Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Blooming Flowers in the Human World

In this scavenger camp, besides survival necessities, the most popular product was meat.

Scavengers went to the nearby forbidden area every day, so there were many stalls in the camp selling meat to eat.

When he heard Xu Qing wanted to eat snake, Captain Thunder’s wrinkled face broke out into a hearty smile.

He understood the reason Xu Qing mentioned eating snake was because of the words he’d said back then. This child had obviously committed those words to heart.

But when Xu Qing moved to go buy the meat, Captain Thunder stopped him.

“Those bunch of people in the camp are all sly and cunning. You don’t know much about the forbidden area’s mutated beasts, so it’ll be easy for you to be deceived. You might even encounter a case of forced buying and selling. I’ll go myself.” Captain Thunder stood up as he spoke.

Hearing the words "forced buying and selling", Xu Qing subconsciously touched his iron skewer, then spoke confidently.

“That won’t happen.”

Captain Thunder glanced at the iron skewer and couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t say anything more and walked out of the courtyard.

Looking at the departing figure of Captain Thunder, Xu Qing thought for a while before going into the back hut. He carefully washed the bowls and pots before setting up and wiping the table. Finally, he brought three sets of bowls and chopsticks and put them on the table. When he looked at the third set of tableware, Xu Qing suddenly understood something.

“That’s someone who will never come.” Captain Thunder’s words from back then appeared in his mind, and he silently placed the third set of tableware next to Captain Thunder’s.

The same went for the chairs.

After doing this, Xu Qing turned his head and looked outside at the courtyard gate. By now, it was dusk, and the chilly wind seemed to be carrying some snowflakes.

It was already the end of the third month. In this eastern corner of South Phoenix, although the weather was warming up and all things were rejuvenating, the winter seemed to be unresigned. Occasionally, snowflakes would still fall, as if trying to say that winter hadn’t left yet.

Right now, snowflakes drifted in the overcast sky and were blown down by the wind.

They seemed to have fallen from the heavens down to the mortal world, rapidly melting once they touched the ground.

In the end, the only thing you could see was muddy ground all over the place.

No matter how noble of a place it came from, no matter how clean it was, once it fell down to the mortal world, it had no choice but to mix with the mud until it was impossible to distinguish between them.

Was the snow cold because it was carried in the icy wind, or was the wind cold because it carried the snow?

As wind blew across the earth, the camp, and the residence, Xu Qing felt a little cold.

Although he was now a cultivator, the depths of his memory still contained a fear of cold that had been ingrained in him over the years, so the freezing cold of the wind made him a little uncomfortable.

Soon, he saw an unsteady figure in the cold gust, walking against the wind and snow in the distance. The figure quickly pushed open the courtyard gate, and a laughing voice broke through the wind and snow.

“Kid, you’re in for a treat today. Look at this, I managed to buy a redflower snake. This kind of snake is famous for its high-quality meat. I’ll show off my skills in a little bit.”

Captain Thunder carried the snake corpse and walked into the back hut with large strides.

When he saw the cleanliness of the back hut, the arrangement of chairs and dishes on the table, and especially those two sets of tableware side by side, a wide smile appeared on Captain Thunder’s wrinkled face as he turned to look at Xu Qing.

“Want to learn how to cook snake?” Captain Thunder asked.

“Yes.” Xu Qing’s eyes lit up. He was very eager to learn about anything he didn’t know, even more so since the snake meat Captain Thunder cooked was always delicious.

Captain Thunder smiled and called Xu Qing to his side. He began to prepare the snake while giving a detailed introduction.

“According to logic, you should cut off the head and tail of the snake, right? Well, the tail is where the snake excretes its waste, so you definitely have to remove it, but people don’t know that as long as the snake’s head is detoxified, leaving it there can uplift the flavor of the whole snake and enhance its freshness.”

Captain Thunder was very happy as he talked about cooking.

Xu Qing also listened very seriously, watching as Captain Thunder cleaned the snake, skinned it, removed the various internal organs, and chopped it into pieces before putting it aside.

“Kid, remember this point. Whether the meat leaves an aftertaste or not all depends on the broth.”

As he spoke, Captain Thunder began to prepare broth in a clay pot. He threw a lot of medicinal ingredients into the pot, then threw in the snake head that had been processed previously.

