Chapter 9

"Finally, I've broken through."

Xu Qing stood up, threw a punch, and a crisp sound echoed in the air, even causing the door of the house to shake slightly from the wind it generated.

This scene made Xu Qing's eyes widen; he could feel that he was much stronger now than he was yesterday.

If he were to face the giant-horned python now, Xu Qing was confident that one punch would be enough to shatter its abdominal scales.

Not only that, his senses were also more acute than before. His vision was clearer, and his hearing was extremely sensitive. The sound of knocking on the gate outside the courtyard drifted into Xu Qing's ears at this moment.

Xu Qing was taken aback, walked to the door of the house, and with the help of the moonlight outside, he saw the silhouette of a little girl standing outside the bamboo gate of the courtyard.

She seemed to be injured, her body trembling slightly.

Xu Qing frowned, initially not intending to pay attention, but the little girl persisted, gently knocking on the door.

After a while, Xu Qing pushed open the door of the house and walked out.

Upon seeing Xu Qing, the little girl became visibly nervous, but she managed to hold back and not retreat, looking at Xu Qing through the bamboo gate.

"Is there something?" Xu Qing asked.

"I... I also obtained the right to live in the camp and... and found a job in the camp," the little girl stammered.

"I see." Xu Qing nodded and was about to turn back.

"Wait... thank you, I came here to thank you," the little girl quickly said.

"There's no need to thank me. I wanted to eat it, and it has nothing to do with you," Xu Qing said, turning to walk back into the house.

Watching Xu Qing's back, the little girl pursed her lips and suddenly spoke loudly.

"Regardless, I still thank you. This favor... I will repay it in the future." With that, she stumbled away and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Xu Qing turned his head to look, but he didn't take it to heart. After returning to the house, he took a deep breath, feeling the changes in himself, and the idea of living a better life became more certain in his mind.

However, the faint pain from his left arm made him realize that the foreign substance in his body was highly concentrated, and even the snake gallbladder had not dissolved much of it.

It was a quiet night, with no fierce beasts roaring outside. Xu Qing walked to the bed, looked at the clean bedding, and then at his dirty clothes.

He thought for a moment, rolled up the clean bedding and placed it aside, then lay down on the bed fully clothed.

Instinctively, he drew the black iron spike from his hand and held it, preparing to fall asleep.

This iron spike was his most trusted companion.

Since he found it in a trash pile years ago, he had always carried it with him because of its sharpness and hardness, using it as his weapon.

"Tomorrow, I'll look for a place to buy white pills in the camp."

Xu Qing muttered to himself, feeling the leather bag in his hand, which contained some of his savings and a few valuable gems he had found in the city.

He didn't dare to take too many gems, knowing the danger of possessing valuable items from his childhood experiences.

As these thoughts drifted through his mind, drowsiness slowly overcame him, and his eyes gradually closed.

However, the iron spike in his hand remained tightly gripped, not relaxing in the slightest.

A peaceful night passed as the sunlight spread across the sky.

The next morning, Xu Qing got up early and left the small house.

Before leaving, he glanced at Lei Team's room, but it seemed no one was inside, perhaps they were out. Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and walked through the camp.

Perhaps because of the impressive feat of extracting the snake gallbladder yesterday, Xu Qing noticed that the scavengers in the camp looked at him differently as he walked through.

They no longer saw him as an easy target because of his young appearance, but instead, they showed more recognition and caution. The other young boys in the camp, who were his age, also looked at him with envy.

Dignity is earned.

Xu Qing thought to himself.

While searching for shops in the camp, Xu Qing also familiarized himself with the environment.

He noticed that there were many stray dogs in the camp, barking and fighting over food. Although most were emaciated, some were even more robust than some people.

After observing the stray dogs, Xu Qing continued to explore the camp.

Once he had a mental map of the entire camp, he followed it to a shop in the inner ring area.

The shop was not small, bustling with people, and seemed to sell everything.

Xu Qing observed the shop for a while and noticed the little girl from yesterday, dressed as a helper, busy with her work, sweating on her forehead.

