Universe Infinite Canteen

Chapter 87: Chapter 87 Looking Forward

Hearing that the Golden Leopard had shown itself again, the hunters outside the city all tensed up, staying on guard.

Yet, aside from Harpist Chi Qi from the Harpist Hunting Group, nobody else fell victim to an attack.

Still, new beasts had begun to converge toward them; Wei Cha and the others maintained their vigilance while retreating in an orderly fashion toward the Giant Curtain.

"Let's go too," Ma Lu said.

Although their small squad currently had an ample amount of blessings to continue fighting and further expand their victories, their mission to hunt for five-star ingredients was already complete this trip. Even if they bagged more prey, they couldn't carry them back.

Moreover, the haul they had now was already astonishingly rich. In such situations, it was best to play it safe, to prevent elation from turning into dismay—especially with the Golden Leopard lurking with watchful eyes nearby.

"Fine by me," Boggy replied without objections.

However, the coordination of the two was so clumsy that just standing still was a challenge, let alone moving.

When Ma Lu tried to step forward with his left leg, it happened to coincide with Boggy stepping forward with her left too, causing his left to bump into her right. This tripped Boggy slightly, almost causing her to fall.

To maintain her balance and avoid touching the water ring on her chest, Boggy subconsciously wrapped an arm around Ma Lu's waist.

"Sorry!"

They both blurted out at once. Boggy quickly withdrew her hand and adjusted her breathing.

"Let's sync our steps. I'll count one, two, three. I'll step with my right, and you with your left, then we'll alternate," she suggested.

"Good idea."

Yet even with synchronized step sequences, due to different stride lengths, their movement was still fraught with stumbles.

Several times, Ma Lu nearly stepped on Boggy's shoes, and she had to repeatedly reach back to grab onto something to keep her balance.

Just as they were about to reach the motorcycle, Ma Lu suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Wait, I almost forgot. We've got to take that Earth Dragon back. Let's head back," he said.

"Huh?"

"Seta alone, plus his puppet, probably can't drag it. We need to lend a hand."

Having not detected the Golden Leopard with the Traveler's Bracelet for so long, Ma Lu's courage grew once more.

But Boggy really didn't fancy a repeat of that ordeal. The short journey had left her somewhat breathless, not to mention she had to stay vigilant for an attack from the Golden Leopard and squeeze around in tight spaces with Ma Lu...

Now she felt dizzy all over, the enhancements in her reflexes seemed utterly useless. She hadn't struggled this much even when facing the Earth Dragon earlier.

The male doctor didn't even use a stethoscope, just checked Chi Qi's eyelids and glanced at the wound on his neck before making this declaration.

There were two blood holes on Chi Qi's neck, each as wide as three fingers, clearly left by the teeth of some fierce beast, as they had almost snapped his throat.

Guli's face was awful to look at.

Boggy could understand his frustration; the current situation of the Harpist was not good, and its attractiveness to top hunters had been declining. They had finally unearthed a promising new member, yet before he could make a name for himself, he died like this.

"Mourn his loss."

"It's my fault, I should not have accepted this commission," Guli muttered, "Our strength is not up to other Hunting Groups, not sufficient to cope with the Golden Leopard's attack, and I should have known Chi Qi wouldn't just listen to me."

At that time, the people of the Harpist had already been outside the city for a while and had gradually let down their guard. Moreover, everyone was distracted by the battle between the Twin Sunflower Hunting Group and the Earth Dragon, including Chi Qi who didn't continue to manipulate the wind and sand to provide cover for the team.

It was such a small mistake that cost him his life, and Boggy didn't know what to say.

She had always had a strained relationship with Chi Qi, not to mention that he had once hired hitmen to try and kill the Twin Sunflower Hunting Group.

She had intended to talk to Chi Qi in private over the next couple of days, but now she didn't know what the result would have been; to be honest, Chi Qi's death actually resolved quite a few problems for her.

It was just a pity for Guli, the future of the Harpist he had high hopes for was gone just like that. Such a blow could only add to the misfortunes of the already troubled Hunting Group.

Boggy sighed and said to Guli, "Have you ever thought about just disbanding the Hunting Group? With Uncle Guli's strength, I'm sure no Hunting Group would reject you."

"What are you talking about? Disband the Harpist, no, that's impossible, absolutely not," Guli refused without even thinking.

"This is the Hunting Group my father left behind, and as his successor, it's my duty to protect it. Unless I die, even if I'm the only one left, the Harpist will continue to exist."

"Alright, forget I said anything." Boggy could only swallow the words she had planned to say next.

She didn't speak, but Guli had something to say.

"You've changed."

The leader of the Harpist Hunting Group looked into the young girl's eyes and said.

"No, the powerful strength you see doesn't truly belong to me," Boggy shook her head.

"I'm not talking about your strength. Of course, your strength has also improved a lot. You are now an outstanding hunter who would make your father proud. If he were still alive, he'd surely be very gratified."

"Maybe."

"But you've changed, the past you treasured what he left behind, and would never have said something like disbanding the Harpist," Guli seemed a bit puzzled, "What exactly changed you?"

"I don't know," Boggy said, "Maybe I just suddenly realized that the past is past, and no matter how hard we try, it won't come back. So maybe it's time to look forward."