Chu Feng glanced at the items held in the youngster's hands.
A seven-inch-long ginseng, glowing entirely red all over.
A medicinal pill of unknown grade, yet rich in medicinal aroma and breathtakingly refreshing.
A hundred-year-old blood ginseng, coupled with a pill...
This young man's household background was quite substantial indeed. Through the books in the thatched hut, Chu Feng had a slight understanding of the living conditions of the common folk in this world.
An ordinary household could hardly pull out items like these.
It had to be royalty, nobility, or major powerful forces that could possibly have the young disciples of their clan carry such objects with them.
Chu Feng's eyes rolled around and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, yet without answering, he merely pondered to himself:
How about I put on an act and accept the Ceremony of Apprenticeship?
He was not actually craving this blood ginseng and medicinal pill.
His gaze landed on the youngster, observing the youngster's clothing and styling, as well as the objects he had brought out.
The other party definitely came from a wealthy and distinguished household.
Perhaps this Xiao Huohuo had formidable martial masters in his household.
Could he perhaps take this youngster in, and then find a way to have the martial masters of this youngster's household bring them both out of this patch of forest?
No, no!
The moment this thought landed, it was repeatedly shaken away and vetoed by Chu Feng.
He looked toward the youngster and could not help frowning.
It was true that this youngster's household foundation was rich, but that also meant that his family members should all possess some discernment.
In case they easily figured out that he, Chu Feng, was just a fraud who understood nothing at all.
Wouldn't these people beat him to death?
Shaking his head, Chu Feng let out a long sigh.
This idea was immediately vetoed by him.
He still had to hold his ground and could not be tempted.
In this world of the jungle and the strong preying on the weak, morality and the rule of law were simply not spoken of.
He had to be careful in his actions everywhere; should any mistakes happen, he might just have to forfeit this little life of his.
What Chu Feng did not know, however, was that this appearance of his had fallen into the eyes of Xiao Huohuo.
The youngster, who was still kneeling rigidly, saw a flash of panic and despair in his eyes.
Unconsciously, the corners of his mouth pressed downward.
His trembling eyes looked toward the Hermit Expert before him, yet there was only a single thought in his heart:
It's over, it's completely over!
The expert shook his head; he is not willing to take me as a disciple.
As expected, Hermit Experts are just like the ones described in storybooks—not so easy to recruit disciples.
Seemingly thinking of something, Xiao Huohuo's gaze turned resolute, and with the resignation of someone facing death, he closed his eyes, tightened his heart, and spoke boldly:
"Senior, I know you look down on me."
"However, I have a reason I must become stronger!"
"I still implore you to take me as your disciple."
"I beg of you!"
With that, he heavily knocked his head toward Chu Feng a few times.
Thump, thump, thump.
His head smashed heavily against the ground, producing a muffled sound.
When the youngster raised his head once more, a bloodstain had already appeared on his forehead, faintly seeping bright red blood-stains outward.
Chu Feng watched in a daze, the matters he had thought of in his mind now cast behind him.
Looking at this appearance, did this youngster have a story?
Before he could even speak, he heard the youngster in front of him self-narrate with a hint of sorrow:
"Senior, this junior is named Xiao Huohuo, and I am the son of the Lord of Dongli City."
"Before this junior was born, my late father had already established a marriage engagement with the Misty Sect of Cangzhou, a betrothal arranged by our parents!"
"Since childhood, this junior has had no talent for practicing martial arts. No matter how hard I have tried over these years, down to the present day I am nothing more than a third-rate martial artist."
"As for my fiancée, she is the Young Sect Master of the Misty Sect in Cangzhou, and at the tender age of sixteen she has already reached first-rate strength, and is even charging toward the Postnatal Realm nowadays."
"The gap in strength between the two of us is too great, and that Young Sect Master looked down upon me, actually bringing people to our Dongli City Lord's Residence to cancel the engagement!"
At this point, Xiao Huohuo's body tightened abruptly, and his palms supporting the ground unconsciously dug into the soil, gripping hard. Even his voice became slightly trembling:
"My father has always valued his reputation immensely."
"Having someone come to our door to cancel an engagement not only made this junior the biggest joke of all Dongli City, but the Dongli City Lord's Residence also lost all face."
"To retain even a shred of final dignity, this junior tore up the marriage contract, proactively divorced that woman, and set a Three-Year Pact with her!"
Xiao Huohuo raised his head to look straight at Chu Feng, his eyes resolute:
"Three years from now, this junior will defeat that woman and win back the very last bit of dignity for the Dongli City Lord's Residence."
Suddenly, however, he deflated like a punctured balloon and lowered his head:
"Yet this junior is foolish; two and a half years have already passed since the pact was made, leaving only half a year remaining, while my cultivation has made no progress at all."
The youngster prostrated his entire body on the ground, and said with all his remaining strength:
"If the expert is willing to take Huohuo in, these items for the Ceremony of Apprenticeship are only a part of it; Huohuo is willing to offer everything into the expert's hands."
Although Xiao Huohuo spoke with grief and sorrow, as if that engagement cancellation had just happened before his eyes.
Yet, taking advantage of his prostration on the ground, Chu Feng covered his mouth and forcibly held back his laughter.
He could not help laughing inwardly:
No way, coming to cancel an engagement and a Three-Year Pact?
This experience is exactly the same as the protagonist in some divine novel from my previous life!
Although he had already seen countless engagement-cancellation plots in numerous webnovel masterpieces, having this matter genuinely happen right before his eyes still made him feel somewhat amused.
Two children under seventeen years old were waving a marriage contract around, cancelling back and forth, making a fuss known to the whole city, and setting up some Three-Year Pact.
Although it was reasonable within this world, Chu Feng, as a modern person who had time-traveled here, found it extremely awkward to watch.
However, amidst the awkwardness, he immediately came to his senses as well.
Chu Feng could not help muttering inwardly:
Engagement-cancellation trope, Three-Year Pact... Could the youngster before my eyes be the person of great fortune spoken of by the system?
His gaze landed on the youngster, staring closely and examining him repeatedly.
As long as he took him in and imparted cultivation techniques and secret arts, he would be able to obtain a tenfold return, allowing him to rely on this opportunity to achieve a rapid, from-scratch surge in strength.
Recruiting disciples and the like in the future would likely become much more convenient as well.
To be honest, Chu Feng was very tempted.
Clenching his teeth as he looked at the youngster before him, it was just as if he were looking at a supreme beauty of this world, with nine out of ten parts of him wanting to make a move.
However, he immediately deflated and sighed.
The most important problem right now was that he had nothing at all!
Even a clever housewife could not cook a meal without rice; without anything at all, he could not teach even if he wanted to!
With only the temptation of the tenfold return present, he was utterly helpless.
Suddenly, hearing once again the expert before him shake his head and sigh,
Xiao Huohuo's body tightened even more before suddenly relaxing, and he spoke in a despairing tone:
"Is it still no good?"
With that, Xiao Huohuo staggeringly stood up, his gaze dim, and he smiled with self-mockery toward Chu Feng:
"Senior, this junior was presumptuous."
"How could an expert like you possibly take a fancy to a mediocre person like me who has practiced martial arts for many years and is still only a third-rate martial artist?"
As his voice trailed off, he turned around and left.
Before you continue