Chapter 3

On the outskirts of Azure Lake town, Feng Lin and Feng Xiao arrived at the gathering spot. Although Feng Xiao tried to initiate a conversation during the trip there he was ignored.

'I will have to somehow make it up to her during the trip..' Feng Xiao sighed

"Let's go" Feng Lin finally said and headed in the direction where a group of about 10 young people was gathered.

When someone wants to go into the spiritual garden, he has to go with a group of at least 4 others. Among the members gathered were some young talents of the main branch of the Feng family as well as some from the branch family. As the young miss of the family, Feng Lin was practically forced to go along with this amount of people for safety.

Apart from this group of 10 were many other groups of youngsters willing to try their luck and enter the garden.

When both of them entered the sight of the Feng family members, the latter looked at them with disgust. This, of course, was due to Feng Xiao being there, it was already well known to both the main Feng family as well as its branches who Feng Xiao was and his situation due to his closeness with the young miss.

"Miss Lin why did you bring this trash with you!?"

The one who said these words was a girl with a petite figure being only around 150cm tall, she had jet-black hair which reached her waist and large brown eyes. One could easily mistake her for a 12-13-year-old girl due to her small stature if it wasn't for her other physical features, in particular her bust which although not that big stood out due to her height.

"Mei choose your words carefully" Feng Lin said as she glared at the girl.

Not expecting this kind of response Feng Mei lightly shuddered and lowered her head.

Feng Mei is the granddaughter of one of the family's elders as well as Feng Lins' cousin, her relationship with her cousin could be said to be amicable which is why it was somewhat unexpected for her to hear that kind of tone from her cousin.

Hearing their words Feng Xiao didn't have any kind of visible reaction on his face. He was long used to this kind of treatment from the higher-ups of the family. He and Feng Mei used to be friends during their childhood, they would often play hide and seek along with Feng Lin as well as other games that children their age usually enjoyed. Looking back to those times, Feng Xiao believed that she actually had a childhood crush on him back then and would often ask him to marry her when they grow up, eliciting jealous shouts from Feng Lin.

This behavior switched shortly after the news of him being unable to cultivate, which made Feng Xiao think. 'Is power really that important to everyone?' Her switch in attitude towards him seemed unnatural in hindsight, however, Feng Xiaos' eight-year-old mind correlated her change in behavior with him being unworthy to interact with her due to lack of strength.

Thinking of that, Feng Xiao sighed inwardly and bowed slightly to the group as a greeting, receiving nothing but glares or being completely ignored.

"When are we going inside?"

" Miss Lin the elders said that the barrier should open in about 5 minutes, we were worried that you wouldn't be able to make it." Said a male member of the Feng family

Feng Lin nodded

"Alright, now that everyone is gathered I will repeat our plans once again. We will be staying mainly in the outer layer to look for spiritual beads and other spiritual herbs. During the last 2 days we will head to the edge between the outer and inner layers of the garden. Is everything clear?

"Miss Lin, how will our gains be divided? Do we keep what we find?"

"No, by the end of the week everything we have will be divided equally between the members of our group"

As Feng Lin said those words many of the members couldn't help but frown.

When Feng Xiao saw that he smirked and before anyone could comment he said.

"Miss Lin I don't believe that it would be fair for all of the members of our team if we divide the resources equally. I lack cultivation so I should not leech off of you, please let me keep only what I am able to get through my own efforts"

The answer seemed to satisfy those in the group. Feng Lin looked at him with a complicated expression and sight.

"If that's what you want to do then fine. Oh and another thing that I forgot to mention, we will be traveling as a group, no one is allowed to go anywhere by themselves and must be accompanied by at least two other people."

Hearing that Feng Xiao's face twitched as Feng Lin was looking at him with a sharp gaze. 'Does she really trust me so little?' After thinking that, he couldn't blame her as he was in fact going to escape from the group to enter the core of the garden.

Once everything was said, they all waited for the barrier to open. The barrier itself looked like a massive translucent film that formed a semi-sphere around the garden with a height of around 70 meters. Although it looked like one could easily walk through the reality was different, the barrier was indestructible, and could withstand even the strongest attacks of the Feng clan members.

A couple of years back, Feng Xiao tried studying the barrier himself to find out how it was formed and if it was some kind of formation to further his knowledge. Of course, he could not find anything of note which was to be expected.

______

A person entered an eastern-style villa in the Feng clan courtyard. This was the lackey sent by Feng Fan, Mao.

Upon entering Mao shivered due to the increase in pressure upon entering the building, he felt as if somebody was squeezing his brain. Although it made him really uncomfortable he quickly straightened his expression as he did not dare show any kind of displeasure to the owner of the villa.

He knew perfectly well that lady Muyun had the authority to kill him without anyone asking her for an explanation. After all, she was the wife of the current patriarch of the Feng family.

After clearing his mind Mao noticed that in front of him was a beautiful girl with black hair and black eyes staring at him expressionlessly, upon looking down from her face he noticed that she was wearing a maid uniform so he slightly bowed and said

"Good morning, I am here to inform lady Muyun of an important matter"

"Okay wait here" The maid said as she turned around and walked to a big door located at the back of the room.

Mao suppressed the urge to check out the backside of the maid, as although she was not the cause of the intense spiritual pressure he knew that she was much more powerful than him.

After waiting for a couple of minutes the door opened and the main signaled him to go inside. Inside sat a woman with golden hair cascading all the way down to her waist, her golden eyes had allure that most men would be able to resist. Her wide hips and sizeable bust completed her appearance as a top tier beauty in Azure Lake City and probably the whole region.

Upon seeing her Mao froze, his lustful nature taking over, it took all his willpower to close his eyes and bow deeply.

"Miss Muyun, I am here on behalf of senior disciple Feng Fan to inform you about the young miss" Mao said with a slightly trembling voice.

"Go on"

Mao cleared his throat and proceeded to recount the events that happened in front of Feng Xiao's house.

Muyun listened to what he said without interrupting him and after he finished she remained silent for what felt like several minutes.

"You have my permission to dispose of him, make sure you make it look like an accident if Lin figures it out it would be a pain to deal with" Muyun said in an authoritative and cold tone. "You can leave"

Mao nodded and proceeded to walk out at a brisk pace not willing to stay in the villa any longer than he had to.

After Mao left the villa Muyun ordered the maid to bring her some tea.

'I can't let that girl be tainted, if she ends up sleeping with that boy her only value will be gone and these past years would have been spent in vain...' Muyun grimaced 'I will have to also get rid of these lustful dogs like Feng Fan and his little followers before they do something stupid'