"Let Xiao Ling stay with him for a while. We'll go next door."
The long-haired woman knew that Qin Ling needed to be alone with Qin Xun now before she could feel at ease.
The others filed out, leaving Qin Xun and Qin Ling alone.
"Brother, they said they were taking us to find Brother Shui. Is that true?"
"It's true."
Qin Xun then asked about what had happened that night.
Her answer was much the same as what Xu Chao had told him.
Someone had indeed come to kill Qin Ling. At the critical moment, Xu Chao and his group had appeared and saved her, then taken her away.
She had resisted a little, since she hadn't trusted them at the time either, but the long-haired woman had knocked her unconscious.
"They said Brother Shui was somewhere very safe. Is it a safe zone?"
To Qin Ling, a safe zone was an unfamiliar place, but one she longed for.
"Don't worry. Wherever we are, I'll protect you."
"When I grow up, I'll protect you too."
Qin Ling closed her eyes and reached out to feel Qin Xun's face. She wanted to see whether he was hurt.
When she felt Qin Xun's left arm, he said nothing.
Half an hour passed, and Qin Ling gradually recovered. A healthy flush appeared on her face for the first time in two years.
During that time, Old Crab brought Qin Xun a clean shirt, also black.
In the Fallen Zone, black was a good color.
It hid dirt and didn't stand out so much, so it wouldn't attract attention.
After getting Qin Ling settled, Qin Xun went into the next room.
Qin Xun's gaze swept over the four people one by one.
Glasses, the long-haired woman, Xu Chao, and Old Crab.
"Thank you for saving me and my sister. I owe each of you two lives! From now on, just say the word, and whatever it is, I, Qin Xun, will climb mountains of blades and cross seas of fire to get it done for you!"
Xu Chao smiled. "No need to say that to us. Come on, let me introduce you. This is Chen Hui, nicknamed Glasses. He started following Brother Shui two years ago."
Qin Xun nodded gratefully. "Brother Hui!"
The young man with glasses nodded at Qin Xun in greeting. "Just call me Glasses."
"Her name is Song Jie. We usually call her Sister Song. She also started following Brother Shui two years ago," Xu Chao said, introducing the long-haired woman.
"Sister Song!"
"You all keep talking. I'll go watch your sister, in case anything happens." Song Jie smiled at Qin Xun, then stood and left the room.
"I've already introduced Old Crab. He doesn't follow Brother Shui. He and Brother Shui have been friends for years, but he's one of us too. There's also Smoker. He's not here right now; he went to find special medicine for your sister. He should be back soon."
Old Crab held a cigarette between his lips and smiled at Qin Xun. "I, Old Crab, have never admired many people in my life. Just two: your Brother Shui and you."
"Me?"
"That's right. Chaozi already told us you went into the Killing Arena ninety-nine times to save your sister. That alone is enough to make me admire you!" Old Crab gave Qin Xun a thumbs-up.
"There are plenty of people like me in the Fallen Zone. I was just lucky enough to survive every match."
Xu Chao beckoned to Qin Xun. "Come, sit here. We have time now, so I'll teach you how to cultivate!"
Qin Xun walked over and sat on the bed.
"You only need to remember one thing: cultivation means absorbing Spiritual Qi through your Qi Gate and converting it into Spiritual Power. But you have to concentrate during the process. If you get distracted, your qi could go astray!"
"If it's mild, your body will be injured. If it's serious, the Spiritual Power inside you could go out of control and run wild through your body. Eight or nine times out of ten, you could die!"
"You're just starting out, so it's best to find a quiet place and cultivate sitting down! Once you've gotten the hang of it, you can cultivate while exercising. Cultivating while your body is moving will greatly improve the results, but the drawback is that it's easy to lose focus!"
Following Xu Chao's instructions, Qin Xun sat cross-legged on the bed and began cultivating.
After several attempts, he finally learned how to open his Qi Gate and absorb Spiritual Qi.
Wisps of Spiritual Qi entered his body and were converted into Spiritual Power by his Qi Gate.
Qin Xun thought, If the chains really can obtain Spiritual Power for me through monsters, then it seems I don't need to cultivate. I just have to keep catching monsters! I wonder if things other than monsters would work, though-people, for example?
After cultivating for ten minutes, Qin Xun abruptly opened his eyes, his head covered in sweat.
Xu Chao grinned. "Well? Feeling exhausted?"
"Yeah, very!"
"That's because your Qi Gate is also working when you cultivate. As long as it's working, it consumes stamina. Of course, cultivating doesn't consume as much stamina as using Spiritual Power directly! Keep practicing. When you're starting out, don't cultivate for too long at a time. Do twenty minutes, then rest for ten before continuing!"
Qin Xun didn't continue cultivating. Instead, he looked at the three of them.
"Can you tell me what Brother Shui actually does?"
He was very curious about what Brother Shui was doing.
From what they had said, Brother Shui seemed to have considerable influence in the Fallen Zone.
Over the past three days, Xu Chao had come to trust Qin Xun completely, so he stopped holding back and spoke plainly.
"Let me put it this way: what Brother Shui is doing is helping the Human Clan win the war!"
"Fighting the Demon Clan?"
"More or less. He said that when we win, there won't be any more Demon Clan in this world, or any more Fallen Zones, or any more nobles! Everyone will be equal, and everywhere will be a safe zone!"
Put that way, Qin Xun understood. Then he asked, "How many people do you have?"
"A lot. We all belong to a guild called Sharp Sword. The guild has a lot of people, divided into many factions and teams, but we're all working toward the same thing: wiping out the Demon Clan! There are over four hundred people in Brother Shui's group. An old man leads us, and Brother Shui is his second-in-command, as well as captain of the first and second teams. Each team has about sixty people!"
Qin Xun looked at Old Crab. "Are you in this guild too?"
Old Crab nodded. "Yes. Not only am I in the guild, I'm also in A Shui's group. I'm just on the third team."
"Is everyone in your group a Psionic?" Qin Xun asked.
"Not necessarily. As long as someone wants to join us, we'll take them even if they aren't a Psionic. After all, ordinary people have the right to do their part in wiping out the Demon Clan too! We even have a few foreigners among us!"
Qin Xun asked curiously, "Then what do you mainly do? Fight the Demon Clan? But I heard the Demon Suppression Army was the one fighting the Demon Clan, and there doesn't seem to be a Demon Suppression Army in the Fallen Zone!"
"Of course, what we do isn't fighting the Demon Clan head-on. Our guild has a lot of people, but if we really went up against the Demon Clan's army head-on, we'd be wiped out in half a day at most!" Xu Chao took a cigarette Old Crab offered him and lit it.
Old Crab explained, "Our main job is to find a sword!"