Big Brother, Come Visit When You Have Time!

"Where's my prize?" Tang Fei held out his hand to Phoenix.

"You're cheating," Phoenix said angrily.

Both of them had a good haul today. They each caught a pheasant and a red-eyed rabbit, so it was a tie.

Just as Phoenix thought they were going to call it a draw, Tang Fei stabbed a field mouse that had just poked its head out of a cave.

Tang Fei won!

Phoenix was flustered and searched everywhere for prey – pheasants, rabbits, field mice, frogs…

It was as if the animals of Hate Mountain had a grudge against her. Or perhaps it was because the commotion they'd made earlier had scared them all away. Not a single one appeared, and she didn't catch anything.

"How am I cheating?" Tang Fei asked.

"Does a field mouse even count as prey? You can't eat that thing."

"Who says you can't eat field mice?" Tang Fei chuckled as he looked at Phoenix. "There are many ways to eat field mice. You can stew them, roast them, or even eat them as sashimi. Skin it, slice the meat thinly, arrange it on a plate, and eat it rolled up with perilla leaves…"

"…"

Phoenix glanced at the field mouse with a hole in its head. The thought of it being sliced and put into someone's mouth made her stomach churn.

Why does this guy always like to poke holes in heads?

"The best way is roasted field mouse. When we get back, I'll roast one for you to try," Tang Fei said. "If you think it's delicious, then you've lost this competition. How about it?"

Phoenix was finally satisfied. "Deal."

Even if it's delicious, I'll say it's not, she thought. You want to beat me? No way.

Huh, why am I talking like this?

She only spoke so casually with her closest friends.

Could Tang Fei already be my friend?

Impossible, right? It's only been a few days. I'm not someone who makes friends easily.

Phoenix stared at Tang Fei in surprise. Tang Fei, feeling inexplicably stared at, asked, "Are you captivated by my beauty again? Let me tell you, don't think that just because we're in the wilderness you can do whatever you want to me. Even if my body can't resist, my heart will never yield to you."

"Tang Fei, how can your skin be so thick?"

"It's not my skin that's thick, it's just that I haven't washed my face in a long time," Tang Fei explained seriously. "That outer layer isn't skin, it's face dust."

"…"

Seeing Tang Fei's sly smile, she knew she'd been tricked again.

That wasn't face dust at all, it was just his skin.

The two of them carried their prey home. The Old Man's eyes lit up when he saw their haul, and he scurried over to greet them. "Why did you catch so much today?"

"Phoenix and I had a competition to see who could catch more, so we both caught more," Tang Fei said.

The Old Man then looked at Phoenix with satisfaction, his expression conveying that she was finally no longer a useless freeloader. He praised, "That's good, that's good. Didn't I tell you that competition leads to progress? I wanted you and Little Fatty to improve together when I sent you out hunting. Instead, you both came back empty-handed."

"Can you blame me for that?" Tang Fei said indignantly. "You know Little Fatty's physique. When he runs, he's like a small mountain… We hadn't even arrived, and the animals had already run off."

Little Fatty, who was busy smashing rocks, smiled innocently. He knew Tang Fei was telling the truth. Whenever he went hunting with his older brother, they would most likely return empty-handed that day.

So, afterward, the Old Man only let Tang Fei go hunting alone, while he stayed home smashing rocks.

Phoenix didn't want Little Fatty to feel bad, so she comforted him, "It's okay, Little Fatty. From now on, I'll go hunting with Tang Fei, and you can stay home and smash rocks. Everyone has their specialty, and you're great at smashing rocks…"

As she spoke, she realized something was off.

What does it mean to praise someone for smashing rocks well? Isn't that the same as telling Little Fatty, 'Little Fatty, you're so fat'?

"Thank you," Little Fatty said, unfazed, smiling shyly at Phoenix.

Phoenix felt healed again. What a kind child.

After Tang Fei cleaned the prey, he said to Phoenix, "I'll roast a field mouse for you. You'll want a second bite after the first, and a third after the second…"

"I don't believe you," Phoenix pouted.

