Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Assemble

Xu Qing figure was like a cat as he ran swiftly and silently through the dark night.

From time to time, he raised his hand to cover his mouth, as if holding back a cough.

If he only did this a few times, it would be nothing much, but as he continued to run and continued to repress his coughs, his lungs gradually felt like they were on fire and his complexion grew pale.

Fortunately, he wasn’t too far away in the first place, and the camp wasn’t too big, so Xu Qing saw Captain Thunder’s residence not long later.

Instead of rushing there directly, he stopped and took a few deep breaths to collect himself. After making sure everything about him looked normal, he approached the courtyard in a calm and steady manner.

Pushing open the gate to the courtyard, Xu Qing glanced around and entered his hut unhurriedly.

But the moment he entered his hut, Xu Qing couldn't hold back any longer and spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood was black, and it made sizzling noises when it splashed on the ground.

After spitting out this mouthful of poisonous blood, Xu Qing's complexion also changed from its previous paleness to a slightly healthier color. Panting heavily, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

Half an hour later, he finally opened his eyes. His complexion had recovered to its normal state.

"What a powerful poison!" Xu Qing muttered.

The mouthful of poisonous mist released by Fat Mountain at the end of the fight had been highly toxic.

But if Xu Qing had dodged it, Fat Mountain would definitely have run away and called for help. If that happened, the situation would be even more difficult to handle.

And even if he pretended that he was injured, he wouldn’t necessarily have been able to deceive the cunning Fat Mountain.

Ever since Fat Mountain noticed that he was being followed, he had easily calculated his every move. His only miscalculation was that he underestimated Xu Qing’s strength.

Therefore, at the critical moment, Xu Qing chose to believe in the purple crystal’s recovery power and rushed straight through the poisonous mist so he could finish the fight in a single blow.

Now, he knew that he made the correct decision.

The purple crystal could indeed allow him to recover quickly from poison.

The burning in his lungs and the coughs he was repressing on the way back were signs of his recovery taking effect.

"As expected, scavengers aren’t so easy to deal with. If I had given Horse Four any room to breathe, he also would have been difficult to handle.”

Xu Qing muttered as he began to ponder over his shortcomings during the battle.

After a long time, Xu Qing took a deep breath and looked down at his leather bag with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"The reason Fat Mountain didn’t get help for this battle was because there was an item he wanted among Horse Four’s belongings. He was trying to hunt me, who hunted Horse Four, and keep the loot all for himself.”

Xu Qing opened the leather bag and took out everything he looted from Horse Four, including the spirit coins. He placed them in front of him one by one.

Xu Qing checked over these items very carefully.

In the end, he put away the other items and stared at the metal block, frowning with uncertainty.

Actually, none of Horse Four’s items were out of the ordinary, and it was only this metal block that seemed somewhat unusual compared to the others.

"Is it this thing? But there doesn’t seem to be anything extraordinary about it. Is it made of some precious material?”

Xu Qing thought about it for a while before carefully putting the metal block away. If there was a chance in the future, he would look into this thing’s origin.

After that, he took out Fat Mountain’s bag and checked it.

It didn’t have any White Pills, but there were many spirit coins, as well as several bottles and jars that seemed to contain poison. Xu Qing wasn’t experienced with poison, so he didn’t dare to open them.

Finally, he took out the cracked amber and recalled how Fat Mountain was clinging on to it even in death.

"What could this be… It seemed like he was trying to crush it before he died." Xu Qing was puzzled. Since he didn’t have the relevant knowledge, he just put it away after thinking about it.

After organizing his loot, he closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.

Recently, Xu Qing found that he didn’t need to sleep as much. Ever since he reached the second level of Qi Condensation, he only needed to sleep about two hours a day to recover his energy.

So most of the time, he immersed himself in cultivation.

Furthermore, since he had already killed everyone he needed to kill, he spent even more time cultivating. By the time he ended his cultivation, the day had already passed and night was falling. Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked to the door.

The moment he looked, he heard the voice of Captain Thunder.

"Kid, come out to the courtyard."

Xu Qing heard the words and sat up. He walked out silently and saw Captain Thunder in the courtyard.

