Chapter 4: Uninvited Guest

The moment he turned around, Xu Qing scanned behind him at high speed.

He saw seven or eight zhang away, seven people in different positions, scattered and approaching him.

These seven people were all adults, men and women, dressed mainly in fur coats, dark grey in color, hanging with many leather pouches.

Each person had weapons, each separated.

Three of them held bows, two held knives, and they all guarded against each other, as if they had precautions.

There was also one person wearing boxing gloves on his hands, walking alone, in the middle position.

As for the one with the strange voice just now, it was a tall, strong man.

This person carried a huge battle axe, and was also the closest to Xu Qing.

His body was extremely burly, with a ferocious scar on his face, and he was covered in a beard. At this moment, his eyes carried cruelty, and with a ferocious smile, he took big strides, forcing Xu Qing.

All of this was seen by Xu Qing after one glance.

His pupils contracted, and his mind instantly analyzed that these people didn't look like a whole, but more like a temporary team.

This point could be clearly seen from their standing positions and precautions.

And the identities of these people, Xu Qing had already guessed; they... were all scavengers!

Nanhuangzhou Continent didn't lack scavengers. They were mostly ferocious and didn't have too many bottom lines to speak of; everything was naked survival of the fittest.

Obviously, this time the forbidden zone blood rain stopped and the barrier opened, and scavengers from all around swarmed in.

For them, although the forbidden zone was dangerous, they were people who lived on the edge of a knife, and the resources contained in the empty city were enough to make them red-eyed.

Even if the materials were mostly polluted, there were still items with value.

While his thoughts were spinning rapidly, Xu Qing's body flickered, intending to leap away from one side.

But the strong man forcing him, seeing Xu Qing wanting to run, had even more cruelty in his eyes, and his ferocious smile was filled with bloodthirst.

"Want to run? I like torturing and killing little brats like you the most. You should have quite a lot of items in that leather pouch. Lei Dui, this kid, give him to me."

The cruelty in the strong man's eyes seemed to be able to diffuse from his pupils, forming deterrence, combined with his tall body and battle axe, the pressure was extremely great.

At this moment, he rushed over with big strides, and his right hand even swung the battle axe, throwing it straight toward the direction Xu Qing intended to leap.

'Whoosh', the battle axe carried a whistling sound, crossing the distance between the two sides, instantly approaching from mid-air.

The strong man had great strength, and his movements were not slow, but Xu Qing's speed was even faster. Almost the moment the battle axe arrived, his body suddenly accelerated to avoid it to the side.

The battle axe whistled past in front of him.

The wind it stirred up scraped Xu Qing's face, blowing up some of his messy hair, revealing his cold, wolf-like eyes beneath the hair.

The next moment, Xu Qing's body took advantage of the momentum to roll on the ground. He didn't run away, but arrived in front of the strong man. His right hand raised, and a pitch-black iron spike appeared in his hand.

Taking advantage of the height disadvantage, Xu Qing leaped upward suddenly, and the iron spike in his hand stabbed toward the strong man's chin from bottom to top!

All of this was too fast. Xu Qing's thin body and his previous attempt to escape formed a natural cover for his strike, to the point that the strong man also felt a life-and-death crisis at this moment.

But he was experienced after all. At this moment, his face changed greatly, and his upper body leaned backward suddenly, narrowly avoiding the iron spike, but a bloody mark was still drawn on his chin.

But before the anger in his heart could burn, Xu Qing's expression was indifferent. His left hand quickly drew a dagger from his lower leg.

When the strong man's upper body leaned backward, he lowered his body and took advantage of the momentum to stab the dagger fiercely into the strong man's right foot.

'Pfft', the dagger pierced through the straw shoe, pierced through the flesh, and was nailed directly into the mud!

The strong man's expression twisted, and the intense pain swept through his entire body. A shrill scream suddenly came out, and he was about to counterattack, but Xu Qing was too flexible. After the strike, his body shot backward to a broken wall cover, and he squatted there, ready to strike at any moment.

