Chapter 30: Unexpected Encounter

Inside the temple complex, bodies lay everywhere. Among them were guards, attendants, and even a few bodies of young people whose understanding of the forbidden zone's dangers was limited to books. They retained the horror they felt in life, staring blankly at the sky.

In addition, there were dead jellyfish. Unlike humans, when jellyfish die, they turn into a grayish, muddy substance, emitting a foul stench, a stark contrast to their vibrant colors in life. At the same time, an extremely strong anomalous substance emanated, attacking and eroding everything around it.

This sudden catastrophe was still ongoing. As the young men and women retreated in panic, the jellyfish swarm shrieked in pursuit. In the outer reaches of this jungle forbidden zone, slaughter and death continued to unfold.

When Xu Qing arrived at the temple complex, an hour had already passed. Walking through the temple complex, Xu Qing gazed at the bodies scattered everywhere, his expression showing little change. He had seen too many corpses.

Passing the bodies of guards and attendants, Xu Qing collected some of the dead jellyfish, intending to study them later. As for the items on the bodies, they were almost entirely corroded by the dense anomalous substance left by the dead jellyfish, rendering them unusable.

Finally, Xu Qing stopped beside one particular body. It was the body of an old man with a large hole in his chest. The blood had dried, and in his dull, open eyes, a trace of regret from his life seemed to linger.

Looking at the body, Xu Qing sighed softly. He was no god, so even if the person had purchased his 'insurance', he couldn't guarantee their complete safety, especially when the mist hadn't appeared.

After a moment of silence, Xu Qing crouched down, closed Old Stone's open eyes, and buried him. There was no tombstone, as Captain Lei had once said that most scavengers had no family in life and needed no remembrance after death.

Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Such was the life of a scavenger: struggling in the world while alive, and after death... only quiet was needed. This desolation was, in reality, the fate of most scavengers.

Standing before Old Stone's grave, Xu Qing looked towards the distant camp outside the forbidden zone, recalling his life over the past few months. He had been in this scavenger camp for four months now. Captain Bloodshadow was dead, Fire Crow was dead, Fat Mountain Ma Si was dead, Barbarian Ghost was dead, Old Stone was dead. Captain Lei had retired, Bone Blade sought death, and many more scavengers had quietly perished.

In this cruel, chaotic world, human lives were as worthless as weeds.

"Only by becoming stronger can I survive," Xu Qing murmured, his expression slowly turning cold as he turned to leave.

In the fading glow of the setting sun, a breeze blew, making the departing youth's clothes flap noisily. The sound seemed to carry a chill, gradually fading until it vanished along with his figure into the jungle.

The lingering sunlight fell, its light gradually weakening, but it still struggled to pierce through the dense leaves, trying to cast its sparse rays upon the youth running through the jungle. But the youth's speed was too great; the light seemed powerless to keep up.

Soon after, Xu Qing suddenly halted. He stopped and looked down at the ground, a look of confusion in his eyes. He crouched down and sniffed carefully. His gaze finally landed on a blade of grass, where a barely discernible powder lay.

If Xu Qing hadn't had such a solid grasp of poisonous plants and a deep familiarity with the scents of this forbidden zone, he likely would have struggled to notice the anomaly. Even so, it took him a long time to identify it. He then picked up the leaf coated with powder, and after concentrating for a moment, he murmured.

"The exact composition is unknown, but it definitely contains Age Centipede blood!"

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes; Master Bai's lessons included an introduction to Age Centipede blood. This blood had certain medicinal properties, but its primary function was catalytic. Therefore, when combined with other substances, it could be formulated into a lure to attract specific beasts, often used during hunts.

"Are the jellyfish's arrival related to this?" Xu Qing squinted. He put down the leaf, which now represented a deadly hazard, and took out a pouch of poisonous powder, sprinkling it on himself. After using the powder to disperse the scent of Age Centipede blood he had just picked up, his body swayed, and he changed direction.

Xu Qing had no intention of going where the young men and women brought by Old Stone had retreated. It had nothing to do with him, and he didn't want to get involved. Even if there were friends of Chen Feiyuan among them, he had no obligation to help. Furthermore, these people were accompanied by powerful individuals capable of fighting large jellyfish, which was equally dangerous for Xu Qing. Most importantly, it was highly probable that someone among these young men and women had intentionally lured the jellyfish, though their purpose was unknown.

So after discerning their direction, Xu Qing changed his path and took a detour, returning to his pharmacy in the canyon as darkness approached. After storing the herbs he had collected, he continued his research on the White Pill.

Although Xu Qing hadn't gone to where the young men and women had retreated, when deep night arrived, he, mixing herbs in the pharmacy, still heard distant roars and sounds of battle growing closer and closer, which made him frown. When footsteps also became audible, Xu Qing sighed inwardly.

He stood up, left the pharmacy, and by moonlight, saw the direction of the canyon entrance, from where sounds of surprise were coming.

"There's a path here!"

"Everyone, hurry in!"

