This single word was filled with intimidation, causing the burly dude who was roaring to halt his steps. He then turned his head toward the speaker.
The person who had spoken was none other than the old man wearing boxing gloves whom Xu Qing had seen earlier.
"That kid should be a lucky survivor from the slums outside. Since the gods have spared him, you shouldn't act against him. Let us leave."
"But…" A strong reluctance could be seen in the eyes of the burly dude. He believed he was just careless earlier. If he really acted seriously, he was confident he could crush Xu Qing's neck in the span of a few breaths of time.
Just when he was about to speak, the old man calmly glanced at him.
"Do you need me to repeat myself?"
The burly dude's expression showed a struggle, but he ultimately lowered his head.
It was just that when he lowered his head, he glanced at Xu Qing who was hiding in the bunker from the corner of his eyes, and killing intent flashed in his expression. After that, his countenance turned gloomy as he turned and limped in the old man's direction.
Xu Qing sensed the killing intent. His eyes narrowed slightly as he warily gazed at this group of scavengers who were walking further away.
However, just when they moved tens of zhang away, the old man in the center suddenly stopped. He turned his head, and it was unknown whether he was looking at Xu Qing or the flames from the pile of burning corpses as he suddenly spoke a long time later.
"Kid, are you willing to leave here with me?"
Xu Qing started. He noticed the other party's tone. The old man said 'me' and not 'us'.
Hence, Xu Qing fell silent as his gaze swept through the crowd. The old man was also someone with patience, so he didn't rush Xu Qing. He stood far away and waited for Xu Qing's answer.
Tens of breaths later, Xu Qing once again swept his gaze through these people. He then looked at the old man as well as the gloomy burly dude whom he injured.
A strange light flashed in the youth's eyes.
He slowly stood up and didn't speak, moving nearer to them.
Upon seeing Xu Qing walking over, the old man smiled and turned to continue walking. The others also cast deep looks at Xu Qing as they departed together.
Just , Xu Qing followed this group of scavengers and watched them search through and collect all the valuable items in the city.
In the meantime, he also learned that the nickname of the burly dude was Broken Ox.
This person had swept his sinister gaze many times toward Xu Qing.
However, he was evidently suppressing his murderous urge. It seemed like he wasn't anxious and wanted to wait for a chance to act when the old man wasn't present.
Also, it was like he was very sure that there would be such an opportunity appearing on their journey.
Xu Qing contemplated for a while and thought of the burly dude's greed before coming up with a plan. Hence, with his familiarity with the city, he provided some aid to these scavengers.
Xu Qing assumed a very humble demeanor and helped these scavengers to find more valuable items at an even quicker speed.
As for Broken Ox, his greed was clear to all. Even though the load he was carrying was full and the weight had exceeded what he could bear, he still wanted to grab more items.
Hence, he who was already injured searched more places than others and also carried an increased load due to having more items.
At the start, this couldn't count for much. But as time flowed, the stamina of the burly dude was greatly exhausted. The sense of fatigue he felt also soon exceeded the others.
As for the area around the city lord's residence, Xu Qing thought of how the old man named Captain Lei had helped him. So, he decided not to lure them over.
They continued doing this until the night was about to descend. The group then finally left the city and set up a campsite in the slums outside the city.
Their actions were very proficient, and they soon set up six tents.
Other than the two people wielding blades sharing a single tent, the others were all solo. They lit up a stick of incense outside their tents, and some even took out some powder and sprinkled it in the surroundings.
Seeing that the sky was growing darker and the various roars in the city started echoing out, these scavengers all entered their tents.
Only Captain Lei swept his gaze toward the lonely Xu Qing. He took out a sleeping bag and tossed it over to him.
"Lighting the incense can dispel the mutated beasts, and the powder can stop the bizarre existences from coming nearer. Given your contribution today, Broken Ox won't dare to target you when I'm here. This place can still be considered safe."
After the old man finished speaking, he no longer cared and entered his tent.
Xu Qing didn't speak. He merely cast a deep glance at the old man's tent before opening the sleeping bag and snuggling inside.
However, he didn't seal it completely, leaving a slight gap facing the direction of the scavengers' tent.
During late-night, the roars and mournful cries outside grew even more intense, and an eerie crying sound also reverberated through the air. The terrifying atmosphere seemed to be inundated everywhere in the outside world.
No one was willing to leave the safety of their current dwelling place.
In the sleeping bag, he opened his eyes and remained immobile as he silently waited.
Time continued to flow and when it was deep in the night, when most people were soundly sleeping, Xu Qing slowly climbed out of his sleeping bag.
His movements were very careful and he did his best not to make any sound.
The roars and mournful cries inside the city echoed in his ears, but they didn't cause him the slightest bit of distraction.
After Xu Qing climbed out carefully, he silently walked toward the tent that the burly dude nicknamed Broken Ox was in.
He wouldn't allow a concealed danger near him that would threaten his life to exist. Even though it was a concealed danger, he had to think of a solution to resolve it immediately.
This was a rule Xu Qing had learned by surviving in the slums through lessons paid in blood. This was the true reason why he had agreed to follow the old man.
In fact, all the help he provided these scavengers during the day to allow them to have a greater harvest was because he saw Broken Ox's greed. He wanted the injured Broken Ox to be even more fatigued and lose his wariness.
Hence, he intentionally adopted a humble demeanor to numb the other party, to make him unprepared.
All of this was for the sake of taking action right now. Currently, Xu Qing's expression was calm as he softly approached the tent. He wasn't reckless at all. He first squatted there to listen attentively for a long while.