Li Qingshan raised his head. “Alright, I’ll do it!”
He could kill the Zombie Daoist together with Xiao An. However, even back when he killed the fifth layer Qi Practitioner, Qian Yannian, it had been passed off as purely a coincidence. As such, if he killed a sixth layer Qi Practitioner now, anyone would know that he had a hidden trump card. Who knows how much attention he would attract, and this happened to be a secret that he could not afford for anyone to probe into.
And, he was not fixated on the items within the Zombie Daoist’s hundred treasures pouch. The bounty that the Hawkwolf Guard had placed on the Zombie Daoist’s head amounted to over ten thousand points of contribution. Five points could exchange for a Qi Gathering pill so that was over two thousand Qi Gathering pills. Now that was the largest share. If he worked with these mohist disciples, he would be able to earn these points of contribution reasonably, without raising any suspicion.
Zhang Lanqing and the others were surprised and overjoyed by this. Hao Pingyang grinned as well.
However, Li Qingshan followed up with, “However, I’m not too satisfied with how everything is going to be split up.”
Zhang Lanqing and the other looked at one another, while Hao Pingyang frowned as well. He was still dissatisfied after claiming a seventy percent share; wasn’t that a little too greedy? What made everything worse was that if Li Qingshan wanted more, he could not afford to turn him down.
Li Qingshan smiled. “I’ll just take thirty percent, the same as you, senior brother Hao, as I’m confident that I’ll be about as useful as you when it comes to protecting everyone. As for the remaining forty percent, you should split it among yourselves!”
Everyone was taken aback by that. They had never thought that Li Qingshan would turn down these benefits in such a willing manner. Forty percent of the wealth of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner could interest all Qi Practitioners. None of them would give up on it so easily.
Zhang Lanqing felt rather ashamed over how poorly he had behaved earlier. “Qingshan, t- that wouldn’t be right of us!”
“There’s nothing wrong or right of you. If you want me to join you, then let’s split it like that! If you were thinking about paying back the favour from earlier, you’d better save it. Your lives are worth far more than just a share of benefits.” Li Qingshan was never a stingy person. He took a liking to these disciples of mohism, so he would not let them go empty-handed. This was just the way he handled matters.
As the saying went, generosity came with ties of friendship. Petty people who only focused on small gains could never achieve anything significant. A generous, confident person had no need to worry about going without friends.
Hao Pingyang laughed happily as he slapped Li Qingshan’s shoulder. “Alright, I like you, kid!”
That stirred up the valiant spirit in He Yishi as well. He said proudly, “Our lives are precious, so let alone a certain cut of benefits, even the benefits from ten Zombie Daoists are worth less than our lives.” He was not boasting. They could reach the fourth or fifth layers at such a young age, so reaching the sixth layer was not beyond their reach. Their future development would definitely surpass the Zombie Daoist’s.
Although they were not skilled in battle as disciples of mohism, the mechanisms and puppets that they could create were items that all Qi Practitioners desired. They would be worth even more than regular spiritual artifacts. Every single disciple of mohism was a respected existence wherever they went. The Zombie Daoist who hid underground and refined corpses could not rival their statuses.
The brothers, Jin Yuan and Jin Bao, were inspired as well. Jin Yuan said, “If we work together, what’s there to fear about the Zombie Daoist? We’ll earn our share fair and square!”
Jin Bao said, “I’ve embarrassed myself, so I need to redeem myself. I can’t let others look down on us mohist disciples.”
The gloomy morgue became filled with vigour from these young men. Originally, killing the Zombie Daoist was a rather fearful mission, but now, it was a task that required them to work hard together to complete. Their fear had already vanished.
Hao Pingyang extended his hand. “Then let’s work together and get him!” Several hands stacked on top of him as everyone looked at one another with smiles. They all felt much closer with one another. They no longer treated Li Qingshan as an outsider anymore. It was as if they had not just met a moment ago, but were old acquaintances.
Xiao An leaned on her hand as she sat on the roof of the morgue. When Li Qingshan fell back down, he left her up there to keep an eye out. He also told her to avoid using her powers unless she had to, so she just watched as the Zombie Daoist fled from the morgue. Her eyes were not particularly special, but they could see through all illusions and truths. Concealing techniques were a form of illusions, so they were completely useless against her. She wanted to go down and warn Li Qingshan, but in the blink of an eye, the Zombie Daoist had fled already, so she could only give up on that idea.
If she had pursued earlier, there probably would have been a very great chance for her to taste fresh flesh and blood! However, as long as Li Qingshan told her to do something, she would always oblige obediently.
The desolate moonlight fell on her emotionless face as she listened in on the conversation below. She seemed rather cold.
As her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty deepened, her mind seemed to gradually return to when she was a spirit. However, that previous state was the numbness that came from losing a sense of individuality from all the torture, but now, it was indifference that came with clearly understanding everything.
When she controlled the fire and swallowed everyone one by one, it was not as simple as absorbing the essence within their flesh and blood. It was unlike what regular evil or demonic cultivators did, sacrificing living people to forge artifacts and treasures, who would then be denounced and hunted down by humanity.
Whether it be the blood flames or the pale flames, they were all a part of her. As she fused with the flesh and blood, especially when it came from living people or people who had just died, she could clearly sense their resentment, fury, pain, fear…
The barrage of all of these negative emotions was enough to make a regular person collapse in a single instant. Even cultivators with sturdy wills would be shaken up by that, developing doubt about their own actions and existences. They would be haunted by these dead souls for the rest of their lives. This was the most difficult psychological test of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.
However, she did not feel troubled at all. Just like reading a buddhist scripture, she read the wails of pain and anguish of the deceased, without any pity or sympathy at all, just like gods and buddhas who sat up high on the lotus throne, taking in the suffering of all life with a clear, indifferent mind. It was not that these emotions were suppressed, but rather they were unable to develop these emotions.
She could neither be moved by friendship and hot-bloodedness, nor would she be troubled by the curse of resentment. There was no difference between the red and black ants. All living creatures were equal. All of them could be killed, apart from him.
Within the morgue, they discussed the plan as the sky in the east gradually lit up.
Suddenly, Xiao An stood up and cast her gaze into the distance. Looking past the wilderness, she saw a group of people rapidly drawing closer. She leapt down from the roof and arrived beside Li Qingshan.
Just from making eye contact once, Li Qingshan understood that Zhuo Zhibo was finally here. He said to the mohist disciples, “Please go first. I have some personal matters to settle. I’ll catch up to you later.”
Hao Pingyang said, “Just what is there that is more important than hunting down the Zombie Daoist?”
Li Qingshan only smiled, while Hao Pingyang did not ask him any more questions. Seeing how determined he was, Hao Pingyang said, “Alright then. We’ll set off first and wait for you at the entrance of the Zombie Cave.”
The morgue emptied out and Li Qingshan pressed down on his blade as he waited. After a while, he suddenly called out, “Commander Zhuo, since you’re here, please show yourself!”
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