Night Without End
Chapter 94 - 60 Suspicion that an Acquaintance has Arrived

Chapter 94: Chapter 60 Suspicion that an Acquaintance has Arrived

Two men were relatively tall, their golden armor did not appear dim even in the night, bearing some resemblance to the Six Ding and Six Jia widely known in some regions.

Qin Ming felt that these two people were very extraordinary, their bodies brimming with vigorous vitality, such strong spirit and blood energy that it spilled out through the armor and could not be concealed.

He had never seen these four individuals before, but of course, the most eye-catching was the leading woman.

Qin Ming’s first impression of her was that she was beautiful; at first glance, she was incredibly stunning, and upon closer inspection, she seemed even more captivating.

Li Qingyue had already stopped, standing calmly by the side of the road.

Her black hair flowed like a waterfall, and her figure was slender and graceful like a willow, her clothes fluttering in the wind. In this thick night without the light of Fire Spring outside the town, she gave off a sense of radiance as if she could dispel the fog of night.

Qin Ming did not look much, and he spurred the Purple Lightning Beast to dash past them.

The Maid opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but remembering her mistress’ words that they should not recognize each other, she closed her mouth again.

Qin Ming keenly caught her expression; even the deep night could not obstruct his now keen vision.

He also noticed that the woman seemed to be sizing him up.

Qin Ming was surprised and could not help but give her a glance.

They were very close to each other, so he could even see the patterns on her hair ornament clearly.

The woman was clad in a silver Feather Robe, her face unadorned with makeup, exquisitely flawless. Standing there, she was like a bright moon piercing through the clouds, shining in the pitch-black night, her divine body pure and graceful.

Not long ago, Qin Ming had been attacked by Fangwai outsiders capable of turning into mist, and two years earlier, he had been severely injured by a Feathered Robed Youth, nearly losing his life and ending up in this remote area.

Therefore, he was somewhat averse to outsiders from Fangwai.

Although the woman in the silver Feather Robe was undeniably gorgeous, Qin Ming only calmly glanced at her twice before spurring his mount and riding away.

Li Qingyue turned her head, watching his retreating figure.

She had previously thought it inappropriate to meet again, but now they had encountered each other here. She was considering whether to speak up, but he passed by so indifferently, without even pausing.

Li Qingyue’s brows slightly furrowed; she wasn’t wearing a veil so he couldn’t possibly fail to recognize her, yet his gaze was so calm and profound, without a ripple.

She felt a little surprised; had there been such big changes for both of them in a little over two years that they had prematurely experienced how "things remain the same but people change"?

The Maid spoke up, "Miss, do you and he have something between you? I felt something strange. You think it’s inappropriate to meet again, yet he seems even more indifferent than you, even cold. If we hadn’t looked at him first, that man might not have even glanced at you. So cold, so heartless!"

Li Qingyue shook her head, "What nonsense are you imagining? He and I were friends at one point, nothing more complicated than that."

The Maid suddenly understood, then nodded, "His surname is Cui, miss, you mean to say, it’s just that we’re all from the same circle, that’s all?"

Li Qingyue said, "Many things happened two years ago, those familiar people have all set out on their own paths, some became outsiders, some took to the Newborn Road early on, some have become notable figures, while others gradually became mundane. They may still hail from notable families, but many things have changed. I don’t know why he has come here."

"Which kind of person does that man belong to?" The Maid asked softly and cautiously.

"A somewhat illusory person, let’s go," Li Qingyue said as she took the lead towards Qing Song Town.

...

"How strange, I feel a sense of familiarity," Qin Ming pondered on the road.

He assessed privately that the Feather Robed woman was so delicate that if she didn’t employ the unpredictable methods of the outsiders, just based on physical constitution alone, he felt he could send her flying with one punch.

He shook his head, smacked the Purple Lightning Beast with his damaged long spear, and sped away rapidly.

"Alright, you can leave now." Qin Ming was a man of his word. After riding the Purple Lightning Beast around a large circuit, now eighty li away from Shuangshu Village, he intended to let it go.

The Purple Lightning Beast was overjoyed, as it had prepared for the worst, ready to endure humiliation for the time being, to get back at this young man later, to teach him a lesson he’d never forget!

The fact that it was now allowed to leave was beyond its expectations.

"What are you dawdling for? Go!" Qin Ming kicked its rear.

The Purple Lightning Beast, startled and enraged, bolted dozens of meters away, looked back at him, pointing a hoof in his direction and making a low growling sound, seemingly saying something.

"What are you blabbering about, want to die is it?" Qin Ming weighed the damaged long spear in his hands.

The Purple Lightning Beast was scared and leaped away tens of meters into the dense forest, vanishing from sight.

Qin Ming set out on his return journey, not following the original path. He ran along a longer route and on the way, he entered the dense forest, burying all his armor, blades, bows, and arrows, decisively abandoning them.

He felt that perhaps he would no longer need to wear armor in the future; having merged multiple Heavenly Light Forces, when spread across his body’s surface, provided far better defense than any armor.

The Old Golden Chicken, with its five mutations, could cut through his excellent armor when it executed the Phoenix Single Wing Spread, but it could not penetrate his Protective Heavenly Light.

Qin Ming shouldered a Mutton Fat Jade Iron Blade and, traveling light, immediately increased his pace.

He silently entered the village through the falling snowflakes. From the time he left at dusk until now, his return wasn’t particularly late.

Qin Ming was in a good mood. After all, he had single-handedly flattened Jinji Ridge!

