Chapter 252

Swish, swish, swish...

The firelight emitted by the Cold Ruins Cauldron made the three holy patterns on Xia Hong's brow shine brilliantly; his gaze was like a torch, and even though Wu Xiong had completely lost all sound, he didn't approach, instead continuing to shoot arrows without stopping.

The Divine Arm Bow was equipped with a total of fifty special iron arrows; only after all the iron arrows were exhausted did Xia Hong stop and slowly walk in front of Wu Xiong.

Wu Xiong's skull was pierced by iron arrows, looking like a hedgehog, and the flames produced by the reaction of the fire-condensing oil were still burning continuously.

Unlike a normal physical body, the lower layer of Wu Xiong's skin-membrane wasn't normal human flesh and blood, but individual white dewdrops; after those dewdrops were melted by the flames, they actually slowly condensed into individual water-blue liquid substances.

Seeing those liquid substances, Xia Hong's eyes instantly lit up, and he hurriedly took out a wooden box from his person to prepare.

One drop... two drops... three drops... fifteen drops...

By the time Wu Xiong's body was burned away, a total of thirty drops had been produced.

"Sure enough, as expected, this Bai Lu Strange shares the same origin as the Cold Apple Jade Dew!"

Xia Hong looked at the thirty water-blue liquid drops in the wooden box that looked like marbles, touched them first, felt the extremely high temperature on the liquid, and his eyes were instantly filled with joy.

He had already seen Cold Apple Jade Dew once in Zhaoyang, and the thirty drops of liquid lying in the box at this moment were clearly exactly the same as the Cold Apple Jade Dew.

After the thick smoke, only the skeleton remained of Wu Xiong's corpse.

Xia Hong looked around the entire outer valley, and after discovering it was empty, he walked directly toward the inner valley.

From his appearance to the beheading of the Bai Lu Strange, the whole process lasted for more than an hour, so the living people inside and outside the valley had basically all run away; the entire Hanqiong camp was empty at this moment, without any sound.

Having stayed in Hanqiong for a day or two earlier, Xia Hong knew very well which wooden houses were occupied, but as he opened each additional wooden house, his expression became increasingly gloomy, until finally, after searching the entire camp's houses, he sighed heavily.

"At least half the people died; the lethality of this Strange to ordinary people is truly too strong. It didn't even really make a move against ordinary people the whole time, just relying on the infection of the dewdrops to kill so many people; if it had lasted a little longer, I'm afraid no one in all of Hanqiong would have survived!"

A flash of gloom crossed Xia Hong's eyes as he stepped into the main building of Hanqiong, walked all the way to the top floor, and found the largest living quarters.

Seeing that the living quarters were neat and tidy, without a single trace of being rummaged through, a flash of joy instantly appeared in Xia Hong's eyes, and he hurriedly began to grope around the room.

Even Hou Tong didn't come into these living quarters much; he had noticed this when he came here before, and coupled with the luxurious furnishings throughout the room, if nothing went wrong, this should be the room of the leader, Han Jiuli.

As a leader, Han Jiuli should have quite a few good things.

According to the news brought back by Yuan Cheng, Han Jiuli should have died on Yangyuan Peak together with Wu Xiong; since that was the case, these good things of his should naturally belong to him.

However, after groping around the room for a long time, Xia Hong still came up empty-handed.

It made no sense; a leader wouldn't carry everything with him when going out; even he himself left quite a few good things in his room at the camp.

After Xia Chuan led people to take down Wu Shuang, he also searched out quite a few precious materials from Wu Xiong's room, and even a large piece of silver ingot.

"Knock, knock..."

Xia Hong continued to explore the room, occasionally stomping on the floor with his feet; soon, when he stepped on the main bed of the room, the sound caught his attention.

It was hollow!

Xia Hong stomped two more times with force, realized that the inside of the bed was truly empty, and instantly became interested, using a little more force.

Bang...

The bed collapsed, and a deep, dark passage leading straight downstairs instantly came into view; Xia Hong looked at the messy footprints near the entrance of the dark passage, immediately raised his eyebrows, and jumped down directly.

This main building of Hanqiong was built against the east stone wall, with a full fifteen floors and a height of over seventy meters; after Xia Hong jumped into the passage, he fell for a full fifty meters before stepping on the ground, and only then did he see a dark passage heading east.

The east stone wall was the stone wall of Mount Shuanglong, which meant that this dark passage led to the interior of Mount Shuanglong.

