The next day.
Lin Ze sat cross-legged on the bed. With each breath, wisps of pale white Dou Qi flowed into him.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked at A-Er, who was also sitting cross-legged on a chair. A satisfied look appeared in his eyes.
For convenience, Lin Ze had named the two Death Soldiers A-Da and A-Er, according to the order in which he had summoned them.
Although the Death Soldiers looked much like people of flesh and blood, they were completely different from ordinary people.
They did not need to rest by sleeping like ordinary people.
It was only last night that Lin Ze learned the Death Soldiers could also absorb Flesh Essence.
They simply absorbed it differently from him.
Lin Ze absorbed it directly by touching the flesh and drawing it into the Bronze Mirror.
They, on the other hand, absorbed it by eating!
Lin Ze had gone out yesterday and bought some Magical Beast meat.
He had watched them eat every last piece of the simply marinated Magical Beast meat.
According to A-Da and A-Er, eating flesh was how they rested.
Some of the flesh that entered their bodies became energy for their activities, while the rest was transformed into Flesh Essence.
Although they did not need to sleep and rest like ordinary people, they still needed to take in energy.
If they went too long without taking in energy, they would starve to death.
Lin Ze was quite pleased with this.
If the Death Soldiers could absorb Flesh Essence too, it would save him a lot of time.
Yesterday, Lin Ze had used the Bronze Mirror to control A-Da and stab Liu Dali with the Poisoned Dagger.
Afterward, Lin Ze had controlled A-Da and sent him straight into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
He had ordered him to hunt Magical Beasts on the outskirts of the range.
As for A-Er, he had stayed in the room to cultivate.
If danger arose, A-Er could buy him some time when it mattered.
Lin Ze focused his thoughts, and the Bronze Mirror appeared before him.
Two hazy white lights represented A-Da and A-Er.
Lin Ze checked on A-Da and saw that he had been wandering around the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
After receiving Lin Ze's orders, A-Da had gained a degree of autonomy.
With A-Da's current strength, he hadn't even reached Dou Disciple Stage 1.
He would be doomed if he ran into a First Order Magical Beast.
So Lin Ze had told A-Da to do what he could.
As Lin Ze watched, A-Da happened to kill an ordinary beast that hadn't reached the first order.
On the Dou Qi Continent, besides Magical Beasts of the first and second order, there were also many ordinary animals.
Those ordinary animals were A-Da's targets.
Although Liu Dali had only been an ordinary member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, Lin Ze had sent A-Da into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to lie low, just in case.
After checking on him for a while longer, Lin Ze took his gold coins and went out.
He had only two things to do today: buy medicine and buy meat.
The medicine was to treat his injuries; the meat was to obtain Flesh Essence.
As he went about his errands, Lin Ze also paid attention to the conversations around him.
Just as he'd expected, Liu Dali's death had caused only a minor stir.
It was mentioned only by a few mercenaries.
After all, no matter what, Liu Dali had been nothing more than an ordinary mercenary in the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
Even though the Wolf Head Mercenary Group was one of the Three Great Mercenary Groups in Qingshan Town, the death of one ordinary member wouldn't become common knowledge throughout the entire town.
The people from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group didn't suspect Lin Ze at all.
Although the people who had been with Liu Dali yesterday hadn't caught A-Da, they had at least gotten a clear look at his build.
The attacker had been robust and quick.
That was completely different from Lin Ze's build.
Besides, Lin Ze had been beaten badly just yesterday morning. It was already difficult for him to walk, let alone move with the attacker's agility.
Listening to the mercenaries' occasional chatter, Lin Ze entered Wan Yao Zhai.
Nearby, two mercenaries watched Lin Ze limp into Wan Yao Zhai.
One of them turned to the other and said, "Captain, I saw the attacker with my own eyes. Judging by his build and movements, this kid looks nothing like the one who attacked Liu Dali yesterday."
The captain nodded and said thoughtfully, "Then it probably wasn't him."
The mercenary thought for a moment, then offered another possibility.
"Captain, do you think he might hold a grudge and have hired someone to kill Liu Dali?"
At that, the captain smacked the mercenary on the head.
"Our Wolf Head Mercenary Group might not be especially powerful, but we still have clout in Qingshan Town."
"If someone were willing to take the risk and offend our group, how much do you think they'd have to pay?"
"Most of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's mercenaries have joined our group. We can use that as an excuse to take over the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's headquarters and property, too!"
"That kid probably doesn't have much money left. I doubt he could afford to hire a killer."
Hearing the captain's well-reasoned argument, the mercenary finally nodded.
"Liu Dali must have made a lot of enemies. Good thing the other guy wasn't strong, or I'd have been in trouble too!" the mercenary said, still shaken.
The captain nodded, glanced at Wan Yao Zhai, then said to the mercenary, "Let's go. That kid probably can't cause any trouble. Our group has taken in the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's men, so we shouldn't go after him and risk making those brothers resent us."
Lin Ze had no idea what the men outside Wan Yao Zhai had been discussing.
He entered Wan Yao Zhai and immediately spotted Xiao Yi Xian, dressed in a white gown, her long black hair tied back with a grass cord and her demeanor gentle and fragile.
Most mercenaries went into the mountains to hunt during the day, so there weren't many people in Wan Yao Zhai at that moment. Lin Ze waited in line for a while, and soon it was his turn.
Xiao Yi Xian saw Lin Ze and paused in surprise.
Then she carefully examined his injuries and spoke to him softly. "Lin Ze, don't do anything rash. You can't afford to provoke the Wolf Head Mercenary Group right now."
Seeing Xiao Yi Xian carefully tend to his injuries and express her concern so gently, Lin Ze smiled faintly.
"I understand. Thank you."
Xiao Yi Xian looked up, a hint of surprise in her eyes, and glanced at Lin Ze.
Compared with the last time she'd seen him, Lin Ze seemed much more mature and composed.
She sighed inwardly. Trials and hardships really could make a person grow up quickly.
But that kind of rapid growth often came with pain and separation.
Looking at the young man's still-somewhat-youthful face, Xiao Yi Xian nodded slightly.
"Good. As long as you understand. We've known each other for so many years, and I... I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."
Xiao Yi Xian paused at the end, but still managed to say the last sentence.
Lin Ze nodded slightly, recalling how he had met Xiao Yi Xian.
How could mercenaries hunt Magical Beasts without getting injured?
In the past, Lin Ze had come to Wan Yao Zhai with people from the Iron Blood Mercenary Group to get treated.
Back then, Xiao Yi Xian's medical skills weren't yet good enough for her to handle things on her own.
Gradually, Lin Ze had become a mercenary too, and he started coming to Wan Yao Zhai by himself for treatment.
That was when Xiao Yi Xian began treating him.
After running into each other again and again, the two had come to know each other.
But they were only ordinary friends.
They saw each other at Wan Yao Zhai, but aside from that, they had no closer connection.
Once she had finished treating him, Lin Ze took the medicine Xiao Yi Xian had prepared and brought out some gold coins to pay. Xiao Yi Xian hesitated, but accepted them.
Xiao Yi Xian worried Lin Ze might misunderstand and think she pitied him, felt sorry for him, or even looked down on him, so she accepted the gold coins.
"Take good care of yourself. You should be better in a day or two at most."
Lin Ze nodded slightly and smiled. "Thank you, Xiao Yi Xian."
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