Chapter 1492 - 1492: The Map on the Baron's Body
Chapter 1492 - 1492: The Map on the Baron's Body
After consecutively killing the two men, Ye Qing was also exhausted. He sat to rest for a while, regained some strength, and then walked over to the two corpses.The man with relatively weaker strength was no big deal; Ye Qing had cut his throat with Wu Hong Dagger, causing his death. Left here, the body would either be torn apart by wild animals on the grassland or discovered by people, or simply not discovered and gradually rotted away into a pile of skeletons.
However, the situation was different with the Baron's body. He had been stung more than twenty times by Poisonous Bees, and their poison was extremely terrifying. His whole body had now nearly turned into a toxic human; anyone touching him would be poisoned. Ye Qing had the Mu Ling, so any poison had no effect on him, making it safe. But if ordinary people encountered this and touched the corpse, they would be doomed.
Thus, the Baron's corpse had to be dealt with. Leaving it on the grassland would always pose a threat; the best method was to burn the body.
Wanting to burn a corpse is not an easy task. It's feasible if there's gasoline, but Ye Qing only had a lighter with him right now and basically nothing else for combustion, making it impossible to handle the body this way. So, Ye Qing could only think of one method — burying the body.
In Ye Qing's situation now, wanting to dig a grave here to bury someone was essentially impossible. The grassland was covered with turf everywhere; the roots of the grass were intertwined, firmly clutching the earth's layers and making it very sturdy. And Ye Qing had no tools; trying to dig a pit to bury a person here was basically impossible. Fortunately, though, there were many groups of rocks around, and on these stone mountain piles, there were numerous empty crevices in between the stones, which could be used to throw the Baron's body into.
These empty crevices were quite large and highly convoluted; an average person wouldn't go into them. Ye Qing simply needed to throw the Baron's body into some secluded crevice and then fill it up with stones so that nobody would come and dig this body out.
With the decision made, Ye Qing did not immediately leave with the Baron's body. Instead, he squatted beside the two corpses, first searching through their belongings. These people had mysterious identities, and Ye Qing was very curious about their origins, wanting to see if he could figure out from their belongings where they came from.
The man's clothes didn't contain anything hidden; apart from some currency, there was nothing else. As for the Baron, the situation wasn't much better. However, when Ye Qing searched his waist, he was shocked to discover a slightly protruding area near his abdomen, different from other areas.
Ye Qing immediately lifted his clothes, only to see the Baron's abdomen wrapped around with several layers of tape, tightly binding a small box to it. Ye Qing had felt the protruding area earlier, which turned out to be the location of this small box.
Such a small box hidden in this manner certainly indicated a problem with it. Without hesitation, Ye Qing tore the tape and pulled the box from the Baron's abdomen.
The small box was about the size of a child's hand aged eight or nine, flat in shape, unable to hold much inside. However, since the Baron used such a method to hide the box, it was evident that the contents inside were not simple.
Ye Qing turned the box over a few times; it was actually just a simple small box, with a clasp that kept it tightly closed. Ye Qing pried open the clasp, and the box immediately revealed its contents.
Ye Qing initially thought the box might contain something strange or unusual, but when he opened it, he was stunned to find that it merely contained a piece of paper.
The paper was neatly folded to fit inside the box, yet there was no telling what it actually was. But Ye Qing could see that the fact that this paper was hidden so meticulously surely meant it held some significance.
Ye Qing took out the paper and opened it to find it adorned with convoluted lines and markings. Upon close examination, it turned out to be a map. However, this map was clearly a tracing, not the original, and even had ink marks proving its hurried creation. Additionally, it was drawn in such a rush that some areas were somewhat blurred. It seemed that whoever traced this map was under significant stress, thus rendering the map barely functional for viewing.
Still, it was unclear which location this map depicted, or why the Baron chose to hide a map so secretly? What was crucial about this map?
Ye Qing genuinely couldn't comprehend the reason behind this, but there was no time for him to ponder over it now. He hid the map away and immediately carried the Baron's corpse, heading towards the nearest Stone Mountain.
Stone Mountain was entirely composed of various stones stacked together, and it was unknown how such terrain was formed before. For ordinary people, these mountainous paths weren't so easy to climb, but for Ye Qing, it was very simple. Carrying a person, Ye Qing walked as if on flat ground, completely unhindered.
Running around the mountain a few times, Ye Qing compared the areas and found the most appropriate stone cave to throw the Baron's body into. The cave was deep and secluded, and its location was treacherous, easy to fall into but hard to escape. After dropping the Baron's body, it immediately vanished without a trace. However, Ye Qing still felt uneasy and found many more stones from elsewhere, throwing them all into the cave until it was completely filled, easing his mind slightly as he continued towards Dragon Burial Mountain.
Meanwhile, upon dealing with the three men, Ye Qing faced a similar situation on the other side where Northern Martial Zen was pursued by the Earl and two men. The two men were inconsequential to Northern Martial Zen as they posed no threat. But the Earl was different; he was far more formidable than the Baron that Ye Qing encountered, almost matching Northern Martial Zen in combat.
Northern Martial Zen engaged in battle with the Earl while the two men stood by, unable to intervene. Their skills were formidable, where even a casual technique could shatter bones and spill blood, leaving the two men afraid to approach.
Upon entering Huaxia, the Earl was initially very arrogant as he didn't regard Huaxia Martial Artists highly, thinking his prowess would easily settle any opponent. Yet, during the fight, he realized that Huaxia Martial Artists were far from simple. One Northern Martial Zen engaged him equally, catching him off guard, something he had never dreamed of.
Indeed, Northern Martial Zen felt more astonished than the Earl. Regardless of the Earl's abilities, Northern Martial Zen's insight exceeded that of the Earl; witnessing individuals from Five Uniques, encountering someone of equal power wasn't extraordinary. However, what surprised him was the Earl's bizarre skills. He fought without any visible techniques, solely relying on his extraordinary reflexes and strange speed. Furthermore, Northern Martial Zen found it puzzling that the Earl's body appeared weightless, able to float through the air like a kite. Several times Northern Martial Zen's punches were about to hit him, but the Earl always evaded in an incredulous manner, leaving Northern Martial Zen's attacks to land ineffectively.
After half an hour, neither could gain the upper hand, yet both grew increasingly bewildered. Particularly Northern Martial Zen, aware that fighting so long outside Humeng City was perilous. If the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance discovered them, both would face trouble. Even without their noticing, encountering a passing expert posed issues. Northern Martial Zen, who had plenty of rivals, dreaded meeting foes teaming against him, risking substantial loss.
Fighting for a while, Northern Martial Zen feigned an attack suddenly, forcing the Earl back. He jumped out of the combat zone, calling out loudly, "Friend, we don't have any grievances. There's no need to fight to the death here. We're right on the outskirts of Humeng City, where the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance hold great power. If they notice us, it won't be a good matter!"
Northern Martial Zen hoped to end the fight quickly by intimidating the Earl with the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance. However, he overestimated the Earl's comprehension, as the Earl couldn't understand Huaxia language. Unlike the Baron who could stutter some phrases, the Earl couldn't grasp a single word. For the Earl, Northern Martial Zen's words merely sounded like gibberish, without understanding his meaning.
"Enough nonsense! You killed my men, and today, I must demand blood for blood!" The Earl impatiently roared, charging back at Northern Martial Zen. With his subordinates watching, he resolved to kill Northern Martial Zen, or his reputation would suffer significantly. The Earl was extremely arrogant and disdained Huaxia people; he refused to be humiliated by one.
HCB