Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Crossing the Red Line

The reward for killing an enemy chief was 80 spirit stones. Even besides that, it was a huge contribution.

If Xu Qing hadn’t met this enemy leader and didn’t fight with him, it wouldn’t have mattered.

However, he had already seriously injured the enemy chief and was about to go in for the kill, but the merfolk youth suddenly attacked to snatch his credit. This matter caused Xu Qing’s eyes to fill with killing intent.

However, it was already too late to chase him away. Moreover, the large blue hand formed by the talisman treasure was also charging over from behind him.

Seeing that the merfolk youth was about to succeed, Xu Qing instantly made a hand seal. Immediately, a large number of water droplets appeared beside the merfolk youth, forming a gigantic jellyfish that shot over.

“Mere tricks!”

The merfolk youth sneered. He didn’t stop in the slightest, and a light flashed outside his body, forming a barrier. The jellyfish quickly closed in and bombarded him, but the barrier was so strong that the jellyfish ended up collapsing on its own.

However, the merfolk youth had clearly underestimated Xu Qing’s jellyfish.

As it collapsed, the jellyfish’s body exploded into countless water droplets, but the droplets didn’t dissipate. Instead, they rapidly gathered and turned into a large net, enveloping the merfolk youth and pinning him in place.

The merfolk youth frowned. He couldn’t help but slow down for a moment, and the enemy chief immediately escaped more than ten meters away.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xu Qing charged out fiercely. He didn’t dodge the large hand charging over from behind him, allowing that hand transformed from the talisman treasure to strike his body.

Boom!

Xu Qing spurted out blood, but he used the force of the large hand to boost his speed. In the blink of an eye, he passed the merfolk youth, leaving afterimages as he shot toward the Night Dove chief.

As soon as he closed in, he quickly lifted his right hand, and the black skewer gleamed with a cold light.

But at that moment, the merfolk youth finally broke free of the net. His eyes shone with a cold light, and the corners of his lips curled into a cold sneer. With a wave of his hand, the bladed flywheel that had attacked Xu Qing earlier shot over from a distance, immediately bypassing Xu Qing and charging at the enemy chief.

It was about to strike…

At the critical moment, the iron skewer turned into a black streak of light and shot out like a bolt of lightning. Before the flywheel could arrive, it pierced the back of the Night Dove chief’s head, directly penetrating through until its sharp point appeared from the other side!

As a mournful shriek rang out, the flywheel whistled through the air and sliced open the enemy chief’s neck, causing the severed head to fly up into the air. A fountain of blood erupted from the now headless corpse!

Xu Qing didn’t bother with the flywheel and didn’t slow down at all. He leaped over and grabbed the enemy chief’s head before coming to a stop. After turning around, he stared coldly at the merfolk youth, whose expression was incomparably ugly.

“Who do you think you are? How dare you steal my credit?” Before Xu Qing could say anything, the merfolk youth gritted his teeth and spoke.

The killing intent in his eyes was extremely intense. He lifted his hand and caught the bladed flywheel, which had spun around and returned. The merfolk youth’s entire body was suffused with killing intent, and his green eyes revealed a fierce gaze as he walked toward Xu Qing step by step.

Xu Qing also had killing intent in his eyes as he held onto the head of the enemy chief. He didn’t say anything, but his body was already poised to strike, and he secretly crushed a poison pill and scattered it in the wind.

At the same time, his shadow unnoticeably spread out, quickly approaching the merfolk youth. As long as the merfolk youth took a single step forward, he would have stepped into the shadow.

Once he stepped in, the shadow would immediately attack, and Xu Qing would strike as well.

Xu Qing was confident that in a surprise attack like this, he could kill the other party almost instantly.

However, just as this merfolk youth lifted his right foot and was about to land, just as the killing intent in Xu Qing’s eyes was about to explode, a mocking laugh echoed from within the smoke.

“Who do you think you are? How dare you steal my Team Six’s credit?” As these words rang out, the figure of Team Six’s captain appeared from the smoke. He was eating an apple as he walked, and behind him were most of the other members of Team Six. Four people were missing, and all of the rest held human heads in their hands, approaching with a threatening aura.

In particular, the captain’s demeanor was extremely menacing. The smell of blood coming from his body was extremely strong, and his gaze was so cold that the surrounding air seemed to be about to freeze.

The merfolk youth paused, and he retracted his falling foot, turning his head to look at Team Six. After a few moments of silence, the rest of Team Three also rushed out of the smoke one after another.

The atmosphere on both sides was very tense. The merfolk youth sneered and turned his head to stare coldly at Xu Qing. His killing intent hadn’t dissipated.

“You can keep your life for now, but I’ll remember this.” With that, he flicked his sleeve and left with his team members.

Xu Qing retracted his gaze and stood there with a calm expression. He didn’t speak.

“Nice work.” After the merfolk youth left, the Team Six captain smiled and walked over to Xu Qing. He circled around him, and looking at the head of the enemy chief in his hand, he spoke with a smile.

Then he handed an apple to Xu Qing.

“Here, eat this.”

