“Anyone, come—” as soon as Xuanzhao saw that he was no match for the man, he was ready to yell for help. However, his opponent was extremely agile, and another solid punch was on its way as soon as Xuanzhao opened his mouth. Failing to summon his spirit shield in defense, Xuanzhao looked for an opportunity to activate his Flying Sword while still trying to call out. He didn’t even realize that as soon as he had backed up, a delicate snuff bottle had appeared in the man’s hands and the contents had been blown right into his face.

　　With a mouth full of sweetness, Xuanzhao felt his body growing heavier and heavier.

　　“Heh, trying to fight with me, your grandfather? You’re a thousand years too early!” Knowing that Xuanzhao had yet to lose consciousness completely, Fang Xing took off his veil to intentionally reveal his disguised face before pulling off a storage sack from Xuanzhao’s waist and scrounging through his belongings. Inside, he found Ore Essence Powder and a mess of many other items of high value.

　　“Hah! I’ll have to thank Liu Feng for notifying me about this…” the man laughed to himself while appearing pleasantly surprised. Soon, the man looked down on the half-conscious Xuanzhao before brutally stepping once on his face. Xuanzhao passed out along with a muffled grunt, though of course he had remembered the name “Liu Feng” before he was fully out.

　　Since this had taken place inside the sect, Fang Xing did not dare to linger too much longer. Once he had dragged Xuanzhao’s body into the bamboo forest, he fled the scene to another secluded location before taking off his mask. After everything was finished, he began to sing a light tune with joyful satisfaction while making his way back to his cottage.

　　“Within a village lived the widow Xiao Hua, her face was pretty and her chest aplenty. By the toll of midnight, no one came to knock on the door, so she used her broomstick to sweep me clean….”

　　Whatever happened afterwards with Xuanzhao would be none of his concern; no one would be able to guess he was the culprit, regardless.

　　It was unlucky for Meng Xuanzhao to have chosen Fang Xing as a target. After Fang Xing had increased his cultivation level extensively through swallowing the Python Toad’s beast core, he had hunted and killed several more beasts in tiers two and three during the few days he had remained at Mount Miasma. By soaking these beast cores inside his wine gourd and consuming large amounts of beast meat and spirit wine, Fang Xing’s cultivation level had increased once again. Now he was only a stone’s throw away from the peak of tier three.

　　Together with the help of the snuff bottle, how could Meng Xuanzhao in mid tier three compare to Fang Xing? He was unfortunately robbed clean by the little bandit even within the sect’s grounds.

　　It was an entire hour before Meng Xuanzhao had woken up.

　　After finally opening his eyes, Meng Xuanzhao blinked in order to refocus on his surroundings while slowly remembering what had happened just before he had passed out. Realizing his storage sack was gone, he jolted up and—filled with hatred and fury—sent his fist into the black bamboo at his side with a vigorous ‘bang’ that shattered it into pieces. As the bamboo fell, Meng Xuanzhao appeared so incensed that it seemed fire would erupt from his eyes.

　　“Who? Who are you? How dare you rob me within the grounds of the sect!” Since Meng Xuanzhao had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had family members inside the sect, it was the first time something like this had ever happened to him.

　　It was such a strange feeling; not only was there anger, but there was also a sense of grief. He had just gotten his hands on this Ore Essence Powder. By relying on the powder and the help from his uncle, he could improve himself to the peak of tier three before asking his friends from Danxia Valley for a Poji Pellet. He had been certain he could make it into the inner courts within a month’s time.

　　Yet without the Ore Essence Powder, it was now all but wishful thinking!

　　‘No, I need to find out who this person is, even if I need the help of Uncle…

　　‘Humph, a tall, slender man using smog…

　　‘Hrm? Why does he sound like that bandit from a while ago?’

　　Meng Xuanzhao soon narrowed his eyes. ‘It can’t be wrong, it must be him! Robbing some newcomers is fine, but how dare you rob me? Even if I have to dig you out of your grave, I’ll find you,’ Meng Xuanzhao swore to himself and slowly stood up within the desolate black bamboo forest. ‘The question now is… how do I find him among the vast number of other outer court disciples?’

　　As Meng Xuanzhao tried to constrain the rage inside him while slowly walking towards the Duty Talisman Hall, he remembered a clue. ‘Wait… yes, he thought I was unconscious back then, so he revealed someone named Liu Feng. That must have been his snitch; if I can find Liu Feng, I can find him as well.’

　　In this moment, he was ready to kill. Even if it meant he would be scolded, he would still tell his uncle everything.

　　—

　　Right now, Liu Feng was drinking alongside Hei San in a bamboo terrace within the Yunyin Summit, and it was rather interesting how they had become acquainted with each other. As an older disciple, Liu’s cultivation tier might not be high, but he was still rather good at currying favors. He understood how to be ruthless towards the weak but to lick the boots of those powerful in order to maintain a perfect balance. It was in part because of this that he had first become acquainted with Hou Qing, a new recruit who had shown astonishing strength.

