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Chapter 323 Are You Starving?

Under the Eye of Silence, disorganized lights and ripples flashed through the dark cave constantly. Every crystal was like a piano key that was silently playing a melody. He could see all the way to the sky from the abyss. The war had ended centuries ago but the song still hung over the battlefield. It was the scars left in the aether by the glorious battle.

Ye Qingxuan leaned against the wall and sat on a jutting crystal. He stared at the radiant glow. Compared to such a large relic, humanity was as insignificant as dust.

"Abandon oneself," Ye Qingxuan murmured as he pondered.

The core of the School of Abstinence was the construction of order and disruption of nature. He felt that he might be able to find some inspiration in this chaotic aether environment. However, he realized he was too idealistic after he came here.

Bolero’s perception threads dissipated the moment they extended from his fingertips. The water vapor was too fragile and could not explore in this type of environment at all. He could only change the medium.

He slit his finger. A strand of blood floated out and spread in all directions, reflecting the pale moonlight. The moonlight spread as well, rippling like water when touched by stray aether currents.

Next, a heartbeat sounded in the darkness. The dust began rippling in the air. They floated and danced. Called forth by the heartbeat, they formed various small rings. They gradually enlarged and enveloped Ye Qingxuan.

Within the dust rings, the restless aether seemed to enter a stable white zone. They no longer crashed or changed and instead grew still. The small dust rings enlarged to about five meters in diameter before bursting like a bubble.

Ye Qingxuan’s heart beat furiously and his expression twisted. After a short pause, the dust rings began to spread again. He was trying to create a zone of stable music theory within this restless environment. After dozens of attempts, he finally managed to maintain a range of five meters.

Within that range, all was calm, even if all was in turmoil outside of it. Perspiration began beading on Ye Qingxuan’s forehead. If he did not have his sub-originator, he definitely would not dare to mess around in a black zone-like place. However, this was a rare opportunity so there was no reason why he shouldn’t try creating a stable white zone.

Establish order, disrupt the nature, and create music theory…these were the essences of the School of Abstinence. There was no better way to grasp the essence than personally experiencing it. However, the pressure was so heavy it felt like he was suffocating. It was too much to manage.

In the silence, Ye Qingxuan could only hear his heavy breathing and his tired heartbeat. Each beat felt like it carried a burden of a thousand tons. It took a long time before he was slightly accustomed to the giant pressure.

He slowly took out some food and nibbled at it. The rest went back into his pocket. He was already ready to fight a long war. He would not leave unless he discovered something.

Three days later, Ye Qingxuan climbed out of the black hole. His face was white and his vision blackened occasionally.

He was well-prepared but he had forgotten one thing. Unless he had special containers, preserving food was a joke in such a chaotic environment. Six hours after he had descended, he discovered that all his food had all molded, dried out, or changed color. A portion had no changes but Ye Qingxuan did not dare eat them. So he starved for two days. And did not discover anything.

Actually, his understanding of the School of Abstinence and aether had both increased but he made no progress with the question about "abandoning oneself." Instead, he had almost "abandoned" himself in this giant ditch.

He was starving. If he did not have the help from the Governor, he would not be able to climb up. Right now, Ye Qingxuan was the definition of "hunger" and "sad." He even had the urge to eat dirt. An even sadder fact was that the horse he had tied to the tree had run away too.

Staring at the gnawed rope, Ye Qingxuan wanted to die.

"Oh heavens! Such hatred! I have to starve and…" The youth with a turban lamented to the sky. His sad cries traveled countless miles and mixed with the howls of wolves. It was indescribably pitiful.

-

"Wolves?" Beside the fire, Donald subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword. However, he quickly relaxed.

Dozens of carriages surrounded a notch in the mountain and set up a camp around the various bonfires. The merchants had traveled for the entire day. Now, they were holed up inside their tents and fell asleep instantly.

Only some burly men were still sitting in the carriages and conversing casually. Beside them, oiled crossbows shone. There were even some alchemist bows. Usually, these illegal items would not appear in caravans. However, who really cared about laws in these barren places? The robbers did not. For their own safety, the merchants did not care either.

