Squelch!
The dagger came out, and hot blood sprayed all over Xu Chao's face.
The noble youth could no longer utter a word. There was unwillingness and regret in his eyes.
Xu Chao gave him a gentle push. His body fell to the side, twitched and struggled twice, then went completely still.
"Actually, you could have just broken his neck, or shoved the knife through his mouth. That way, you wouldn't have gotten blood sprayed all over your face," Qin Xun said mildly, his arms folded.
Xu Chao stood up and looked at Qin Xun. "Sure enough, each generation is more ruthless than the last. When I was your age, my hands shook whenever I killed someone."
"My hands shook the first time I killed someone too."
"Now that the hidden danger has been removed, we can go back and get a good night's sleep. We'll set off tomorrow morning before daybreak."
Xu Chao crouched down again, stripped the three of all their money and valuables, then retrieved the demon token and tossed it to Qin Xun.
"Keep this token. It might come in handy!"
After carrying the four bodies into the bushes and giving them a simple burial, the two walked out of the woods.
Xu Chao crouched by the lake and washed the blood from his face with the clear water.
After washing the blood off himself, he went over and said a word to Chen Qiao, who was packing up, then returned to his room to sleep.
The other guests didn't stay any longer either. After packing their things, they left one after another.
Traveling at night was indeed unsafe.
But if the youth brought the Guard Team over in the middle of the night, people like them, whose backgrounds weren't clean, would only be in even more trouble.
In the middle of the night, Xu Chao opened his eyes as he lay in bed.
"What's poking my butt?"
"My knife!"
"Knife?"
"Yeah, I always sleep with a knife!"
"Then if you have a nightmare after falling asleep, won't you stab around under the covers?"
"Possibly, but I don't have nightmares very often. If you're scared, I can put it under the pillow."
"Put it under the pillow. I'm not scared; I'm mostly worried you'll cut yourself when you roll over."
"Don't worry about that. I've never cut myself."
"All right, I'm scared! I'm scared, okay?!"
Early the next morning, dawn was just breaking, and the sky was turning fish-belly white.
A thin layer of white mist shrouded the forest, gradually dispersing as daylight came.
On the shore.
Xu Chao handed Chen Qiao a slip of paper. "If you ever need my help with anything, you can find me here."
Chen Qiao opened the slip and glanced at it. After memorizing the address, she destroyed it. "Are you sure you don't want us to give you a ride?"
"No need. Didn't you say you had a motorcycle? Just leave that for us!"
"All right, but the brakes on that motorcycle might not be very good."
"It's fine. I'll just ride slowly."
Led by Chen Qiao, the group took a narrow path to the roadside.
In the woods a little way down from the road, Chen Qiao lifted a piece of camouflage cloth, revealing a black pickup truck.
Beside the pickup was a battered two-wheeled motorcycle.
Chen Qiao tossed the motorcycle key to Xu Chao. "The tank's full. It should have no problem going two hundred li."
"Thanks. Mountains and rivers meet again; if fate allows, we'll meet again!"
"If fate allows, we'll meet again." Chen Qiao then turned to Qin Xun with a smile. "Qin Xun, I'm off. We'll meet again if we get the chance! If you really miss me, come find me!"
"Take care, Sister Qiao. If fate allows, we'll meet again."
Qin Xun knew that once people parted in the Fallen Zone, "if fate allows, we'll meet again" might mean never seeing each other again.
"Sisi, be careful on the road!" Xu Chao smiled and waved goodbye to Sisi, who was wearing tight jeans.
"You too. Be careful from now on, and don't get hurt."
Sisi's sweet concern sent a tingle through Xu Chao's entire body!
Qin Xun muttered to himself, I thought he was such a respectable guy. Turns out he's an old pervert...
Chen Qiao and the other two climbed into the pickup. After driving it out of the woods, they headed uphill along the potholed road.
Xu Chao stretched. After a night's rest, his energy had mostly recovered, and he was full of vigor.
Dressed in new clothes, he didn't look injured at all.
He pushed the motorcycle out of the woods and crouched down to inspect it.
"What do you mean the brakes aren't very good? This damn thing doesn't have any brakes at all!"
"Then what do we do?"
"Don't worry. Back in Zone 101, I, your Brother Chao, was a professional motorcycle mechanic!"
Xu Chao tinkered with the motorcycle for a while.
Ten minutes later, he sat at the front, Mengmeng was sandwiched in the middle, leaning on Xu Chao's shoulder, and Qin Xun sat at the back with his backpack!
"Hold on tight, we're taking off!"
With a roar of the throttle, the motorcycle charged down the road!
"Something's wrong!" Qin Xun looked back.
"What's wrong?"
"It's shedding some parts!"
"That heap's an antique. Who knows how many years old it is? We're lucky it runs at all. Losing a screw is normal!"
Qin Xun looked at the trail of parts behind them. "Why don't you look back and see how many fell off?"
"Relax. As long as the wheels stay on, we can ride it!"
"How long until we reach Zone 96?"
"If everything goes smoothly, this afternoon!"
The motorcycle continued along the road.
Half an hour later, it was still holding strong!
"There's a truck that's been following us," Qin Xun said, looking at a truck behind them.
"That's normal. There's only one road, after all. Don't worry, nothing will happen."
Xu Chao twisted the throttle all the way, and before long, he had left the truck far behind.
Seeing that the truck hadn't sped up to follow, Qin Xun let go of the dagger at his waist.
They encountered people from time to time along the road.
Some were from caravans whose vehicles had broken down, stopped by the roadside for repairs.
Others were walking along the roadside in groups of four or five, and they didn't look easy to mess with.
There were also people lying by the road covered in blood, their companions waving at passing vehicles for help.
Whenever Xu Chao saw someone by the road, he would usually speed away, paying them no attention.
At noon, Xu Chao stopped the motorcycle at a roadside restaurant.
An endless sea of trees still stretched along both sides of the road. Fortunately, there was plenty of sunshine, so it didn't feel cold.
They hadn't stopped here to eat, but because the motorcycle had run out of gas.
They stopped to refuel and make some repairs while they were at it.
Unlike Chen Qiao's establishment, this one consisted of just one building and only provided food and supplies, not lodging.
And unlike Chen Qiao's establishment, hidden deep in the woods, this one stood brazenly by the roadside.
The owner was a bald man in his fifties with a fierce-looking face.
Qin Xun knew that anyone who dared run a business outside the zones was no ordinary person.
The owner was most likely a Psionic Power user, and beyond the First Realm at that.
After all, if he weren't strong enough, someone would have killed him long ago!
Quite a few people were eating in the restaurant, some alone and others in groups of three or five.
But not one of them was making a loud racket, and those who spoke kept their voices as low as possible.
Most people quietly finished their meals, picked up their supplies, and slipped away, as if they had never been there.