030: Fei Clan's Search Party

"Should I put out the fire?" Hui Ying was cautious.

"No, it's already too late for that."

The moment he saw Ming and Yin's horses, Arthur's mind raced.  'They'd be suspicious if they saw four horses in this cave!'  [Spiritual Domain] can only be entered by tamed Beasts, whereas spatial rings cannot store living things.  Arthur had no other choice.

Arthur opened the portal into his [Spiritual Domain]. "Skoll, Hati. Kill these horses and  get inside. Wait for my command."

The wolves were so clever, they didn't need any explanation to understand what's going on.

They bite the horses by their neck, and enter the portal quietly. Xiaoqing was also alerted, she was ready to spray her venom whenever it might be needed.

Arthur quickly put horse carcass inside his—new acquired—spatial ring as well as his other precious belongings. He also didn't forget about the heavenly artifact.

Running out the cave wasn't an option either since the sandstorm had already arrived in the vicinity, battering the valley with a deadly whirlwind.

On the other hand, Hui Ying blanketed the two unconscious younglings with a sheet of cloth that she took from the horse's satchel.

With her crafty magic, she used that sheet of cloth as a camouflage, to cover their body and made them look like the cave's uneven floor for the naked eyes.

Lastly, she changed Arthur's and her hair color to black. She took a serious precaution to keep confidentiality of their identities.

The two were on the qui vive, ready to launch an attack if they needed to do so.

Before long, the swishing sound from the sandstorm outside the cave was soon replaced by the galloping hooves.

A moment later, a dozen silhouettes of men riding fully equipped warhorses appeared at the cave's mouth.

"Who's there!" Arthur shouted aloud.

Soon, the commander of the cavalry dismounted from his horse. He was stout and tall, wearing a fancy tunic robe. His face was fully covered with a piece of cloth due to the unyielding sandstorm.

"Greetings fellow travelers! My name is Fei Yuan, an Elder of the Fei Clan. We have sought a place to take refuge from this relentless weather and this place is the only suitable shelter by far. Would you mind sharing some of the space with us?"

Arthur and Hui Ying looked at each other and took a glance at the two younglings who had been covered by camouflage.

"I have a bad feeling about this man, master." Hui Ying whispered in his ear as she sensed an unsettling presence from Fei Yuan.

"We might have an advantage from this situation if we play our cards accordingly." Arthur replied in a low voice.

Hui Ying nodded in agreement.

"You may come in!" Arthur gave his permission.

Fei Yuan raised his hand, giving an order to his henchmen to dismount from the horses.

As soon as Fei Yuan and his lackeys entered the cave, they were stunned by Hui Ying's unparalleled beauty.

Although their faces were covered by cloth, they couldn't hide their lecherous intent on their eyes.

"My name is Ya Se. It's an honor to meet a venerable martial master like yourself. Master Fei Yuan."

"Eh… pardon our intrusion. It seems like that we'd disturbed your time together. But… we don't have any choice either, right?"

Arthur stepped in front of Hui Ying to hide her behind his back. "We don't mind. Please… make yourself comfortable. This is no man's cave, after all." Arthur welcomed them with a warm smile.

Fei Yuan sat on the ground, he put off his face cover and opened a gourd of liquor while ordering around his henchmen to prepare his private tent.

Arthur went back to his own bonfire and poured three cups of herb tea made by Hui Ying.

"Master Fei Yuan, was it? How about joining us and having a cup of tea? It must be so cold outside." Arthur invited Fei Yuan to come closer by the fire.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I am fine with my wine. However… I can't refuse your invitation."

Fei Yuan came closer and sat by the bonfire. His grayish hair shows how old he was. This stern-faced man was in his mid-fifties. But that alone couldn't tell how old he really was.

As an orthodox cultivator, Fei Yuan might already be over a hundred years old and well-seasoned warrior at that.

"If you say so. Then I won't insist any further." Arthur sipped his tea to show Fei Yuan that the tea wasn't laced with poison.

"It's quite rare to meet a young cultivator in this region, not to mention a young couple amidst this wilderness. For training your skill I suppose?" asked Fei Yuan, it sounded so simple and yet so cunning at the same time.

The game of wits just yet started, Arthur was aware that Fei Yuan put a suspicion upon him.

'This man is not a simple, brute-brained person.' Arthur murmured to himself.

"Yes, we just finished our training and planned to get home. But as you can see, the weather is just so horrendous. How about yourself, If I dare to ask?"

Fei Yuan drank the liquor from his gourd before answering the question, he is clearly being rude in front of Arthur.

"We are in search of a person who stole this very important heirloom of my clan. two young disciples, one is male and the other is female." Fei Yuan let out a long sigh. "However, we lost track of them due to this weather."

"Hmm, that must be quite troublesome. Do you have any leads?"

Fei Yuan's story contradicted the young couple's story. However, it wasn't Arthur's concern anymore which one telling the truth since he already had what he needed.

He decided to follow along, and keep pretending as if he doesn't know anything.

"Not really… But I know that these two kids were accompanied by a silver-haired young man and a woman with the same hair color."

"But there's no person in Eastaros has silvery hair, unless they were already really-really old!" Arthur pretended as an innocent civilian.

"That's the case… But I also hear a rumor circulating in Sparrow City. There is this elusive person, called the White Demon. From what I heard, this man already killed a couple of city's guard and annihilated the Mountain Tiger Bandits by himself!"

"All in all, you suspected that this 'White Demon' was in cahoot with the person that stole the heirloom of your clan?"

"Precisely!"

"Killing each other because of a small dispute is one thing. But killing the city's guard might have insulted the Holy Church itself." Arthur rubbed his chin. "I have a hunch that somebody is pulling the strings behind all of this mess."

"No one knows."

"However, I doubt that this 'White Demon' will survive the wilderness. I heard there was a beast stampede, a company of Holy Knight was annihilated along with the commander."

As they chattering over the bonfire, Fei Yuan's henchmen notified him that his tent was ready.

"Elder Fei Yuan, your sleeping quarter is ready." His Lieutenant approached, he bowed politely as he cupped his fists together.

"Eh, It's getting late after all. My old bones seem like they are about to fall off if I stay a bit longer. Good night to both of you."

"Likewise…"

Before Fei Yuan entered his tent, he whispered something to his right-hand man. The look of a benign middle-aged man was no longer visible.

Even if it was brief, Arthur caught this man's true nature. From the eyes alone, Arthur was aware that Fei Yuan was indeed a  vicious and merciless person.

"Hui Ying." Arthur called with a low voice.

"Yes, master?"

"I will cultivate myself inside my [Spiritual Domain] or I won't stand a chance against them. Don't let your guard down, I will be back very soon."

"Understood. I won't make the same mistake twice, master."