Chapter Seventeen: What on Earth Are You
Perhaps due to the singing, the roar of the strange beasts never appeared in this area of the jungle, as if the source of that singing was the master of this forbidden zone.
After its appearance, everything will fall silent.
Captain Lei sat there in silence, still gazing into the distance. It was pitch-dark there, with nothing at all.
Xu Qing's expression was rather complicated. After a while, his gaze swept around and finally settled on the Wolf tooth wand of the barbary ghost and the shattered fragments of his shield.
The corpse of the barbarian ghost, like all the corpses here, turned to dust when the mist of the song dissipated, as if it had never existed in this world.
Scavengers often have no close relatives, so perhaps not many people care about their disappearance.
Even if there is, it will eventually be gradually forgotten in the passage of time, until several years later, no one knows and no one remembers.
Xu Qing suddenly thought of the words that the teacher who had been kind to him in the slum had said to their group of children before he died of illness in his twilight years.
Having someone in your heart that you can't forget is a kind of pain, but being remembered in your heart is a kind of happiness.
At that time, Xu Qing didn't quite understand this sentence. But now, looking at Captain Lei, he somewhat grasped the meaning of this sentence. So he didn't disturb it but quietly walked to the place where the body of the wild ghost had once been, took out a dagger and began to dig in the ground.
Although he didn't have a deep connection with the barbarian ghost, to be precise, it was only a few days and they didn't exchange many words, the other party imparted to him the experience of the jungle. Together, they emerged from the life-and-death Wolf tribulation. Eventually, he also relied on the other party's things to block the black blood.
So Xu Qing felt that he should do something.
Just as he had cremated all the corpses in the city when he left, he dug the soil hard on the ground and gradually dug a pit.
He buried the mace and shield fragments of the barbarian ghost.
During this process, Xu Qing was very serious and didn't notice the Lei Team behind him. At some point, he had withdrawn his gaze from the jungle and was now looking at him.
In his expression, there was a hint of the strangeness he had when he first looked at Xu Qing in the ruins of the city. When he saw that Xu Qing had buried the weapons of the barbarian ghosts and seemed to want to make a tombstone, Captain Lei spoke softly.
Scavengers don't need tombstones.
Dust to dust, earth to earth. This is the life of a scavenger. Struggling in the world before death, after death... there's no need to pay homage; peace is enough.
At this point, Captain Lei's aura became increasingly weak. The severity of his injuries, the accumulation of impurities, and the exhaustion of his mind made it impossible for him to hold on. The world gradually blurred, and he closed his eyes and fell into a coma.
Xu Qing approached, took out some seven-leaf clover from his pocket and stuffed it into Captain Lei's mouth.
He didn't know if it was useful, but he thought that since this item was a necessity for making white pills, it still had some effect in alleviating the heterogeneity.
After finishing all this, he carried Captain Lei on his back and tied him tightly with his clothes. Only then did he take a deep breath and gallop through the jungle in the dark night.
When passing by the place where the Blood Shadow Captain had turned to dust, Xu Qing saw a leather bag. He picked it up and opened it. There were no elixirs inside, only some miscellaneous items.
So it was put away and vanished in a flash.
It was already half an hour later when Captain Lei's consciousness slightly recovered.
He vaguely felt himself being carried by a thin and small figure, rising and falling as it danced. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the profile of the young man in front of him.
He fell silent.
Xu Qing also noticed Captain Lei's awakening and spoke in a low voice.
"Are you feeling better now? You can keep sleeping. In a few more hours, we should be able to leave the restricted area before dawn."
Captain Lei remained silent. His weak body could no longer hide his aging. He tried hard to look up at the pitch-black sky. As his vision gradually blurred and his consciousness was about to fall into a coma again, he murmured to himself.
"Child, do you know why I twice asked to take you away in the ruined city?"
Xu Qing's figure did not pause and he shook his head.
"Do you still remember the scene when we first met?" " Captain Lei's voice was weak.
Remember. Xu Qing moved his body, leaped onto a big tree, raised his right hand to the side and grabbed a strange lizard that was hiding there and charging towards him at high speed. He then threw it towards the ground ahead.
