Chapter 32: He Bought My Insurance

At this moment, Gu Dao had already lost the ability to resist; his hands and feet were bound, and he was unconscious, being carried on the shoulder of a tall, burly man.

Beside the burly man was another person wearing a black leather coat; this person was an old man with a slight hunchback.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that he did not wear a mask to hide his identity; beneath a mess of gray hair was a face full of wrinkles, his eyes cold and sinister, his entire being exuding an aura of murderous intent.

The fluctuations on his body were even more intense, surpassing those of the previous Lei Team and the Blood Shadow captain; he was clearly at the seventh level of Qi Condensation.

Xu Qing had never seen such a cultivation base among the scavengers in the camp.

"Supervisor, this fog has come at a very bad time. What should we do about the other marked meat-treasures?" the burly man carrying Gu Dao asked in a muffled voice while Xu Qing observed from afar.

"It's all this meat-treasure's fault for dodging around and wasting time." The black-clad old man coldly glanced at the unconscious Gu Dao, then shook his head after a moment of contemplation.

"Tell the others to come over. We will head out first to wait for the fog to dissipate, then go find those meat-treasures."

"The boss is really something. Why not just grab them directly in the camp? He had to wait until people went into the forbidden zone before making us move to catch them." The burly man grumbled with dissatisfaction, and the old man beside him snorted coldly.

"The boss wants a long-term flow, not something your pig brain can understand. If we grabbed people in the camp, how could this camp continue to operate?"

The burly man looked unconvinced upon hearing this but did not argue. Following the old man's instructions, he took out a whistle and blew it. Soon, the two black-clad men Xu Qing had seen earlier arrived at high speed.

Xu Qing did not stop them, nor did he make a move; he crouched in the tree canopy in the distance, watching all of this coldly.

After confirming that there were indeed four of them, and seeing they were about to leave, Xu Qing glanced at the unconscious Gu Dao.

If he hadn't seen this, if Gu Dao hadn't bought insurance, or if this had happened outside the jungle, Xu Qing wouldn't have cared. He was no saint and didn't have the energy to save everyone.

But he had his own principles.

Since you bought my insurance, I must ensure you leave the forbidden zone; as for whether you live or die after getting out, that is not his concern.

So, in the next instant, Xu Qing’s body shot out, his speed so fast that he left an afterimage behind, like an arrow released from a bow, heading straight for the burly man carrying Gu Dao.

His previous hiding spot had been too secret, and his strike was like a thunderbolt, so the three black-clad men, including the burly man, had not sensed a thing; only the black-clad old man had detected something.

At this moment, his expression shifted as he turned rapidly, his right hand lifting, and in an instant, blades of ice condensed and flew toward mid-air.

But it was too late. The ice blades missed, and Xu Qing had already reached the burly man's side. As the wind he stirred up scattered violently, his long hair danced, and the sharpness in his eyes shone with the cold light of the dagger in his hand—murderous intent fully revealed!

With one slash across the burly man's throat, the force was so great that the burly man, at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, had no time to resist or react; before a scream could even escape, his head flew off.

Blood splattered everywhere!

Gu Dao, who had been carried by the burly man's corpse, fell to the ground. Xu Qing grabbed his clothes and, with a few leaps, appeared in the distance.

After throwing Gu Dao aside, Xu Qing turned around, staring coldly at the other three like a hunter.

Only then did the burly man's head, eyes still wide with confusion, along with his corpse and the old man's missed ice blades, hit the ground simultaneously.

The surroundings fell into instant silence. The shock of this scene was immense, causing the black-clad old man and his two companions to feel their minds roar as they all looked at Xu Qing.

"A kid!"

One of the two black-clad men behind the old man, upon seeing Xu Qing, widened his eyes and blurted out the words.

"Shut up!" the black-clad old man in front roared lowly.

The black-clad man realized his slip of the tongue and said no more.

Xu Qing looked at the three of them deeply; that one sentence had exposed everything.

"Kid, this matter has nothing to do with you. Get lost immediately, and I can pretend you were never here." The black-clad old man's face was gloomy as he stared fixedly at Xu Qing, no longer bothering to hide, and spoke slowly.

A wind blew by at this moment, passing Xu Qing and blowing his bangs aside, then carrying on toward the old man and his companions, rustling the leaves on the ground.

It seemed the fog had grown even thicker in this wind.

Xu Qing remained silent, saying nothing.

Gu Dao had actually woken up long ago but had been feigning unconsciousness. Hearing the old man's words, he grew anxious, fearing Xu Qing would not continue to save him, so he hurriedly opened his eyes.

He felt it would only be safe if he forced Xu Qing into a life-or-death struggle, and there was only one way to do that, so he shouted out loud.

"Kid, don't listen to him! They are the Camp Master's men. Many of the scavengers who have gone missing in the camp over the years were secretly captured by them and sold to merchant caravans as 'treasure-nurturers.' This is the Camp Master's biggest secret!"

His words made the black-clad old man narrow his eyes, staring at Xu Qing as he spoke again.

"I'll give you one last chance. Don't meddle in other people's business!"