After doing this, a fragrant aroma permeated the room, and Xu Qing swallowed loudly. Captain Thunder looked at him and laughed before taking out a clean pot and starting to stir-fry the snake meat.

Instantly, crackling sounds rang out, and the cooking meat gave off a strong fragrance that spread through the entire back hut and even wafted outside.

It seemed to dispel all the icy cold, and Xu Qing’s stomach quickly emitted uncontrollable rumbling sounds. As he looked at the cooking snake meat, his eyebrows involuntarily straightened.

Soon, Captain Thunder added the stir-fried snake meat to the clay pot as well. As he put the lid on, he looked at Xu Qing.

"Have you learned it yet?"

Xu Qing stared at the pot and nodded vigorously. He had seen the whole process and didn’t think it was too difficult.

Captain Thunder smiled slightly and left the back hut. When he came back, he was carrying two jugs of wine. He threw one to Xu Qing and kept the other for himself, sighing in praise after he took a sip.

“There's no lack of meat in the camp, but this wine is a true rarity.”

Xu Qing caught the jug and looked at the cloudy liquid inside. He had never drunk alcohol before.

Just as Captain Thunder had said, this was a rare item. There was no wine in the slums; only those important people in the city could ever have a taste.

But seeing the enjoyment on Captain Thunder’s face, Xu Qing put the jug to his lips hesitantly. After taking a sip, he frowned slightly, feeling like his whole mouth was on fire. Nevertheless, he still swallowed it.

The wine turned into a stream of heat that flowed down his esophagus and into his stomach before exploding into warm flows that spread throughout his entire body. In the end, the heat rushed back into his mouth, causing him to open his mouth and exhale a breath that reeked of alcohol.

"It’s not good." Xu Qing looked at Captain Thunder.

Captain Thunder laughed loudly when he heard these words. Smiling, he jabbed his finger out to point at Xu Qing.

“You’re still too young to appreciate the flavor of wine. When you grow up, you’ll definitely like it.”

As Captain Thunder spoke, he reached out to take the wine jug from Xu Qing’s hand. However, Xu Qing stepped back to dodge him.

"I'll try it again." Xu Qing said seriously, and took another sip. Although he still furrowed his brows, he eventually got used to the strange taste.

Not long later, while Captain Thunder laughed good-naturedly at Xu Qing’s drinking, the snake meat finished cooking.

When Captain Thunder put the clay pot on the table and opened the lid, the fragrance of meat immediately spread out. Xu Qing gulped involuntarily, and he put down the jug of wine. He waited until Captain Thunder had picked up a piece of meat before immediately grabbing one with his chopsticks and gulping it down.

He still hadn’t changed his habit of wolfing down food as quickly as possible.

Just like that, while a snowstorm raged outside, an old man and a young boy sat in the house, drinking wine and eating meat in a warm and pleasant atmosphere.

Looking at Xu Qing holding his chopsticks awkwardly, Captain Thunder’s eyes softened, and he muttered inwardly.

“After all, he’s still a child. It’s a pity… that he lives in such a cruel world.”

Just then, the blizzard creeped through the gaps in the house and blew onto Xu Qing. Although the food had warmed his body to the point of sweating, he still flinched when he felt the cold wind.

This subtle action was noticed by Captain Thunder. The old man seemed to think a bit, but he didn’t say anything.

After a while, Xu Qing imitated Captain Thunder and took a big gulp of wine. After exhaling a turbid breath, he looked at the old man who had brought him out of the ruined city to settle down here, then suddenly spoke up.

"Your injury..."

"It's alright. I've survived for so many years, how can I die so easily? I’m alright."

Xu Qing fell silent. He had originally wanted to ask about the matter of Captain Thunder’s cultivation being crippled, but when he remembered what happened in the forbidden area, he decided not to open his mouth in the end.

The meal lasted for a long time, and finally, Captain Thunder finished the last drop of wine. His eyes were a little clouded as he returned to his room.

Looking at his figure, Xu Qing could clearly feel that Captain Thunder’s previously vigorous aura seemed to have faded a little after returning from the forbidden area.

After thinking silently for a while, Xu Qing stood up and cleared the dining table. He washed the pots and bowls and neatly put them away, then returned to his room in the side hut.

