Pledge of Allegiance

"There's a quote from someone in your Outer World that I really like," Shadow said, sitting by the campfire and watching the flames dance. "People don't live a lifetime, or a few years, months, or days, but rather a few moments. That quote is so beautiful. When I look through the Outer World books that Si Nianhua and the others brought me, I even feel a little moved."

Shadow: "Rather than wasting my life in mediocrity, I feel that I have lived a very brilliant life. I have a lover and have stood on the mountaintop to see different scenery... So Xiao Chen, don't feel sad for me. Just treat me as a scene on your life's journey."

Qing Chen complained, "Next time I come back, I'll challenge myself to a Life and Death Trial, then have someone deliver the news of my death to you, and see if you can still be so calm. You're just talking without understanding the situation. If I were the one dying, I wouldn't be so relaxed."

Shadow: "... Okay, okay, I won't say anything more."

Qing Chen said, "From now on, you should stop using your abilities. I will find rare plants myself in the future; you don't need to come."

Shadow: "Okay, okay, I won't rob anyone."

The conversation between the older and younger brothers was extremely strange.

Neither of them was afraid of death; on the contrary, they were more afraid of the grief of losing their loved ones.

Qing Chen truly didn't want Yingzi to waste her life searching for rare plants anymore.

By this time, Qing Chen had already grilled the Dragon Fish. He used a wooden stick to skewer the Dragon Fish, grilling the fish until the outside was crispy and the inside tender.

The fish was placed in a bag and marinated with ginger juice and chopped green onions for two hours. There was no fishy smell at all. Qing Chen then sprinkled some salt on it to keep the fish fresh and tender.

Sun Chuci and Tuanzi, who were standing nearby, were so envious they cried.

Today is the last Dragon Fish for Yang Yang and Xiao Mengqian. After eating it, they can complete their transformation.

Qing Chen called out, "Mengqian, come and eat the fish."

Xiao Mengqian shouted, "The tent is almost set up, boss, I'm coming right away!"

Just now, while he was securing the tent with rivets, he accidentally punched his finger.

But he just blew on it and continued working.

I don't know when it started, but certain beliefs have become his obsessions.

He didn't know how to get onto that path, but he was just unwilling to give up.

Yang Yang complained, "Are you really going to let him do all the work? Look at the wounds on his hands, you can hardly see the lines on them anymore. He's still a child."

Qing Chen shook his head and said, "He chose this path himself, I don't care."

Yang Yang sighed. In fact, she supported Qing Chen in her heart because she knew what Qing Chen had been through on his journey. To walk a path with nine deaths and one life, one must indeed have the strongest will.

Qing Chen opened the compressed biscuits he had brought and carefully ate them, not leaving even a crumb behind.

Watching this scene, Shadow knew that this was a habit Qing Chen had developed after leaving Base A0.

At this moment, Zhang Mengqian came over and sat down, carefully eating all the fish meat. She cleaned every fish bone, and her eating manner was exactly the same as Qing Chen's. Even the way she ate by the campfire was almost identical.

After looking at Zhang Mengqian for a while, Yingzi chuckled. She realized that Zhang Mengqian actually bore a resemblance to Qing Chen.

When Yang Yang and Zhang Mengqian ate their last Dragon Fish, Thunderclap sounds emanated from their bodies. The warm currents flowing through their bodies stimulated their bones to undergo transformation, as if waves of electricity were constantly flowing through them.

Zhang Mengqian shut down her mechanical eye, and the sudden increase in her heightened hearing allowed her to hear every subtle change in the world.

The sound of insects crawling out of the soil in spring, rustling over dead branches and decaying leaves.

New, tender branches sprouted from the tree trunk, their sounds slow and soft.

A breeze blew from the horizon, sketching out the shape of the world in his mind.

It has no color, but it is more vivid.

The changes brought about by the Dragon Fish were extraordinary, which delighted Zhang Mengqian.

Just then, he heard the sound of an engine approaching from afar.

"Boss, someone's here," Zhang Mengqian, opening her eyes and pointing east.

Everyone looked east, and soon dozens of off-road vehicles appeared on the distant horizon, their flashing headlights casting huge beams of light.

The car was still playing loud and jarring music, and the people inside were swaying to the music.

After pondering for a moment, Shadow said, "The spring hunt of the Qing and Li families has begun."

Last time, Qing Chen encountered Qiu Shou in Forbidden Zone No. 00, and this time, he encountered Chun Shou.

All of this helped him recall the days he spent traveling with his master.

However, this time is different.

Qing Chen calmly said, "Zard, puncture all these people's tires. Don't let them continue south, and don't even let them get close."

"Alright," Zard chuckled as he turned into a cloud of sand and flowed to the ground.

The next moment, the ground began to ripple like water.

A sapling was underground, rapidly approaching the convoy.

