Chapter 564: Chapter 323
The wildfire sparked by the Golden Tree burned fiercely. Even though it was a two or three days’ walk from here to Qinghe City, the terrible blaze turned the sky a dark red, making it look like a beautiful sunset at noon to the people of Qinghe City.
Because the fire continued to burn, in this midsummer season, the usually cool and eerie forest was now blazing hot.
The fire hadn’t reached us, but the heat kept coming.
Perhaps sensing the threat of the wildfire, swarms of insects were flying south, sometimes darkening the sky, resembling an apocalyptic scene.
Feng Ling’er couldn’t help but ask, "Will this fire spread to Qinghe City?"
The Murong brothers replied, "Who knows about this mountain fire? Once it starts, we can only wait for it to burn out by itself. Pity those beautiful girls from the village, they’re probably gone."
Duan Yun, already feeling displeased for not being able to save anyone, couldn’t help but retort, "And the men of that village aren’t pitiable? As a man, you’re really going down a silly path!"
The Murong brothers were scolded and snapped back, "I’m a man, I don’t like men, is it wrong to feel for the girls?"
Duan Yun responded, "To be a hero you must be kind and fair. Only focusing on women makes you appear like a simp, and I don’t think you’re fit to be a Young Hero right now."
The Murong brothers were shocked, "I’m not fit? Just because I pity the girls, I’m not a Young Hero?"
Feng Ling’er nodded, "I also think your mindset isn’t suited for being a hero. Recently, I’ve learned that heroes must root out evil and help the weak, distinguishing only between strength and weakness, good and evil, without regard to gender. Even if you barely qualify as a Young Hero, you’d be at the bottom of the Jade Pearl Heroes."
Feng Ling’er had done a lot of homework to become a good heroine alongside Duan Yun.
Hearing this, a slight expression of relief appeared on the face of Old Demon Duan.
The Murong brothers tried to argue, but Feng Ling’er had already raised her hand, saying, "He’s at the bottom. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"
At that moment, everyone raised their hands, including Ning Qing standing beside the Murong brothers.
Even she thought it was silly for him to only care about beautiful women.
Faced with the will of the group of heroes, particularly Ning Qing’s will, the Murong brothers could only resign themselves to their fate. They had hoped to surpass Old Demon Duan and become the leader of the Jade Pearl Heroes, but instead, they became the youngest member of the group.
There was no choice; with so many women thinking poorly of him, he simply wasn’t up to par.
He resolved to work harder, raise his awareness, and regain the recognition of the Jade Pearl heroines!
The next day, the group returned to Qinghe City.
Qinghe City remained the same as they left it. On their way back, they saw groups of Martial World adventurers bound for excitement.
They were seeking their long-desired Golden Palace, the Valkyrie, and the Martial God Treasure Vault.
Little did they know that everything they and the entire city of Martial World people longed for had been destroyed by Duan Yun and his group.
All that was left was half a volume of "Seven Points to the Original Energy."
It must be said, the Valkyrie was a formidable opponent, who would have been tough to defeat without help for Duan Yun.
They dealt with the Valkyrie, but suffered some injuries and were mentally exhausted.
The group just wanted to rest for a couple of days and recover in that Ghost Manor.
Especially the Murong brothers, who had darkened from the fire’s smoke and bought some cucumbers en route for a facial mask to keep up appearances.
Among the men of Yuzhu Manor, his looks were second only to Old Demon Duan, all thanks to his good maintenance.
The others just wanted to get some good sleep.
The group walked along the river to their residence, watching people do their laundry and dishes on the riverbank, hearing them chat endlessly about which man’s skills were good, or which brother was considerate, filling Duan Yun with a sense of warmth.
After being in the mountains, cut off from the outside world for so long, the worldly bustle truly felt reassuring.
This time, they found the house next to Duan Yun’s had been repaired.
Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Li, of course.
The carvings on the window must have been done personally by Mr. Li, who was skilled with a throwing knife, detailed and without any excess wood, resembling a fine piece of art.
This demonstrated Mr. Li’s stable hands and his controlled wrist strength.
Such a person would surely be fearsome with a throwing knife.
Upon returning to their residence, the tired heroines had gone to rest in their rooms, while the Murong brothers busied themselves with slicing cucumbers for face masks.
Duan Yun was heading out.
As he walked, he noticed the Murong brothers following him.
Duan Yun couldn’t help but ask, "What are you doing?"
The Murong brothers said, "What you’re doing, I’m doing too."
"You’ve noticed too?" Duan Yun raised an eyebrow.
The Murong brothers replied, "Of course, if I couldn’t sense that Sword Qi blending with nature, I might as well have been practicing in vain."
No sooner had the words left their lips than both of their gazes turned to the neighbor’s house, that is, Mr. Li’s house.
They had sensed a buildup of Sword Qi when passing by earlier, suggesting there were more than two people inside.
In other words, the neighboring couple might be in trouble.
There was someone causing trouble for them.
These neighbors were not related to them, only exchanging pleasantries on the surface, with not much deeper connection.
Yet, as members of the Martial World, how could they miss out on excitement?
This was clearly a duel between experts.
Indeed, the Sword Qi’s refinement level was impressive, otherwise it wouldn’t have drawn the attention of these two Old Demons.
Without hesitating any longer, the two activated their movement techniques, like nimble birds, lightly landing on the neighbor’s rooftop.
The neighbor’s house appeared built with consideration for cost, using half black tiles and half straw for roofing.