Taking advantage of the deep night when all was quiet, Li Qing once again arrived at the Eternal Night World.
A blood-red moon hung high in the sky, seemingly unchanged since ancient times, and the temperature remained as cold as ever, requiring him to wrap himself in a cotton coat when venturing out.
Inside Obsidian City, Li Qing placed the more than twenty forged scythes in the courtyard, and then he resumed standing in a stance nearby.
This time, he stood in the stance longer than any previous occasion, and with the breathing techniques taught to him by Master Gu, he managed to hold it for nearly an hour.
Previously, standing for too long would leave his legs feeling somewhat numb, but this time, his qi and blood flowed exceptionally smoothly, and he felt incredibly comfortable throughout his body.
“Ha!”
After resting for a while, Li Qing began to continuously practice his stance in the courtyard. Even in the Eternal Night World, where time flowed at three times the normal speed, he was reluctant to waste a single moment.
Li Qing felt that time in the Eternal Night World passed incredibly quickly; in the blink of an eye, nearly half a day had slipped away.
However, he did not feel fatigued at all; his spirit remained quite full, and his waist and legs were filled with strength.
Yet, even though he wanted to continue practicing, his stomach would not allow it.
The progress in his stance practice had been quite effective, and with it came an increased appetite.
Having eaten nearly two servings of dinner in the military camp, he soon felt hungry again; he needed to replenish his energy, as every cell in his body seemed to crave food.
“Sigh, I can only eat some black rye mushrooms to fill my stomach,” Li Qing sighed, truly reluctant to experience that peculiar taste again.
He had accumulated some black rye mushrooms at home, leftovers from his previous trades with the Yan family. He had forged farming tools for them more than once, and they had always traded with black rye mushrooms.
These black rye mushrooms were great in many ways: easy to preserve, filling, and quick to cook. But the only downside was their terrible taste. The first time Li Qing obtained black rye mushrooms, out of curiosity, he cooked a large pot of them. However, after tasting them, he nearly lost his stomach.
They tasted like moldy flour, sour and astringent, and were difficult to swallow.
In the storeroom, with a slightly grim expression, Li Qing once again took a pile of leftover black rye mushrooms and tossed them into the pot.
These black rye mushrooms had been stored here for nearly a year, yet they looked no different from freshly harvested ones, which was the advantage of their easy preservation.
“Maybe I should bring some grain here to sell and exchange for some powerful martial arts to practice?” Li Qing suddenly had a bold idea.
But soon, he dismissed this thought.
“No, the source of food is hard to explain and could easily attract attention. I should at least wait until I have some self-defense capability before I can sell a small amount.”
“I need to cultivate my External Strength first; otherwise, even three or five strong men could easily deal with me. Moreover, such transactions must be kept secret, requiring a hidden identity.”
“Before that, I could slightly investigate if there are any unique items in this world.”
As the iron pot continued to heat, Li Qing allowed his thoughts to wander freely.
Soon, he set three goals for himself.
First, to quickly become a master of External Strength. Whether he wanted to escape the military camp or scheme in this world, it all depended on his strength growing.
No one would discuss fairness with the weak; this was a lawless world, and to avoid being devoured by others, one could only grow stronger.
Second, he could begin to probe into some situations in this world, such as whether there were unique items that were not valued here but were worth a lot in another world.
He had been in this world for quite some time, yet Li Qing had hardly stepped out of the street he was on.
Currently, the only information he knew was that this was a cold, dark world, perhaps once illuminated by the sun, but it had not appeared for a long time.
The small city he was in was called Obsidian City, and outside the city, many black rye mushrooms were planted, but the land belonged to the Yan family, the largest power in Obsidian City. Apart from that, he knew nothing else. Reflecting on this, he felt that his behavior was quite reckless; if he did not understand the environment in which he lived, he could easily fall victim to unforeseen disasters.
The third goal was to quickly escape the border area where war was about to break out. He felt constrained in the military camp, unable to fully utilize the advantages of both worlds, even hesitating to enter the Eternal Night World.
With these thoughts, Li Qing unexpectedly found his mind becoming clearer and sharper.
“Ha, this is one of the benefits of practicing martial arts; as my body grows stronger, the blood supply to my brain becomes more abundant, making my thoughts sharper and more agile. Of course, it could also be that I’m just too hungry.”
Li Qing muttered to himself, then took out the cooked black rye mushrooms.
Cooking black rye mushrooms was quite simple; just add some water and heat them, and they would be ready quickly.
The steaming food released heat into the chilly air, and as it gradually cooled, Li Qing frowned and forced himself to start eating.
Sour and astringent! Difficult to swallow!
Even though he was starving, he still felt that the food in his mouth was a waste, and it did not become any more delicious.
He did not savor the taste of the black rye mushrooms; after a slight chew, he swallowed them down.
After eating an entire pot, his hunger was finally alleviated.
However, the lingering sourness in his mouth made him feel nauseous, as if he had just swallowed a pile of cotton.
“Gulugulu~”
After gulping down a few mouthfuls of water, Li Qing stood up, determined to begin practicing his stance again.
Just as he set up his stance, a slow knocking sound suddenly echoed at the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
“Master Li, are you home?”
Hearing the voice, which sounded somewhat aged, Li Qing immediately recognized who it was; it should be the family of Old Man An living across the street.
Originally, it was supposed to be a family of four, but it was said that due to an accident, the couple had died outside Obsidian City, leaving only an old man and a child.
Li Qing retracted his stance and walked slowly to the courtyard door to open it.
There stood a frail old man with sparse silver hair, looking as if he were nothing but skin and bones.
This was the first time Li Qing had seen someone so thin; the old man’s eye sockets were deeply sunken, resembling a mere skeleton.
Even the nearly departed Master Gu looked much healthier than this old man, and Li Qing doubted that this old man might fall apart at any moment.
Old Man An held a deformed iron pot, looking at Li Qing with a pleading expression, and said, “Master Li, could you help me fix this iron pot?”
Li Qing glanced down at the iron pot, which had likely been deliberately smashed, probably the work of Yan San.
He withdrew his gaze and replied, “Sure.”
Old Man An then took out a small bag of black rye mushrooms, looking troubled as he said, “We don’t have much food left at home; I wonder if this is enough.”
Having just eaten black rye mushrooms and feeling a bit nauseous, Li Qing couldn’t help but twitch his brow. He said, “You can take these black rye mushrooms back; I have some questions to ask you, and you just need to answer me.”
Old Man An, looking quite old, had lived for so long, and his understanding of this world should be greater than his own. He could help Li Qing understand some basic information about Obsidian City and the Eternal Night World.
“How can that be?” Old Man An felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that Li Qing was pitying him.
Li Qing calmly replied, “Come in, and we can talk.”
(End of Chapter)