The thumping sound resounded with every fall of his step, coming closer until he was outside the bamboo gate. When the bamboo gate was pushed aside, the shocking stature of a large man stepped into the courtyard.
With his existence, the courtyard seemed to have shrunk a little, and the imposing aura of his tall silhouette spread even more. Xu Qing felt like he was facing a formidable mutated beast in a ruined city, and his pupils constricted.
"Leader, I'm back."
The large man grinned at Captain Lei, his voice muffled. When his gaze caught the food on the table, his eyes lit up. As he came closer, he cast his shield aside and threw the mace on the ground. Thereafter, he sat down right away. A hair-raising creaking sound was then emitted from the chair, as though it could hardly support the weight. From the start to the end, he didn't look at Xu Qing. It was like he didn't care.
Captain Lei laughed but said nothing. Meanwhile, the large man stared at the food but didn't lift a finger. He waited quietly.
As for Xu Qing, he looked at the shield and mace on the ground.
From the sounds earlier, he could make an elementary judgment that the weight of these two items probably… far exceeded his weight.
Not long after, amid the silence within the courtyard and the streets outside the bamboo gate, two silhouettes appeared; a man and a woman.
The man was a youth with a longbow on his back. He had a tall and straight figure, but he had a scar in the shape of a cross on his face. It looked as though it was forcefully carved by someone. While it was a ghastly sight, his eyes were particularly sharp.
As for the woman, she looked to be around thirty years old and had an ordinary appearance. However, with the full body of tight leather clothing, her figure was very hot, emitting a type of primeval temptation.
The two of them walked into the courtyard and greeted Captain Lei before sitting on the seats. After that, the youth carrying the bow shot a glance at Xu Qing as though he was examining him.
On the other hand, the woman by his side had a curious look. Her tone was a little coquettish when she smiled and spoke up.
"Leader, we were only out for a trip. How did you gain an extra child? You're old but strong, huh, leader? Don't tell the reason you called us here today is to let everyone know that you have an offspring but have kept it a secret from us?"
"The age isn't right," the burly man muttered.
Xu Qing didn't speak. He shifted his left leg slightly away, allowing a smooth retrieval of the dagger tied around his calf. He felt a little uneasy; each of these three people who came gave him a feeling that they were very strong.
They felt even stronger than Fat Mountain from yesterday.
This was especially so for that man with the bow. He gave Xu Qing a faint feeling of needles prickling on his back.
"Barbaric Ghost, the third level of Body Refinement*, innately born with godly strength." Captain Lei didn't bother with her joke. He only looked at Xu Qing and pointed at the burly man.
"Luan Tooth*, the third level of Qi Condensation, able to communicate with ferocious beasts. The wild dogs you see at the campsite are mostly her spies."
"Cross, the great circle of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, people within the same realm are hardly his match." Captain Lei introduced them one after another and then pointed to Xu Qing in front of the three people.
"Kid, the second level of Body Refinement."
As Captain Lei spoke, the expressions of the three people on the team grew much more solemn. Xu Qing sat at the side and listened attentively.
"Eat first. We'll talk as we eat." Captain Lei started flatly as he swept his gaze across the four of them. He then picked up a small piece of meat and ate it.
"I called you all back earlier because this year's spring harvest has been brought forward. The camp leader has issued a mission, and it is about the seven-leaf grass. Apart from the original purchase value, the party with the most harvest will receive three clear dust pills. Its effect far exceeds that of the white pill.
"We can start harvesting in advance from the piece of land we hid in the forbidden zone. What are your opinions?" The moment Captain Lei made his speech, there was a glimmer in the eyes of Barbaric Ghost and the other two. They looked at each other and then nodded.
Xu Qing had never heard of clear dust pills, but it was clear from Captain Lei's words that they were better than white pills, with superior effects.
"Since you have all agreed, let us prepare. The kid will follow us on our trip into the forbidden zone this time around," Captain Lei said slowly.
"Him?" The three team members turned toward Xu Qing.
