In the scavenger camp, Captain Lei was in front and Xu Qing was behind. The sun was shining on them.
From a distance, one was tall and one was short, one was old and one was young. There was even a faint sense of harmony.
It seemed that in this cruel world, such harmony was rare.
Or perhaps the python corpse in Captain Lei's hands was a deterrent, so the passers-by who had never been to the Colosseum did not disturb them after seeing them.
Xu Qing liked this feeling very much. Whether it was eating the snake or the sun at this moment, it made him feel warm.
It was very comfortable and he was looking forward to it.
And every time his eyes fell on the python corpse in Captain Lei's hands, he would secrete more saliva in his mouth.
He also liked to eat snakes.
Captain Lei's home was in the middle ring of the camp.
Compared to the brick houses in the inner ring and the simple tents in the outer ring, the residences in the middle ring were mostly made of stone and wood, and there were three huts arranged together.
Although each hut was not very big, it was far better than when Xu Qing was in the slums.
In particular, Captain Lei's residence had a small courtyard, which was even rarer.
At this moment, the door of the bamboo courtyard was pushed open. Under Xu Qing's observation, Captain Lei carried the python corpse to the tail house and pointed to the second hut.
"Kid, you will live there in the future. Familiarize yourself with it first. I will call you when the meal is ready."
With that, Captain Lei entered the side house. Not long after, there was the sound of meat being chopped.
Xu Qing swallowed his saliva. He first carefully observed the small courtyard, then walked into the second hut. There was a bed, a set of bedding, a table and chair, and nothing else.
The ground was very clean, and the table and chair were dust-free. Obviously, they were often wiped. The bedding was also very clean, and there was a smell of sunshine on it.
All this made Xu Qing very satisfied.
He did not like big houses. He liked small houses where he could see everything at a glance, as if he could reflect everything in his mind.
This made him feel safer.
So after a careful inspection, Xu Qing looked at the clean bed. He thought for a moment and did not go over. Instead, he sat directly on the ground.
Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes and began today's cultivation.
As he cultivated, as the spiritual energy surged in, he could hear the crackling sound of boiling oil in the wing room next door.
Soon, waves of fragrance drifted in through the cracks between the stone and wood on the wall. As it filled the room, it also made Xu Qing's stomach shrivel.
It was very fragrant.
Xu Qing's throat moved involuntarily. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the rear room.
After living in the slums for so many years, he couldn't remember the last time he smelled such a fragrance.
Thus, he suppressed the desire in his stomach, closed his eyes, and calmed himself down before continuing to cultivate.
Just like that, time passed slowly. Soon, dusk arrived.
When the sound of Lei Dui calling for dinner came from outside the house, Xu Qing, who had just finished a day of cultivation, quickly opened his eyes.
He stood up and quickly walked out of the house. He saw Lei Dui standing at the door of the side room, waving at him.
Along the empty space beside Captain Lei, Xu Qing had already seen the dining table in the house. There were already seven or eight different types of snake feasts, fried, braised, steamed, and snake soup.
Obviously, Captain Lei had excellent cooking skills. It looked, smelled, and tasted good.
Xu Qing glanced at it, and his eyes were a little straight. Captain Lei smiled and turned to pick up the bowls and chopsticks.
Xu Qing immediately approached. As he walked into the wing room, the fragrance became stronger. However, he didn't sit down immediately. Instead, he waited for Captain Lei to set the bowls and chopsticks. Then, his eyes suddenly focused.
There were three sets of bowls and chopsticks.
"There's someone else?"
No matter how tempting the fragrance was, at this moment, with the appearance of the three sets of bowls and chopsticks, Xu Qing instantly isolated it from his body.
He looked cautiously at Captain Lei and asked softly.
"Don't be nervous. This is my habit. That's a person … who will never come."
Captain Lei said faintly. There was a flash of reminiscence deep in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. He sat on the chair.
Xu Qing nodded. As he sat down, he couldn't help but grab a piece of fried snake meat and put it in his mouth.
It was very hot, but he ate it very happily. His mouth was full of oil.
After eating a piece, he licked the oil on his mouth and was about to grab the braised snake meat. Captain Lei coughed softly.
"Use chopsticks."
"Oh."
Xu Qing picked up the chopsticks clumsily. After getting used to it, he stuck a piece of braised snake meat and gulped it down.
Throughout the meal, the two didn't speak, but the way they ate was very unharmonious.
Captain Lei chewed and swallowed slowly, unlike a scavenger who only ate two or three mouthfuls of each dish. Xu Qing wolfed down the food, his appetite far exceeded Captain Lei's.
Seeing Xu Qing eat like this, Captain Lei couldn't help but speak.
"Why aren't you eating in small bites like when I gave you the steamed bun?"
Xu Qing swallowed the snake meat in his mouth, looked up at Captain Lei, and answered seriously.
"The steamed bun is yours, the snake meat is mine."
One was treating him to someone else's food, and the other was treating others to his own food.
In the young man's simple mind, it was natural to eat something that belonged to him more justifiably.
Captain Lei didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. He watched Xu Qing poke the snake meat with his chopsticks and drink the snake soup. However, he also noticed that the young man didn't touch any of the snake dishes. He also restrained himself from drinking the snake soup.
He was just eating the portion that belonged to him in a righteous manner.
"That python of yours is a good portion. It should be enough to eat for half a month, and the snake's skin and bones are also valuable, so …" Captain Lei said casually.
"I will pay the rent. You don't have to deduct it." Xu Qing suddenly spoke.
