Night Without End-Chapter 17 - 10: The Invisible Zone_2

The atmosphere at the dinner table was somewhat gloomy. With recent changes in the mountain, a sweep might be imminent, and no one knew what would happen next.

Feng Yi'an drank the wine in his cup in one gulp and said, "Brother Xu, I must trouble you to bury the seed."

He solemnly took out a wooden box from his bosom, opened it, and inside were four black seeds, each the size of a black bean.

Xu Yueping was taken aback and said, "To plant in winter?"

Feng Yi'an's expression was grave as he said, "Place it in the Fire Spring now to nourish, and it will thrive in early spring. The Patrol Team will surely be at the forefront of this great battle. Some brothers' lives may be ticking away, and even if they survive, they might be severely maimed. I don't know if they can last until the 'Black Moon' matures. This is a life-saving medicine for many. Old Xu, you must take great care!"

The Black Moon took root in the Fire Spring, its leaves as elegant as orchids. Once its full buds bloomed, each petal resembled a black crescent moon, casting a dark glow and swirling with white mist.

Feng Yi'an wiped a slight bit of liquor from his large beard and stood up to take his leave: "Thank you for your hospitality, Brother Xu. If I survive the sweep and return, we shall gather again."

"With your exceptional abilities, Brother Feng, you will surely turn calamity into safety," Xu Yueping said.

Those present escorted Feng Yi'an to the village entrance and watched him disappear into the night.

"This year is tough. The Patrol Team is considerate; sending only four seeds as the Spiritual essence drawn from the Fire Spring can sustain it," someone remarked.

Being a Mountain Patrol isn't just about scouting for dangers in the mountains but also guarding them. Every region willingly grows Medicinal Herbs for their benefit and doesn't object.

As per the agreement, each village is required to provide four to eight Black Moon plants annually. If only four are needed, the impact on the crops in the Fire Field isn't significant.

Those present dispersed.

Old Man Liu hadn't left yet; he stared at the four black seeds and said, "They have truly been cultivated."

As Qin Ming left, he noticed that Xu Yueping seemed preoccupied.

...

The streets had more people than usual, all equipped with bows and Hunting Forks, ready to enter the mountain.

Yesterday, they had asked Qin Ming in detail about the situation in the mountains, and early today, they began to take action.

Mainly because most families were running low on stored food, and food was relatively scarce.

"Great harvest, we hunted down two Horned Deer!"

A group of people returned with good news, having made a generous gain.

"For now, the outer areas of the forest have become peaceful. As long as we do not venture deep, we can hunt cautiously."

The next day, more people paired up to enter the mountain, bringing back quite a few hunts.

Many children cheered, unafraid of the cold, breathing out white mist while running around on the streets as if it were the New Year; the village atmosphere significantly improved.

"Little Uncle, come to my house for a treat, we're eating roe deer meat today," Wen Rui happily called out to Qin Ming.

After dining on wild meat at Lu Ze's house, Qin Ming stepped out just in time to see Xu Yueping frowning as he returned from the village entrance.

"Uncle Xu, did you go to see someone off?"

"Yes, people from the Patrol Team came, urging me to plant the Black Moon," Xu Yueping said.

Qin Ming felt that being a Mountain Patrol was indeed not easy, facing various dangers, and one could become injured or even die at any time.

Seeing Xu Yueping deep in thought with furrowed brows, he didn't say much else.

That day, the last batch of people to enter the mountain caused a stir upon their return because most were injured, covered in blood, and had lost their prey.

"That was close, we encountered a mutated Snow Ape! Old Chen nearly had his arm torn off," one terrified villager said.

"Fortunately, with our bows and arrows, we managed to drive it away and escaped," they recounted their narrow escape, mentioning that this venture had gone too deep into the mountain and that such recklessness couldn't be repeated.

As the dense night fog cleared, a new day arrived. Though some had been hurt yesterday, it hadn't deterred others, especially since it included Newcomers.

However, it wasn't long before one group returned, many bearing blood, with the Newcomer sustaining severe injuries.

His left shoulder blade was shattered, one of his legs bent unnaturally, his chest partially collapsed, his mouth frothing with blood, uncertain if he would survive.

"What happened?"

"We encountered a Blood Bear!" someone said, quivering.

The Blood Bear, a powerful mutated creature, its fur as red as blood, brutal and ferocious, even a Newcomer may not survive an encounter with it.

"Where is Brother Lu?" Qin Ming hurried to the neighboring yard.

