"Old Crab, come here. I need to tell you something!"
Xu Chao slung an arm around the man's shoulders and walked him aside.
The two put their heads together and whispered, acting all furtive.
Qin Xun watched the Black Blood Pigeon.
With a slight movement of his will,
a ring of fire, spitting sparks, quickly appeared beside the birdcage, and an iron chain wreathed in flames reached out of it.
The chain pointed at the Black Blood Pigeon.
Qin Xun gave his will a casual nudge, and the chain burst through the iron cage, dragging the Black Blood Pigeon into the ring of fire.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Chao and Old Crab immediately turned around.
But the ring of fire had vanished a moment earlier!
"What happened?"
Looking at the feathers filling the air and the broken birdcage, Old Crab was utterly dumbfounded. He approached bit by bit, catching the smell of scorched feathers in the air.
In Qin Xun's mind, a chain plunged straight down into the Black Blood Pigeon's body.
In an instant, the Black Blood Pigeon's body turned completely to stone, floating in the darkness alongside the twenty-odd petrified Ghost Wolves.
At the same time, wisps of Spiritual Power flowed into Qin Xun's body and were quickly absorbed by his Qi Gate.
Looks like the chain really can obtain Spiritual Power for me through monsters, Qin Xun muttered to himself.
Old Crab pointed at the birdcage and looked at Qin Xun. "Where's the bird?"
Qin Xun shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't see it."
"You were staring at the birdcage the whole time, and you didn't see it?"
"No. Didn't you tell me to pick anything I wanted as a gift? I was looking at the weapons just now, not the birdcage!"
"What the hell?" Old Crab's little head was filled with big questions.
"Could it have broken out of the cage and flown away on its own?" Xu Chao asked, his arms folded.
"What the hell!" Old Crab scratched his head. "Did it really break out of the cage and fly away on its own? Are these birds that badass? It could even break through an iron cage? Then why is there a burnt smell?"
"Why not just check the surveillance footage?" Xu Chao suggested.
"The surveillance cameras in the shop broke ages ago." Old Crab scratched his head as he tried to find the Black Blood Pigeon in the shop.
Qin Xun walked guiltily over to a shelf, pretending to examine the weapons on it.
After searching the shop and still failing to find it, Old Crab couldn't be bothered to look anymore.
The black market had plenty of monsters like Black Blood Pigeons anyway.
He was just curious why the Black Blood Pigeon had disappeared for no apparent reason.
The broken birdcage had clearly been damaged by an outside force.
And why was there a smell of burnt feathers in the air?
He walked over to Qin Xun, picked up a hefty broadsword, and handed it to him. "This is a good blade. It was forged from weapons of the Demon Clan. Give it a try. If you like it, it's yours!"
Qin Xun shook his head. "A blade this big is suited to someone strong. A small guy like me would struggle to wield it."
"What about a Tang saber, then?" Old Crab picked up a Tang straight saber gleaming with a blue light and handed it to Qin Xun. "Young people these days all like this kind of blade. It handles well, and you look especially cool swinging it around!"
"Not for now." Qin Xun looked outside the shop. "Looks like the rain's let up a little."
Xu Chao folded his arms and said, "Take us there first. He wants to see his sister right now."
"All right, let me close up."
After Old Crab locked up the shop, the three men and the dog followed him through the light rain to the end of the street.
A hotel at the end of the street was still open, with a sign outside:
[Single room: 200]
[Double room: 300]
[Special services: inquire at the front desk]
After going inside, Old Crab smiled and greeted a woman at the front desk.
The three men took the stairs to the third floor.
Standing outside room 302, Old Crab knocked on the door in a rhythm.
The door soon opened.
The one who opened it was a young man wearing glasses with thick lenses. His hair was parted down the middle, giving him a somewhat bookish air.
"Chaozi!" Glasses was overjoyed to see Xu Chao.
"Let's go inside first." Xu Chao walked in ahead of the others.
Qin Xun followed Old Crab inside.
It was a double room with two large white beds.
As soon as he entered, Qin Xun's gaze fell on Qin Ling, lying on a bed with her eyes tightly shut.
