At this moment, the night wind blew and the seawater flowed. It gently patted the surroundings of the small boat and squeezed out a lot of greyish black foam.
It also caused the small boat to sway slightly and make creaking sounds.
Xu Qing was seriously refining pills in the dark canopy.
As the herbs were taken out one by one, he either plucked the leaves, squeezed the juice, or extracted the stamen. Gradually, the medicinal liquid in the stone bowl increased.
After checking the ratio and making some adjustments, Xu Qing began to put in the Seven Leaf Grass. Just like this, when midnight arrived, Xu Qing carefully dripped the juice of the Spirit Condensation Leaf into the black medicinal liquid.
Waves of ear-piercing sizzling sounds came out and green smoke was scattered by Xu Qing with a wave of his sleeve. The medicinal liquid in the stone bowl directly turned into a white semi-solid, and there was even a faint trace of light within it.
It was a success in one go.
After careful inspection, Xu Qing took out the medicinal liquid and kneaded it into pills one by one. He put them aside and let them dry. Looking at these pills, his eyes were filled with satisfaction.
"I finally refined a white pill!"
Xu Qing murmured. The scenes of learning from Master Bai appeared in his mind. The scavenger camp was also reflected in his heart.
All of this caused the young man's heart to slowly become restless on this special day.
After a while, Xu Qing sighed and looked outside the boat. It was pitch black.
Only the bright moon hanging high in the sky reflected on the surface of the sea.
The surroundings were silent. The sea breeze blew and there was a trace of coolness in the damp air, causing his hair to flutter.
"Master Bai should have returned to the Purple Lands long ago."
"I wonder how the Cross and the Phoenix Tooth are now …"
"Also, in front of Lei Dui's grave, will there be weeds …" Xu Qing whispered softly.
"As for me, I still haven't found the Destiny Flower."
Even if he was used to solitude, even if he had adapted to a new environment, in the end Xu Qing was still just a youth. He sat there quietly, his memories returning to the living quarters in the scavenger camp, where he ate snake meat with an old man he knew.
He listened to the old man talk about the scavenger camp and watched him smoke a pipe and drink wine.
The memories were very clear.
Xu Qing's eyes slightly lowered.
"The teacher in the slums said that when a person starts to recall the past, it means that he is growing up …" Xu Qing murmured and took out a bottle of wine from the leather bag.
He had bought it during the day when he was patrolling.
Holding the wine bottle, Xu Qing looked up at the bright moon in the sky. After a long time, he slowly raised it and drank it.
From afar, the young man on the boat, drinking a cup to the moon and drinking a cup alone.
The wine in the main city was even stronger than the wine in the scavenger camp. When it entered his mouth, it burned, and when it entered his stomach, it was as if there was a flame burning his entire body. This caused Xu Qing's breathing to quicken. After a while, he took another big gulp.
"Lei Dui's soul in the heavens.
"I wish Grandmaster Bai good health and a long life."
.... and...... happy birthday.
Xu Qing muttered, then drank it again.
Today was a special day. It was his birthday.
Xu Qing, who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old, had actually just turned fifteen. However, compared to other people of the same age who had grown up safely, his experience made him have no choice but to mature.
.... of his by himself himself himself.......
.... wine........
Therefore, after drinking the bottle, Xu Qing thought of his family.
No matter how hard he tried to recall them, they were still blurry. This blurry memory made Xu Qing very uncomfortable. He did not want it to be blurry, but … some things could not be controlled.
After a long, long time.
"Are you all well …?" Xu Qing lowered his head and murmured.
The sea breeze blew over, lifting his hair and blowing it against his face, scattering everything. The cool breeze also gradually pulled Xu Qing back from his memories, causing his eyes to become sharp again, and his expression to become cold and indifferent again.
"Live."
"If I can live a better life, if I have a chance to see my parents … that would be even better."
"So, I have to become stronger!" Xu Qing slowly raised his head. Under the moonlight, the young man's figure was like a lone wolf, staring into the distance.
After a while, he turned and walked back to the cabin. He sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate.
Time passed.
After his birthday, Xu Qing's life was back on track. In the next few days, besides patrolling, he refined pills and cultivated.
Although the cultivation of the Sea Transformation Scripture was supported by spirit stones, it gradually slowed down. He had just broken through from the sixth level to the seventh.
The further he progressed, the slower his cultivation became. However, this was only relative. In fact, compared to others, Xu Qing's cultivation speed was already extremely shocking.
At the same time, after reaching the seventh level of the Sea Transformation Scripture, Xu Qing could clearly feel that his combat strength was like heaven and earth compared to before. Now, he was fully confident that he could kill himself within thirty breaths if he did not have the Seven Blood Pupils.
Although there was still a gap between him and the Diamond Sect's patriarch, Xu Qing was confident that he could contend with him head-on.
"When I'm stronger, I'll kill the Diamond Sect's patriarch."