Inside the car, amidst deafening music, the driver of the lead car suddenly turned down the volume and asked in confusion, "Have you seen a small sapling moving rapidly on the ground? There's a red fruit growing on that sapling."

The young man in the passenger seat, who was still having fun, looked towards the road ahead.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed in astonishment.

A closer look reveals that it's not the convoy that's rapidly approaching a sapling, but rather the sapling that's rapidly approaching them!

Moreover, right next to the sapling, the soil in the wilderness was being strangely stirred.

"Stop the car! Stop the car! Something's fishy!" someone shouted.

But it was too late.

Before the convoy of the Spring Hunt could even get within 00 meters, one after another, tires burst while driving at high speed.

If Zard hadn't used mud to bind the tires of these off-road vehicles, they would all have likely rolled over.

Bunches of soil rose from the ground, firmly locking all the vehicle wheels to the ground.

Shadow chuckled as he looked at Qing Chen: "Didn't you travel with the Autumn Hunting Team for a while last time? Why aren't you going with them this time? It's more fun with more people. I'd like to see what kind of people the Qing and Li families are these days."

Qing Chen shook his head. "There's nothing to see. Those who participate in the Autumn Hunt and Spring Hunt are all spoiled brats; there's no need to get acquainted with them. I've already shown my face at the immigration gate in City No. 10, so any group that inexplicably approaches now is suspicious. Of course, even if it really is a Spring Hunt group, I'm leaving them here for their own good, to save them from going south to their deaths. This battle is not something they can participate in; even just catching a glimpse from afar could cost them their lives."

At this point, he used a bucket of water that Zard had brought to extinguish the campfire and ordered everyone to hide behind tree trunks.

There were no fools in this team, so no one questioned Qing Chen, and they all obediently hid.

Except for shadows.

He hid behind a tree and asked Qing Chen with a smile, "Do we need to be so cautious? They're just a bunch of kids."

Qing Chen glanced at him expressionlessly. "Only if I'm cautious can I avoid a situation where you have to waste your life. Please, as long as I'm alive, don't interfere again."

The shadow paused for a moment.

It seems that ever since he was once again attacked by the power tonight, Qing Chen has suddenly changed his attitude and started to control him, not letting him steal things or take action to deal with crises.

However, the most fundamental purpose is to prevent him from using his abilities to overdraw his life force.

When has a shadow ever been controlled by anyone?

Even the dignified and solemn head of the Qing family allowed him to do as he pleased.

Previously, leaders from various factions of the Qing clan went to the patriarch to complain that Shadow was domineering, acted eccentrically, and disregarded the rules.

But the head of the family rarely said anything to the shadow.

During a shadow meeting within the Qing clan, the shadow once jokingly told the leaders of various factions within the Qing clan, "The person who can control me has not yet been born."

Back then, the shadow was sharp and cunning, and its actions were elusive and unpredictable.

Just like this robbery of Chen Yu and Li Bingxi, who would have thought that he released the news to scare away the two demigods, but he was only eyeing their vegetable garden?

Now, suddenly someone has started to discipline his shadow, and aside from feeling a little uncomfortable, he also feels a sense of warmth...

The shadow muttered under its breath, "This is fucking terrible!"

My mother passed away early, and my father was someone who locked himself in the Black Room every day, so no one ever cared about him.

Wrong.

Some.

The woman named Ning Xiu had managed him before; Qing Chen was the second.

Thinking of this, Shadow suddenly laughed.

However, at that moment, dozens of people suddenly jumped out of the off-road vehicles from the cars behind the Spring Hunting Convoy.

They advanced rapidly in tactical formation.

The other half of the passengers on the bus stared in utter horror and confusion. How could they, who had come together on this spring hunt, suddenly turn into assassins?!

Not everyone in this convoy has ulterior motives.

At this moment.

Two other people climbed onto the roof of the vehicle, where they set up their sniper rifles and used night vision goggles to aim into the woods.

One of them held his breath. He knew very well that there was a sniper god in the woods, and he also knew what he needed to do at this distance with a sniper rifle: do not try to adjust your breathing, you must find the target in the shortest time, and then pull the trigger.

At that moment, he saw the other person's figure through the night vision scope.

But what he saw was Qing Chen holding an anti-material sniper rifle that looked like a cannon, and had already pulled the trigger.

With a deafening roar, a long bullet shot out from the muzzle of the Black Sniper rifle, piercing through the sniper's barrel like lightning.

The sniper had just pulled the trigger, before he could even fire the bullet, when it met Qing Chen's bullet inside the barrel. The entire barrel exploded, blinding the sniper.

Meanwhile, the sniper on the other car roof had already been knocked over and tilted away by Zard using dirt.

This small sapling that kept moving on the ground was as terrifying as a land shark, destroying all resistance wherever it went.

Qing Chen fired shot after shot, and in just a few seconds, he had decimated the advancing troops.

