Chapter 21: Exhaustion
With a sudden grab, a woman was pulled out.
Li Qi froze, momentarily stunned.
But the black mist immediately tried to snatch her, rushing over without regard for damage!
Li Qi instantly threw the woman behind him, then dispersed the charging black mist with three punches. Yet, unlike before, the black mist didn't dissipate; instead, it directly swallowed him!
It was as if it were fighting for its life.
“Damn it!” Li Qi’s heart jolted, and he immediately began to sing loudly!
“Radiant are the Seven Luminaries, brilliant above!”
“Bold is the warrior, mighty and proud!”
The vital energy in his body instantly boiled over, like a barrel of oil set ablaze!
It shone brightly like the sun, blazing fiercely like raging flames!
With the Bull Strength Art empowering his body, his yang energy surged forth, and his mighty aura directly pushed away the surrounding black mist.
The black mist still wanted to advance, but by then, the other merchants had arrived. They shouted loudly, radiating killing intent, and their clanging machetes were brimming with the martial spirit of the battlefield, instantly scaring the black mist away.
The black mist seemed to hesitate for a moment or two, then quickly retreated, no longer blocking their path.
“We made it! That son of a bitch is gone, let’s go quickly too!” Seeing this, Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said to the crowd behind him.
Although his tone was somewhat commanding, at this moment, no one had any objections. Everyone quickly gathered their belongings, hung their machetes, secured their back baskets, and then grabbed their torches, scurrying away.
No one even bothered with the woman.
Li Qi watched them run off, not even bothering with the woman, and for a moment, he didn't know what expression to make…
But it was a life, after all. The woman seemed to have lost consciousness?
Was she also held captive by this monster?
Li Qi looked at the fleeing crowd, indecisive, but then he noticed the woman’s clothes were ragged, originally white cloth and gauze, clearly very expensive.
However, despite their cost, they were covered in dirt and tattered. There were also some wounds on her body, seeping blood, staining the white dress with red.
She had no hairpins, her hair was dishevelled, and she looked utterly wretched.
She looked like… a young lady from a good family who had been captured?
Would there be a reward for saving her?
He hesitated for two or three seconds, then looked back. The group had already run twenty-something meters away.
And the black mist, who knew if it would return.
“Unlikely. A monster that can shapeshift, and I actually pulled it out?” Li Qi muttered to himself, then hoisted the unconscious woman onto his back and also quickly ran off.
There was no other way; he couldn’t just leave her to die, could he? Although she was suspicious, if she was a monster, she would naturally revert to her true form when exposed to sunlight during the day.
If it was the kind of monster that wasn't afraid of sunlight and could perfectly transform into a human, then would saving her or not make any difference?
Wouldn’t both paths lead to death?
Whether one survived encountering such a creature depended purely on its mood. Perhaps saving a life would make the monster happy and even bring benefits, right?
After all, Li Qi still had some conscience. Leaving a seemingly helpless woman lying by the roadside to die would still cause him some guilt.
It was only a day's journey to Feng County; he could carry her there.
With this thought, he no longer hesitated, carrying the person and relying on his physical prowess to quickly catch up.
The group ran continuously for over two hours. Even with their cultivation techniques, such a frantic dash through the mountain paths, coupled with the exertions of the night, left them all as tired as dead dogs.
What surprised Li Qi even more was that after two hours of frantic running, a living person carried on his shoulder should have been jolted to death or at least shaken awake if half-dead, yet the woman on his back remained unconscious.
However, given that this was a world with strange forces and deities, he couldn’t say much. He figured he’d just carry her to the city first, and deal with it if no one claimed her then.
After more than two hours, faint light appeared on the horizon and only then did everyone stop. They collapsed on the mountain path like dead dogs, leaning against rocks, all utterly exhausted. A few even vomited from fatigue.
“Don’t drink any water yet! Wait until you’ve rested enough,” the strong man instructed the merchants, then he himself leaned against a tree, utterly spent.
Li Qi was in an even worse state. Although he wasn’t carrying the merchants’ back baskets, he was still carrying a load. The woman weighed eighty to ninety jin, and while carrying her for a short while wasn't noticeable, carrying her for over two hours while running was truly hellish. He found a random spot, put the woman down, and without caring about the dirty ground, he promptly collapsed, gasping for air.
He was tired, truly too tired.
This two hours of frantic running had probably covered nearly eighty li, and it was weighted cross-country at that, practically taking Li Qi’s life. Since he began cultivating, he had never been this tired. Even pulling a boat couldn't possibly last two hours straight!
While the group of exhausted people was still panting, the strong man was the first to recover.
After regaining some strength, he walked over to Li Qi and sat down with a thud: “You, you don’t look particularly sturdy, but I didn’t expect you to be so brave. My name is Ba Kui, what’s yours?”
“Li Qi…” Li Qi replied weakly; he hadn’t recovered yet.
“Li Qi, I apologize for what happened during the day. I have a bit of a temper, and I can’t help myself when I hear people gossiping. But I never expected that beneath your seemingly thin and short stature, you’re a true man. We’ll reach Feng County today. Once we’re there, it’s settled, I have to treat you to a drink! Let’s celebrate!” Ba Kui clapped Li Qi’s shoulder and burst into laughter.
“Certainly, certainly…” Li Qi remained soft and weak, and with that pat, he simply collapsed.
For some reason, he felt exceptionally tired.
He had often done physical labor before and considered his endurance to be quite good. Even when tired, he should have recovered quickly.
However, at this moment, he felt particularly, especially tired, as if no amount of rest could make him feel better.
It was like the feeling of… recovering from a serious illness, a feeling of being weak?
But he hadn’t done anything that would make his body weak, had he?
“By the way, Li Qi, why did you bring this woman back? She’s still unconscious; she might have had her essence sucked out by that monster. She’s just a burden, and it might be difficult to travel with her. Did you take a liking to her?” Ba Kui looked at the unconscious woman.
“I just didn’t want to leave her to die, that’s all. I couldn’t just abandon her, could I?” Li Qi wiped off some sweat, then took a tiny sip of water.
“Here, this will help you recover faster.” Ba Kui extended his hand, holding a paper packet.
Li Qi took it, opened it, and found dark brown granules inside.
“It’s salt. When you’re tired, take a mouthful of water, then a pinch of salt. You’ll regain your strength in no time,” Ba Kui said.
“Thank you,” Li Qi thanked him, pinching a little and putting it in his mouth.
The first sensation wasn’t saltiness, but bitterness.
But it was normal. Such coarse salt probably had less salt content than sand; being able to replenish energy was already good enough.
(Chapter End)