Cross furrowed his brows slightly.
"Leader, the second level of Body Refinement is too weak. It will be a little inappropriate for us to take care of him on top of completing the mission."
"There's a first for everyone." Captain Lei's gaze swept past Cross, and he looked toward Xu Qing.
"Kid, decide for yourself."
"I can do it." Xu Qing nodded.
He still had five white pills in his pocket. Xu Qing didn't have a great need for the pills, but he understood that to live within the scavenger campsite, he would have to enter the forbidden zone sooner or later. If that was the case… then he could learn more by going with a team with abundant experiences.
Cross fell silent, not speaking anymore.
"Let's disperse after you are done eating. We will gather here tomorrow morning and set off!" Once Captain Lei was done, he got up and returned to the house.
Xu Qing's fork stabbed into a large piece of meat. After consuming it, he took a look at the three people and then returned to his room quickly, not wanting to stay there. Xu Qing had always stayed vigilant toward strangers from the start.
It was a night of silence as the preparatory work wasn't much for Xu Qing. Because of his habit, he was at the level where he could undertake a task at lightning speed, anytime and anywhere.
As such, the next morning, the group of five walked around the campsite under Captain Lei's lead.
Today, the sky was azure blue and the sun shined brightly.
In the air, a single eagle circled the campsite as if it was staring, and their figures attracted the attention of scavengers all around.
This was seemingly because of Barbaric Ghost's abnormally large stature coupled with Luan Tooth's graceful figure. Some people from the group of carriages, which had arrived a few days ago, looked toward them as well.
Today, there were even more scavengers around the carriages, and it was a rare occasion for them to stand in a queue. It looked as though they were waiting.
As Xu Qing didn't head out at all yesterday, he had no idea what happened. As his gaze swept across, Luan Tooth smiled and spoke up from the side.
"I heard someone talking last night that these carriages were from Purple Earth. There seems to be a doctor with superior medical expertise there. Yesterday, he healed the leg injury of that old pervert, Lame Jackal. So, many people queued up to have their injuries checked."
"That doctor must be earning quite a bit," Barbaric Ghost muttered in envy as he heard this.
Xu Qing was envious too as he glanced from afar. The moment he retracted his attention, his gaze hardened slightly.
Not only him, but even Barbaric Ghost and Luan Tooth's eyes sharpened in that instant. Only Cross and Captain Lei maintained their usual expression. However, upon closer look, one would be able to see the coldness in their eyes.
That was because of another team gathering members ahead.
There were seven or eight of them in that team, men and women included. Every one of them emitted a savage aura.
This was especially so for one member who was an old man like Captain Lei. People were clustering around him.
His hair was disheveled, and he had a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. At this moment, he was sitting atop a stray dog's corpse and eating a raw dog leg. He then said some chilling words.
"Go find those two b*stards, Horse-Four and Fat Mountain! How dare they be late for set off. They must be sick of living."
It was none other than the Bloodshadow Team!
That old man eating the raw meat appeared to be the captain of the Bloodshadow Team.
His body released fluctuations of unrestrained spirit energy that caused Xu Qing, who heard these words, to squint slightly and cover the glint in his eyes.
After Luan Tooth saw the meat in the Bloodshadow Team Captain's hand and the dog's corpse under his body, intense rage and murderous intent filled her eyes in an instant. That was her dog.
At the same time, the Bloodshadow Team spotted the Thunder Team too. The old man sitting on top of the dog's corpse grinned and licked his lips, looking at Luan Tooth.
"Little coquettish hussy, the quality of your dog's flesh is not bad. I wonder what the flesh of your body will taste like."
[1] Body Refinement seemed to correspond with Qi Condensation, but it might be referring to the type of cultivation art they practiced. The raws the author used was '炼体' for Body Refinement, even when he introduced the MC's cultivation level. For example, the Mountains and Seas Art that MC is practicing is one that tempers and refines his body.
[2] Luan (鸾) is a mythical bird related to the Chinese phoenix.