Xia Hong's eyes instantly lit up, especially after lighting a torch and moving forward along the dark passage, discovering that the passage as a whole showed a trend of constantly rising from low to high, and his gaze became incomparably fiery.

"Maybe it can lead to the top of Mount Shuanglong..."

Whoosh...

Xia Hong, who was speeding through the passage, heard a gust of wind in his ears; his expression tightened slightly, he stopped his figure abruptly, and drew his blade to parry toward the top of his head.

Clang... Crack...

What slashed down from above was a great blade.

That great blade was of good quality, colliding violently with Xia Hong's Long Que Dao, and it didn't break at first, but the blade that Xia Hong subsequently actively lifted with force still snapped it.

"Strength of eight manes, you are Han Jiuli's son, Han Feng, right?"

The owner of the great blade was not even thirty; compared to his strength, his appearance could be described as surprisingly young; a flash of contemplation rose in Xia Hong's eyes, and he immediately pointed out the other party's identity in one word.

The Hanqiong camp had three Frost-Resistance level experts; the leader Han Jiuli and Wu Lin both had accidents on Yangyuan Peak, leaving only one, Han Feng, who hadn't appeared from beginning to end.

When he first arrived at the Hanqiong camp on the first day, Xia Hong was a bit puzzled as to why this Han Feng hadn't shown up, but he understood later.

Hou Tong's initial plan shouldn't have been to cooperate with Hanqiong; he brought fifteen hundred Earth-Digging level experts and five Frost-Resistance level experts, which in reality had already completed a substantial annexation of Hanqiong.

Under such circumstances, Han Feng didn't know the actual situation on Yangyuan Peak, and if he wasn't willing to surrender to Zhaoyang, he could only run away.

Now it seemed that Han Feng clearly hadn't run away, but had been hiding in the dark all along.

"What Han Jiuli should be most praised for is likely raising a formidable son; at twenty-eight, he reached the late Frost-Resistance level; looking at the entire Longyou region, apart from that monster Li Ying Xuan Ling, I reckon no one can compare!"

Recalling Hou Hu's evaluation of Han Feng when he was in Zhaoyang earlier, a flash of motivation rose in Xia Hong's eyes, and then, discovering the faint firelight coming from the passage behind Han Feng, he said with praise:

"It seems that you managed to save quite a few people during the chaos just now; Hou Tong and Li Ying Xuan Ling and the others have all run away, and those people your father took out have already been killed by the Strange on Yangyuan Peak; where can you run with these people? Why not bring them along and join the Does Does Da Xia camp, how about it?"

Han Feng's talent, to Xia Hong, at most deserved a "not bad" evaluation; Does Does Da Xia had plenty of people stronger than him—Yu Wentao, Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Lin Kai, Yue Feng, Lu Yang... one could say they were a dime a dozen.

What truly made him harbor thoughts of recruitment was Han Feng's outstanding character.

Although Han Feng wasn't willing to surrender to Zhaoyang, he didn't run away alone, but hid in the dark passage for so many days, waiting for an opportunity to come out and save people; judging from the footprints in the dark passage earlier, it was highly likely that he ran out to save people on his own initiative when Wu Xiong was killing people in the valley.

This point alone was enough to prove his character was pure and kind.

Moreover, hiding in the dark passage for so many days without being discovered by Hou Tong and the others proved that he was also sufficiently agile and flexible.

Such a young Frost-Resistance level expert with superior talent and outstanding character was enough to make Xia Hong harbor thoughts of recruitment.

Furthermore, the Hanqiong camp was already gone, and this place, Gourd Valley, including the over ten thousand survivors of Hanqiong, naturally belonged to Does Does Da Xia; if he could recruit Han Feng, the leader's son, first, it would save a lot of trouble later.

However, the other party didn't seem interested in his recruitment.

Inside the dark passage, illuminated by the firelight, seeing Han Feng's vigilant eyes, Xia Hong's eyebrows tightened slightly, and he asked in a deep voice: "Judging from those footprints, you saved at least over a thousand people; with your strength, leading over a thousand people, wanting to live the life you had before is basically impossible..."

Speaking of this, noticing the obvious resistance on Han Feng's face, Xia Hong paused his words and frowned: "The one who destroyed Hanqiong was Hou Tong; at the very least, you should settle the account with Zhaoyang and Hou Hu. If you look at it more thoroughly, the one who killed so many people in Hanqiong was Wu Xiong, controlled by the Bai Lu Strange; I killed it, so I should be considered your benefactor; you being vigilant against me makes no sense, right?"

