“You're Overthinking”

The brother and sister who had just climbed out of the river appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. The boy had an ordinary appearance with nothing particularly outstanding, while the girl was adorable and had mesmerizing eyes.

But at this moment, Shi Feiyu's gaze was not fixed on the girl's face. Instead, it was firmly locked onto the girl's chest, as if he were a real pervert.

Due to just emerging from the river, the girl's clothes were soaked, revealing her curvaceous figure in all its glory. Coupled with her innocent appearance, it was difficult for anyone to maintain self-control.

The girl also noticed that his expression was a bit off, and she quickly hid behind her brother, glaring at him in annoyance but refraining from uttering any insults.

The young man standing in front hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "Young friend, my sister and I have been lost in the vicinity for over half a month. Can you please tell us the way to Nine Palace Mountain?"

This grassland was covered in dense weeds, where it was easy for people to get lost. However, the strengths of these two people on the opposite side were not to be underestimated.

Shi Feiyu had only glanced at them but was able to assess their cultivation levels. The boy was probably at the early stage of the Qi-Infused Realm, and the girl was at the later stage of the Bone Forging Realm, slightly inferior to her brother.

Seeing that Shi Feiyu was merely sizing them up without speaking, the young man on the opposite side had to cough and continue, "I am Shen Zifeng, and this is my younger sister, Shen Ziyi. We heard of the reputation of Nine Palace Mountain and came here to seek guidance."

Upon hearing the topic of seeking guidance, Shi Feiyu had a plan in mind. He feigned a sudden realization, nodded, and withdrew his gaze from the brother and sister, saying, "Nine Palace Mountain has nine peaks, each unique. Do you have a specific peak in mind?"

As he expected, the brother and sister looked troubled upon hearing this question, unsure of what to do. Shen Zifeng hesitated for a moment before asking, "Young friend, which peak are you from?"

When asked this, Shi Feiyu felt a little embarrassed. Of the nine peaks of Nine Palace Mountain, Flowing Cloud Peak was unique because it had only him and Senior Brother Zhou as disciples.

At this point, Shen Ziyi, who had been hiding behind her brother, suddenly saw the mythical beast, the blue wolf, which had long been dead. She exclaimed, "A first-grade mythical beast?"

Shen Zifeng also looked surprised at this moment and, when he looked at Shi Feiyu again, he seemed a bit more cautious. Just then, the grass by the river suddenly rustled, and a spiritual monkey leaped out.

This spiritual monkey was swift, and with just a flash, it squatted on Shi Feiyu's shoulder, chattering at the brother and sister. Its noises made Shi Feiyu frown, and he plucked it from his shoulder.

"The blue wolf is known among first-grade mythical beasts for its speed. Prey targeted by it seldom escape. You're indeed a disciple of Nine Palace Mountain!" Shen Zifeng did not pay attention to the spiritual monkey and instead approached with a smile, examining the blue wolf's corpse. However, after a careful inspection, he found no wounds on the blue wolf's body. It appeared as if the flesh and blood beneath its skin had disappeared.

This unusual appearance puzzled him. When he was about to ask, Shi Feiyu kicked the blue wolf's corpse into the river and said with a smile, "I found it on the way. I don't have the ability to hunt it."

The fur of mythical beasts was valuable. Although it was a bit of a pity, it was worth it to hide the Divine Fiend Incarnation Skill. If the brother and sister before him discovered that the flesh and blood spiritual core in the blue wolf's body was completely gone, it would certainly raise suspicions.

Seeing that he had carelessly discarded the blue wolf's corpse, Shen Zifeng felt a sense of loss but didn't say much. Instead, he smiled and said, "May I ask when you'll return to the mountain, young friend? We might be able to accompany each other on the journey, helping each other out along the way."

"Yes, indeed. We've been staying in the vicinity for several days and have often been attacked by wild beasts. We haven't been able to rest properly for over half a month!"

Shen Ziyi, still hiding behind her brother, hurriedly nodded and urged, "Please take us to Nine Palace Mountain. I'll give you all the Criscoins I have on me!"

Criscoins were the most basic currency of the God's Wrath Land. On top of this, there was a more valuable currency called Sourcecoins. In the black market, one Sourcecoin could be traded for two hundred Criscoins, illustrating its rarity.

Nine Palace Mountain's disciples needed Criscoins to obtain the sect's elixirs, and this was why mythical beasts had almost disappeared within a few hundred miles.

In recent years, Shi Feiyu had been unable to draw Natural Source Qi into his body, which meant he could only hunt ordinary wild animals. Encountering a first-grade mythical beast like today was unprecedented for him.

His three-year stint as a general laborer on Flowing Cloud Peak had left him penniless. Now, when he heard the girl before him mention offering Criscoins as a reward, it did stir his interest momentarily.

However, he quickly dismissed the thought. In order to focus on his future cultivation, he had to let it go for now.

Deciding to deceive the brother and sister into going up the mountain, Shi Feiyu cleared his throat and pretended to be profound, saying, "No need to rush. Let me find some game, and I will naturally take you back to the mountain."

Hearing him say this, the brother and sister were somewhat disappointed, but given their current situation, they had to go along with his plan.

After resting by the river for a while, Shen Zifeng, suddenly volunteered to pick up the three-tailed python left on the side and offered to cook a delicious meal with it.

