【Insolence! 🔴
【How dare you! Drag him away and execute him! 🔴
If this were on a New Star, if this were in the Phoenix Empire, anyone who dared to speak to her with such frivolous, disrespectful, and blasphemous words toward a superior would have long since been dragged out and beheaded.
The concept of hierarchy in the Phoenix Empire is extremely strict and intense.
Unfortunately, she was now on Old Earth, on the Ruins.
Patience!
Living—there was nothing more important than living.
The Phoenix feigned indignation and looked towards the Old Man, saying aloud, "I have no intention of interfering in your family matters; I am merely explaining the dangers of early marriage and early childbirth from a scientific perspective. I can show you authoritative reports on this matter; this is how things are implemented on the New Star."
"Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. If you are unwilling to accept it, then just pretend I never said anything."
"Authoritative reports? Are the reports from those experts on your New Star more authoritative, or is our tangible life experience more authoritative?" The Old Man scoffed at the Phoenix's words.
"Look up, look at the sky, then look around you. How is this similar to your New Star? It's not easy for anyone to live here. Many strong young men in their thirties die young. If we don't quickly leave behind offspring while we are alive, won't our old Tang Family be without descendants? Are you going to bear that responsibility?"
"Old Man, aren't you surnamed Lu? How did you become part of our old Tang Family?" Tang Fei said aloud, picking at the conversation.
In truth, he wanted to change the subject; he didn't want the Old Man talking about this topic with the Phoenix.
The feeling was subtle, like the Old Man holding a foxtail grass and asking a dazzling, golden vase if this thing could be placed inside its vessel.
This would make others feel awkward.
If she accepted? Their statuses didn't match.
If she refused? She risked offending him.
Tang Fei felt ashamed, and the pride of youth was at work.
One was a Refugee from the Ruins, the other a pampered guest from the New Star. How could they possibly have such a deep connection?
No matter how brilliantly a foxtail flower blooms, it is still just a foxtail flower. They cover the mountains and fields; who would cherish it?
The Old Man glared at Tang Fei and said angrily, "I am asking on behalf of your deceased parents. They entrusted you to me; how can I not worry?"
"Phoenix, you tell me, if you refuse to let him marry An Ning, will you be his wife later?"
The Old Man seemed not to have understood Tang Fei and stubbornly pressed the Phoenix for an answer.
The Phoenix knew she had to face this issue directly. She glanced at Tang Fei, her long eyelashes fluttering, then quickly shifted her gaze, looking seriously and solemnly at the Old Man, and said, "Uncle, Tang Fei is my Savior, and he is someone I must repay in the future. I am very grateful for everything he has done for me, and for saving my life repeatedly."
"However, matters of the heart are very complicated. We have only just met, and in this environment, I don't know what kind of relationship we will have in the future. But, if you insist that I give an answer, I truly cannot agree right now."
She gritted her teeth and said sternly, "I cannot agree to be his wife."
Cut the Gordian Knot quickly!
Love is love, and not loving is not loving. Such matters do not allow for perfunctory responses, much less deception; they must be handled cleanly and decisively.
Besides, who agrees to become someone's wife after knowing them for only two days?
If their parents knew about this, they would surely be Furious and have their heads chopped off.
"Are you truly unwilling?" The Old Man was still not giving up.
"Unwilling," the Phoenix's attitude was firm.
"Can you think of a way?"
"I can't... I can't think of any way to make myself accept this matter."
"Then forget it." The Old Man casually waved his hand and said aloud, "This kid really isn't worthy of you anyway. I was just saying it casually; you don't need to take it to heart."
"." The Phoenix.
"." Little Fatty.
"&^%$#@*&%$b" Tang Fei.
The Old Man paid no mind to the others' reactions, truly achieving a state of reconciliation with himself; the way he liked things was the best state of being.
He looked at the Phoenix with a grin and asked aloud, "You just said you were very grateful to Tang Fei, thanking him for saving your life repeatedly. Besides carrying you back here, when else did he save you?"
The Phoenix's heart clenched violently. As expected, none of these people were easy to deal with.
Her gaze shifted to Tang Fei, hoping he could give her a hint as to whether she should let the Old Man know about that incident.
Tang Fei understood the Phoenix's thoughts. He signaled Little Fatty to close the courtyard gate and stand guard at the entrance, then looked at the Old Man and said, "We killed a group of Grey Robes."
