Watching the rampaging Chongming and Gu Han constantly comforting him, the confusion in Ah Gou’s eyes deepened. A person?
A memory, long buried and forgotten, suddenly resurfaced in his mind. His child self sat amid a pool of blood. There was a woman drenched in blood before him. Though her face was blurry and indistinct, her voice was very familiar.
The woman struggled to place a fang threaded with colorful strings into his palm. “Ah Gou... Remember, no matter how hard... or difficult... you must live with dignity. You are a person... not a dog...”
Then, her breathing ceased.
Afterward, he was taken away and thrown into a dungeon that was devoid of sunlight. They branded him with a slave mark, drew out his sinews and marrow, and refined his soul. Besides the brainwashing, he was forced to drink a bowl of black, foul-smelling medicinal soup every day. As he grew stronger, his past memories grew dimmer, and his humanity dwindled. Until finally, Ah Gou really became a dog.
Only at this moment did he remember that the woman was his mother. However, aside from her voice, the woman’s face remained indistinct as if it had been deliberately erased by someone.
He glanced at the colorful threads. Why?
A flicker of pain crossed his eyes as an unfamiliar emotion stirred in his heart. She was the only source of color in his life, so why couldn’t he remember her face? For the first time, he developed a desire to seek the truth. His figure gradually faded and vanished.
Not far away, Gu Han had finally managed to calm Chongming down, but Ah Gou was nowhere to be found. “Did he leave?”
Chongming was still fuming, desperate to salvage his dignity and pride. “Kid, let’s go scavenge! Hurry up and get rid of that stinking woman!”
Gu Han sighed. He was about to reply when a sound of something tearing through the air came from afar.
A few figures were rapidly fleeing toward him, and he recognized them instantly. “Chen Qing?”
It was Chen Qing and his three disciples! From a great distance, another figure was rapidly approaching, moving at least ten times faster than Chen Qing. It was one of the five pink-robed men sent out by the Hehuan Sect Master!
***
As Chen Qing led his three disciples, he pushed his cultivation to its limit, wishing he could teleport on the spot. His three disciples felt both moved and in despair. They were moved that Chen Qing hadn't abandoned them, yet filled with despair because it no longer mattered whether he had or not.
With the pink-robed man’s Saint realm cultivation, he soon caught up and reached out to grab Chen Qing.
Recalling the tragic fate of the dwarf cultivator he’d seen earlier, Chen Qing’s scalp tingled. He closed his eyes in despair. It’s over! I’m going to be dried up!
Just then, a fierce, chilling killing intent descended upon the scene. A red sword aura was flying straight toward the pink-robed man. His heart dropped. Shit!
He abandoned all thought of seizing Chen Qing, unleashing his full cultivation to resist with all his might. However, the sword aura was too fast, and the killing intent was too heavy. He couldn’t dodge nor withstand it. A loud crash echoed, and his Saint might shattered explosively like a paper mache. He was sent flying backward, nearly cut in two.
His peripheral vision swept across and spotted Gu Han and Chongming not far away. “It’s them...”
Then, another sword aura descended. The world before his eyes turned red, and his consciousness was extinguished into silence.
So strong... That was his last thought.
Chen Qing’s emotions went from utter despair to overwhelming joy, and he nearly wept. “Senior, y-you’re alright!”
Moreover, Gu Han was even stronger than before.
Chongming glanced at him. “What were you even worried about?! Didn’t I tell you to leave? Why are you still here?”
This area was actually only a few thousand li from the site of their previous battle.
Chen Qing stammered nervously, “Principle fifty-seven of the Scavenger’s Treasure Manual: The most dangerous place is the safest place.”
Chongming glared. “Scavenger’s Treasure Manual? Which bastard compiled that? Isn’t that just a trap?!”
Chen Qing seemed like he was about to cry. “Senior... I-I compiled it...”
Chongming was speechless. He felt it was a miracle Chen Qing had even survived this long.
