One could say that Huo Qing was just too cautious.
To An Jing and You Ruhui, these strengths when combined could wreak havoc within a True Demon Sect stronghold, killing enemies back and forth, even suppressing the power of Earth Veins by force. Against a small mixed squad of Ash Crows and Fire Crows, which didn’t even have Qi Refinement stage Demon Spirits among them, slaughtering them was like butchering pigs and dogs!
The sound of gunfire rang out, and Ash Crows fell to the ground one after another.
Only the Fire Crows could rely on their fire-like bodies to reduce the damage from the bullets and survive, but the Ice Attribute bullets of the Icefall Long Spear happened to be their bane, making each of them sluggish in movement.
The attacked flock of crows screeched and flapped their wings, spitting out sound waves, and whipped up flames and gales, madly rushing toward the direction where An Jing and the others were, forcing An Jing to bring out his shield and block in front of You Ruhui and Huo Qing.
The attacks of these Demon Beasts were actually quite fierce; ordinary practitioners needed to use Magic Artifacts to block them, but with An Jing’s cultivation, using Taibai Fiend’s Evil Qi to reinforce the shield, blocking these attacks was no harder than blocking a few crossbow arrows.
Soon, You Ruhui’s Art of Magic was also ready.
Behind the shield, she whispered the Curse Command, and immediately a dull yellow halo enveloped the flock of crows. The wings of countless Ash Crows instantly became many times heavier, and they fell to the ground howling, leaving only the strongest handful of Ash Crows and fifteen Fire Crows barely maintaining flight.
With no more hindrance, An Jing and Huo Qing took aim and shot.
A barrage of frost bullets erupted in an instant, leaving eleven Fire Crow corpses, with only four Fire Crows crying out as they fled.
"There are even such easy Good Deeds."
An Jing walked over to pick up the bodies of the Fire Crows, whose flames had extinguished, and couldn’t help but lament, "This is truly an unexpected windfall."
A man with steel prosthetics was walking on his way home.
"Damn it, all they know is to pursue accountability, pursue accountability, pursue accountability. I’m not the person in charge of the people in the city, for heaven’s sake. What does Bo Yan’s death have to do with me? I did give support when he asked for it."
The man’s face looked displeased, and he was cursing under his breath. Overall, it was not much different from his usual state: "Hacked into the Luofu weapon system and got chased like a dog, made me run away for more than a month before daring to come back. And now they blame me here."
"Wow, damn right. Why am I not cooperating with the operation? Should an Array Master of Qi Refinement do the work of a special forces team? It seems that whether it’s the Guiyi Army or Xuanye City, things don’t go smoothly without someone in charge."
The one returning was none other than Iron Hand.
And just as An Jing had guessed, he was indeed an undercover agent for the Guiyi Army in Xuanye City.
When Iron Hand closed his eyes, he could still remember that day when Big Brother, Big Sister, himself, Big Spear, and the Fourth all received their assignments and infiltrated various sectors of Xuanye City from different directions and angles.
So many years of staying undercover, Big Brother had become a corporate fugitive, leading a group of mercenaries in the Wilderness like lost souls; the Fourth, who had almost gotten through the gang’s connections to a company about to enter the city, ended up being killed by the spy assassination from a rival company.
The Third, Big Spear, got so involved with the gang that he lost his mind, completely forgetting he was actually with the Guiyi Army, genuinely mixed up in the gang life and getting deeper into it, better to die early than to look disgusting.
As for Big Sister, it was said that she became some kind of mediator in the city, but she was embroiled in a mercenary feud a few years ago, and now it’s unknown whether she’s dead or alive...
According to the original plan, the five of them were supposed to covertly help each other, with the eldest establishing a mercenary group harboring the spirit of rebellion, Iron Hand providing supplies, Big Sister and the Fourth bridging connections, and Big Spear acting as an inside man within the gang.
And now... the once-comprehensive network covering mercenaries, gangs, safe zones, corporations, and middlemen, is now full of holes!
