Fang Xing controlled his rising anger as Liu spoke. Not only was Hou Qing there, but an entire party was standing beside Liu; if Fang Xing were to do or even say anything demonstrating his true thoughts, he was sure to be at a disadvantage. There were no grounds for him to refuse.

　　Hou Qing saw through Fang Xing’s hesitation and quietly whispered something to one of the men next to him. Before long, this man returned with a slightly rounded man in tow.

　　This new arrival was Hei San, the outer court disciple who had a certain level of authority within the Yunyin Summit. He belonged to the same Miscellaneous Department as Yu and overlooked all the meal-based needs of the entire Yunyin Summit by reporting to the Culinary Department. Although there was no official title for his position, most matters within the summit had to be reported and passed through him first; Hei San’s job was similar to that of a “class president” without the title.

　　After Hei San arrived, he appeared to be trying to court Hou Qing’s favor. “Shidi Fang, this is an opportunity for you! Shixiong Hou wants to take you under his wings, so show some appreciation! Just go and join Shixiong Hou on the mission this time and I will register your name with the sect. Once it’s over, you’ll receive plenty of benefits.”

　　‘This bastard also wants a piece of me?’ The anger within Fang Xing was steadily reaching the boiling point; not only did he not know Hei San personally, but these people were treating him as though he were a child as well. It was so very obvious that it was nothing more than a trap, yet—for whatever reason—this rounded man had made it sound like it was nothing but gains.

　　Despite his anger, Fang Xing knew he stood no chance at this moment. Not only would he lose in a one-on-one duel with Hou Qing were it to happen now, but there was also the fact that they were currently in a group.

　　Left with no other options, Fang Xing forced a smile. “Of course it is an opportunity for me to be chosen by Shixiong Hou… but at tier one, I am too weak. Besides, I had been cheated when I was choosing a weapon for myself at the Pavilion, so I ended up with useless trash. My battle skills are probably not even on par with those martial arts experts in the mortal realm; I don’t think I’ll be of any help to Shixiong Hou at all.”

　　As the party listened in on Fang Xing’s explanations, they all let out a short laugh. They knew exactly what must have happened at the Pavilion of Spiritual Tools.

　　A moment later, Hou Qing gave a laugh filled with disdain. “That’s simple. If it’s only a Flying Sword, I’ll give you one.” As Hou Qing spoke, he threw a sword towards Fang Xing. “Come join me this time and the sword will be yours. Also, if this mission is completed successfully, you’ll be rewarded with another ten Spirit Stones. What do you say?”

　　Just as Fang Xing was about to speak, Hei San cut in, “There is no reason to reject such a great offer! Shixiong Hou, I say this is agreed. I will go back and report to the sect straight away. Once that is done, just come and take him when you need.”

　　“Have some rest and prepare yourself tonight. We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.” Hou Qing nodded before—without picking up the sword on the ground—leaving with the group.

　　“You little son of a bi*ch, weren’t you so vicious last time? What happened to you now?” Liu was the last person in the room. Before he left, he gave Fang Xing a pleasured grin.

　　Hearing this, Fang Xing immediately pulled out his dagger as his gaze pierced sharply into Liu. Liu, on the other hand, limped himself as fast as possible out the door in fear of being stabbed by that dagger again.

　　‘No, I must restrain myself right now. They are all obviously on the same ship; there would be nothing good for me if I make the first move.’ Fang Xing returned to his bedside as he tried to think everything through.

　　Right at this exact same moment, Hou Qing and his party had already arrived at the summit’s entrance and were ready to leave. The “class president” Hei San had been seeing them off with the widest smile his fat face could generate. Seeing that there was no one else around, Hou Qing took out ten Spirit Stones before passing them into Hei San’s hands. “I’ll be taking this kid with me tomorrow morning. I hope Shidi will be able to settle everything for me, before and after.”

　　Seeing those bright red Stones, Hei San’s already broad smile stretched to a seemingly impossible width. “Be rest assured, everything will be perfect in my hands. He’s only just some outer court disciple without any background; no one will even remember his existence even if he never comes back. I shall congratulate Shixiong and your party in advance for your successful return!”