Xu Qing received the apple with his left hand and took a bite. It was still sweet, but it mixed with the taste of blood in his mouth. After he swallowed it, Xu Qing lifted his head and glanced in the direction that the merfolk youth had left in.

Around him, the Team Six members were all excited.

“Captain killed an enemy chief, and Xu Qing killed one as well. We’re gonna be rich!”

“At least 20 spirit stones, haha, this operation was worth it!”

“Xu Qing, we’ve already collected the heads of the enemies that you killed. Night Dove cultivators who were killed by you are easy to identify – just look if their necks were slit.”

The team members who were usually cold to each other were all sincerely happy today. This joyous team-like atmosphere made the captain very satisfied. Seeming to forget the few people who had died, he waved his hand.

“Withdraw!”

As the group chatted and laughed, they left the manor with their spoils of war and walked back to the Homicide Department in the dark night. On the way, the gazes that the team members looked at Xu Qing with contained some respect.

Not just anyone could kill an enemy chief by themselves. On their team, besides Xu Qing, only the captain had that capability. Also, not just anyone had the guts to fight over credit with another team’s captain, either.

Thus, it didn’t matter who really deserved the credit for the killing the enemy chief. Having the head was enough to show Xu Qing’s strength.

Xu Qing walked at the back, as usual, and the captain also slowed down to walk beside him. The captain gave him a blue talisman treasure – the one that had been thrown out by the dead Night Dove chief earlier. Inscribed on the talisman were the words ‘Ghost Hand’.

After the Night Dove chief died, this Ghost Hand talisman treasure became part of the spoils of war. However, it was already torn and faded, clearly only possible to use once or twice more.

“Take it. You’ve earned it.”

Xu Qing was a little surprised and took it without a word before looking at the captain. At that moment, the captain gave him a meaningful glance.

“Do you think I came too early just now?”

Xu Qing didn’t speak.

“There were too many people back there. It wasn’t just us Homicide Department, but also hidden Dao protectors from the merfolk race. Although it still isn’t impossible for you to kill him, the merfolk are still our allies, after all. Although… the merfolk are fickle, and I heard that many years ago, the old farts on the mountain discovered a plot for rebellion. Thus, those old farts are using the great competition to suppress them. But they’re still technically allies, so it isn’t good to directly kill them.”

“However… I don’t know what that fish[1] is up to, but occasionally, he leaves all his Dao protectors behind and goes out all alone…” The captain spoke with a sunny smile.

Xu Qing fell into deep thought. He put away the Ghost Hand talisman and took out two pears from his leather bag, handing one to the captain and taking a bite out of the other before asking a question.

“Captain, is the body structure of the alien races different from our human race?”

The captain was a little surprised that Xu Qing would actually give him a fruit. He accepted it and tossed it up and down a few times before replying with a smile.

“There are a few differences. For example, poison. Many poisons that are lethal to we humans have no effect on certain alien races. The opposite is true as well; some medicines for us are fatal poison for them.”

Xu Qing looked at the captain, and the captain also looked at him. Neither of them continued speaking.

As they walked forward, a hint of coldness appeared in Xu Qing’s calm eyes. His personality was one that had a certain red line. Once this line was crossed, he would definitely think of a way to exterminate any danger at all costs. If his strength and conditions didn’t allow it, then he would still firmly record it in his heart. That sort of danger was like a fishbone stuck in his throat; if he didn’t eliminate it, he couldn’t feel safe.

This red line was the safety of his life.

This was the case in the slums, in the scavenger camp, and in Seven Blood Pupils as well.

To Xu Qing, the only difference was that here, he had to be more careful when searching for an opportunity, and he had to be more decisive when killing.

That merfolk youth had crossed his red line even more seriously than the old man from Banquan Road. To Xu Qing, killing him was just as urgent as killing the Vajra Sect ancestor, and he had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Thus, Xu Qing remained silent as he followed the rest of Team Six back to the Homicide Department to verify the completion of the mission. After they dispersed, he didn’t immediately return to the magic boat, but instead concealed himself near the department and waited in silence.

Two hours later, he saw the figure of the merfolk youth.

However, the other party wasn’t alone. Observing carefully, Xu Qing could sense wisps of concealed auras in the surroundings. The largest wisp even carried the aura of Foundation Establishment, making him even more cautious.

He also noticed that the merfolk youth indeed didn’t show any signs of being poisoned.

Xu Qing was certain that his poison had entered the other party’s body, so the captain’s previous words must have been correct. In addition, the merfolk youth was protected by experts, so Xu Qing didn’t rashly follow; instead he memorized the rough direction and left.

That night’s operation against Night Dove was a complete success. All 17 strongholds in the port area were wiped out, and even the forces that had connections to Night Dove were also uprooted by the Homicide Department that night.

A few Deputy Department Chiefs personally took action and killed many Night Dove experts. The other districts didn’t fare any worse, either.

In one night, nearly 2,000 Night Dove members had died, and number of those related to them who were killed was even higher. All of their heads were hung on the city walls the next day, filling the air with the smell of blood and creating a shocking sight.