"Grey Robes?" The Old Man's eyes sharpened slightly. After a pause, he said, "If you killed them, then so be it. The Flame Shrine commits evil deeds constantly; they are no different from those Predators outside. You must have had a necessary reason for killing people."
"And one Black Robe," Tang Fei added.
"Hiss."
The Old Man sucked in a sharp breath of cold air and said angrily, "How could you kill a Black Robe too? Do you know what a Black Robe represents? That is high-level personnel of the Flame Shrine, a regional Leader! You must have killed the Black Robe from the Hen Shan Gathering Area, right? If so, the residents of the entire Hen Shan Gathering Area will suffer because of this..."
"Did you clean up the aftermath properly? If they trace it back to our home, it will be a huge problem... The Flame Shrine is powerful, and they act arrogantly. You simply cannot reason with them. Tell me quickly, why on earth did you kill the Black Robe..."
So, Tang Fei recounted how they were carrying the rabbit home and encountered Bian Zhenxin and others from the Flame Shrine on the edge of Hen Shan. Bian Zhenxin, lusting after the Phoenix's beauty, ordered his men to strike him and Little Fatty to the ground and tried to forcibly take the Phoenix.
After hearing this, the Old Man's gaze turned grim as he swept it over the Phoenix.
The Phoenix's nerves instantly tightened, as if she had been Locked onto by a dangerous wild beast.
The Phoenix found it strange. She was a Cultivator, an Expert of the Qi Control Realm. How could this ordinary, skinny, greasy, and wrinkled Old Man exert such immense pressure on her?
Was this what the ancient texts in the Royal Library described: 【When under someone else's roof, one must bow one's head.🔴? Because she was in someone else's Territory, even if her strength surpassed everyone else's, she still had to yield to reality and her current environment, bowing her head to others?
Yes, it must be so!
Seeing the Old Man's look, Tang Fei understood that he was considering killing her to silence her.
Killing a Black Robe—the consequences of this matter were extremely severe and terrifying. Therefore, he wanted to keep the situation within his controllable scope.
He and Little Fatty were naturally controllable; the only unstable factor was the Phoenix.
If she were killed, this matter would remain unknown to anyone.
"I was the one who killed them," Tang Fei said aloud.
Tang Fei speaking immediately broke the deathly silence from before.
The Phoenix also felt a wave of relief wash over her body and mind; the Qi Mechanism that had locked onto her instantly vanished without a trace. She let out a light breath of Turbid Qi and returned the Phoenix Whip in her hand to its original position.
The Old Man knew this was Tang Fei trying to take all the responsibility. He glared fiercely at Tang Fei and said angrily, "The old saying is true: a beautiful woman is a disaster, a beautiful woman is a disaster! What do we do now? The people are already killed, and you are unwilling to eliminate the unstable element..."
The Phoenix understood that the Old Man was still uneasy about her. She immediately spoke up to guarantee, "Mr., Tang Fei wasn't the only one who killed them; I was involved too. Tang Fei said on the way that we are truly one of us now. If they come looking for us, none of us will survive."
"So, if there is anything I can do, I will actively cooperate. Moreover, I promise you, under any circumstances or at any time, I will absolutely never betray you."
The Old Man scoffed and mocked, "You are so young, what do you know about betrayal? Do you think this is playing house like children?"
Seeing the Phoenix about to argue further, the Old Man waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it. Since things have come to this, I have nothing more to say... It's just that we need to prepare."
The Old Man sighed heavily and said, "Prepare for the worst outcome."
"Understood," Tang Fei and Little Fatty nodded. They had grown up in such an environment.
No matter the time, one must never entrust one's life to fate.
Never underestimate others' intelligence, and never overestimate human nature.
The Old Man glanced at the Phoenix again, making a grimacing face, and said, "A beautiful woman is a disaster... Change your clothes and make yourself look plainer. You are too eye-catching."
"Okay," the Phoenix agreed readily.
She knew the Old Man's suggestion was reasonable. In such a harsh living environment, beauty was also a rich resource, an object to be plundered.
Besides, even if it were unreasonable, she would have to accept it.
Did she have the right to Bargain with anyone?
The Old Man looked at Tang Fei, then at the Phoenix, then pointed at Little Fatty and said, "Come with me to smash Stones; work has come up."
"." Little Fatty.
Tang Fei looked at the Phoenix and said, "Come on, I'll take you to change."
"Oh," the Phoenix nodded, asking curiously, "You have women's clothes?"
"."