When Xu Qing entered the shop, she noticed him but was called away by a scavenger asking about an item.

Xu Qing didn't immediately focus on the items in the shop but first looked at the other people buying items, who were similar to him.

There were seven people in total. Some were scanning the items, some were deep in thought, and some were haggling. Two of them, one fat and one thin, seemed to be a team.

The fat one was round, and the thin one had a horse-like face, both exuding a strong aura of spiritual energy. One of them was scolding the little girl, seemingly dissatisfied with her response.

As the little girl apologized anxiously, Xu Qing looked at the items in the shop.

As he had guessed, it was a general store, selling pills, weapons, clothes, food, and more.

He then turned his attention to the counter, where the shopkeeper, smoking a pipe with a indifferent look, sat.

"White pills, how much?" Xu Qing asked calmly.

"White pills are limited, only five are sold daily. There are two left today, ten spirit coins each."

The shopkeeper raised his eyelids and glanced at Xu Qing, perhaps recognizing him as the beast-fighting youth from yesterday, and his attitude improved slightly.

However, even though he was prepared, Xu Qing still frowned at the price.

His savings over the years amounted to only twenty-three spirit coins, but the pain from the mutation point on his arm made him hesitate no longer. He carefully took out twenty spirit coins from his leather bag and handed them to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper waved his right hand to collect the spirit coins, rummaged through a drawer, and threw a cloth bag to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing caught it and opened it, seeing two white pills inside, his brow furrowing again.

The surface of these two pills was slightly green in some areas, indicating a change in quality, not very fresh, and without any medicinal aroma, looking quite inferior.

"The white pills in the camp are all like this. We don't have any of better quality. Even if they are rotten, they still have their uses, so don't worry, just take them."

The shopkeeper, noticing Xu Qing's doubt, gave a forced smile.

Xu Qing was very cautious and didn't immediately take them. He planned to ask Lei Team first, so he put them away and was about to leave.

Just then, his eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his body suddenly swayed to the side.

Almost at the same time, a hand landed where he had been standing, grabbing at empty air.

Xu Qing looked coldly and saw the horse-faced scavenger who had scolded the little girl earlier, now retracting his hand, looking at him with surprise.

At the same time, his companion, the fat one, stood at the door, blocking the way, staring at Xu Qing and grinning, revealing yellowed teeth.

"It's Fat Mountain and Horse Four from the Blood Shadow Squad!"

"The kid was brought back by Lei Team. Thunder and Blood Shadow have always been at odds, so I won't get involved, but don't waste too much time, I still have business to do."

The other people in the shop also noticed the two and whispered among themselves.

The last sentence was said by the indifferent shopkeeper.

The passersby outside the shop also noticed and stopped to watch with interest.

The little girl looked anxious, unsure of how to help.

"Don't worry, it won't take long," Horse Four smiled, looking at Xu Qing with a cold glint in his eyes.

"Kid, I've killed many giant-horned pythons. I won't make things difficult for you. I need the white pills. Give me your two white pills, and I'll let you leave safely. Otherwise, I'll cut your throat and take the pills from your corpse."

These words made Xu Qing's gaze even colder. He looked at the man's neck, then at the fat one blocking the door, and noticed the crowd outside, weighing his options.

Either of them, despite their strong spiritual energy, seemed to be at the second level. He was confident he could take them out in ten breaths if they were alone.

Even if they were together, he could kill them, but it would take longer.

However, this was a busy market. Once a fight broke out, and since they were part of a squad, they would have backup.

He didn't want to rely entirely on Lei Team arriving in time. That wasn't his style. He preferred to be in control.

So, Xu Qing, with a blank expression, glanced at Horse Four's neck again, took out the cloth bag with the white pills, and without hesitation, threw it over. The man caught it, looked inside, and laughed smugly.

His companion, Fat Mountain, also laughed and moved aside. Xu Qing didn't look back and walked out.

The crowd, both inside and outside the shop, found this normal. In a world of the strong preying on the weak, the weak must know their place to survive.