I'm beyond the New Star realm. What kind of delicacies or alien monsters haven't I eaten? You expect me to like a roasted field mouse with its shifty eyes?

Tang Fei found a large stove, tossed in some flammable charcoal blocks, and lit them, waiting for them to burn. He skinned the field mouse and removed its entrails. He threaded it onto two red willow skewers, about as thick as chopsticks, and then placed it over the fire, rotating it constantly.

Soon, the field mouse, which was about the size of a basketball, began to smoke and sizzle, and a rich aroma of roasted meat filled the air.

Phoenix watched from the side. Seeing the field mouse's skin starting to turn golden brown, she thought, Maybe this thing really is delicious?

The field mouse's skin grew yellower and yellower. Due to the abundant fat, it finally turned a golden hue, and Phoenix's conviction grew stronger.

After all, she had already started to secretly swallow her saliva.

Tang Fei heard Phoenix's stomach rumble and knew she hadn't eaten dinner yet. Smelling the aroma of the field mouse, her body reacted naturally.

The field mouse meat had already been salted during the marination. Once it was cooked through, he sprinkled it with pepper and his secret spices. Then, he tore off a large piece of the field mouse leg and handed it to Phoenix. "Try this. Field mice run very fast, and their leg muscles are the most developed. This part of the meat is the most fragrant, tender, and delicious."

Phoenix didn't stand on ceremony. She took the field mouse leg and took a bite.

Spicy, savory, fragrant, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.

"Delicious!" Phoenix couldn't help but exclaim.

"You lost!" Tang Fei said, looking at Phoenix with a smile.

Phoenix then remembered the bet. She had devised a plan, vowing not to praise the food no matter how good it tasted, but she had accidentally blurted it out.

Of course, Phoenix wouldn't reveal her little scheme. She proudly shot Tang Fei a glance and said, "So I lost, what of it? It's just a small gift. I always keep my promises."

"Then I can rest easy," Tang Fei replied.

Little Fatty, smelling the roasted field mouse,'s appetite was whetted. He dropped his hammer and ran over, pleading, "Big brother, can I have a leg too?"

"One leg isn't enough for you," Tang Fei said, placing the field mouse on a tray and cutting it in half with the meat cleaver.

He handed half the field mouse to Little Fatty. "Here, eat this."

"Thank you, big brother," Little Fatty's eyes lit up as he took the half field mouse and squatted down to gnaw on it.

"You two brats, not even saving some for me. No manners," the Old Man grumbled.

Tang Fei then cut the remaining half field mouse into three portions, giving one to the Old Man, keeping one for himself, and giving one to Phoenix. The little glutton had already finished the field mouse leg and was looking over expectantly.

"This little bit isn't even enough to get stuck between my teeth," the Old Man said disdainfully, taking his portion.

Phoenix, retaining the good habit of "respecting the old and cherishing the young" from New Star, offered her portion of the field mouse meat. "Uncle, you eat mine."

She had called him "Teacher" politely when she first arrived, but now that she was eating his food and staying at his place, their relationship had become much closer. She now called the Old Man "Uncle" as a friend of Tang Fei and Little Fatty.

"Don't give it to him," Tang Fei intercepted, "There's a pot of porridge simmering in the kitchen. He can drink that if he's still hungry. Old people shouldn't eat too much meat, or they'll have indigestion at night."

"Oh!" Phoenix nodded and took back the field mouse meat.

They had a similar saying on New Star, and many elderly people raised themselves this way. Her father was like that too; he never dared to eat too much meat in the evening, fearing indigestion would disrupt his sleep.

"You brat, you've forgotten your father now that you have a wife. You heartless thing," the Old Man cursed angrily.

"Let's eat over there, don't mind him," Tang Fei said to Phoenix, too lazy to retort.

He also couldn't bear to retort.

'Forgotten father now that you have a wife'...

What did that mean? It meant he had a wife.

For some reason, hearing the Old Man curse him like this actually made him feel quite good.

It was like how students in their first bloom of love hate gossip about them, but when someone actually spread rumors, they felt a bittersweet happiness.

Just then, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.

