Chapter 40: A Song of Lingering Regret for the Red Dust

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

"Kid, how about we end this here? You have already rescued the Captain, and this man is dead; there is no need for us to continue fighting to the death."

"Besides, I am an Elder of the Vajra Sect. If you continue to fight me to the death, it is equivalent to declaring war on the Vajra 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 as he raised his right hand as if to wipe it away.

Just at this moment, the Camp Master, who had just spoken of ending the battle, suddenly had a flash of cold light in his eyes.

With a boom, he charged rapidly toward Xu Qing, his speed so great that the golden light covering his entire body erupted like never before, as if he had transformed into a golden body.

"Vajra Third Technique!"

Seen from afar, the Camp Master was suffused with golden light, his momentum heaven-shaking, and his killing intent incomparably intense.

Yet, Xu Qing’s expression did not change in the slightest. The previous sense of staggering vanished instantly, as if it had all been a pretense. His raised right hand was not wiping blood, but was instead lifted above his head, and his blood-filled eyes closed slightly.

In his mind, he recalled the statue that had descended like a deity inside the temple that day, and the stunning, peerless blade strike it had delivered, 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 him completely, and also covering his raised right hand.

Unlike the golden light of the statue, what Xu Qing emitted after his imitation was a purple hue.

Under this purple light, at the very moment the roaring Camp Master approached, Xu Qing’s right hand descended slowly, appearing casual.

There was nothing extraordinary about it; it was very plain and simple, yet within this plainness, there seemed to be an extraordinary charm contained within.

This extraordinary charm caused all the purple light to instantly converge on Xu Qing’s right hand. At the moment it fell, a vague, enormous blade shadow appeared above his head!

This shadow was massive, like a heavenly blade!

The purple light surged and shone, replacing the sunlight, replacing the golden radiance, replacing everything, as it suddenly... slashed down along with Xu Qing’s right hand!

Thunder roared in the sky, the ground of the camp rumbled, and a powerful wind accompanied by blinding light rolled and exploded outward like a tidal wave.

All the scavengers were forced to retreat involuntarily, and the Camp Master’s body, previously moving at high speed, slowed down until it came to a halt one zhang in front of Xu Qing.

He stared blankly at Xu Qing before him, then slowly lowered his head to look at the ground beneath his feet.

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

"This blade..." the Camp Master murmured. A bloodstain suddenly appeared on his forehead, which instantly split down to his chin, crossed his chest, and reached his dantian. Blood erupted, and his body split into two right where he stood, collapsing to the ground.

The surroundings were silent, save for the sound of rapid breathing, which betrayed the incredulous horror in everyone's hearts.

Under the sunset, the afterglow spilled onto the blood-stained ground, reflecting the lonely face of the youth. Drops of blood flowed down his fingers, dripping into the pool of blood on the ground and splashing ripples.

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

Xu Qing silently put away his blood-stained dagger and black iron skewer, took the talisman with the blurred inscription, and turned to walk toward Cross and Luan Ya in the crowd.

Cross and Luan Ya looked at Xu Qing as he approached with awe in their expressions, watching him silently take the unconscious, exhausted Captain and carry him on his back as he walked away.

They, too, lowered their heads and followed him as he went into the distance.

In the sunset, Xu Qing’s shadow was stretched very long, covering the blood on the ground and revealing an unspeakable sorrow.

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

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

Someone remembered the initial camp trial, in the beast arena, when Xu Qing had dragged the Giant-Horned Python, leaving a trail of blood.

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

"Kid!" Someone, it was unclear who, was the first to shout, and soon all the scavengers gathered here shouted one after another.

"Kid!!"

"Kid!!!"

The voices grew louder and louder, including those of old men, children, strong men, and women with feathers in their hair.

One by one, their eyes slowly revealed a fanatical fervor, and the roaring sound gradually echoed to the heavens.

This was... the unique salute of the scavengers!

At sunset, at the camp entrance.

When Xu Qing arrived here with the Captain on his back, he looked back at Cross and Luan Ya.

The two also looked at Xu Qing, their eyes filled with awe and complexity, clearly having guessed something.

"Are you leaving?" Cross asked softly.

"I am going to see the Captain off on his final journey, and then... I will leave." 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, then cast his gaze past them toward the camp where he had lived for nearly half a year.

"Take care." Luan Ya gazed at Xu Qing, stepped forward to tidy his disheveled hair, and without minding the blood on him, gave him a light hug.

"What about you two?" 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 he stepped forward and gave Xu Qing a firm hug.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, waved at them, turned, and strode out of the camp gate, walking further and further toward the Forbidden Zone.