　　“Haha, thank you!” Hou Qing cupped his fist and then left the summit.

　　Hei San, for his part, took the Spirit Stones back to his cottage with great joy in his heart.

　　—

　　“Shidi Fang, what happened? Do you know how hard these Duty Talisman missions are? Even third-tiered disciples go with a group! The chances of failure are also very high, it’s not unlikely at all that someone will die on these missions! You’ve only been in the sect for how long? Why would they want to take you with them for it? They’re obviously up to something!”

　　Yu rushed to Fang Xing as soon as he had heard about the news in the afternoon. Unable to comprehend the reason behind Fang Xing’s agreement to join, he had begun to worry. “No, there is no way you can go or else you will definitely die. You have to listen to me this time…. Didn’t you say you know Shijie Linyun really well? You should go and ask for her help; if she says something, I’m sure they can’t force you anymore!”

　　‘If I could really have her help, why the hell would I still be here worrying?’ Fang Xing coldly laughed to himself upon hearing Yu’s idea. Fang Xing had only been boasting about how great his relationship was with Shijie Linyun because of Xiao Mahn, but the truth was that ever since he joined the sect, he had not even seen Xiao Mahn, let alone Shijie Linyun. Externally, however, Fang Xing gave a different reply, “Why would I trouble her for such a small problem? I have everything under control by myself.”

　　“Shidi Fang, this is not the time to boast. I know you’re really strong, but that is Hou Qing! He’s ranked number one within the outer court. There is no gain for you in this at all! You have to listen to me, you need—”

　　“Okay, shut up!” Fang Xing interrupted with a stern voice.

　　Without speaking any further, Yu blinked in silence. Nothing could hide the worry in his eyes.

　　After some time had passed, Fang Xing finally spoke once more, “Does the sect not care about these matters? You know, forcing me to accept a Duty Talisman mission with bad intentions?”

　　Yu could only give a bitter smile. “The sect is eager to have more disciples accepting these Duty Talismans. Do you know why they’ve set a strict quota on the raw materials of the Poji Pellet? They want their disciples to work really hard for it! To bring back the sect even greater things! After all, the sect has to look after all of these people, and that requires an enormous amount of money for resources. Things like this? The sect will only support it, nobody gets in trouble for it!”

　　Yu then paused, sighing in despair. “Technically speaking it is not allowed to force someone into accepting a Duty Talisman… but for people like us, who have no power and no background, no one would flinch hearing we have died. Hei San would have also sent out your letter of application on your behalf, so the sect would see that you volunteered yourself for this.”

　　“I see. Then there are no other options. It’s their fault that they decided to come to me first!” Seeing that there were no other ways of backing out, the fierce bandit within Fang Xing came out once more. Biting his teeth, a sly smile began to appear.

　　With such a sight, Yu did not dare to speak.

　　“Haha, don’t you worry about me, Shixiong Zhu! Who knows who’ll be left with the final laugh.” With a mischievous smile on his face, Fang Xing jumped on Yu and wrapped his arms around the neck. “Let’s go get some meat and wine, then you can tell me all about this Duty Talisman business….”

　　“I’m really Yu, not Zhu….” Yu muttered once more, though he knew by now there was no point in arguing about what his name really was.

　　—

　　In a different cottage, Hei San was questioning two disciples in front of him. “Where did they go?”

　　“They went and bought some pork and chicken, then went back to drinking.”

　　Hei San gave a satisfied nod. “Watch them closely. I know the sect wouldn’t really care, but make sure they don’t go and tell on us, as it’ll only bring us more trouble. It’ll be a bit of a long night for you guys. Make sure they do not leave your sight until tomorrow morning when Shixiong Hou comes to pick them up. Once they’re gone, it’ll only be the fatty and he wouldn’t dare to do anything, anyway.”

　　“Yes, Shixiong!” The two disciples left for Fang Xing’s cottage as soon as they’d received their orders.

　　“Ten Stones for a monkey without any background. If only such good things happened more often….” Hei San beamed as he looked at the bag of Spirit Stones in his hands. It was a small fortune for such an easy task.