Effeminate!

This was a one-sided slaughter!

The original slaughterers were now being butchered like pigs and sheep.

The tree Little Fatty had been holding snapped from the force of his blows. Now barehanded, he needed no technique at all. With a single punch, he sent those Gray Robe figures flying. Their spines either shattered, or their faces were smashed beyond recognition.

The Dogleg Knife in Tang Fei's hand was filled with a sense of spirit and rhythmic beauty. Every slash either cut an enemy's throat or blinded them with a stab to the eye. Every strike went straight for a vital point.

This was a battlefield where only one side could survive. There was no room for even the slightest mercy or hesitation.

The fighting was brutal, and it was brief.

Once Tang Fei and Phoenix joined the battle, the situation became completely one-sided.

After the Black Robe Divine Envoy died, the Gray Robe Apostles became nothing more than a rabble.

In the past, relying on the Flame Shrine's reputation and their overwhelming numbers, they had swept through everything in their path and suffered almost no defeats.

No one had dared provoke them. Kill one, and a whole group would come after you. Kill a group, and a tide of Flame God's followers would swarm in.

But today, Tang Fei, Phoenix, and Little Fatty intended to silence everyone involved. Each of them struck to kill, determined to wipe out every last Gray Robe Apostle.

After more than twenty Gray Robe Apostles had all fallen to the ground, with no strength left to struggle or resist, Tang Fei still checked them over again, unwilling to take chances.

Anyone still alive got another cut across the throat.

Even the dead got another slash.

He did not spare those Phoenix had whipped into two pieces, either. Who knew whether their upper bodies might still be alive?

First, to make sure they were dead. Second, even if they were not, to make sure they could neither open their mouths nor speak.

As for writing—

That was unlikely. Most people in the ruins were illiterate.

For one thing, literacy was not particularly useful. For another, there were no ways to learn. Most people believed strength ruled all, so from a young age, they either trained their bodies or hunted wild beasts.

To stay alive, to earn a mouthful of food, fists clearly carried more weight than words.

Of course, if they truly encountered someone who had survived under such circumstances and happened to know how to write—

Tang Fei could only consider himself unlucky, pack up, and run for it.

If this place would not have him, another place would.

After Tang Fei checked once, Little Fatty checked again. Only then did the two finally relax.

Phoenix watched coldly from the side and gained an even clearer understanding of how the refugees—no, her benefactors—lived in the ruins.

Everyone lived with extreme caution!

"I'm sorry. I got you into trouble." Phoenix walked up to Tang Fei and apologized.

She did not want to be this beautiful either, but some things simply did not go as one wished.

She knew this had indeed started because of her.

If she had been uglier, if her clothes had been plainer, the people from the Flame Shrine would not have set their sights on her. They might not even have noticed her.

It was all because she stood out too much that Tang Fei and Little Fatty had been dragged into danger.

She knew what kind of organization the Flame Shrine was. Tang Fei and Little Fatty had repeatedly spoken of its infamy, and what those people had just tried to do to her proved that Tang Fei had not exaggerated—

If Tang Fei and Little Fatty had not helped, she could have killed them all with her own strength.

But then what?

Run? Where could she run?

The Escape Pod and communications equipment were badly damaged. She could not determine her location or contact anyone. How was she supposed to return to New Star? How could she let her family know where she was?

Besides, this was Old Earth. There were bizarre mutant beasts, countless traps, and enemies who wanted to leave her in the ruins forever—

Every step was fraught with danger!

Tang Fei looked Phoenix up and down. When he saw the Phoenix-shaped grip in her hand, his eyes heated up. "When we get back, change your clothes. Smear some ash on your face too. Actually, smear it all over your body. You're too pale—so pale you stand out. You don't look like someone from Old Earth."

"Okay." Phoenix agreed readily.

She had considered that as well. She needed to hide herself, to blend into this desolate land.

What a pity. Once such a glorious and fertile land, it had fallen into this wretched state.

Human greed, combined with wicked technology, had given birth to a machine called war.

"Brother, what do we do?" Little Fatty's chubby face was flushed red, and his clothes were soaked with blood.

His attacks were all fist-to-flesh, and his footwork was not as nimble as Tang Fei's or Phoenix's. The damage he dealt was the most direct, and he could not avoid the blood that sprayed everywhere.