Behind him, in the sunset, Cross and Luan Ya stood silently, watching him go until Xu Qing’s figure disappeared at the end of their vision. Luan Ya murmured.

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

"We will... the name is not important," Cross said softly, taking Luan Ya’s hand.

Xu Qing had left, departed from the camp, and was walking toward the Forbidden Zone.

He carried the Captain on his back, walking silently forward, just as the Captain had carried him when he was severely injured, just as he had carried him when they parted ways—the same road, the same people.

But he could feel that the Captain was becoming lighter and lighter, the vitality in his body was fading, and the aura of death was spreading uncontrollably.

The sorrow in Xu Qing’s heart grew thicker.

He stepped silently into the jungle, walked silently through the Forbidden Zone, and walked continuously toward a certain direction. Time passed slowly, the sunset faded, and night descended.

But as if sensing the blood aura and lingering killing intent on Xu Qing, no strange beasts appeared before him along the way, leaving Xu Qing to walk forward in his sorrow.

Until an hour later, a faint, hoarse voice came from behind him.

"Kid, I just had a dream."

The Captain had woken up, his expression dazed as he was on the verge of death, whispering softly.

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

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

Xu Qing’s eyes were a bit red, the sorrow in his heart deepening. He increased his speed, but tried hard 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 schoolhouse."

The Captain wanted to smile, but it seemed these few words exhausted most of his strength. His voice gradually grew weaker, and he whispered before falling back into unconsciousness.

"What a good dream."

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

Xu Qing lowered his head, sprinting with all his might. On the way, he had tried to use his own purple crystal to help the Captain, but it was of no use; he could not retain his vitality.

Finally, half an hour later, he arrived at the place where they had heard the singing that day—the same area, the same large tree.

Arriving here, Xu Qing gently set the Captain down, supporting him as he leaned against the tree. His eyes were red, and his nose felt sore as he looked at the old man before him, whose face was covered in wrinkles and who was completely exhausted.

"Captain," Xu Qing said softly.

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

His eyes were cloudy, looking blankly at the world before him. After a long time, he seemed to recognize where this was, and gradually smiled, a bit of light returning to his eyes.

"Kid, do you have any wine?"

Xu Qing nodded silently, took a flask of wine from his leather bag, placed it by the old man’s lips, and fed him a large mouthful.

This mouthful of wine made the light in the old man’s eyes brighter for a moment, like the final glow of a candle.

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

"Why are you crying?"

The Captain seemed to have regained some strength, and with Xu Qing’s support, he struggled to sit up a little.

Leaning against the large tree, he wanted to raise his hand to touch Xu Qing’s head, but he couldn't. Yet, the moment he gave up, Xu Qing took his hand and slowly placed it on his own head.

The old man smiled.

"Actually, I am quite lucky. At the very least, at this time, there is someone with me, there is wine to drink, and someone to bury me after I die."

"And in this world, among the masses, how many die in loneliness and misery, their bodies left exposed in the wilderness, all alone?"

"Actually, death is not scary. What is scary is that before dying, there isn't a single familiar face in front of you..."

Having said this, the afterglow in the Captain’s eyes slowly dimmed, and he suddenly spoke.

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

Sorrow filled Xu Qing’s heart. He took the wine flask and gently placed it by the Captain’s lips. As the wine spilled out, the Captain looked behind him, his expression dazed, and he whispered.

"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 his life, extinguished.

Xu Qing’s body trembled. He lowered his head, the sorrow in his heart no longer controllable, spreading from within and covering his entire body.

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

Until a long while later, Xu Qing bit his lip, silently placed the wine flask aside, and looked up at the old man before him who would never wake up again.

In his mind, he could not stop the image from surfacing of the ruins of the city, where the other man had suddenly turned his head to look at him from afar.

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

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

They dissolved the bloodstains on his face, leaving two clear tracks that fell onto his lapels.

Having grown up in the slums, he had long ago forgotten how to cry.

But today, he could not hold back; looking at the old man’s corpse, he waited until the sky grew dim again before silently burying the old man and the wine pot beneath a tree.

Scavengers do not need tombstones, for no one comes to pay their respects.

But the old man had a tombstone.

Before the tombstone, Xu Qing stared blankly.

After a very long time, he took a bundle of linen from his leather pouch and brought out the only piece of candy inside.

He placed it silently into his mouth, leaned against the large tree, and closed his eyes.

The candy was very sweet.

Someone had once told Xu Qing that when he felt sad, eating it would make him feel a little better.