“Withdraw!”
As the group chatted and laughed, they brought their spoils of war and left the manor. In the darkness of the night, they headed toward the Homicide Department. On the way, the gazes that the team members looked at Xu Qing with contained some respect.
Not just anyone could have the same strength as the captain to kill the enemy’s leader. Also, not just anyone would dare to fight for credit with the captain of another team.
Therefore, no matter whose contribution it was, it wasn’t important. Being able to capture the head already showed how powerful Xu Qing was.
Xu Qing was used to walking at the back, and the captain also walked beside him. The captain passed him a blue-colored talisman. It was the ghost hand talisman that the dead Night Dove cultivator had thrown out earlier, transforming into a large hand that attacked Xu Qing.
Following the Night Dove cultivator’s death, this ghost-hand talisman became a battle trophy. However, it was torn in many areas, so it could only be used once or twice.
“Take it. You deserve it.”
Xu Qing was a little surprised. He silently took it and looked at the captain. At this moment, the captain’s expression looked deep.
“Did I come too early just now?”
Xu Qing didn’t speak.
“There are too many people there, not people from from the Homicide Department, but hidden protectors of the nonhuman races. It’s not impossible to kill them, but they are still allies after all. The merfolk race is fickle natured. I heard that their plan to rebel was discovered by the old fellows on the mountain many years ago. Hence, they used the opportunity of the competition to suppress them. However, we are still allies after all, so it’s not good to act directly.”
“I wonder what that fish is up to. Occasionally, it likes to leave all the protectors behind and head out alone…” The captain’s smile was very sunny.
Xu Qing fell into deep thought. He then kept the ghost-hand talisman and took out two pears from his leather pouch. He passed one to the captain and ate the other before asking.
“Captain, is the body structure of the nonhuman races different from our human race?”
The captain was a little surprised that Xu Qing would actually give him a fruit. He accepted it with a smile and tossed it in his hand.
“There are some differences. For example, poison. Many poisons that our human race can’t withstand have no effect on the nonhuman races. It’s the same for the opposite. Some tonics to the human race are fatal to them.”
Xu Qing glanced at the captain, and the latter also glanced at him. They didn’t speak anymore.
As he moved forward, a hint of coldness brewed in Xu Qing’s calm eyes. There was a red line in his personality. Once it was touched, he would definitely think of a way to nip the danger in the bud. If the conditions and strength didn’t allow it, he would firmly remember it. It was like a fishbone was stuck in his throat, and he would feel uneasy if he didn’t eliminate the danger.
This red line was his life safety.
This was the case in the slums, the scavenger camp, and it was the same in the Seven Blood Eyes as well.
To Xu Qing, the only difference was that he had to be more cautious when searching for an opportunity here and be more decisive when he went for the kill.
That merfolk youth had crossed his red line, and it was even more serious than the old man from Panquan Road. It was already on the same level as the Diamond Sect’s ancestor.
Therefore, he wanted to kill the other party as soon as possible.
Xu Qing followed the members of Team Six in silence and handed his mission alongside the others. After the team dispersed, he didn’t return to the magic boat immediately. Instead, he hid near the Homicide Department and waited silently.
Two hours later, he saw the merfolk youth.
However, the other party wasn’t alone. Under Xu Qing’s careful observation, he could see wisps of concealed auras in the surroundings. The largest strand gave Xu Qing the feeling of someone at the Foundation Building Realm. This made him even more cautious.
He also noticed that the merfolk youth indeed didn’t show any signs of being poisoned.
Xu Qing was certain that he had released the poison. This meant that the captain’s words were correct. In addition, the other party had experts protecting him. Hence, Xu Qing didn’t rashly follow. Instead, he judged the approximate location and left.
The operation of the Seventh Peak to capture Night Dove was a complete success. All 17 strongholds in the port areas were captured in one fell swoop. Even the other forces that had connections with Night Dove were also captured and uprooted by the members of the Homicide Department.
A few deputy directors also personally took action and killed many of Night Dove’s experts. It was the same for the other regions.
In this operation, nearly 2,000 Night Dove members had died, and the number of deaths of those related to them was even higher. All of their heads were hung on the city walls the next day, and the stench of blood permeated the air.
However, the casualties suffered by the Homicide Department weren’t small either. Over 300 disciples had died, including the man and woman whom Xu Qing had met at the entrance when he first reported to the Seventh Peak’s Homicide Department.
