Chapter 212: Chapter 127: Shelter
Qin Fang reappeared silently. His master and the others remained where they were, waiting on high alert.
But it was only a short while before Qin Fang returned.
And behind him, two people followed.
When Monkey saw them, he first stared blankly for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Xiao Qi?!"
The ones following Qin Fang... were none other than Xiao Qi and Xiao Jiu.
Both of them looked gaunt and disheveled. Hearing Monkey’s voice, Xiao Qi looked up and saw Monkey’s delighted face.
"Brother Monkey..."
Xiao Qi’s eyes brightened as well as he called out.
Both of them were members of the Fish Dragon Gang and had been close back then. Xiao Qi hadn’t taken the Qi Blood Pills later on precisely because he had listened to Monkey.
After the two exchanged greetings, Monkey looked at Xiao Qi’s condition, was suddenly reminded of the small mountain village he’d seen earlier, and his expression changed. "Your home..."
Xiao Qi’s eyes immediately dimmed. His fists, hanging at his sides, clenched tightly, yet they trembled slightly...
Needless to say, it was clear that Li Family Ao had already been attacked by that Mysterious Power!
Xiao Qi began to recount his experiences from the past few days in a low voice...
In Li Family Ao, many people had taken the Qi Blood Pills.
Among them were Xiao Qi’s own family!
After hearing from Monkey that there might be a problem with the Qi Blood Pills, Xiao Qi had notified his family immediately. But unfortunately, his family wouldn’t listen to him; even his parents had taken them.
His parents, of course, hadn’t taken them for Martial Cultivation. They had heard from the people at Ganlu Hall that even if you didn’t practice Martial Cultivation, you could still take Qi Blood Pills to strengthen your body.
There was nothing Xiao Qi could do.
After Ganlu Hall was wiped out and the supply of Qi Blood Pills was cut off, the villagers gradually became strange. They started to age rapidly, their tempers grew short, and they were constantly thirsty.
Xiao Qi keenly sensed the problem. Although his heart ached, he gritted his teeth and took Xiao Jiu up into the mountains.
He and Xiao Jiu had personally witnessed someone go mad and start killing people back in Wanshui!
And at that time, Qin Fang had mentioned that it might be related to the Qi Blood Pills.
And his caution had saved his and Xiao Jiu’s lives.
Yesterday afternoon, while they were on the mountain, they saw a group of men in black entering the area.
From the mountain, they witnessed the tragic state of the entire village.
"...After those people entered the village, they killed everyone on sight. And it wasn’t just killing. After they killed them, they cut open their stomachs... Only then did I see that their insides—their hearts, livers, and lungs—were all gone. Instead, there was a kind of disgusting ball of flesh... like a miniature monster..."
Xiao Qi’s eyes were dim. As he spoke, Xiao Jiu, who was beside him, trembled all over, her eyes vacant and dull.
Killing everyone in the village wasn’t enough for those people; they also searched the nearby mountains.
Fortunately, Xiao Qi had been running around the mountains since he was a child, and the terrain near Old Ox Back was complex. Relying on his familiarity with the area, he managed to evade the men in black.
Just a moment ago, they had been in a small cave not far ahead.
"So what are your... plans now?"
Qin Fang fell silent.
Xiao Qi had witnessed the brutal death of his entire village, which... very likely included his parents and brothers. It was truly tragic.
But hearing Qin Fang’s question, a look of confusion surfaced in Xiao Qi’s eyes, and he slowly shook his head...
Because he didn’t know either.
His survival instinct had driven him to struggle on with his sister until now, but the path forward seemed to be completely cut off.
Qin Fang was silent for a moment before finally letting out a soft sigh. "If you have nowhere else to go, you can come with us."
’Xiao Qi is someone I can trust.’
’And he’s sharp enough.’
Hearing Qin Fang’s words, Xiao Qi’s eyes instantly lit up. He looked at Qin Fang, then dropped to his knees with a THUD and kowtowed repeatedly. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
Xiao Jiu looked at her brother in a daze, then subconsciously knelt down as well, kowtowing with him.
"Alright, get up. We need to find a place to hide first..."
Qin Fang helped them both to their feet before continuing, "You’re from Li Family Ao, so you should be familiar with the area. Can you think of a sufficiently hidden place near Old Ox Back where we can take shelter?"
Seeing Old Ox Back had reminded Qin Fang that its slopes were steep and difficult to climb. With their Cultivation, he, his master, and his senior brother would have no problem ascending.
But it would be more troublesome for his mistress, Monkey, and the others.
It would even be difficult to find a place to live.
’That cave is hidden, yes... but it’s too dangerous inside. There are so many Giant Bees. Even I have to be extremely careful not to provoke the swarm.’
’We don’t know how long we’ll have to hide. Our group isn’t large, but it’s not small either. If there’s an accident and we disturb the swarm... that would be real trouble.’
So Qin Fang had already been planning to find a hidden yet convenient place to live at the foot or on the side of the mountain.
Now, with a local like Xiao Qi to guide them, things would naturally be much easier.
Hearing this, Xiao Qi immediately began to think. He quickly came up with a location. "I know a place. It’s to the east of the foot of Old Ox Back Mountain. There’s a dense bamboo forest there, but inside, there’s a very secluded spot. With a little tidying up... we could live there for a long time. There’s a convenient water source, too."
Qin Fang nodded. "Then let’s go there and see."
"Yes, sir."
Xiao Qi accepted the order.
Then the group continued on their way. As they traveled, Qin Fang introduced Xiao Qi and Xiao Jiu to his master, mistress, and the others.
When Xiao Qi heard that they were Master Qin’s master and mistress, he immediately knelt and kowtowed respectfully. "Greetings to you, honorable elders."
Xiao Jiu quickly kowtowed as well.
"Good children, good children, get up, please get up..."
The mistress hurriedly pulled the two to their feet.
She had also heard Xiao Qi’s story and knew that these were two children who had suffered greatly.
Then Xiao Qi met Qin Fang’s senior brother, bowing respectfully and addressing him as Master Zhou.
Zhou Xing nodded... He knew his junior brother’s character. If he was willing to take these two with them, it meant he trusted them.