The little girl also sighed in relief. She had been worried, but now that the crisis was averted, she continued her work.

As for Fat Mountain and Horse Four, they walked out of the shop, laughing and chatting as they went.

However, no one noticed that a figure, seemingly having walked away, was now following them with patience, like a shadow, without revealing itself.

His eyes, like a wolf's, were fixed on them.

This figure was Xu Qing.

Time passed, and the sky grew dark.

Fat Mountain and Horse Four wandered around the camp for the whole day, never noticing the figure that had been following them.

When the moon was high, they finally parted ways.

Fat Mountain went to a place with a bonfire, while Horse Four, with a lecherous look, headed towards the dark outer area of the camp, where a cluster of feather-topped tents stood.

Just as he was about to step out of the dark area of the camp, a sudden gust of wind came from behind him.

Horse Four immediately turned around, but there was nothing there. He was taken aback, and just as he was about to react, it was too late.

In an instant, a small hand reached out from his side, firmly pressing against his mouth, and a sharp dagger was pressed against his neck, slicing through without hesitation.

A gush of blood spurted out, and Horse Four's eyes widened in shock, trying to struggle.

But the small hand that covered his mouth was incredibly strong, dragging him back, making his struggles futile.

His feet kicked helplessly, but he was dragged into the darkness.

In the end, he was dragged to a corner like a chicken.

Even then, the small hand that covered his mouth didn't let go, waiting until he lost the strength to resist, suffocating and bleeding out, before releasing him and laying his trembling, weak body on the ground.

It was only then, in the dim moonlight, that Horse Four, in his despair, saw the cold expression of the young boy standing before him.

"Ugh..."

Horse Four's eyes were filled with disbelief. He never thought the boy who had obediently handed over the white pills earlier would act so decisively and ruthlessly.

He seemed to want to tell the boy that his threat to cut his throat was just a scare tactic, not meant to kill...

But the blood in his throat prevented him from speaking, and he could only make weak, muffled sounds as he watched the boy, with a blank expression, search his pockets.

After searching through everything, Xu Qing found his white pills, plus five more, and some other items and spirit coins.

After putting everything away, in Horse Four's extreme terror, Xu Qing carefully took out the burlap wrapped around the snake's head, opened it, and used the snake's fangs to puncture Horse Four's body skillfully.

Horse Four's body convulsed instantly, and the wound began to slowly dissolve, the pain and the feeling of being corroded alive causing him to break down.

When Xu Qing raised his hand and covered Horse Four's eyes, his world went dark forever.

His body melted completely, turning into blood that seeped into the ground.

Xu Qing, having learned from past mistakes, took out a prepared bag, collected Horse Four's clothes and items, and then left.

After he left, two figures emerged from the darkness where Horse Four had died.

They were the distinguished old man in the purple robe and his servant, who had been unseen in the arena the day before.

The old man looked down at the melted ground where Horse Four had been, then raised his head to look at Xu Qing's retreating figure, a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

"He's a good seed. He can endure, act decisively, and most importantly, he can handle things cleanly and ruthlessly. Not bad."

The servant looked somewhat surprised.

He had followed the old man for many years and rarely heard him praise someone. The fact that the old man had noticed this boy twice made him look in the direction Xu Qing had disappeared.

"An interesting kid," the old man smiled and asked casually.

"How long until Master Bai arrives?"

"Seventh Master, according to Master Bai's schedule, he should arrive here in the next day or two," the servant replied respectfully.

"Finally, I can persuade him this time. The Purple Earth is full of rules, what's there to miss? It's better to come to the Seven Blood Pupils and live freely."

The old man laughed heartily, seeming very pleased, and looked at where Xu Qing had gone.

"Let's follow and see what this little wolf will do next."

---

I am very happy, extremely happy. These past few days, I've seen many old friends return. Thank you for your support and trust.

I won't be sentimental. I'll just say one thing: I've found my初心 (initial heart) with this book.

Thank you all. I won't let you down, beyond the passage of time.

Don't keep your votes, give them to me.