Judging from what the young woman said, they clearly weren't well acquainted with the man. They had instinctively drawn a line between the two sides, while the man's lack of objection to this arrangement confirmed her account.
"It seems that's the case. I didn't wander in here after getting lost. I came because I'd heard of the East Sea and wanted to seek refuge there." I smiled amiably, and the mask rendered the expression even more vividly.
This was a benevolent-and-malevolent mask connected to the wearer's skin. It magnified the user's emotions as they fluctuated. Han Shanshan had said my personality was somewhat cold, so this mask suited me perfectly, adding a little more tension to it.
"Ah? Doesn't that make you the same as us? That's wonderful! Fellow Daoist, did you know? This Lu fellow Daoist is a genuine member of the East Sea Jie Sect. We ran into him just now, and he said he would take us to join the Jie Sect." The woman spoke excitedly.
"Yes, it solved our most pressing problem of being lost." The other woman smiled.
I nodded with a smile, then looked the man in red up and down.
The man was already at the Nine Tribulations cultivation level. Of course, I wasn't about to casually reveal my Tribulation Transcendence strength, so I usually maintained a level around the eighth or ninth tribulation. That let me avoid ordinary petty villains while also luring in Tribulation Transcendence experts who wanted to take advantage of the situation. As for punishing evil and upholding justice, I was more than willing to do that.
The man surnamed Lu was sizing me up as well. I knew he must have some ideas in mind, but since he hadn't shown them yet, I wasn't going to ask. Time