With a bang, as the lizard fell, a large number of vines twisted on the ground and came rapidly to entwined it. In the lizard's struggle, its skin armor was punctured and its flesh and blood were devoured.
Xu Qing took this opportunity to jump up, avoiding danger and continuing to walk away.
At this moment, a weak murmur of Captain Lei came from behind. His voice was sickly weak and would have been extremely hard to hear unless he was very close.
I saw your figure cremated the corpse. At that time, by the flames, you were illuminated by the firelight, as if you had merged with the fire, making me feel as if I could see... a wisp of warmth in this cruel world.
Xu Qing paused in his steps and fell silent. The Lei Team behind him also fell into a coma again.
After a few breaths, Xu Qing silently lifted his foot and continued to gallop through the jungle, weaving through the trees and speeding away.
Time passed, and soon an hour went by.
Xu Qing avoided the danger and his figure grew closer and closer to the edge of the jungle.
At this moment, the sky was at its darkest. The cold from the forbidden zone at night was invading all around. Fortunately, Xu Qing had been moving rapidly all the time. The heat instinctively generated by his body slightly resisted the icy cold.
Just... As he moved forward, the coldness grew increasingly intense. After a stick of incense, Xu Qing's figure suddenly came to a halt, looking ahead with a sullen expression.
In front of him, thick fog appeared in the jungle.
This mist was extremely thick and spread out in the distance, but unlike the blood mist of singing that Xu Qing had seen before, it didn't seem to have a strong sense of oppression.
As far as the eye could see, the area shrouded in mist was all blurry, and it was impossible to make out everything around at all.
Especially at this moment of darkness, the veil of the mist became even more intense. Xu Qing tried to avoid it, but after running for a long time, all he could see was still the mist's approach.
He knows what this is.
When they first entered the restricted area, Cross and Luan Ya said that among the dangers within the restricted area, there was a kind called fog.
If shrouded in this fog, people will lose their way inside and eventually get lost.
And once this fog forms, it often takes a long time for it to dissipate naturally.
Xu Qing felt that although he could hold on until the mist dissipated and the heteroplasm within his body wouldn't swell, the weak Lei Team couldn't. If they were trapped inside, they would surely die of alienation soon.
This forced Xu Qing to retreat, attempting to bypass the fog over a larger area.
But... The fog was so thick that even if he moved as fast as he could, he still got stuck in a situation where fog surrounded him on all sides, with nowhere to hide and was submerged by it.
But soon, the mist that had submerged Xu Qing's spot gradually thinned out, and eventually Xu Qing's frightened figure reappeared.
He lowered his head and looked at his feet.
There was no shadow in the darkness, but Xu Qing could feel the mist around him, which was rapidly rushing into his feet at this moment.
Just like that invisible shadow, it forms a vortex, devouring all around.
The speed of this devouring was not fast, and it seemed to be full before long, no longer absorbing, causing the mist to once again submerge Xu Qing's figure.
But... As the shadow's devouring came to an end, a feedback force rushed into Xu Qing's body, converging into his eyes. As far as the eye could see, the thick mist had become transparent.
Or perhaps it cannot be described by looking, but by perception!
Although the fog still existed and was extremely thick, in his perception, it was only slightly blurry, far from being so thick as to block his gaze and make him lose his way.
This made Xu Qing's breathing a little more rapid. He lowered his head to look at the invisible shadow beneath his feet.
"What on earth are you..." Xu Qing whispered.
After a while, he looked up to sense his surroundings. Silent and with a slight tilt, his body immediately moved, maintaining its speed. In the thick fog, he seemed like a ghost, speeding past.
It was not long before Xu Qing, who was shuttling through the thick mist, saw a living person.
Those are two scavengers.
Xu Qing vaguely remembered that he had seen them in the camp before. At this moment, the two of them were holding hands with each other, slowly exploring and moving forward like blind men in the thick fog.
But in Xu Qing's perception, their progress was actually like going in circles. Clearly, they had already noticed this. The sweat on their foreheads and their heavy breathing revealed their tension and despair for the future.
Glancing at the two, Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and was about to leave in a flash.
He has no excessive compassion. Living in this cruel world, he has seen too many examples in the slums where people save others without purpose, only to be harmed in return.
