Chapter 213: Hong Yu, Beehive, Take the Blade

Luo Ming and the other person came down from the tree hole and walked less than a hundred meters toward the location of the whistle, only to see two black figures by the large tree.

"Is that Brother Watching Yue Feng?"

"It's me!"

Hearing Watching Yue Feng's familiar voice, Luo Ming immediately took Shang Ping and walked over quickly. After getting close and seeing clearly that it was indeed Watching Yue Feng, he completely let go of his guard, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Brother Luo, this is the person I told you about before. His name is Hong Yu."

Hearing Watching Yue Feng's address for himself, Luo Ming couldn't help but feel a bit of sighing in his heart.

Thinking back to Red Wood Ridge, when he and Xia Hong called each other brothers, Watching Yue Feng couldn't even get a word in. Now, he himself was doing worse and worse.

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset and, following Watching Yue Feng's introduction, looked at the person named Hong Yu behind him.

Ordinary appearance, looking less than thirty, his face somewhat sallow, wearing a black animal skin cloak, equipped with two blades on his body—the long one on his back and the short one at his waist—and he was also carrying a large bundle on his back, which was bulging, clearly containing many things.

While sizing up Hong Yu, he also remembered the words Watching Yue Feng said to him during the trade last night, and a trace of confusion suddenly appeared in his eyes.

According to Watching Yue Feng's statement last night, someone in Great Xia had contracted a very rare disease, and only the Longshan Camp had medicine that could treat it. The Great Xia Camp naturally wouldn't make a big fuss for one person, so that person, in order to survive, had no choice but to choose to go out and fight for it himself.

Longshan is located in the central part of Pingxi Plain, and only the people of the Beehive Camp know its specific location. Moreover, to go to Longshan, Beehive is also a must-pass place. That's why Watching Yue Feng approached Luo Ming, hoping that Luo Ming could take that person and infiltrate the Beehive Camp first to inquire about the situation. If they could find out the specific location, that person would set off on his own to find Longshan.

Clearly, this unremarkable Hong Yu in front of him was that patient.

Seeing Hong Yu's sallow complexion, Luo Ming didn't doubt that he was sick. The reason he was confused in his heart was because he was curious about how this unremarkable Hong Yu persuaded Watching Yue Feng to come and ask him for help.

Judging from the movement of his Qi and muscles, this Hong Yu's basic strength was only over 20,000 jin, and his status in Great Xia definitely wasn't high. Watching Yue Feng had no reason to help him.

Just as Luo Ming was feeling puzzled, that Hong Yu moved at this moment.

He walked forward to Luo Ming, bowed slightly, and spoke with gratitude:

"Brother Luo, I'm counting on you for this trip!"

Luo Ming was interrupted in his thoughts and immediately waved his hand: "It's just a small effort. Taking one person to the camp isn't a very difficult thing. The key is..."

Speaking of this, Luo Ming paused, and then continued with a hesitant expression:

"I speak quite directly, so I hope Brother Hong Yu won't mind. Forgive me for being blunt, but the location of Longshan is actually not difficult to inquire about. Except for the Great Leader Chen Yingyuan, the Second Leader Wu Tianxing, and the Hunting Regiment Commander Chen Yingba, the several major captains of the Hunting Regiment should all know.

The problem is, even if you find out the specific location of Longshan, relying on yourself to go there alone is basically impossible. Your strength..."

"Cough... Brother Luo, no need to worry. Before coming, I had already said everything that needed attention. Hong Yu has it all in mind. You just need to take him there. Leave the rest for him to handle himself."

Hearing Watching Yue Feng's words, Luo Ming couldn't say anything more. After all, it was Hong Yu's own choice. If he talked too much, it would be bad instead.

"Alright, then I'll take Brother Hong Yu back. See you next month, Brother Yue."

"Good, see you at next month's trading day!"

After Luo Ming finished speaking, he signaled to Watching Yue Feng and directly took Shang Ping and Hong Yu together to set off toward the north.

Watching Yue Feng stood in place, waiting until he couldn't see the figures of the three, before sighing slightly, silently reciting a sentence, and turning back to Jinggu.

"Leader, have a safe journey!"

…………

Pingxi Plain, as the name suggests, except for occasionally seeing some small mounds, is mostly a plain area. Trees are seen every few steps, and the density cannot be compared to Red Wood Ridge, not even as good as the periphery of Shuanglong Valley.

