Night without Borders

Chapter 39: Sleepless Night
Qin Ming was really frightened. His fingertips felt cold and the cold actually began to seep into his hands. How could he stay calm?

He immediately shook his hands hard, and then tried to pull again.

A day passed, and the sunstone in the copper basin was no longer so bright, and the room was dark. But even so, Qin Ming felt that he should not have failed to discover the mysterious property at the first time. He only noticed it through the touch of his hand.

He came to the copper basin, took out a piece of sunstone, and looked at it in the last rays of the glow of the fire.

"A block of ice melted?"

This cold liquid is colorless and odorless, and can easily be overlooked. When Qin Ming crushed the stone, there was no unusual sign.

"Could this be the water that seeped into the rocks after the rain, froze and was then nourished by the sunlight to become a mysterious product?" He was a little skeptical.

Because this cold liquid really has no special features.

The most rare and precious product, a ten-colored light column reaching up to the sky, attracted attention from all directions. It was bound to spread to many splendid cities, sparked heated discussions, and would surely be recorded in the history books.

"You are its scraps. Apart from being icy cold and prickly, how come you don't have any magical properties?" Qin Ming looked at you with a frown.

After he shook his hands violently, the liquid did not seep any further. Strangely, it did not spill onto the ground, but it did not seem to be sticky to the touch.

"What is it used for?" Qin Ming looked at it carefully. This liquid had no special features, which made him frown because he had no idea how to use it.

Let it seep into his flesh and blood? He felt uncertain.

He had already learned from Mu Qing and Cao Long that there were many kinds of mysterious products nurtured by the light of heaven, some of which were not only unhelpful to the body, but harmful.

"Hmm?" Qin Ming's face changed slightly. He thought he had forced the cold out of his body just now. After shaking his hands violently, he did not let the liquid enter his flesh and blood.

Now it seems that is not the case. I feel something strange in my right hand, but the place that was just penetrated by the cold has become warm.

Moreover, the heat was spreading rapidly, or rather flowing, along his fingers into his arms, and then quickly from his shoulders to his neck.

Although it was very comfortable, this accident still made Qin Ming feel like he was facing a formidable enemy. He immediately used the new method recorded in the silk book to resist.

But it was of no use, on the contrary, the heat started to "get me going"!

The most important thing is that the part of the cold liquid that he didn't shake off also began to penetrate into his fingers, from cold to hot, and moved up along his arm.

"I admit that you are not a stagnant pool of water. You are a little special. Can we stop first? Let me take a break!" Faced with this unknown and unpredictable situation, Qin Ming tried every possible means, but could not change anything.

"All in?" He swung his arms and rubbed his hands continuously. Fragmented golden ripples appeared on his body, but it was of no use. Instead, it accelerated the process.

The icy liquid quickly transformed in his flesh and blood, and warmth evaporated. Then, whether it was in his left hand or his right hand, it all went up like hundreds of rivers converging into the sea, and finally reached his brows.

Qin Ming stared at himself in the mirror. Since he couldn't stop it, he could only observe calmly.

The warmth in the center of his forehead grew stronger and stronger, until all the heat came together and his entire frontal bone began to glow, then spread deep into his head.

He felt no discomfort, and the rich warmth eventually dissipated.

Qin Ming observed carefully and found that apart from being full of energy, there seemed to be nothing abnormal.

He came to the yard carrying a long-handled black gold hammer and practiced his sword skills. His strength did not increase at all and there was no obvious change in his physique.

But Qin Ming knew that this liquid was definitely not that simple. It was impossible for it to disappear without a trace in the end. The changes it caused should not have been discovered by him yet.

He looked up at the night sky. It was a little clearer and the night fog seemed less thick. His vision had improved slightly, but not significantly.

Qin Ming ate something casually and then came to the entrance of the village and stood by the fire spring under the black and white trees.

He stroked the rough tree trunks with his hands. One tree was as black as ink, while the other looked like it was carved from white jade, and its leaves did not fall off even in the cold winter.

"The liquid comes from the Black and White Mountains. You are the seeds that flowed out from there..."

Obviously, Qin Ming was overthinking it. Even though he put two leaves, one black and one white, in his mouth, there was nothing unusual.

"That's all for now." He comforted himself. He felt that his body was not feeling unwell and was full of energy. There shouldn't be any disaster.

Suddenly, he noticed something: there was a noise coming from the house of Old Man Liu who lived at the entrance of the village, accompanied by the crying of children and a woman.

It was only a few dozen meters away, and Qin Ming entered the courtyard gate in the blink of an eye. He frowned slightly when he saw three huge free-range chickens.

