Inside the scavenger camp, Lei Team was in front and Xu Qing was behind. The sun was shining brightly on the ground, falling upon them.
From a distance, they look one tall and one short, one old and one young, and there is even a faint sense of harmony.
It seems that in this cruel world, such harmony is very rare.
Perhaps it was because the python corpse in the hands of the Thunder Team was so intimidating that most of the passers-by around who had never been to the Colosseum did not disturb them when they saw it.
Xu Qing really enjoyed this feeling. Whether it was the snake eating that followed or the sunlight caressing his face at this moment, they all made him feel warm and cozy.
It's very comfortable and I'm looking forward to it.
And every time his gaze fell upon the python corpse that Captain Lei was holding, his mouth would secrete more saliva.
He also likes eating snakes.
Captain Lei's home is in the central part of this camp.
Compared with the brick and tile houses in the inner ring area and the simple tents in the outer ring area, the residences in the middle ring area are mostly made of stone and wood, and there are three small rooms arranged together.
Each one, though not very large, looked much better than when Xu Qing was in the slum.
Especially the residence of Captain Lei has a small courtyard, which is even more difficult to obtain.
At this moment, pushing open the door of the bamboo courtyard, under Xu Qing's observation and sizing, Captain Lei carried the python corpse towards the rear room and casually pointed to the second small room.
"Kid, you can live there from now on. Get familiar with yourself first. I'll call you when the meal is ready."
Saying that, Captain Lei entered the side room. Before long, the sound of chopping meat could be heard.
Xu Qing swallowed hard and first observed the small courtyard carefully. Then he entered the second small room, where there was a bed, a set of bedding, a table and chairs, and nothing else.
The floor is very clean, and there is no dust on the tables and chairs. It is obvious that they have been wiped frequently. The bedding is also obviously very clean and has a smell of being exposed to the sun.
All of this made Xu Qing very satisfied.
He doesn't like big houses. He prefers those small ones where he can see everything at a glance, as if he could reflect everything in his mind.
This makes him feel safer even more.
After carefully inspecting it, Xu Qing looked at the clean bed, thought for a moment and didn't go over. Instead, he sat directly on the ground.
Cross your knees and close your eyes to begin today's practice.
During this practice, as the spiritual energy poured in, he also heard the crackling sound of boiling oil from the rear room next door.
Soon, waves of fragrance wafted in through the crevices of the stones and wood on the walls, filling the small room while also evoking the dry and shrieking sounds in Xu Qing's stomach.
It smells very good.
Xu Qing's throat involuntarily twitched. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the rear room.
After years of living in the slums, he couldn't remember when he last smelled such a fragrance.
So he suppressed the longing coming from his stomach, closed his eyes, calmed himself down and continued his practice.
Just like this, time passed slowly and soon dusk came.
When the voice of the Thunder Team calling for dinner came from outside the house, Xu Qing, who had just finished a day of cultivation, opened his eyes rapidly.
He stood up and walked out of the house quickly. He saw Captain Lei standing at the door of the side room, waving at him.
Following the open space beside Captain Lei, Xu Qing had already seen that on the dining table in the house, there were already seven or eight different kinds of snake feasts, including fried ones, braised ones, steamed ones, and snake soup.
Obviously, Captain Lei has excellent cooking skills, with a perfect combination of color, aroma and taste.
Xu Qing took a look and his gaze became a bit straight. Captain Lei smiled, turned around and went in to pick up the bowl, quickly setting it up.
Xu Qing also immediately approached. As he walked into the rear room, the aroma became even stronger. But he didn't sit down right away. Instead, after Captain Lei had almost arranged the bowls, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
The bowls are quick. There are three pairs.
"Anyone else?" Even if the fragrance was extremely alluring, at this moment, with the appearance of the three bowls, it was all instantly isolated from Xu Qing's body.
He looked at Captain Lei cautiously and asked softly.
"Don't be nervous. This is my habit. That's someone... who will never come." "
Captain Lei spoke indifferently, with a glimmer of nostalgia emerging deep in his eyes, but it quickly vanished as he sat down on the chair.
Xu Qing nodded and sat down. Unable to resist any longer, he grabbed a piece of fried snake meat and put it in his mouth, taking big bites.
It was very hot, but he ate very happily, with oil flowing all over his mouth.
Just after finishing a piece, he licked the grease on his mouth and was about to catch the braised snake meat. Captain Lei coughed softly.
"Use kuaizi."
"Oh." Xu Qing clumsily picked up the quick fix, adjusted for a while, then inserted a piece of braised snake meat and swallowed it in big gulps.
Throughout the entire meal, neither of them spoke, but their eating habits were very disharmonious.
Captain Lei chewed his food slowly and carefully, not like a scavenger. He would only take a few bites of each dish, while Xu Qing ate ravenously, his appetite far exceeding Captain Lei's.
Seeing Xu Qing eating like this, Captain Lei couldn't help but speak up.
"Why don't you eat the steamed buns in small bites as you did when I gave you them before?"
Xu Qing swallowed the snake meat in his mouth with all his might, looked up at Captain Lei and answered very seriously.
The steamed buns are yours and the snake meat is mine.
One is to treat oneself to others' food, and the other is to treat oneself to others' food.
In a young man's simple mind, things that belong to him are naturally more legitimate to eat.
Upon hearing this, Captain Lei was at a loss for words, laughing and crying. He watched Xu Qing constantly poking the snake meat with his quick hands and drinking the snake soup there, but also noticed that the young man did not touch every part of the snake feast. The part close to him was also drinking the snake soup with restraint.
He just ate his share with full confidence.
