Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Home?

Amid the snowstorm, Xu Qing returned to the courtyard. Before he entered, he heard Captain Thunder’s happy laughter coming from inside.

Xu Qing also heard the sound of dogs barking. When he pushed open the gate, he saw more than a dozen wild dogs in the courtyard.

The dogs were lying down, staring at Xu Qing coldly. In turn, Xu Qing glanced over at them with an indifferent gaze. His gaze didn’t contain any ferocity, but the wild dogs raised their hackles and backed away from him slowly.

A light cry of surprise came from inside Captain Thunder’s room.

The door opened, and Cross and Luan Ya came out. Looking at Xu Qing and the dozen or so wild dogs, Cross smiled slightly.

“Kid, they’re saying that the baleful aura on your body is too strong.” Luan Ya smiled at Xu Qing as she knelt down to stroke the head of one of the wild dogs.

Xu Qing didn’t speak. He looked at Captain Thunder as the old man walked out of the house.

Captain Thunder was wearing a thick fur coat and carrying a tobacco pipe in his hand. As he stepped outside, he pointed at Luan Ya and spoke helplessly.

“Luan Ya, this lass, was worried about my safety in the camp since I’m injured. She insisted on sending all these dogs over to guard the house.”

This sentence was very simple, but Xu Qing understood the meaning behind it.

Captain Thunder hadn’t told them anything about the matters regarding Xu Qing, just like Xu Qing didn’t say anything about the singing voice. Xu Qing left it to Captain Thunder to decide whether or not to talk about the singing, so Captain Thunder in turn left it up to Xu Qing to decide if he wanted to reveal his own secrets.

Xu Qing nodded and took out the leather bag containing the White Pills before handing it over to Captain Thunder.

Captain Thunder took a look at the bag and smiled. He didn’t stand on ceremony and just accepted it.

“Alright, I do need these things, but don’t buy them in the future. I have so many of them saved up here that I don’t know what to do with them.” After he finished speaking, he looked at Cross.

“Cross, since Kid is back, you can say whatever you were going to say.”

Cross put away his smile, and spoke solemnly.

"I came here this time for two matters.

“The first is the team leader’s medicine. Luan Ya and I have already bought a month’s worth. We can buy more later after you finish this.” Cross took a leather bag off of his waist and set it aside.

“The second matter is related to the seven-leaf grass. Since the Blood Shadow Team was destroyed, although there were other scavengers who also participated in harvesting the seven-leaf grass, none of them harvested nearly as much as we did."

“Yesterday, Luan Ya and I went to meet the camp owner. We handed over the seven-leaf grass and got paid, but… the camp owner still hasn't broken his habit of randomly deducting rewards. Instead of giving us three Clear Dust Pills, he only gave one.” As Cross spoke, he looked over at Luan Ya.

Luan Ya took out four leather bags and put them to the side, then took out a wooden box. When she opened it, everyone saw a green pill the size of a pigeon egg inside.

A medicinal fragrance spread out. Obviously, this pill was far superior to the White Pill.

“Barbarian has no family members, so I decided to split his share among the four of us. These four leather bags contain our respective shares of the spirit coins. As for the Clear Dust Pill...”

Speaking to this point, Cross looked at Captain Thunder, waiting for his decision.

"Give it to Kid." Captain Thunder said lightly. At this moment, the aura of the Thunder Team’s team leader seemed to have returned somewhat.

Cross nodded, and Luan Ya was also thoughtful for a moment. They had asked Captain Thunder about what happened in the jungle before, but he refused to say anything. However, this decision made everything clear.

“As for Barbarian… You were right to split up his share. We ourselves are his family."

Captain Thunder sighed softly and picked up his share. Cross and Luan Ya also picked up their own leather bags, and Xu Qing silently picked up his as well.

As for the Clear Dust Pill that Luan Ya handed over, Xu Qing glanced at Captain Thunder after taking it. Captain Thunder gave him a stern look, and Xu Qing understood his meaning, so he silently put the pill away.

The four of them chatted for a while. It was mostly Cross, Luan Ya, and Captain Thunder speaking, while Xu Qing remained silent as usual and just listened.

However, neither Cross nor Luan Ya ignored Xu Qing's existence. From time to time, they would ask for his opinion about certain matters.

Just like that, time passed, and soon it was noon. The blizzard had stopped temporarily, and Cross and Luan Ya took the opportunity to say their farewells. Before they left, Cross whispered to Xu Qing.

“Kid, Luan Ya and I have accepted a mission, and we’ll be gone for a while. During this period of time… we’re counting on you to take care of the team leader.” Then he took out a dagger and handed it to Xu Qing.

