Fu Entao was deeply affected. He had been reborn many years ago and thought he had built up enough strength, yet he was defeated by a boy who had just been reborn.
He leaned on his long knife with one hand while using the other to pull out the iron spear that had pierced his thigh, spilling a lot of blood and making him sway from the pain.
Shaocheng Feng was pinned to the ground with one arm missing and the iron spear stuck in his abdomen. He struggled to pull it out but when he saw Qin Ming looking at him, he helplessly lowered his remaining arm.
"The entire patrol team... wiped out by one person." Shaocheng Feng realized he wouldn't escape death. There was no way the other party would leave any survivors.
"He’s only been reborn once, how can he be this strong?" Feng Yian muttered as he wiped blood from his mouth.
Qin Ming spoke up, "Tell me something interesting."
"You must be dreaming!" Fu Entao replied defiantly. He knew he wouldn’t have a good ending, and even if he lowered his head now, it wouldn’t change anything.
On the other side, Feng Yian and Shaocheng Feng had no intention of speaking further.
Usually, they were fierce like wolves, tough characters, but now, if they could humbly beg for their lives, they wouldn’t mind kneeling. However, they knew it was unrealistic; they were aware they were doomed.
"Tell me about the Blood Bamboo Forest," Qin Ming said as he approached Shaocheng Feng.
Shaocheng Feng remained silent, staring blankly at the night sky. He started to reflect on his past because he knew his life was about to end.
"Not going to say anything?" Qin Ming didn’t waste words. He swung his knife down, and with a thud, Shaocheng Feng’s body was severed.
Shaocheng Feng’s eyes widened, unable to close them in death. The other party was decisive, not hesitating to kill him.
Qin Ming came to eliminate the patrol team and had no interest in torturing them. Since they wouldn’t talk, he simply killed them.
He wanted to see if the other two would soften up under such life-and-death pressure.
Fu Entao’s face twitched slightly, but his eyes grew fiercer. He tightened his grip on the long knife and slowly moved his feet, preparing to attack again.
As a reborn person who had roamed this area for years, he was unafraid of death, having fought through many battles in the deep mountains.
On the other side, Feng Yian lay on the ground, the iron spear piercing his back, trapping him there. He couldn’t get up and trembled slightly.
The wind and snow swirled around as Fu Entao charged like a human beast, using all his strength to swing his knife in a final desperate attack.
After a fierce clash, Fu Entao’s right arm was severed by a knife, and his long knife fell to the ground. His face turned pale as he staggered backward.
Having already been pierced in one leg by the spear, he lost his balance and knelt in the snow, gasping for breath, his naturally curly hair wet and sticking to his head. His face was filled with unwillingness and despair.
"Do you have anything to say?" Qin Ming asked.
"Just give me a quick death with my own long knife," Fu Entao said, cold sweat covering his forehead. His left hand trembled as he pressed it against the wound where his arm had been, but blood had already soaked half his body, staining the snow red.
"Why do you think I would grant you such a wish?" Qin Ming said as he stepped forward with the chopping knife.
"Are you trying to humiliate me?" Fu Entao struggled to get up.
"Do you even deserve that?" Qin Ming rushed past him, swinging the chopping knife across his neck, and a head filled with unwillingness flew off, the body collapsing to the ground.
Feng Yian lay there, pale, struggling to rise, but the iron spear stuck in him barely trembled, making it hard to pull out from the frozen ground.
He felt humiliated as the other party stood over him, a foot on his head.
"Do you want to say something to me?" Qin Ming looked down at him.
Feng Yian clenched his fists but then weakly let them go. He breathed heavily and said, "You want to find spiritual creatures? I won’t tell you."
Qin Ming pressed down a little harder, and Feng Yian’s skull made a slight cracking sound, causing him immense pain and twisting his face.
Without hesitation, Qin Ming swung his knife down, beheading him and ending the life of this bearded man.
As for where the Blood Bamboo Forest was, he could just ask Old Liu when he returned. Liu had big dreams when he was younger and often went into the mountains with the older patrol teams, so he knew a lot about the hot springs in the mountains.
The mountains were left with only the sound of the wind, no more clashing of weapons. This patrol team was completely wiped out by Qin Ming alone.
He quietly said, "I can’t believe I killed so many people without holding back."
Qin Ming stood still, reflecting. It was probably because he didn’t see these people as his kind, but rather as monsters threatening the villagers.
He began to clean up the battlefield. The bodies just needed to be thrown down the mountain for the wild beasts to take care of; the dense forest was full of predators, and nothing would be left behind.
Qin Ming had developed a habit of being frugal. He searched through Fu Entao, Feng Yian, and the others, and under the light of the hot springs, some shiny items appeared in his hands—Night Silver.
This was a currency far more valuable than copper coins and could be seen in trading at the town.
The coins were round with a hole in the center, symbolizing the absence of the sun, and were called Night Silver.
Then, Qin Ming found something even more valuable—Day Gold.
It was bright yellow all over, a perfect round coin resembling a missing sun, representing people’s good wishes.
