Chapter 150: Li Fang
The young miss, Zhong Mei, giggled as she heard Xu Min's voice. She then looked at him with eyes filled with adoration. The sudden lovestruck expression on her face made Xu Min feel nauseous.
"A young woman can't easily give out her name," Zhong Mei replied. She was attempting to be mysterious and even giggled before opening her mouth to say more.
Unfortunately, she never got the chance. Just as she was about to speak, someone called out, "Little Mei!"
Her face twisted slightly in an annoyed and irritated expression., However, within a moment it disappeared again since young ladies were not to reveal any emotional disturbances or ugliness within. She smiled at Xu Min and completely ignored the voice that was calling out to her.
"I am a young miss of the Zhong family," Zhong Mei continued when she realized that Xu Min was not going to ask anything else about hers. Although she was secretly slightly annoyed, her annoyance did not show on her face.
Zhong Mei was a beauty, but she was far from having a fairy-like appearance like Yong Meilin. Meilin was the only woman within Xu Min's heart. Thus he was not swayed at all by Zhong Mei's beauty or charm.
"Young miss Zhong, please excuse me," Xu Min said smilingly. Even though his mood was destroyed by running into this woman, he did not show his displeasure at all on the outside. Ye Ling, on the other hand, felt grumpy and showed it Yet as to why he was so displeased, no one knew.
"What is so important that you do not have the time to accompany me?" Zhong Mei asked sweetly while leaning towards Xu Min. Instantly, Xu Min's smile stiffened slightly as her scent reached him.
"Little Mei, get away from that man instantly!" the voice which had called out to Zhong Mei earlier sounded again, and this time Xu Min looked towards the speaker.
The speaker was a young man. When Xu Min looked at him, he frowned upsettingly. He had absolutely no impression of this young man; he had no memories of him, and could not recognize him.
"Li Fang, stop getting involved in my business!" Zhong Mei, who had been as meek as a kitten and as gentle as the spring breeze towards Xu Min changed completely. She became as fierce as a tiger and quite unwomanly as she hissed at the young man.
"I am your fiance!" the man retorted with a snort. "I agreed to marry you only because I was lured in by your beauty but to think you are trying to find a replacement for me while I am not around. That is simply not acceptable!"
Xu Min had no recollection of a family called Li in the surrounding areas. When his eyes met the eyes of the other man, he felt a slight pressure. Although he was weaker than Xu Min, there was a faint sense of danger emitting from the young man. He was either a seven or an eight-star warrior, and to reach that level at his age was simply outstanding.
"You there, Wang Min or whatever your name is, don't get any ideas about Zhong Mei. She is my fiance, and even if she lacks in many areas, I already agreed to marry her. Thus I will not be feeling as if I was wearing a green hat."
"Don't worry fellow cultivator," Xu Min said. He cupped his hands and bowed slightly with a smile on his face, hoping to defuse the situation. He genuinely pitied this Li Fang for having gotten engaged with Zhong Mei.
"I already have a woman in my heart, and there is no space for anyone other than her."
The expressions of everyone present changed when they heard these words uttered. Many people had gathered around Xu Min and his group. Some were pretending that they had errands to run there, others were just shamelessly staring.
Many of the girls observing him had expressions of shame on their faces, Zhong Mei had an expression as if she had eaten a fly. She was anything but happy. She had tried to seduce him, only to find that it was impossible as his heart was already taken by another woman.
Li Fang looked relieved and nodded his head. The guards also nodded their heads in approval because they felt that such a genius deserved to have a lover.
Zhong Mei did not have face to stay any longer, and she quickly left. Li Fang followed behind, but he sent a long glance at Xu Min. It was clear that he had sensed something, but he said nothing, he just smiled knowingly.
The rest of the day Xu Min traveled across the entire Zhong family compound. He saw the homes belonging to the servants and the herb fields and training grounds. He met many young experts of the younger generation.The guards, in particular, respected him.
It was not before the sun started to set that they returned to the main buildings.
Xu Min had never before been allowed inside the main palace. He had been a poor servant boy who had never amounted to anything else before. He had been a person who was valued for his talent, but nothing more than that.
Xu Min felt himself trembling as he looked at the building. It took his whole being to calm himself down. Once he stilled himself inwardly and outwardly, he then took a step into the building.
Many local experts had come to this banquet. All of the invited experts who had been invited by the Zhong family had shown up too.
