Chapter 55

Chapter 55: The Strange Captain

Sensing that the two cultivators were at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, Xu Qing felt that they weren’t a threat to him. He could easily kill them at this point, so he felt at ease.

The young man seemed to notice Xu Qing’s gaze and instinctively touched his neck. His expression became a little serious, feeling that this newbie in front of him was a little different from the others.

The female cultivator beside him also noticed it and narrowed her eyes in interest. Licking her lips, she turned to the young man and spoke.

“You stay here, I’ll take this little junior inside.” Showing a sweet smile, she stepped forward to personally lead Xu Qing into the Homicide Department.

"Junior Brother, come with me."

Xu Qing nodded in thanks.

The young man at the door shook his head slightly as he watched this scene.

“That tramp, changing faces so quickly just because she saw a hot guy? Although that kid seems a little different from other newbies, it’s still unknown if he can survive more than three months in the Homicide Department.”

Xu Qing kept a certain distance as he followed the female cultivator into the Homicide Department. By the time they walked into the courtyard, he had seen several disciples wearing gray Daoist robes just like him.

All of them were at least at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Condensation, and there were no seventh- or eighth-levels among them. Some of them had cold expressions, some seemed gentle, some smelled of blood, and some were carrying random items in their hands, looking very ordinary.

Overall, it didn’t seem like there was any harmonious atmosphere of colleagues in the same department. Each of the cultivators kept a certain distance from the others, as if reluctant to get any closer.

Xu Qing silently observed the surroundings. His eyes instinctively swept over the necks of each of the cultivators he passed, judging their combat strength and analyzing whether or not he could kill them.

Soon, Xu Qing’s vigilance grew. He discovered that there were many cultivators who would be difficult to kill, and some of them even gave him a strong threatening feeling.

At the same time, he also paid attention to the structure of the Homicide Department, quickly creating a mental map of the area.

Suddenly, the female cultivator who was leading him stepped back and approached him with a light smile.

“Little Junior Brother, why do you always like to look at other people’s necks?”

As she spoke, the female cultivator arrived next to Xu Qing and raised her right hand to touch his chest. But the next moment, her expression changed and she abruptly retreated, swallowing a few pills before looking over at Xu Qing with a stiff expression.

“I don’t like others getting too close to me.” Xu Qing looked at the woman in front of him with a calm gaze.

The female cultivator looked deeply at Xu Qing and nodded, putting away her inner thoughts. At this moment, she realized that the newbie in front of her wasn’t easy.

“Interesting. Someone like you might be able to survive longer in the Homicide Department.” After speaking, the female cultivator continued to lead the way. This time, rather than Xu Qing keeping a distance from her, it was she who took the initiative to stay away from him. They walked along in utter silence.

Soon, after passing through seven or eight pavilions and a few small paths, Xu Qing was brought to a large hall. The inside of the hall was pitch-black, forming a stark contrast with the bright sunlight outside.

“Department Chief, a newbie’s here to report for duty. He’s called Xu Qing.” The female cultivator had a serious expression on her face when she arrived. After speaking in a loud voice, she bowed her head and stood motionless.

Xu Qing also had a serious expression and bowed his head to wait.

After waiting for a long time, two bright lights suddenly lit up inside the pitch-black hall. These lights were actually a pair of eyes, and their gaze seemed to pierce through the void to land on Xu Qing.

Under this gaze, Xu Qing’s whole body trembled. He felt a mighty pressure descend on his body, as if there was some suffocatingly powerful beast inside the hall.

Xu Qing’s hairs stood up, his breathing hastened, and his right hand subconsciously moved to his side as he slightly bent his body.

Fortunately, the owner of the gaze quickly retracted it. However, before Xu Qing could relax, a strong force instantly covered the token in his left hand, and it broke free of his grasp.

With a whoosh, the token shot straight into the hall.

The force was so strong that Xu Qing had no chance of resisting. He even felt that if the force had pulled him instead of the token, his whole body would easily be dragged into the hall.

A cold sweat broke out on Xu Qing’s forehead. After a while, an indifferent voice rang out from within the hall.

“Go report in to Black Division Team Six.”

As these words echoed, Xu Qing’s identity token rushed out from the main hall along with a badge. These items traveled extremely fast, approaching Xu Qing almost instantly.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand to grab them. The force from the token and badge hitting his hand was extremely strong and quickly surged through his whole body. His upper body involuntarily shook a few times, but his legs were very stable. He didn’t even take half a step backwards.

The eyes inside the hall brightened even more. However, their owner didn’t speak as they slowly closed again.

At the side, the female disciple’s pupils contracted when she saw Xu Qing catch the badge and token.

