Seed!

The lighter had a bronze casing and was about sixty percent new, with a skull embedded on its body.

The skull's raised parts had been worn smooth, and even most of its color had faded, leaving a mottled mix of black and yellow.

Lian Feng took the lighter and examined it for a while before asking, "Did one of our own bring this?"

If it had been brought by Bian Zhenxin himself or one of his underlings and dropped during the fight, then it meant nothing.

They were looking for the murderer, not figuring out who had been killed.

After all, the bodies were lying stiffly right in front of them.

"Probably not." Chen Hu spoke up. "These windproof lighters are rare nowadays, and especially scarce in Hate Mountain District. I can be sure this wasn't something Divine Envoy Bian used. He smoked hand-rolled cigarettes, but he never used a lighter like this."

"As for the other black-robed men, it's even less likely they had something this good. Even if they did, they would have long since offered it up to the divine envoy."

If you gave it willingly, it was an offering.

If you gave it unwillingly, you were being disrespectful.

In any case, good things had to belong to the divine envoy. That was also why the members of Flame Shrine desperately wanted promotions.

Once you rose high enough, you would be qualified to accept other people's "offerings."

Bian Feng nodded, paying no attention to Chen Hu's veiled slander of Bian Zhenxin. That was simply how things were in the ruins: the strong preyed on the weak, and the weak paid tribute to and submitted to the strong. Wasn't that only natural?

"Then this tells us something." Bian Feng pondered for a moment before saying, "Bian Zhenxin was no weakling. In Hate Mountain District, he was one of the finest Masters. Yet he was killed with a single slash—"

Thinking of his son's miserable state, Bian Feng felt his heart convulse.

It hurt!

"How many people in all of Hate Mountain District could kill him in a single blow?" Bian Feng swept his gaze around before it finally landed on the bodies gathered together. "And he had quite a few gray-robed men with him. What person, what force, could kill so many people without making a sound?"

"Look at their wounds. Some were crushed to death by brute force, while others were cut in half by sharp weapons. Who in Hate Mountain District had such strength? And who possessed such a sharp weapon?"

"Look at those wounds again. Worried they might not be dead, the killer even finished them off. Quite a few had their throats slit outright. Who could be so ruthless, with methods so cruel?"

Bian Feng tossed the lighter over and said, "One day. I'm giving you one day. I want an answer."

Chen Hu caught the lighter and bowed. "Rest assured, sir. I'll investigate this thoroughly and get to the bottom of it. Blood debts must be repaid in blood."

Bian Feng nodded, a cruel smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "I've lived in the city for so long. It's been ages since I tasted roasted meat."

"..."

Everyone lowered their heads and bent at the waist, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Are these men's clothes?" Phoenix asked, holding up a pair of blue jeans and a black hoodie.

"They are men's clothes." Tang Fei nodded. "There aren't any women in our household. How could we have women's clothes?"

"But..." Phoenix wanted to say more, but remembering her current situation, she immediately nodded obediently and accepted. "All right, then I'll wear men's clothes. This is my first time wearing men's clothes."

"It's my first time too," Tang Fei said.

"Hm?" Phoenix looked at Tang Fei. Was he making a dirty joke?

"It's also the first time my clothes have been worn by a woman," Tang Fei explained.

"Oh." Phoenix nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Tang Fei. It is my honor."

"You don't need to be that honored. I can't fit into them anymore anyway. Little Fatty definitely can't fit into them either. I was about to give them away."

"..."

Phoenix stopped talking.

When Phoenix stopped talking, Tang Fei did not know what to say either.

So the two of them stared at each other, the atmosphere subtle but mostly awkward.

"Are you planning to stand here and watch me change?" Phoenix asked when she saw that Tang Fei still was not leaving.

Tang Fei froze, never expecting this woman to make such an unreasonable request of him.

He looked into Phoenix's eyes and asked eagerly, "Can I?"

"Of course not."

"Oh!"

Tang Fei answered and turned to walk outside.

When Tang Fei came out, Old Man was sitting in the yard, drinking tea from a large enamel mug. Little Fatty was bare-chested in the yard, smashing stones. One swing of his hammer split a large rock in two, then he raised the hammer again and chipped away at the edges.

Tang Fei rolled up his sleeves and was about to help when Old Man called out, "kid, come here."

"Kid" was Tang Fei's codename, while Little Fatty was called "Dummy" and "Rice Bucket."

Tang Fei walked over to Old Man and asked, "What? Still worried?"

"How could I not be? Do you know how serious this is?"

"I know."

"And you still insist on protecting her?" Old Man said bitterly. "What if she sells us out—"

"What good would selling us out do her? If they really come knocking, will the people from Flame Shrine listen to our explanation? They'll just bury us all together. Right now, we either die together or live together."

"But keeping a girl like that around is far too conspicuous. Flame Shrine suffered such a major incident, so they'll definitely investigate outsiders. What if they trace it to us? What if someone else takes a bad interest in her?"

"You young brat who has never had good food or seen a pretty woman thinks she's beautiful and gets drawn in by her looks. Are other people idiots? Can't they tell she's pretty? A beautiful woman brings disaster, a beautiful woman brings disaster. I say that to you and Little Fatty every day. Why don't either of you take it to heart?"

Little Fatty looked up, his face full of grievance. "I took it to heart."

"Keep smashing rocks. What does this have to do with you?"

"Oh." Little Fatty went back to smashing rocks, even more aggrieved than before.

"Then what do you suggest?" Tang Fei looked at Old Man, making a swift chopping gesture with his hand. "Should we really do this?"

"Ah, she hasn't actually done anything wrong. The problem is that she's just too pretty, and she doesn't look like she's from Old Earth. It's too hard to hide her identity."

"But we can't just kill her like this." Tang Fei said, "If we did something like that, what would make us any different from those Predators?"