One of them was quite special. It had light yellow fur that glowed slightly, very strong legs, and extremely sharp claws, which left a few scratches on the bluestone floor in the yard.

It is much stronger than the other two free-range chickens and should be the so-called secondary mutated golden rooster.

There was a man with a gloomy face in the yard. Although he spoke in a low voice, it was obvious that he was about to get angry.

Qin Ming realized that this was a Golden Rooster Knight from Jinji Ridge. How did he come to Old Man Liu's house?

There were two other people accompanying him, and they were also whispering to Old Man Liu.

Old man Liu's family stood aside, at a loss, obviously frightened by these people.

What kind of hearing did Qin Ming have? Naturally, he heard clearly that they were trying to "buy" the red grass that Old Man Liu got from the Fire Bat Cave with a slightly tough attitude.

In the early night, people from Jinjiling saw Old Man Liu coming out of the Fire Bat Cave and discovered a red light flashing on his chest. They knew what was going on and realized that he was worried about his home.

"Old Liu, you are already so old. You were seriously injured in your early years. Your foundation has long been damaged. It is difficult for you to start over again. It is better to sell it at a high price and leave some assets for your children and grandchildren."

"Yes, that red grass burns like fire after ingestion. You are old and weak, and you can't bear it at all. If you fail in the second rebirth, the consequences will be terrible."

Old man Liu was helpless, his expression was indescribably lonely and sad, he said: "I have worked hard all my life, struggled for most of my life, just for this opportunity!"

There is no doubt that this is his obsession, and he has already prepared some auxiliary medicines of cold nature. He has been slowly conditioning himself recently and taking the red grass in portions. It is not a big problem and he has a great chance of success.

The reason why substances can help people to be reborn is mainly because they contain rich vitality and spirituality. The so-called strong medicinal properties, like burning fire, are exaggerated.

……

Qin Ming was very angry when he heard this. Isn't this bullying? An old man in his seventies, who had been dreaming about a second life for decades, finally saw the light of day with this obsession, but someone came to force him to buy it!
He heard the price the other party quoted. What’s the difference between this and robbery?
Dozens of night silver coins are indeed a considerable fortune for ordinary people, but they are spiritual substances that can help people be reborn, which is too disrespectful.

The red grass grows in a dangerous cave guarded by three-times mutated creatures called fire bats. It is very difficult to pick, and even the Golden Rooster Knight himself does not dare to go in.

"Three big brothers..." Qin Ming opened his mouth and walked forward.

"Who are you? Stay away!" One person spoke without any mercy, not wanting him to say anything more.

The Golden Rooster Knight simply glanced at him indifferently with a cold look. Although he didn't say anything, his warning was obvious, telling him not to get involved.

"Xiao Qin, stop talking. Let me go in and think about it." Old Man Liu said. He didn't want Qin Ming to get involved because Jinjiling was too difficult to deal with. They used to be a group of big bandits. Even though they had been recruited, they acted very violently. Once they targeted him, the consequences would be unpredictable.

"Three brothers, this red grass, Uncle Liu, was given by Cao Long and Mu Qing from Chixia City..." Qin Ming spoke again.

His implication was obvious. He mentioned that the noble descendants of Chixia City now have a very good relationship with Old Man Liu and are willing to give him spiritual substances to regulate his body. Tomorrow Old Man Liu will have to get up early to lead the way for those people.

"Old Liu has said these things himself. Ha, in the final analysis, you are just..." The Golden Rooster Knight sneered. He did not say that Qin Ming was using a big banner to cover up his own shortcomings, but that was obviously what he meant. He did not believe that the people of Chixia City would have close relations with a few hunters.

"Young people need to be tactful when doing things. Don't interfere if it's not your business." The person next to him gave a direct warning.

Old man Liu turned and walked into the house, took out a bag of red grass from the secret compartment in the wall, gritted his teeth, grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth. Without taking any auxiliary medicine to slowly regulate his body, he ate most of it directly.

He kept only a little and took it into the yard.

"It's just a little bit. You didn't eat it in advance, did you?" The Golden Rooster Knight's face suddenly turned gloomy. His intuition was still very accurate.

"That's really all there is." said Old Man Liu.

"What's the use of just this? Old Liu, you're great!" The Golden Rooster Knight patted him on the shoulder and turned away.

After the three men disappeared at the entrance of the village, Old Man Liu opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Uncle Liu, what's wrong with you?" Qin Ming was shocked.

Old Man Liu said, "That Golden Rooster Knight is very sinister and has practiced the Yellow Mud Palm. He suspected that I had eaten spiritual substances in advance, and he wanted to secretly disperse my blood and prevent me from being reborn again."

