"Y-Young Master!"
Just as Qin Shaofeng was beaming, a weak yet extraordinarily startled voice suddenly came from the pit in the ground.
Damn it, I forgot about Uncle An!
Only then did Qin Shaofeng snap out of his joy at leveling up. He hurriedly leaped down and arrived beside Qin An.
"Uncle An, are you all right?"
Qin Shaofeng helped Qin An out of the pit and quickly asked him.
But when he saw Qin An's face, his heart gave a hard thump.
Qin An's face was gray-black, and he was so weak that he was practically at death's door. Clearly, the poison in his body had erupted completely.
Moreover, he had suffered severe injuries during his battle with Wu Sancai. Qin An's condition was truly dire.
Faced with his predicament, Qin An did not seem to care. Instead, he stared at Qin Shaofeng in utter disbelief and said, "Young Master, why did you come back? Didn't you run away? And what was that just now? What method did you use to kill Wu Sancai?"
Shock!
It was simply too shocking!
If he had not witnessed what happened with his own eyes, Qin An would never have believed that Qin Shaofeng could kill Wu Sancai.
Even though Wu Sancai had been seriously injured, it was still utterly inconceivable.
That was Wu Sancai—the Black Hand Butcher, a Xiantian Martial Master!
Even seriously wounded, he was absolutely not someone a mere Houtian Martial Artist like Qin Shaofeng could compare with!
"Uncle An, you don't really think I ran off by myself, do you?"
Ignoring Qin An's astonishment, Qin Shaofeng merely smiled faintly at him.
Hearing this, Qin An paused, then smiled as well and said softly, "That's right. You're his son. How could you be timid and afraid of trouble, or cling to life and fear death?"
Qin An's voice grew quieter and quieter, while his entire body grew increasingly gray-black. In the end, he fainted outright.
Damn it, Uncle An's condition is bad!
Panic seized Qin Shaofeng, and he grew anxious.
The fusion of their souls had long since made the Qin Shaofeng from Earth and the Qin Shaofeng of this world indistinguishable from each other.
Thus, Qin Shaofeng truly regarded Qin An as his Uncle An—as his family in this world.
With a family member about to leave him, how could Qin Shaofeng not panic?
Suddenly, Qin Shaofeng thought of something.
"Wu Sancai, right! This is Wu Sancai's poison. He must have an antidote on him!"
With a sudden leap, Qin Shaofeng arrived at the place where Wu Sancai had already turned into a pool of black water. He searched carefully, and just as he expected, he found several bottles and jars within the pool.
Seeing those bottles and jars, Qin Shaofeng was overjoyed. He carefully pulled them out, then activated Fiery Golden Eyes and began examining them.
Soon, a smile appeared on Qin Shaofeng's face.
Just as he had expected, the information detected by Fiery Golden Eyes told him that although many of the bottles contained poison, there were also quite a few antidotes.
Holding the antidotes, Qin Shaofeng quickly returned to Qin An's side.
Qin Shaofeng did not actually understand the poison in Qin An's body. However, after examining those bottles and jars with Fiery Golden Eyes, he had learned quite a bit about them. Judging from Qin An's current condition, he knew which pills he should give him.
Moreover, Qin Shaofeng had spent 300 Points in the system shop to purchase a pill that restored vitality.
Although losing 300 Points in one go hurt, when he saw Qin An's complexion slowly return to normal, Qin Shaofeng no longer felt distressed.
Points could be earned again. But once a life was lost, it was gone forever!
After all this, Qin An's complexion finally improved somewhat.
Only then did Qin Shaofeng let out a slight sigh of relief.
But Qin Shaofeng knew perfectly well that this alone was not enough.
Even if Qin An's poison had been neutralized, his Uncle An had suffered severe injuries. Without timely treatment, he still might not survive.
After thinking briefly, Qin Shaofeng made up his mind. He carried Qin An on his back and vanished into the forest after several successive leaps.
The next day, after traveling for a day and a night, Qin Shaofeng had already brought Qin An back to Lanjiang City from the Black Horn Mountain Range.
Because his cultivation realm had risen and his Inner Qi Points had reached 1,500, Qin Shaofeng had used Wudang Cloud-Treading Steps to travel the entire way, barely resting at all.
Traveling under such conditions was naturally fast, but it placed a tremendous burden on Qin Shaofeng.
Even with abundant Inner Qi in his body, traveling nonstop had left Qin Shaofeng's body unable to bear much more.
Thus, the moment Qin Shaofeng stepped into Qin Manor, he collapsed and could not get back up.
Well, he was not injured or anything. He had simply been too exhausted and fallen asleep.
But his condition gave the servants of Qin Manor a terrible fright. In the end, even Old Master Qin was alarmed.
When Old Master Qin saw Qin Shaofeng and Qin An, his expression changed as well.
With his experienced eye, he could tell that Qin Shaofeng had merely been exhausted and collapsed from fatigue.
But Qin An's condition made him sense that something was wrong.
