Forge a path to success.

Chapter 185 Untrustworthy
The punch was so powerful that Qingxia fell sideways into the sand. Her beautiful face was covered in white sand like bone ash, and blood dripped from her lips.

Chu Hengkong withdrew his fist, his anger still lingering. Qingxia propped herself up, waited a moment, and then laughed, "Won't you hit me a few more times?"

"That's enough," the assassin said irritably.

“You can use a knife if you want, but please don’t go too far,” Qingxia continued. “A fight could break out here at any moment, and I need to be ready—”

"I've said enough!" Chu Hengkong roared, his voice so loud that even he was surprised.

Qingxia's eyes widened, as if she were frightened.

"Why do you think I'm angry?" he pressed, though he hadn't intended to get so worked up.

"I've put you in danger—"

"Who the hell cares about danger?" Vande screamed. Even it was angry, baring its teeth and brandishing its claws like a little monster. "You didn't consider anyone else at all!"

"If your settlement was in such a terrible state, you should have told us in the first place!" the assassin roared. "Then come and ask me for help! Ask us to help you get revenge! But you didn't even consider that possibility. You hid everything until it was too late. You could have solved the problem in a better way, but you chose to exploit it!"

“I don’t care how dangerous this place is, but I care about others! Your manipulation has dragged my companions into the wilderness as well!”

"Now you've got what you wanted; we're on the same side. But how can I trust someone who intended to use us from the very first glance?" he pressed aggressively. "How can I entrust my back to you?!"

Chu Hengkong stopped, forcing himself to calm down. He hadn't originally intended to say so much; such a long, emotional outburst wasn't his style. But in front of Qingxia, he always found it difficult to control his emotions, just like his previous panic and current anger.

Qingxia froze. Her eyes held anger, panic, and helplessness. She resembled a beast about to roar after being offended, or a child being scolded. Chu Hengkong suddenly realized that she wasn't as mature as she appeared; perhaps no one had ever reprimanded her so harshly before, leaving her unsure how to respond.

Finally, she lowered her head, her smile faded, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Apologize for what? Me? You saved my life twice, what right do I have to accept your apology?

“Go tell Ji Huaisu,” he said. “Go apologize to Qingye. Gulibo, Shizhong, even Shakes. Don’t tell me.”

He wanted to say that Qingxia should have told the truth much earlier, but frustration was like a stone stuck in his throat, blocking all his words. No one has the right to assume "should" as a premise. They met by chance in a foreign land, and it was only natural to sit idly by and do nothing, but to lend a helping hand would be an immense favor.

That concludes this topic; there's nothing more to say here.

Chu Heng abruptly changed the subject: "What did you originally want me to do?"

"Ah..." Qingxia finally realized, "That...it's not important. Let's talk about it another time."

The assassin turned and headed towards the settlement. Qingxia remained motionless for a long time, sitting alone on the beach where she was all alone.

"How am I supposed to apologize to so many people?" she muttered to herself. "I've never learned how..."

The wind, which should have gone far away, blew back again, howling past the wordless tombstone, reminding her of the soldiers' past laughter.

·
When I returned to the small building, Qingye was doing her bedtime warm-up exercises. She was hanging upside down from the roof beam like a bat, with her hands behind her head, using only her waist strength to sit up little by little, her body extremely flexible.

Ji Huaisu fiddled with a jade pendant, a relic of Wu He. Among the tribe's warriors was a skilled individual capable of opening spatial artifacts; she had deciphered this artifact while Chu Hengkong was out. She casually flipped through a notebook, her expression not very pleasant.

"That bastard is a beast." Ji Huaisu slammed his notebook on the table.

Chu Hengkong picked up the notebook, glanced at it, and his already unpleasant mood worsened.

"...Damn it! We fled the front lines and ended up in the fog. I knew the Black Moon's guidance couldn't be trusted! These heretics are a pile of filth; once you get even a little bit on them, you can never get rid of them. They were truly bewitched when they insisted on researching Black Blood back then."

I made up some excuse to fool those idiots and calm them down... Finding power above the Second Abyss would allow escape, but it's not that easy! I might as well treat this logbook as my will, damn it!

The following pages are filled with Wu He's scribbled complaints, but when you turn the page again, the notes suddenly become neat and tidy, revealing his cheerful disposition.

The initial findings of this exploration are as follows:

Honeydew Fruit: Level 3, replenishes vitality and prolongs life.

Blind Bird Egg: Level 2, strengthens bones and muscles, promotes strength absorption.

Massila Vine: Level 4, grows faster when hit, an excellent material for armor.

Void Sand: Level 6, solidified 'quiet void', remnants of the passing of the Void Angel.

……

This is a one-time opportunity for the idiots to celebrate, after all, I couldn't stop laughing myself. The resources here are insanely abundant! Even a general would be tempted by them!

Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise; the ancients were right. Those idiots saw the Tree of Light; if it truly is a remnant of the so-called 'Allied Forces,' perhaps there really is a chance…”

Then came the intelligence gathering and confirming combat strength. The plan was to let the pirates plunder while he personally stormed in. From subsequent records, it seems Wu He somehow determined the true nature of the Light Tree and was extremely confident that he could escape the Desolate Wilderness after seizing its core. On the next page, the notes were extremely hasty, the pen tip piercing the page.

"...Are you crazy?"

What exactly is it?

Why did it still chase after me even though it was burned to a crisp? Is it a guardian program? If it has any intelligence, it should stay in its own territory! There are countless treasures in the mist, why is it only targeting the one I took?! I've never heard of a beast so fanatically pursuing something harmful to itself!
Damn it. Damn it. This is never going to end!! We have to find a way to kill them.” Chu Hengkong tossed aside the log before finishing reading it, his expression no better than his partner’s. Ji Huaisu was checking the miscellaneous items in the jade pendant.