"But we haven't done it, have we? Didn't you talk me out of it?" Old Man said angrily. "Still, we need a foolproof plan. Should we just run?"

"No." Tang Fei refused. "Running now would be having a Guilty Conscience. They might not have been looking for us in the first place, but if we run... heh, wouldn't that be stepping forward and admitting we did it?"

"Even if they know, they can't catch us. If nothing else, when it comes to running, I'd call myself second, and no one would dare call themselves first." Old Man said proudly. "But you have a point. Flame Shrine is powerful, and a black-robed man died this time. If we truly clash with them head-on, we'll probably never have another peaceful day. Since things have come to this, all we can do is stay careful and keep watch."

Tang Fei nodded and looked at Old Man. "Why did you say that to her?"

"Say what?" Old Man asked, feigning ignorance.

Tang Fei narrowed his eyes. "The marriage thing. Why did you tell her to marry me?"

"What? You don't want to?"

"It's not about whether I want to or not. We just met. We don't know anything about each other, and there's no emotional foundation between us—"

"All right, all right, stop making useless excuses." Old Man interrupted Tang Fei, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "You just think you're a Drifter from Old Earth, while she's an honored guest from New Star. You think you aren't good enough for her, and you're worried she'll reject you and hurt your pride. That's why you didn't want me to mention it, right?"

"I didn't think that," Tang Fei denied.

"All right, all right. Do you think you can fool me with those little Worries of yours?" Old Man sneered. "If I hadn't brought it up, do you think she would have thought of it herself? Would she have thought about being with you in the future?"

"No," Tang Fei answered cleanly.

He had no shame, but he was honest.

"And you? Would you think about it?"

"No."

He was honest, but he still had no shame.

"So what harm was there in mentioning it?" Old Man grinned foolishly. "You don't lose a piece of flesh, and you don't gain another wrinkle. What's wrong with saying it? It'd be great if it worked out. If not, at least we can plant a seed in her heart."

"A seed?" Tang Fei looked baffled.

Weren't seeds supposed to be planted in soil or flesh? They could be planted in someone's heart too?

"You don't understand." Old Man shook his head and looked at Tang Fei. "But you will someday."

"..."

At dinner, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

"Tang Fei!" someone called from outside.

"It's Mr. Tang Fei," Tang Fei said.

As he spoke, he walked over and opened the courtyard gate.

Because of the previous incident, Phoenix did not want to interact with strangers, so she went into the room to hide.

Mr. Tang Fei entered carrying a Gourd. Catching the scent of stewed meat in the house, he said with a chuckle, "I came at just the right time. Stewing meat, are you? Looks like I made it in time."

"Mr. Tang Fei, please come in." Tang Fei respectfully invited Mr. Tang Fei inside.

"Mr. Tang Fei is here." Old Man also came over to greet him. Seeing the Gourd in Mr. Tang Fei's hand, his eyes immediately lit up. "Mr. Tang Fei, did you come to have a drink with me?"

Mr. Tang Fei shook his head, looking as if he wanted to speak but hesitated.

The moment Tang Fei saw Mr. Tang Fei's expression, he guessed his Worries. Smiling, he said, "You came at the perfect time, Mr. Tang Fei. I caught quite a lot of game today and was planning to bring you a red-eyed rabbit. There are many people in your family, so it should be enough to get by on for a few days."

Mr. Tang Fei looked at Tang Fei with gratitude, ashamed and uneasy as he said, "To tell you the truth, Brother Yousheng's legs aren't convenient, so An has been the one hunting during this time. You know his temperament. He's too soft-hearted, and he isn't decisive enough. He hasn't managed to bring back any game."

"The food at home is all gone. There really wasn't anything left to eat today. So I thought I'd use this gourd of wild fruit wine I brewed before to trade you for some food."

"No need to trade." Tang Fei smiled. "Take the wine back. I'll have Little Fatty carry a rabbit over for you."

"No, no." Mr. Tang Fei waved his hands repeatedly, his expression serious. "If you don't take this wine, then I won't take the rabbit either. How can I take things for free? That's not what the books say."

"You taught me so many books and so many words. What's wrong with giving you a rabbit?"

"Have you given us too little already?" Mr. Tang Fei said shamefully. "Although I only led you through a few books and taught you a few words, you've helped our Old Huang Family plenty over the years. The children in our family are all in poor health, and none of them are good hunters. If you hadn't kept bringing us grain and meat, several people in our family might have starved to death."

Tang Fei knew Mr. Tang Fei's temperament, so he said, "All right, then. I'll trade meat for your wine. We've been craving alcohol too."

"All right, all right." Mr. Tang Fei quickly handed over the wine.

Tang Fei took the Gourd, pulled out the stopper, and took a swig. "Mr. Tang Fei's fruit wine is truly superb."

"I'm glad you like it, glad you like it. When spring comes, I'll have Brother Yousheng gather more fruit, and I'll brew some more."

"Don't trouble Brother Yousheng. His legs aren't convenient. If you want fruit, Mr. Tang Fei, I'll gather it for you. But let's agree on this: when the fruit wine is brewed, you have to give me a jug."

"A jug? No, I'll give you half." Mr. Tang Fei agreed at once.

Mr. Tang Fei left, taking Little Fatty with him.

Little Fatty left carrying a red-eyed rabbit.

Holding the Gourd, Tang Fei called out, "Phoenix, come out and drink."

Drink today's wine today; let tomorrow's worries wait until tomorrow.

After drinking this jug, tomorrow they could go cut off heads.

P.S. Thanks to the young lady from Candy Candy Candy House for becoming our new adorable patron. Old Liu casually clicked on her profile picture seventy or eighty times. It really was quite sweet.

Also, there will be another chapter after midnight.