"Boss, I told Rabbit to set all the traps," a muscular man with a sword said beside the fire. "Those guys who want to come play at midnight need to worry about their life first. But to be honest, I kind of wish they’ll come."

"Don’t say that." Donald shook his head. "It’s unlucky."

"Best to be careful, right?" The man laughed, playing along.

Donald did not reply. Looking at the steel basin hanging above the fire, he thought for a bit and tossed some wild vegetables in. The stew inside the basin bubbled and emanated a smell that was not exactly delicious. It was good enough to have food in the wilderness. Who cared about the details?

The stew was soon close to boiling. However, the basin suddenly started shaking as if it was shivering. An earthquake?

No…

Donald’s expression changed. He pressed his ear to the ground. "It’s a horse." Before he finished speaking, a stallion neighed in the distance. It was followed by a sharp whistle but it stopped as suddenly as it began.

The muscular man jumped up from the bonfire. "Boss, there’s a situation!"

Donald rose. He wished he could push this guy who had jinxed it into the fire. "No sh*t!"

The camp soon fell into unrest. Everyone who could fight gathered with their swords, daggers, and crossbows. They stared nervously at the torchlight in the distance and the approaching caravan. Someone was yelling enthusiastically in the wind.

"Whoever is there, please stop!" Donald stood up and unsheathed his sword. "If you want money, we can manage to give you enough for a drink. We’re all out here trying to survive. Can’t we help each other out?"

The caravan stopped not too far away. The distance was enough for a charge and assault. They could see people unsheathing their sabers and scraping them against their saddles. The sound was grating.

"How much money?" a raspy voice asked. "How much money to buy your lives?"

Donald’s face changed. He looked back at the pale merchants behind him. He turned around said a sizeable sum. The leader laughed hoarsely.

Someone nudged a horse forward until he was just outside the crossbows’ range and tossed something in. The defense group was stunned. They quickly retreated but the thing rolled in the air, fell within the illuminated area, and rolled to Donald’s feet.

It was a head.

"Rabbit?" He recognized his companion, as well as the whistle that he was not able to take out from his mouth. The horse had walked past him and cleanly beheaded him. There was no pain on his face.

"That money isn’t enough at all. Keep it for your chickens," the raspy voice said lightly. The bandits guffawed. "Think a bit more and tell me another number."

Gritting his teeth, Donald looked back at the merchants.

"We can’t give more." The lead merchant’s face was white as paper. "We already won’t have any profits and we all came with debts. We hired you so you have to help us and defeat them…"

With a dark face, Donald picked up the severed head. "Look at this cut and their sabers. They aren’t typical bandits. They’re the elite cavalry who fled from the Caucasus Federation. They have thirty horses and at least forty men. One charge can flatten our camp. One of my men has already dead. I took your money so I don’t care about dying, but how many do you think can escape if they charge into the camp? If you can escape, can you keep the goods?"

The merchants fell silent and exchanged glances. They soon said a new number.

The hoarse voice did not laugh. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"This number isn’t that small and you’re very genuine, but…" His tone changed and became taunting. "Did you count the goods in your wagon from the Chainsaw Fraternity?"

Donald froze. He turned back to the merchants but they could not meet his eyes. Someone said, "That’s a trade secret. We couldn’t help hiding it."

"F*ck, you’ve killed me!" Donald clenched his jaw. "These motherf*ckers even know what goods you have. They definitely have spies in your group and targeted us when we left!"

"What do we do now?" someone asked with a trembling voice.

What else could they do?

Whistles sounded in the wind as arrows shot out. Donald raised his arm abruptly and blocked an arrow with his sword. The arrow split into pieces but the ridge of his sword fissured as well.

Donald’s face twitched. Clenching his jaw, he chanted quietly, "My heart is like steel, my blood like fire." Firelight shot out from his blade. His sword transformed into the Blade of Fire. This was high quality battle alchemy and was his bottom line. But it was too late. The pounding of war stallions was right before him.