The Day Gold that patrol members carried into the mountains was not much, totaling only eleven pieces, but for an ordinary person, it was a fortune.
This wasn’t the first time Qin Ming had "picked up" Day Gold. Before he got sick, he had seen a few corpses near a fallen crevice and not only found Day Gold but also a very precious mineral.
Day Gold was rarely circulated in Silver Vine Town, so he never used it; otherwise, it would attract too much attention.
He also hadn’t touched the exquisitely crafted, delicately decorated crystal bottle because after he recovered from his illness, he had reborn on his own.
Moreover, he didn’t know much about the mineral and needed to understand it better to avoid wasting its true value.
The most critical thing was that the events happening now would soon explode. It was best for him to keep a low profile as a newly reborn person.
"I’ve only been reborn once and don’t have the strength to deal with the patrol team. Once this ‘storm’ settles down, if I can be reborn a second time, then it won’t be a problem."
Qin Ming continued to search the mountain for spoils.
"Good armor, well-crafted long knives, these are all great items!" He sighed in regret, feeling the armor and weapons, and planned to bury them in different parts of the forest, digging them up when he needed them for exploring the Blood Bamboo Forest.
He was that simple, searching everyone from head to toe, even the golden mastiff didn’t escape his attention. He picked it up, wanting to cut off a big piece of dog meat to cook in his wooden house.
He had come out at midnight, waiting in the forest until the fog cleared, and then fought fiercely with the patrol team until now. He was exhausted and had been hungry for a long time.
But he sighed and gave up, throwing the mastiff back into the snow. He couldn’t stay here for long; he needed to clean up the battlefield quickly.
Qin Ming entered a wooden house and found it very cozy and comfortable inside. The floor was covered with thick animal skin blankets, and there were silver bowls and chopsticks on the dining table, along with a beautifully crafted knife for cutting and roasting meat.
One row of wine jars, when opened, spilled out a rich aroma of wine, clearly much better than the spicy old wine that had long been drunk dry at Xu Yueping’s house.
After searching here, he didn’t find much, but in the wooden house that had collapsed from the fierce battle, he found an old knife manual. The worn leather pages were frayed and curled.
It was clear that it had been frequently read and studied, with dense notes and markings in different handwriting, giving it an ancient feel.
As he flipped through it, Qin Ming saw familiar knife techniques. Fu Entao’s knife skills were only part of what was recorded in the manual, which also mentioned "Sky Light" and deeper descriptions.
He didn’t flip further, quickly closed it, and took it with him. This old leather book was worth more than the Day Gold.
After thoroughly searching this place, golden patterns appeared on his skin, and as he punched and kicked, the remaining wooden house shattered one after another.
The wind was strong now, sweeping up the broken wood and lifting it into the air, blowing it down the mountain with the storm.
The snow on the ground was occasionally picked up, mixing with the large snowflakes in the sky, making it hard to leave any traces at the scene.
"What a pity for my chopping knife." Qin Ming looked at the blade, which had many chips and was densely damaged. Although it was made of fine iron, it was still not comparable to the weapons of the patrol team.
"But it can still be used." He found a sharpening stone here and quickly ground down the chipped areas, re-sharpening the blade, making it slightly narrower than before.
Qin Ming took all the bodies down the mountain, throwing them into the dense forest, and he personally saw some wild beasts appear to quickly drag the bodies away.
As for the four people he had ambushed on the road earlier, when he searched again, he found not even a trace of bone left.
Qin Ming moved aside heavy stones and retrieved his pack from the snow cave, taking off his tattered, blood-stained outer clothing and armor, and changing into clean clothes he usually wore.
He burned what needed to be burned and buried what needed to be buried, including the Day Gold and the knife manual, leaving them in the mountains. Soon, he disappeared into the dense forest.
Qin Ming returned quietly, dragging a piece of prey. No one knew that this seemingly gentle boy, who looked the same as usual, had just fought a bloody battle.
He boiled a pot of water, unusually not using cold water, and enjoyed a hot bath. His well-proportioned and tall body glistened, with smooth muscle lines. He carefully washed himself, avoiding any lingering smell from the battle.
Not long after, he appeared at Lu Ze's house.
"Uncle, what kind of meat is this?" Wen Rui asked, leaning closer.
Qin Ming held up a large piece of fresh meat and smiled, "This is delicious! Dragon meat from the sky, donkey meat from the ground. Uncle caught a wild donkey today."
Mainly, he was still thinking about the copper pot dog meat. He regretted not being able to eat the golden mastiff and wanted to treat himself to some copper pot donkey meat.
Soon, laughter filled the air.
"Uncle, donkey meat is really delicious!"
In front of the steaming copper pot, Lu Ze, who was injured, spoke up, "Xiao Qin, you’ve laid a golden foundation. You should carefully consider the matter of rebirth."
Qin Ming nodded, "Don’t worry, Brother Lu, I have it in mind."
After dinner, he returned home, pondering how to discreetly ask Old Liu about the Blood Bamboo Forest.
If he could be reborn a second time early, he certainly wouldn’t want to delay and wanted to make a trip to the mysterious Blood Bamboo Forest as soon as possible.