Tang Fei and Phoenix had killed more people, especially Phoenix. One whip, one kill, without the slightest pause. Yet not a drop of blood stained her body, and there was not even a wrinkle in her skintight outfit.

Oh, there was a slight one around her chest.

Eh, it was gone again.

So interesting!

Tang Fei's expression darkened. Perhaps Phoenix did not understand the gravity of the situation, but he and Little Fatty, as natives, understood perfectly.

The Black Robe Divine Envoy was a third-rank divine envoy of the Flame Shrine. He could be considered one of the local lords of Hate Mountain District.

They had killed one Black Robe Divine Envoy and more than twenty Gray Robe Apostles. Within the Flame Shrine, that definitely counted as a major incident. Once their people investigated and followed the trail to their door, what awaited them would be a bloody massacre.

Then they would be the ones truly getting slaughtered.

It would not just be them. The entire village would likely be purged.

Yes, that was the Flame Shrine's way of doing things. They would rather kill the innocent than let even a single fish slip through the net.

In their words, Tang Fei's actions were blasphemy against the Flame God, an unforgivable offense.

Those people deserved to die, and they did not really care whether it was blasphemy or not.

Put simply, Tang Fei's actions had challenged the Flame Shrine's authority. If they could not repay blood with blood and tooth with tooth, how could they control such a large organization in the future? How could they continue using the Flame God's name to intimidate the world?

Therefore, Tang Fei had to completely distance himself from this matter. He absolutely could not become the melon they traced back to.

Tang Fei rummaged through his pockets and found a lighter inlaid with a skull. His face twitched with pain, but he still ruthlessly tossed it into the lush grass nearby.

"Let's go home," Tang Fei said.

Little Fatty, bare-chested, carried the Red-eyed Rabbit—over a meter tall—on his shoulder as he walked ahead. His face was brimming with pride, as though he wished everyone in the village could see his spoils.

Tang Fei and Phoenix walked behind him. Seeing Phoenix hesitate as though she wanted to say something, Tang Fei said, "Just say whatever you want. From now on, we're truly on the same side."

They had killed so many people from the Flame Shrine. If the Flame Shrine truly came looking, Tang Fei, Little Fatty, and even the Old Man, who did not yet know about this, would die. Phoenix would die too.

No wonder people said that if you wanted to build a close relationship with someone, you should either do something bad together or share a secret.

Previously, Tang Fei had been Party A, while Phoenix had been Party B. They had been in a cooperative relationship that was far from fair or equal. If Tang Fei wanted, he could end the deal with Phoenix at any time.

Tang Fei could be very forceful!

But not now.

If Phoenix went out into the street and shouted that Tang Fei had killed people from the Flame Shrine—

Unless there was something wrong with her head, or her head truly had been damaged, the only thing awaiting them would be death.

Because their fates were tied together, he had handed the initiative to this woman.

That was what made him uncomfortable.

But he did not regret it. After all, under those circumstances, the result would have been the same even if he had not acted—

Phoenix had killed people from the Flame Shrine. What difference was there between that and them killing people from the Flame Shrine? Someone had already seen them leave the village and enter the mountains together.

If they worked together and took action, they could finish the job quickly and cleanly, and even think of a way to get away.

By protecting Phoenix, Tang Fei was also protecting himself.

"Why did you stop me from taking action earlier?"

"You mean at the edge of the woods?" Tang Fei asked. "We were too close to the village then. What if someone saw us? Would we have to kill innocent people too? Killing them would weigh on our consciences, but not killing them would be too dangerous."

"So I wanted you to endure it for a while. Bring them deep into the mountains before dealing with them. That would be safer."

"So you would rather let Little Fatty and yourself get beaten?"

Tang Fei narrowed his eyes and smiled as he looked at Phoenix. "What? Touched?"

Phoenix's heart suddenly jolted. Feeling as though her Worries had been exposed, she hurriedly denied it. "Of course not."

Seeing the fleeting girlish charm Phoenix revealed, Tang Fei could not help feeling dazzled, his heart beating faster.

He did not know what kind of feeling this was, but he did not like it.

It gave him a sense of danger, as though he were losing control—or losing himself.

So he wiped the smile off his face, stared at Phoenix, and said, "Speak properly. Don't act so effeminate."

"..."