Rat Snake

Xu Qing fell silent and did not try to persuade them again. As the saying went, good words could not persuade a ghost bent on dying. Because Xu Qing carried the Ghost Mask, he was relatively sensitive to yin qi, Killing Intent, ghost qi, and the like.

Actually.

After the little old man and his group appeared, Xu Qing had sensed through the Ghost Mask that wisps of sinister Killing Intent lingered around them.

That was why.

He had spoken up earlier, telling them not to let lust cloud their minds and do that sort of thing in a place like this.

What a pity.

Those people simply would not listen.

In the end.

Of the fifteen members in Patrol Squad No. 13 led by Xu Qing, three stayed behind and used coarse flatbread to complete a deal with the little old man.

Then.

The three of them walked off to one side amid laughter and chatter.

"Let's go."

Xu Qing shook his head and withdrew his gaze. "We'll make a round and come back. They should be finished by then, and we can have them rejoin the squad."

"Yes."

"Understood."

"..."

The others nodded respectfully.

The group left.

Faintly.

Intermittent panting drifted over, sounding somewhat hurried.

Half an hour later.

Xu Qing and the others had made a full round of their patrol area and returned to where the deal had taken place, but the three men were nowhere to be seen.

Likewise.

They could not find the little old man or his companions either.

They had all vanished without a trace.

"Where are they?"

"Why have they disappeared?"

"..."

At once.

Everyone was stunned.

"Maybe they aren't finished yet?"

"That enduring?"

"..."

The group exchanged a few remarks.

Xu Qing, however, said nothing.

After that.

Xu Qing and the others made several more patrol rounds, yet still did not see anyone.

At this point.

They finally realized something was wrong.

"Those damned beggars and refugees actually dared lay hands on us?!"

"Are they tired of living?"

"..."

The next moment.

Anger rose in everyone's hearts.

"What do we do?"

Su Changhe frowned.

"This..."

Liu Xiao pondered, looking toward Xu Qing.

"I already warned them before, told them not to do that sort of thing in such an unclean place. But their lust had gone to their heads, and they insisted on ignoring me."

Xu Qing shrugged.

"That may be true."

Su Changhe shook his head, drew a deep breath, and swept his gaze over the others.

Among the members.

Three were from the Tiger Head Escort Agency, and one of the three missing men was from the Tiger Head Escort Agency.

"What do you intend to do?"

Xu Qing asked.

"Alive, I want to see the man. Dead, I want to see the body."

Su Changhe said in a deep voice, "Brother Xu, rest assured. I won't force the whole squad to search with me, but I must find the man from the Tiger Head Escort Agency."

"Mm."

Xu Qing merely nodded.

Afterward.

Su Changhe led his men away, their faces dark as they followed the footprints left behind and searched ahead. At the same time, they questioned the refugees and disaster victims in the area.

In fact.

Among the three missing men.

The Tiger Head Escort Agency, the Red Snake Gang, and the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School had each lost one person.

"And you?"

Xu Qing looked at Liu Xiao.

"Forget it."

Liu Xiao said.

"Then continue patrolling."

Xu Qing said.

Actually.

Xu Qing understood perfectly well that as more and more refugees and disaster victims gathered, some heretical cultivators would naturally be hiding among them.

They might even draw in some Demonic Evils.

One had to know.

For heretical cultivators, this kind of situation was exactly what they loved most. They were best at stirring up trouble, then drawing on resentment, foul qi, death qi, yin qi, and the like to cultivate.

As for sinister entities.

Their nature was even more unpredictable.

No matter what kind of heretical cultivator or Demonic Evil you are, just don't come provoke me.

Xu Qing thought to himself.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye.

It was six in the morning the next day.

Xu Qing's patrol shift had ended.

"Time to head back."

Xu Qing stretched and yawned, looking somewhat tired. It was already six o'clock, and the sky was faintly brightening.

Su Changhe's expression was rather ugly.

Clearly.

He had found nothing at all.

"Don't dwell on it."

Xu Qing patted Su Changhe on the shoulder and consoled him. "Just be more careful next time you patrol. Don't lower your guard, and don't act recklessly again."

"Huff... Mm."

Su Changhe took a deep breath. He said nothing more and simply nodded.

The scene shifted.

Half an hour later.

Xu Qing had returned home.

Yu Hu happened to arrive carrying a steaming bowl of eight treasures congee. Naturally, Wang Cuilan had cooked it. Yu Hu entered with a broad smile.

"Master, have some congee."

Yu Hu said.

"Alright."

Xu Qing smiled.

Whether it was dumplings, beef noodles, or this bowl of congee, they were all merely a drop in the bucket for Xu Qing. Ordinary food could no longer satisfy his daily needs.

If he ate foods such as dumplings, beef noodles, and eight treasures congee, he could consume enormous amounts—enough to eat even a wealthy family into ruin.

For martial artists.

What they needed was spirit food.

Without spirit food.

A martial artist's strength would weaken noticeably. Their stamina and energy would become insufficient, leaving them unable to display their true power.

Therefore.

The dumplings, beef noodles, and bowl of eight treasures congee Yu Hu brought were more a form of human warmth to Xu Qing, easing some of his loneliness.