"Your python is quite substantial. It should be enough to last for half a month. Besides, its skin and bones are also of considerable value. So..." Captain Lei casually said something.
"I'll pay the rent. There's no need to offset it." " Xu Qing suddenly spoke up.
The snake meat is a reward for the steamed buns and sleeping bags along the way, while the value of the snake skin and bones lies in repaying the other party for covering the tent of the broken cattle for oneself.
As for the other party taking him out of the ruins and into the camp, this is a favor and a human feeling.
Xu Qing felt that using material things to offset it was somewhat inappropriate, so he kept it in mind.
Captain Lei gave Xu Qing a deep look, recognizing the seriousness in his eyes and the clear distinction between right and wrong. He nodded, thought for a while, and then spoke again.
"Kid, I'm sure you've had a lot of guesses about me along the way."
Xu Qing didn't say a word, but the act of swallowing slowed down slightly.
Everyone calls me Captain Lei. As for the name, it doesn't matter. In the Scavenger camp, no one uses their real name.
Captain Lei picked up a piece of steamed snake meat and put it in his mouth to chew slowly.
The reason I have this name is that in this scavenger camp, I have a few friends whom I can entrust my life to.
We formed our own team. The name of the team is rather vulgar, called Thunder.
On ordinary days, everyone takes on tasks on their own. If there's something more challenging, the whole team gathers to complete it. Including me, there are four of us in total. Now, all three of them have gone out and haven't come back yet.
When you come back, I'll introduce them to you one by one. From now on, follow us as a new member of the team and take on jobs to earn resources for survival and cultivation.
Captain Lei seemed to have had his fill. He put down his quick pieces and looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing was not surprised by the character "最" in his words.
Xu Qing felt that if he could sense that Captain Lei was a casual cultivator, then after such a long contact, even if he himself was a body cultivator, the other party would naturally be able to detect his background under their observation.
"Ok." Xu Qing didn't hesitate and nodded, saying.
This also relieved him in his heart. Growing up in the slums, he deeply understood that there was no such thing as selfless dedication or help in this world; everything had a reason.
"Keep eating. I'm old and I can't digest it if I eat too much."
Captain Lei coughed a few times, his face a little flushed, but he quickly recovered, stood up and walked out, with words coming from his mouth.
The spiritual energy in this world is like poison. The arduous cultivation you have endured along the way may very well lead to your being alienated by a different entity before you have gone far. Your cultivation should be steady and not radical.
Xu Qing remained silent and said nothing.
The old man who walked to the door turned around to look at Xu Qing and shook his head.
"But it's right for you to cultivate like this." "
The camp of the scavengers and the restricted area beside it are different from where you were before. Due to the products within the restricted area, it is more of a gathering place for low-level cultivators and desperate followers.
"Since you live here, you must also visit the restricted area. It's good to cultivate more." "
Captain Lei left.
Xu Qing sat there alone until he ate all the snake meat. Then he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he quickly tidied up the bowls, washed them clean and put them away before returning to his own small room.
Sit cross-legged and continue your practice.
Xu Qing was well aware that if he didn't want to linger on, to bend over and survive, and to hold 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 quite a few casual practitioners, more than what he had seen in the past six years. None of them was a good person.
If the slum is a doghouse, then this place is a Wolf's den.
If one does not make efforts, then before the alienation, one will have no place to be buried due to a conflict or dispute.
As for the heteroplasm, Xu Qing learned from the Bamboo Bamboo Mountain of the Haishan Formula that there were elixirs that could dissolve it.
Although it only treated the symptoms but not the root cause, it could still deal with the situation. And the name of this elixir, he had already learned from the conversations of those scavengers on the way, was called White Pill.
The important herbs needed for making white elixir are abundant in the nearby restricted area. Therefore, there must be white elixir for sale in this camp.
Thinking of this, Xu Qing touched the spot where the purple crystal was buried in his chest.
During this period of time, he has clearly felt that apart from his recovery ability, both his speed and strength have improved significantly.
It was related to reaching the first level of the Sea Mountain Technique, but Xu Qing felt that this first level of his seemed somewhat different from the power of a single tiger described in the Sea Mountain Technique.
I can kill many tigers.
Xu Qing murmured, sensing the spiritual energy within his body. Through his arduous cultivation along the way, it seemed that he was about to reach the second level.
"Tonight, charge to the second floor." Xu Qing's eyes showed determination. He closed his eyes and began to breathe.
Soon, spiritual energy gushed in from all directions. The spiritual energy outside the restricted area was much less heterogeneous compared to that inside, which led to a relatively significant increase in the speed of cultivation.
Xu Qing had already noticed this in the row room of the Colosseum yesterday.
At this moment, he let go of his body, forcefully absorbing and exhaling. Even the faint purple light on his chest, which was covered by the fur coat, flickered.
As time went by, gradually, a slight thumping sound came from Xu Qing's body, and the black impurities in her sweat pores were once again expelled.
All the flesh and blood in the body, nourished, seemed to become increasingly tough, with a faintly stronger force gradually bursting forth within.
Meanwhile, in the darkness outside, the little girl who had been swapped with bamboo sticks by Xu Qing during the day approached the courtyard of Xu Qing's residence.
She stood there hesitantly, as if she wanted to knock on the door, but also felt a little uneasy.
After a long while, she seemed to summon up the courage to gently knock on the bamboo door of the courtyard, but the sound was so faint that it simply couldn't get in.
The moment the little girl knocked on the bamboo door, the thumping sound inside Xu Qing also reached its strongest point.
With a rumble in his mind, Xu Qing's eyes opened. The purple light once again shone in his eyes. Joy showed in his expression as he looked down at his arm, where a second point of distortion had appeared.
Condensation, second layer.