Plus, the old leader in charge of the undercover operation back then has now been transferred away from Xuanye City war zone, and as things stand today, among the five siblings, I am the only one living the best, the most comfortable life.
This did not give Iron Hand much peace of mind, but rather a deep sense of guilt.
If it weren’t for the help from my eldest brother and sister in the early days, and the covert support and supply of goods from my third and fourth brothers, my little shop would have been crushed at the start. How could I have had the energy to study formations?
That’s why, when I saw my fourth brother’s child, Huo Qing, I just couldn’t help but offer my assistance again and again.
It was guilt, nostalgia, and more than anything... it was seeing my former self in him.
Back in the day, I was also a person who valued relationships deeply...
"Sigh, that kid is a good person, has great talent, and isn’t dumb... it’s just that he really isn’t cut out for running a shop."
Thinking of this, Iron Hand felt both relieved and worried, "Handing over the shop to him, I don’t know how much will be lost... Tsk, as long as he doesn’t give away half of the stuff in the shop, it should be fine."
But the losses were not fewer; in fact, there were even more goods than before.
As he approached the recycling shop and accessed it through the formation’s permissions, Iron Hand noticed that there were quite a few more resources inside, "Where did all these hides, bones, and spiritual objects come from? There’s no less money in the account either... Could it be that Huo Qing actually managed to close a few big deals?"
The thought pleased Iron Hand greatly, "It looks like I was wrong about him! I knew it, with the smart minds of the fourth brother and fourth sister, their child couldn’t possibly be bad!"
But soon, he noticed something amiss, "Wait... the person in the house isn’t Huo Qing?"
—Not him, so where the hell is that kid off to?
Iron Hand’s vigilance soared, and he hid beside the wreckage of a flying shuttle, ready to flee at any moment.
His first thought was that the Sky Surveillance Bureau had discovered him, and was now hiding inside the room—but then, Iron Hand quickly realized that if it were the Sky Surveillance Bureau, he would have been arrested immediately upon setting foot in the junkyard, without any chance to notice them.
Next, he found the message Huo Qing had left for him.
"...Taking in a friend to stay for a few nights? Now he’s off to Chonggang Town to buy a house? What friend? Where did the money for Good Deeds come from to buy a house? And isn’t that place recently overrun with Fire Crows, didn’t he see the disaster prevention bureau’s notice?"
Iron Hand grew anxious, especially after realizing he couldn’t catch up to his own car that had been driven off, "Fine fine fine, you’ve changed, you’ve grown such a big pair of balls!"
With that anger, Iron Hand strode towards the recycling shop, and, fuming, flung open the door, "I want to see what kind of friend you’ve taken in!"
However, Iron Hand, who had intended to unleash his fury and frighten whatever ’youngsters’ Huo Qing had befriended, found an elderly person with white-hair holding a broom, sweeping his back room which had been transformed anew.
Silence fell upon the recycling shop.
Granny Huai, a bit surprised, turned to look toward Iron Hand standing at the doorway, and with a smile, she greeted him, having already been informed by Huo Qing, "Hello, you must be Iron Hand Boss, right?"
"I’m a poor person that your nephew Huo Qing has kindly taken in temporarily, you can call me Huaiyun. If you disapprove, I can stay outside as well."
"Yes, I’m Iron Hand... it’s fine, after all, a friend of my nephew’s is a guest, please have a seat."
Although Iron Hand couldn’t be described as someone who revered the elderly or cherished the young, he still had some morals, and finding himself unable to say any harsh words to the smiling, extremely polite old lady who looked to be quite older than him, he felt a mixture of confusion and anger, "This old lady... her speech and behavior, she doesn’t seem to be from the Wilderness or the safety zone, but rather like one of those worry-free elderly from the city center—but why does she lack cultivation?"
"And, Huo Qing... dammit, you let people worm my messages out of you, didn’t you?!"