Xia Chuan felt that he didn't have a single bit of the Mosasaurus aura in him, and he didn't know why this person who was even taller than him always loved to run in front of him to show off, with a look of 'hurry up and praise me' on his face.

It made him feel both amused and speechless, but oddly enough, he didn't dislike it in his heart. In fact, he quite enjoyed it, to the point that he didn't even focus on what Shen Lan was holding at first.

As Shen Lan was seeking praise, he didn't forget to shake the water off his head. The water droplets on his short brown-black hair were flung in all directions.

Xia Chuan felt that he had been splashed with a face full of water and couldn't help but turn his body to avoid it. He felt that Shen Lan's actions were really too much like a large dog shaking off water after a bath, so he absent-mindedly reached out and patted Shen Lan's half-lowered head, then coughed and moved his gaze to Shen Lan's hand with a serious expression, saying, "Is the seal still good?"

Naturally, what Xia Chuan was pointing at was the thing that Shen Lan had found back from the sea. Just as Dennis had said before, when he was thrown into the sea, the black backpack had already left his body, and the waterproof bag had been flung out from inside, which he had grabbed. So Shen Lan had searched for a long time near the reef he was clinging to and happened to find this waterproof bag.

It's just that this bag also had a circle of unknown sea creatures wrapped around it, it was unclear whether it was whole or not, and whether it could still be waterproof.

"Let me see." Shen Lan shook the water off his head, straightened up, tore off the sea creatures on the outer layer of the waterproof bag, then flipped it back and forth to take a look. "It should be fine." As he spoke, he handed over the waterproof bag that still looked intact.

Xia Chuan took it and also flipped it over to take a look, and checked the things inside while he was at it. After confirming that there were no problems, he returned to the earthen slope with Shen Lan.

At the foot of the earthen slope, they could almost hear the lively sounds coming from inside, as if the people inside the walls were all in a very good mood, with laughter and noise carrying far away. Xia Chuan heard it and understood immediately, "Their leader must have returned."

This guess was indeed correct. Before they even entered the door, they saw Aegon standing on the watchtower shouting at them a few times, and even looking at Shen Lan with a face full of admiration, laughing and gesturing as he said something. Although the gestures were completely incomprehensible, it could be guessed that it was a sentence of praise or exclamation.

It was probably because the leader had led the people back with so much seafood and told everyone about the origin of the seafood.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the door, they saw the tribespeople standing in a circle inside, with the leader surrounded in the center, saying something to them in a flurry. As soon as he raised his eyes, he saw Xia Chuan and Shen Lan, and immediately raised his voice, pointing in their direction as he spoke.

The crowd almost turned their heads in unison to look at them, and then a few dozen people noisily pounced on them directly, capturing Shen Lan and Xia Chuan without a word.

"What are you doing!" Shen Lan had been in the uninhabited world for so long that he hadn't seen so many people coming at him for a long time, and he was instantly a bit irritated. He hurriedly said, "Let go!"

His strength was not something that normal people could compare to. Once his feet were planted, even five or six people wouldn't be able to pull him up.

But now it wasn't a matter of five or six people, but a large group. Even though Xia Chuan had diverted a small portion of them, there were still about thirty people on his side. These people always acted in unison, used to working as a team, their movements were exceptionally consistent, and the force they used was also extraordinarily uniform. Without a word, they lifted Shen Lan up.

In his helplessness, he even wanted to transform back into mosasaurus on the spot and crush this group of "unruly people" once and for all. Fortunately, the overlord's rationality had not been completely lost and had not gone into a complete frenzy, so he had no choice but to resign himself to his fate.

As a result, when he turned his head, he saw Xia Chuan beside him. That person, who was always cold-faced and cold-spoken like an iceberg, was now being carried by more than twenty people, and was looking at him with narrowed eyes and an expressionless face.

Shen Lan wanted to laugh, but he held it back and turned his head back with a solemn expression to continue looking at the sky, feeling a bit sheepish in his heart—after all, the hero who caught the fish was him, and it had nothing to do with Xia Chuan. Xia Chuan was purely caught in the crossfire.

In the end, the two of them still couldn't escape the ordeal of the welcome ceremony and were thrown into the mud pit by this group of unruly people who had gone crazy with joy because of the bountiful harvest.

It just so happened that this group of unruly people weren't very smart. When throwing people, they had no tacit understanding at all. In such a large mud pit, they just had to throw them in the same place. Shen Lan was thrown in first, and Xia Chuan was thrown in later. So the poor biggest hero was lying at the bottom of the mud pit, serving as a meat cushion for Xia Chuan.

He "puffed" out a breath on one side, mentally punished this group of unruly people severely on the other, and secretly rejoiced that he was the one who was thrown in first. Otherwise, if Xia Chuan had been his meat cushion, it wouldn't have just been a matter of being crushed and leaking air.

The unruly people standing in a circle were also very annoyed that their throwing wasn't skillful enough, because with them stacked together like this, only Shen Lan was completely covered in mud, and Xia Chuan was much better off than him.

Laura, who had specially come to watch, even lent a helping hand in the process, standing at the edge of the pit with Allen and laughing loudly. Allen, who originally had a bit of a listless air due to his fever not having completely subsided, instantly perked up when he saw such a lively scene.

Children are born to be extremely close to nature. The younger they are, the more interested they are in purely natural things like water and mud. Seeing these two uncles rolling in the mud pit, he found it very interesting. While feeling a bit of schadenfreude, he was also a bit envious.