"Hou Tong and Hou Hu are not good people; that Bai Lu Strange killed so many of my Hanqiong people, and it's not a good thing either; but you are essentially no different from them, and to some extent, you are even more ruthless than them..." Hearing Han Feng's words, Xia Hong's expression froze, but the next sentence from the other party made his expression tighten slightly, and he instantly fell into silence.

"You deliberately waited for Li Ying Xuan Ling, Hou Tong, and those eleven Frost-Resistance level experts to all run away before you made a move to kill that Bai Lu Strange, wasn't it also to annex our Hanqiong camp?"

Although Han Feng was speaking, his gaze would occasionally glance toward the back; seeing the group of people he saved running far away along the dark passage, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then he turned back to look at Xia Hong, a sneer appearing on his face again.

Just now, Xia Hong stood at the valley entrance without moving, and only when he saw Li Ying Xuan Ling and the others flee did he violently make a move to kill the Bai Lu Strange; he had seen this whole process clearly while hiding in the hole halfway up the stone wall.

He wasn't stupid; he quickly understood Xia Hong's plan at the time.

It was nothing more than wanting to wait for the Strange to kill Li Ying Xuan Ling, Hou Tong, and the other eleven, but this intent clearly wasn't achieved as the eleven fled one after another.

And after waiting for all eleven Frost-Resistance level experts to flee, Xia Hong appeared in the posture of a savior, saving the Earth-Digging level experts and all other ordinary people from the Longshan, Zhaoyang, and Hanqiong families, becoming the biggest winner of the night.

The others didn't know and regarded him as a savior when they saw Xia Hong appear, but Han Feng, who had seen everything clearly, now looked at Xia Hong with only vigilance and deep resistance in his eyes.

Even the hostile Li Ying Xuan Ling and Hou Tong, after realizing the power of the Bai Lu Strange, immediately cast aside their previous grudges and reached a consensus to cooperate against the Strange;

Yet Xia Hong, who was right in front of them, clearly had the strength to behead the Strange, but for the sake of maximizing his own interests, he had been standing by and watching from the sidelines, only making a move to save people after Li Ying Xuan Ling and the other eleven had all fled.

!

He wouldn't hate Xia Hong; after all, without Xia Hong, even more people in the Hanqiong camp would have died, and he wouldn't have had the chance to save so many people.

But the problem was that Xia Hong's actions caused no small impact on Han Feng's psychology; at the very least, in his view, whether it was Li Ying Xuan Ling or Hou Tong, when it came to ruthlessness, neither party was likely as bad as the Xia Hong before him.

That was why he was so resistant to Xia Hong's recruitment.

"You are a kind person!"

Xia Hong, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.

There wasn't much shame on his face; having understood the reason for Han Feng's resistance to his recruitment, he instead became increasingly appreciative. After praising him, Xia Hong's expression darkened slightly, and he continued: "Hiding in the dark passage for so many days without running, and just now, in such danger, still daring to run out to save people, proves that you don't only care about yourself and still have a heart of compassion for others. Since that's the case, I'll tell you a very simple truth, which is also the reason why I did what I did just now!"

Xia Hong paused, his tone becoming slightly solemn: "Hou Hu's provocation has already pierced the Longyou Alliance; in my view, a divided Longyou that attacks itself brings no less harm to humanity than the Strange. I did indeed let the Strange kill people just now, but if the sacrifice of this small portion of people can end the current divided situation in Longyou faster, then what it benefits is more of the remaining people, do you understand?"

"You mean, the one who will unify Longyou in the future is Does Does Da Xia?"

How could Han Feng not understand Xia Hong's meaning? But the more he understood, the more he sneered. He didn't question Xia Hong's personal strength, but to say that the obscure Does Does Da Xia could solve the Longshan and Zhaoyang families and finally unify the Longyou land, he didn't believe it no matter what.

"It must be, and it can only be Does Does Da Xia!"

Xia Chuan's voice suddenly came from the back of the passage, answering Han Feng.

"Big brother!"

"Leader."

It wasn't just Xia Chuan coming from the back of the passage; Luo Yuan, Zhao Long, and the other five were also there.

Seeing that Xia Hong had no injuries, the six of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly bowed to salute, and then turned to look at Han Feng on the other side of the passage, a flash of coldness in their eyes as they drew their weapons and slowly walked toward him.

"Forget it, let him go."

Xia Hong waved his hand slightly, stopping everyone from making a move; seeing Han Feng's expression somewhat stunned, he shook his head and said: "You will understand me in the future!"