"He went into the mountain." Liang Wanqing became anxious after learning the situation.

"I'll go find him!" Qin Ming turned around and left.

Upon hearing that a group of people had not returned, Xu Yueping immediately panicked and called all the newcomers to enter the mountain.

Qin Ming ran at the front, his body lifting large swaths of snow into the air, startling Xu Yueping who was closest to him, while the others had long been left far behind.

As he approached the forest, Qin Ming stopped because a group of people were staggering out.

He saw Lu Ze being carried out at first glance.

"Brother Lu!" He rushed over.

Lu Ze's face was pale as gold paper, his eyes closed, his clothes tattered and stained with blood, the injuries to his chest and abdomen were the most severe, with at least three ribs broken.

From nearby came crying, two of the seriously injured carried back had already died.

"Were you injured by the Blood Bear?" Qin Ming asked.

Someone, still frightened, said: "Yes, if it weren't for the Mountain Patrol appearing, many of us might have died."

Qin Ming stared into the dark forest, drawing his bright Short Blade.

Xu Yueping arrived and stopped him, saying, "Don't take risks, go back first!"

Liang Wanqing saw Lu Ze being carried back, her face turned deathly pale, and she stumbled over, with two children crying loudly.

"Sister-in-law, Brother Lu has just fainted." Qin Ming said.

After a careful examination, Qin Ming saw that Lu Ze's broken ribs had not pierced his organs. After he reset them and treated the wound, the problem was not very serious.

Many people were injured this time, cries of the elderly and children could be heard even in the streets.

The atmosphere in the village was oppressive, Xu Yueping instructed that no one was allowed to go into the mountain from now on.

Qin Ming walked into the courtyard of Xu Yueping's house and found Old Man Liu and Yang Yongqing there too.

"Do you want to go kill the Blood Bear?" Xu Yueping asked inside the house.

Qin Ming spoke softly, "Although Lu Ze has bear claw injuries, the broken ribs seem more like they were caused by fists."

"You feel that way too; it's mostly likely man-made then." Xu Yueping suddenly stood up, showing anger and said: "Some people have gone too far!"

Qin Ming had already felt it and had some guesses.

Because, ever since Xu Yueping got four seeds, he has been preoccupied.

"Why?" Qin Ming asked, guessing is one thing, but accepting it inside was another.

Xu Yueping's voice was low: "The Patrol Team forced me to plant Black Moon immediately, I didn't agree, I didn't expect them to retaliate in this way."

Old Man Liu said, "The seeds have a problem; they seem to be mutated, absorbing a large amount of the Spiritual essence of Fire Spring, affecting the farming of Fire Field, there might be a famine next year."

Qin Ming was disturbed, remembering the broad-bearded Feng Yi'an's heroic demeanor and the tragic past of some of the Mountain Patrollers he recounted, which was very touching, but then they did such a thing.

Yang Yongqing said: "What Feng Yi'an mentioned were all real people and events, but they are unrelated to the main members of this current group!"

Qin Ming thought of his previous words: some Mountain Patrollers are very responsible.

At that time, he felt that Yang Yongqing seemed to be hinting that there are also those who are irresponsible, expressed quite subtly.

Old Man Liu lowered his voice: "This group has hunted the Blood Bear before, I seriously suspect that now someone is masquerading in that bear skin to commit evil."

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

After hearing this, Qin Ming felt a surge of anger in his heart. Mountain Patrollers should protect the mountains and the locals, respected by people, but what are they doing? Outwardly hearty and responsible, but secretly committing evil, blood on their hands, where's their once conscience?

"Is Brother Xu at home?" Feng Yi'an led four Mountain Patrollers into the courtyard.

"It's all our fault, we failed to protect our fellow villagers this time." Feng Yi'an, with a beard, showed a guilty face, declaring that he would immediately go hunt the Blood Bear.

The knuckles of Xu Yueping's fingers inside his sleeves turned white from clenching, yet he could not vent his anger and had to maintain a dignified demeanor to cope.

He felt extremely uncomfortable inside, the other party murdered and then came to apologize; this was like riding on someone's neck to sneer down with a smile.

Qin Ming sat quietly, momentarily resisting the urge to draw his blade.

Thank you: sssWestern, A Gentleman would never just watch Lindera, Lian Lian Lix Lix, Wu No Wu Wu Wu, Don't make the name too long it's fine, thanks to the Alliance Hierarch for support!