The banquet was in a great hall; tables had been placed all over the hall. There were three tables that each held twenty people. One table was horizontal, and the other two were vertical.
The Zhong family patriarch was seated in the middle of the horizontal table. By his right side was the young master of the Zhong family while on the left side was Li Feng.
Next to them were several invited experts of the seventh-star level. A seat had been kept for Xu Min next to the young master.
"Wang Min, it is an honor to see you at our humble abode. I have heard that you come from the Ruins of the Immortals, a place so incredibly far away that we have a hard time imagining it." The patriarch was smiling. While he spoke, he leaned towards Li Fang.
"The Ruins of the Immortals is a region outside of our kingdom," he explained causing Xu Min to frown. Everyone with as high a cultivation base would know about the Ruins of the Immortals unless they came from somewhere far away.
Suddenly, Xu Min realized that this young man might have come from across the sea.
Only from across the sea would make it possible for a young man to appear with such a stunning cultivation base unless he was an elf or a fairy.
It was no secret that the country across the sea was a haven for cultivators, but those that went over there were the cultivators to weak to make it on this continent. They were the ones who fled the dangers and constant life-threatening situations.
Li Fang was most likely one of the experts from across the sea. Nonetheless, Xu Min himself was originally from across the sea as well. His talent dwarfed anyone else on this continent presently.
As Xu Min reached this conclusion, he understood that Li Fang was more dangerous than he had expected. Although he was only an eight-star warrior, Xu Min was also only an eight-star warrior, and both of them had been through a world of carnage to reach the level they were at today.
"It is my honor to be invited," Xu Min said. Ye Ling and Cao Cao stirred hearing their master’s words.
Xu Min noticed that everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at him. His senses instantly sharpened as he felt killing intent all around. A smile flashed on his lips when he looked at the young master.
It was clear that this young master was incapable of hiding his true emotions, incapable of acting, and incapable of seeming happy to see him.
"You want me to sit there so it would be easy to kill me?" Xu Min asked. His face was still smiling, and his voice was utterly calm. His eyes shown like crimson moons, making him seem friendly and inviting.
"To think you could see through our guise," the patriarch sneered. He leered at Xu Min. His demeanor changed from the friendly appearance he had before to a hostile and fierce beast that wished to rip him apart as soon as possible.
"So many years ago you left us, and now you come back. However, you are only an eight-star warrior," he continued with a sneer, believing he had everything under control. The ones who had been seated at the vertical tables had all stood up and moved between Xu Min and the doorway. If he wanted to escape, he would have to pave his way through a sea of bodies.
Hearing the patriarch speak, Xu Min suddenly laughed. His laughter sounded innocent, but there was an edge to it which sent a chill down the spine of everyone present. The carefree eyes of Li Fang suddenly turned serious at the sound of this laughter.
"Oh, how you haven't changed," Xu Min chuckled, "I have walked through hell and back. I have experienced things you cannot even begin to fathom. I have traveled the world and seen wonders and miseries. I have fought an army all on my own and slaughtered more men than you have even seen in your entire life,"
Xu Min still spoke with a light voice. He spoke as if he was taking a stroll through a flower garden; nonetheless, the words he said made the many experts that had been invited by the Zhong family to feel their backs dripping in sweat. No one thought Xu Min was joking.
"I am Xu Min, brother of Xu Wu, and I have come to avenge her!" His voice suddenly turned cold. Everyone felt as if they had been submerged in a sea of ice. Even the patriarch could not help but feel his heart clench.
"I have gained two brothers on my trips," Xu Min continued, "Together with these two brothers, I will decimate the Zhong family. Those who do not insult me I will treat with respect, but those who step between me and my vengeance, I will slaughter without exception!"
Xu Min was warning Li Fang. The young man who had seemed as if everything was beneath his interest suddenly had a premonition. Perhaps he had made a mistake by siding with the Zhong family for the sake of a woman who cheated on him the moment a new and more handsome genius appeared.
Although Li Fang had seemed to be a seven-star Warrior the first time Xu Min had met him, he was now clearly an eight-star warrior. It was clear that he had kept his cultivation base under disguise before. As to why, Xu Min did not know, but he could not be bothered to try and guess. What mattered to him now was to slaughter the Zhong family and gain his revenge. They had seen through his act; now he would fight with everything in him. He would leave a bloody trail of death and dead bodies in his wake.
