Chapter 32 - Stone
Only Yang Xie and the others were left, their clothes billowing in the wind.
"Senior, he just left like this?"
"Sure enough, he has the demeanor of a true master—doing good deeds without leaving his name behind."
"But senior, he's quite skilled at killing and handling corpses."
Nangong Xiuqin and the others stood stunned as they watched the resolute figure of the man in black vanish into the distance.
"But why would the men in black save us? And it seems like they came just to save us," Nangong Qing asked, still puzzled.
"Yes, it's strange," Nangong Gou agreed. "The man in black didn't come earlier or later, but exactly when we were about to face Xie Hu and his team. And he wore all black in broad daylight. Was he afraid we'd recognize him?"
Nangong Qing and the others exchanged uneasy glances, feeling like something was off.
"Could he be a lone wanderer who acted bravely for justice?" Nangong Xiuqin mused aloud. "But that doesn't make sense. How could a lone traveler not know about Xie Hu's bounty and not take their bodies with him?"
Yang Xie remained quiet, standing still as if detached from the conversation. He simply glanced at his surroundings and didn't speak.
However, Nangong Lan continued to observe Yang Xie, her eyes thoughtful. She seemed to have come to a realization.
"Could it be... that he's the bodyguard my father arranged for me?"
Nangong Ya's voice trembled with uncertainty as she spoke.
Before, her father, Nangong Batian, had secretly assigned a guard to Nangong Ya, but she had never needed the protection until now. This encounter made her reconsider the possibility.
"Yes, yes!" Nangong Xiuqin suddenly exclaimed. "Sister Xiaoya is the clan leader's biological daughter, and she is an S-level talent! How could she not have a bodyguard?"
Nangong Qing and the others still felt that something was amiss, but they couldn't pinpoint exactly what. However, the idea that the man in black was the bodyguard for Nangong Ya seemed to make sense, as it was the only plausible explanation.
"Sister Xiaoya, thank you very much this time. If it weren't for your guardian, we would have been in real trouble," Nangong Gou said, his voice filled with gratitude.
Everyone seemed to accept this explanation and expressed their thanks to Nangong Ya.
Even Nangong Lan, who had her suspicions, began to wonder if Yang Xie was indeed her guardian.
"No, no, I'm not sure if this is my guardian," Nangong Ya quickly corrected. "But if it is, I'll be happy to help everyone in any way I can."
Yang Xie smiled and joined the conversation. "Yaya, this is your advantage. Don't say you couldn't help. Didn't you save all of our lives?"
"I still have one question," Yang Xie said, his brow furrowing. "How did Xie Hu's team find us?"
Yang Xie was genuinely concerned about this. First, the group from the Alien God Cult had attacked them at night, and now Xie Hu's team had appeared. It seemed too coincidental.
"Do they have GPS or something?" he joked. "Or are we just so bright that anyone can find us?"
"Xie Shu's martial spirit is a treasure-hunting mouse, which has the talent to detect treasures," Nangong Qing explained. "Perhaps they found the Tianxing Orchid through that."
"That makes sense," Yang Xie muttered. "But still, why would Xie Hu be so powerful? Why is he close to breaking through to the peak of martial arts? Maybe his brother's treasure-detection talent has helped him find many valuable things."
Nangong Qing's explanation gave Yang Xie some clarity.
"Treasure-hunting mouse?" Yang Xie repeated, his curiosity piqued. "Is that the kind of treasure-seeking mouse I'm thinking of? That's a big prize. I need to have the shadow soldiers devour Xie Shu's shadow to see if I can get this talent."
They hadn't allowed Yang Yi to swallow the shadow before, for fear that it would lead to unwanted discoveries. But now, after the major groups had left, Yang Xie was ready to have his shadow soldiers devour their shadows.
Nangong Qing and the others had witnessed the terrifying sight of Xie Hu's bodies shrinking step by step, and they didn't want to linger near the remnants of the giant python that had consumed those dangerous creatures. The experience was fresh in their minds.
Nangong Qing led them back to the area where they had encountered the bodies.
"These are blood hunters. They're on the blacklist and have bounties on their heads. Although the men in black took everything, including their warrior terminals, their bodies are still here."
"Brother Qing, what do you mean?" one of the group members asked.
"We'll collect the bounty for these bodies. It's better than us doing several missions," Nangong Qing replied without hesitation.
"Yes! Their corpses are our biggest reward. The seven of us can split the bounty. Xie Hu and his team have committed too many evil deeds. Many people will want them dead."
"But how do we carry all these bodies back?" Yang Xie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Five corpses is a lot of trouble."
"No need to carry them all," Nangong Qing said. "We can take a few photos and cut off their ears. The gene bank has their information, and we can get the results by checking the blood samples from their ears."
Yang Xie was impressed. Nangong Qing clearly had extensive experience in bounty missions.
As soon as Nangong Qing finished speaking, Nangong Gou quickly got to work, skillfully cutting off the ears of the five corpses. His technique was precise, clearly a result of many bounty missions.
When they passed the body of the giant python, everyone instinctively avoided it, fearful that other terrifying creatures inside might rush out. The memory of the giant python's body shrinking step by step was still vivid in their minds.
Xie Hu and his team hadn't managed to dig out any exotic crystals, and Nangong Qing and his team weren't about to make the same mistake.
"Good things should be taken alive!" Nangong Qing said confidently.
With the threat of the giant python gone, Yang Xie and his team quickly crossed the waterfall and entered the space behind it.
The rushing water was still flowing rapidly in front of them, but the space inside the waterfall was surprisingly large.
"We're rich! We're rich!" Nangong Gou exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement. "There's not just one Tianxinglan—there are almost ten of them, and their quality is amazing!"
Yang Xie, however, wasn't as interested in the Tianxinglan.
First, he didn't know much about it, and second, there was something else in the cave that caught his attention.
As he entered the space behind the waterfall, Yang Xie immediately sensed that the concentration of spiritual energy here was much higher than outside—about two or three times greater.
It made sense, given that this was where the Tianxinglan had grown, but as Yang Xie moved deeper into the space, something else caught his eye—a black stone.
At first glance, it appeared to be an ordinary stone, but it had an inexplicable pull on Yang Xie.