However, the casualties suffered by the Homicide Department weren’t small either. Over 300 disciples had died, including the male and female disciple who were manning the gates when Xu Qing first reported for duty.

But overall, the battle results were a clear and glorious victory. All the forces in the main city restrained themselves, and in the following days, the plundering and killing between disciples also subsided for the most part.

Furthermore, the rewards from this mission were distributed very quickly. Xu Qing obtained a total of 130 spirit stones, an unprecedented windfall for him. This made him even more vigilant against the wolves all around him, and killing intent rose in his heart.

He would slaughter whoever came to rob him.

With such a large sum of spirit stones in hand, Xu Qing felt that the quality of the boat materials that he had his eyes on earlier was a little low. He pondered whether he should buy better materials to upgrade his boat.

At the same time, he was paying close attention to that merfolk youth during these past couple of days. He had tailed him many times, but the other party always had his Dao protectors[2] around him, so Xu Qing never found an opportunity.

But Xu Qing wasn’t in a hurry. He was very patient.

Three days later, in the afternoon. Xu Qing had a day off and was cultivating on the magic boat when someone sent him an invitation through his voice transmission jade slip.

The person who sent the invitation was none other than Zhou Qingpeng, the wealthy scion who had entered the Seventh Peak in the same batch as him.

“Junior Brother Xu Qing, I finally got my hands on the Ghost Desire Limulus, but there are only two of them. Also, after entering the sect, all of us drifted apart from each other. I’ve already sent invitations to Li Zimei and Xu Xiaohui; how about we all get together for dinner tonight? You can also pick up the Ghost Desire Limuli while we’re there.”

These words were very sincere.

Xu Qing fell into deep thought. After finding out that his poison didn’t affect the merfolk youth, he wanted the Ghost Desire Limuli to experiment on new poisons even more. Thus, he checked his patrol schedule before agreeing to the meeting and continued to cultivate.

Soon, dusk fell outside, and Xu Qing ceased cultivating and opened his eyes. After calculating the time, he got up and left the magic boat, heading toward the restaurant that Zhou Qingpeng had decided on.

The restaurant that Zhou Qingpeng chose wasn’t far from the port area. It was a luxurious two-story building that was very famous in the port area.

Xu Qing had never been here before, but every shop had to be recorded in the Homicide Department. Xu Qing had looked through all of these records before and knew the background of this restaurant. It had been opened by the port’s Coast Defense Department.

The Coast Defense Department was different from the Homicide Department, but it was somewhat similar to the Patrol Department. The difference was that it patrolled the sea rather than the city.

When he neared the restaurant, Xu Qing cautiously swept his gaze around the surroundings. Determining that there were no problems, he stepped into the restaurant.

As soon as he entered, the shop assistant inside noticed Xu Qing and greeted him warmly. After hearing the room Xu Qing wanted to go to, the assistant became even more enthusiastic and brought Xu Qing up to the second floor.

The room Zhou Qingpeng had booked was at the end of the second floor, and the second floor of this restaurant actually wasn’t open to civilians at all. Only Seven Blood Pupils disciples were qualified.

As he approached, Xu Qing could hear the laughter of Zhou Qingpeng and the others coming from the private room.

“Senior Brother Zhou, this is my first time here. I heard that this restaurant is extremely difficult to book and doesn’t care about ordinary disciples at all. Moreover, they say that there are three specialty dishes here that can all nourish the cultivation base.”

“It’s nothing much. This is a property of my Coast Defense Department. Disciples of our Coast Defense Department can make reservations whenever we want. Xiaohui, if you need help reserving a room in the future, just let me know. I’ll help you out.”

“Then I’ll thank Senior Brother Zhou. Senior Brother Zhou, let me offer you a toast.”

As a coquettish voice rang out, Xu Qing had already arrived at the door. The assistant opened the door and Xu Qing saw a table full of food with three people sitting there.

There were two women and one man. The man was Zhou Qingpeng, and he had a pleased expression on his face as he held a wine glass. Beside him was the petite and charming Xu Xiaohui.

The last person was Li Zimei. She was still the same as before, with a cautious expression on her face. Sitting there, she seemed nervous and at a loss.

Xu Qing’s appearance wasn’t new to Zhou Qingpeng, but it caused the other two to look stunned as they stared at him.

“Senior Brother is…?” Xu Xiaohui’s eyes lit up as she looked at Xu Qing’s face. Her mind stirred, and she sensed astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations coming from Xu Qing’s body.

Seeing that Xu Qing had arrived, Zhou Qingpeng stood up with a smile. However, before he could say anything, Li Zimei at the side looked at Xu Qing and hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.

“Is it Senior Brother Xu Qing?”

Unexpectedly, she had recognized him right away.

[1] Reminder that “merfolk” in Chinese is literally “fish person”. Here, the captain’s referring to the merfolk youth who tried to steal Xu Qing’s credit.

[2] Er Gen uses both “Dharma protector” and “Dao protector” in this chapter to refer to seemingly the same group of people. Judging by how the terms are used in his previous novel, I’m changing it all to “Dao protector” for now.

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