"Your dagger is rusty. Use this one, it’s very sharp."

Luan Ya also handed Xu Qing a whistle.

“Kid, you’re very strong, but you still need eyes and ears, right? This whistle can control the wild dogs in the camp. If you need their help, just blow it. They’re very smart and will know what to do.”

After urging him, the two cupped their fists at Xu Qing and left.

As he watched them walk away, Xu Qing put away Luan Ya’s whistle and stuffed Cross’s dagger into his boots. However, he didn’t throw away his original dagger.

After that, he watched until Cross and Luan Ya disappeared into the distance. Then he turned his head to look at Captain Thunder’s hut.

A while later, he waded through the wild dogs and returned to the side hut.

He closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged.

The wind outside picked up again, and howling sounds echoed out as it blew across the earth. Snow falling from the sky mixed with snow being blown upward from the ground, and the wind carried the cold through the gaps in tents and houses, disturbing the people inside.

It also blew on Captain Thunder, who was resting in the main hut. However, he didn’t care, having long grown used to the cold wind.

But the image of Xu Qing flinching in the cold wind suddenly surfaced in his mind, so he turned his head and looked in the direction of Xu Qing’s side hut. After thinking silently for a while, he put on a fur cap and walked out of the courtyard.

Three days passed in a blink of an eye.

In those three days, it seemed that the winter was making a final push with all its remaining strength. Snow continued to fall the entire time, accumulating into a thick layer on the ground.

Although the weather was harsh, for scavengers, staying alive was more important than staying warm.

Thus, more and more people continued to enter the camp. Some came to see the doctor, and some came for the forbidden area.

At the same time, the scavengers gradually started talking about the disappearance of the Blood Shadow Team. There were rumors floating around that the entire Blood Shadow Team had been wiped out in the forbidden area.

Not many people believed these rumors at first. After all, none of the Blood Shadow Team’s members could be underestimated, especially their leader.

The Blood Shadow Team Leader was considered an expert among the camp’s scavengers, and he had gone to the forbidden area countless times. With such a person at the helm, it was very unlikely for the entire team to be annihilated.

But soon, two, three days passed, and there was no trace of the Blood Shadow Team. The scavengers in the camp gradually began to believe those rumors.

They also remembered that day when Captain Thunder had returned to camp, how he was unconscious, and also how Barbarian had disappeared. Thinking of all these things, the scavengers seemed to understand.

Regardless of whether the rumors were true or not, since the Blood Shadow Team never reappeared, the Thunder Team was now the strongest team in the camp.

So whenever Xu Qing went out these days, he received the awed expressions of the scavengers around him.

He knew that these people were in awe of the Thunder Team, not himself, but he didn’t mind. Nowadays, he was puzzled about something else – recently, Captain Thunder had started leaving early in the morning and coming back late at night, and Xu Qing had no idea what he was busying himself with.

But Xu Qing knew that everyone had their own thoughts. Xu Qing himself kept a lot of secrets, so he didn’t disturb Captain Thunder. Most of the time, Xu Qing sat alone in the side hut, cultivating silently.

With his hard work, his cultivation base improved at a steady pace. His body continued to grow faster and stronger.

Regarding his shadow, Xu Qing had studied it many times as well.

However, this shadow was just like before, not reacting unless it was absorbing heterogeneity. By now, the mutation point on Xu Qing’s arm had disappeared completely.

And once his body was free from heterogeneity, Xu Qing could clearly feel that his cultivation increased much faster than before.

On an afternoon two days later, Xu Qing was sitting cross-legged, stabilizing his cultivation in preparation to break through into the fourth level of the Sea and Mountain Art. Suddenly, he frowned and opened his eyes.

The wild dogs outside were barking loudly as someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Xu Qing walked out of the house and noticed that Captain Thunder wasn’t back yet. He looked outside the gate and saw a scavenger standing there with a hesitant expression.

This was someone Xu Qing knew. It was one of the scavengers he had rescued from the forbidden area back then.

Once he noticed Xu Qing, the scavenger hastily clasped his fists together.

"Brother Kid, it's me. I'm Bone Blade."

"What's the matter?" Xu Qing had an indifferent expression on his face.

"This..." Bone Blade hesitated, but after a brief moment of thought, he gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Brother Kid, I want to use five White Pills to buy insurance from you." As he spoke, he threw a leather bag at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked at Bone Blade suspiciously, allowing the leather bag to fall to the ground. The wild dogs came over to have a look, but they didn’t dare to approach.