Advantages and disadvantages always accompany each other. With low vegetation coverage, there are naturally not so many cold beasts. Moreover, the plain has an open field of vision, and cold beasts of such large size can be seen from far away, so safety is far higher than in mountainous areas.

Pingxi Plain under the night sky looks like it has been covered with a silver carpet, and the visibility is very high. Luo Ming, who is leading, is clearly extremely familiar with the road conditions. Every once in a while, he can find a conspicuous landmark, sometimes a large tree, sometimes a giant rock, sometimes a small mound...

Before long, the three of them had walked about ten kilometers north.

"Brother Hong Yu should also be a member of the hunting team in Great Xia, right?"

After passing a giant rock with a diameter of three zhang, Luo Ming led the two to change direction to the west, and suddenly turned his head to ask Hong Yu at the very back.

It's hard for Luo Ming to have held it in for so long!

Xia Hong chuckled secretly. Just now, Luo Ming had turned his head to look at him several times on the way, clearly wanting to talk, but he had held it back. He thought Luo Ming could hold it back all the way to the Beehive Camp!

Watching Yue Feng had said before that Luo Ming was very curious about the current situation of Great Xia and had asked several times, only to be brushed off by him. Now that he had finally encountered such a good opportunity to inquire, he naturally wouldn't let it go.

Xia Hong was also prepared in his heart, raised his head, and answered with a smile:

"Brother Luo, just call me Hong Yu. I am indeed a member of the hunting team."

This Hong Yu is not as difficult to talk to as he looks.

Hearing Xia Hong's answer, Luo Ming immediately smiled: "Good, thanks to you calling me Brother Luo, when we return to the Beehive Camp, I, Brother Luo, will definitely cover for you, no need to worry."

After the pleasantries, Luo Ming's courage also grew, and he didn't hide it, asking directly: "Hong Yu, you are from Red Wood Ridge, so you should know me, right?"

Xia Hong nodded: "I know. Brother Luo was the leader of the Luo Ge Camp before. After the Wood Puppet Strange incident, Brother Luo took people and left Red Wood Ridge, leaving Shuanglong Valley to our Great Xia Camp."

Bringing up the past, Luo Ming couldn't help but sigh, but quickly adjusted his mindset and said: "It's been two years since I left Red Wood Ridge. I don't know what the current situation of the Great Xia Camp is. During the first three trades, I saw that the materials Watching Yue Feng brought were so many. Great Xia's current strength should be very terrifying, right?"

Still not asking directly, wanting to induce him to take the initiative to speak about Great Xia's situation.

Seeing Luo Ming's intention, Xia Hong pondered for a moment and spoke directly.

"That's for sure. Our Great Xia now has a population of over 30,000, nearly 3,000 Earth-Digging Realm members, even more Woodcutting Realm members. Just the hunting teams alone number over eighty, and there are over ten small teams that can hunt mid-level cold beasts. The jurisdiction is five or six hundred square kilometers. Among the surrounding camps, there should be no one who is our Great Xia's opponent!"

………………

Not surprisingly, hearing Xia Hong's words, Luo Ming and Shang Ping both froze, stopped their forward pace, turned their heads sharply, and looked at him with faces full of disbelief.

Earth-Digging Realm, nearly 3,000?

Over eighty hunting teams, over ten teams that can hunt mid-level cold beasts?

This, how is it possible!

"What, don't believe it?"

Xia Hong raised his eyebrows, deliberately asking back with a hint of anger.

Luo Ming didn't come back to his senses for a long time. It was Shang Ping who spoke first: "No, no, no, we are just too shocked. Nearly 3,000 Earth-Digging Realm members, then what level has your leader Xia Hong's strength reached now?"

"I'm not clear about that. Even Leader Watching Yue Feng rarely sees the leader, let alone me."

"Alright, let's continue on our way, we'll be there soon!"

After a long time, Luo Ming spoke.

After speaking, he took the lead and continued walking forward. Shang Ping seemed to have thought of something and followed without saying a word.

This is, not believing him!

Hong Yu followed behind the two with a strange expression. After thinking for a moment, he roughly guessed Luo Ming's current thoughts.

Luo Ming had asked Watching Yue Feng about Great Xia's current situation many times before and had been brushed off. He must have thought that his words just now were instructed by Watching Yue Feng, deliberately talking nonsense here.

