Chapter 10: The Scavenger's Night

In the season of March, though the earth was warming, it was still somewhat icy.

If one had just emerged from the forbidden zone, they wouldn't feel much about this kind of cold, but if one had been outside for a long time, the body would still feel this chill that seeped into the bones.

Especially at night, this icy cold was even heavier.

As the cold wind blew past, Xu Qing's figure did not pause in the slightest; he only wrapped his fur coat tighter around himself.

He still had things left unfinished, so he carefully wove through the camp in the night.

On the way, he saw some wild dogs baring their teeth at him, but after meeting his gaze, they seemed to sense the scent of blood on him, and they all shut their mouths and hid away.

Xu Qing moved his gaze away from the wild dogs and continued forward.

Until he reached a house in the middle ring area, he crouched in a dark spot, motionless, staring at a large house in the distance.

There was an extinguished campfire there.

Xu Qing remembered that the Fatty Shan who had parted ways with Ma Si had gone here, so he wanted to wait and see if the other party would get up at night to go out.

The icy cold invaded his whole body, but Xu Qing's figure seemed to have turned to stone; he stayed fixed there, not moving in the slightest, waiting patiently.

Behind him, on the roof of a building, Seventh Master and his servant had also followed here; watching Xu Qing crouched over there, Seventh Master smiled.

"Just as I expected, this little wolf cub is on a path to kill them all."

"I am very much looking forward to seeing what this kid's performance will be if he enters the forbidden zone next door." Seventh Master crouched down as well, watching with interest while speaking to the servant beside him.

The servant smiled, crouching beside Seventh Master, and sized up Xu Qing in the distance.

Seeing time pass, half an hour went by, and Xu Qing's brows furrowed slightly.

After thinking for a moment, he turned and left along the shadows, his whole person like a ghost, coming without a sound and leaving without a trace.

He did not immediately return to the Lei Team's residence, but instead circled the area.

After confirming no one was following, Xu Qing then flickered into the Lei Team's courtyard and returned to his small room without a sound.

After entering, he took a deep breath and rubbed his hands, as if wanting to use this action to dispel the cold from his body.

Then he wiped the bloodstains off his body, and only then did he sit cross-legged on the bed board, his eyes revealing contemplation.

"These scavengers all need to take jobs and go out irregularly, and Ma Si is lecherous, so as long as it hasn't been long, no one should notice his death, and Fatty Shan likely won't be on guard because of it."

"But for the sake of stability, it's better to finish off Fatty Shan as soon as possible." Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.

Just like when he killed Can Niu, having grown up in the slums, he did not allow any hidden dangers that threatened his life to exist around him.

Killing Ma Si was because the other party had snatched his items and threatened him; preparing to deal with Fatty Shan was for the same reason.

After pondering, Xu Qing took out Ma Si's items from the leather bag and carefully inspected them.

Most were miscellaneous items, plus a palm-sized piece of iron, nothing unusual; it looked like a material.

Besides that, there were over seventy spirit coins, which was already a huge sum for Xu Qing.

He counted them carefully, then took out the White Pills; after comparing his own White Pills with Ma Si's, he discovered that these White Pills were all of a texture that didn't seem fresh.

Thus, he believed seventy percent of what the grocery store owner had said.

After thinking for a while, Xu Qing took one out, placed it by his mouth, and swallowed it, then closed his eyes to feel it silently.

Soon, he felt a warm current rising in his body, finally gathering at the alienation point on his left arm, evoking a feeling of comfort.

After a while, when this feeling vanished, Xu Qing opened his eyes and immediately looked at his left arm; the two alienation points there were slightly paler, and the stinging sensation had also lessened a little.

"It works." Xu Qing's eyes revealed joy, and he took out the second one and swallowed it.

The same feeling continued to emerge, and until it dissipated again, his stinging sensation also vanished along with it.

A sense of clarity rose throughout his body, very comfortable, as if his flesh and blood had been washed, making Xu Qing feel that his speed and strength seemed to have become stronger.

