Ripples 1

Compared to Liu Jie, Ma Qiang didn't have many possessions, just a money pouch, a small porcelain bottle, and a brocade box.

Lin Sheng first glanced at the money pouch, estimating it contained about ten taels. He then opened the white bottle, revealing a pinkish-red pill inside. He brought it close to his nose and sniffed gently.

Immediately, he felt a warmth spreading through his body, most noticeably a warm current in his lower abdomen.

Especially below his lower abdomen, it felt as if it had been stimulated. A strange expression appeared on Lin Sheng's face as he put the pill back into the bottle.

After taking a few deep breaths, he finally calmed down.

"This damn thing is an aphrodisiac, and a potent one at that!!"

He couldn't help but curse, then shifted his gaze to the last item, the small box. The brocade box was exquisitely crafted, seemingly no ordinary item.

"I hope what's inside doesn't disappoint me."

Muttering to himself, Lin Sheng directly opened the brocade box. Inside was a pill, the size of a quail egg, as red as blood.

He picked up the pill and brought it to his nose to sniff.

Soon, he felt his own Blood Essence becoming more active.

"This is..."

Sensing the changes within his body, Lin Sheng's eyes lit up.

While he didn't know much about pills, the fact that just a few sniffs could stir his internal Blood Essence clearly indicated this pill was unusual.

He guessed it was likely a vitality and blood treasure pill of no small grade.

The thought flashed through Lin Sheng's mind, but he had no intention of taking it immediately.

After all, he hadn't confirmed what the pill was, and he wouldn't try it rashly. He would at least figure out what it was before considering taking it.

For now, he would just hide it away.

After inventorying his gains from this trip, Lin Sheng put everything away in a hidden spot and then called it a day. He ate a simple meal and went to bed to rest.

He hadn't had a good night's sleep in the mountains these past few days. Now that he was back home, he naturally wanted to rest well.

As for how the mission went, he wasn't sure. Given his current status, he was just a nobody in the Beast Hunter Hall. Whether the mission was completed or not depended on Wang Sanyang and the others.

He slept until noon the next day. As Lin Sheng pushed open his door, he heard a commotion from the street, seemingly coming from the direction of the Ninth Squad's encampment.

"They're back!?"

Hearing the noise, Lin Sheng quickly got dressed and hurried towards the encampment.

His residence wasn't far from the encampment, only a few hundred meters away. In just a few minutes, he had arrived at the encampment, where quite a crowd had already gathered.

About half of them were hunters from the original Ninth Squad. The others were somewhat unfamiliar, but their standard uniforms indicated they were also from the Beast Hunter Hall, likely personnel from other squads.

In the center of the courtyard stood Wang Sanyang, covered in blood. One of his arms was clearly bent at an unnatural angle, indicating a fracture.

However, on his back, he carried four blood-stained white tusks.

"Four of them! It looks like Captain Wang and the others managed to take down another Tusk Mountain Boar."

Lin Sheng was somewhat surprised, but on second thought, if that weren't the case, Wang Sanyang would have returned much earlier given his skills.

Tusk Mountain Boars had tough hides and immense strength. Even with Wang Sanyang's considerable skill, it would have been difficult for him to handle one alone.

Lin Sheng's gaze moved further inside, and he saw that besides Wang Sanyang, several other people were also covered in blood.

Among them was Zhang Ding. Zhang Ding lay on the ground, his right leg a bloody mess, with glimpses of pale white bone visible. He had already lost consciousness, and a physician was tending to his wound beside him.

The condition of the other individuals was not much better than Zhang Ding's, with physicians also treating and bandaging them.

Judging by the scene, it was not hard to imagine how fierce the battle had been.

"Wang Sanyang!"

At that moment, a calm voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

Then, a tall man, around thirty-two or thirty-three years old, walked in. The man's expression was blank, but an indescribable aura of authority emanated from him.

Seeing the newcomer, everyone in the courtyard parted ways, showing him a considerable amount of respect and perhaps a touch of awe.

"This is... Ma Qiang's older brother."

Seeing the man, whose appearance bore some resemblance to Ma Qiang, Lin Sheng's heart stirred. He had a good idea of the man's identity.

As he suspected, the man was indeed Ma Long, the captain of the Third Squad of the Beast Hunter Hall.

Ma Long entered the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the people around him. He frowned and looked at Wang Sanyang in the center.

"Where is Ma Qiang!?"

Wang Sanyang had also noticed Ma Long by now. He frowned and glanced around, seemingly trying to find Ma Qiang in the crowd, but unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know. The mission encountered unforeseen circumstances, with three Tusk Mountain Boars appearing at once. We could barely protect ourselves, let alone worry about your brother."

"Are you saying Ma Qiang is dead?"

Ma Long's frown deepened. Although he didn't think much of his good-for-nothing brother, they were still family, and there was some brotherly affection between them.

Hearing that his brother might be dead, a hint of coldness appeared on his face.

In fact, when Lin Sheng and the first group returned, he had already received news that the Ninth Squad's mission had gone awry. For this reason, he had personally led people to the mountain to provide support, with the intention of bringing Ma Qiang back.

It's just a shame there were no clues. He could only place his hopes on Wang Sanyang and the others who hadn't returned yet. As it turned out, they did come back, but there was still no news of Ma Qiang.

Given this, Ma Qiang's fate was likely grim. Especially since Liu Jie, whom he had sent to protect Ma Qiang, was also missing, which undoubtedly further confirmed this.

Thinking of this, his heart blazed with anger.

"Useless."

The reason he was so angry was twofold: firstly, Ma Qiang was dead, and secondly, he had just bought two Blood Cultivating Pills for him at a high price, only to have them go to waste like this.

"Ma Long, you know the strength of the Tusk Mountain Boars very well. Our Ninth Squad ran into three of them at once. Even for a Body Tempering martial artist, surviving would be difficult. This time, my Ninth Squad suffered casualties of nearly seventy percent... What else do you want to say!!"

Wang Sanyang's face was somewhat pale at this moment, and his voice was a little weak as he spoke.

"Seventy percent casualties..."

Ma Long's expression was as dark as water. He stared intently at Wang Sanyang, then at the severely injured individuals on the ground. Faced with this scene, he truly had nothing to say.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he began searching through the onlookers, seemingly looking for someone.

"I heard your Ninth Squad has a good newcomer, named Lin Sheng, right? Where is he?"