As soon as Shen Lan raised his head, his gaze met Allen's head-on. He immediately waved at him shamelessly.

Allen, whose will was already weak, was beckoned by him like this, as if he had received a divine revelation. He hurriedly jumped into the mud pit, rolled around a few times, and went crazy like a small mud dog.

Laura: "..."

Xia Chuan, who was lying on Shen Lan's back, saw this scene in its entirety. He immediately leaned close to Shen Lan's ear and commented on this person who was tricking children in a low voice, concise and to the point with one word: "Beast."

Shen Lan: "..."

Xia Chuan's voice had always been very low, but it wasn't thick. On the contrary, it had a cold quality to it. When he spoke close to the ear like this, Shen Lan couldn't help but scratch his ear when he heard it. He let out a "hiss" and muttered, "It's so itchy. Say a few more sentences and let me hear it?"

Xia Chuan: "..."

Despite the two of them already sprawled in the mud chatting away, completely uncooperative with the commoners' revelry, it didn't stop Allen, that little mud dog, from frolicking in it. The commoners standing in a circle were already excited, and seeing someone willing to play along naturally made them even more so.

They glanced at each other, then set their sights on Laura, who had also escaped the welcome ceremony.

Laura, swept by everyone's gaze, wanted to run, but it was difficult for two fists to fight against four hands, let alone her lack of resistance in the first place. After struggling a couple of times, she was caught by the crowd and also thrown into the mud pit. As soon as she lifted her face, she saw Xia Chuan and Shen Lan moving in unison to cover their faces, obviously afraid she would splash mud on them.

"Covering the top is one thing, but what's the use of covering the bottom?" Laura mocked the mud-covered Shen Lan, then crawled up and firmly grabbed Allen, fiercely saying, "Traitor."

Allen responded to his biological mother with a long string of manic, crazy laughter.

With all this commotion, the surrounding commoners went even crazier. They grabbed the leader who hadn't reacted in time and threw him into the mud pit as well. Then, without needing anyone else to make a move, they jumped in one after another, stomping until they were covered in muddy water.

They had always lived off the mud, with houses plastered in mud, utensils fired from mud. Everything in their lives was inseparable from this most simple, natural thing. They regarded mud as very important, feeling it was like water, both the source of life, the most wonderful thing between heaven and earth. Rolling in mud represented being blessed by the world, able to live a lifetime with food and drink.

Although they couldn't express these words in a language Xia Chuan and the others could understand, it didn't matter. Understanding or not wasn't important; the blessing had arrived and that was enough.

However, Xia Chuan ultimately didn't get himself completely covered in mud. After all, he was still holding Dennis' waterproof bag, which contained quite a few useful things. It wouldn't be good if it got stepped on or torn in the mud pit.

Shen Lan, partly out of the same mindset and largely out of another kind of protectiveness, selflessly acted as a human mat and shield for Xia Chuan. He guarded Xia Chuan all the way as they successfully extricated themselves from the mud pit and returned to the edge of the pit.

The two took advantage of the others still reveling to hastily greet Aegon, then ran down the slope again.

The river Laura mentioned was extremely eye-catching, visible from afar, both wide and long. One section disappeared into the forest, its source unknown, while the other end meandered towards the direction of the sea. The two estimated that after a while, the commoners who had gone crazy would also come down the slope to wash up.

Xia Chuan really couldn't stand the sight of a group of people bathing together. He immediately and decisively pulled Shen Lan along the river into the forest.

Whether it was good luck or something else, they didn't encounter any ferocious beasts along the way. Following the intermittent traces of water flow, they successfully found a lake deep in the forest. The environment here was much quieter than outside. Xia Chuan tested the depth a little, then immersed his entire body in it.

The lake was neither big nor small, but the water was very deep. The mud on their clothes quickly dissolved in the water and slowly settled.

Shen Lan swiftly took off his vest and shorts, rinsed them clean, and casually threw them on the bushes by the lake. Xia Chuan also unbuttoned his shirt while soaking in the water, quickly taking off his shirt and trousers to wash them in the water.

Actually, bathing in the same body of water as Shen Lan made Xia Chuan equally uncomfortable, but he kept a calm face, not showing it at all. He just intentionally or unintentionally maintained a certain distance from Shen Lan. Anyway, the lake had plenty of space, more than enough for two people to soak.

But Shen Lan didn't cooperate with his idea. After washing himself for a while, he couldn't stay still. He paddled a few times with his hands and feet and swam over to Xia Chuan's side.

Xia Chuan still maintained a calm face, his hands not stopping, as if he hadn't seen him at all. Shen Lan wasn't upset about being ignored, but looked Xia Chuan up and down a few times, then couldn't help reaching out to pinch Xia Chuan's shoulders and arms. Just as he was getting bolder and wanted to pinch his waist, Xia Chuan grabbed his wrist.

"Very idle?" Xia Chuan asked expressionlessly.

Shen Lan looked innocent: "No, I just think you look a bit thinner than last time."

"Last time?" Xia Chuan didn't react for a moment and asked out loud, but still didn't let go. "Which last time?"

Shen Lan scratched his chin: "When you were bitten on the ankle by a night bug and jumped on me."

Xia Chuan: "..." He was simply telling blatant lies with his eyes open. When did he actively jump over and cling to Shen Lan's body last time?! If his foot wasn't numb and painful and couldn't support him at all, why would he need to borrow strength to stand?!