"Xiao Ling!"
Without paying attention to anyone else, he hurried over and sat down beside the bed to check on Qin Ling.
Her condition was terrible!
Her breathing was extremely faint, almost nonexistent.
Faint black lines had already appeared on her face.
That was a sign the mosquito venom was spreading!
Normally, a person poisoned by mosquito venom would die within half a month.
But thanks to the medicine He Laowu had given her, Qin Ling had managed to suppress the poison for the time being and survive until now.
"She's been poisoned by mosquito venom. It's a troublesome poison, and she needs a specific antidote. We've already sent someone to get it. It should be here around midnight." The speaker was a woman who also looked to be in her twenties. She had an oval face, wore a black leather jacket, and had her hair loose around her shoulders.
"I have the antidote."
Qin Xun immediately took the antidote out of his backpack.
He tore off the seal and unscrewed the cap. With Xu Chao's help, he opened Qin Ling's mouth and poured the blue liquid into it.
There was a reason the antidote was so expensive. In less than a dozen seconds, Qin Xun could clearly feel Qin Ling's breathing improve.
Even her deathly pale complexion gradually began to improve.
"He's Qin Xun?" The woman folded her arms and came over to Old Crab.
"Yeah. Have you noticed how much his eyes look like A Shui's?"
"No. He's more handsome than Brother Shui, though."
"I meant what's in his eyes... Forget it. None of you can see it, but I can."
Like Old Crab, the woman also noticed someone was missing and immediately asked Xu Chao, "Where's Dazhuang?"
Xu Chao stood up and said gravely, "The Dark Pavilion was chasing us. He stayed behind to cover our retreat and told us to go first."
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know. He told me to meet him in Zone 96. He might be on his way there now."
"How many people did the Dark Pavilion send?"
"There was only one when he stayed behind to cover us, but that guy felt pretty strong to me."
"Dazhuang isn't weak. As long as his opponent isn't much stronger than him, he should be able to escape." Glasses rubbed his chin. "The worry is that he didn't run, so he could buy you more time."
Xu Chao had also been worried about Dazhuang's safety for the past two days; he just hadn't said so.
"If he's safe, he should reach Zone 96 in the next day or two. How about this: you take Qin Xun and leave tonight, and I'll stay behind to wait for Dazhuang," Xu Chao said.
"I'll stay and wait with you." Qin Xun raised his head and looked at Xu Chao.
"No. You have to go. We need to get you and your sister safely to Brother Shui as soon as possible."
"I'll wait with you. Brother Zhuang put himself in danger covering our retreat. I can't just leave like this." Qin Xun looked down at his sister in his arms. "My parents taught me a lot while they were alive. One of those things was that you can't think only of yourself. A lot of parents in the Fallen Zone teach their children to look out only for themselves, but that really is what my parents taught me. I can't speak for anyone else, but I have to wait for Brother Zhuang."
The others in the room exchanged glances.
"If you don't bring me and my sister back safely, you won't be able to face Brother Shui. In the same way, if I leave Brother Zhuang behind and go, I won't be able to face Brother Shui either. Let me stay and wait with you. Whether I live or die, it's my own choice."
Xu Chao thought for a moment. "Then how about this? You wait with us for two days, and we'll have Glasses take your sister ahead first."
"Brother, I want to stay with you..." Qin Ling gripped Qin Xun's shoulder and spoke weakly. Although her eyes hadn't opened, thankfully she was awake and conscious!
Hearing Qin Ling speak, Qin Xun finally smiled. "Xiao Ling, how do you feel?"
"I feel much better. Brother, are you all right?" Qin Ling still couldn't open her eyes and could only speak with the little strength her body had recovered.
Hearing Qin Xun's voice again, her heart finally settled.
"I'm fine. I just gave you the antidote. The mosquito venom in your body will be gone soon." Qin Xun went on, "There's a big brother who's in danger because he saved us, and he still hasn't come back. I'm planning to wait for him. What do you think?"
"I'll wait with you."
"All right!" Xu Chao said. "Just hearing you say that makes it worth it, even if every one of us dies! We'll all stay here and wait for Dazhuang to come back!"