Overall, their battle results were glorious, and the various evil forces in the main city were also purged. In the following days, most of the people were in awe of this, and the plundering among the disciples also subsided by quite a bit.
Also, the rewards for this mission were distributed very quickly. Xu Qing obtained a total of 130 spirit coins and was unprecedentedly wealthy. This made him even more vigilant against the greedy people in the surroundings, and killing intent rose in his heart.
He would kill whoever came to snatch it.
With such a large sum of spirit stones in hand, Xu Qing felt that the quality of the refining materials he had his eyes on earlier was a little inferior. He pondered whether he should buy better materials to upgrade his boat.
He also paid a lot of attention to that merfolk youth during these two days. He had followed him many times, but the other party’s protectors were always around, so Xu Qing didn’t find an opportunity.
But he wasn’t in a hurry and was patient.
Three days later, in the afternoon. Xu Qing took a break and was cultivating on the magic boat when someone sent him an invitation through his voice transmission jade slip.
The person who sent the invitation was none other than Zhou Qingpeng, the son of a wealthy family who had entered the Seventh Peak with him.
“Junior Brother Xu Qing, I’ve finally obtained the Ghost Desire, but there are only two of them. Also, after everyone entered the sect, they distanced themselves from each other. Tonight, I’ve invited Li Zimei and Xu Xiaohui. How about we have a meal together? I’ll bring the Ghost Desires as well.”
His words were sincere.
Xu Qing fell silent. After knowing that the merfolk youth wasn’t poisoned, he really wanted Ghost Desires to attempt refining a new poison. Hence, he checked his work shift and agreed before continuing to cultivate.
Very soon, dusk fell. Xu Qing opened his eyes from his cultivation. After calculating the time, he got up and walked out of the magic boat, heading toward the restaurant that Zhou Qingpeng had decided on.
The restaurant that Zhou Qingpeng chose wasn’t far from the harbor. It was a luxurious-looking two-story building and was very famous in the harbor.
Xu Qing had never entered this place before, but the Homicide Department had records of all the shops. Xu Qing had looked through all of them before and knew the background of this restaurant. It was opened by the port’s Coast Guard Department.
The Coast Guard Department was different from the Homicide Department, but it was somewhat similar to the Patrol Department. It was just that the former mainly patrolled the sea, while the latter was in charge of the city.
When he neared the restaurant, Xu Qing cautiously swept his gaze across the surroundings and only stepped into the restaurant after confirming that there was no danger.
As soon as he entered, the shop assistant inside noticed Xu Qing and greeted him warmly. After learning that Xu Qing was going to a reserved room, the shop assistant became even more enthusiastic and brought Xu Qing to the second floor.
The room Zhou Qingpeng booked was at the end of the second floor, and the second floor of this restaurant was actually not open to commoners. Only the Seven Blood Eyes’ disciples were qualified.
As he got closer to the room, Xu Qing could hear the laughter of Zhou Qingpeng and the others coming from the private room.
“Senior Brother Zhou, this is my first time here. I heard that this restaurant is extremely difficult to book and doesn’t care about ordinary disciples at all. Moreover, there are three special dishes here. It’s said that they all provide a certain amount of boost to one’s cultivation.”
“It’s nothing much. This is a property of my Coast Guard Department. To the disciples of the Coast Guard Department, we can make reservations whenever we want. If you need to reserve a room in the future, let me know and I’ll help you with it.”
“Then I’ll thank Senior Brother Zhou. Senior Brother Zhou, let me toast you.”
As the coquettish voice echoed, Xu Qing had already arrived at the entrance. The assistant opened the door of the private room and Xu Qing saw a table filled with dishes and three people sitting there.
There were two women and one man. The man was none other than Zhou Qingpeng. His face was filled with joy as he held a wine glass. Beside him was the petite and charming Xu Xiaohui.
The last person was Li Zimei. She was still as reserved as before. She sat there nervously and helplessly.
Xu Qing’s appearance caused the two other people other than Zhou Qingpeng to be stunned for a moment.
“Senior Brother, you are?” Xu Xiaohui’s eyes lit up as she looked at Xu Qing’s face. There were waves in her eyes and she could sense the astonishing spirit energy fluctuations from Xu Qing.
Seeing that Xu Qing had arrived, Zhou Qingpeng smiled and stood up. However, before he could speak, Li Zimei, who was at the side, looked at Xu Qing and spoke softly with some hesitation.
“Is it Senior Brother Xu Qing?”
She actually recognized him at a glance.