The swaying firelight covered his face, making his whole person look a bit bright and dark, but that wolf-like gaze could not be covered by the firelight, carrying vigilance and ferocity, looking at those scavengers.

All of this happened too fast, and Xu Qing's age and shape had a deceptive quality, so that many of the scavengers didn't react immediately.

At this moment, they all revealed ferocious glints, and the three holding bows had their eyes instantly sharp.

Xu Qing, hiding behind the cover, didn't look at the strong man who was still screaming and struggling to pull out the dagger from his foot, but scanned the three archers, and finally looked at the person wearing boxing gloves standing in the middle position.

This person was an old man, dressed similarly to other humans, but his gaze was the sharpest, and there was a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy on him that Xu Qing felt.

And from his position, as well as the instinctive gaze gathering of others around him, Xu Qing had some judgment in his heart.

The other party... should be the temporary leader of these scavengers.

Xu Qing looked at the old man, analyzing in his heart, and the old man was also looking at him, with some strangeness in his eyes.

Soon the old man withdrew his gaze, looking at the cremation fire burning not far away, and was silent for a while.

At this moment, the strong man who pulled out the dagger had raging anger in his eyes, and his whole person let out a roar, rushing toward Xu Qing.

"Little brat, watch how I kill you!"

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, revealing a sharp glint, and he was about to take action, but at this moment, an old voice came calmly.

"Enough!"

These two words seemed to possess deterrence, making the roaring strong man have to stop his steps and turn back to look at the speaker.

The speaker was exactly the old man wearing boxing gloves that Xu Qing had just looked at.

"Lei Dui..."

"This child should be a survivor from the slums outside. The deity spared him, so don't take action. Let's go."

"But..." The strong man had strong unwillingness in his eyes. He believed that he was just careless before, and if he really took action, he was confident he could crush Xu Qing's neck within a few breaths.

So he was about to open his mouth, but the old man looked at him indifferently.

"Do you want me to say it a second time?"

The strong man had a struggle in his expression, but finally lowered his head.

Only when lowering his head, his peripheral vision looked at Xu Qing hiding in the cover, and the killing intent flashed on his face, and then his expression was cold as he turned and limped toward the old man.

This killing intent, Xu Qing felt, and his eyes narrowed slightly, looking vigilantly at this group of scavengers as they gradually walked away.

But after they walked out for dozens of zhang, the old man in the middle paused his steps, turned his head, not knowing whether he was looking at Xu Qing or the hot flames of the cremation fire, and after a while, suddenly opened his mouth.

"Child, are you willing to leave here with me?"

Xu Qing was stunned. He noticed that in the other party's words, he said 'me', not 'us'.

So he was silent, his gaze scanned this group of people, and the old man also had patience, not urging, standing in the distance waiting for the answer.

Until more than ten breaths later, Xu Qing scanned these people many times, looked at the old man, and then looked at the strong man who was injured by himself and had a cold expression.

A strange glint flashed in the boy's eyes.

He slowly stood up, didn't speak, and slowly approached them.

Seeing Xu Qing walk over, the old man smiled, turned around and continued walking, and the others also looked at Xu Qing deeply, following along.

Just like this, Xu Qing followed this group of scavengers, watching them search for items of value in the city.

During this period, he learned the nickname of the ferocious strong man; others called him 'Can Niu' (Crippled Ox).

This person also scanned Xu Qing many times, with cold glints in his eyes.

But obviously he was restraining himself, as if he wasn't in a hurry, waiting for an opportunity when the old man who stopped him from taking action wasn't around.

And he seemed very certain that such an opportunity would definitely appear on the future road.

Xu Qing pondered for a while, thinking of the strong man's greed, so relying on his familiarity with the city, he gave these scavengers some help.

Xu Qing's posture was very low, making these scavengers search for items of value faster, and the items found were also more.

And Can Niu was obviously greedy, even if he couldn't accommodate them on his body, exceeding his own load, he still wanted to take more.