Aware of Xu Qing’s doubts, Bone Blade hurriedly explained from outside the gate. After listening to his words, Xu Qing finally understood what Bone Blade meant by “insurance”.

According to Bone Blade, he was about to venture into the forbidden area, and he wanted Xu Qing to go to the poison dragon pond and save him like before if he didn’t return after three days.

“Brother Kid, I’m not worried about the mutated beasts in the forbidden area. If I die in their mouths, that’s just my fate. What I’m most worried about is the bewilderment fog; I’m unwilling to die from being lost in fog.”

Xu Qing’s expression was a little strange. He hadn’t expected Bone Blade to make such a request, so after thinking about it for a bit, he asked.

"What if you don’t encounter the fog in three days, or you come back early?”

“You won’t need to return the pills, I’m just paying for peace of mind.” Bone Blade bowed deeply to Xu Qing, an expression of pleading on his face.

Xu Qing was silent for a while before looking down at the leather bag. He kicked it up with the tip of his toe and opened it.

There were indeed five White Pills inside. Although he didn’t really need them, they were still a hard currency in the camp. After thinking about it, he felt that this business was feasible.

Thus, Xu Qing mulled it over a bit more before finally nodding his head.

Seeing that Xu Qing had agreed, Bone Blade heaved a sigh of relief. He cupped his fists in gratitude before leaving.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes as he held the leather bag. He was naturally vigilant, and he definitely didn’t believe everything that Bone Blade had said.

However, he felt that this matter probably wasn’t a trap.

If the bewilderment fog didn’t appear, then Xu Qing didn’t have to go. And if Bone Blade was really able to calculate the timing of the fog’s appearance three days in advance… well, with such abilities, he had no need to trick others like this.

Even so, Xu Qing remained cautious and planned to make a decision only once the appointed time came.

In the end, Xu Qing turned around and went back to the side hut to continue his cultivation. Just like that, the night passed.

Early in the morning of the next day, Xu Qing had just finished his nightly cultivation when he looked outside the house and heard the sound of the dogs barking.

When he walked outside, Xu Qing saw a strange scene. Captain Thunder had packed up his things and tied them to the wild dogs. The wild dogs panted with effort as some of them almost fell down under the weight.

“You’re done cultivating? Let’s go, I’ll bring you somewhere.”

Captain Thunder wiped some sweat off his forehead and smiled. After patting a wild dog encouragingly, he opened the courtyard gate and waved to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was puzzled, but he followed Captain Thunder along with the wild dogs. Just like that, two people and a group of dogs walked through the camp.

They walked from the middle ring to the inner ring. Here, there were many shops, and the houses were mostly made of bricks, appearing very sturdy.

Eventually, the came to a large courtyard. This courtyard had four independent brick houses in it, and each of them was much better than the place Xu Qing was living previously.

Xu Qing turned to look at Captain Thunder.

"From now on, this will be our new home." Captain Thunder said with a smile.

"New home?" Xu Qing was taken aback. The word "home" gave him a feeling of both familiarity and unfamiliarity.

“I’ve been busy my whole life and managed to save up quite a bit. Now that my health is failing, I’m just changing to a bigger house to enjoy myself.”

Captain Thunder laughed and entered one of the houses first, taking the bags from the wild dogs and starting to unpack.

Xu Qing stood there and only walked in after a long time passed. He looked at the bluish-gray bricks on the floor and the residence in front of him, feeling a little dazed. Even when Captain Thunder called him over to help, he still felt a bit incredulous.

Half a day of busy work soon went by, and night came once again. Outside, the cold wind was still blowing and the snow was still falling. But inside, Xu Qing and Captain Thunder sat by a fireplace. The heat from the fire blew into their faces, and the room was filled with warmth.

There were no cracks in the walls here, and the cold wind couldn’t get in at all. Xu Qing quickly noticed this and felt his body warm up.

"It's not cold, right?" Captain Thunder smiled.

"Mm, not cold." Xu Qing nodded. As he looked at Captain Thunder under the glow of the firelight, there seemed to be a twinkle in his eyes.

It was indeed not cold anymore. This warmth even caused Xu Qing’s heart to tremble.

A long time later, after Captain Thunder returned to his own house, Xu Qing sat alone near the fireplace and muttered.

“Home?”

Meanwhile, in one of the side houses, Captain Thunder had a smile on his face as he entered his room. However, his face suddenly reddened.

He covered his mouth and coughed a few times. A while later, he swallowed the blood that had risen to his throat. Standing in front of the window, he sighed and looked in the direction of the forbidden area. With some reminiscence in his eyes, he muttered softly.

"I really want… to go take another look.”

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