By now, Gu Dao had lost all ability to fight back. His hands and feet were tied up, and he was unconscious. A tall, burly man carried him on his shoulder.
Next to the burly man was another man in a black leather jacket. He was an old man with a hunched back.
Perhaps because of this, he didn't wear a mask to hide his identity. Under his messy gray hair was a face full of wrinkles. His eyes were cold, and he exuded a murderous aura.
The fluctuations coming from his body were even stronger than those of the Thunder Captain and the Blood Shadow Captain. He was clearly at seventy percent of the Qi Condensation stage.
Xu Qing had never seen such a cultivation base among the scavengers in the outpost.
As Xu Qing observed from afar, the burly man with the bone saber said, "Chief Steward, this fog came at a bad time. What do we do about the other marked meat treasures?"
The black-robed old man looked coldly at the unconscious bone saber, then shook his head. "It's all this meat treasure's fault. It's wasting time by hiding here and there."
"Have the others come over. We'll go out and wait for the fog to dissipate, then we'll go look for the meat treasures."
"Boss is really something. Can't he just catch them in the outpost? Why wait until they're in the outpost before letting us catch them?" The burly man grumbled unhappily. The old man next to him snorted coldly.
"Boss wants a steady stream to flow. That's not something a pig brain like you can understand. If we catch people in the outpost, how will the outpost continue to operate?"
The burly man didn't think much of it, but he didn't refute. He followed the old man's instructions and blew a whistle. Soon, the two black-robed men Xu Qing had seen earlier arrived.
Xu Qing didn't stop them, nor did he attack. He crouched in the canopy of a tree, watching everything coldly.
After confirming that there were indeed four of them and that they were about to leave, Xu Qing glanced at the unconscious Gu Dao.
If he hadn't seen it happen, or if the bone saber hadn't bought insurance, or if it had happened outside the forest, Xu Qing wouldn't have cared. He wasn't a saint, and didn't have the energy to save others.
But he had his own principles.
Since you bought insurance, then I'll protect you when you leave the outpost. As for whether you live or die, he didn't care.
Therefore, in the next instant, Xu Qing's body charged forward. He was so fast that he left behind an afterimage. He was like an arrow that had been released from a bow as he charged toward the man with the bone saber.
His previous hiding was too secretive, and his attacks were as fast as lightning. Therefore, the three black-clothed men, including the big man, did not notice him at all. Only the black-clothed old man did.
At this moment, his expression changed as he quickly turned around. He raised his right hand, and in the blink of an eye, numerous ice blades rapidly condensed and shot into the air.
But it was still too late. The ice blade missed, and Xu Qing had already arrived beside the big man. His long hair fluttered in the wind, and the sharp light in his eyes and the cold light of the dagger in his hand shone together, revealing his killing intent!
The blade slashed across the burly man's throat with incredible force. The burly man, who was at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, didn't even have time to react. He didn't even have time to scream before his head flew off into the air.
Blood splattered everywhere!
The bone saber on the man's back fell to the ground. Xu Qing grabbed the man's clothes and leaped a few times to appear in the distance.
Tossing the bone saber off to the side, Xu Qing turned and stared coldly at the other three men like a hunter.
The big man's head, his eyes wide and blank, fell to the ground. His corpse and the old man's ice blade fell to the ground.
Everything went silent. The shocking scene caused the hearts of the black-clothed old man and his two companions to tremble as they looked over at Xu Qing.
"Kid!"
Blurted one of the black-clothed men behind the old man. When he saw Xu Qing, his eyes went wide.
"Shut up!" roared the black-clothed old man.
The other black-clothed man realized that he had misspoken, and said nothing more.
Xu Qing stared deeply at the three of them. His words had already revealed everything.
The black-clothed old man's face was grim as he glared at Xu Qing. Not bothering to hide anything, he slowly said, "Kid, this has nothing to do with you. Screw off immediately, and I'll pretend you never showed up."
At this moment, a wind blew past Xu Qing, blowing away some of his hair. When it reached the three old men, the leaves on the ground rustled.
It was as if the fog had grown thicker because of the wind.
Xu Qing was silent and didn't speak.
As for the bone saber, he had long since awakened, but had been pretending to be unconscious. When he heard the old man's words, he began to panic. He was worried that Xu Qing wouldn't continue to save him, so he quickly opened his eyes.
He felt that he had to drag Xu Qing down to the point where he would have to risk his life. There was only one way to do that, so he began to shout.
"Kid, don't listen to him. They are the camp chief's men. Many of the missing scavengers in the camp were secretly captured by them and sold to the caravans as treasure keepers. This is the camp chief's biggest secret!"
His words caused the black-clothed old man to narrow his eyes. He stared at Xu Qing and spoke again.
"I'll give you one last chance. Don't meddle in other people's business!"
Xu Qing ignored the bone saber's words. The cause and effect of this matter had nothing to do with him. His thoughts were simple and direct.
"Buy my insurance, and I'll protect you from leaving the forbidden zone. As for whether you live or die after you leave, it has nothing to do with me."
"He bought my insurance," said Xu Qing seriously.