“There are a few level 3 talismans left, which might be usable. Some of the materials mentioned in the log, if Jie An were here, we could use them to make medicine, and we could eat them as snacks…” Ji Huaisu pursed his lips, “There’s also half a design of the ‘Boundary-Opening Wheel,’ and that’s it. He’s more stingy than we thought.”

"Do you have any clothes?" Qingye asked expectantly.

"Use this." Chu Hengkong tossed him a coarse cloth garment, which he had asked the settlement warriors for when he returned. Qingye reached out and caught it, observing his expression: "The date didn't go well?"

Chu Hengkong shook his head, saying nothing. Fan De said indignantly, "He's just not one of us!"

The Eye Demon sat at the wooden table and embellished his account of his trip. Ji Huaisu shrugged after listening.

"Not surprising at all, and I didn't think she was a decent person... and there's some explanation for it."

"Can you fight alongside someone like that?" Chu Hengkong smiled bitterly.

His partner's reply exceeded his expectations: "No problem. With such a large settlement here, Qingxia will definitely cooperate with us. Once we get to the wilderness, she'll lose her initiative and be asking us for help."

"...You seem to have a more open-minded attitude than I, an assassin."

"How long do you think I've been in this business? Sister Huaisu, the word I've heard most since I was a child is compromise," Ji Huaisu said lazily. "On the contrary, aren't you asking too much of a 'fighting partner'? Cooperation doesn't have to be a matter of life and death; having a common enemy is enough."

“Even when I was involved in the underworld, I was surrounded by trustworthy brothers,” Chu Hengkong emphasized.

"So extravagant? Your team is made up of handpicked die-hards?" Ji Huaisu clicked his tongue. "Then you're really spoiled by your boss."

“It might be true,” Chu Hengkong said. He put away Fan De and went upstairs to find a room to rest. Qing Ye was still hanging from the rafters, deep in thought, her head tilted upside down to draw blood to her head.

"What brilliant ideas do you have now?" Ji Huaisu glanced at her. "Thinking about how to make that centaur apologize?"

"Ah, I'll let it go," Qingye said. "I didn't discover anyone's scheme, so it's my own fault for being used. According to our rules, I should thank Qingxia, since she indirectly saved my life."

"I've wanted to say this for a long time: you heartless people are so barbaric."

"Shura Island is a place where mettle reigns supreme; if you're strong, you're right." Qingye stuck out her tongue. "What about you, Sister Huaisu?"

"That idiot Akong thinks personal grudges should be settled separately. But he certainly won't settle it that way, right? Imagine if a scoundrel saved me from danger time and time again, what would Chu Hengkong think?"

“He’ll feel like he owes that person a huge favor,” Qingye said without hesitation. “The kind of favor he’d do anything for at a moment’s notice. He won’t be able to sleep at night until he pays it back.”

"Right, so I have no right to say anything." Ji Huaisu said lazily, "Xiao Ye, you need to know that navigating society is all about interpersonal relationships. These relationships can't be separated into one thing and another; they're a tangled mess. Unless you sever all ties with everyone around you, you'll never be able to untangle them."

"Then why does Mr. Chu always have to be so clear about things?"

Ji Huaisu shook his head repeatedly: "Let me tell you, this is probably because a very shrewd person once helped him sort out and divide 'their' favors one by one. Chu Hengkong used to only have to deal with his own grudges, so he must have been very clear about it."

"Wow, I'm so happy..."

Qingye chatted idly, still deep in thought. Ji Huaisu glanced at her: "Still have ideas?"

"Hmm. I think it didn't really matter whether Qingxia said it or not back then."

"?"

“Look, Vansalal and Olek were both in Golden Leaf City back then,” Qingye said, counting on her fingers. “With these two high-level figures in control, it wouldn’t matter whether we knew the truth or not. We still wouldn’t have had the chance to ask for help, and we still wouldn’t have been able to make any further preparations.”

"And if that great demon had known of the existence of the Desolate Wilderness beforehand, it wouldn't have let us escape... or rather, it would certainly have taken even more drastic measures."

“That makes sense…” Ji Huaisu thought for a while, “It’s more accurate to say that when Vansalar arrived in Golden Leaf City, the outcome was already decided. It was clearly eyeing us.”

“Right? From this perspective, Qingxia’s choice to keep it a secret is actually safer for us.” Qingye was still deep in thought. “I think Mr. Chu definitely understands all of this, but he still seems quite angry… Is there some reason I haven’t considered…”

"Ah, no, no, it's nothing at all." Ji Huaisu waved his hands repeatedly. "That guy is just simply annoyed."

"?"

"He actually quite liked Qingxia. She's clever, strong, and someone he could talk to. So he always hoped Qingxia had some unspeakable secret, like she was deliberately keeping quiet to save us. That way, everyone could confidently stand on one side against the heretics and let bygones be bygones." Ji Huaisu stretched. "But then she bluntly said she was just trying to use you. His beautiful fantasy shattered, and his important companion was in danger. Of course, he was very unhappy!"

Qingye lost her balance and fell off the roof beam, rolling several times.

"No way! Your two statements make Mr. Chu sound so childish..."

"You really think he's some mature and reserved man? Xiaoye, you're mistaken. He's just a typical little boy. He always has a grumpy face and who knows how many thoughts are brewing in his mind. He always tries to clash with the world based on his own wishful thinking."

Ji Huaisu lay on the wooden chair, recalling the man's stubborn gaze after drinking.

"So they can't tolerate even the slightest imperfection, and always hope that everyone else is as good as themselves."

(End of this chapter)