He held his breath and listened intently to the sounds coming from the woods behind him, but there was nothing there; no one was attacking from behind.

He asked with some doubt, "Who would send these chickens and dogs to kill us?"

The shadow laughed, "This isn't an assassin, it's cannon fodder."

"What's the point of cannon fodder?" Qing Chen asked. "They're so weak... they can't even deplete our energy."

"Because Chen Yu and Li Bingxi want to join forces with certain members of the Qing family, they need those members of the Qing family to Pledge of Allegiance," Shadow explained with a smile. "These people are just ordinary soldiers. I can find out who's behind them in less than a month by using their identities. So, once this group of soldiers is sent to attack us, there's no turning back. We have to go all the way."

Chen Yu and Li Bingxi are both intelligent people. They will not believe the one-sided story of some members of the Qing family unless the other party has no way out.

Of course, given their personalities, these Pledge of Allegiance are probably only a part of what's expected.

They will definitely wait until the most crucial moment to make their move.

The shadow said, "It's truly gratifying that someone from the Qing Clan has made a move. They've waited for so many years, yet they've all been cowardly and have long forgotten the courage and spirit of their ancestors. The Qing Clan of the day our ancestor Qing Zhen trod the snow-covered Ginkgo Mountain was the true Qing Clan. Now, they're merely clinging to life in the shell of the Qing Clan."

Qing Chen muttered, "They're all here to kill you, so why are they so happy?"

"They're not here to kill me, they're here to kill us," the shadow explained cheerfully. "They'd rather see you die than me."

"Why?" Qing Chen asked, puzzled.

"Some people may have guessed your identity, so they worry that the patriarch will continue to plot your inheritance of the Qing family," Shadow said patiently. "There's something I need to tell you. Outsiders only know that the Shadow Struggle is dangerous, but they don't know that the sons of past patriarchs who participate in the Shadow Struggle never live past the age of zero. They are bound to face both open and covert attacks. Those collateral branches are willing to participate in the Shadow Struggle and absolutely do not want to see the Qing family become the exclusive property of one lineage... Don't underestimate the power of the Qing family's collateral branches. They have survived for nearly ten years under the shadow of my rule and have been planning for ten years. Xiao Chen, the people of the Qing family are all wolf cubs, but some will grow into jackals and some will grow into wolf kings."

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment, which is why some people wanted to poison the shadows after the Shadow Struggle began.

But in the end, she killed Ning Xiu.

Once the head of the family's son participates in the Shadow Struggle, he will become the first target of everyone. The real Shadow Struggle will only begin after the head of the family's son has been eliminated.

Originally, even shadows were destined to die and would be attacked.

But he stepped into the realm of demigods in one step, and had no rivals left.

Therefore, people from all factions could only grit their teeth and accept the situation, waiting for the shadow to die.

But now that they know the head of the family actually has a younger son, the collateral branches of the Qing family have gone mad. If they don't take action now, they will never have a chance to rise to power.

Qing Chen asked, "But... why couldn't it have been done by the patriarch? For example, the death of Sister Ning Xiu, or the people in the Qing family who wanted to kill you this time?"

Shadow suddenly said seriously, "Xiao Chen, I choose to believe him. Of course, you can believe him like I do, or you can not. It's all up to you. Be careful of Qing Shi's father, and also be careful of Qing Wen's mother. Both of them... are crazy."

Qing Chen fell silent.

Based on reasoning, the person who could prevent the shadow from finding the murderer was the head of the Qing family.

There are probably no more than five people in the world capable of doing this.

But the shadow didn't suspect the family head at all?

No, Qing Chen knew he couldn't do it. His biggest suspect right now was the family head, and all investigations would begin around him.

He asked, "But... how did they guess my identity?"

The shadow said with a smile, "I said it."

Qing Chen: "..."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Shadow retorted. "If I don't offer enough temptation, how will they make a move? And if they don't make a move, why will Chen Yu and Li Bingxi come?"

Standing in the woods, Qing Chen grumbled, "You should have just gone into the lion's den yourself! Why did you throw me in? Now it's not just the Chen family, Shendai, and Kashima who want to kill me, but the Qing family too. What, am I public enemy number one?"

The shadow said, "So many people want to kill you, what's one more Qing family?"

"You, the dignified Shadow of the Qing Clan, shouldn't try to act cute with your accent after selling your younger brother... So, you want to kill a demigod?" Qing Chen asked after a long silence.

Shadow shook his head. "I was confident in my prime, but not now. However, I have my own plans."

Zhang Mengqian and the others hid to the side. In such a tense atmosphere, the older and younger brothers actually started chatting.

Can you two at least show some respect for the cannon fodder?!

Shadow said, "Let's keep heading south. The journey to Forbidden Zone No. 00 might not be peaceful."

A 4400-word chapter.

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