“His vigilance is comparable to the veterans of the sect, and he’s this powerful…” The woman blinked. After realizing that Xu Qing wasn’t easy to play around with, she had originally planned to end her contact with him, but now her thinking had changed. Wanting to form some positive karma, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Junior Brother Xu Qing, I’m familiar with Team Six. I’ll bring you there." As she spoke, she motioned for Xu Qing to put the badge on.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, put on the badge, and cupped his fists towards the main hall before thanking the female disciple.

Although he was relatively young, his years of experience with the harsh world had made him very sensitive to people’s thoughts.

He could already guess the reason for the female disciple’s constant changes in attitude.

Indeed, as they moved along this time, the female disciple took the initiative to introduce herself to Xu Qing.

“Junior Brother, I’m Xu Yanhong, and I’m from Team Nine of the Earth Division. Today was my turn to guard the gate. I guess you could say there’s fate between us.”

Xu Yanhong led Xu Qing all through the Homicide Department, pointing at every building and attentively introducing them.

“This is the office of one of the Deputy Department Chiefs, and there’s another one over there.”

"Senior Sister Xu, how many Deputy Department Chiefs are there?" Xu Qing asked after thinking.

“Our Homicide Department has one Department Chief and four Deputy Department Chiefs. We have four divisions, the Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow Divisions. Each division has nine patrol teams, and you’re going to be part of the Black Division’s Team Six.”

“You’re pretty lucky. The Deputy Department Chief in charge of your Black Division is in seclusion all year round. Most of the time, you never see him, so you can slack off more.” Hearing Xu Qing call her senior sister, the female disciple smiled again and explained.

Soon, she led Xu Qing over to the Black Division. The Black Division was located in the southwest area of the Homicide Department, and there were more than a dozen small buildings inside. It seemed busy as cultivators streamed in and out.

Apparently, the different divisions didn’t want to get involved with each other; Xu Yanhong didn’t go in. After bringing Xu Qing here, she exchanged communication information with him and left.

Finally, Xu Qing met Team Six’s captain.

In fact, this wasn’t their first meeting. The captain was actually the young man he’d met last night who gave him a sense of danger. This apparent coincidence made Xu Qing’s vigilance rise.

When the young man saw Xu Qing, he looked at his face for a few moments before seeming to recognize him. However, he didn’t seem surprised by Xu Qing’s arrival.

This scene made Xu Qing’s mind stir, and he calmly took a few steps back.

“I told the Department Chief to send you over here this morning. I didn’t expect that your face would look so different from yesterday after being wiped clean.” The Team Six captain didn’t hide anything, directly clearing Xu Qing’s doubts.

“I greet the captain.” Xu Qing glanced at the captain, speaking softly. However, the vigilance in his heart only increased.

“You’re not surprised?” The Team Six captain smiled faintly.

“I’m surprised.” Xu Qing nodded.

“How could you be so calm if you’re surprised?” The Team Six captain raised his eyebrows.

Xu Qing wasn’t good with words, but he felt that the captain’s words seemed to make sense. After pondering for a moment, he squeezed out a surprised expression.

“…” The Team Six captain was silent for a long time before speaking again.

“The reason why I asked for you was because several members of my team have died in the past few days. We’re short on manpower, but the upcoming missions are just as difficult.” After the Team Six captain spoke, he looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing’s heart sank when he heard that several members had died, but he didn’t inquire further. Instead, he looked at the captain as if waiting for him to continue.

Seeing this, the Team Six captain smiled in satisfaction.

“Good, you’re much better than those previous newbies. Xu Qing, this is your first time here, so you’re still not familiar with the Homicide Department. I’ll bring you out for patrol and tell you about our duties on the way.”

The Team Six captain was a decisive person. Without introducing the other members of the team, he directly left with Xu Qing.

Out on the bustling streets, the captain strolled forward with Xu Qing, occasionally nodding in greeting to surrounding storekeepers, appearing kind and gentle. However, Xu Qing had seen the ferocity in his eyes just last night and knew that this person definitely wasn’t as gentle as he seemed on the surface. Thus, Xu Qing always maintained a certain distance from the captain and heightened his vigilance to the extreme.

He estimated that the captain’s cultivation should be around the ninth or tenth level of Qi Condensation.

Seven Blood Pupils disciples at the ninth and tenth levels of Qi Condensation were stronger than Xu Qing.

“No need to look so serious all the time. Here, if you don’t learn to be two-faced, you won’t last long.” The Team Six captain looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing fell silent and thought about it for a while. Since he figured that there was some truth in the captain’s words, he tried to adjust his facial expression. However, the experiences of the past seven years made it difficult for him to change completely in a short time.

