Chapter 19 The Fireworks of the Mortal Realm

In the scavengers' camp, besides the necessities for survival, the most abundant item was meat. Since the forbidden area was nearby, scavengers visited every day, so there were many stalls selling edible meat in the camp. Upon hearing Xu Qing mention wanting to eat snake, a broad smile appeared on Lei's face, which was full of wrinkles. He understood that Xu Qing's mention of eating snake was a result of something he himself had said earlier, and it was clear that this child had remembered it well. He then stopped Xu Qing from going out to buy meat. "The people in the camp are all cunning. You don't know much about the beasts in the forbidden area and could easily be deceived, leading to forced transactions. Let me go instead," Lei said as he stood up. Upon hearing the phrase 'forced transactions,' Xu Qing instinctively touched his iron rod and, after thinking for a moment, replied seriously, "They won't do that." Lei glanced at the iron rod, chuckled in silence, and walked out of the courtyard. Watching Lei's figure, Xu Qing thought for a moment, went to the side room, carefully washed the pots and bowls inside, arranged the table, and finally prepared three sets of chopsticks and bowls, placing them on the table. Looking at the extra set of chopsticks and bowls, Xu Qing suddenly understood something. "That is a person who will never arrive." The words of Lei echoed in his mind, and in silence, he placed the third set of chopsticks and bowls beside Lei's. The chairs were arranged similarly. After finishing these tasks, Xu Qing turned to look at the courtyard outside the door. At this time, dusk had fallen, and the wind brought a chill, hinting that there might still be some snow within. At the end of March, for the eastern part of Southern Phoenix Continent, although the earth warmed and everything revived, winter seemed unwilling to leave, occasionally dropping snow to remind everything that it had not departed. At this moment, snow fluttered down from the gray sky, landing on the ground while rapidly melting due to the warmth of the soil. Ultimately, all that could be seen was the muddy ground. No matter where one came from, or how clean one was, in this world, one still had to mix with the mud, becoming indistinguishable from it. It was unclear whether the wind contained the snow, making it colder, or if the snow contaminated the wind, making it chillier. As it blew across the land, the camp, and the bamboo courtyard, Xu Qing felt a bit cold. Despite being a cultivator, the fear of cold accumulated over many years from deep within his memories still made him slightly uncomfortable in this icy chill. Just then, he saw a staggering figure trudging against the wind and snow from afar, pushing open the courtyard door. As the figure revealed itself, a voice, accompanied by laughter, broke through the wind and snow. "Kid, you’re in for a treat today! Look what I bought, it’s a red snake. The meat of this snake is said to be exquisite; I’ll show you some tricks later!" Lei stepped in, holding a snake carcass in his hand, striding into the side room. Noticing the neatness inside the side room, the arrangement of the table and chairs, and especially the two sets of chopsticks lined up together, a smile appeared on Lei's wrinkled face as he cast a deep glance at Xu Qing. "Want to learn how to cook snake?" Lei asked. "Yes!" Xu Qing's eyes brightened; he was eager to learn anything he did not know, especially how Lei cooked the snake, which was delicious. Lei smiled, beckoned Xu Qing to his side, and began to introduce while preparing. "This snake, in theory, should have its head and tail cut off. But those people don’t know that the snake’s tail has an excretory opening, so it must be removed. However, if the snake's head is properly handled to remove the poison, it can enhance the flavor of the overall meat." Lei spoke about cooking with great joy. Xu Qing listened attentively, watching as Lei cleaned the snake, peeled off its skin, removed the entrails and other impurities, and chopped it into sections, placing them aside. "Kid, you must remember, whether the meat leaves an aftertaste in your mouth or not depends on the soup." As he spoke, Lei began to simmer the soup in a clay pot, adding many medicinal ingredients, and eventually tossed in the processed snake head. Once all was done, a fragrant aroma wafted through the air, and Xu Qing swallowed his saliva. Seeing his reaction, Lei laughed heartily, directly took out the cleaned pot, and began to stir-fry the snake meat. Instantly, with the sound of sizzling echoing, a rich aroma surged forth, filling the entire side room and wafting outside. It seemed to dispel all the coldness, causing Xu Qing’s stomach to uncontrollably rumble. Watching the sizzling snake meat, his eyes widened. Soon, as Lei cooked, the stir-fried snake meat was placed into the clay pot, the lid was put on, and he looked at Xu Qing. "Did you learn it?" Xu Qing's eyes were fixed on the clay pot, and he nodded vigorously. He had seen the entire process and thought it wasn't very difficult. Lei smiled slightly, left the side room, and returned with two wine jars, tossing one to Xu Qing while keeping one for himself. After taking a sip, he exclaimed in delight, "There’s no shortage of meat in the camp, but this wine is quite rare." Xu Qing picked up the wine jar, looking at the murky liquid inside; he had never drunk wine before. As Lei said, it was a rare commodity, not found in the slums, only tasted by the big shots in the city. But seeing how Lei savored it after drinking, Xu Qing hesitantly raised it to his mouth, took a sip, and frowned, finding it quite spicy, but he swallowed it nonetheless. A surge of warmth erupted from his throat, flowing down his esophagus into his stomach, exploding with intensity, spreading throughout his body like a rush of energy, prompting him to open his mouth and exhale a breath of wine. "Not good," Xu Qing looked at Lei. Upon hearing this, Lei burst into laughter, pointing at Xu Qing and saying, "You're still too young; you can't appreciate the flavor of wine yet. When you grow up, you will definitely like it." As he spoke, he tried to take the wine jar from Xu Qing, but Xu Qing dodged him. "Let me try again," Xu Qing said seriously, taking another sip. Though his brow was still furrowed, he had begun to adapt to the strange taste. Not long after, amidst Lei's good-natured teasing about Xu Qing drinking, the snake