Chapter 51: Helinta

On the roadside.

Hu Qi hung up the phone. His eyes glinted as he let out a long sigh of relief.

’The situation doesn’t seem too bad for now...’

Hu Qi had chosen to make a video call rather than a regular phone call specifically so he could get a clear, direct look at Lin Tong’s reaction to the news.

Thanks to a few techniques from his Criminal Investigation Technique Skill, as well as his Attentive as a Hair Trait.

He had just taken in every detail of the other man’s expression and tone, which led him to believe he was telling the truth.

Of course, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the man was a master actor, good enough to fool him completely.

But Hu Qi leaned toward the former explanation.

After all, the man had mentioned the Black Blood Species before.

In his mind, a Transcendent would surely have close ties to the Federation, so handling this kind of situation should be well within their capabilities.

The results were just as Hu Qi had expected.

Before long, a convoy of police cars with flashing lights roared past, heading toward the Hanlin Garden District.

Hu Qi waited a little longer.

Then, he saw an all-gray sedan approach from the distance, its headlights blazing, before pulling to a stop in front of him.

CLICK!

The car door opened, and two figures emerged.

Lin Tong was in the lead. Following him was a young white woman with blonde hair and red eyes.

The woman wasn’t doing anything in particular, yet she gave Hu Qi an intense feeling of danger.

Hu Qi’s expression remained neutral as his gaze fell upon her.

"Senior Brother Lin, who is this?"

Lin Tong gave a dry laugh.

"Don’t be nervous. This is our Shexin Sect’s Second Senior Sister, Helinta. She’s much stronger than I am. She heard about what happened with you and decided to come along to check it out."

Hu Qi’s mind raced at his words.

’Stronger than Lin Tong?’

’Could she be from a Martial Arts Family, someone capable of stopping bullets with their body?’

’And this Shexin Sect he mentioned... could that be another name for the Red Scale Club?’

However, considering the situation, he didn’t press the issue.

He simply bowed his head and said,

"Greetings, Second Senior Sister."

Helinta didn’t respond to his greeting.

She looked Hu Qi up and down.

Suddenly, her figure blurred.

She vanished from where she stood.

The next instant, she reappeared less than a meter in front of Hu Qi, her hand lashing out to grab him.

"Huh?"

The color drained from Hu Qi’s face, and the hair on his arms stood on end.

If he’d only felt a sense of danger before, the moment she attacked, it was as if she had transformed into a giant jungle python, pouncing with jaws wide and fangs bared.

The overwhelming stench of death was suffocating. It felt as if he was about to be devoured whole.

"Agh! Damn it!"

Driven by this intense feeling of danger, veins bulged on Hu Qi’s face.

He couldn’t understand why she would suddenly attack him right after they’d met.

But he had no time to think about that now. Even if he was going down, he’d take a piece of her with him.

His muscles tensed instantly. Instead of retreating, he took a step forward, his waist coiling like a spring wound to its limit. The explosive force whipped his arm around as he threw a punch.

Fist met hand with a dull thud, sending out a faint ripple of air that rustled the hems of their clothes.

Hu Qi grunted and staggered back five or six steps before he could stop himself.

Worse, his entire arm went numb, completely devoid of feeling.

Helinta, in contrast, hadn’t moved an inch. She stood in place, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hu Qi, are you alright?"

Just then, Lin Tong came forward from the side to steady him.

But as he spoke, his expression was odd—there was a hint of gloating, as if he’d known this was going to happen all along.

"Don’t worry, Second Senior Sister was just testing your strength."

"Second Senior Sister is actually a really good person."

As he said that last part, Lin Tong glanced at Helinta out of the corner of his eye, clearly intending for her to hear it.

Clearly, Lin Tong was terrified of Helinta too.

"I see!"

Hu Qi’s expression flickered.

He finally settled on a look of understanding, but at the same time, he felt a wave of lingering fear.

He had really thought he was about to die.

Right then, his opinion of this so-called Second Senior Sister hit rock bottom.

"You’re not bad,"

Helinta finally spoke.

Her eyes lit up, and she looked at Hu Qi as if he were some kind of rare specimen.

"If I’m not mistaken, your physique has already reached the human limit.

Not only that, but your Cannon Fist has also reached the Perfect Realm.

No wonder you were able to kill two Black Blood Species."

Her words made Hu Qi’s expression change once more.

It was unbelievable that she had seen through him after just one exchange.

Helinta seemed to recall something then and continued,

"Attacking you was my fault, even if I was just testing your strength. Take this bottle of Snow Snake Ointment as compensation."

With that, she tossed something to him.

Hu Qi caught it out of reflex.

It was a palm-sized white porcelain bottle, sealed with a wooden stopper.

Bringing it closer, he could smell a faint, strangely pungent odor.

"Damn, you lucky bastard!"

Lin Tong spoke up from the side, his eyes fixed greedily on the bottle in Hu Qi’s hand.

Noticing the confused look on Hu Qi’s face, Lin Tong explained before he could even ask,

"That stuff will be a huge help to you later when you enter the core class and start practicing the Limit-Breaking Technique.

Don’t be fooled by the small bottle. It’s worth at least a hundred thousand. The various medicinal ingredients in it alone are incredibly expensive.

The main ingredient is the Snow-Scale Python, which has to live in a Cold Pool for over ten years. They’re extremely rare, which makes the ointment incredibly difficult to produce.

It’s practically priceless—you can’t buy it even if you have the money. The most you can usually find for sale is just the regular Spiritual Snake Ointment.

The effects of the two can’t even be compared."

Lin Tong’s tone was laced with envy.

"Over a hundred thousand?"

Hu Qi’s eyes lit up. He ignored Lin Tong’s burning stare and stuffed the bottle into his bag.

’Now I suddenly agree with Lin Tong,’ he thought. ’This Second Senior Sister really is a good person... well, a very generous one, at least.’

"Alright, let’s go check out the scene now," Helinta said.

"How dare they come hunt on my turf." A cold sneer spread across her face. "These damn mongrels should all be chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs!"

Her voice dripped with killing intent.

Hu Qi shot Lin Tong a strange look.

He didn’t say anything, but his meaning was clear.

"Second Senior Sister is always like this," Lin Tong said with a shrug. "You get used to it."

The group then got into the car and headed for the Hanlin Garden District.

Along the way, Hu Qi explained that the constantly struggling Camphor Tea Duck in his bag was his pet.

Lin Tong was curious but didn’t press for details.

Helinta, on the other hand, glanced at the bag and remarked that instead of keeping it as a pet, he should just kill and eat it.

Whether by coincidence or not, as soon as Helinta said this, the Camphor Tea Duck inside the bag miraculously fell silent.