Chapter 17: Unexpected

Afterward, Li Qi and A Du talked for a while longer, and once the two Merchant groups had set off, they waited until the others had covered a good distance before following suit.

During this time, A Du indeed taught Li Qi a method to stimulate his vitality and unleash greater vigor.

It was a song, very short, only sixteen characters.

“The brilliant Seven Luminaries, clearly above; the mighty warriors, how heroic, how heroic!”

Although the number of characters was few, it contained several different syllables, making it very difficult to sing properly. The vocalizations varied greatly, and it required coordination with breathing. What seemed like a short phrase took Li Qi an hour to learn, with continuous repetition, attempts, and training, before he could barely sing it out.

However, he was not discouraged, because he could clearly see his progress through the progress bar, and if anything was wrong, the progress would regress.

This way, he could quickly grasp the knack and progress quite rapidly.

So, it wasn't long before his learning progress bar was full.

Once it was full, he could feel that, despite only having a rough grasp, he suddenly understood the complete essence of the song!

He confirmed this point again: as long as the learning progress bar was full, he seemed to be able to directly master what he was learning, without the awkwardness of just having learned it.

This thing couldn't make him directly learn something, but it could make him an old hand at it immediately after learning, without having to practice bit by bit.

As for that song, after singing it completely, Li Qi clearly felt his blood suddenly flow faster!

It was as if a ball of fire was burning in his chest, moving through his internal organs, almost bursting out of his mouth.

His face was flushed red, his entire body temperature was rising, and even his body felt much lighter. His feet, somewhat numb from the winter cold, quickly warmed up, and his whole being felt like he had run five kilometers on a track.

However, there was only boiling Qi and blood, without the usual fatigue.

A very wondrous feeling.

He could even feel the hot air steaming vigorously from his forehead, dispelling the surrounding chill.

“This really is… quite effective,” Li Qi said, feeling the heat on his body and looking at A Du with some surprise.

A Du, on the other hand, seemed even more surprised.

“Brother Li is truly intelligent! I took two or three hours to learn it back then, and some slow ones take a whole day! You actually learned it so quickly and sang it so well!” A Du scrutinized Li Qi, seemingly unable to believe that this person could sing this song so well in such a short time.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m relatively smarter,” Li Qi said with a smile.

A Du was only surprised for a moment and didn't think much of it. He then began to explain: “This song can activate the Innate Three Treasures, making your essence, Qi, and spirit active. This way, your Yang Qi is like fire, and mountain spirits and wild monsters dare not approach. Its origin is already unknown, but don't use it too much; it consumes a lot of physical strength. When you're in the wilderness, with no village or inn in sight, lacking physical strength is more terrifying than mountain spirits and wild monsters. You might even slip and fall.”

Walking on the road, A Du explained to Li Qi.

This song, as long as it is continuously sung, will continue to be activated, but if it stops, the effect will immediately end, which is very convenient.

According to A Du, when they used to travel as Merchants, even if a dozen people encountered mountain spirits and wild monsters, as long as they gathered together and sang this song loudly, generally speaking, the mountain spirits and wild monsters would retreat.

While chatting, they had already been on the road for over an hour, and dusk was approaching.

Earlier, Li Qi had been a bit curious, asking why A Du insisted on drinking tea until evening before setting off, instead of traveling during the day and finding a place to rest at night.

A Du’s answer was: “This creature that’s about to become a spirit is rumored to be a wild dog. It probably rises with the sun and rests with the sun. Going during the day makes it easier to run into it. At night, while it’s asleep, we might even be lucky enough to slip past directly. Look, those two Merchant groups ahead of us, didn’t they also drink tea all day and only set off near dusk?”

This explanation made sense; in fact, those two Merchant groups did exactly that.

After understanding the reason, Li Qi couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Sure enough, Merchants were well-informed and experienced. If he had followed his own plan of traveling during the day and resting at night, he might indeed have run into that monster rumored to be a wild dog.

Oh, and it wasn't even a monster yet, just about to become a spirit.

But it was still very powerful, at least for a Mortal like Li Qi.

Li Qi waited for the effect of this unknown song to dissipate. However, he had only sung it once, and while he felt his blood boiling, his body wasn't particularly tired, which was good.

As the two chatted about the specific situation, the sky gradually darkened.

Their path also gradually narrowed. They had already walked twenty or thirty li, and going further would take them into the mountains, where there were only narrow, winding paths that required frequent climbing. Even during the day, it was extremely dangerous, and now that it was dark, it was even more terrifying; one might slip and fall.

Fortunately, A Du was well-prepared. Unlike Li Qi, who only had a single bundle containing money and food, A Du was experienced in the wilderness. He immediately pulled out a torch from his back basket, poured lamp oil on it, and ignited it with flint, so they wouldn't have to walk in the dark.

Li Qi felt a bit ashamed. He had fled in a hurry after killing someone, and no one in the Paibo Gang had experience with long journeys, so he hadn't prepared anything. If not for A Du, it seemed his journey… would have been quite risky.

However, his luck was quite good; he met A Du, and traveling together was a good complement.

After all, if something truly happened, he would certainly be the one who could fight better.

Of course, it would be best if they didn't have to fight at all.

The two walked in the mountains. Although it was a dark and windy night, with the torch lighting the way, other than annoying moths, their journey was uneventful.

However, halfway through, both of them suddenly tensed up, pricked up their ears, and looked ahead.

Ahead, there were about ten Merchants.

It was precisely the Merchant group that had previously been at a tea stall, and had even stood up to threaten Li Qi.

The torch burned brightly, illuminating the surroundings. About ten people, each holding a machete, were striking them against each other, shouting unintelligible sounds.

The dozen or so machetes surprisingly produced a series of clashing weapon sounds, like on a battlefield.

The sounds of weapons echoed through the night, combined with the shouts from these dozen Merchants, as if they were engaged in battle, only their enemy was in the darkness, nowhere to be found.

Li Qi's eyes were wide open as he stared at these Merchants. It seemed that in this world, every group truly had its own unique skill. Even the Paibo Gang had Wave-Breaking Force, and these Merchants were no exception.

He could clearly see “Barrier Protection, 25%” written on the progress bars appearing above these Merchants.

It seemed they had truly encountered something and were relying on this series of clashing weapon sounds to defend themselves.

While he was still observing, he felt a cold gust of wind that made him shiver involuntarily.