"After a long night’s gallop, traveling and fighting, I’m actually a bit hungry," he said. He started with some fruits from Wild Bull Ridge, and not long after, the steaming hot pot of beef was ready.

In the mountains, the Purple Lightning Beast was furiously ramming into trees, snapping some of the large trees as thick as water buckets.

A white owl flew over, urging it to calm down—it wasn’t necessary to be enraged.

Then, in a low voice, it asked, "Did you go to see the Mountain Master? Were you able to get the Yin Yang Great Medicine?"

"That Old Boar is problematic, I didn’t get close and quickly fled," said the Purple Lightning Beast.

The white owl reminded, "In this area, it’s still best to refer to it as the Mountain Master. What could be the problem?"

"The Old Boar has been replaced!" the Purple Lightning Beast declared.

The owl was shocked, "Replaced by whom?"

The Purple Lightning Beast replied, "I suspect, it’s very likely the same White-haired Old Beast that wept on graves back then—it didn’t die, nor did it flee. Instead, it became the Mountain Master."

"What should we do now? Everyone knows by now that the ancient trees’ remnants of roots and trunks in Black and White Mountain, once nourished by the Heavenly Light, have transformed into Yin Yang Great Medicine. All factions are pressuring for it, especially those outsiders who covet this kind of medicine imbued with Yin Yang Qi the most. If too many are fixated on it, will you still be able to obtain it?"

"Please ask the senior to intervene; I can’t handle it on my own," the Purple Lightning Beast sighed helplessly.

Later, shaking with fury, it said, "You go and carefully investigate a man who seems to have been reborn four or five times, excluding locals—you can tell from the accent that he comes from the giant city where the noble family resides. Check to see who has recently come to this region of Black and White Mountain. Once he falls into my hands, I will definitely explode his dog head!"

Now that it thought back, the Purple Lightning Beast felt like it was about to explode on the spot. Then, it hurriedly ran off to soak in the hot springs, seemingly trying to wash away its humiliation.

Qin Ming typically spoke with a local accent. Ever since fragmented scenes began to surface in his mind, he started to mimic the accent from afar. Tonight, he naturally pretended to be an outsider.

While checking his spoils of war, he discovered some pages hidden in a book: correspondence between two bandits and an elder Golden Thief from afar.

"The Golden Thief and the outsiders are colluding; could the man who could turn into mist even be an outsider beast?"

Qin Ming didn’t concern himself with it; after all, all traces were lost at Jinji Ridge now.

The next morning, he woke up feeling vigorous in spirit. After fulfilling his wish to kill the bandits, he felt it was time for him to travel far.

"Xiao Qin!" Old Man Liu came early to knock on the door. Seeing Qin Ming at home, he completely relaxed.

"It’s done," Qin Ming replied with just two simple words.

Old Man Liu knew he had traveled far last night to take care of a big matter, and hearing such a response now, he excitedly took a deep breath, otherwise, he really wanted to let out a hearty roar.

"You’re truly incredible!" Old Man Liu exclaimed. Qin Ming, after his third rebirth, was actually capable of killing bandits and soloing Jinji Ridge!

After getting the full picture here, he returned home contentedly, opened a jar of good wine brought back from the Patrol Team, and then drank happily.

He knew that a significant uproar was bound to occur in this region within a day or two.

"Yongqing, come join me for a drink," Old Man Liu called out to his neighbor, Yang Yongqing.

"Uncle Liu, I’m about to become a mountain bandit; how can I be in the mood to drink?"

Old Man Liu chuckled, "You haven’t gone yet, have you? Drink today if we have wine today. Maybe they’ll change their minds and not force people to go to Jinji Ridge."

Yang Yongqing sighed, "Unless they all die, how could they possibly change their domineering nature?"

Qin Ming was waiting for the situation to erupt. Leaving immediately and vanishing from here might seem unusual to some people.

He was studying the three books he’d newly acquired. Two of them were written by the bandits, to instruct the Newcomers of Jinji Ridge, which he had no interest in.

It was only the ancient, yellowed book that he greatly valued. He was studying it; the Xinsheng Skill mentioned within was quite powerful. The Heavenly Light Force it referred to was rather unique—a Soft Strength emphasizing yielding to overcome the rigid, and it even corresponded to a secret technique—the Yellow Mud Palm.

Qin Ming hadn’t gone into deep study yet, merely skimmed it overall. Just by the name of the Palm Skill, he felt it wasn’t particularly powerful.

However, a later expert who had thoroughly studied the book left a note, mentioning that after mastering the Yellow Mud Palm, he had killed an outsider.

Qin Ming murmured softly, "It seems that outsiders exert an unparalleled oppressive influence on those who follow different paths. The elation expressed by this expert upon killing an outsider is so significant that he recorded this glorious achievement in his treasured Secret Book."

Speaking of which, he hadn’t yet left this remote land but had already encountered outsiders repeatedly.

Inevitably, he thought of the woman in the Feather Robe he met last night; she indeed looked somewhat familiar.

Qin Ming pondered, as delicate and peerless visage of the woman emerged in his mind. Her rare graceful demeanor made him more convinced of their past acquaintance as he thought about it.

Until at last, some fragmented scenes surfaced in his mind, and sure enough, he recognized her!

"No wonder she paused on the roadside to look at me, with a somewhat peculiar look in her eyes. She must have recognized me. It’s because I was once gravely injured and forgot some matters, only starting to recall them recently. Standing there, having met yet not acknowledging each other, is she deliberately avoiding something?"