Feeling the fullness of his qi and blood rapidly gathering within him, Chen Jing slowly exhaled a mouthful of stale air. Only then did his taut nerves finally relax completely.
He took a waterskin from his pack, twisted off the stopper, and drank the remaining water in one go.
Then he went to the Dragon-Horned Crocodile's corpse, positioned the mouth of the waterskin over the neck wound he had cut earlier, and poured in every last drop of its blood essence.
Once he had finished, Chen Jing turned and hurried off in the direction of Red Rock County.
The sky had just begun to darken. A faint glow of sunset still lingered on the horizon, and the evening breeze brushed his face, dispersing the swamp's lingering stench of blood and decay.
The gates of Red Rock County had yet to close, and plenty of people were still coming and going.
Chen Jing quickened his pace, entered the city without a hitch, and headed straight for the newly acquired residence beside the Zhuang Family's home.
Before he even reached the courtyard gate, he saw the dim glow of an oil lamp within and heard familiar voices speaking.
Chen Jing pushed open the gate. In the courtyard, his eldest sister, Chen Chunhe, and second sister, Chen Chunmiao, were busy tidying up. Both wore simple, everyday coarse-cloth clothes, and fine beads of sweat dotted their foreheads.
Chen Jing walked over, beaming with delight. "Eldest Sister, Second Sister, why are you still cleaning? Come on, take a break!"
At the sound of his voice, the two turned around together. When they saw Chen Jing had returned, smiles immediately spread across their faces.
Chen Chunhe wiped the sweat from her forehead and gave Chen Jing an affectionate, reproachful look. "Xiaojing, you're finally back! If Father