Xu Qing ignored Gu Dao's words. The cause and effect of the matter had nothing to do with him; his thoughts were simple and direct.

You bought my insurance, so I will ensure you leave the forbidden zone; as for whether you live or die after leaving, it is none of my business.

"He bought my insurance," Xu Qing said earnestly.

The black-clad old man's expression turned even colder, but in the next instant, a savage grin appeared on his face. He raised his hands abruptly, and a massive red ring of light appeared beneath his feet.

Bursts of cold wind rose from within the ring, transforming into a tornado with an impressive aura.

"Kid, you are still too inexperienced. You actually gave me time to cast a spell. Then... go to hell."

The old man roared, shaking his hands violently. The wind ring around him grew more massive, and countless blood-colored ice blades formed rapidly within it.

At the same time, the two black-clad men beside him also grinned savagely, charging at Xu Qing from left and right.

Gu Dao’s eyes revealed despair.

Only Xu Qing remained calm from start to finish. As the two figures approached and the ice blade storm outside the black-clad old man was about to erupt, he spoke softly.

"I should thank you, too."

Almost the moment Xu Qing’s words were spoken, the two black-clad men charging at him suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Their faces turned iron-black in an instant, their eyes widening in terror as black blood began to flow from their seven orifices.

It was as if they had been poisoned by a potent toxin; they could no longer sustain their breathing. The two were terrified to the extreme and instinctively tried to flee.

But they didn't get a few steps before they vomited large mouthfuls of black blood, lost all strength in their bodies, and collapsed, twitching violently. Their expressions were of extreme agony, as if suffering a hellish torture, and they let out shrill, shocking screams before dying instantly.

This scene left Gu Dao horrified, and the black-clad old man casting the spell also felt his mind roar, the storm he was maintaining becoming unstable.

And his own eyes, at this moment, also began to bleed black blood.

"You..." The old man's face changed drastically. Unable to maintain the stability of his technique, he pushed outward violently, causing the ice blades to erupt prematurely.

But because of his mental agitation, although the eruption was powerful, its coverage was off-target. Xu Qing flickered, carrying Gu Dao, and easily dodged it. He then watched the black-clad old man, who was rapidly retreating in an attempt to flee.

Watching the man continuously take out elixirs to swallow while retreating, Xu Qing did not stop him, but instead murmured softly amidst Gu Dao's terror.

"One, two, three..."

The moment the third word was spoken, the black-clad old man vomited a large mouthful of black blood, which even contained fragments of rotting internal organs.

His body staggered, but he did not fall. Though his face was pale, he seemed to have some strength left and was about to flee rapidly.

Seeing this, Xu Qing frowned. He shot out in an instant, caught up to the old man, and amidst the man's despair, threw a punch toward his chest from a distance.

A ferocious ghoul-shadow instantly manifested on his fist, grinning silently as it pounced toward the old man.

Bang!

The old man's body shook, the clothes on his chest instantly shattered into ash, his heart collapsed, and he died.

His corpse fell to the ground, his chest cavity sunken, the flesh and blood having formed the shape of a ghoul-shadow ghost face, a truly shocking sight.

"These seven types of poison powder, spread by the wind, are theoretically meant to kill within seconds of being mixed and inhaled. Why was he still able to hold on... It seems it needs improvement."

Xu Qing murmured, ignoring the terrified Gu Dao, and began to organize the spoils of war. Finally, he took out corpse-dissolving powder and sprinkled it over the three bodies.

As a sizzling sound spread through the silent jungle, the three bodies dissolved into blood.

After finishing this, Xu Qing looked at Gu Dao.

Gu Dao was already trembling in body and soul from Xu Qing's actions; the figure of the youth before him seemed to have become the most terrifying existence in this world.

So, when Xu Qing's gaze swept over him, he immediately shivered.

And in this shivering, he felt his breathing become difficult, and the skin on his hands turned blue. This sight nearly caused him to collapse.

"Fellow Daoist Kid, I... I have been poisoned too."

"Anyone in this wind-swept area will be poisoned," Xu Qing said calmly.

"Antidote, give me the antidote..." Gu Dao was anxious, feeling a stinging pain all over his body.

"My poison has no antidote." Xu Qing looked up at the approaching fog in the distance and, amidst Gu Dao's despair, added calmly.

"I came to save you because you bought insurance, but that is not a foundation for you to play little tricks."

"Fellow Daoist Kid, I was wrong, I know I was wrong. My body is starting to sting, look, I've turned blue..."

Gu Dao trembled, seeing his hands turning increasingly blue-black. The scene of the two black-clad men dying in agony with blood flowing from their seven orifices surfaced in his mind, and his inner terror reached its peak.

Xu Qing looked at him coldly and flicked his right hand, tossing a packet of powder over.

Gu Dao caught it and immediately gulped it down, fearing that eating too little would fail to cure the poison. Soon, the blue color on his body faded, but his face began to swell.

"What did you feed me? Why is my mouth a bit numb..." Gu Dao felt his face was very bloated, making it hard to speak, and he looked at Xu Qing in confusion.

Xu Qing glanced at Gu Dao, who now looked like a pig's head, and spoke calmly.

"It's also poison."