But for those whose vision was obscured, their hearing would be extremely sharp at this time, so the sound of Xu Qing's footsteps as he left was still detected by them.
The expressions of the two immediately showed tension. They couldn't tell whether the sound came from a human or a beast, so one of them growled low to reveal his ferocity, as if to intimidate them.
The other one, however, shouted for help. Even to show sincerity, he took out white pills and spirit coins from his leather bag and promised to give them away in his words, all for a glimmer of hope.
Xu Qing paused for a moment, turned his head to look at Bai Dan in the man's hand, and felt the weakness of the Lei Team behind him again.
After some thought, he rummaged through the leather bag, found a candle and lit it, causing a light to appear at the spot. However, the light was faint and the mist was suppressing it, gradually dimming.
Taking advantage of the lingering firelight, Xu Qing stepped back a little, looked at the two people not far away, and spoke slowly.
"Walk straight on the right for seven steps, then ten steps on the left..."
As Xu Qing's voice came in, the two scavengers both trembled, their faces filled with ecstasy, and in a moment of rapid breathing, they immediately followed Xu Qing's instructions.
Soon, following Xu Qing's successive instructions, they circled left and right, avoiding the dangerous area. The mist before their eyes gradually thinned as they approached the location of the candle flame.
It was not until they reached the area where the candlelight was about to go out that they were illuminated by the firelight, like blind people regaining their sight. In an instant, they threw themselves down beside the candle, their hearts filled with excitement and intense boiling.
As for Xu Qing, he was hiding in the dark corner at the edge at this moment. Even though the firelight was faintly shining, his figure was still blurry. He looked at the excited expressions of the two people in front of him expressionlessly and spoke indifferently.
"Give me the white Dan."
One of them trembled. After surviving the disaster, he didn't hesitate and immediately threw the leather bag containing spirit coins and white pills to Xu Qing, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.
The other one was just about to take the elixir from his body, but after his gaze swept over Xu Qing's figure, his excitement somewhat subsided.
As Xu Qing was in the dark, the mist was thin and swirling. Therefore, in this person's eyes, Xu Qing's face could not be seen clearly. Only his slender figure could be seen, and behind him seemed to be carrying a unconscious person.
Then a faint glint flashed in his eyes, but a smile appeared on his face and he spoke with a sincere expression.
"Little brother, I've finished all the white pills on me, but don't worry. Once the mist clears or you find a way to take me out, I'll surely repay you twice as much." "
Having said that, his eyes flickered slightly as he looked towards where Xu Qing was, with a hint of eagerness to give it a try.
The companion beside him was also feeling frustrated at this moment, thinking that he had given too quickly before.
Xu Qing gave the scavenger who hadn't given Bai Dan a deep look and said nothing.
With just a wave of the right hand, a gust of wind blew, and the candle fire went out in an instant. The surroundings were once again plunged into darkness and mist.
When the exclamation came from the person's mouth just now, Xu Qing moved closer in a flash, tore off the leather bag from him, and then his calm voice echoed around.
"No need. Just stay inside."
"Wait, I was wrong. I really was wrong. I'll give you the white pill. I..."
This person suddenly became anxious and tried to grasp something, but his body was blocked by the trees beneath his feet and he fell down directly.
When he got up, his call was even more anxious, and a strong sense of regret filled his body and mind.
"Little brother, listen to my explanation. I..."
Xu Qing ignored the other person's call and walked towards the other person who had given him Bai Dan.
This person's face was now horrified, once again shrouded in confusion and filled with panic. Without him noticing at all, Xu Qing passed by him and spoke indifferently.
Follow my footsteps.
Having said that, Xu Qing didn't turn back and continued on his way. Upon hearing Xu Qing's words, the man, breathing rapidly, immediately followed the sound. At this moment, he felt more fortunate than ever before in his heart for the speed at which he had just given the reward.
Especially when he heard the anxious wailing behind him quickly turn into wild curses for help that failed, the sense of despair in that tone made his heart tremble, and he felt a stronger sense of awe towards the owner of the footsteps ahead.
----
Got up late... It's so hot today. I want to stay in the restricted jungle for a while...