Hen Shan. Eagle Beak Cliff.
A large number of Grey Robes were gathered around the Dense Forest, surrounding the Flame Army wearing unified uniforms with the Flame Totem inlaid on their Chests. The Flame Army was the regular army of the Flame Shrine, responsible for maintaining the authority of the Flame God and the Shrine, guarding the peace within their managed Territory, and providing security for high-level personnel when traveling.
In the very center of the crowd stood a White Robe Elder. The Elder was short, his beard and hair completely white, and he looked very kind and benevolent.
However, only a very few people knew that this Old Man, named Bian Feng, had an extremely terrifying nickname: 【The Barbecue Master.🔴
He liked to hang people high up and burn them until the smell of roasting meat drifted out.
And he called this 【Representing the Flame God to punish you.🔴
It was both melodramatic and cruel.
It was rumored that due to his excellent performance and outstanding work in cleaning out and eradicating heretics, coupled with his loud slogans, he was highly trusted by several high-level personnel above him.
White Robes were mid-to-high-level managers of the Flame Shrine, responsible for the overall work of a Great Region. Above them were only the more distinguished Red Robes and Gold Robes; of course, the Gold Robe color could only be used by the Flame God of each generation.
At the Elder's feet lay Bian Zhenxin, who had long been completely dead.
Bian Zhenxin was his son, and he only had this one son.
He had placed Bian Zhenxin in the Hen Shan Gathering Area to temper himself for a few years so he could take over his position. He had already communicated with the Elder Council above; once the Lingyang Great Area was completely stable, he would go to the main Shrine to serve as a Red Robe.
But his son was dead, in such an undignified manner.
His hopes, his future, were thus cut off.
"Sir, we have inspected carefully. There are no signs of intense fighting before death on the deceased; the fatal wound was on the top of the Head..." the internal Shrine examiner reported in a low voice.
The Elder's face was grim, and he did not reply.
Another soldier reported that they had finished checking all the surrounding corpses; there were no survivors.
"Chen Hu!" Bian Feng shouted aloud.
"Divine Envoy Sir." A burly man strode over and bowed deeply to the White Robe Elder.
The Elder looked at the burly man and said hoarsely, "I assigned you as Adjutant to properly guard our Divine Envoy. Is this how you protected him?"
Thud!
Chen Hu knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, and explained, "Sir, the Divine Envoy wanted to go out at that time, and I suggested following him... But the Divine Envoy wouldn't let me come out. He said there was a lot of work that needed handling within the Shrine..."
Bian Feng knew Chen Hu was telling the truth. Knowing his son as he did, he was reluctant to get involved in miscellaneous tasks. He assigned Chen Hu as Bian Zhenxin's Adjutant for two reasons: first, he considered him loyal and reliable, a core Direct Descendant he had personally promoted.
Secondly, although his appearance was rough, his mind was extremely meticulous, making him skilled at handling administrative affairs.
He couldn't really blame Chen Hu for this matter.
"Get up and speak," Bian Feng said.
Chen Hu raised his head, looked up at Bian Feng, and said, "Sir, this subordinate is at fault. Please allow me to speak while kneeling. It will make me feel better."
Whether Chen Hu felt better or not was unknown, but Bian Feng did feel somewhat better.
He looked down at Chen Hu from above and asked aloud, "You have been in the Hen Shan Gathering Area for three years, so you have some understanding of this place... Who do you think did this?"
Chen Hu shook his head and said, "Sir, this subordinate truly cannot guess. As for the ordinary people in the Gathering Area, no one dares to provoke our Flame Shrine. As for those wicked Predators... they shouldn't have actively provoked us either. Don't they understand the consequences of killing a Black Robe? Aren't they afraid of retaliation from our Shrine?"
Bian Feng kicked Chen Hu to the ground and scolded aloud, "So many brothers died in front of you, and you say this wouldn't happen and that wouldn't happen... Did they commit suicide?"
"Sir, that's not what I meant..." Chen Hu got up from the ground again and explained, "I think something is fishy. Logically, they shouldn't dare provoke our Shrine, much less easily kill our Black Robe Divine Envoy. We will definitely investigate carefully who did this and give you a satisfactory answer."
"A satisfactory answer? Would killing them all satisfy me?" Bian Feng said hatefully.
Just then, a Grey Robe responsible for searching the scene suddenly discovered a Skull Head lighter deep in the bushes and shouted, "I found it... I found the evidence!"