The courtyard was set up with a large table that had some meat and drinks on it. There were six chairs and six sets of tableware. Captain Thunder was sitting down and waved to Xu Qing.

Glancing at the chairs and tableware, Xu Qing had some guesses. He walked over lightly and sat down beside Captain Thunder.

"Have you familiarized yourself with the camp these past few days?" Captain Thunder looked outside the courtyard and spoke to Xu Qing casually.

"Just about." Xu Qing replied, glancing at the food on the table.

Maybe because he had cultivated the whole day, or maybe because the food gave off an enticing aroma, Xu Qing’s stomach began rumbling loudly.

Captain Thunder laughed when he heard the sounds.

"Don’t rush, we’re still waiting for some people."

"Members of the Thunder Team?" Xu Qing asked directly to confirm his earlier guesses.

The old man nodded and was about to speak, but he seemed to notice something and looked outside. At the same time, Xu Qing also felt something and glanced over.

Outside the courtyard, in the dim street, a huge man appeared.

This man was even burlier than Savage Ox from before. His body was like a small mountain, and his bulging muscles gave off a kind of pressure. On his back was a huge steel shield and in his hand was a spiked mace that was even taller than Xu Qing. He was striding over with large steps.

Loud thuds rang out as his feet hit the ground, coming closer and closer until he was just outside the courtyard. Pushing open the gate, the burly man’s huge body stepped into the courtyard.

With his arrival, the whole courtyard seemed to become a size smaller. When Xu Qing felt the burly man’s imposing aura, he had the feeling that he was facing off against a powerful mutated beast, and his pupils contracted.

"Boss, I'm back."

The burly man grinned at Captain Thunder and spoke in a muffled voice. His eyes lit up when he noticed the food on the table. Stepping closer, he removed the shield from his back and tossed the mace he was holding to the ground. Two loud thuds rang out.

After putting down his burdens, he immediately sat down on a chair. The chair creaked desperately, as if it could barely handle his weight. From beginning to end, he never once glanced at Xu Qing.

Captain Thunder smiled and didn't speak. The burly man just stared at the food, waiting silently.

As for Xu Qing, he was looking at the shield and mace on the ground.

From the sound just now, he judged that both of these items… far exceeded his own body’s weight.

Not long later, while the courtyard remained silent, two more figures appeared outside the courtyard gate, a man and a woman.

The man was a young man with a long bow on his back. His figure was tall and straight, but there was a shocking cross-shaped scar on his face. It seemed to have been carved intentionally. In addition, his eyes were especially sharp.

As for the woman, she was in her 30s and had ordinary looks. However, dressed in tight leather clothing, her body seemed to be full of seduction.

The pair walked into the bamboo courtyard and greeted Captain Thunder. When they sat down, the young man with the bow looked at Xu Qing as if inspecting him.

The woman beside him gave Xu Qing a curious glance. She smiled and spoke with a coquettish tone.

"Boss, we just went out for a while, and now when we come back you’ve got a kid with you? You’re pretty lively, huh? Could it be that the reason you called all of us over was to tell us you secretly planted your seed outside?”

"The age doesn’t match up." The burly man muttered.

Xu Qing didn't speak. He moved his left leg slightly so that the dagger tied to his calf would be easier to reach. He was somewhat nervous since these three people each gave him the feeling that they were very strong.

Each of them was even stronger than yesterday’s Fat Mountain.

That was especially true for the man carrying the bow. He gave Xu Qing a faint feeling like there were needles pointing at his back.

"Barbarian, third level of body refining, born with innate abnormal strength." Captain Thunder ignored their jokes, glanced at Xu Qing, and pointed at the burly man.

"Luan Ya, third level of Qi Condensation, can communicate with beasts. Most of the wild dogs you see in this camp are her eyes and ears."

"Cross, peak of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, almost unmatched in the same level." Captain Thunder finished introducing them to Xu Qing one by one, and then pointed at Xu Qing in front of the three of them.

"Kid, second level of body refining."

When Captain Thunder opened his mouth, the three team members had reverence in their gazes. Sitting to the side, Xu Qing listened intently.

