Lu Zheng sat in a cautious position, ready to escape and run away. At the same time, he was scrutinizing the beautiful girl.

  The beautiful girl possessed an unnatural beauty, enough to rage every man with her lust. He would not be surprised if the elder in front of her was her relative.

  If not… he would not be surprised she would still be a virgin.

  However, the way her aura exuded, she was definitely the epitome of purity, innocence, and also…

  “Stop staring at me with those eyes, you peasant!”

  Arrogance.

  Nevertheless, Lu Zheng was not able to retort her words. Her dress seemed to already convey it could not be found at any parts of the White Tiger Territory.

  Hell, it might only be found in the Central Plain.

  After all, Lu Zheng noticed that her dress, revealing some part of her skin aside from her limbs, was not tainted by the soil even when it rested on the ground.

  It was untouchable, like her…

  Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes. He said in his mind, “Ravyn, they might come from the Central Plain. Can you assess their power?”

  Ravyn remained silent.

  Even when Lu Zheng waited for dozens of seconds, he did not receive any response from Ravyn at all.

  He frowned even more. He began to form his own speculation, as a result.

  He thought. Are they that powerful that even make Ravyn not want to talk with me as it might reveal his presence?

  “Did you just think I was scared?” Ravyn’s voice echoed inside his head, seemingly even growling.

  Lu Zheng trembled. Chills ran down his spine. He was genuinely scared, not only by his questions but especially his tone.

  Lu Zheng hastily shook his head, even in reality, to deny what he was thinking earlier.

  He said in his mind, almost shouting, “Definitely not! I’m sorry for thinking that way.”

  “Hump!” Ravyn snorted.

  “What are you thinking, peasant?” The beautiful girl called him again.

  Lu Zheng woke up in reality and gazed at her. This time, his oceanic eyes reflected cautiousness and even hostility.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The beautiful girl was surprised. She glanced at the elder in front of her and said, “Will you look at that, Elder Ming? Earlier, he was mesmerized by my beauty, and now, he was baring his fangs towards me. Isn’t he interesting?”

  “Hmm?” Elder Ming hummed in surprise. He hastily turned around and saw Lu Zheng indeed staring at them with hostility and cautiousness.

  He stroked his beard and said, “Interesting, kid. He easily escapes your charm. At the same time, he is cautious…”

  Elder furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Kid. You possess a strange aura. Well… forget about it. Anyway, you can tell you can’t defeat us, right? Unlike that white tiger cub?”

  ‘White tiger cub…’ Lu Zheng was lost for words.

  At this moment, he understood that they were indeed more powerful, way way powerful than any cultivator he encountered. Of course, that included his father.

  Lu Zheng nodded. He had to respond to them, at least, or he might only incur their wrath. That was the least he wanted to happen.

  Elder Ming stroked his beard while his face was filled with interest.

  He turned around and glanced at the beautiful girl and said, “Xia, you should let him be your sparring partner for now. Or even become your rival.”

  “Him?”

  Xia was taken aback. She scrutinized Lu Zheng and seeing him, staring at her as though she was about to eat him, frustrated her even more.

  She immediately replied, “He’s too rude! Look at the way he is staring at me. Will you not consider it more Elder Ming?”

  Elder Ming shook his head and chuckled. “I will not. Don’t you find it boring lately you haven’t found a friend outside the Central Plain, right?

  I mean, did you even have friends back in the clan?”

  Xia growled in frustration. She crossed her arms and pouted.

  She said in a soft voice, “Aren’t you my friend, Elder Ming?”

  Elder Ming immediately bursted into a hoot of laughter. Xia pouted even more, seeing his reaction.

  He said after laughing for a while, “What I mean is a friend at your age. I’ll die soon and in that time, you might not even be half your age. Really. You need a friend of your age, so you’ll be able to live the life of the youth to the fullest.

  To be honest, I am more of your Grandfather than your friend. If you keep treating me like your friends, even your Grandmother, you might act like an elder.”

  Xia immediately replied, “If he is my rival, then we can’t be friends. I don’t want to be friends with him, either. Look at him, can he even understand my position? I am the princess of the Yuehualin Clan. Is he even aware of our clan?”

  “Darling, Xia.” Elder Ming shook his head and smiled. “You are misunderstanding something. You can be friends with anyone as long as you two get along with each other. I have a friend before, he came from this continent, too. Unfortunately, he died early because he was weak.

  However, I still considered him as a friend. My memories might be blurry because of old age, I still remember him.”

  He then pointed at the left side of his chest and continued, “Here.”

  Xia frowned. She could not comprehend his words.

  Elder Ming simply smiled and said, “People will respect you—by your position, reputation, and what you are. But not a single one of them has understood you, truly so. Only a friend does.

  Trust me, being understood by someone, especially at your age, is one of the most impactful moments that will occur in your life.”

  Xia tilted her head. She was on the brink of crying.

  She lowered her head and asked in a soft tone, “Don’t you understand me, Elder Ming?”

  Elder Ming bursted into a hoot of laughter again.

  He replied, “Of course, I do. But it’s my responsibility to do so, since you are my Grand daughter before we are even friends.

  What I am trying to imply is to befriend someone, a stranger, who doesn't know a thing about you. Who doesn't have to… He simply comes to know you—perhaps, by accident or more.”

  He smiled.

  Xia glanced at him and it was the first time she saw Elder Ming smile so brightly.