"Practice your fists."

After finishing the congee, Xu Qing barked at Yu Hu.

"Yes, Master."

Yu Hu answered respectfully.

An hour later.

Xu Qing had Yu Hu leave. For some reason, Yu Hu had grown increasingly clever. By Xu Qing's original estimate, Yu Hu would likely not master LV3 Eight Extremities Fist before the end of this winter, but now it seemed possible that he would succeed within a month.

Although Yu Hu had spent quite some time entering the realm of Ming Jin, he was still young. Coupled with the cleverness he now displayed, he could be considered a minor prodigy.

Next.

Xu Qing continued practicing his fists at home. Though he had not slept the previous night, his energy remained abundant and he did not feel tired, so he kept training to increase his experience points.

Clang!

The next moment.

Xu Qing drew the Fine Iron Sword and practiced the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking.

Time flew by.

Before he knew it.

It was almost noon. He then slept for another two hours, and it was suddenly two in the afternoon.

"So soon?"

Xu Qing woke up. After eating a pound of Black Mountain Tiger Meat, he prepared to leave the courtyard for his patrol shift. Just as one foot stepped beyond the courtyard gate.

"Hm?"

Xu Qing stopped and gave a soft cry of surprise. At his front gate, he saw a Rat Snake frozen stiff from head to tail.

"A snake?"

Xu Qing examined it. The snake was two and a half meters long, thick-bodied, black all over with yellow mottled patterns resembling cauliflower. Several yellow bands crossed the front part of its body. The top of its head was brownish-yellow, its scale edges black, forming a black longitudinal line beneath its tail. On its forehead was a black marking shaped like the character "King."

Therefore.

The Rat Snake was also known as the King Rat Snake.

"It isn't dead."

Xu Qing was surprised. He had not expected to encounter such a Rat Snake in the depths of winter. "Snakes generally hibernate during winter."

"Yet this snake appeared at my doorstep."

"Also."

"At two and a half meters long, it already counts as large among Rat Snakes. It has been frozen into a stick, yet it still hasn't died."

"Interesting."

Xu Qing smiled.

"The Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique has now reached LV8, but to this day, I have yet to command a true beast companion."

Xu Qing pondered. "This Rat Snake seems fated to meet me. Then you shall become my first beast companion."

"Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique!"

Buzz!

Xu Qing did not hesitate. He drew his iron sword and cut open the pad of his middle finger. A drop of scarlet blood fell, yet under the influence of Xu Qing's inner force, it hovered in midair.

Xu Qing formed hand seals. In the unseen realm, he refined his own spirit into the blood, forming the 'Beast Taming Blood Curse,' which then slowly descended toward the Rat Snake on the ground.

Drip!

The blood landed on the Rat Snake's forehead, seeping into its body precisely where the "King" marking was. Thus, the Beast Taming Blood Curse was successfully cast.

Very quickly.

Xu Qing established a connection with the Rat Snake.

However.

The Rat Snake was unconscious and unable to respond.

Therefore.

Xu Qing crouched down, extended his right hand, circulated the pellet force within his body, and sent his own qi and blood into the Rat Snake's body. It took about half a minute.

The Rat Snake woke up.

It had already been pulled back from the brink of death.

"Not bad."

Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

The Rat Snake was extremely docile, coiled at Xu Qing's feet. Its snake eyes held a fawning look, and there was vaguely a faint spark of awareness.

Unfortunately.

The Rat Snake was only an ordinary snake; it could not possess true, complete spirituality.

"Record."

Buzz!

With a thought from Xu Qing, his consciousness connected with the Omni-Codex and acted upon the Rat Snake. A flash of white light passed over the Rat Snake.

Recording successful!

At the same time.

Information came from the Omni-Codex.

Rat Snake LV1: 0/10 (This was an utterly ordinary Rat Snake, possessing considerable constricting strength and sharp fangs.)

"It worked."

A delighted smile appeared on Xu Qing's face. "Not bad, not bad. It really worked."

"Hahaha..."

Xu Qing laughed aloud.

Besides.

Xu Qing had also learned how to level up the Rat Snake.

"For the Rat Snake to gain experience, it needs to eat. For every ten jin of meat it eats, it can gain one point of experience."

Xu Qing pondered inwardly and glanced at the Rat Snake. "Looks like I'll be raising a huge glutton from now on. It takes ten jin of meat just to gain one point of experience."

Of course.

Spirit food could be used as well.

However.

The Rat Snake was currently just an utterly ordinary snake. With its present physical condition, after eating spirit food, it would be completely unable to absorb or digest it. It would most likely burst apart and die.

Therefore.

At the very beginning.

He still had to let the Rat Snake eat ordinary meat. Once it leveled up and was no longer an ordinary snake, he could let it eat meat such as spirit food.

For example, the Tai Sui Spirit Meat Xu Qing had been eating all along.

After thinking it over.

Xu Qing had the Rat Snake remain at his residence, then called Yu Chen over and told him to buy some pork from the market.

"Meat is very expensive now," Yu Chen said.

"Go," Xu Qing said. "Buy a hundred jin. I'll give you the silver when you return."