　　After being injured by Fang Xing, Liu had noticed that even though his body was recovering, his cultivation level was not. The sole reason for this was that his main tendons had been severed completely, and in order to receive enough medication to mend them, he had been forced to use up all of his savings from the past few years. He would be eventually cured, but he had hated Fang Xing with a passion ever since and hoped to see the day Fang Xing was shredded into pieces.

　　Because of his hatred, when Liu heard about the mission for the Python Toad from Qian, he had excitedly helped Hou Qing come up with a plan that utilized live bait to lure and kill the beast. Hou Qing had delightedly accepted his plan and Liu then came to the Yunyin Summit, where he had then met Hei San. After a secret discussion between the two of them, the bait’s identity had been set in stone.

　　Everything then went as smoothly as possible. Hou Qing had taken Fang Xing with them, and the kid would probably never have the chance to return, all while Hei San received his monetary gains and Liu had his revenge. Not only was it to everyone’s satisfaction, but the two had also become friends.

　　“Counting the days, Shixiong Hou should be back soon, right?” Liu joyfully asked while taking a sip of his wine.

　　“Indeed, but it’s possible they’ve had stopovers and delays on their way back. Based on Shixiong Hou’s abilities, there shouldn’t be any problems!” Hei San replied.

　　Liu sneered as the thought of Fang Xing came up. “I would imagine the kid is nothing more than beast stool by now. Haha! Just thinking about it makes me feel like I’ve had some Ginseng Fruit[1]! Come, Shixiong Hei San, I must have another round of drinks with you.”

　　Hei San was also laughing. “Don’t be so polite with me; we’re all brothers. Heh, Shixiong Hou was so generous, and I have to thank you for introducing such a great person to me! Hopefully, once he has entered the inner courts after his breakthrough and this Duty Talisman mission, he’ll still remember the two of us—”

　　Liu interrupted before Hei San had finished, “Be rest assured, Shixiong Hou is definitely someone who does not forget about old friendships easily!”

　　After another chug, Liu appeared to have dropped his smiles as he gave an order to someone shivering near their table, “Pour!”

　　“Yes… yes….” This person slowly closed in before wine was carefully poured into Liu’s cup.

　　This person was none other than the plump Taoist Yu. There were bruises and swellings all over his face as though he had experienced some serious beating, and both of his arms were shaking from a lack of strength. It seemed as though there were wounds all over his body so great that he could not even hold a wine jug steadily, and no matter how mindful he was, some of the wine still splattered over the table which then spilled onto Liu’s legs. At this sight, Yu’s eyes widened as he looked on in fear.

　　“Bastard! Did you spill the wine all over me on purpose?” Liu abruptly jumped up and threw a slap at the plump Taoist’s face.

　　Yu fell to the ground from the force of a single slap, his mouth visibly cut with fresh blood running from a new wound. However, he did not dare to scream and rolled over into a kneeling position before knocking his head against the ground. “Please forgive me, Shixiong Liu. I did not do it on purpose….”

　　Liu gave a kick towards the kneeling Yu, which sent the Taoist into another tumble to the ground. After finally being somewhat satisfied, Liu sat down again with a smirk. “Since you want to apologize, you should look like you’re apologizing. Didn’t you say you’ve had enough these days and would like me to forgive you? That’s easy, just serve us well today, and if I—your Shixiong—feel happy today, I will let you go. If you create any problems, I will promise you that the future days will be ten times worse.”

　　“Please forgive me, Shixiong Liu. I will not dare to do this again….” The plump Taoist returned to the kneeling position and burst out into tears, crying miserably.

　　“You motherf*cker, stop crying! Shut up!” Liu commanded in annoyance after hearing the sound of weeping before he grabbed a large bowl from the table to pound right over Yu’s head.

　　Yu did not dare to defend himself with Qi and even more blood began to drip down onto his face, along with the chicken and soup that had originally been inside the bowl.

　　“You’re being punished for befriending the wrong person. I will teach you the meaning of ‘trash will always be trash’ today!” Liu gnashed his teeth and smacked the table. “Get up and pour!”

　　Still trembling as he didn’t even have time to wipe away the chicken meat all over his head, the plump Taoist jumped up in order to pour Liu some wine.

　　—

　　NOTES

　　[1]Ginseng Fruit: According to <A Journey To The West [西游记]> and Chinese folklore, it is a mystical fruit in the shape of a baby. It takes 10,000 years to reach maturity; the fruit falls when in contact with metal; withers when in contact with wood; melts when in contact with water; burns when in contact with fire; and buries itself when in contact with earth. It is said that if someone were to consume it, their life will be extended to 47,000 years.