The morning wind blew at the harbor, causing the sails to flutter.
However, there would always be a few strands of the wind that weren't satisfied with the swaying of the sails and attempted to lift the surface of the sea, causing the blue sea to slightly ripple. However, the sea was too deep, and the wind could only move past powerlessly. In fact, if it wasn't careful, some of the waves might even swallow it.
It would be like a fish that overestimated itself and provoked an opponent it shouldn't have.
On the other hand, the light of dawn was much more composed than the wind. There wasn't much desire in it, and it quietly scattered onto the numerous boats, landing on Xu Qing who was calmly walking back.
Whether it was killing someone or killing a fish, to Xu Qing, the moment the other party revealed his killing intent, the outcome was already decided.
He wanted to survive, so any existence that threatened his safety would touch his red line.
He knew life was inherently different between different beings while alive.
The teacher from the slums had laughed at himself about this difference as he told the children, including Xu Qing, that if it was a prosperous time, those in power would cover it up. However, in troubled times, this was a deeply-rooted understanding.
But Xu Qing also knew that to a certain extent, this world was fair.
This was because after death, everything was removed. The final result was the same direction.
Dying in an unknown alley was no different from dying in a wine pool piled with precious stones.
"Second highness was right. He is indeed stinky." Xu Qing retracted his gaze from the sunrise and walked into the cabin. He then washed his body and lay down after the fishy smell was gone.
It was his off day today, so he didn't need to go to the Homicide Department. Right now, he felt a sense of comfort from having fewer thorns in his heart. He felt that he could have a good sleep.
However, before he slept, Xu Qing sat down cross-legged and took out the bamboo slip, crossing out the words 'merfolk youth' on it. He then glanced at the Diamond Sect's ancestor who was ranked first, and killing intent rose in the depths of his eyes.
As he mumbled, Xu Qing took out the storage bag of the merfolk youth.
He was very curious as to what items were inside.
After holding it for a while, Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and muttered for a moment. The spirit energy in his body instantly erupted and gushed into the storage bag. It wasn't as difficult as he had imagined. After the death of its owner, the mark on the storage bag had long since dissipated.
This allowed Xu Qing's spirit energy to enter smoothly and check the items inside.
A long time later, Xu Qing involuntarily inhaled.
"He's that rich?" Xu Qing mumbled. Although there were only slightly more than a hundred spirit stones in the storage bag, there were a total of twelve spirit tickets with the Sixth Peak's mark on them.
Each of them was worth 100 spirit stones.
Such a stroke of fortune caused Xu Qing's heart to race. After all, this was a fortune he had never possessed before.
However, he understood that for the sake of safety, he couldn't exchange these spirit tickets in the short term.
Xu Qing calmed down and checked the other items. Other than spirit stones, there were three to five other treasures in the storage bag. As he waved his right hand, two talismans appeared before him.
One was yellow, and the other was blue.
The appearance of these two types of talismans shocked Xu Qing. Also, from the looks of the imprints on them, they were still mostly new. Evidently, they hadn't been used many times.
Xu Qing sensed them and confirmed that the blue talisman was for protection and yellow for offense.
"If that fish managed to open his storage bag…" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. He could imagine that if such a situation really happened, although he could still kill it, he would have to pay a huge price to end the battle quickly.
"So, the usage of shadows can actually be even more varied." Xu Qing lowered his head and glanced at his own shadow. A faint light flashed in the depths of his eyes as he recalled the scene when the merfolk youth was entangled by the shadow. The shadow seemed to have come alive for a moment.
"Is it an illusion?" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and stared deeply at the shadow. He then touched his chest where the purple crystal was buried. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He had sensed it many times and knew that the purple crystal had a restraining and suppressing effect on the shadow.
Regardless of whether the shadow was alive or not, Xu Qing felt that he should try suppressing it first.
He attempted to pour the spirit energy into the purple crystal. The process was a little rough, and Xu Qing only succeeded after several tries. The instant he succeeded, purple light shone from his entire body, forming a suppressive force that rumbled toward the shadow on the ground.
The shadow instantly distorted and dimmed a little.
Xu Qing took a closer look and was satisfied.
He didn't want to waste his energy guessing whether the other party was alive or not. Even if his guess was wrong and there was no possibility of the shadow coming to life, doing this would only waste some spirit energy. He repeated this a few more times and suppressed it continuously before he stopped.
Finally, he restrained his gaze and lifted his head as though nothing had happened. He then stored the two talismans.
Next, he checked the storage bag again and took out two items. One was a nautical chart, and the markings on it were very detailed. It was much more comprehensive compared to the standard nautical chart of the Seventh Peak's disciples.
Even the location of Merfolk Island was marked on it. After Xu Qing checked, he felt that the value of this item was probably no less than a talisman.
After all, for a disciple who cultivated the sea, the more comprehensive the nautical chart, the lesser the risk and the greater the harvest.
Information was often more valuable than spirit stones.
As for the last item, the degree of attention he paid to it even surpassed that of the talismans. This was because he had seen this item before, and he had one as well.