Chapter 112: First Encounter with the Qing Lin
Chapter 112: First Encounter with the Qing Lin
The powerful pressure came and went quickly.
After this intense pressure disappeared, the members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and the snake people suddenly noticed a white-clothed man standing between them.
The sudden appearance of the man in white surprised both sides. However, after a while, the mercenaries gradually calmed down. Since the newcomer was human, they believed he wouldn't assist the snake people.
The snake people, on the other hand, glared at the unexpected guest, their faces filled with anger. The leader of the snake people, with triangular pupils, gave Gu He a cold look and didn't waste any time. He waved his hand, and two snake people, each with the strength of around Five-Star Dou Masters, lashed their tails and charged at Gu He.
Gu He lifted his eyes, lightly sniffed the faint scent of blood in the wind that was rushing towards him, and furrowed his brow slightly. Then, his eyes began to shimmer with violet flames.
The two snake people who were charging at him suddenly erupted into purple flames. In just an instant, the flames engulfed both of them.
"Ahhhh!"
A piercing scream echoed from within the purple flames. After a moment, the two snake people turned into ashes, which were quickly scattered by the wind and disappeared into the desert.
Watching Gu He's display of power, the dozen mercenaries behind him were left in shock, their mouths slightly agape, and their faces filled with astonishment.
"What kind of technique was this?"
The members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group were also bewildered by this scene. "This guy... He's incredibly strong!"
One of the members, Xuelan, said with a slightly open mouth. Her alluring eyes were fixed on Gu He.
"Hey, Sister Xuelan, are you all right?" At this moment, a mercenary called Old Five rushed down from behind a dune and excitedly approached the mercenary group. He was addressing Xuelan.
"Old Five? Didn't I tell you to go to the Stone Desert City and bring reinforcements? Why are you still here?" Xuelan's face changed dramatically as she scolded Old Five, her eyebrows slightly raised, and her expression filled with anger.
After being scolded by Xuelan, Old Five had a chance to explain himself. He pointed to Gu He's back and said, "Sister Xuelan, this is the guy I asked for help."
"Him?" Hearing Old Five's words, Xuelan was momentarily surprised. She looked at Gu He and then furrowed her brow, asking, "Who is he? He's probably not a member of our Desert Iron Mercenary Group, right? How did you get him to help us?"
As a mercenary, Xuelan was always cautious. In this vast desert, you couldn't trust anyone you didn't know.
"I actually don't know this guy either. He saved me before, so I asked him to go to the Stone Desert City for help. Initially, he ignored me. But when I mentioned that I was from the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, he suddenly became enthusiastic. He even gave me an antidote and healing medicine..."
"Could this person have some connection to our Desert Iron Mercenary Group?" Xuelan's eyes showed signs of contemplation after hearing Old Five's explanation. She ran her hand through her hair, which was slightly damp with sweat, and her unintentional charm made a nearby snake person's eyes gleam with lust.
"I've never seen this person come to our Desert Iron Mercenary Group before. Could he be an acquaintance of the two captains? Judging by the methods he showed earlier, his strength is probably no weaker than a Great Dou Master." Xuelan pondered.
"I don't really know about that..." Old Five shook his head, wearing an embarrassed expression. After all, he felt guilty for imposing such an unreasonable condition on Gu He, who had saved him.
Continuing, Old Five said, "Regardless, he's willing to help us. He shouldn't harm us, right? It's better than falling into the hands of the snake people."
Hearing Old Five's words, Xuelan nodded slightly and agreed with his viewpoint.
Seeing his two subordinates inexplicably incinerated by flames, the leading snake person's triangular pupils slightly contracted. He looked at Gu He, and his scarlet snake tongue lightly flicked, saying, "Human, who are you? It's not a wise choice to offend us, the snake people, in the Tagor Desert."
Gu He just smiled faintly and remained silent.
"If you have any sense, I advise you to leave now. I can overlook your injuring my subordinates!" The leader of the snake people warned, with a chilling tone mixed with a hidden malice.
Evidently, Gu He's previous display of power made him not dare to underestimate him.
"Sorry..." Gu He smiled and shook his head, and his two words held a tone of non-negotiation.
"You..."
Hearing this, Xuelan, who had been ready to charge forward with her weapons, suddenly stopped in her tracks. Did this guy look down on them?
She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It was the first time she had been looked down upon like this. However, she quickly remembered that this person was currently their only savior.
With that in mind, Xuelan could only stomp her foot angrily, glare at Gu He, cross her arms in front of her ample bosom, take a step back, and coldly gaze at him while muttering to herself, "I'd like to see just how strong this guy really is. He's so arrogant!"
However, Xuelan's cold and indifferent expression didn't last long. She was soon overwhelmed by shock, as were the other mercenaries behind her.
As the snake people prepared to attack Gu He together, he maintained a calm expression. In the next moment, purple flames suddenly surged from within him, instantly enveloping Gu He in a ball of purple fire.
"Hiss..."
Watching Gu He, who was enveloped in purple flames in the field, the mercenaries behind couldn't help but inhale a breath of cold air.
"What kind of technique is this? What's with the flames on him? Such abilities, I'm afraid even a Dou Grandmaster couldn't achieve, right?" With her beautiful eyes wide open, Xuelan stared at the figure wrapped in purple flames in front of her, her pretty face filled with disbelief.
