Volume 11.5 Chapter 61

Hua Qing and Zhuo Fengru agreed on three terms: stay calm in the face of trouble. Do not hastily flee. Do not reveal your location. Hence, when Hua Qing came across the scowling monk, he spun around and yelled, Holy! then spun around to make a dash for it. Alas, the large monk singlehandedly pulled Hua Qing back by the collar and yelled, Charge!

Hua Qing felt a digging pain in his chest. Before he completely lost awareness of his surroundings, he heard someone groan.

The first thing Hua Qing picked up on when he regained consciousness was a damp and spicy scent - a product of the dawn dampness on the mountain. Judging from the placement of the sun, a night had gone by. I-Im alive? he blurted.

Wheres the monk? How am I still alive? I still remember the pain of my chest seemingly break What happened in the end?

Hua Qing wasnt just free of pain; he even felt lighter and more energetic than ever.

Is the air around here magical or something?

Hua Qing looked down, only to immediately cover his mouth so that he wouldnt scream. The monks chest had sunken, while his face was ghastly white and wrinkly, but Hua Qing identified him as the monk who attacked him last night.

Hua Qing performed a visual audit of the surroundings once he was sure the monk wouldnt move. He was told about the glowing boulder, but it turned out to be a dull black colour.

Im not in the wrong place, am I?

Hua Qings stomach growled, reminding him that he hadnt eaten for a day. Even though he had rations on him, it wasnt the time and place to be thinking about food. Unfortunately, his stomach wouldnt have any of it.

Wait a second. That wasnt my stomach.

Hua Qing heard another growl that didnt come from his stomach.

The h.e.l.l?

There was n.o.body in front, behind or to his sides.

Suddenly, Hua Qing heard from his feet, Brother, if youre not going to eat, how about letting me have the food?

Holy!

***

The monk ate the shortcake as though he finally found food after days of starvation. There was no mistake he was the one who attacked Hua Qing last night; however, compared to when his eyes were bloodshot, his physique and demeanour had changed in the reverse direction. In this case, his form last night mightve been his actual mutated form.

Three shortcakes later, the monk choked, Do Do you

Water? You choking? Ill go fetch you some.

The monk shook his head as he forced himself to swallow. Do you have vegetarian buns? This one is getting sick of cakes.

No.

The monk stared at the shortcake in his hand, sighed, then resumed eating. In no time at all, he finished three days worth of Hua Qings food, yet he still licked his fingers to get every crumb.

Hua Qing didnt take issue with sharing his rations since he didnt have the appet.i.te for it. n.o.body will come here, right? He kept looking around in the darkness so that he could run if some bald men ever jumped out to harm him.

In the year that Ive been here, only one person comes, but he no longer has a reason to come.

Youve been here for a year?

And havent eaten in a year. Once he finished cleaning his fingers of crumbs, the monk jumped up and placed his hands together. Thank you for saving this ones life.

Y-you dont have to thank me. It was only a couple of cakes.

That was not what this one was thanking you for.

You b.l.o.o.d.y baldy. Youre a dine and dasher?! You ate three days worth of food!

My junior brother ruined my Wugou State. I was able to resist the formation after I lost it, but that resulted in me losing control over my energy. In turn, my energy wrecked my mind. I believe it was my brothers intent. I cant leave the formation, so he may as well let me become my own maker. The more nervous I was about the situation, the faster I fell. You happened to barge in when I was suffering from qi deviation.

And then I scared your senses back into you?

If only it was that simple. I had no control over my mind; I doubt I wouldve stopped even after slaughtering people for three days straight, let alone stopping with just you. Indeed, you saved me. More precisely, the relic on you saved me.

Hua Qing instinctively reached for the brocade pouch in his s.h.i.+rt. Are you talking about my Repository Jade?

That would be what you call it in the Central Plain, yes. The monk smiled. When I hit the relic by your chest, my energy siphoned into the relic. Since I wasnt my usual self, I kept pouring energy into the relic. By the time I regained self-awareness, I had given up over 90% of my energy.

You filled up this ball with your lifetime of energy?

Although Ive lost the majority of my energy, I avoided committing a grave sin and saved myself. Is there anything I can complain about?

Though they still had things to say to each other, approaching footsteps cut them off. The odd part was that the interval between when they noticed the footsteps was incredibly close despite their difference in training.

The monk pushed Hua Qing to the back. Theres a cave in the back. Hide there.

Hua Qing did as he was told, not daring to even bob his head out for a peek.