"Who is it?" Tang Fei called out.

"Flame Shrine. Open the door," someone shouted from outside.

Tang Fei's eyes narrowed slightly, the Old Man's killing intent flared, and Little Fatty had already scrambled over to grab the hammer from the ground.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten to hold onto the field mouse.

He was so nervous that he took a big bite of the field mouse, chewing it fiercely.

Phoenix looked at Tang Fei in panic. She hadn't expected people from the Flame Shrine to find them so quickly.

She could fight her way out, but she worried about implicating Tang Fei and Little Fatty.

But even if she fought her way out, where would she escape to?

Did she still need the escape pod? Without the escape pod's trajectory, how would her family be able to find her?

In an instant, her mind was in turmoil.

Tang Fei patted her shoulder, signaling Phoenix not to be nervous.

He then pointed to the inner room, telling her to go inside and hide for a while.

After Phoenix left, Tang Fei made a gesture, telling the Old Man and Little Fatty to lower their guard. "You two are acting so murderous, isn't that like drawing attention to yourself? It's like saying, 'Nothing to see here!'"

"Calm down!

Calm down!

Be elegant and composed at all times!"

Then, Tang Fei took a large bite of the field mouse meat, chewing it, and casually walked over to open the door, asking, "What is it?"

A group of gray-robed figures stood at the door. Seeing a young man open the door, they asked, "How many people are in your family? Have any strangers been to your house?"

"There are three of us in our family. My father, my brother..." Tang Fei pointed to the Old Man and Little Fatty. "We don't have any strangers here; we're all family. Who would dare let strangers in these days?"

"Answer only what you're asked, why so much nonsense?" one of the gray-robed figures snapped impatiently.

"Yes, yes, yes, the Divine Envoy is right," Tang Fei immediately put on a fawning smile.

"Have you seen any strangers?"

"Strangers?" Tang Fei thought for a moment. "This is a district, so strangers come by every day..."

"Anyone who left a particularly deep impression?"

"Yes, yes, yes. There was one person who was blind in one eye and wore an eyepatch over the other. He looked terrifying. And another person came with a monkey perched on his shoulder."

"Go in and search," the Gray Robe leader ordered.

He could smell the roasted meat. His brothers were still working on empty stomachs, and these scoundrels were eating grilled meat. Was there any justice?

The Flame God would never allow such a thing. The venerable deity absolutely would not permit his followers to go hungry.

"Yes!" Several Gray Robe figures prepared to barge in, their mouths watering at the thought of roasted meat.

Tang Fei glanced at them and understood their intentions.

He ran over, snatched the field mouse meat from Little Fatty and the Old Man, then handed it all, along with his own portion, to the Gray Robe leader in front of him. "Divine Envoy, you must be tired from your work. You must be hungry! Please, have some food to replenish your strength."

Little Fatty looked wronged, staring longingly at the piece of roasted meat.

The Gray Robe leader was quite pleased with Tang Fei's actions. He took the field mouse meat and took a large bite, chewing with his mouth full of grease. He pointed at Tang Fei and said, "This kid is quite sensible. Do you think I can eat all this myself? I still have these brothers..."

"Understood. Understood." Tang Fei moved aside from the doorway, smiling. "Please, esteemed sirs, come in. I'll grill some meat for you. I won't boast about other things, but my grilled meat is the best in the Hate Mountain District. And with my special spicy sauce... I guarantee you'll enjoy it to your heart's content."

"Good. Let my brothers taste your skills then." The Gray Robe leader said with a chuckle, leading his brothers into the small courtyard.

Tang Fei winked at Little Fatty and said, "Little Fatty, go bring out all the meat we have at home. It's a blessing from our past lives that the Divine Envoys are visiting us. We must treat them well."

Little Fatty understood and immediately ran to bring out the large vat storing their meat. "Brother, I've brought it all out."

Tang Fei looked into the jar. Inside were half a rabbit and a mountain chicken.

Tang Fei finally relaxed. Little Fatty was just fat, not stupid.