After finishing, Xia Hong thought of something, took out a small package from his bosom, threw it directly toward Han Feng, and said: "This stuff applied to the body can cure dewdrops."

Han Feng took the package, looked deeply at Xia Hong, cupped his fists, and subconsciously wanted to open his mouth to thank him, but held it back when the words reached his lips, and then turned and left directly.

"Big brother, who is this person?"

Xia Chuan should have just happened to be nearby when he heard the question Han Feng asked last; seeing Xia Hong let the other party go, he immediately asked curiously.

Xia Hong shook his head slightly without answering him, only asking Xia Chuan: "Didn't I tell you to meet at the southwest? How did you find your way here?"

Xia Chuan immediately nodded: "We met over ten thousand people in the southwest and have already sent people to take them to the Wu Shuang camp; too much time had passed, and we were worried that big brother was in danger, so we came directly to Hanqiong to find you; later, we discovered the dark passage on the top floor of the main building and followed it here."

"Over ten thousand people, including the Earth-Digging level experts from those three families?"

Hearing this question, Luo Yuan on the side immediately replied with excitement:

"Reporting to the leader, we met a total of 17,421 people, with a total of 2,931 Earth-Digging level experts; we just made a preliminary inquiry, and there are people from the Longshan, Zhaoyang, and Hanqiong families; the remaining 14,490 people are all from Hanqiong; only a small number of people still have dewdrops on them, and we have already sent fire-condensing oil down; once we confirm there are no dewdrops on them, we will let them enter the Wu Shuang camp."

Seeing the excitement on Luo Yuan's face, Xia Hong said with a strange expression: "Why are you so excited? You don't think these three thousand Earth-Digging level experts will all become people of Does Does Da Xia from now on, do you?"

Luo Yuan was stunned upon hearing this, and Xia Chuan and the others beside him also revealed expressions of confusion.

"These people's lives were saved by the leader; if they don't join Does Does Da Xia, could it be they still want to return to their original camps?"

"I already inquired clearly just now; Li Ying Xuan Ling and Hou Tong and the others abandoned them just now; if these people still want to return to their original camps, isn't there something wrong with their brains?"

Hearing the words of Xia Chuan and Zhao Long, Xia Hong immediately shook his head.

"The grace of saving a life is one thing; I don't doubt that these people are grateful to me, but to say how many people will change their allegiance because of this, I'm not very optimistic; even if there are, I reckon they are few and far between.

These Earth-Digging level experts are basically not young anymore, most have families, and they grew up in their respective camps and didn't live badly; their relationships with the core figures of their respective camps are also intricately complex, so how could they just change their allegiance randomly? Even if they really did, they wouldn't just ignore their families, so..."

Hearing Xia Hong's explanation, Xia Chuan and the others reacted immediately, and then their expressions became somewhat unpleasant.

The people from Hanqiong were easier to deal with, after all, the camp was already gone, and they had no other path but to join Does Does Da Xia.

But those Earth-Digging level experts from the other two families...

Qiu Peng pondered for a moment, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes, and said in a deep voice:

"Then if you ask me, the leader shouldn't have saved these Earth-Digging level experts; letting them go back to their own camps might mean they'll be against our Does Does Da Xia later; we should have just let that Bai Lu Strange kill them all!"

Zhao Long was even more radical than him, continuing: "That's not right; we don't have to let the Earth-Digging level experts from the two families go at all; we can just pull those people back to Does Does Da Xia, throw them into the mine shafts, like a beehive, and let them be mine slaves?"

Hearing this, everyone's eyes instantly lit up.

Even Xia Chuan clearly thought this was a good idea, and hurriedly turned to look at Xia Hong: "Leader, this is feasible; like a beehive, hit them with a batch of iron chains to bind them, and just let them stay in the mine shafts forever..."

"Your vision needs to be more long-term!"

Xia Hong directly interrupted Xia Chuan's words, said a sentence with deep meaning, and seeing that everyone revealed expressions of confusion, shook his head and said:

"The beehive approach is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs; we don't need to learn that. Letting this batch of people go back is the first step for our Does Does Da Xia to truly start taking down Longyou; think about it slowly, come back to Wu Shuang with me first!"

Xia Hong had no heart to explain to everyone, only letting them think about it slowly, and then led the way toward the entrance of the passage.

"Seal this passage, and prepare to send people to take over Gourd Valley."

"Yes, leader!"

(End of chapter)