Meanwhile, Gu Han had finished inspecting the pink-robed man’s storage ring. He found only a dozen or so drops of Transcendent Substance and some pills. They clearly didn’t live as glamorous a life as they appeared.
He walked over to Chen Qing and gently patted his shoulder. “Are you familiar with the Hehuan Sect?”
Chen Qing’s heart tightened. “I-I know a little.”
“Does that woman have any helpers?”
Unsure of Gu Han’s intentions, Chen Qing grew increasingly nervous. “Yes... there is one. About thirty thousand li from here, there’s a Zhang family. Their old ancestor is at the sixth stage of the Feather Transformation realm, and he’s quite close with the Hehuan Sect Master. I don’t know much else.”
Gu Han nodded. The Zhang family’s old ancestor was most likely one of those six helpers. Then, he seemed to think of something. “Oh, right. Can I take a look at that Scavenger’s Treasure Manual of yours?”
Chen Qing took it out nervously. Gu Han swept it with his divine sense and was stunned. The Scavenger’s Treasure Manual was a sprawling text of over ten thousand words, covering all sorts of topics. Yet in a nutshell, it really came down to one word: cowardice.
It was beyond his comprehension. “Throw this thing away.”
Chen Qing felt a bit wronged. Before I met you, this manual has always been useful...
Gu Han returned the manual and stared into the distance. “Lead the way. Today, I’ll show you what true scavenging looks like.”
Chen Qing swallowed hard. “Senior, are we going to—”
“The Zhang family.”
Chen Qing’s face turned pale. It’s over! I knew it!
Fearless as newborn calves, Chen Qing’s three disciples were full of enthusiasm as they were new to scavenging. “Are we starting with half-saint herbs again this time?”
Gu Han shook his head. “No. This time, it’s Soul Crystals.”
Chen Qing nearly collapsed to the ground. Soul Crystals? The legendary item only important figures from few second-rate forces could even lay eyes on?1 It wasn’t even long since we last met. How did his standards get so high so fast?!
He desperately wanted to advise Gu Han not to go to his death. “Senior, think thrice—ah!”
Gu Han’s cultivation enveloped him, and they shot into the sky. “Think thrice my ass! Let’s go collect some interest first!”
***
Within the outer hall of the Hehuan Sect, the six men stared at the sect master, their anger simmering with nowhere to go. Even if they were at the Feather Transformation realm, finding that one man and one rooster across a region spanning tens of thousands of li would be incredibly difficult without Ah Gou. They could only helplessly return temporarily and plan their next move.
Among the six, the old man with the highest cultivation could no longer contain his anger. “Sect Master, you owe us an explanation!”
If not for certain reasons, he would have almost thought the sect master was toying with them.
The Hehuan Sect Master took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her own anger. “Rest assured, Elder Zhang, once Ah Gou returns, I’ll take his head and offer it to you as an apology!”
After seeing her chest rising up and down, Elder Zhang’s anger instantly dissipated by half. Just as he was lost in the pleasing sight, unable to extricate himself, a shrill, miserable scream came from outside. “Old Ancestor! Terrible news, Old Ancestor!”
Elder Zhang’s face darkened. “What is it?!”
He recognized the voice. It was a clansman of his, a cultivator at the fifth or sixth stage of the Transcendent realm.
Following that, a man stumbled in. “Old Ancestor, our home... We’ve been robbed!”
The other five raised their eyebrows. They had forgotten their own anger and were secretly delighted.
Elder Zhang shot to his feet, all appreciation for the pleasant view completely forgotten. “What?!”
The man was filled with grief and indignation. “He also said he came to scavenge!”
Without a sound, the white jade seat beneath Elder Zhang crumbled into dust. “That’s outrageous! Who did it?!”
The man sobbed. “A sword cultivator with a rooster by his side!”
The Hehuan Sect Master’s eyes lit up instantly. A rooster?!