He did not continue to consume the remaining White Pills, but placed them in the leather bag, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Xu Qing opened his eyes and got up to go out.

Just as he pushed open the door of the house, he saw the Lei Team sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, as if practicing breathing exercises.

Xu Qing did not disturb him, gently opened the courtyard gate, and after carefully closing it, he stepped away.

Today's wind seemed even colder than last night; blowing on the body not only made people shiver, but even those wild dogs were huddled in their dens and rarely came out.

Xu Qing could see mist appearing as he breathed, which brought up some bad memories of his time in the slums.

He hated the cold.

Because for a homeless wanderer who slept in the open, the cold was a calamity that required struggling with all one's might to survive.

Therefore, Xu Qing, passing by a clothing store in this icy cold, couldn't help but pause his steps, looking at the thick and clean clothes hanging in the shop.

He touched his bulging leather bag and turned to walk inside.

There were few people in the shop, and Xu Qing came in and looked at the hanging clothes, watching very seriously.

At the counter, the shopkeeper glanced at Xu Qing, didn't pay much attention, and instructed the assistant beside him.

"You go to the back and tidy up; take those custom-made clothes that haven't been picked up for over a month, hang them out, and sell them."

"Then what if the person who ordered the clothes comes back?" The assistant seemed to be new and hesitated for a moment.

"Come back? People go missing in the camp every so often; some die in the forbidden zone, some disappear inexplicably. Only ghosts can come back. Hurry up."

The shopkeeper waved his hand impatiently, and the assistant hurried to the back hall.

Not long after, while Xu Qing hadn't yet chosen his clothes, the assistant had already come out carrying a large pile of clothes; after hanging them up one by one, Xu Qing took a fancy to a dark-colored fur-lined coat at a glance.

That was a garment ordered by someone who could never return to pick it up.

An incense stick of time later, when Xu Qing walked out of the shop, what he was wearing was that dark-colored fur-lined coat.

This garment was cold-resistant and not heavy; the degree of warmth it provided on his body far exceeded Xu Qing's previous clothes.

The only thing was that because he was thin and small, it looked like a big coat on him, very uncoordinated.

But Xu Qing was very happy; walking on the road, he carefully avoided some dirty places.

Just as he was about to go find Fatty Shan, he noticed that outside the camp, chaotic sounds were coming, and at the same time, many scavengers in the camp had also come out, looking with anticipation toward the direction the sound was coming from.

Xu Qing also looked up.

Gradually, he saw under the reflection of the sunlight, a caravan of over ten carriages driving toward here in a grand manner.

The people sitting on them, even if they were just guards, were dressed in incredibly bright clothes, with ruddy complexions, sharp glints in their eyes, and most had astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations on their bodies.

As for those inside the carriages, Xu Qing couldn't see, but he could guess that they must be people of very noble status.

Like this caravan, Xu Qing had heard the Lei Team mention it; it seemed they often came to the camp, either to trade or to purchase the Seven-Leaf Grass used to refine White Pills.

And Fatty Shan's figure also appeared in the crowd; after attracting Xu Qing's attention, he no longer paid attention to the caravan, but narrowed his eyes, stared at Fatty Shan, and began to follow.

It was just that perhaps because of the arrival of the caravan, the camp was very lively all day, forming a market, and Xu Qing never found an opportunity.

Until late at night, he watched Fatty Shan return to that large house again, so he put away the dagger in his sleeve and turned to leave.

Although there was no opportunity to strike today, Xu Qing had great patience; after returning to the small room, he sat cross-legged and cultivated while wearing his new clothes, not even taking them off when sleeping.

Until dawn broke again, he, preparing to continue going out to look for opportunities, then cherishedly took off that fur-lined coat and changed back into his tattered fur coat.

Looking at the new clothes, Xu Qing felt that he had been a bit reckless yesterday.

