, changing the topic. Now that she knew Edward was alright, her concern returned to the matter at hand.
MingYue nodded, "I don't know how, but he reached here faster than us. This place is also not something we can underestimate. I am sure we will meet some strong monsters here."
"Yes, MingYue is right, but looking at our current capability, I don't think we need to be worried. The dangerous one is Silva."
"How confident are you in defeating him?" MingYue asked to gauge Silva's strength.
She could already tell Aira was more or less on her level, but endurance-wise, MingYue would win. And if it was a life-and-death battle, the winner would one hundred percent be MingYue.
"All this talk is pointless. Let's go in," Luca said while starting to walk.
When they were moving here, she had thought many times over what if Silva was really a traitor. What was the reason? And how would he do it?
With how close they were, poisoning Edward, even Luca, was not out of the question. Both of them would eat anything he gave them without a second question.
Even with her ability, if the poison had a slow effect, she would not realize it at all. This gave her some confidence that Silva wouldn't go for the kill.
They would have some conflict when she asked him for the truth. Deep inside, she could not accept this. It was not the first time she got betrayed, but by someone that was close. Someone she thought of as family, but this never happened.
The forest gave a calm atmosphere; it was beautiful and serene. A good place to have a picnic if not for the monsters roaming in the area.
MingYue led the way. She could order Vesa to cast a rune to make them more hidden, but she chose not to.
There were a few reasons for this, like hiding her capability from Aria, but most importantly, she wanted to know how Silva would react.
Right now, she could feel two life forces close to Zold's location. Based on the movement, one was watching while the other was fighting Zold.
She also speculated that Zold was being played, as the other one barely moved while Zold kept going in and out, and this was true.
In that area, a middle-aged man with silver hair and blue eyes was standing still. One of his hands held a dagger, while the other was placed behind his back.
A deep scar ran through his cheek and one of his eyes, giving him the appearance of a veteran.
"After all this time, you haven't improved much, Zold. You still have too many unnecessary movements," the man said coldly.
Zold, who rarely showed expression, was now annoyed. After joining the caravan, his journey was quite smooth.
The merchant then pointed him in the accurate direction of the grove. With his accelerated speed, this allowed Zold to reach faster before MingYue and the others.
Emily may be able to move many times faster, but she would not do it. Zold knew there was no way Luca would allow Emily to move by herself; her speed also made it hard for her to control the direction.
Even now, she barely made a turn when she used her utmost speed.
Lightning crackled around Zold's body as he leaped forward, his dagger falling like heaven's judgment, but Silva didn't even make a move. He knew it was only a feint.
As he predicted, Zold changed motion mid-air from a slash to a spin that threw the dagger forward.
"Again, the same move. I admit it's a creative use of Qi and Mana, but don't you already know it's useless against me," Silva replied, as he threw the dagger in his hand, deflecting Zold's.
Before, Zold had already used this pattern to surprise Silva. When he reached the grove, it didn't take him long to meet him.
He didn't know if it was by coincidence or if Silva was already waiting for him, but that didn't matter to Zold. Their first meeting after many years, which Zold thought would be filled with warmth, turned into a fight.
He demanded an answer straight from Silva's face, but he didn't respond to any of it. Silva just looked at him without saying a word.
This was when Zold decided to throw an ambush. He launched his dagger through the air, using it as a catalyst, allowing him to reappear right behind Silva.
His move made Silva change his expression. His father was a person of few words, which made him learn every single change in his expression and what it meant.
Based on his gaze, Zold knew Silva approved of his attack, but unfortunately, even this was not enough. Just like him, Silva also grew in strength.