Chapter 40

After a brief silence, the Camp Master looked at Xu Qing and suddenly spoke.

"Kid, how about we stop this matter here? You have already rescued Team Leader Lei, and this person is also dead; there is no need for you and me to continue fighting to the death."

"Besides, I am an Elder of the Jin Gang Sect; if you fight me to the death, it is equivalent to declaring war on the Jin Gang Sect. Our sect's ancestor is a Foundation Establishment powerhouse!"

Xu Qing was silent, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his body staggering somewhat as he raised his right hand as if to wipe it.

Just at this moment, the Camp Master, who had just spoken about stopping the battle, suddenly had a cold glint flash in his eyes.

With a 'boom', his entire person charged rapidly toward Xu Qing; his speed was so fast, and the golden light on his whole body erupted like never before at this moment, his entire person seemingly turning into a golden body.

"Third Jin Gang Technique!"

Looking from afar, the Camp Master's whole body was filled with golden light, his momentum was heaven-shaking, and his killing intent was incomparably intense.

But Xu Qing's expression did not change in the slightest; the previous staggering disappeared instantly, as if everything had been fake; the right hand he raised was not to wipe blood, but was raised above his head, and his blood-filled eyes also closed slightly.

In his mind, he recalled the statue that had descended like a deity in the temple that day, the stunningly beautiful blade strike it had made when it raised its hand, which seemed to contain some kind of Dao.

He had imitated this blade strike countless times, but had never used it.

Now, he felt that he could use it.

A purple light erupted from his body, covering his whole person and also covering his raised right hand.

Unlike the golden color of the statue, what Xu Qing emitted after imitating it was a purple intent.

Under this purple light, the moment the Camp Master roared and approached, Xu Qing's right hand fell slowly, appearing casual.

There was nothing unusual about it; it was very ordinary, very simple, yet within this ordinariness, there seemed to be some extraordinary charm contained within.

This extraordinary charm caused all the purple light to gather on Xu Qing's right hand instantly, and the moment it fell, a blurry... giant blade shadow appeared above his head!

This shadow was huge, like a heavenly blade!

The purple light rose and shone, replacing the sunlight, replacing the golden glow, replacing everything, and along with Xu Qing's right hand, it slashed down... abruptly!

Thunder in the sky, the ground of the camp roared, and intense wind accompanied by blinding light rolled and exploded in all directions like a tide.

All the scavengers retreated involuntarily, and the Camp Master's body changed from its previous rapid speed to a slow one, until it stopped one zhang in front of Xu Qing.

He stared blankly at Xu Qing in front of him, slowly lowering his head to look at the ground beneath his feet.

Beneath his feet, a straight crack appeared on the ground... this crack was seven or eight zhang long, spreading from beneath him to behind him.

"This blade..." the Camp Master muttered, a bloodstain suddenly appearing on his forehead; this bloodstain split open to his chin in an instant, crossed his chest, and reached his dantian, after which blood erupted, and his body turned into two halves on the spot and fell down.

The surroundings were silent, with only the sound of rapid breathing revealing the unbelievable horror in everyone's hearts.

Under the setting sun, the afterglow spilled onto the blood-stained ground, reflecting the boy's lonely face; drops of blood flowed down his fingers, dripping into the pool of blood on the ground and splashing layers of ripples.

The figure in those ripples was somewhat blurry and unclear, but the sense of desolation and the coldness in his eyes were clearly revealed.

Xu Qing silently put away the blood-stained dagger and the pitch-black iron skewer, and after taking away the Talisman Treasure with the blurred writing, he turned around and walked toward Cross and Luan Ya in the crowd.

Cross and Luan Ya, with awe in their expressions, watched Xu Qing walk over, watched him silently take over Team Leader Lei, who was exhausted and unconscious, and carry him on his back as he walked away.

Thus, they also lowered their heads and followed him as he went far away.

Under the setting sun, Xu Qing's shadow was stretched very long, covering the blood on the ground, revealing an indescribable sadness.

The surrounding scavengers looked at his figure involuntarily, looking at the blood and corpses filling the long street.

These bloodstains behind Xu Qing seemed to form a shocking trail of blood.

Someone remembered the trial when they first entered the camp, in that beast-fighting arena, the trail of blood Xu Qing had left while dragging the Giant-Horned Python.

The two scenes, the two trails of blood, seemed to overlap at this moment.

"Kid!" It wasn't clear who was the first to shout it out, and soon all the scavengers gathered here shouted it out one after another.

"Kid!!"

"Kid!!!"

The sound grew louder and louder; there were old people, children, middle-aged men, and also women with feathers on their heads.

One by one, a fanatical look slowly appeared in their eyes, and the sound of their roars gradually echoed to the heavens.

This was... a salute unique to scavengers!

Sunset, dusk, at the entrance of the camp.

Carrying Team Leader Lei on his back, Xu Qing walked to this point and turned his head to look at Cross and Luan Ya.

The two of them also looked at Xu Qing, with awe and complexity in their eyes; clearly, they had guessed something.

"Are you leaving?" Cross said softly.

"I'm going to send Team Leader Lei on his final journey, and then... I'll be gone." Xu Qing nodded.

Cross and Luan Ya were silent.

A sense of parting welled up in Xu Qing's heart; he looked at them deeply, and then his gaze moved past them to look at this camp where he had lived for almost half a year.

"Take care." Luan Ya gazed at Xu Qing, stepped forward to help him tidy up his messy hair, not minding the blood on his body at all, and hugged him gently.

"What about you guys." Xu Qing did not reject Luan Ya's hug and asked softly.

"We are also leaving this place; don't worry, Cross and I have hands and feet, and our strength is decent; we can go to any camp." Luan Ya said with a smile.