Xu Qing would always feel uneasy if he did not kill the Diamond Sect's patriarch. He felt that although the other party could not kill him personally due to the rules of the Seven Blood Pupils, it was inevitable that the other party would kill him with a borrowed knife. Therefore, he had to seize the opportunity to improve his cultivation to eliminate this threat.
In addition, Xu Qing's study of the spiritual boat was very thorough. He analyzed the contents of the jade slip very thoroughly. After completely understanding it, his control of the spiritual boat had also reached an extremely flexible level.
As for the direction, he had also made a decision. He chose sturdiness!
He wanted to improve the level of the spiritual boat by focusing on sturdiness and defense. The reason for this was that on one hand, the increase in sturdiness and defense meant that it would not be easily damaged. On the other hand, not being damaged meant that there would be no need to repair it, reducing the consumption.
On the other hand, in the main city of the Seven Blood Pupils where danger lurked everywhere, the spiritual boat was the only relatively safe place for Xu Qing. He needed a place like this to cultivate, rest, and refine pills.
Therefore, a place like this must also have sufficient defense.
At the same time, Xu Qing had also refined a lot of pills these days. It was the same for white pills and black pills.
Following the method he used in the past, not only did he refine black pills, but he also refined a lot of poisonous powder that he used in the past.
Xu Qing was extremely focused every time he refined pills. The knowledge of plants and herbs was a survival skill that he learned very seriously in the past. He cherished what he learned and had long carved it into his bones.
As for the leftover herbs after each refinement, he carefully sorted them into categories and placed them in the cabin of the spiritual boat. This caused his small boat with a black canopy to be densely packed with all kinds of herbs.
Among the poisonous pills and poisonous powders, there were too many people in the main city, so it was not convenient for him to innovate. Therefore, Xu Qing did not refine any new poisons, but he had accumulated a lot of materials.
He planned to find an opportunity to go out and find a secret place to refine them together.
As for the work of the Detective Division, Xu Qing gradually became familiar with it as he went there for a few days. These days, the entire Detective Division was still searching for Nightingale's stronghold. Every day, a large number of clues were reported.
Xu Qing could feel that the Detective Division was close to closing the net.
Today was not the day he was supposed to be on night duty, but Xu Qing chose to take the initiative to apply for a night shift with someone else.
The duties of the Detective Division included patrolling at night. Every disciple had their turn, but every night when they were on night duty, everyone would be extremely vigilant.
Therefore, when the sky outside gradually darkened, Xu Qing tidied up his clothes and put the poisonous powder into his sleeve pocket. He also put away the dagger and the iron skewer and walked out of the spiritual boat.
Outside, the sun had already set, and dusk was about to disperse. The sky was dark, and the earth had lost its light. Drops of rain slowly fell on the main city.
Xu Qing's figure moved in the dark. In the rain, his entire person seemed to have merged with the night as he sped forward.
At this moment, the wind blew and landed on Xu Qing's long robe, causing it to flutter. This wind was cold, and when one breathed in, it made one feel very refreshed.
It also dispersed the heat in the city, but it could not disperse a special smell in the air.
As he sped forward, his clean boots stepped on the bluestone slabs that were covered by the rain, creating a series of rapid sounds. From afar, it seemed that with every step he took, the water on the ground would ripple like flowers. It was as if lotuses were blooming with each step he took.
Soon, the sky was completely dark, and the rain became heavier. Xu Qing's figure sped past alley after alley, closed shop after closed shop, and avoided the scene of a massacre. At midnight, he arrived at Banquan Road.
Looking at the open inn in the distance, Xu Qing stood in a corner under the eaves in the rain, silently waiting.
Many days ago, his informant had said that there was a wanted criminal named Qing Yun Zi.
The wanted jade slip stated that this person was from the Blue Cloud Sect, a small sect attached to the Purple Lands. He was at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, and was vicious and merciless. In his sect, he had tortured and killed several female disciples. As he was being chased, he had slaughtered many villages, raped, and plundered.
But Xu Qing hadn't chosen to capture him, because he had no enmity with him.
In this cruel and chaotic world, everyone had their own way of living. Xu Qing couldn't care less about that.
But the other party had made a mistake.
Two days ago, Xu Qing's informant should have appeared in the downtown area where the two of them had met for the second time, looking for him to cure the poison. But even now, he hadn't appeared.
So Xu Qing went to look for him during the day.
Although the wind was strong, it couldn't disperse the unique smell of the poison powder on the spirit coin. Thus, Xu Qing easily found the woman's residence. He also saw the traces of a fight. Following the traces of the poison powder, he found the inn.
After waiting for an entire afternoon, he saw the person who was covered in the thick smell of the poison powder enter the inn.
The other party's appearance was the same as on the wanted jade slip. It was Qing Yun Zi.
So today, Xu Qing switched shifts with someone and came here to wait silently.
Since he was his informant, he naturally had to take care of him.