Esteemed sirs, all the meat we have is in here. Tang Fei pointed to the vat. I'll grill the meat for you, and I guarantee you'll eat comfortably and to your heart's content.

"Less nonsense, hurry up and grill. If you do a good job, we'll reward you handsomely."

"Yeah, we've been searching for a day and a night, our stomachs are about to go flat."

"Damn it, where are we supposed to find someone in the Qi Control Realm? How would we know what a Qi Control Realm expert looks like? You should at least give us a photo! Even a sketch would be fine. But nothing? How are we supposed to search?"

"Monkey, do you want to die? Do you know what you're saying?"

"Just kidding, just kidding. I just said it casually. Brothers, you have to keep this a secret for me. I still have a bottle of old wine saved up, Zhuyeqing. I'll treat you all to drinks then."

"You dead monkey, you have good wine and you don't tell us? You can't fool us this time, or else, hehe..."

"No, no, definitely not..."

Tang Fei was busy cutting the meat, slicing the rabbit and mountain chicken into small pieces for grilling.

If he put them on to grill whole, how long would it take to cook?

He wanted to get rid of these troublesome guests as quickly as possible, not wanting them to stay in his house for another second.

After all, there was still an extraterrestrial visitor hidden in the inner room. If they discovered her, it would cause another incident.

Tang Fei was inwardly furious. Ever since this woman arrived, every day had been filled with anxiety. It was too thrilling.

No, he couldn't let this anger go unchecked.

He needed to charge more!

As Tang Fei worked, he secretly eavesdropped on the Gray Robes' conversation.

The moment he heard the name "Flame Shrine," he was certain these people were here because of the Black Robe's death.

He knew the Flame Shrine would make a big fuss about this matter, but he hadn't expected them to choose such a foolish method.

The Hate Mountain District was so vast, and there were so many people in the district. What was the difference between this kind of widespread search and looking for a needle in a haystack?

What frustrated Tang Fei the most was that they had stumbled upon his door by sheer coincidence.

Why were they grilling field mice? Why were they grilling field mice? Wouldn't it have been better to grill sweet potatoes?

If he had just brewed a pot of papaya porridge as usual, he figured these Gray Robes wouldn't have stayed for a meal anyway.

"Boss, should we look around?" a Gray Robe figure suddenly said to the Gray Robe leader.

Tang Fei's heart leaped into his throat. Little Fatty was about to reach for his hammer again, but the Old Man subtly pulled him back, stopping his dangerous action.

"It wouldn't hurt to look," Tang Fei said with a smile. "These are just two broken houses. You can search around. If you don't find anyone, it will also prove our innocence. Don't you agree?"

"Then you go take a look." The Gray Robe leader was busy gnawing on a field mouse leg and wasn't particularly enthusiastic about this. However, since a subordinate had suggested it, he would go through the motions. This way, if any problems arose later, he wouldn't be blamed.

After all, he couldn't be the scapegoat.

The Gray Robe figure had to take on the task. He glanced into a few rooms and then hurried back to report, "Boss, I didn't see anyone."

"Isn't that obvious? This family, with the old and the young, and a silly little fatty, doesn't look like a Qi Control Realm expert at all." The Gray Robe leader burst into laughter, a glint of wisdom in his eyes. "Besides, if there really was a Qi Control Realm expert hiding here, would we still be alive? We would have been beheaded long ago."

"The boss is wise."

"Brother Long's insight is truly remarkable. No wonder you're the captain."

"What's a captain? Boss will be an adjutant soon. I heard that Deputy Officer Chen Hu is being promoted to Black Robe. Wouldn't the vacant adjutant position be the boss's?"

"Then we congratulate the boss in advance!"

"It's still too early, too early!" The Gray Robe leader waved his hands humbly. "Several captains are competing for this position, but as you know, Deputy Officer Chen Hu and I are sworn brothers. Once he's promoted to Black Robe, won't he promote his brother?"

"That's true."

"Of course, we still need to achieve something. If we can find the guy who killed our Divine Envoy, then this matter will be settled," the Gray Robe leader said earnestly.

"Don't worry, boss. We'll definitely help you find the killer,"

"Yeah, after we finish the barbecue, we'll set out."

"Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we'll dig him out."

"Dig what? Do you think a Qi Control Realm expert is a field mouse that likes to burrow into holes?"

While this group of Gray Robes were chatting and joking, Tang Fei had already finished grilling the rabbit and pheasant.

He took a large skewer and presented it to the Gray Robe leader. "It's best when it's just off the grill. Sir, please try it and tell me how it tastes. If you think it needs more flavor, I can add some chili powder."

"You're a thoughtful young man," the Gray Robe leader said, increasingly satisfied with Tang Fei. He even raised his noble, grease-covered right hand and patted Tang Fei's shoulder. "How old are you?"

"14," Tang Fei replied.

He'd shamelessly shaved off a year and a half. After all, the younger he seemed, the less likely he was to have Qi Control, right?

"I see a sharp intelligence in you. Are you interested in joining our Flame Shrine?" The Gray Robe leader unexpectedly extended an olive branch to Tang Fei.

Tang Fei put on an expression of utter disbelief and asked excitedly, "Sir, are you serious? You're not tricking me?"

"What are you saying, you brat? What kind of place is our Flame Shrine? And who is our leader? Do you think he would lie to you?"

"Exactly. Let me tell you, don't bite the hand that feeds you. When we wanted to join the Flame Shrine, we had to beg and grovel everywhere to find someone to introduce us."

"Our Brother Long is the captain, and soon he'll be the adjutant. With him looking out for you, you'll be able to eat well and live luxuriously within the Flame Shrine. Kid, you're in for a treat."

From the introductions of the people around him, Tang Fei realized even more how "rare" this opportunity was, and tears of gratitude welled up in his eyes. "Thank you, sir. Thank you. My whole family thanks you. Please eat more meat, sir."

The Old Man also came over to offer polite words, thanking the Gray Robe leader for his regard for Tang Fei.

The Gray Robe leader was flattered, and the grilled meat in his hand became even more delicious.

Tang Fei looked at the Gray Robe leader with a humble expression. "Sir, I overheard you looking for someone just now. Who are you looking for? I'm very familiar with this area, and maybe I can help a little."

"What help can a little kid like you offer?" The Gray Robe leader clearly didn't believe Tang Fei could actually help, but he was very pleased with his enthusiastic initiative. "An expert like that could kill you with a single finger. You should just focus on staying alive. When we get to the shrine, you can just be responsible for grilling meat for me."

"Yes, yes, I'll listen to you, sir. I'll listen to everything you say," Tang Fei replied with a sincere smile.

The Gray Robe leader finished his chicken skewer and called out, "Alright, alright, everyone, eat up quickly. After we're full, we'll get back to work. There are still many houses to search."

"Yes, sir," the Gray Robes began to devour their food.

The Gray Robe leader glanced back at Tang Fei and asked, "What's your name?"

"Tang Fei," Tang Fei said.

"Tang Fei, good name," the Gray Robe leader nodded, then looked at the Old Man. "Your father looks like a simpleton who can't even fart properly, yet he managed to give you such a nice name."

"It was the Teacher in the village who named me. He was literate," Tang Fei said.

"No wonder." The Gray Robe leader finally felt it was natural and said to his subordinate, "Put a Flame Talisman on their door. From now on, these are our people. Other teams don't need to check on them."

"Yes, Big Brother."

So, a subordinate took out a spiritual talisman with a flame pattern from his pocket and slapped it onto the main door.

This way, other Flame Shrine teams or Predator organizations would see the Flame Talisman on the door and wouldn't come to verify anything.

Why would they check their own people?

Tang Fei was even more grateful, seeing the Gray Robe brothers off from a distance, displaying a loyalty so profound it seemed he would gladly go through fire and water with the Gray Robe leader into battle.

"Big Brother, come visit anytime!" Tang Fei shouted, his voice choked with emotion.

(ps: Too lazy to split it, so I'll update two chapters at once.

Also, feel free to throw some votes my way. Old Liu and Tang Fei are easily pleased.

Big Brothers, come visit anytime! (choked)