Qin Ming looked through the courtyard gate at the wind and snow outside the village. He really wanted to chase them and hit them with a hammer each time.

He knew that he couldn't do things so roughly. There was a big group of bandits in Jinjiling behind the other side. If he really wanted to have a momentary pleasure, it might bring disaster to the whole village. He had to "make long-term plans" after getting to the mountain.

"Are you okay old man?"

"grandfather!"

Old man Liu's family gathered around anxiously.

"How do you feel?" Qin Ming asked.

Old Man Liu said: "I know the style of Jinjiling, so I took precautions in advance. Although the situation is not very good, it is not that serious. It will be fine after a few days of recuperation."

In fact, Jinjiling was not the only one who came to try to force a sale. Someone from the local Three-Eyed Sect also came, and they were also second-time reborn people.

Finally, the people from the Three-Eyed Cult found that they could not force the purchase, so they just walked away in anger. Before leaving, they glanced at each other with grim faces, and it was a very unpleasant scene.

"It's not easy for ordinary people to live in such a harsh environment, and it's equally difficult to become a newborn..." Qin Ming sighed in his yard at night.

Soon, he realized what changes had taken place in him. His vigorous spirit remained unchanged until now. It was already very late, but he was not sleepy at all.

After he lay down, he stayed there for a long time, but found that he couldn't fall asleep at all. The more he closed his eyes, the more awake he became.

What was going on? He was not an immortal, so how could he not sleep? Besides, if there were immortals and gods in this world, they would have lifted up the sun long ago, and there would not be thick fog at night, and the world would not be dark.

In the second half of the night, Qin Ming had no choice but to get up and take a walk. After walking around the village eighteen times, he felt more and more energetic.

"What's happening to me?" Back in the yard, he practiced the new method in the silk book, and then practiced the fighting skills in the sword manual. He could feel tired, but not sleepy.

He went out late at night and finally arrived at the entrance of the village. He had nothing to do, so he cleared out the stone tablet buried by the snow.

"I heard from the old man that this stele weighs 1,100 kilograms. I estimate that I can lift a thousand kilograms with one hand, but I have never tested it in practice. Let me try it now."

In the end, Qin Ming pulled the stone tablet out of the frozen soil, and then raised it above his head with one hand.

"Although it's very strenuous, I can do it. This means that my arms actually have a strength of 2,200 kilograms, which is higher than I expected."

The next day, Xu Yueping saw Qin Ming and said, "Xiao Qin, have you ever cried?"

Qin Ming was startled and said, "No."

"Why are your eyes a little red?" Xu Yueping asked.

"I didn't sleep well last night." Qin Ming replied.

Old Liu followed into the mountains as usual and showed no sign of being injured.

When he met Cao Long, Mu Qing, Wei Zhirou and others, Qin Ming did not hide anything and directly told them what happened last night when Jinjiling and the Three-Eyed Sect tried to force a purchase.

"That's a bit too much." Mu Qing said.

Half an hour later, the Golden Rooster Knight from yesterday was found. Mu Qing slapped him in the face, sending him flying six or seven meters away, with many of his teeth falling out.

"This is the person I hired. He has been helping me. Do you want to steal the spiritual herbs we gave him?" Mu Qing asked in a cold voice.

"No... there's no misunderstanding." The Golden Rooster Knight's voice trembled.

With a clang, Cao Long's spear passed by his ear, changed direction, and chopped down a nearby tree. He said in a cold voice, "Even after we leave, you are not allowed to retaliate, otherwise you will not have a good ending."

"I see!"

A moment later, the people of the Three-Eyed Sect were also warned.

However, Mu Qing and Wei Zhirou also privately told Qin Ming and others that the Three-Eyed Sect’s stronghold here didn’t matter, but their sect in the distance was very strong and had branches in many cities.

"Jinji Ridge is actually not simple. It is a place where the Golden Bandits settled here."

Old Liu was very grateful for this. It was really beyond his expectation that several people would stand up for him.

On that day, Qin Ming found an opportunity to dig out the sword manual. Since Wang Nianzhu had become a wanted criminal, he didn't have to worry too much and could take the secret book home to study.

After the early night, he returned to the village.

"I hope I can fall asleep tonight and stop being so energetic!"

After dinner, he began to look through the leather-bound sword manual with the help of the fire from the sunstone. The moment he opened it, he was stunned.

Qin Ming looked up outside the house, then looked down at the old book. What was going on? This world seemed different to him!

(End of this chapter)