Chapter 1367: Topic

The middle-aged man climbed to his feet, his wrist hanging at an unnatural angle; it appeared to be broken.

After Ning Chen's actions, the middle-aged man dared not speak his anger, glaring viciously at Ning Chen: "I'm telling you, my family is a famous tea merchant; you'd better get selected, or I'll make you pay!"

Ning Chen glanced indifferently at the man; such a man who blustered without cause was not worth his concern, though he was somewhat curious how someone like that had lived so long without being beaten to death.

If using his abilities here were not so troublesome, Ning Chen would not have let the other off so easily.

The woman accompanying the man stepped forward, touched the man's wrist, applied force, and with a "Crack!" sound, the man's broken wrist was healed.

"Don't make any big movements recently, or you'll break it again." The woman smiled at the man, then turned to Ning Chen, sizing him up for a moment before saying, "This young brother, indeed we were in the wrong this time; please forgive us. I see your skills are extraordinary; did you learn from someone before?"

Ning Chen thought this woman was far smarter than that middle-aged man; her words, both spoken and implied, were probing his identity.

Moreover, whether in speech or manners, the woman was completely out of place with that middle-aged man; they certainly could not be father and daughter, only relatives or lovers.

Seeing Ning Chen ignore her, the woman was not angered; she slowly stepped closer and said, "Young brother, I see you are unfamiliar with this place; perhaps we could join forces for activities. My medical skills are excellent; if you suffer any bruises or injuries, I can treat you."

So she wanted to befriend them.

Ning Chen still said nothing; this was simply slapping the other in the face.

Many around did not understand; that woman, who was undeniably breathtakingly beautiful, was indeed a beauty, so why could Ning Chen remain unmoved?

Sensing the growing number of gazes around, Gu Yanqi rose, smiled brightly at the woman, and said, "Sorry, Miss, my brother is just like this; he usually speaks very little. However, regarding your suggestion to join together, that might not work."

"Why? We won't be a burden."

It was clear the woman truly wanted to join them in activities; even after Gu Yanqi spoke, she still persisted relentlessly.

Gu Yanqi opened her mouth, but what reason could she give?

Fortunately, Miss Hongxiu quickly took over the conversation: "Miss, my younger brother already knows medicine, and all of us know quite a bit about survival skills. We need nothing; what you know, we know; what you don't know, we also know. So, your presence here is already a burden."

Miss Hongxiu's words were quite blunt; an ordinary person would have given up long ago.

But unexpectedly, the woman merely smiled and said, "I see. By the way, are you three siblings?"

Miss Hongxiu also rose, approached Gu Yanqi's side, and said, "What? Don't we look like siblings?"

The woman suspiciously sized the two up and down; for some reason, she felt the two actually looked somewhat alike.

Miss Hongxiu thought, how could they not look alike? These human-skin masks were all handmade by her; normally speaking, they would appear to come from the same mother.

"Sisters, why do you come here to cultivate immortality? I think your abilities are quite good."

The woman stepped closer, obviously trying to get close to them.

Miss Hongxiu smiled, offering no objection to the woman's approach; seeing this, Gu Yanqi merely glanced at the woman, then walked over and squatted beside Ning Chen.

"As for us, it's simple: we can't get enough to eat. The times are too chaotic now. Previously, a fortune-teller cast a hexagram for us three siblings, saying that to find a way out, we must join a sect to cultivate immortality. Recently, only the Dongqing Sect Sect is recruiting disciples, so we came."

Miss Hongxiu's words were very sincere; especially when mentioning they couldn't get enough to eat, her eyes filled with tears, as if truly saddened by recalling past events.

Miss Hongxiu wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced a smile: "So, don't blame my younger brother for being like this. We were all terrified of poverty; if he weren't fierce, the two of us would have been bullied to death long ago."

Sincerity is always the ultimate trump card; after Miss Hongxiu's display, many around cast sympathetic glances, and Miss Hongxiu also provided a very reasonable explanation for Ning Chen's excellent skills.

The woman did not expect this situation and was momentarily stunned.

"Phew, let's not dwell on it. By the way, why did you come here? I just heard that big brother's words; he seems not to lack money."

Miss Hongxiu subtly shifted the conversation to the woman and her group.

"Sigh, don't listen to his nonsense. His family is wealthy, but it has nothing to do with him; he has three older brothers above him. The share he gets is so small; it's better to seek other opportunities."

"Ah, I see. Oh, right, right, come to our place and eat something."

The woman did not expect Miss Hongxiu to invite them; she quickly waved her hands: "No, no, we actually brought our own food; you just eat."

After speaking, the woman returned to the man's side; after saying something unknown, the man glanced at Ning Chen and his group, took some fruits from the food they brought, and handed them over.

"I was truly sorry just now; consider these fruits as an apology."

The man did not wait for their agreement; he simply put them down and returned to the woman's side.

Each fruit looked large and red; they must be delicious.

Ning Chen did not stand on ceremony; he picked one up, wiped it carefully, and handed it to Gu Yanqi and Miss Hongxiu for them to eat.

Although the roasted meat was delicious, it was rather greasy; having fruit to cut the grease was just right.

Ning Chen did not expect Miss Hongxiu to weave such a good story; the image of the three of them suddenly became vivid and complete.

"Why is it so difficult?"

"Exactly."

"Really, they were almost ours just now; it's all your fault for scaring them suddenly."

"I didn't expect them to notice either."

Those who went out hunting returned, all cursing and empty-handed; it seemed hunting outside was not easy.

But this was normal; after all, this was a dense forest belonging to a sect, with high spiritual energy in the air; creatures in such a place certainly would not be easy to catch.

The few who just returned all looked at Ning Chen; he had already cleaned up everything they had eaten, yet many still coveted it, since in their view, with so much food, these three could not possibly finish it all.