Cross still didn't speak, but stepped forward and hugged Xu Qing tightly.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, waved at them, turned around, and walked with long strides out of the camp gate, heading further and further away toward the direction of the Forbidden Zone.

Behind him, in the setting sun, Cross and Luan Ya stood there silently, watching him go until Xu Qing's figure disappeared at the end of their sight, and Luan Ya muttered.

"Cross, will we see him again in the future? It's a pity we still don't know his name."

"Maybe... the name isn't important." Cross said softly, holding Luan Ya's hand.

Xu Qing was gone, having left the camp and walking toward the Forbidden Zone.

He carried Team Leader Lei on his back, walking forward silently, just as Team Leader Lei had carried him when he was severely injured, just as he had carried him when he saw him off at parting; the same road, the same people.

But he could feel that Team Leader Lei was getting lighter and lighter, the vitality in his body was getting less and less, and the sense of death could not be stopped from spreading.

The sadness in Xu Qing's heart grew thicker and thicker.

Silently stepping into the jungle, silently walking in the Forbidden Zone, silently heading toward a certain direction, walking continuously; time passed slowly, the setting sun had already set, and the dark night descended.

But seemingly sensing the blood energy and lingering killing intent on Xu Qing, no strange beasts appeared in front of him along the way, letting Xu Qing walk forward in sadness.

Until an hour later, a weak voice came hoarsely from behind him.

"Kid, I just had a dream."

Team Leader Lei had woken up, his expression carrying the confusion of his final moments, muttering in a low voice.

He did not ask why he was here, nor did he ask why Xu Qing appeared, and even less did he speak of his own experiences.

"I dreamed of Taohong, and I also dreamed of you."

Xu Qing's eyes were a bit red, the sorrow in his heart growing thicker, and his speed increased, but he tried his best to remain steady, getting closer and closer to his destination.

"In the dream, you were still very well-behaved, always coming in first at the school."

Team Leader Lei wanted to smile, but it seemed these few sentences exhausted most of his strength; his voice gradually grew weaker, and he whispered before falling unconscious.

"What a good dream."

"Kid, I can't hold on anymore."

Xu Qing lowered his head, galloping at full speed; on the way, he had tried to use his own purple crystal to help Team Leader Lei, but it was of no use and could not retain his vitality.

Finally, half an hour later, he arrived at the place where they had encountered the singing that day; it was still that area, still that big tree.

Arriving here, Xu Qing gently put Team Leader Lei down, supporting him as he leaned against the tree, his eyes red and his nose sore as he looked at the old man before him, whose face was full of wrinkles and who was at the end of his life.

"Team Leader Lei." Xu Qing said softly.

The old man leaned against the tree and slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were murky, looking blankly at the world before him; after a long time, he seemed to recognize where this was, gradually smiling, and there was some light in his eyes.

"Kid, do you have wine?"

Xu Qing nodded silently, took out a flask of wine from his leather bag, placed it by the old man's mouth, and fed him a large gulp.

This gulp of wine made the light in the old man's eyes brighter at this moment, like the final radiance of a candle.

It seemed that at this moment, he saw Xu Qing's red eyes and began to smile.

"Why are you crying."

Team Leader Lei seemed to have gained some strength, and with Xu Qing's support, he struggled to sit up a bit.

Leaning against the big tree, he wanted to raise his hand to touch Xu Qing's head, but he couldn't do it; yet at the moment he gave up, Xu Qing took his hand and slowly placed it on his own head.

The old man smiled.

"Actually, I'm quite lucky; at the very least, at this time, there is someone accompanying me, there is wine to drink, and there is someone to bury me after I die."

"And in this world, among the masses, how many die lonely and desolate, silently left to expose their corpses in the wilderness alone."

"Actually, death is not scary; what's scary is that before dying, there isn't a single familiar person in front of you..."

Speaking to this point, the afterglow in Team Leader Lei's eyes slowly dimmed, and he suddenly spoke.

"Kid, I want to drink one more gulp."

Sadness filled Xu Qing's heart; he took the wine flask and placed it gently by Team Leader Lei's mouth. As the wine spilled out, Team Leader Lei looked behind him, his expression confused, muttering in a low voice.

"Taohong, have you come to pick me up..."

The wine spilled onto the old man's collar and fell into the soil; he did not drink it, and the light in his eyes, along with the fire of life, extinguished.

Xu Qing's body trembled, his head lowered, and the sadness in his heart could no longer be controlled, spreading from his heart and covering his whole body.

He gripped the wine flask tightly, not even noticing that the flask had deformed in his hand.

Until half a moment later, Xu Qing bit his lip, silently placed the wine flask aside, and raised his head to look at the old man before him who would never wake up again.

In his mind, he couldn't help but recall the figure of the other party suddenly turning his head to look at him from afar in the ruins of the city.

"Kid, are you willing to leave this place with me?"

Tears slid down the corners of Xu Qing's eyes, drop by drop.

They dissolved the blood grime on his face, left two clear trails, and fell onto his collar.

Having grown up in the slums, he hadn't cried for a long time.

But today, he couldn't hold it back; looking at the old man's corpse, until the sky began to brighten again, he silently buried the old man and the wine flask under the tree.

Scavengers don't need tombstones, because no one comes to pay respects.

But the old man had a tombstone.

In front of the tombstone, Xu Qing stared blankly.

Until a very, very long time later, he took a ball of hemp cloth from his leather bag and took out the only piece of candy inside.

He placed it silently in his mouth, leaned against the big tree, and closed his eyes.

The candy was very sweet.

Someone had once told Xu Qing that when you are sad, eating it will make you feel a little better.