Chapter 621: Blood Marrow Rice
The group stopped fifty miles east of the portal.
This is the last rest stop.
Sun Que looked up and could already see the dark red light curtain on the western horizon.
It resembled a sea of blood rising from the ground, silently stretching across the edge of the wasteland. That was the portal; after another half-day's walk, they could return to the Blue Star plane.
Over the past month and a half, new migration groups have continuously joined along the way, and today, Sun Que's group has swelled to more than 600,000 people.
A massive crowd stretched across the gray-brown wasteland, with trucks forming a long line stretching for miles.
Around the army, Qin garrison soldiers and elite Qin warriors patrolled in formation to maintain order. It was said that eight or nine groups of people had already left, and more than twenty groups were arriving one after another.
Zhang Ergou found an open space in the crowd and stood face to face with Ashi.
Each of them held a polished wooden stick in his hand.
"Kid, don't hold back today." Zhang Ergou brandished his stick. "Your Uncle Zhang is in great shape today."
Ashi didn't say anything, but simply held the stick horizontally in front of him and slightly bent his waist.
After a brief standoff, Zhang Ergou made the first move.
The first move, sweeping the stick, involves sweeping the stick horizontally along the ground, aiming straight for Ah Shi's knee.
A Shi didn't retreat. He lowered his wrist and used the stick to block Zhang Er Gou's momentum, then used the rebound force to deliver a sweeping blow.
Zhang Ergou's eyes lit up slightly, and he took a step back to avoid it.
"Okay! Again!"
He stepped forward, and with the second move, he chopped down with the stick, raising it above his head and slamming it down on A-Shi's shoulder with a whooshing sound.
A Shi raised his staff horizontally, turned his feet, and the staff wrapped and twisted along Zhang Er Gou's staff, then pushed outward with the force of the movement.
Zhang Ergou felt a numbness in his arm, and the wooden stick almost slipped from his hand.
The stick is wrapped around the stick; it's done.
"Not bad, kid!" Zhang Ergou laughed loudly, his staff technique suddenly speeding up, with chopping, sweeping, thrusting, and entanglement coming out in quick succession, the staff shadows overlapping.
Ah Shi pursed his lips and remained silent, only taking blows one after another with his stick, his feet never stopping, his body darting and shifting in the shadows of the stick.
A crowd had already gathered around the open space, including outer disciples of the Blood Abyss Sect who ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) had submitted to the sect, as well as young people who had emerged from various blood nests.
Xiao He stood in the crowd, her hands unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.
When he struck the thirty-sixth blow, Ah Shi's eyes suddenly narrowed.
He stomped his foot hard, the wooden stick retracted in front of him, and then with a short burst of force, the tip of the stick snapped out and hit the middle of Zhang Ergou's stick.
Beng Gun!
Zhang Ergou's right arm trembled, and the wooden stick flew out of his hand with a "crack." He staggered back three or four steps before barely managing to regain his footing.
He paused for a moment, looked down at his empty right hand, and then looked up at A-Shi.
The expression on his face changed from surprise to ecstasy.
"Good lad! It's only been a month and a half, and you've already got the hang of it!"
Ashi stood still, his chest heaving, his forehead covered in sweat.
A very faint notification sound had just faded from his mind.
【Mastery of the Bone-Breaking Staff Technique! Attack Power +25!】
He put away the wooden stick and respectfully clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Ergou: "It's all thanks to Uncle Zhang's excellent teaching."
"Alright, alright, stop flattering your Uncle Zhang." Zhang Ergou rubbed his still numb hand and shook it, wincing.
"If you had hit him any harder, your Uncle Zhang would have had to be carried to dinner today. You're talented, but you never know how to hold your ground."
He stepped forward and patted Ashi heavily on the shoulder, then turned to the crowd and shouted, "Disperse, disperse, let's eat! Only when we're full will we have the energy to continue our treacherous acts!"
The crowd burst into laughter and dispersed.
The fire was already lit, and the pot was cooking high-quality green rice. The aroma of the rice mixed with the smell of firewood was especially enticing in the evening breeze.
When Xiao He saw them coming, she first served A Shi a bowl, then handed Zhang Er Gou a bowl: "Brother Shi, Uncle Zhang, eat quickly."
"Our Xiao He is so considerate." Zhang Ergou took the bowl, blew on it to cool it down, and said, "Xiao He's cooking is better than any of the restaurants outside."
Xiao He blushed slightly and whispered, "Uncle Zhang, please don't laugh at me."
She served herself and Xiaohe's father a bowl as well.
Xiao He's father took the bowl and said softly, "Shi Tou, you've worked hard."
Ashi shook his head: "It's not hard work."
He sat by the fire and took a sip of porridge.
The blood marrow rice is warm when you put it in your mouth, with a slightly fishy and sweet taste. After you swallow the porridge, a warm current quickly spreads throughout your body.
Ashi could feel the soreness he had from practicing with the stick slowly fading away.
Green, high-quality food is indeed different.
As Zhang Ergou drank his porridge, he exclaimed, "This blood marrow rice is truly a wonderful thing; just one sip warms me up from head to toe."
Xiao He whispered, "Uncle Zhang likes it, there's still some in the pot."
Zhang Ergou quickly waved his hand: "That's enough, that's enough, my stomach is going to burst if I drink any more."
Ah Shi held the bowl, drank a few mouthfuls of hot porridge, and suddenly asked, "Uncle Zhang, what will the lord do for us when we arrive at Fenghuo Territory?"
Zhang Ergou was slurping his porridge when he heard this, so he put down his bowl and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"It's no secret that once we arrive at Beacon Fire Territory, the lord will have us wash away this Blood Fiend Technique and then change our class again."
Someone like you, who has mastered the Bone-Breaking Staff Technique, can also spin around. When you emerge, you'll be a post-natal martial artist.
Ashi's eyes lit up: "Really? Someone like me can do that?"
"Why not?" Zhang Ergou rolled his eyes at him. "You've mastered the Bone-Breaking Staff Technique! Do you know how many menial disciples practice their whole lives and still can't achieve it? How old are you? What do you call that? That's just fate."
He picked up the bowl again and mumbled, "When we get over there, your Uncle Zhang might even benefit from your connections and get a government position."
Ashi smiled sheepishly and lowered his head to drink his porridge.
That bowl of blood marrow rice was thick and flavorful; the grains melted in your mouth, both fragrant and warming.
Xiao He sat next to him, eating in small bites, occasionally glancing up at him.
After finishing his meal, Ashi put down his bowl and stood up again.
"Uncle Zhang, let's practice some more."
Zhang Ergou was squatting by the fire picking his teeth when he heard this and almost spat out his toothpick.
"Still practicing? You've already mastered the Bone-Breaking Staff Technique, and your legs are practically giving out from walking all this way in the middle of nowhere. Still practicing?"
Ah Shi said earnestly, "Uncle Zhang, I also want to learn the Bone-Shattering Whip Kick."
Zhang Ergou stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.
He tossed the toothpick aside, stood up, and said, "Fine, learn it. If you want to learn, Uncle Zhang will give you all his secrets."
"But let me make this clear first: if you can't master it, don't blame me for yelling at you."
Ashi nodded.
"I'm not afraid."
Zhang Ergou grinned, waved to A Shi, and the two walked towards the open space again.
Xiao He called from behind, "Don't practice too late!"
Ashi turned around and responded, the firelight illuminating his profile, making his eyes shine.
Zhang Ergou walked ahead, humming an off-key tune.
In the distance, the dark red light curtain still stretched across the horizon, flickering silently.