It was late at night, but a room in the Xiao family compound in Wutan City was still brightly lit by candlelight.
Strangely, the room's occupant lay sprawled on the bed, seemingly having been ambushed without regard for martial ethics.
"Whoosh!"
With a flicker of the candlelight, a black figure suddenly appeared in the room. Judging from his attire and the way he entered, his scheme was clearly clandestine.
"Tap tap tap,"
though silent, his footsteps seemed to possess a strange rhythm as he slowly approached the unconscious boy on the bed. Lin Feng stared at the boy, or rather, at the ring the boy still wore even while cultivating, with an inscrutable expression, and said softly,
"Sir, please come out and meet me!"
Several moments later, the ring remained unchanged, seemingly just a simple ring. Lin Feng speaking to the ring, however, seemed rather odd.
"I never imagined the renowned Medicine Venerable would stoop to such a state, even losing his courage."
Lin Feng's tone held a hint of sarcasm. In reality, his powerful soul force enveloped the house to prevent it from being detected by the strongest Dou Huang of a certain clan, yet he had already sensed a soul fluctuation within the house.
"Even a mere Dou Wang grasshopper dares not show his face when challenged to his face?"
As Lin Feng's words fell, the being within the ring seemed unable to bear such humiliation. First, a faint light flashed across the ring, then a pale white figure slowly emerged from it.
Accompanying this was a sudden chill in the air.
"Oh? Could this be the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, ranked eleventh on the Strange Flame Ranking?"
"A Dou Wang possessing the peak of the advanced mortal realm, I dare not underestimate him now!"
An aged, cold voice came from the illusory figure. As an alchemist with some achievements in soul force, Lin Feng could see a trace of weakness hidden within.
"Young man, who is your teacher? To be able to teach such an outstanding disciple as you, he must be no ordinary person. Perhaps he is even a friend of mine."
"As expected of an old fox who has lived for at least a hundred years, he is indeed not to be underestimated." Seeing that Yao Chen was going to suppress him with his aura as soon as he came up, Lin Feng couldn't help but sigh at how troublesome this guy was.
"Please forgive me, Senior Yao Chen. This was merely a last resort," Lin Feng said, bowing slightly to acknowledge his mistake. He continued, "My master was wandering the Northwest Continent when he unintentionally took me as his disciple. Unfortunately, he only taught me for three years before disappearing without a trace."
"As for Senior Yao Chen," he paused, "I overheard my master reminiscing about how, during our competition for the Strange Flame, I lost this precious alchemist's treasure by a single misstep."
"I see. I never imagined that Old Monster Qinghua would be so fortunate as to have such a talented disciple!"
Yao Chen now believed Lin Feng's words. After all, only the three giants of the Pill Tower, as fellow practitioners, knew about his competition with Qinghua for the Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
As for Han Feng, that rebellious disciple… well, it wasn't that Yao Chen looked down on him, but such a genius was beyond his ability to teach.
A mix of thoughts flashed through his mind, and Yao Chen's expression softened, even though his relationship with Qinghua wasn't exactly good. However, he was a righteous person, and Lin Feng, as a disciple of Qinghua, was considered his junior, so it wasn't good to make things difficult for him.
Moreover, Yao Chen felt his own weak soul avatar; it was hard to say who would make things difficult for whom!
"Since you are the disciple of the old monster Qinghua, there's no need to be so reserved." Waving his hand, Yao Chen's tone changed, "But I wonder how my nephew discovered me? Could you enlighten me?"
"Old Yao, you don't know," these two foxes, one old and one young, seemed to know how to take advantage of someone's kindness. The tense atmosphere from before seemed to have disappeared, and their address quickly became more intimate.
"This junior is here because my teacher has not returned for many years, and the inheritance he left behind has reached its limit. I had no choice but to go to Canaan Academy to study. I happened to come to the recruitment point in Wutan City and heard about the strange things about the third young master of the Xiao family, which made me suspicious. This is why I came here tonight."
Hearing Lin Feng's explanation, Yao Chen wasn't stupid. "This brat dared to threaten me the moment we met, yet he's so respectful now. He's definitely not someone to be trifled with, and he must have something to ask of me."
With his hands behind his back, Yao Chen, clear-headed, was full of confidence. "Very well, let me see what tricks this little fox has up his sleeve!"
However, his next action surprised him. Lin Feng cupped his hands again, his face respectful.
"Indeed, I dare not underestimate Elder Yao. After recognizing this Bone Flame Ring, I was overjoyed."
Lin Feng knew he was no match for an old fox like Yao Chen. Only by being nine parts truth and one part falsehood, or even ten parts truth, could he achieve the desired result.
As for the order of these actions, don't blame Lin Feng for being unscrupulous; this was a golden opportunity to strengthen his foundation.
"This junior hopes to exchange a piece of information for all alchemy techniques and poison pill methods below the eighth rank with you, senior."
Hearing Lin Feng's outrageous demand, Yao Chen didn't ignore him. For this old fox, the answer was the most important thing.
"Boy, is your information some Venerable's ruins or some kind of treasure? How dare you ask for such a thing." Then, Yao Chen's tone softened. "And why do you want the poison pill method?"
"To be honest, Elder Yao, my companion is indeed the Calamity Poison Body. I don't want to give it up. Please teach me, senior."
Speaking of this, Lin Feng's expression was sincere. After all, even if he could only obtain the poison pill method, it would be a huge gain for him.
"Then we'll see what information you have to exchange with me." Yao Chen, who had originally intended to persuade him to stay away, paused for a moment when he heard the word "companion." A trace of reminiscence flashed in his eyes, and the softening in his tone seemed undisguised.
"Senior Yao, do you still remember Han Feng?"
*Bang!*
As soon as Lin Feng finished speaking, Yao Chen seemed to be stimulated by something. His aura surged skyward, turning many objects in the room into dust.
His expression was agitated, his lips trembling uncontrollably, as if Han Feng, mentioned by Lin Feng, was his mortal enemy.
"Where is that beast now?"
At this moment, Lin Feng, who had slightly lowered his head, had a strange glint in his eyes. He then looked up at Yao Chen, who was floating in mid-air, and showed a puzzled expression.
"Why is Elder Yao acting like this? If I hadn't covered the room with my soul power early on and protected the Third Young Master of the Xiao family, he might be..."
*Hoo!*
After slowly exhaling, Yao Chen's expression returned to normal. Seeing that Xiao Yan was unharmed, he thanked Lin Feng.
"Young man."
"Junior Lin Feng."
"Young Lin Feng," Lin Feng glanced at him slightly, seemingly annoyed that the boy had dared to interrupt the old man's speech.
"Would you like to hear a story from this old man?"
"This junior is all ears."
Having encountered an old friend's disciple and heard news of his own beastly disciple from him, Yao Chen's emotions fluctuated, and he might reveal something hidden to Lin Feng. It shouldn't be too poisonous.
(End of Chapter)