Now wearing the tattered fur coat, Xu Qing walked in the camp, passing by the crowded market, his gaze seemingly sizing up the caravan's encampment, but in reality, he was looking for Fatty Shan's figure.

In the distance, Seventh Master yawned, sat on a roof with his servant, his gaze swept over the caravan, then looked at Xu Qing, and asked the servant beside him casually.

"Has the invitation been sent to Master Bai?"

"Seventh Master, it has already been sent, but Master Bai said he has been unwell recently..."

"Unwell? He is a physician; he is... eh, I remember this kid wore new clothes yesterday, why did he change back today?" Seventh Master was speaking when he noticed Xu Qing's clothes and was surprised for a moment.

While Seventh Master was puzzled, Xu Qing, in the crowd, locked onto Fatty Shan with his peripheral vision.

Just like that, under Xu Qing's peripheral lock, the whole day passed.

With the arrival of late night, Fatty Shan, who was originally going to walk back to the house, didn't know why he changed direction, and actually walked toward the outer ring area in this night.

That place was relatively remote.

"Discovered me?" Xu Qing's brows furrowed, his eyes narrowed, and his gaze gradually became even colder.

He did not follow, but sized up the surroundings, and until he confirmed that the other party was only heading there alone, he circled around to a different position, sneaked in the shadows, and arrived at the outer ring before Fatty Shan.

Confirming there was no ambush here, the cold glint in his eyes grew thicker, and he hid in the shadows.

And at this moment, Fatty Shan also walked to this area, and his steps suddenly stopped.

"Little cub, I sensed someone following yesterday; come out. This place is very remote, suitable for disposing of your corpse. If you don't dare to come out, next time it won't be just me alone. Even if the Lei Team protects you, we Blood Shadows can still make you pay the price."

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed; since the other party had said this much, there was no need to hide, so he walked out from the shadows.

"Ma Si didn't secretly take a job to go out; it was you who killed him, I underestimated you." Fatty Shan grinned hideously, looking at Xu Qing who had walked out.

"But it doesn't matter, I've long found him an eyesore; if you hadn't killed him, I planned to kill him next time I went out, so I should thank you. And I don't care whether he lives or dies, but a certain item in his leather bag should be with you, right?"

Fatty Shan looked at the pocket at Xu Qing's waist, greed in his eyes; without waiting for Xu Qing to answer, his body flickered, and his fat, round body actually erupted with speed exceeding the second layer of Qi Condensation.

The spiritual energy fluctuations on his body also grew much stronger at this moment, even forming a layer of spell airflow outside his body, driving the cold wind, and his whole person, like an ice ball, crashed toward Xu Qing.

He was not at the second layer of Qi Condensation; his current spiritual energy fluctuations had already reached the third layer.

And it was precisely because of this, plus coveting the item in Ma Si's leather bag, that he had come out alone.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed; this was his first time fighting a cultivator head-on, especially since the airflow outside the other party's body was clearly transformed from spiritual energy, but he believed in his own strength and speed.

Thus, the moment the other party arrived, Xu Qing erupted and rushed out; the speed under his full eruption made his figure almost leave behind some residual traces.

In the blink of an eye, he avoided Fatty Shan's body, and while Fatty Shan was clearly stunned, Xu Qing had already arrived behind him, raised his right hand, also erupting with full force, and threw a punch.

This was the first time Xu Qing had used his full combat power; the throwing of this punch directly set off a slapping sound, and when it landed behind Fatty Shan, it made a 'bang' sound.

Fatty Shan's whole body trembled violently, the barrier formed by the airflow outside his body shattered inch by inch, his internal organs churned, and when he spat out a mouthful of blood, the murderous intent in Xu Qing's eyes was already thick.

When he raised his right hand, an iron sign appeared, his body flickered and passed by the side of Fatty Shan, who was staggering backward, and the iron sign took the opportunity to pierce into Fatty Shan's head.

But the next instant, Xu Qing's expression changed slightly, and his body retreated rapidly.