That's right, given the harshness and cruelty of the Ice Abyss world, it's indeed hard for people to believe that Great Xia has developed into what it is now in two years. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would believe it.

In this way, Luo Ming's perception of him now should be very poor.

Xia Hong revealed a strange expression on his face, then shook his head.

If it's poor, then it's poor. There's no way around it. What he said was all true. If he insists on not believing it, what can he do?

Luo Ming's curiosity about Great Xia's current situation is more out of prying and reminiscence of old people and old places; by comparison, Xia Hong's curiosity about the Beehive Camp is real and solid, without any other factors mixed in.

Judging from the map Luo Ming took out when he left two years ago, the Beehive Camp has existed since Luo Ming's father, Luo Feng, was young, which means this camp has existed for at least several decades.

A camp that has existed and developed for so many years must have accumulated a lot of valuable experience in surviving in the Ice Abyss world, and at the same time, it must have its own unique features.

More importantly, Xia Hong is also very curious about the overall strength of the Beehive Camp.

Although Xia Hong has met the three Cold-Resistant level members of Beehive, and he even taught two of them a lesson, he doesn't know how many people this camp has, how many Earth-Digging Realm members there are, what means are hidden in the garrison, what the material situation is, and how the productivity is. If there is an opportunity, he naturally wants to figure out these problems and make plans for the future.

"Great Xia's current activity area is still too small. This trip out, besides wanting to understand the cultivation system of the Ice Abyss world, I also want to see more of the things and customs of different camps in different regions, learn from others' strengths, and take the best of others to make up for my own shortcomings, making me a medium for Great Xia's external communication and improvement."

Communication and exchange are the best ways for growth and development. The slow development of small and medium-sized camps in the Ice Abyss is fundamentally because the cruel environment limits the movement of personnel, leading to too little communication between different camps.

Now that Xia Hong has the strength, he naturally has to start solving this problem.

As the first stop, Xia Hong's anticipation for the Beehive Camp is naturally not low.

Xia Hong just said Great Xia's situation directly, actually because he was afraid that Luo Ming would keep asking him about it later. He didn't expect Luo Ming not to believe it, and he accidentally made his impression of himself worse.

But once this impression is bad, Luo Ming doesn't ask anymore.

It belongs to achieving the goal in disguise!

The three of them walked without words, and the speed naturally increased a lot. Soon they walked another seven or eight kilometers to the west.

Just as another giant rock appeared in front of the three, Luo Ming spoke.

"We're here!"

No errors in the content, check it out!

Looking along the oval giant rock with a diameter of more than five meters, Xia Hong, who found nothing, immediately revealed a trace of curiosity on his face.

However, immediately after, Luo Ming's next action made his expression change.

I saw Luo Ming walk to the bottom of the giant rock, knock on a place three times in a row, and then say a sentence.

"Zifeng returns to the nest."

"Coming!"

Under the giant rock, a human voice actually came out in reply.

Boom crack…………

Then, the bottom of the giant rock was actually opened from underground.

Subsequently, a passage slanting downward appeared.

A human face looked at the three of them from bottom to top. The person stood underground holding a torch and said to Luo Ming with a smile: "Waited for you for a long time, come in!"

The person who appeared underground was none other than one of the three Earth-Digging Realm members who left Red Wood Ridge with Luo Ming earlier, Li Baihe.

Because they fought side by side when they encountered a Frost Wolf pack during the migration, Xia Hong had a relatively deep impression of the three Earth-Digging Realm members who left with Luo Ming, namely Shang Ping, Li Baihe in front of him, and another one named Xu Kang.

In a daze, Xia Hong didn't forget to follow Luo Ming and the others, walk into the passage under the giant rock, and walk downward along the slanting stone stairs.

Under the stone stairs was a long and narrow passage. A coal stove was lit every ten meters on both sides of the passage, so it was not only bright but also warmer than the outside.

"I still have to continue guarding this opening, you guys go back first. This is the brother from Great Xia, right? I'm Li Baihe, brother's name is?"

"My name is Hong Yu."

Compared to Luo Ming and Shang Ping, Li Baihe's reaction to seeing Xia Hong was much more enthusiastic. He had a smile on his face, and upon hearing the name Xia Hong reported, he immediately nodded and urged: "Brother Hong Yu, hurry up and follow them. There are many camp passages, and it's easy to get lost if you don't keep up."