Although Qin An seemed fine on the surface, the Inner Qi in his body was fluctuating wildly, chaotic and unstable.
This was clearly a case of someone who had suffered severe injuries and barely clung to life!
Old Master Qin had long regarded Qin An as a son of his own. Otherwise, he would never have entrusted him with the Dark Guard, the Qin Family's most important and powerful force.
Without hesitation, Old Master Qin gave orders to settle Qin Shaofeng and Qin An properly. He then sent someone to summon Old Physician Wu.
After a great deal of treatment and commotion, Qin An's life was finally secured.
Although Qin Shaofeng had neutralized Qin An's poison earlier, the combined assault of the poison's eruption and his severe injuries had left Qin An in an utterly dreadful state.
If Qin Shaofeng had not spent those 300 Points to buy a pill that replenished vitality, just to be safe, Qin An probably would not have survived.
That pill had kept Qin An alive. Then, with Old Physician Wu's treatment, Qin An was dragged back from the gates of death.
During this time, Qin An regained consciousness briefly.
Qin An had long believed that he was certain to die. But after seeing Old Master Qin and Old Physician Wu, he seemed to understand something.
Although Old Master Qin desperately wanted to know what his grandson and Qin An had gone through, he did not ask much, wishing to let Qin An rest in peace.
But Old Master Qin understood that something serious had definitely happened.
For one thing, the ten Dark Guards who had gone with Qin An had not returned with Qin Shaofeng and Qin An. This alone gave Old Master Qin a vague suspicion.
Although he had no evidence, Old Master Qin only had to think briefly to know that this matter absolutely could not be separated from the Zhang Family.
Especially after Qin An told him about the Black Hand Butcher, Wu Sancai, Old Master Qin thought of Wu A'da and Wu A'er. This made him even more certain that the Zhang Family had been behind it.
The Zhang Family had added another blood debt!
In his daze, Qin Shaofeng seemed to feel something furry rubbing back and forth against his face.
He opened his eyes, and everything before him felt extremely familiar.
This is... my room?
Oh, right. I'm back!
Just as Qin Shaofeng was coming to his senses, a flash of white swept across his face. A fluffy, snow-white tail suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Bai Xue?
Bai Xue was Qin Shaofeng's Battle Beast, the Hundred Spirits Demon Fox. Little Yue'er had given her this name because she said the fox's fur was snow-white from head to toe, just like snow, so she had named her Bai Xue.
The Hundred Spirits Demon Fox seemed quite pleased with the name. Qin Shaofeng simply went along with Little Yue'er's wishes and named her Bai Xue.
With her soft, smooth, snow-white fur and incredibly adorable appearance, Bai Xue was dearly loved by Little Yue'er. Bai Xue seemed fond of Little Yue'er as well. She was almost always with her, practically inseparable. Wherever Little Yue'er was, Bai Xue was there too.
At one point, this made Qin Shaofeng suspect that his first Battle Beast was planning to betray him and switch masters.
However, after seeing how much happiness and laughter Bai Xue brought Little Yue'er, Qin Shaofeng no longer felt there was anything wrong with it.
If Bai Xue is here, then...
Qin Shaofeng turned his head slightly. Before long, he saw a petite figure lying beside his bed.
It was none other than Little Yue'er!
Perhaps because she was too tired, the little girl had already fallen deeply asleep.
Yet even so, she had not returned to her own room. Instead, she had stayed by Qin Shaofeng's side to guard him. A tender warmth rose unbidden in Qin Shaofeng's heart, and he reached out, fumbling toward the little girl's head.
"Mm!"
As if sensing it, the little girl let out a comfortable hum. Then she suddenly froze and opened her hazy eyes, lifting her head.
"Young Master, you're awake!"
Seeing that Qin Shaofeng had regained consciousness, the little girl's drowsiness vanished instantly. She looked at Qin Shaofeng with delight, the beautiful crescent moons appearing on her little face once more.
"Mm!" Qin Shaofeng nodded gently.
The little girl immediately stood up and happily began chattering away to Qin Shaofeng.
Soon, through his conversation with the little girl, Qin Shaofeng learned that he had been unconscious for a day and a night.
This gave Qin Shaofeng quite a fright. But recalling how recklessly he had traveled without considering his body's limits, sleeping for a day and a night was actually the best possible outcome.
As for Qin An's condition, Qin Shaofeng learned from the little girl that he had now completely passed the danger period. His life was fully out of danger, and all that remained was for him to recuperate for some time.
However, this near-fatal severe injury had not left Qin An without aftereffects.
After suffering severe injuries while the poison was erupting, even if Qin An could recover, his cultivation seemed to have been affected by the ordeal. His foundation had been damaged, and he would probably be forced to stop at the Xiantian First Layer for the rest of his life.
After learning this, Qin Shaofeng felt deeply guilty.
But when he went to see Qin An and asked about it, Qin An merely smiled and comforted him instead.
"Cultivation isn't important. What matters is that you and I survived!"
That was right!
Being able to survive was already the most important thing. What more could they ask for?
Before you continue