"Eat first. We can talk while we eat." Captain Thunder spoke lightly as he glanced over the four of them. Then he picked up a small piece of meat and put it in his mouth.

"The reason I called you guys back so soon this time is that the spring harvest is coming ahead of schedule, and the camp owner has released a mission for seven-leaf grass. Apart from the normal purchase price, the team that picks the most will receive three Clear Dust Pills, which are even more effective than White Pills!”

“We can go to that place in the forbidden area and harvest in advance. What are your thoughts?” As soon as Captain Thunder spoke, the eyes of Barbarian and the other two lit up. After looking at each other, they all nodded in agreement.

Xu Qing had never heard of the Clear Dust Pill, but Captain Thunder’s words made it clear that it was better than White Pills.

"You agree? Then get ready. For this time’s trip to the forbidden area, Kid will come with us.” Captain Thunder said slowly.

"Him?" The three team members looked at Xu Qing.

Cross’s brows slightly wrinkled.

"Boss, the second level of body refining is too weak. And we can’t just take care of him when we also have the mission to complete.”

"There’s a first time for everyone." Captain Thunder glanced at Cross, then looked at Xu Qing.

"Kid, you decide."

"I can go." Xu Qing nodded.

He still had five White Pills, and his need for Clear Dust Pills wasn’t urgent, but no matter what, anyone living in the scavenger camp would need to enter the forbidden area sooner or later. Naturally, he could learn more by going with the experienced Thunder Team.

Cross was silent and didn’t speak.

"You can leave once we eat. We’ll meet back here tomorrow morning, and then we'll set off!" When he was finished, Captain Thunder got up and went back into the house.

Xu Qing grabbed a large piece of meat and swallowed it. After eating, he glanced at the other three and quickly returned to his room. His vigilance made him not want to continue sitting with virtual strangers.

The night was silent, and Xu Qing didn’t have much to prepare. His habit was to always be ready to act with lightning speed at any moment.

The next morning, under Captain Thunder’s lead, the group of five walked through the camp.

The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky.

An eagle was circling the camp in the sky, and it seemed to be looking at them. All the scavengers around them also took notice.

Barbarian’s huge body and Luan Ya’s graceful figure made the team stand out. Some of the people who were looking at them were even from the convoy that arrived a few days ago.

There were even more scavengers surrounding the convoy than before, and they were even lining up patiently, which was unusual for a scavenger camp. They seemed to be waiting for something.

Xu stayed inside the whole day yesterday, so he didn’t know what was going on here. As he looked over, Luan Ya smiled and spoke up.

"I heard people say last night that this convoy came from Purple Earth. There seems to be a skilled doctor inside. Yesterday he healed that old pervert Lame Jackal’s leg injury, so many injured people are lining up."

"That doctor must be raking it in.” Barbarian muttered enviously.

Xu Qing was also envious. He glanced at the convoy in the distance, but he soon retracted his gaze and his eyes narrowed.

And it wasn’t just him; Barbarian and Luan Ya also hardened their gazes in that instant. Only Cross and Captain Thunder remained calm, but it could be seen that even their eyes had a new chill to them.

This was because in front of them, their was another team gathering its members.

There were about seven or eight members in this team, both male and female, and each one had a fierce aura about them.

This was especially so for an old man, similar to Captain Thunder, that the other team members were gathering around.

His hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodthirsty. At that moment, he was sitting on top of the carcass of a wild dog and eating a raw dog leg. He spoke coldly.

"Go and find those two bastards, Horse Four and Fat Mountain. How dare they be late! They must be tired of living.”

It was the Blood Shadow Team!

The old man eating raw meat was obviously the leader of the Blood Shadow Team.

The spiritual energy fluctuation being released unreservedly from his body caused Xu Qing to narrow his eyes.

When Luan Ya saw the meat in the Blood Shadow Team Leader’s hands and the corpse underneath him, her eyes instantly filled with anger and killing intent. That dog was one of hers.

At the same time, the Blood Shadow team also saw Captain Thunder’s group. The old man sitting on the dog corpse grinned and licked his lips, turning towards Luan Ya.

"Little slut, the dogs you raise taste pretty good. I wonder how your body tastes?”

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