So, already injured, he searched a wider range than others, and the items he carried were also heavier.

At first, it didn't count as anything, but as time passed, the strong man's physical strength was obviously consumed in large quantities, and his exhaustion far exceeded everyone else.

As for the area of the City Lord's Mansion, Xu Qing considered that the old man called Lei Dui was helpful to him, so he didn't lead them there.

Until night was about to fall, the group finally left the city and camped in the slums that used to be outside the city.

Their movements were very skilled, and they set up six tents.

Apart from the two holding knives in one tent, the others were alone, and they even lit incense outside the tents, and some took out some powder and sprinkled a circle around.

Seeing the sky getting darker, various roars began to echo in the city, and these scavengers all walked into the tents.

Only Lei Dui scanned Xu Qing, who was alone, took out a sleeping bag from the side, and threw it over.

"The incense can drive away strange beasts, and the powder can avoid eerie things. With your contribution today, with me here, Can Niu won't dare to pay attention to you. It's still safe here."

After saying this, the old man didn't pay attention anymore and walked into the tent.

Xu Qing didn't speak, just looked deeply at the old man's tent, picked up the sleeping bag, opened it, and drilled in.

But he didn't seal it completely, instead leaving a gap toward the direction of the scavengers' tents.

Late at night, the roars and shrill sounds outside became more intense, and the eerie crying sounds also drifted and circled. The terrifying atmosphere seemed to be everywhere outside.

It seemed that no one was willing to leave their sheltered residence at this time.

Only Xu Qing...

He opened his eyes in the sleeping bag, motionless, waiting silently.

Until time passed, reaching the time when people were most sound asleep in the middle of the night, Xu Qing slowly crawled out of the sleeping bag.

His movements were very careful, trying not to make any sound as much as possible.

The roars and shrill sounds in the city echoed in his ears, but they didn't distract his mind in the slightest.

After crawling out carefully, Xu Qing walked silently toward the tent where the strong man Can Niu was.

He didn't allow any hidden dangers around him that threatened his own life. Even if it was just a hidden danger, he had to find a way to solve it immediately.

This was the rule Xu Qing learned from the lessons of blood in the slums. It was also the reason why he agreed to follow this time.

Even his act of prompting the crowd during the day to make them gain more was to see Can Niu's greed, wanting to make him even more exhausted under the condition of injury, thus losing vigilance.

And his act of deliberately lowering his posture was also to paralyze the other party, making him lack precautions.

All of this was for the strike today. At this moment, Xu Qing's expression was calm. He approached the tent gently, didn't act rashly, but squatted there first, listening carefully for a long while.

The snoring sounds entering his ears were even, continuous, and stable, not like a fake. After confirming these, Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, slowly drew his iron spike, cut the button of the tent gently, and slowly drilled in.

Inside the tent, it was dim. Xu Qing saw Can Niu lying there, sleeping very soundly. Obviously, the load of the day, plus the injury, made him extremely exhausted.

And the mentality of the strong also made Can Niu never imagine that the boy who had a fawning and cooperative posture during the day would risk coming in the middle of the night while other scavengers were all there.

So at this moment, he didn't know that there was an uninvited guest in his tent.

Xu Qing looked at the sleeping Can Niu, his cold gaze calm like the deep sea. He approached gently, and until he stood beside him, Xu Qing didn't have the slightest delay. The cold light of the dagger in his right hand flashed, and instantly, he cut fiercely across Can Niu's neck, who was unaware.

The force was extremely great, almost separating the head from the body.

Blood sprayed instantly.

The intense pain made Can Niu open his eyes suddenly, seeing Xu Qing's expressionless face. His expression revealed disbelief and terror, and he was about to struggle, but Xu Qing's left hand had already raised quickly, pressing firmly on his mouth, making him unable to make half a sound.

And the struggle became more intense at this moment. Can Niu's eyes widened, and his whole body twitched crazily.

