IMC Chapter 64

Although he found his two teammates a bit strange, Fu Qing had to admit that the glowing meat was both delicious and useful, so he had no objections and ate it for breakfast.

Shu Bao and Lan Qing each had a piece as well, so the three of them wouldn’t need additional lighting for the day.

As they were having breakfast, the distant conversation grew louder and eventually came into view.

Unexpectedly, the group was larger than anticipated, with about twenty to thirty people. Most of them were silent, with vacant expressions, resembling elderly individuals nearing the end of their lives. However, a closer look revealed that these were mostly young laborers.

Among them, a few were talking quietly, looking younger and more lively. At the front and rear of the group were two individuals who appeared to be supervisors, occasionally checking on the group’s progress.

While Fu Qing and his companions were still pondering how to approach them, the group’s leader took the initiative to engage. However, his tone and attitude were quite off-putting.

The leader of the group, with an air of arrogance, approached Fu Qing and asked, “Are you eating glowing meat? Do you have any more? I’ll pay double for it.”

His gaze was clearly fixed on Fu Qing, completely ignoring Shu Bao and Lan Qing.

Fu Qing, though open to conversation, didn’t appreciate the direct and presumptuous approach. He curtly responded, “Not for sale!”

The man’s face showed uncontrolled surprise. “Kid, do you know who we are?”

Fu Qing, lazily, replied, “You’re not from the Empire, are you?”

To his surprise, the man sneered and arrogantly said, “You have some knowledge. We are an Empire gold mining team.”

Fu Qing was taken aback. “You’ve found gold? Do you have it on you now?”

The man frowned, “Are you blind? We’re just on our way to do that. Stop talking and hand over the meat!”

Shu Bao and Lan Qing huddled together, both acutely sensing that someone was about to be in trouble.

As expected, the next second, with a loud thud, the previously arrogant man was now sprawled on the ground. Fu Qing was stepping on his head, rubbing it into the dirt, and spoke with irritation, “With a face that barely resembles a human, you dare to talk to me like that? Are you blind? Don’t you ever look in the mirror?”

The man on the ground was stunned. By the time he realized what was happening, the pain and humiliation made him furious. But before he could speak, Fu Qing continued to berate him.

“If you’d looked in the mirror more often, you wouldn’t have lived long enough to come out here and disgust people, because you’d have scared yourself to death by now…”

Shu Bao had already embraced the little green snake beside him, while Lan Qing wrapped his tail around his furry teammate. The two small, pitiful, and helpless creatures watched as Fu Qing, without even catching his breath, continued to insult the man on the ground until he was speechless.

Indeed, the Empire’s gold mining team had gone from angry to questioning their life choices.

The gold mining team had stopped, staring in shock at the scene before them. Their vacant eyes betrayed a sense of schadenfreude, and none of them moved to help; they all just stood there, watching.

However, another manager of the gold mining team quickly realized the situation and rushed from the end of the line. His first reaction upon seeing his companion being stomped on the ground was shock, but he swiftly drew a heavy sword from his back and struck directly at Fu Qing.

The heavy sword, though seemingly cumbersome, was extremely sharp. In the man’s swing, it was as if it could cut through anything. If it hit Fu Qing, it would likely split him in two on the spot.

What was even more alarming was that Fu Qing did not dodge or evade at all. His resigned posture made everyone on the scene sweat with anxiety, including Shu Bao and Lan Qing, who also became nervous. However, seeing his nonchalant expression, the two decided to remain calm and continued watching.

Finally, when the heavy sword was only a few centimeters away from Fu Qing, he moved. No one saw the exact motion; it seemed as though, in the blink of an eye, Fu Qing had switched places with the man who had been under his foot.

The Imperial swordsman had aimed to kill, and given Fu Qing’s timing, the sword had no chance to stop.

Blood sprayed out violently, and the man who had been under Fu Qing’s foot now stood upright, but his head was cleaved open by the sword!

The reason he wasn’t split in two immediately was that the swordsman, realizing something was wrong, had tried to reduce the force. But it was too late; the heavy sword had already claimed the life of this Imperial mage!

The Imperial swordsman was stunned.

The gold mining team was stunned.

Shu Bao and Lan Qing were stunned too.

In contrast, Fu Qing calmly stood up and clicked his tongue, saying, “You’re all serving the Empire. How could you kill your own companion like this? What will the Empire do with someone like you?”

“No! It’s not like this!” The swordsman finally came to his senses, instinctively loosening his grip.

As the swordsman released his grip, the mage in front of him fell straight down, still impaled by the heavy sword.