"Forget it, you can adjust slowly." The Team Six captain smiled helplessly, feeling like he had recruited a freak. Stepping over to the side, he bought a few apples, but didn’t give any to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing took a look and purchased two as well.

“I’ll tell you about the duties of our Seventh Peak’s Homicide Department. The Seventh Peak’s Homicide Department only does one thing, and that is killing people." As he spoke, the captain looked over at a beggar at the side of the road.

He casually tossed over two spirit coins as they passed by, and the beggar expressed profuse gratitude.

Xu Qing glanced at the beggar, who clearly wasn’t a cultivator. Thinking about the captain’s words, he asked a question.

“Killing people?”

The captain took a bite of an apple and swallowed it with a crunch. He seemed to enjoy the sweet flavor before casually opening his mouth again to speak.

“The Patrol Department protects the civilians from outsiders, ensures that they work hard and pay rent on time, and maintains basic public security. However, when they encounter a situation they can’t handle, such as facing wanted criminals or other murderous cultivators, they call in our Homicide Department to take action.”

“That’s why our Homicide Department’s missions are extremely dangerous and we’re always short of people. I don’t even know how many people Team Six had to replace before you came. Some of them died on missions, and some were killed in secret. So from now on, you have to be careful.”

“But our Homicide Department also has its advantages. The pay is good and we’re the only place where you can exchange wanted criminals for money.” After speaking, the captain took another bite of his apple.

Xu Qing took a look at the apples in his own hands. After a moment of silence, he asked a question with a serious expression.

“After killing someone, what happens to their possessions?

“Hmm?” The Team Six captain turned around with a smile on his face and seriously looked at Xu Qing for the first time.

“Interesting. You’re the first newbie to ask that after hearing my introduction. Alright, I’ll say a few words, then. If you kill someone by yourself, you can have all the loot. Of course, if you kill as a team, the loot has to be distributed.”

“Also, here in the main city, if you see people like that, you’d better avoid them. You can’t mess with those guys.” The captain pointed to a street in the distance where there was a young man in a light purple Daoist robe walking proudly through the crowd. When he stepped into a shop, the store owner personally went out to greet him.

When the people around him noticed the Daoist robe on his body, their expressions all showed awe and they bowed their heads one after another. Even some of the disciples on patrol did the same.

It seemed like this person was a divine son who had entered the mortal world. No one dared to look at him directly.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.

“You have to remember that in this Seven Blood Pupils main city, you can’t provoke those wearing dark-colored Daoist robes, nor can you provoke those with light-colored Daoist robes. The former… are Foundation Establishment seniors from up the mountain, and you can’t offend them. The latter are core disciples, and they also live on the mountain. They aren’t in Foundation Establishment, but they have good fortune.”

“It doesn’t matter if a hundred of us die, but it’s a big deal if even one of those lucky core disciples dies.”

Xu Qing fell silent, looking up at the seven peaks of Seven Blood Pupils in the distance.

“Envious? Live well and cultivate hard. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, those core disciples will all bow their heads when they see you.” The captain’s expression was normal as he chewed on an apple.

“Also, let me remind you that on the surface, we gray-robed disciples aren’t allowed to kill each other. However, there are obviously ways to deal with people if you really want to. Normally, the best way is to take all of their contribution points and spirit stones and let them be killed by the array formation…” The captain coughed and pointed his chin over at the other side of the street.

"Like that guy."

Xu Qing followed the captain’s gaze and saw a gray-robed young man lying there. The young man seemed to be dying, and his whole body was covered with injuries. His eyes were full of grief and resentment.

However, his mouth was shatter and his limbs were all broken. He couldn’t speak a word, let alone move. On his chest, there was an identity token that had its number reset to zero.

Soon, as Xu Qing watched, the young man passed the time limit to leave. A black light fell from the sky, and the young man’s figure twitched violently. His body and spirit were destroyed, turning into ash.

His vitality seemed to be sucked away, merging into the void and disappearing.

This scene made Xu Qing’s pupils contract, but the pedestrians around seemed to be accustomed to it. They didn’t even glance over, all hurrying along indifferently.

“That guy robbed and murdered many people before. It’s not surprising that someone ended up killing him now.” The captain smiled and was about to continue speaking, but his expression suddenly froze and he turned his gaze to a spot not far away.

At his side, Xu Qing turned his head at almost the same time, looking at a nearby alley that was giving off fluctuations of heterogeneity.

The place where they were was bustling with people, but that alley was dark and formed a stark contrast with the surroundings. Most of the people on the streets avoided it.

“How dare you do this in broad daylight?” The captain sighed.