But Xu Qing's hand was like iron pliers, pressing firmly, and his right foot even raised, stepping directly on Can Niu's stomach. His own body turned into a bow shape, using stable force, making Can Niu's struggle futile.

As blood continued to gush out, Can Niu was like a fish out of water, despair gradually emerging strongly in his eyes, and even revealed pleading.

But what he saw was still Xu Qing's calm face, and the sounds made by his body's struggle were also covered up by the roars and shrill sounds outside, unable to spread the slightest bit.

Time passed slowly. Until more than ten breaths later, Can Niu's struggle gradually weakened, and finally, he trembled, his whole person relaxed, motionless, only his open eyes remained, retaining the fear before death, and he died of breath.

Xu Qing didn't raise his hand immediately, but waited for a while, confirming that the other party was really dead. Only then did he release his hand, wiped the bloodstains on it, and opened his leather pouch.

He carefully took out the snake head wrapped in linen cloth from inside, carefully used the snake's fangs to pierce Can Niu's skin.

The next moment, following the spread of the toxin, Can Niu's corpse bubbled with green gas, slowly melting.

An incense stick later, the corpse completely turned into a pool of blood, seeping into the mud of the ground.

Xu Qing looked at all this silently, began to tidy up the scene, and made the appearance of the other party disappearing, only then drilling out of the tent.

The cold wind blew against his face, taking away some of the blood smell stained on his body. Xu Qing looked up at the night, took a deep breath of the ice-cold air, and walked slowly back to his sleeping bag.

The moment he lay in the sleeping bag, his heart finally settled down. The sense of security brought by the removal of the hidden danger made him close his eyes and fall asleep quickly, but the iron spike in his hand was always gripped tightly, never loosening in the slightest.

Not a word was spoken all night.

The next morning, the dawn shone, reflecting the earth. Xu Qing opened his eyes, climbed out of the sleeping bag quietly, and his gaze scanned the tent where Can Niu was as if casually.

The next moment, his eyes shrank slightly.

Can Niu's tent had actually disappeared.

Xu Qing's heart sank, and he became even more vigilant.

Soon other scavengers also walked out of the tents one after another in the morning, discovering this matter for the first time, and were surprised, and some searched around to no avail.

But because Can Niu disappeared completely, even the tent was gone, so some judged that the other party should have left in the middle of the night due to greed for things in the city, or for other reasons, leaving without saying goodbye.

In short, in this forbidden zone, too many reasons would make a person disappear.

It was originally a team formed temporarily, and Can Niu was alone, so soon these scavengers stopped paying attention to this matter. Some looked at Xu Qing, but seemed to feel that this matter could not be related to Xu Qing, and there was no obligation to investigate, so they withdrew their guesses.

Only the old man called Lei Dui, when taking back Xu Qing's sleeping bag, looked at him deeply and spoke indifferently.

"Now, are you still coming with me?"

This sentence had profound meaning, and Xu Qing was silent.

The old man didn't say anything else, called the crowd, and hurried on the road under this early sun.

Xu Qing stood in place for a while, instinctively turned his head to look at the ruined city. Finally, he turned his head, looked at the old man's back, thought for a while, and followed, walking and walking, his steps gradually becoming firmer.

Six scavengers, one child, their figures were pulled very long in the sunlight...

From afar, the wind blew, scattering their sighs and emotions as they moved forward.

"This is the deity catastrophe, the whole city perished."

"There is one more forbidden zone in this world..."

"This doesn't count as anything. You've heard of it, right? Seven or eight years ago, there was a big city in the northern area. The deity opened her eyes and looked at it, and that area, along with the city, directly disappeared eerily, as if it had never existed."

The conversation became weaker and weaker. Under the early sun, among the figures traveling far, the boy was silent, listening silently, walking silently.

Further and further away.

As a little 'Mengxin' (newbie), I nervously released my tender new book. Brothers and sisters, please take care of me. Please collect, please recommend, please vote for monthly tickets. ===== CHAPTER 5 =====