meat was ready. When he brought the clay pot to the table and opened the lid, the aroma diffused immediately. Xu Qing's throat involuntarily moved, and after putting down the wine jar, he waited for Lei to pick up a piece before quickly using chopsticks to poke out a piece and swallowed it whole. He still could not change his habit of gobbling down food. Thus, amidst the raging wind and snow outside, the old and young inside the room drank wine and ate meat, warmth spreading all around. Watching Xu Qing awkwardly gripping his chopsticks, Lei's eyes softened, and he murmured inside, "He is still a child, but... he lives in this cruel world." At this moment, as the wind and snow blew outside, it still found its way through the gaps in the structure of the house, landing on Xu Qing. Although he was sweating from eating, he still felt somewhat resistant to the cold wind, slightly hunching his body. This subtle gesture caught Lei's attention, and he seemed to ponder without saying anything. After a while, Xu Qing mimicked Lei and took another big gulp of wine. After exhaling the wine breath, he looked at the old man who had brought him out of the ruined city and settled him here, suddenly speaking, "Your injury..." "It's nothing. I've endured for so many years; how could I die so easily? I'm fine," Lei replied. Xu Qing fell silent; he initially wanted to ask Lei about the matter of his foundation being destroyed, but remembering the scene from the forbidden area, he ultimately refrained from speaking. This meal lasted a long time until Lei emptied the wine jar in his hand. He stood up, his eyes a bit hazy, and returned to the house. Watching his figure, Xu Qing felt distinctly that Lei had lost some of the imposing aura he once had, seemingly dissipating with this return from the forbidden area. Xu Qing remained silent, and after a while, he stood up, tidied the table, washed the pots and bowls neatly, and then returned to his own room. Sitting on the bed, he looked out at the wind and snow and curled up slightly, taking out the bag of the blood shadow team leader he had found in the forbidden area. Although it contained no elixirs, there were many spirit coins and various items. After inspecting for a while, he finally took out a black glove. This glove didn’t seem to be made of leather but had a metallic texture. After trying it on, Xu Qing found it quite flexible and protective, so he put it on, threw a few punches, and felt it was good before taking it off, closing his eyes to sit in meditation, beginning to breathe. A night passed without incident. When dawn broke, the wind and snow were still falling but had lightened considerably. Just the cold from the previous night allowed the snow to stay on the ground for a while. So when Xu Qing stepped out of his house, he saw the traces of snow on the ground. Xu Qing tightened his clothes, glanced at Lei's dwelling, and walked out of the courtyard, feeling he should do something, like buy some White Elixir for Lei. Thus, as he stepped out, the sound of crunching snow echoed under his feet as he headed toward the general store. Passing by Master Bai's caravan tent, Xu Qing heard the faint sounds of boys and girls reading from within, which made him stop in his tracks, glancing enviously. After a moment, he turned away quietly and walked toward the general store. As he approached, he saw from a distance a little girl vigorously sweeping away the snow outside the store. She was dressed rather thinly, her little hands were red from the cold, and puffs of breath escaped her mouth. After a few days, the little girl seemed to have adapted to life in the camp; although she was tired, she swept diligently. Even though it was still snowing, she continued to clean, but the scar that marred her face was more apparent in the morning sunlight. As Xu Qing got closer, the little girl noticed him, looked up, and her eyes lit up, breaking into a happy smile. "Good morning!" "Good morning..." Xu Qing felt somewhat awkward at this greeting, nodded, and looked inside the general store. Perhaps because it was just dawn or due to the weather, there was no one inside, and the shopkeeper wasn’t there. "What do you want to buy? I’ll get it for you," the little girl said with a smile. "White Elixir," Xu Qing responded. Upon hearing this, the little girl leaned her broom against the wall and led Xu Qing into the store. She ran behind the counter to search, quickly pulling out several pouches, opening them to check, and then putting them back. After a while, she took out one more, handing it to Xu Qing. "The owner has rules; we can only sell five a day, so I can't sell more," the little girl said apologetically as she looked at Xu Qing. Xu Qing understood, took the pouch, opened it, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He noticed that the White Elixir inside was of significantly better quality than the ones he had bought before, with three of them showing no green at all, and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted from them. Thinking about the little girl's previous actions, Xu Qing looked up at her. "It’s nothing, just within my authority," the little girl blinked, smiling as she spoke. Xu Qing looked deeply at the little girl. "Thank you." "You don’t need to thank me for such a small thing; I should be thanking you. If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t be alive now," the little girl said with a bright smile, her eyes sparkling. After saying that, she seemed to remember something, and while escorting Xu Qing out, she spoke in a low voice. "I heard the owner mention yesterday that many young people have gone missing in the forbidden area recently, and judging by his expression, it felt like it wasn't just the danger of the forbidden area itself but more like it was man-made... so be careful yourself." Concern shone in the little girl’s eyes, and this gaze made Xu Qing feel somewhat uncomfortable. He took a few steps back, nodded, thanked her, and left. After walking a short distance, Xu Qing looked back, watching the little girl continue to sweep the snow, noticing the scar on her face in the sunlight. He suddenly remembered what Lei had mentioned about the temple group in the forbidden area, which had stones that could remove scars. "If I get the chance, I should find one for her," Xu Qing murmured to himself as he turned and left. The young boy walked away, leaving behind a trail in the snow, while the wind and snow intensified behind him...