Chapter 0274: The Malice of Human Hearts

Chapter 0274: The Malice of Human Hearts

With his sharp eyesight, Qin Yun had noticed early on that the few people ahead were severely injured and had weak life force. Among them was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, her white dress stained with blood.

As soon as Qin Yun saw the fifth uncle about to charge forward, he rushed over and coldly said, "Look carefully before you make a move, don't kill innocent people. The people ahead are injured; what do you have to fear?"

The two middle-aged men scowled at Qin Yun's words.

If not for sensing Qin Yun's formidable aura, they might have retorted. Although they didn't say anything, they didn't give Qin Yun a friendly look, and their expressions turned cold.

Qin Yun could easily guess that these two middle-aged men were probably people of high status in the Lin Family. Most likely, they had been spoiled and arrogant since their younger days.

The group, which had been running, took a break at this moment.

The few people ahead were heavily injured ninth-level Martial Body stage warriors—four elders and a young girl. They had obviously escaped from the city and had been through a brutal battle with Demon Beasts.

"Don't worry, I mean no harm!" Seeing the hostility on the faces of the elders, Qin Yun quickly said, "I am from Runes Hall!"

Hearing that Qin Yun was from Runes Hall, the elders felt much relieved. They believed him because he was young and yet very strong.

A young warrior at the ninth level of the Martial Body stage could only be cultivated by a major power such as Runes Hall.

"We are severely injured and probably won't be able to continue! Young hero, please take care of Xiao Hong'er. She is my granddaughter, and our entire family is all that's left," an elder with a severed arm said with a grief-stricken face.

Qin Yun wiped the blood from Xiao Hong'er's face, then took out two sets of rune-patterned gear and said, "Elders, each of you can use one of these for a while to stabilize your injuries."

The people from the Lin Family, seeing the two sets of rune-patterned gear, had glimmers in their eyes but were displeased in their hearts. They were also injured, yet Qin Yun hadn't offered them any healing equipment.

It was well known that rune-patterned gear could quickly heal injuries and were precious spiritual artifacts that many warriors dreamed of obtaining.

The people from the Lin Family were fully aware of the value of the rune-patterned gear, and yet this young man had two sets!

"Thank you, young hero!" the elder with the severed arm said gratefully.

Qin Yun didn't offer the rune-patterned gear to the people from the Lin Family mainly because they had been very indifferent. Earlier, he had killed the magic wolves and saved these people, but only Lin Yin came up to thank him. The others were more interested in dividing the spoils from the magic wolves.

He didn't have much of a good impression of the Lin Family. He only agreed to escort them out of respect for Lin Yin and to fulfill his duty to Runes Hall.

However, the injured elders in front of him had very good attitudes.

In particular, their willingness to give up their lives and entrust their granddaughter to him deeply moved Qin Yun.

Soon, the injuries of the four elders improved significantly, and they looked much more spirited.

"Thank you, big brother!" Xiao Hong'er, after using the rune-patterned gear to heal her injuries, returned the fur-made light pattern clothes to Qin Yun.

Xiao Hong'er, with two braids framing her round face and big, watery eyes, was a picture of innocence and charm. Although her white dress was stained with blood, it didn't affect her lively beauty.

"You're welcome. Train hard in martial arts so you can protect these elders in the future!" Qin Yun said with a smile, reminded of Qi Meilian, who was also so innocent and charming.

Xiao Hong'er quickly nodded, showing a sweet smile.

The Lin Family members remained expressionless, clearly uninterested in being friendly.

"Qin Yun, the people from our Lin Family are also injured. Could you lend us those two sets of rune-patterned gear? We can use our crystal coins to replenish the energy of the equipment," Lin Yin approached and asked in a low voice, her eyes filled with a plea.

Qin Yun scratched his head and said, "Well... my rune-patterned gear can't be recharged with crystal coins. It requires infusing it with Diamond inner energy. Just now, I used up all the energy in these sets. It will take two or three days to recharge them."

Lin Yin looked at the fifth and sixth uncles, bit her lip, and said softly, "We can wait here for a few days while you recharge the rune-patterned gear, and the elders will also need time to recover."

"Alright then!" Qin Yun nodded, then took out the Runes Equipment and began replenishing its energy.

He didn’t want to lend the Runes Equipment to the Lin Family. They clearly needed it, but instead of coming to borrow it themselves, they sent Lin Yin to do so.

What really pissed Qin Yun off was that those Fifth and Sixth Uncles were nothing but trouble. Their attitudes were extremely rude, and they were completely arrogant.

The place they were in was a lush green grassland, with a nearby river. The surroundings were pleasant.

Since they were on a plain, even if demon beast hordes appeared, they could be spotted quickly.

The Lin Family set up their tents, keeping a distance of several dozen meters from Qin Yun.

Qin Yun, on the other hand, stayed in one place with Ding Honghong.

The elders were surnamed Ding, four brothers.

Ding Honghong’s grandfather was the eldest, named Ding Yi, the head of a small family. Because they lived near the city gates, the Ding Family was the first to bear the brunt of the demon beast hordes' attack, suffering heavy losses.

