Nobody had expected this to happen. Those who’d died were silent, and those who were alive were just as quiet.

　　Everyone looked at Fang Xing in a daze. This guy was like the reincarnation of someone who’d died of starvation; after finishing off a piece of roasted meat the size of a pheasant, he picked up another piece of meat the size of pork feet and wolfed it all down without pause. No matter whether it was burnt or covered in grass and dirt, he devoured everything. It made one wonder how such a thin body could hold so much food without any visible sign of a growing stomach.

　　From the looks of things, he really was hungry! The female young master and the yellow-clothed cultivator both froze stiff at the sight; this guy had truly come here just for some meat to eat? Although part of the reason they’d tortured him earlier was due to the young master’s sensitivity, the main reason was they didn’t know Fang Xing’s background nor did they believe someone with his level of cultivation would go hungry in these mountain ranges. In the end, this wild monkey-like guy had taken four of the nails and their side had a large number of casualties and injured, and it was ultimately all over a piece of roast meat?

　　When they saw Fang Xing definitely didn’t have any murderous intentions, the young master, the yellow-clothed cultivator, and the pale-faced Foundation cultivator Old Nine—who’d managed to find some good dog-sh*t luck and save his own life by hiding behind a boulder—all stood up with caution. They looked behind Fang Xing and towards the dragon who was as docile as a genuine puppy, yet from time to time, the gaze it sent towards them was filled with a terrifying viciousness that left them all speechless.

　　“Fellow Daoist, you…” the yellow-clothed cultivator spoke with a tremor and an undeniable fear in his eyes.

　　Fang Xing’s cheeks were stuffed full with the meat he was chewing, but he still managed to squeeze out, “I already f*cking said it before; I only came here to ask for some meat!”

　　This had the yellow-clothed cultivator on the verge of tears. He wordlessly looked at all the corpse and those four nails that hadn’t been removed from Fang Xing’s body, and it took a long while for him to reply. “Then why did you… come out like that? If it hadn’t been like that, we wouldn’t have misunderstood Fellow Daoist….”

　　Fang Xing glanced up at him, said, “Why don’t you f*cking try starving for two years?” and continued eating his meat. After the earlier interrogations, he’d largely guessed how long he must’ve been in his seclusion for.

　　The yellow-clothed cultivator suddenly didn’t know what to say. He turned to look at the female young master, whose expression was also quite interesting.

　　So this guy wasn’t here to take her life. This information caused the pressure she’d been feeling to dissipate, but when she remembered all of the embarrassing things she did due to the shock he sent her through, a trace of hatred towards this wild monkey began to form. However, Fang Xing currently had the red dragon with him, and she wouldn’t dare act so arrogant towards him right now even if her guts were ten times greater.

　　Neither the young master nor the yellow-clothed cultivator noticed that when Fang Xing lowered his head to bite into his food, a flash of coldness had crossed his eyes. His spirit sense was many times stronger now that he had full mastery of Foundation Stage, and he’d sensed how when the red dragon arrived, extremely powerful cultivators had landed in the surrounding mountainside at the same time and placed down some manner of formation. Although the language and demeanor he was using was innocuous, if it weren’t for these powerful newcomers, it was hard to say whether he’d be chewing on roast meat or human flesh right about now.

　　As for those powerful cultivators who’d followed after the red dragon, they were unaware Fang Xing had already noticed their arrival; if even the three Golden Cores hadn’t noticed them, how would a Foundation Stage kid? When they saw how the previously violent and enraged red dragon was suddenly as gentle and docile as a small puppy in front of Fang Xing, they were relieved he didn’t hold any murderous intent towards the clan master’s daughter. One of them sent a spirit message to the others, “How could such a powerful peril beast have a mere Foundation Stage master? How absurd. Dear elders, shall we still attack?”

　　“We placed this Five-Element Formation in a hurry and we don’t have one-hundred-percent confidence in capturing this red dragon,” another powerful cultivator replied back, “Both sides might end up heavily wounded, and the risk is simply too great. Let us ask the Head Exalt and see if we should invite this unknown Foundation Stage into joining us? As for the rest of us, we’d best stay out of sight for now. This boy seems to have formed a grudge against the daughter of the clan master, so if he decides to attack with the dragon, we’ll reveal ourselves and sort him out!”

　　……

　　……

　　Fang Xing finished off all the roast meat there was but only felt half full. After lying next to the clear pond, he began drinking its water like a thirsty cow for a long period of time before finally standing up, patting his stomach with satisfaction, and turning to the young master to say, “Young Miss, I was truly in seclusion for so long my brain must have been muddled from hunger. This resulted in me offending Young Miss, and caused so many problems. You stuck four of these nails in me, and this dog of mine panicked and ended up injuring some of your men. With this, it can be considered we are even, right?”

　　The demeanor he used was as though he was fearful of their Hentian clan and unwilling to become their enemy. When the female young master saw him being servile and using words that weren’t as coarse as before, her guts rose again and she let out a cold laugh. “All I did was stick a few pins in you, yet you on the contrary killed nearly all of my men. You want to call this even just like that?”

　　The yellow-clothed cultivator jumped at this and quickly pulled her sleeve before sending over a message, “Young Master, do not push him further. Although this person’s cultivation level is not high, he does have that true dragon who works under him—him joining us is even more valuable than a standard Golden Core. Even if the clan master and Head Exalt themselves were here, they’d also do their best to invite him to join us. How could we let this chance go and allow him to fall into the hands of the other clans?”

