In the义帮粮仓, Tianlong instructed his subordinates to bring out a甲猪 that had just been delivered to 黑曜城 not long ago. Its body resembled that of a juvenile pig, but its skin was covered with a layer of gray-black scales, and its tail was long and thick, unlike the curled tails of ordinary domestic pigs.
"This is the甲猪 sent over from Great Rock City; they always slaughter it before sending it here," Tianlong said disdainfully.
The reason for this was obvious; it was merely to prevent other forces from snatching away this business.
Crack!
Li Qing crouched down, peeled back a piece of the scale armor, and examined it closely in his hand. It was not as hard as he had imagined; instead, it was somewhat flexible and offered no real defensive capability. He held the scale armor high, letting the blood-red moonlight shine through it, and could vaguely see some patterns within the scales.
"In the era when there was sunlight, you had never seen such a pig?" Li Qing asked again.
"Yes, this strange creature has only appeared in recent years. What, Brother Li, have you discovered something?" Tianlong replied.
Li Qing remained silent, his gaze fixed on the scale armor, deep in thought.
A newly emerged species? The sun had disappeared only a few decades ago; could species evolve that quickly?
Clearly, this was the result of human intervention. It should have been created by the force that specialized in the甲猪 business, cultivating a livestock that specifically fed on black rye mushrooms and was adaptable to various growing environments.
This甲猪 resembled a hybrid between a scaled species and an ordinary domestic pig. Li Qing was curious about the methods used to create such an animal, which seemed easy to raise, especially since they would always slaughter the live甲猪 before selling it, indicating that the difficulty of raising them was not high.
"I haven't found any problems; I'm just a bit curious and want to see how rare this甲猪 is," Li Qing said.
Tianlong shook his head, then seemed to remember something and said, "This甲猪 is sold by a force in Great Rock City called the 红鱼商会. If you're interested, you can go take a look."
"By the way, they also posted a notice to purchase various beasts from the era of sunlight!"
"If you go to Great Rock City, they will definitely have their eyes on your tiger!"
"Hehe, the young ones in the gang wouldn't recognize the fierce tiger you brought, but I recognized it at a glance. Where did you get it? This thing is quite rare now; I thought it had gone extinct from this world."
Hearing Tianlong's hint, Li Qing immediately noted this in his heart.
Purchasing various animals from the previous era? This was intriguing; it seemed that the 红鱼商会 indeed had the means to cultivate creatures adapted to the dark age.
There are experts indeed!
"During these years of traveling the world, I stumbled upon this tiger and decided to keep it by my side," Li Qing recounted the prepared story.
In truth, life is much more resilient than one might imagine. Even in this dark and desolate era, some species have gradually adapted to their environment and survived. Just like how the 红鱼商会 is actively purchasing various beasts from the era of sunlight, their actions are certainly not without reason; they must have discovered that some wild life still exists in the wilderness.
This was also why Tianlong was not as shocked as expected when he saw Li Qing bringing a tiger into the city.
"By the way, Tianlong, do you know if there are any experts in Great Rock City?"
Having dealt with Great Rock City for many years, he naturally had some understanding of the situation.
"You've asked the right person. As far as I know, there are two well-known forces in Great Rock City. One is the City Lord's Mansion, and the other is the 红鱼商会."
"On the surface, both forces have an internal strength expert stationed, but what goes on behind the scenes is unknown."
"The rest are just minor forces, at most having an external strength martial artist stationed, similar to the old义帮."
With this, Li Qing had a general understanding of Great Rock City.
It is worth mentioning that the City Lord's Mansion has no connection to the court of the sunlight era. After the sun disappeared and during the chaotic period, someone from the current City Lord's Mansion stood up to uphold order in this dark and cold era.
Since then, that martial arts expert declared himself the City Lord of Great Rock City and established the City Lord's Mansion, taking control of this grand city.
Originally, the 黑风域 had several cities, but not every city could remain as intact as Great Rock City or 黑曜城.
Refugees gathered together, leading to the current state of the 黑风域, which now only has three cities mutually protecting each other.
Among them, Great Rock City is the largest city in the 黑风域, far more prosperous than the combined 黑曜城 and 黑土城.
Seeing that Li Qing's next destination was likely Great Rock City, Tianlong reluctantly said, "Brother Li, do you really have to go?"
"It would be great if you stayed. In a few years, I will hand over the foundation of义帮 to you; the entire 黑曜城 will be yours."
"Moreover, that girl An has recognized me as her义父 over the years. I can see that she has always been thinking of you."
"If you stay, I will hold a wedding for you two, and we can each have our own lives!"
As he spoke, Tianlong laughed heartily and patted Li Qing on the shoulder.
Each have their own lives? I see you want to take advantage of the hierarchy!
Li Qing rolled his eyes in his heart and then smiled bitterly as he refused, "Tianlong, you jest. I have no other ambitions in this life; I just want to go further on the path of martial arts and travel the world to see all the scenery."
At least for now, Li Qing truly thought this way. Staying in 黑曜城 to marry and have children? That would be madness. The environment of the Eternal Night World is so harsh; what if it gets worse in the future?
He harbored the secret of traversing two realms; once he had attachments, should he bring his family to the better world?
Li Qing knew it would be difficult to abandon his wife and children in this world, so he aimed to avoid attachments as much as possible.
Moreover, he is a长生种, with over a hundred years of lifespan remaining, and it will surely extend further.
Even if he married and had children, what could he do? He wouldn’t have the ability to ensure that his wife and children could also achieve longevity.
In that case, he would have to watch his wife and children slowly pass away, a white-haired person sending off a black-haired one; how painful would that be!
Li Qing believed he was not someone who could easily be heartless and ungrateful; sadness was inevitable at that time.
To avoid such a situation, Li Qing decided to continue living alone, free and unburdened.
"Sigh, I understand your meaning and won't force you," Tianlong said.
"Just that now that the gang has grown, troublesome matters have increased."
Tianlong looked up at the sky and sighed deeply, appearing quite gloomy.
(The chapter ends)