Chapter 42

(PS: It's almost the end of the month, and I estimate the book will be released on the 1st of next month. Before the release, I'll have a few more bursts of updates so everyone can read more public chapters. I continue to ask for recommendations and thank all the friends who support this book.)

The search began the next morning. After a simple breakfast and a quick wash, the two started their search from the village. However, the village was too straightforward, and it was unlikely that the place where the crimson blue grass was grown would be in someone's home. After a general reconnaissance, the two decided to search the area around the village first.

The environment around the village was quite simple: farmland, grasslands, and a small forest at the foot of the mountains, followed by the endless high mountains that the village leaned against.

In Zhang Heng's memory, his father was not a competent hunter. When he was very young, his father often went days without catching any prey, but he always brought back a large amount of herbs to dry and sell in the city on market days. In contrast, when he did catch prey, he would render the fat and dry the lean meat, either exchanging it with the villagers for rice and vegetables or mixing it with coarse grains to eat. The two of them barely had enough to eat.

According to Zhang Heng's recollection, his father rarely hunted small prey. Although it took him several days to catch one prey, in Zhang Heng's memory, it seemed that he always caught medium to large prey. This was not something that could be achieved by luck alone; it was likely that his father was very strong, perhaps not quite at the quasi-internal strength realm, but not far off.

"Based on what we know so far, first, your father almost always collected herbs every day. In other words, he went to many different places, such as cliffs without prey or deep mountain pools without prey. At the same time, your father always managed to catch large prey, and only large prey, which proves that your father was not weak. Combining these points, your father could go to places that ordinary people cannot, and his martial arts and physical strength were definitely strong. So, the range he could cover each day would be much larger than that of ordinary people. By the way, did your father always return home every day?"

Zhang Heng carefully recalled and gave a definite answer. In his memory, his father always returned home at dusk, and at the latest, by nightfall. He had never left him alone overnight.

"Since that's the case, let's try it today. Based on your current physical strength, we'll go in one direction at full speed and calculate the time to return to the village at dusk. This will help us determine the range he could cover."

Hao Qi immediately made the decision, and Zhang Heng also thought it was a good idea. They chose a direction on the map and set off in that direction at Zhang Heng's full speed. Although his father would have been looking for herbs and prey, which would have slowed him down, this was just a rough estimate of the range.

That day, they returned to the village at dusk and marked a point on the map in that direction. The next day, they chose another direction, and the third day, the fourth day, and so on.

To more accurately determine the range of Zhang Heng's father's activities, the two spent ten days, marking ten different points, and then drew a circle. This circle represented the maximum range his father could cover.

After finding this range, the two began the arduous search. Every day at dawn, they set out from the village and searched within this range, from the farmland to the grasslands, from the grasslands to the forest, from the forest to the streams, from the streams to their sources, from the sources to the mountains, and from the mountains to the underground. This search took two months.

During these two months, they never returned to civilization. Each day, they returned to the village exhausted. Hao Qi was still relatively fine, but Zhang Heng was truly exhausted. The distance he walked each day was enough for an ordinary office worker to walk for a week. Additionally, some places were extremely dangerous and impossible for humans to climb, but these were thanks to Hao Qi.

Zhang Heng knew deep down that he owed a lot to Hao Qi. Without him, even if he could have persisted, he would not have been able to complete the current task, almost covering the entire exploration area.

Hao Qi was at the internal strength realm, and his internal strength seemed endless, far beyond what Zhang Heng could imagine. Some cliffs and steep walls that were impossible for humans to reach were like flat ground for Hao Qi. Thanks to Hao Qi's help, Zhang Heng could reach these dangerous places and return safely to the village. Moreover, the distance Zhang Heng walked each day exceeded his physical limits, and it was Hao Qi who used his internal strength to massage and invigorate his blood and muscles every night, allowing Zhang Heng to persist. Due to Hao Qi's internal strength, Zhang Heng's injuries in his blood, bones, and marrow were also healed, making his physical condition stronger. Zhang Heng himself could feel that he was getting closer to the quasi-internal strength realm.

All these things gradually reduced Zhang Heng's suspicion and doubt. He increasingly doubted his initial thoughts and felt that Hao Qi was unlikely to be someone who came to steal information, get close to him, and monitor him.

As the saying goes, "You can know a person's face but not their heart," but this is only true if you don't spend a long time with them. A person's true nature, no matter how well hidden, will eventually reveal itself in some way. It's not that a person can't hide their true nature well; it's just that no one observes them closely, or the observer has preconceived notions and doesn't believe the details they see.

But Zhang Heng had been on high alert from the beginning, carefully observing every detail of Hao Qi, from his expressions to his words and actions. Even recently, Zhang Heng had deliberately slipped on a mountain peak near Hao Qi. When Hao Qi flew to save him, his sincere expression was undoubtedly genuine.

All these things challenged Zhang Heng's initial certainty. Hao Qi showed no signs of deceit. His expressions, demeanor, words, and subtle actions were consistent, just like the Hao Qi he met after the avalanche, a man with a sense of chivalry and heroism.

Could it be...

Hao Qi genuinely wanted to help him?

Could it be...

Hao Qi really had nothing to do with Xide and those people?

Could it be...

In this world, there really are such people who, upon encountering injustice, will step forward to help?

If it were the old Zhang Heng, he would have scoffed at these ideas, but now he was not so sure. Over these two months, he had gradually become familiar with and understood Hao Qi, seeing his passionate and heroic heart. Such a person... could not be a spy.

Moreover, Hao Qi was at the internal strength realm and was very strong. Although Zhang Heng did not know the strength of other internal strength realm practitioners, he had seen Hao Qi's strength over these days. He did not believe that every internal strength realm practitioner was this powerful, which did not match the descriptions in his books. Such a strong internal strength realm practitioner, at the age of nineteen, could not be hired by Xide, let alone by the Hundred Herbs Kingdom. Even if it were for a single mission or ten days, it would be impossible to make him stay in a remote village for two and a half months voluntarily!

Furthermore, the event of Zhang Heng's father growing crimson blue grass had been considered a scam by many people, including Xide and his group, who thought it was unlikely. If so, how could Hao Qi be willing to serve Xide and deceive Zhang Heng to obtain impossible information?

All these things made Zhang Heng increasingly doubt his initial judgment. He decided to trust one more time... after being betrayed and deceived so many times, to trust one more person!

That day, their supplies were almost depleted, and they had been outside for two and a half months. After discussing, they decided to return to the capital to restock, buy food and necessities, and organize their findings from the past two and a half months. Perhaps the thing they were looking for had already been found, but they just hadn't recognized it.

So, the two rode back to the capital that day. After arriving, they first went to a restaurant for a big meal. Then, Zhang Heng returned to his dorm to organize documents and maps. Since his dorm had a place to sleep and wash, Hao Qi parted ways with him and found a hotel to take a hot bath. After all, the small village had no good conditions for a hot bath, and they had been bathing in the stream. Hao Qi had long wanted to relax. They agreed to buy supplies the next day and continue their search.

Thus, Hao Qi checked into a five-star hotel, booked a luxury single room, and after a hot bath, sat in a chair, sipping tea and enjoying the night view of the capital of the Hundred Herbs Kingdom. Just then, someone knocked on his door.

Hao Qi opened the door in confusion. Outside stood a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit, with a neat mustache, looking serious and handsome. The man first took off his hat and bowed slightly, saying, "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hao Qi, the talented young man from the Blue Shadow Republic. I believe you have heard of my name. I am..."

"Xide, the scholar."

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