　　The young master was a bit taken aback by this and she messaged over in response, “I do not like this person. Of course we can’t let this red dragon pass, but this person’s guts aren’t very big; all it took to scare him was a mere mention of our Hentian clan’s name. We need to think of a way to seize that red dragon….”

　　Fang Xing’s brows creased. “Not even?”

　　The young master sneered, but just as she was about to speak, an old voice suddenly rose up to let out a long laugh and say, “It naturally cannot be considered even….”

　　The yellow-clothed cultivator and female young master were both shocked when they heard this aged voice. “Head Exalt?” they turned and shouted.

　　Fang Xing looked over as well and saw a white-bearded old man standing atop a strange cloud arriving from the heavens. A long grey robe adorned his body and a single wooden hairpin held his entire crown of full white hair. It was impossible to say precisely how old he was, but the wrinkled skin on his expressionless face was like a mandarin peel.

　　Fang Xing checked his cultivation level and was secretly surprised—this old cultivator was already at the full mastery of Golden Core Stage and wasn’t far from Budding Soul. He felt somewhat fortunate he’d noticed their existence earlier and hadn’t been too hasty in trying to kill these people; even the crazed red dragon might not have the upper hand against this old man and the others still in hiding.

　　Fang Xing showed a look of helplessness and fear as he spoke to the elderly man. “Old Senior, I really do not have any ill intentions, it is simply that this dragon cannot bear seeing me being injured. When he does, he goes mad….”

　　When the elderly man saw this, he instead began to laugh. “For me to say it cannot be considered even, it is to say we cannot let our little friend here feel the slightest wronged. It is only normal for your red dragon to want to help its master when you’re hurt. There’s no need for you to concern yourself about the mere lives of a few accompanying men, and it is I who needs to first apologize to you on behalf of Qing’er who wounded you. Little friend, I hope you will not misunderstand our Hentian clan because of this….”

　　As the man spoke, his palm drew back and the four nails lodged in Fang Xing’s body were all gathered into his palm. He sent out a light containing spirit liquids to cover Fang Xing’s wounds and stop the bleeding, before he lightly sighed and continued, “Our Hentian clan is certainly not a place without any principles. For the past thousands of years, most of the people who have entered the Guixu Ruins have joined our Hentian clan. If we truly were unreasonable, how and why would we have the ability to convince so many of them to join us? Qing’er, I need to ask you instead; why did you offend this little friend? Since when are the Eighteen Cleave Nails meant to be used on men? All I see is you causing more and more trouble!”

　　The young master was surprised when she heard this, but she also heard the rebuke in his voice and understood it very well; not only had she not tried to invite such a person with a dragon peril beast to join them to add to the Hentian clan’s battle prowess, she’d offended him instead. She didn’t have time to explain on such short notice and also believed her anger back then had been a bit too unreasonable, but even if she were to say so, the Head Exalt wouldn’t listen.

　　Her status within the Hentian clan was extraordinary, and although most of the Exalts treated her like their master, this Head Exalt did not. His status was unique and very important; if he wanted to punish her, even her father—the clan master—could only watch from the side. She suddenly felt agitated and aggrieved, and the joy she’d felt when the Head Exalt first arrived was all washed away.

　　Fang Xing coldly observed this from the side. He noticed all the emotional changes on the young master’s face and—feeling a bit moved—he purposefully took a step forward while showing a look of hesitation and panic. “Old senior, please don’t say this. Truthfully, I’d simply been too hungry and thought this young master was male, so I did not think too much about it before abruptly appearing to ask for food and offending the young master It should be me who needs to apologize!”

　　“Hmph, you want to apologize to me?” the young master sneered, “Then give us the Hentian clan this dragon of yours!” With the Head Exalt next to her, she was no longer afraid of Fang Xing becoming angry.

　　“Nonsense!” the Head Exalt scolded instead, “I will certainly be telling your father all you’ve done today and let him punish you!”

　　“Old senior, please do not get upset,” Fang Xing quickly consoled, “If the young master’s anger can be reduced, this dragon isn’t too great a price to pay. It’s just that I haven’t been controlling it with any spells; we’ve grown up together so it only listens to me and I cannot gift it to someone else….” Using this fake affection and kindness, Fang Xing created the impression of someone who feared the Hentian clan and was trying to keep their head down to avoid trouble.

　　The Head Exalt surreptitiously looked at the young master’s expressions, and it seemed to him that she actually had this boy in her heart but was just a little shy in expressing herself. His temper calmed and he laughed before inviting Fang Xing back to the clan as a guest, which Fang Xing hastily accepted with an expression of great joy.

　　When the young master saw how the Head Exalt clearly intended to invite Fang Xing in, she panicked and quickly said, “Head Exalt, this person’s background is unknown. He said he came from outside the Guixu Ruins, but he cannot say when he arrived and he didn’t answer even when we asked who he is. How can we bring him back to our clan…?”

　　Fang Xing showed a bitter smile at this. “I wanted to say it before, but you didn’t give me a chance, Young Master….”

　　His smile appeared harmless and timid, but he was sneering in his mind.

　　‘If someone doesn’t return kindness, they are a bastard!

　　‘If someone doesn’t return malice, they are an even bigger bastard!

　　‘If I don’t annihilate your entire Hentian clan, how will you know who your grandpa Fang is?’