"Junior brother, wait for me for a while." As he spoke, he brought the almost-eaten apple and walked over to the alley. Xu Qing narrowed his eyes as he watched the captain enter the alley. After around ten breaths, he saw the figure of the captain leave the alley while eating an apple.

His body was covered with the faint smell of blood.

Xu Qing glanced over at the alley.

“There was an unlucky guy who ran into a problem when transplanting mutated beast body parts, and he ended up completely turning into a mutated beast. I don’t recommend you to follow in his footsteps. Although it can quickly improve your cultivation, you’ll run into endless problems.” The captain said softly. He had a harmless smile on his face as he resumed walking forward.

Xu Qing fell silent. The person he’d killed last night also had the body parts of a mutated beast transplanted into him. Before coming to the Seven Blood Pupils, Xu Qing wasn’t even aware that it was possible to do something like this.

Nodding his head, he noticed the captain’s relishing expression as he ate his apple. Xu Qing took out one of the apples he’d bought earlier and took a bite. It was indeed very sweet.

Just like that, the two of them walked around in the city while eating apples. The captain scarfed his down quickly while Xu Qing ate slowly.

The captain also glanced back to look at the other apple in Xu Qing’s hand several times.

Xu Qing would just look back at the captain and take another bite.

Rubbing his nose, the captain took an orange out of his pocket and started eating it.

“I’ll tell you about our recent mission. These days, our main priority is to search for the remnants of Night Dove.”

"Night Dove?" Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.

“Night Dove is a huge and very mysterious organization in the South Phoenix continent. It specializes in selling off children and cultivators to be raised as treasure breeders. It’s fine for them to do these dirty things outside, but recently, they actually came over to do business in Seven Blood Pupils’ territory, causing panic among the civilians. If things continue like this, those big shots on the mountain will be unhappy when they see their income decrease.”

“You saw it last night, right? One of their leaders was killed by the Department Chief. The Homicide Departments in each of the seven districts are all dispatching their patrol teams to wipe them out completely.”

A cold light flashed through Xu Qing’s eyes. He was immediately reminded of the old man from that convoy who he’d killed. Narrowing his eyes, he nodded slightly.

The Team Six captain was no fool, and glancing at Xu Qing, he seemed to notice something. However, he didn’t probe further, instead taking Xu Qing around the city on patrol.

On the way, Xu Qing saw a child beggar. Thinking of the captain’s previous actions, he tossed the child a spirit coin.

"Eh, is this your informant?” The captain blinked and looked at Xu Qing with a faint smile.

Xu Qing was taken aback for a moment before understanding. He didn’t speak, but he had a vague feeling of being played.

Soon, just as the sun was setting, they arrived at the port.

As they walked in, they heard a clear and honest voice from a distant place where a large amount of cargo was piled up in small hills.

“If you say another word, I will rip your mouth apart.”

Xu Qing looked over and immediately saw a Seventh Peak disciple squatting next to a pile of cargo. This person was an honest-looking middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance.

He was the one who’d spoken those words.

In front of him was a luxuriously-dressed old man who had an angry look on his face. Clearly, he had just been arguing with that middle-aged disciple.

“Zhang San, whose mouth are you going to rip apart?” The Team Six captain finished the orange in his hand and pulled out a pear. Taking a bite, he walked over with Xu Qing.

When he saw the captain, the old man’s expression changed and he hurriedly left. The middle-aged disciple sitting there turned his head and looked at the captain with a foolish smile. After saying hello, he turned to smile foolishly at Xu Qing as well.

“This is our Homicide Department’s newbie, Xu Qing.” The captain introduced Xu Qing with a smile, then turned to Xu Qing and pointed at the middle-aged disciple.

“He’s Zhang San, and he used to belong to our Homicide Department. Later on, he was afraid of death and transferred over to the Transportation Department. Don’t be fooled by his simple and honest appearance, the pirates who died in his hands…”

“...can fill this whole place up.” The captain gestured toward the majestic hills of cargo.

Xu Qing immediately went on guard. What made him even more alert was the fact that he actually didn’t feel strong fluctuations coming from Zhang San’s body. If what the captain had said was true, then there was obviously something strange about this unassuming Zhang San.

“How could that be? Those are all just rumors, all I did was kill a few petty thieves. Alas, I still feel pity for them to this day.” Zhang San rubbed his hands helplessly and laughed.

Xu Qing was silent. He didn’t see the slightest hint of pity on Zhang San’s face.

“Junior Brother Xu Qing, don’t listen to the captain’s nonsense. Please take care of me in the future.” With a flip of his hand, Zhang San pulled out a piece of beast bone to give to Xu Qing.

“Here, a meeting gift.”

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