“With his head split in two, the facts are clear. Do you still want to deny it? Everyone here can testify,” Fu Qing continued to press, not giving the man a chance to argue.

Hearing this, the rest of the gold mining team came to their senses. Someone started shouting.

“Yes! We all saw it!”

“Wang Bu, the swordsman, killed Grand Mage Su Wen! Oh my god!”

“He’ll be sentenced to death, right?”

Fu Qing continued to stoke the fire, “I wonder if turning you in to the Empire now would earn me a reward.”

With these words, everyone’s gaze focused on the swordsman named Wang Bu. Cold sweat broke out on his face. Faced with the situation, his brain came up with the simplest solution: escape.

He knew that he couldn’t explain away the mage’s head injury and also realized that the Empire wouldn’t care for his explanation. Weighing the pros and cons, he quickly yanked the heavy sword from the mage’s head, feigned a few moves to drive Fu Qing back, and then swiftly fled the scene.

Fu Qing did not pursue, as chasing people was not his goal.

With one manager dead and the other fleeing, the gold mining team members were freed. Most of them had not yet fully grasped the sudden change, but once they realized they were free, they were filled with excitement.

Their once-dull eyes lit up again. They embraced and wept, celebrating their newfound freedom. At that moment, regardless of their prior acquaintance, their joy was shared.

After calming down, the group came to thank Fu Qing.

Fu Qing scanned the group for a while and then reluctantly said, “Well, you’re more pleasant to look at than that guy earlier. Not a total loss. No need to thank me.”

The gold mining team: “…”

“I have some questions for you, and your answers will be considered as thanks,” Fu Qing continued.

The gold mining team nodded in agreement, indicating that they would answer truthfully. Fu Qing then asked about the Land of Gold Sources and some information about the Empire.

The team did not disappoint Fu Qing. Many of them had lived in the Land of Gold Sources for over ten years and had extensive knowledge.

The numb individuals were those who had worked in the Land of Gold Sources for years, while those brought in for gold mining were slaves conscripted by the Empire from defeated neighboring factions.

The Empire expanded its population by constantly conquering and attacking other forces, thus acquiring a large amount of cheap labor. According to the Empire’s judgment, these slaves were guilty and had to work continuously to atone for their crimes.

The Gold Source Land was the place that consumed the most slaves. It wasn’t just about transporting and mining; a significant amount of bait was needed to capture prey because many of the region’s creatures naturally grew rare metals on their bodies.

“Although the Empire is powerful, the Land of Gold Sources is vast and the geographical and environmental conditions are not suitable for settlement. Therefore, the Empire cannot establish a foothold here. The power structures here are chaotic, with many forces that do not fear the Empire…” The gold mining team described the situation in the Land of Gold Sources in detail, hoping to provide useful information.

While listening and continuing to eat his roast meat, Fu Qing looked up and noticed his two teammates hugging each other, appearing weak and helpless. He curiously asked, “What’s wrong?”

The two teammates looked at the nearly severed corpse beside them and then at Fu Qing, who was enjoying his meal.

Fu Qing shook his head and said, “Human corpses are not for eating. It’s said they carry prion viruses, so don’t even think about it.”

Shu Bao and Lan Qing: “…” They weren’t that morbid!

The gold mining team, on the other hand, appeared quite accustomed to such scenes and eagerly shared the information they knew.

Soon, Fu Qing obtained the information he wanted, including the locations of the Empire’s supply caches.

According to the gold mining team, the Empire had several storage points near the Land of Gold Sources. They had previously transported supplies to one of these points and were currently on their way back to the Land of Gold Sources.

When this news came out, not only did Fu Qing’s eyes light up, but Shu Bao and Lan Qing’s eyes also sparkled.

“The Empire is so considerate, with several storage points!” Lan Qing said excitedly, curling his tail.

Shu Bao tilted his little head and thought for a moment, “Yes, previously dragon eggs were also delivered in batches, and the Sunken Ice Crystals came in large chunks.”

“Let’s go! No need to catch any snails. Let’s head straight to the supply points,” Fu Qing said as he took out a piece of paper and asked the gold mining team to mark the approximate locations of the supply points.

The gold mining team was a bit bewildered and quickly reminded them that this idea was very dangerous. The Empire wasn’t foolish—each supply point had not only numerous mages and swordsmen but also many tamed magical beasts guarding them. Not to mention looting, even entering would be extremely difficult.

Fu Qing looked at his two teammates, pondering whether to consider another method.

But his two teammates puffed out their chests and said, “Let’s rob them!”

“Let’s steal their ducks!”

Fu Qing: “…” Maybe a more forceful approach is needed. After all, if the lucky ones say so, the strong ones can’t lag behind!

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