"Could he be an alchemist? I heard that only alchemists can control such powerful flames," one of the mercenaries commented.
"But alchemists are usually very aloof, right? Why would one come to the Tagor Desert?" another questioned.
Everyone looked at each other, unable to provide a definite answer.
"No wonder he came alone to deal with these snake people. He actually possesses such powerful fire abilities!" Among the mercenaries, Old Five's jaw dropped, his face appearing shocked, as though he had seen a ghost, and he muttered in a daze.
"Although he's quite arrogant, we can't deny that he has the grounds to be arrogant." One mercenary sighed and said, his voice mixed with envy and a hint of relieved survival.
"Where on earth did this guy come from? I've never heard of such a freakish person from any nearby cities," Xuelan mumbled with a furrowed brow.
"I don't know..." Nobody seemed to have an answer to this question.
Seeing this, Xuelan let out a helpless smile and said, "Forget it, it doesn't matter where he came from. It seems like we've been lucky enough to be saved today."
On the other side, the snake people were also in a state of panic as they looked at the purple flames suddenly emerging from Gu He's body.
The fate of their two companions was clear and witnessed by their own eyes, making them uneasy about the power of these purple flames.
At that moment, all the snake people turned their gazes towards Gu He, who was surrounded by the flames, and were thrown into disarray.
Gu He opened his eyes, watching the dozen or so snake people charging toward him. His expression remained calm and serene.
In the next moment, he moved a thought, and the purple flames on his body separated from him, transforming into serpentine flames that engulfed the snake people.
These purple flames were Gu He's original Flame Spirit Fire, formed from an unusual flame, and its power was extraordinary.
Soon, the purple flames came into contact with the snake people. In the instant of contact, a series of pitiful screams erupted from the snake people.
The snake people found that upon contact with the purple flames, it was as if they were infested with voracious maggots, and they couldn't extinguish the flames at all.
The purple flames consumed everything in their path, including clothes, flesh, and even their Dou Qi.
In the field, the dozen or so snake people, with wails of agony, quickly fell silent.
After a moment, Gu He thought, and all the purple flames instantly gathered back into his body, disappearing.
When the members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group behind him finally reacted, they saw that the dozen or so snake people had all turned into ashes and disappeared into the vast desert.
"This..."
"Isn't this method too terrifying?"
The mercenaries behind him watched the scene in front of them, feeling deeply shocked by the means Gu He had displayed. After witnessing the fate of the snake people, they felt an icy shiver down their spines.
If they encountered these purple flames, they would probably meet the same fate.
With this in mind, the members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group couldn't help but hesitate, and no one dared to step forward at that moment.
Gu He was somewhat helpless with their reaction.
He had already exerted all his effort to suppress his own strength. His purpose in doing so was to infiltrate the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and get close to Qing Lin.
Of course, he could also use brute force, threatening the Desert Iron Mercenary Group to hand over Qing Lin.
However, Gu He was planning to take Qing Lin as his disciple. Considering his future image in the eyes of his disciple, he had to play the role of a recluse and establish the first impression of himself as a hidden expert.
Gu He slowly turned around and walked towards the members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. Seeing Gu He approaching, the members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group felt a chill in their hearts, and some even took a few steps back involuntarily.
Gu He took a few bags of water from his storage ring and placed them on the ground, along with some bottles of healing medicine, as he said, "You can take these waters and healing medicines."
Seeing the water and medicine on the ground, the mercenaries were momentarily stunned, and their guard dropped slightly. After hesitating for a moment, the leader among the mercenaries stepped forward.
Xuelan blinked and then smiled at Gu He, saying, "Regardless of your intentions, I want to say thank you. If you didn't help, our situation would have been... I'm Xuelan, the team captain of this squad and a member of a division in the Desert Iron Mercenary Group."
Gu He smiled and said, "I'm surnamed Gu..."
After that, he didn't say much more. The people immediately understood that Gu He didn't want to elaborate.
"Gu..."
Hearing this, Xuelan frowned slightly. She thought for a moment but still couldn't figure it out, so she shook her head helplessly and looked up at Gu He, saying with a smile, "Well, Mr. Gu, where are you planning to go next? If you have time, I'd like to invite you to Stone Desert City. We're clear about our debts in the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, and we'll repay you for your help."
"Stone Desert City is not far from here, about half an hour's journey, it shouldn't delay you too much," Xuelan added quickly, as if afraid that Gu He would refuse.
Hearing this, Gu He nodded with a smile. He saved these people because they were from the Desert Iron Mercenary Group.
While everyone was preparing to leave, another mercenary quickly took a camel-drawn carriage out of the storage. The back of the carriage contained the bodies of two first-stage magical beasts that Xuelan's team had hunted.
The carriage was not very large, and the fact that it was currently occupied by the bodies of the magical beasts made it impossible to use it as a mount.
"Take these back to Stone Desert City for now, and report what happened here to our captain," Xuelan said to the mercenary driving the carriage.
"Sure, I believe the captain and the others will be happy to meet a new friend," the mercenary said with a friendly smile before urging the camels forward and swiftly heading back to Stone Desert City.
(End of this chapter)