The snake meat was to repay the steamed bun and sleeping bag along the way. The value of the snake's skin and bones was to repay the other party for helping him cover the Savage Bull tent.
As for the other party bringing him out of the ruins and into the camp, this was a favor, a favor.
Xu Qing felt that it was inappropriate to use material to offset it, so he kept it in mind.
Captain Lei took a deep look at Xu Qing and saw the seriousness in his eyes and the clear distinction between gratitude and grudges, so he nodded. After thinking about it, he spoke again.
"Child, you must have a lot of guesses about me along the way."
Xu Qing didn't speak, but his swallowing action slowed down slightly.
"Others call me Captain Lei. As for the name, it doesn't matter. In the scavenger camp, no one will use their real name."
Captain Lei picked up a piece of steamed snake meat and put it in his mouth and chewed slowly.
"The reason for this name is that I have a few friends in this scavenger camp that I can entrust my life to."
"We formed our own team. The name of the team is a bit vulgar, called Thunder."
"On weekdays, everyone takes on their own jobs. If you encounter a difficult task, the whole team will gather to complete it. Including me, there are a total of four people. Now the three of them are out and haven't come back yet."
"When you come back, I will introduce you to them one by one. In the future, you will follow us as a new member of the team to take on jobs to earn survival and cultivation resources."
Captain Lei seemed to be a little full. He put down his chopsticks and looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing was not surprised by the last five words of his words.
Xu Qing felt that he could perceive that Captain Lei was a rogue cultivator. After being in contact with him for so long, even if he was a Body Refiner, the other party would naturally be able to perceive his details under observation.
"Okay." Xu Qing did not hesitate and nodded.
This also made him feel relieved. Growing up in the slums, he deeply knew that there was no contribution and help in this world for no reason. Everything must have a reason.
"You continue to eat. I'm old. I can't digest if I eat too much."
Captain Lei coughed a few times. His face was a little flushed, but he quickly recovered. He stood up and walked out while speaking.
"The spiritual energy in this world is like poison. The kind of hard cultivation you have been practicing along the way is very likely to be mutated before you can go far. Cultivation needs to be steady and not radical."
Xu Qing was silent and did not speak.
The old man who walked to the door turned to look at Xu Qing and shook his head.
"But it's right for you to cultivate like this."
"The scavenger camp and the forbidden area next to it are different from where you were before. Because of the products in the forbidden area, it is more a gathering place for low-level rogue cultivators and desperadoes."
"Since you live here, you must go to the forbidden area. It's good to cultivate more."
Captain Lei left.
Xu Qing sat there alone. Even after eating all the snake meat, he did not leave immediately.
Instead, he cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, put them away, and returned to his room.
He sat down cross-legged and continued to cultivate.
Xu Qing knew very well that if he did not want to struggle at death's door and bend his back to survive and put the power of life and death in the hands of others, then his own strength was the foundation of everything.
Especially in this scavenger camp, there were many rogue cultivators, more than he had seen in six years combined. None of them were easy to deal with.
If the slums were a doghouse, then this was a wolf's den.
If he did not work hard, then he would die without a burial place because of a conflict or dispute before he could mutate.
As for the mutated nature, Xu Qing knew from the bamboo slips of the Sea Mountain Art that there was a pill that could resolve it.
Although it could only treat the symptoms and not the root cause, it could still be dealt with. And the name of this pill, he had learned from the conversations of the scavenger on the way here. It was called White Pill.
The forbidden area nearby was rich in the important herbs needed to make White Pills. Therefore, there must be White Pills for sale in this camp.
Thinking of this, Xu Qing touched the place where the purple crystal was buried in his chest.
During this period of time, he had clearly felt that in addition to his recovery ability, his speed and strength had increased tremendously.
It had something to do with reaching the first level of the Sea Mountain Art. However, Xu Qing felt that his first level seemed to be a little different from the strength of one tiger described in the Sea Mountain Art.
"I can kill a lot of tigers," Xu Qing muttered to himself.
He felt the spirit energy in his body. After cultivating diligently along the way, he seemed to be about to reach the second level.
"Tonight, I'll break through to the second level." Xu Qing's eyes were filled with determination. He closed his eyes and began to breathe.
Soon, spirit energy surged in from all directions. Compared to the spirit energy inside the forbidden area, the spirit energy outside the forbidden area had a lot less mutated nature, which also increased the speed of his cultivation by a lot.
Xu Qing had already noticed this when he was in the row room in the colosseum yesterday.
At this moment, he relaxed his body and absorbed as much as he could. His chest, which was covered by the leather jacket, flickered with a faint purple light.
Time passed. Gradually, soft popping sounds came from Xu Qing's body. The black impurities were expelled from his pores again.
His flesh and blood seemed to become more resilient as they were nourished. There was a faint feeling of a stronger power gradually bursting out from within.
At the same time, in the night outside, the little girl who had been swapped with the bamboo stick by Xu Qing during the day approached the courtyard where Xu Qing lived.
She stood there hesitantly, as if she wanted to knock on the door, but she was also somewhat nervous.
After a long time, she seemed to muster up her courage and gently knocked on the bamboo door of the courtyard. However, the sound was too weak and could not be heard.
The moment the little girl knocked on the bamboo door, the popping sounds in Xu Qing's body reached their strongest point.
With a boom in his head, Xu Qing opened his eyes. The purple light shone in his eyes again. Joy appeared on his face. He lowered his head to look at his arm. A second mutated point had appeared there.
Qi Condensation, second level.