Xia Hong turned his head and found that Luo Ming and Shang Ping had already walked forward. After nodding to Li Baihe, he immediately followed quickly.

The Beehive garrison is actually underground!

Although Luo Ming and Shang Ping didn't speak, Xia Hong observed the wind direction in the passage and some intersections, and soon discovered that the underground passages extended in all directions, and there should be many, many of them.

Moreover, the firelight at the end of some passages was very strong. Not surprisingly, there should be personnel activities.

Every passage opening had a mark. Those mark symbols were arranged from small to large, which was not difficult to understand. After going down the passage, Luo Ming started from number 27 and walked along the smaller-numbered passages, soon walking to the passage marked number 1.

Passage number 1 was the longest and narrowest, and the passage was slanting downward.

After walking for about a hundred meters along passage number 1, he finally saw a three-meter-high large iron gate.

The iron gate was open, and the firelight inside could be seen clearly. Following Luo Ming and Shang Ping into the iron gate, Xia Hong finally saw the core area of the Beehive garrison.

Unlike the passages just now, after stepping into the iron gate, it was actually a giant open underground space.

The entire space was more than three kilometers in radius horizontally, and the highest point vertically was twenty or thirty meters, while the lowest point was more than ten meters. Judging from the few stalactites hanging from the stone wall above and some traces of excavation, this underground space was clearly a combination of natural and artificial.

Within the three-kilometer radius area, there were hundreds of buildings of various sizes, distributed in a ring shape. The most core one should be the giant iron-roofed house in the very middle, which was more than twenty meters high and had already connected to the stone wall above.

In the middle of the ring-distributed wooden houses, there were three rings of roads from inside to outside, and then a main road running through the north and south starting from the passage entrance, which was clearly used for traffic within the garrison. At this moment, there were still many people coming and going.

"Here, it's almost more than a hundred meters underground, right? The Beehive garrison is actually in such a safe position. As long as it's not discovered by strange beasts, almost no cold beasts will take the initiative to come over. This is too safe!"

Combining his experience when walking through the passage just now, Xia Hong roughly inferred the underground depth of this space and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

No wonder the Beehive Camp has been able to exist for so many years. Who would have thought that there would be such a large underground space under the boundless Pingxi Plain!

Except for the long-tailed gnawing rats that Great Xia had encountered before, according to the information Xia Hong currently has, the types of cold beasts underground should be very few.

Judging from this point alone, the safety of Beehive is definitely higher than that of Great Xia.

"Eh, a stranger, Luo Ming, who is this?"

At the passage entrance, there were naturally people guarding it.

The five guards were wearing ready-made clothes sewn from cloth and animal skin, which were significantly more high-end than the animal skin clothes Luo Ming was wearing. Not surprisingly, their status should be higher than Luo Ming's.

Sure enough, seeing that person inquire, Luo Ming immediately bowed and saluted.

"Greetings, Lord Cheng Ping. This person's name is Hong Yu. He is someone we brought from a small camp in the east. He has Earth-Digging Realm cultivation. Hearing that our Beehive Camp is powerful, he proposed wanting to join. I saw that his strength was okay, so I brought him over."

Cheng Ping raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, sized Hong Yu up from head to toe, revealed a trace of contempt on his face, and then nodded.

"Since he's a newcomer, hurry up and take him to report to Commander Chen!"

Luo Ming had a smirk on his face, nodded respectfully upon hearing this, and almost dragged Xia Hong, running toward the inside.

Xia Hong had a strange expression, not clear why Luo Ming was in such a hurry.

However, soon, he knew.

"Wait, let me see the two blades on that kid's back first!"

………………

Xia Hong turned his head and saw the greed in Cheng Ping's eyes, and immediately understood why Luo Ming had dragged him and ran just now.

It turns out this gatekeeper Cheng Ping is still a greedy person…………

Wants to see his blades!

Xia Hong's expression remained as usual, but his heart sank slightly.

The two blades on his back didn't look unusual in the scabbard, but once they were unsheathed, it would be different.

And he just happened to run into such a greedy person, so he couldn't show them to him even more.

"It shouldn't be that I can't hide it as soon as I arrive. Let's see how Luo Ming solves it first!"

Xia Hong turned his head calmly and cast a look of help at Luo Ming.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 214 =====