Following the voices, several ragged and disheveled youths appeared. Their faces bore expressions of terror. Behind them were more than ten others, mostly companions of similar age, and seven or eight injured guards.

More than twenty people in total scrambled into the canyon. As the few guards desperately defended the entrance, the surviving young men and women all let out a sigh of relief and simultaneously noticed the canyon's environment. They quickly spotted Xu Qing's pharmacy and Xu Qing standing there.

"Someone's here!"

The instant they saw Xu Qing, these young men and women, like startled birds, cried out and immediately recoiled. Three guards from behind swiftly arrived, looking at Xu Qing with vigilance and sharpness.

Noticing their gazes, Xu Qing's eyes turned icy. After a cold sweep over the guards, he looked at the group of young men and women. Two individuals among them particularly caught his attention. One of them was a little older than him, perhaps sixteen or seventeen. Although he was also disheveled, unlike the others, there was little panic on his face, replaced mostly by vigilance.

The other was a young girl with a very sweet appearance. Although her clothes were dirty and she showed fear, Xu Qing, who had seen all kinds of people, instantly discerned that a large part of her fear was feigned. Especially... this girl wore a glove on her right hand. It looked like it was for cleanliness, but to Xu Qing, who used poison, gloves had many purposes. For instance, sprinkling powders.

There were eight guards, their cultivation levels between Qi Condensation six and seven. The others were below level five cultivation and divided into three small groups. Only those two individuals: the male appeared to be at level seven cultivation, and the female... was likely the one who lured the jellyfish. As for the powerful individuals who fought the large jellyfish, they were not among them; most likely, they had led the large jellyfish away.

This was Xu Qing's habit. The young men and women could not have imagined that Xu Qing had discerned so many details with just a glance. But these guards were clearly different from the young men and women. They felt the coldness in Xu Qing's eyes, and after glancing at the pharmacy, their vigilance grew intense.

To find such a canyon within the forbidden zone and to have built a dwelling inside it, all indicated that the youth before them was not only familiar with the forbidden zone but also resided there. Such a person was extremely dangerous.

"Friend, is your elder around?" one asked. "We mean no harm; we're just seeking refuge here because of the beasts chasing us outside. We'll leave as soon as it's light. Please forgive our intrusion."

The guards instinctively spoke courteously. Their words made the startled young men and women behind them sense that something was amiss, and they all looked at Xu Qing. The oldest of the youths looked at Xu Qing a few more times, his expression turning solemn. As for the girl with the glove, she squinted. She glanced at the pharmacy and also smelled the faint scent of herbs around. She now had an understanding of the youth before her.

Xu Qing frowned. He looked at them, then at the entrance. After a moment, he said nothing, tacitly acknowledging their presence, and turned to walk towards the pharmacy. His tacit acceptance made the guards visibly relax. Most of the young men and women behind them, however, remained uneasy.

Only the girl with the glove, after an unusual glint flashed in her eyes, spoke softly in a cautious yet wronged tone. "You... you're so rude!" she said. "We just want to take shelter here. There are beasts everywhere outside; we'll surely die if we go out."

Her voice carried a pitiful, endearing quality, which encouraged several youths around her, who admired her, to bravely speak up to Xu Qing one after another.

"Yeah, how can you be so cold-blooded?"

"We don't mean any harm, we just want to rest here for a bit."

"This isn't his forbidden zone; why do we need to ask him?"

A few simple words effortlessly stirred up hostility towards Xu Qing among some people. Though not much, this hostility still gave the girl a sense of satisfaction. She wanted to use others to test the limits of the youth before her.

But the next instant, a cold gleam suddenly flashed from Xu Qing, followed by a whistling sound. A dagger, like lightning, instantly approached the complacent girl. Her expression changed, and just as she was about to dodge, the dagger had already flown past her ear, severing some of her hair. With a thud, it deeply embedded itself in the stone wall behind her, sending out sparks.

The girl's heart jolted, and her right hand instinctively rose as her breath hitched. When she looked at Xu Qing, she saw the youth before her, his eyes as cold and indifferent as a wolf's, filled with killing intent. This gaze made her heart tremble. The surrounding guards and other young men and women were all aghast; the former became extremely vigilant, while many of the latter let out gasps of alarm.

"We just met, don't try to test me," Xu Qing said, giving the girl a deep look. Suppressing the killing intent in his heart, he spoke slowly, then turned and walked towards the pharmacy.

Under the moonlight, his figure seemed to merge with the night, exuding its coldness and permeating the minds of everyone in the canyon, causing them to slowly fall silent. To them, the canyon, at that moment, seemed just as dangerous as the jellyfish swarm outside.

In this silence, the moment Xu Qing reached the pharmacy door, a shrill scream suddenly came from the entrance. A small jellyfish had found the entrance, pierced through a guard's body, devoured his internal organs, and rushed into the canyon. Behind it, a swarm of jellyfish shrieked as they followed.

Surprised? Excited? Brothers and sisters, do you want a fourth update? If so, tell this humble author, and I'll drink a bottle of wine and try my best!