"Uncle Ding, the protective city formation of that city was set up by us Runes Hall. It’s absolutely not something that can be easily broken through by demon beasts. Someone must have deliberately deactivated the formation and opened the city gates to let the demon beasts in," Qin Yun said.

Ding Yi and the other elders nodded. They were aware that the city gates had been opened.

"That’s indeed the case, but we don’t know who opened the city gates. It was nighttime, and with the protective formation in place, and Runes Hall assuring us of reinforcements, we let our guard down," Ding Yi said with a mix of sorrow and anger. "If not for someone deliberately opening the gates, the Ding Family wouldn’t have suffered such devastating losses."

Ding the Second sighed sadly. "We, the Ding Family, have only Ding Honghong left!"

He lovingly patted Ding Honghong’s head.

Ding Honghong was very strong, enduring the pain of losing her parents without breaking down in tears.

As night fell, Ding Yi and the others set up their tents and invited Qin Yun to join them.

After entering, Qin Yun handed them the two sets of Runes Equipment and said, "Feel free to continue using these until you are fully healed."

Ding Yi was slightly surprised and said in a low voice, "What about them? There are a few of them who are also seriously injured."

"Don’t worry about them. They aren’t good people at all. I already regret being with them. You may not know this, but when they saw you, they were ready to attack and kill you on the spot," Qin Yun humphed softly.

Hearing this, Ding Yi and the others looked at each other, their faces filled with surprise.

"The Lin Family is a major clan within the city. We don’t know much about their younger generation due to limited contact. However, we do know that the Lin Family has conflicts with several other clans," Ding Yi said. They didn’t refuse Qin Yun’s kindness and accepted the Runes Equipment to heal their wounds.

Replenishing the Runes Equipment’s energy only took a few hours—no need for the two or three days they claimed.

Soon, the wounds of the four Ding elders were almost completely healed. However, Ding Yi, having lost his left arm, couldn’t fully recover, leaving Ding Honghong heartbroken.

Late at night, Qin Yun continued to inject energy into the Runes Equipment while the four Ding elders sat cross-legged on the rugs, resting with their eyes closed.

Ding Honghong, lying on a soft fur, fell asleep amidst her sorrow and exhaustion.

By dawn, Qin Yun was still in the tent, refining high-grade immobilization talismans.

Outside, the four Ding elders and Ding Honghong remained quiet, allowing Qin Yun to focus on his work without interruption.

……

On the grassland, Ding Honghong chased after birds, her sorrow slowly giving way to a sense of playfulness. As she played, a red-robed elder suddenly appeared, flying in from the distance.

This made Lin Yin and the other Lin Family members very happy, as it was their elder who had achieved the Martial Dao Realm.

As soon as this elder arrived, he entered a large tent of the Lin Family.

Seeing this, Ding Yi quickly informed Qin Yun.

Qin Yun breathed a sigh of relief, as he no longer needed to continue escorting the Lin Family members. Meanwhile, the Lin Family members were waiting for his rune equipment, so they planned to stay here for a while longer.

Inside the tent, Qin Yun was crafting runes and was unaware of what was happening outside.

Out on the grassland, Lin Yin suddenly approached Ding Honghong.

Lin Yin, with her pretty face and charming personality, quickly befriended Ding Honghong and took her around to play.

The four Ding family elders thought that Ding Honghong needed someone to talk to, and seeing that she got along well with Lin Yin, they didn’t say anything.

As evening approached, Qin Yun suddenly heard a very low cry. Busy crafting runes, he immediately stopped what he was doing and rushed out of the tent.

"It's Honghong's cry, where is she?" Qin Yun asked Ding Yi outside the tent, visibly anxious.

"She went to the river with Lin Yin to play!" Seeing Qin Yun's obvious worry, Ding Yi also became concerned.

Qin Yun was sure he hadn’t misheard. His strong mental energy allowed his hearing to surpass that of ordinary people, enabling him to catch weak sounds. Upon learning that Honghong was with Lin Yin, he rushed to the Lin Family's tent.

The four Ding family elders were also very anxious and followed closely behind.

Qin Yun, at an extremely fast speed, charged into the large tent because he sensed the presence of Ding Honghong and Lin Yin.

Upon rushing in, he saw Ding Honghong being pulled and tugged by her fifth and sixth uncles, her clothes already torn to shreds, while the other members of the Lin Family were drinking and laughing, seemingly oblivious to what was happening.

Ding Honghong was terrified, crying non-stop, while the other members of the Lin Family drank and laughed loudly.

Lin Yin, with a flushed face from drinking, saw Qin Yun storming in and quickly approached him. "Qin Yun, I'm so sorry! I should have protected Honghong, but the fifth and sixth uncles forced me to go along with it. I had no choice!"

Seeing Qin Yun's terrifyingly dark expression, she couldn’t help but cry.

The four Ding family elders were also enraged, their eyes red with anger as they rushed over to protect the sobbing Honghong.