Just at the moment he retreated, a sinister glint appeared in Fatty Shan's eyes.

Two black lines suddenly drilled out from his ears, one after the other, carrying a sharp whistling sound, heading straight for Xu Qing's face.

Those two black lines were black winged centipedes, their speed extremely fast; seeing they were about to arrive, they were slashed and cut off one by one by the dagger Xu Qing pulled out with his left hand.

The last one, when it was cut off, was less than seven inches away from Xu Qing's eyes.

This dangerous scene made the murderous intent in Xu Qing's eyes even thicker, and he rushed over again.

And taking advantage of the timing of Xu Qing's previous retreat, the churning of Fatty Shan's internal organs had also recovered a bit.

At this moment, his round body retreated rapidly, and he raised both hands to form a seal; his face instantly flushed red, and he directly spat a mouthful of poisonous mist at the rushing Xu Qing.

The mist rolled, the range was large, and it swept toward Xu Qing at high speed; where it passed, the ground made a sizzling sound, showing the toxicity was concentrated.

After doing this, Fatty Shan's face was pale, his stomach had shrunk a circle, and he retreated again, his eyes containing both viciousness and lingering fear.

Xu Qing's ferocity was beyond his expectations.

He hadn't expected that relying on his third layer of Qi Condensation and his poison attacks, he would actually almost be killed by the other party in one strike.

And this mouthful of poisonous mist was already his trump card technique; if it still couldn't do anything to the other party, he would have to call out to make the other party wary.

But if he called out, he was afraid it would be very difficult to obtain that item of Ma Si's.

And he actually still had a forbidden item he hadn't used; this item had huge side effects, but it was still taken out by him; it was an amber.

While hesitating in his heart, he looked at the area where Xu Qing was shrouded in mist.

But the moment he looked, the mist rolled violently toward the surroundings, and Xu Qing's figure rushed out from within in an instant.

The speed was so fast that Fatty Shan's eyes blurred, his heart skipped a beat, and his right hand was just about to crush the amber, and his mouth was about to call out, but it was too late.

A pitch-black iron sign, carrying incomparable sharpness, arrived in an instant, unstoppable, piercing through his head in a flash; blood splashed out and landed on Xu Qing, who was beside him.

Fatty Shan's body stiffened; he wanted to turn his head but couldn't do it; the corpse slowly fell, motionless.

Not looking at Fatty Shan's corpse, Xu Qing panted and vigilantly observed the surroundings.

This place was remote; after confirming it hadn't attracted attention, he quickly approached Fatty Shan's corpse and took away the other party's leather bag.

He was just about to use the poison tooth to pierce it, but Xu Qing noticed Fatty Shan's right hand seemed to be grabbing something, so he pried open the other party's fingers and saw an amber that had already shattered for the most part.

This item looked normal, with nothing unusual, except that it sealed a scorpion tail inside.

Xu Qing carefully took it away, treated the corpse in the same way, and after waiting for this corpse to turn into blood, he left at high speed.

While walking, he wiped the bloodstains off his body and disappeared into the night.

Seventh Master and his servant walked out from the darkness at this moment.

Looking at the place where Xu Qing disappeared, Seventh Master didn't seem to care much about the battle between Xu Qing and Fatty Shan just now, but after pondering for a moment, he revealed an expression of sudden realization.

"I know now; that kid doesn't wear new clothes because he's afraid of getting blood on them. He's been scared by poverty; he feels sorry for the clothes."

The servant beside him also let out a sigh of relief.

All day long, Seventh Master had been pondering why that kid didn't wear new clothes; now that he finally had the answer, he didn't need to ponder the reason every time he heard about it.

Although it is a two-chapter update, in reality, they are both large chapters; this chapter is nearly 4,500 words, and the next chapter is also nearly 4,000 words.

Actually, it could be split into 3 chapters, but I don't think it's necessary; it would destroy the integrity of the chapters.

I hope everyone can feel my sincerity; thank you brothers and sisters for your support.