As he sat on the bed, he looked out the window at the snowstorm outside before taking out the Blood Shadow Team Leader's leather bag that he'd picked up in the forbidden area.

Although there were no pills, the bag contained a lot of spirit coins and some other random items that Xu Qing checked through carefully.

Finally, he took out a black glove. This glove didn’t seem to be made of leather, feeling more like metal instead.

After putting it on, Xu Qing found that it was quite tough and could provide decent protection, so he tried punching out a few times. Feeling that it wasn’t bad, he took off the glove, closed his eyes, and began his nightly cultivation.

The night passed without incident.

By the time dawn came around, snow was still falling, but the wind had weakened a lot. However, last night had still been freezing cold, so the falling snowflakes didn’t melt immediately when they hit the ground.

Thus, when Xu Qing walked out of the house, he saw some snow piled up on the ground.

Xu Qing wrapped his clothes tighter around himself and glanced back at Captain Thunder’s hut. After leaving the courtyard, he thought that he should buy some White Pills for Captain Thunder.

The snow made crunching sounds as Xu Qing stepped on it, walking along the path toward the general store.

When he passed by Grandmaster Bai’s tent in the convoy, Xu Qing could faintly hear the sound of the boy and girl studying inside. He stopped and looked over enviously.

After listening for a while, Xu Qing turned his head silently and continued to walk over to the general store.

As the general store appeared in the distance, Xu Qing saw the little girl from before vigorously sweeping away the snow outside the general store. Her clothes were a bit thin, her little hands were red from the cold, and white mist was exhaled from her mouth as she panted.

After not seeing her for a while, this little girl seemed to have adapted to life in the camp. Despite the hard labor, she was very diligent in her sweeping.

Snow was still falling, but she continued to sweep anyway. Unfortunately, the sunlight shining down made the scar that ruined her face a little apparent.

When Xu Qing approached, the little girl seemed to notice. She raised her head, and when she saw Xu Qing, her eyes lit up and a happy smile appeared on her face.

"Morning."

"Morning..." Xu Qing was not used to this kind of greeting. He nodded and looked into the general store.

Maybe it was because it was so early, or maybe it was because of the weather, but there were no customers inside the store. The shopkeeper also wasn’t there.

“What do you want to buy? I’ll get it for you.” The little girl smiled.

"White Pills." Xu Qing looked at her.

The little girl put the broom in her hand against the wall beside her and brought Xu Qing into the store. She ran to the counter and rummaged through the stock. Soon, she took out several leather bags, checking through them one by one before eventually putting them back.

After a while, she took out another bag and handed it to Xu Qing.

“My boss says we can only sell five a day, so I can’t give you more.” The little girl looked at Xu Qing apologetically.

Xu Qing nodded to indicate he understood. He took the leather bag, and when he opened it, his eyes widened slightly.

The quality of the White Pills in this leather bag was obviously much better than those he had bought before. There were even three pills that didn’t have any blue blotches at all, and these pills gave off a faint medicinal fragrance.

Remembering how the little girl had been picking up and putting down leather bags, Xu Qing raised his head and looked over at her.

"It's nothing. This much is still within my authority." The little girl blinked and smiled.

Xu Qing looked deeply at the little girl.

"Thank you."

“You don’t have to thank me for a little thing like this. It’s me who needs to thank you. If not for you, I probably wouldn’t be able to survive until this point.”

The little girl flashed a radiant smile, and her eyes gleamed brightly. After she spoke, she seemed to think of something, and as she brought Xu Qing out, she whispered quietly.

“I heard from my boss yesterday that many young people in the camp have disappeared in the forbidden area recently. Judging by his expression, it seems like they didn’t disappear because of the forbidden area itself, but more because of man-made dangers… Take care of yourself.”

The concern in the little girl’s eyes made Xu Qing a little uncomfortable. He took a few steps back before nodding, then thanked her and left.

After walking a short distance, Xu Qing turned around. He looked at the figure of the little girl continuing to sweep the snow, and at the scar on her face illuminated by the sunlight.

He suddenly thought of something Captain Thunder had said. In the temple complex in the forbidden area, there was a stone that could eliminate scars.

“If there’s a chance, I’ll find one for her.” Xu Qing murmured in his heart before turning and leaving.

As the boy walked away, he left a trail of footprints in the snow. Behind him, the wind picked up, and the snow grew heavier...

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