However, watching his skinning and cleaning process, Shi Feiyu shook his head slightly.

Before the campfire was lit, Shen Ziyi approached Shi Feiyu and, with her innocent eyes, asked, "Can you tell us about the difference in the peaks of Nine Palace Mountain?"

From their behavior and speech, it was evident that the brother and sister were not locals, but Shi Feiyu was not too concerned about it. He casually shared some rumors about Nine Palace Mountain.

But when Shen Ziyi heard that only the Callous Peak of the Nine Palace Mountain would recruit female disciples, she seemed troubled and bit her lip. She then turned her gaze to her brother, appearing helpless.

Shen Zifeng also wore a troubled expression because Shi Feiyu had informed them that once they entered Callous Peak, they would be cut off from romantic relationships and couldn't leave the mountain to get married. Although this sounded somewhat arbitrary, Shi Feiyu held no affection for Callous Peak's Leader, Murong Lan.

Even though he had remained at Flowing Cloud Peak and never met her, Shi Feiyu had heard plenty of complaints from Mengyu about her. He could tell that this old lady wasn't a good person.

"Brother, why don't you go by yourself? I'll return!" After hesitating for a moment, Shen Ziyi teared up and spoke these words, then stood up angrily as if to leave. However, Shen Zifeng quickly blocked her path and sighed, saying, "Wait a bit longer; perhaps we have another way!"

"What other way could there be? Unless..." However, Shi Feiyu took the opportunity to scoff and said with disdain, "Unless you turn into a man!"

Before his sentence had even finished, Shen Ziyi glared fiercely at him and snapped, "You're laughing? Do you know how much hardship we endured to get here?"

Seeing that she was genuinely angry, Shi Feiyu stopped teasing her and, with a sigh, said, "Actually, there might be another way, but I'm not very sure about it."

When Shen Ziyi heard this, she no longer cared about anything else and eagerly inquired. However, Shi Feiyu looked hesitant for a while before speaking, "You can join the Flowing Cloud Peak."

This brother and sister pair appeared to be quite inexperienced and were easily led by Shi Feiyu. While Shen Zifeng felt something was amiss, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Shen Ziyi was even more naive and, hearing his reluctant tone, she wholeheartedly believed him, nodding vigorously and saying, "Alright, as long as I'm not joining Callous Peak and can become a disciple of Nine Palace Mountain, it doesn't matter which peak I end up on."

Seeing her eagerness to become a Nine Palace Mountain disciple, Shi Feiyu was taken aback and narrowed his eyes. Shen Zifeng noticed his unusual expression and quickly explained, "Young friend, please don't misunderstand; we're just..."

"Never mind, I'm not interested in your affairs."

However, Shi Feiyu suddenly changed his mind, no longer pursuing the reasons behind their visit. He stood up and started the campfire, roasting the three-tailed python.

Soon, a tempting aroma wafted through the air. Meanwhile, the brother and sister were sitting by the campfire, appearing to be famished after a long time of hunger, and now they felt even more ravenous.

As soon as a piece of python meat was roasted, before Shi Feiyu could offer it, the girl sitting nearby grabbed it. However, just as she was about to take a bite, she suddenly looked at her brother and hastily passed it to him. "Brother, you go first!"

Seeing his sister's thoughtfulness, Shen Zifeng was filled with gratitude and shook his head. "No need, you eat first, and I'll wait a while!"

Just as Shi Feiyu was feeling somewhat moved by the brother-sister bond between the two, Shen Ziyi's words froze his expression instantly. She said, "Brother, you're overthinking it. I'm just afraid this snake might be poisonous, that's why I let you try it first."

Shen Zifeng's mouth twitched slightly, but he didn't say much. He took a light bite from the cooked python meat and then tearfully handed it back.

This time, Shen Ziyi didn't speak further. She took a few bites herself but kept glancing at her brother, as if she was observing for signs of poisoning.

Shi Feiyu found her behavior quite amusing--a girl who appeared cute but also played clever tricks. There was enough python meat for them to share. After half an hour, they all stood up and extinguished the campfire together.

Shen Zifeng used his sleeve to wipe away the greasy residue from his mouth and asked, "I wonder, young friend..."

However, whenever Shi Feiyu heard him address him that way, it felt somewhat awkward. He quickly interrupted, saying, "My last name is Shi, and my first name is Feiyu. You can call me Senior Brother Feiyu."

"But you look so..." Shen Ziyi appeared troubled.

Shi Feiyu didn't pay much attention to this and turned away. He gestured to the mischievous little monkey and said, "Little hooligan, let's go!"

Hearing his tone, Shen Ziyi was about to apologize but then heard a hearty laughter from ahead. "God's Wrath Land respects strength, and the same goes for Nine Palace Mountain. If you don't want to call me senior brother, that's fine, as long as you can defeat me!"

The laughter didn't carry any hint of displeasure, and both Shen siblings breathed a sigh of relief. Shen Ziyi even took the opportunity to pull a funny face at his back and then sneakily caught up with him, planning to launch a sneak attack.

However, just as she was about to make her move, Shen Zifeng, who was closely following her, suddenly shouted, "Little sister, be careful!"

Before she could react, a stone hit Shen Ziyi on the forehead. The monkey perched on Shi Feiyu's shoulder cackled loudly, clearly mocking her.