Stronger with Crimson Modifier-Chapter 94: Arrival
Hu Qi didn’t leave immediately.
His gaze fell upon the woman’s corpse.
No, to be more precise, it fell upon her slightly bulging abdomen.
As a Secret Martial Artist at Qi Blood Realm Perfection who also practiced the White Whale Posture, his senses had reached a terrifyingly acute level.
He could clearly perceive the active, throbbing life within her belly, a life that seemed unaffected by the death of its Black Blood Species mother.
’What astonishing Life Force. A pity, really.’
His expression was cold as he swung his long saber.
SQUELCH!
Blackish-red blood sprayed out, reeking of a foul stench.
A palm-sized monster, still connected to an umbilical cord, fell out.
The monster was pitch-black all over.
It had sharp teeth at the corners of its mouth and sharp nails on its fingers.
Its entire body was covered in black fur.
Now, having been cut free by the blade,
it opened its crimson eyes and let out a few ear-piercing shrieks at Hu Qi.
Its tiny figure suddenly leaped, pouncing toward Hu Qi.
Facing this,
with a flash of his long saber, the Black Blood Species cub was sliced in two mid-pounce.
The piercing shrieks vanished instantly.
Silence fell all around.
Hu Qi checked again to confirm that both monsters were thoroughly dead.
Only then did he enter one of the rooms.
He found a metal box under a bed.
Recalling what the woman had said,
he flashed his long saber,
and the box was split in two.
It revealed several gold bricks and some checks inside.
Seeing this,
a smile touched Hu Qi’s lips.
During this period, as he continuously carried out missions to hunt Black Blood Species,
he had transformed from a complete novice into a seasoned veteran.
He had also learned about some of the hidden perks.
When on a mission, members of Zhu Xi who acquired money or other valuables could treat them as extra spoils. Zhu Xi didn’t regulate it.
At the same time, he also understood why that fool Xie Guang had so much money to put a bounty on him.
’There are so many crooked ways to make a fortune in this line of work.’
’After all, what you earn can never come as fast as what you take.’
’A few more hauls like this, and financial freedom won’t be a distant dream.’
’And most importantly, all of this is perfectly legal and compliant.’
’After all, robbing your own kind is robbery.’
’How could robbing these inhuman creatures count? Besides, for them to have this much wealth, it was clearly ill-gotten.’
’What I’m doing is ridding the world of a menace for the people. It’s only natural I take the money.’
He skillfully pocketed the contents.
He then went down the stairs.
Ignoring the headless corpses on the floor,
his gaze swept over to the kitchen.
Since the kitchen had an open layout, there was nothing obstructing his view.
From where he stood, he could clearly see something simmering on the gas stove.
Realization dawned on him.
Hu Qi reached out, put the lid back on the pot, and then turned off the stove.
He opened the front door and walked out.
After the sound of footsteps faded away,
on the top floor of the villa, a wardrobe was slowly pushed open by a small hand.
Then, a cute-looking boy of about eleven or twelve stepped out.
He walked down the stairs.
When he saw the bloody scene on the floor,
his eyes turned red, revealing a bone-deep hatred as he clenched his fists.
"No matter who you are, I will kill you!"
As he spoke, he bared a mouthful of sharp, serrated teeth.
"Is that so? What a pity. It looks like you won’t get the chance in this lifetime."
Suddenly,
a voice abruptly sounded from behind him.
The moment he heard it, a look of terror appeared on his face.
Before he could even react,
SQUELCH!
A flash of saber light suddenly lit up the dim bedroom.
The little boy hadn’t processed what was happening
when a line of blood appeared on his forehead and quickly spread downwards.
His entire body was split in two.
In an instant, his organs, flesh, and blood spilled all over the floor with a wet SPLAT. He couldn’t be more dead.
"What a cunning little thing. Good thing I came back to check."
Hu Qi glanced down.
He flicked a trace of blood off his long saber.
Then, he checked carefully one more time, and only after confirming there were truly no living things left did he finally leave.
...
In the time that followed,
Hu Qi’s life returned to a state of peace.
Training, carrying out missions, and consuming Exotic Beasts.
This kind of life, lacking much social interaction, might seem monotonous and dull to others.
But for Hu Qi, it was incredibly fulfilling.
In his previous life, the days of waking up only to go to work and earn money had been a form of torture for him.
He enjoyed his current state.
The daily sensation of his strength constantly growing put him in an exceptionally good mood.
’This is truly living, not just being a beast of burden.’
If he could, Hu Qi would be content for things to continue like this forever. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
「Another half a month later.」
Guessing the time was about right,
Hu Qi voluntarily revealed that he had entered the Qi Blood Third Transformation.
In response to this,
everyone was already numb.
Among them, even the one making the fastest progress had yet to touch the threshold of the second transformation.
...
"An explanation?"
Anshan City, at the headquarters of Zhu Xi.
In a spacious reception room.
Helinta sat in the host’s seat.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, draping her in what seemed like a golden veil.
At this moment, her red eyes looked coldly at Han Luan, who stood before her.
Her expression was a little strange.
"That’s right. Ice Artifact is an enterprise of my Holy Rain Sect. Now that its branch in Anshan City has been annihilated, it must have been the work of a Martial Arts Family.
In Anshan City, who else could it be but your Shexin Sect?"
Han Luan’s gaze was frigid as she looked directly at Helinta.
"What a joke!"
Helinta’s expression turned icy.
"Your Holy Rain Sect is in the business of murder for hire. You make enemies everywhere. Who the hell knows who did it?
Now that something has happened and people are dead,
you come running to question us, the Shexin Sect? Are we your babysitters? Do you really think we’re that easy to bully?"
At this point,
Helinta stood up, and an intense killing intent swept out in all directions like the biting cold wind of winter.
"Hmph?"
Han Luan’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.
However, she stood her ground without moving.
A scorching aura also began to surge from her body.
The two auras collided.
A gale whipped up out of nowhere inside the room.
The wind whipped at their hair.
Han Luan’s gaze was fixed on Helinta.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to make an enemy of my Holy Rain Sect?!"
"Bullshit! I, your old lady, just don’t like the look of you. Eat my blade first, we’ll talk later!"
Helinta sneered.
As her voice fell,
she snatched the red long saber that was placed to the side.
The blade was drawn.
CLANG!
In an instant,
a dense, pungent killing intent, as terrifying as if it had come from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, erupted forth.
Visions of severed limbs, fresh blood, and corpses—all sorts of gory scenes—assaulted her senses.
Han Luan’s expression changed drastically.
She was no longer as calm as before.
With a flip of her palm, a silver-white longsword appeared in her hand.
She met the descending saber strike head-on.
DANG!
The sound of metal on metal rang out.
The next moment,
the longsword shattered, and a streak of saber light pierced straight through her head.
Darkness veiled her eyes. In that instant, she lost all sensation.
...
SHING!
Han Luan’s eyes snapped open.
She saw a long saber pressed against her forehead.
The tip was only a hand’s breadth from the space between her eyebrows.
A discomfiting sensation, as if her head were about to be split apart, washed over her.
The nerves in the area between the eyebrows are densely packed and quite sensitive to external stimuli.
Typically, when an object approaches this spot, it can trigger an overreaction from the nerves, creating a feeling of discomfort.
For example, gradually bringing a finger close to the space between your eyebrows can cause a sore, tingling, or itching sensation.
Let alone a sharp long saber like this one.
’How is this possible?’
Her face turned ugly.
The exchange just now, the process of her being killed—it had all been an illusion.
But she knew that if her opponent hadn’t stopped at the critical moment, that so-called illusion would have become reality.
