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nDuring March, although spring had returned, the weather was still somewhat chilly.

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nIf Xu Qing had just exited the forbidden zone, the cold wouldn’t matter to him. But if he was outside for too long, his body would still feel the bone-chilling cold.

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nThis was especially so during the night. The icy chill would feel heavier.

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nAs the cold wind gusted by, Xu Qing’s figure didn’t stop in the slightest. He merely wrapped his coat tighter around himself.

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nHe still had a mission he hadn’t completed. Hence, he was carefully making his way through the campsite during the night.

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nOn his way, he saw some wild dogs that bared their teeth as they rushed at him. However, after he glared at them, it was like they could sense the smell of blood on him, so they ended up shutting up and hiding away.

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nXu Qing’s gaze shifted away from the wild dogs as he continued on his way.

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nAfter he arrived behind a house in the center-ring region, he crouched in the dark and remained motionless as he stared at a large house far away.

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nThere were signs of an extinguished bonfire there.

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nXu Qing remembered that Fat Mountain, who separated from Horse-Four, had gone there. So, he wanted to wait and see if the other party would travel out during the night.

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nThe icy chill invaded his body, but Xu Qing’s body was as though it had been petrified, remaining completely motionless as he waited patiently.

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nAt this moment, behind him, on the rooftop of a building, Old Master Seventh and his servant had also followed over. When he saw Xu Qing crouching there, Old Master Seventh couldn’t help but break into a smile.

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n“As per what I expected. This little wolf cub is going to weed out the roots.”

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n“This old man is now filled with great expectations. If this brat entered the forbidden zone beside our camp, what performance would he show?” Old Master Seventh squatted down, watching with interest while speaking to the servant beside him.

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nThe servant smiled and squatted beside Old Master Seventh, also surveying Xu Qing who was in the distance.

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nTime flowed by, and after seeing an hour had passed, Xu Qing gradually frowned.

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nAfter thinking about it, he turned and left, walking into the darkness. His entire person was like an apparition, coming and leaving silently.

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nHowever, he didn’t return to Captain Lei’s residence but chose to circle the surroundings for a round.

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nAfter confirming that no one was following him, Xu Qing headed back to Captain Lei’s courtyard and quietly returned to his little house.

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nAfter entering, he drew in a deep breath and rubbed his hands, wanting to dispel the chill in his body with the aid of this motion.

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nHe then wiped away the blood stains on his body. Only after that did he sit cross-legged on the bed with a look of pondering in his eyes.

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n“These scavengers would head out for missions at irregular timing. Luckily, Horse-Four was a horny individual so as long as not too much time has passed, no one would realize that he is dead. Fat Mountain probably wouldn’t be on his guard because of this either.

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n“But for the sake of safety, it’s best that I get rid of Fat Mountain as fast as possible.” Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.

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nJust like how he had killed Broken Ox back then, he who was now in the scavenger campsite wouldn’t permit any concealed danger that would threaten his life.

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nHe killed Horse-Four because the other party had snatched his item and threatened him. This was also the reason why he was preparing to deal with Fat Mountain.

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nAfter a period of silence, Xu Qing took out Horse-Four’s items from the pouch and carefully inspected them.

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nMost were miscellaneous stuff. There was also a palm-size metal plate that looked ordinary, appearing like an ingredient.

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nOther than these, there were about 70 plus spirit coins. To Xu Qing, this was already considered a huge sum of money.

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nHe meticulously counted them once before taking out the white pills. After comparing his white pills with Horse-Four’s white pills, he discovered that these white pills were truly not of good quality and didn’t look fresh.

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nHence, he began to believe 70% of the shop owner’s words.

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nAfter pondering for a while, Xu Qing took out one pill and swallowed it. After that, he closed his eyes to silently sense the effect.

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nVery soon, he felt a current of warmth rising in his body. The current gathered on the mutation point on his left arm, and he began to feel a sense of comfort.

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nAfter some time, this feeling disappeared. Xu Qing opened his eyes and immediately looked at his left arm. The two mutation points had grown slightly lighter in color, and the piercing pain was also reduced somewhat.

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n“It’s effective.” Xu Qing revealed joy in his gaze and took out the second pill to consume.

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nThe same feeling emerged. As it vanished, the sensation of piercing pain also vanished with it.

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nHe felt a sense of coolness in his body. It was very comfortable as though his flesh and blood were being cleansed. This caused Xu Qing to sense that his speed and strength seemed to be enhanced by a little.

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nAs for the remaining white pills, he didn’t continue to consume them. He placed them in his leather pouch and began to close his eyes to cultivate.

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nThe night was silent.

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nThe next morning, Xu Qing opened his eyes and rose to head out.

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nJust when he pushed the house’s door open, he saw Captain Lei sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, doing breathing exercises.

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nXu Qing didn’t disturb him. He then opened the courtyard gate softly and carefully closed it before setting off.

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nThe wind today seemed even colder than last night. When it blew on someone, they would involuntarily shiver. Even those wild dogs were hiding in their caves, rarely venturing out.

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nWhen Xu Qing breathed out, he could see mist forming, and this caused his brain to recall some unpleasant memories from when he was in the slums.

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nHe hated the cold.

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nTo homeless vagrants, the cold wind was like a calamity. One had to forcefully struggle before they could survive.

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nAt this moment, Xu Qing, who passed by a clothing shop in the cold, involuntarily halted his steps and glanced at the thick and clean clothes hanging in the shop.

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nHe gingerly touched his leather pouch before turning to enter.

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nThe shop didn’t have many customers. When Xu Qing entered, he cast his gaze on those clothes that were hanging on the wall, looking at them seriously.

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nAt the counter, the shopkeeper cast a glance at Xu Qing and wasn’t too bothered as he continued instructing his staff at the side.

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n“Go and handle things at the back. Take the past month’s custom-made clothes that the orderer failed to collect and hang them in front to sell.”

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n“But what if the person who ordered the custom-made clothes comes back to collect them in the future?” The staff hesitated, appearing to be someone new.

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n“Come back? There would be people going missing periodically in this campsite. Some died in the forbidden zone, and some vanished mysteriously. Only ghosts can return. Quickly go and follow my instructions.”

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