The black-clothed old man's expression turned even colder, but in the next instant, a sinister smile appeared on his lips. He suddenly raised his hands, and a huge red halo appeared under his feet.
Gusts of cold wind suddenly rose from the halo, as if it had turned into a tornado. Its momentum was extraordinary.
"Kid, you're still too inexperienced. You actually gave me time to cast a spell. Then … you can go die."
The old man roared, and his hands suddenly shook. Immediately, the halo of wind around him became even more majestic, and countless blood-red ice blades rapidly formed within it.
At the same time, the two black-clothed men beside him laughed sinisterly and charged at Xu Qing from the left and right.
The bone saber's eyes were filled with despair.
Only Xu Qing's expression remained calm from beginning to end. As the two figures approached, and the ice blade storm around the black-clothed old man was about to erupt, he softly spoke.
"I also have to thank you."
Almost as soon as Xu Qing spoke, the two black-clothed men charging at him suddenly stopped in their tracks.
Their faces instantly turned steely black, and their eyes widened with terror. Streams of black blood flowed out of their seven orifices.
It was as if they had been poisoned, and they could not even breathe. Their hearts were filled with extreme terror, and they instinctively wanted to flee.
But before they could take a few steps back, they coughed out large mouthfuls of black blood. Their bodies lost all strength, and they staggered to the ground. Their bodies twitched violently, and their expressions were filled with extreme pain. It was as if they were enduring torture in the mortal world. They let out shrill screams, and in the next instant, they died.
This scene shocked Gu Dao. The black-clothed old man who had cast the spell also felt his mind rumble, and the storm around him became unstable.
At that moment, black blood also flowed out of his eyes.
"You …" The old man's expression changed greatly. He could no longer maintain the spell's stability. He suddenly pushed outwards, causing the ice blades to erupt prematurely.
But because of the fluctuations in his mind, although the power of the explosion was great, there was a deviation in the area it covered. Xu Qing's body flickered, and he easily dodged the attack with Gu Dao. He then looked at the black-clothed old man who was rapidly retreating and trying to escape.
Xu Qing watched as Gu Dao continuously pulled out medicinal pills and swallowed them. He did nothing to stop him. Instead, he stood off to the side, looking at Gu Dao in terror.
"One, two, three …."
As soon as he said three, Gu Dao coughed up a large mouthful of black blood, which even contained chunks of rotting internal organs.
He staggered backward, but did not fall to the ground. His face was pale, but it seemed he still had some energy left over, and was just about to flee.
When Xu Qing saw this, he frowned. He shot forward, catching up to Gu Dao. Gu Dao's expression was one of despair, and Xu Qing punched out toward his chest.
The image of a ferocious snake appeared, which laughed viciously as it shot toward Gu Dao.
Bang!
Gu Dao's body trembled, and the clothing covering his chest was ripped to shreds. His heart collapsed, and he died.
His corpse fell to the ground, his chest caved in, and his flesh and blood forming the face of a snake. It was a shocking sight to behold.
"Theoretically speaking," Xu Qing murmured, "if you combine these seven poisons with the wind, you'll definitely die after being poisoned for a few breaths of time. Why was he able to hold on …? It seems there's still some work to be done."
Ignoring the terrified Gu Dao, Xu Qing began to organize the spoils of war. Finally, he took out a Corpse Destruction Powder and sprinkled it over the three corpses.
Sizzling sounds filled the silent forest, and the three corpses dissolved into pools of blood.
Having done that, Xu Qing looked at Gu Dao.
Gu Dao was so frightened by Xu Qing's attack that his body and mind were trembling. In his eyes, the young man in front of him was the most terrifying existence in the world.
Therefore, when Xu Qing's gaze swept over him, he began to tremble.
As he trembled, he found it difficult to breathe, and the skin on his hand turned green. The sight of it almost caused him to collapse.
"Fellow Daoist Child, I, I … I've been poisoned too."
"Anyone in this windy area will be poisoned," Xu Qing said calmly.
"Antidote! Give me the antidote …." Gu Dao was anxious, and he felt stabbing pain all over his body.
"There's no antidote for my poison."
Xu Qing looked up at the fog that was about to arrive. Amidst Gu Dao's despair, Xu Qing calmly said.
"I came to save you because you bought insurance, but that's not something you can rely on to play petty tricks."
"Fellow Daoist Child, I was wrong, I know I was wrong. My body is starting to hurt, look, it's all green …."
Gu Dao trembled. He saw his hands turn even darker. The scene of the two black-clothed men bleeding from their orifices surfaced in his mind, and the fear in his heart reached its peak.
Xu Qing coldly looked at him. With a wave of his hand, a bag of medicinal powder was tossed over.
Gu Dao quickly caught it and poured it into his mouth, as if he were afraid that he wouldn't be able to understand the poison if he ate too little. Soon, the green color on his body dissipated, but his face began to swell.
"What did you give me to eat? Why is my mouth so numb …." Gu Dao felt his face swell up, and he couldn't even speak clearly. He looked at Xu Qing in confusion.
Xu Qing glanced at Gu Dao, who now looked like a pig's head.
"It's also poison."