"Junior brother seems a little tense. Why? Aren't you happy to share the night in the wilderness with this sister?" the female asked charmingly.
Just as Duncan prepared to reply, the female opened the cloak and showed her face completely. Seeing her beautiful face in the moonlight, Duncan was struck dumb. The words that were supposed to come out of his mouth came to a halt and his mind blanked.
The woman in front of him was truly a nation-toppling beauty. He had never seen someone who was as beautiful as her. Even the beauty he had seen in his master's arms while coming out of the cannibal cave couldn't hold a candle to this woman's beauty.
So, it was only natural that Duncan was dumbstruck by her beauty.
Her skin was milk-white and smooth without any blemishes. Her lips were full and lush. Just looking at her made an evil fire grow in Duncan's loins. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight with mischief. And her face was the most beautiful thing Duncan has seen in his entire life.
Duncan felt as if words couldn't do justice to describe her beauty.
Duncan almost felt as if he couldn't breathe at the moment. Her beauty was breathtaking and beyond words for him. It was the first time he came across such a woman. Just uncovering her face was enough for Duncan to get mesmerized.
As he sat there in a daze unable to extricate herself, a snort from the side broke his immersion in her beauty.
"Who do you think you are to ogle my senior sister like this? You puny ant, know your worth. Or else I will be forced to teach you a lesson in respect," the other cloaked figure said angrily causing Duncan to break his gaze and look at him.
Near the beautiful female was a handsome young man who was around his age. While Duncan was mesmerized by the woman's beauty, the young man had also shed the cloak of his face. He was currently looking at Duncan unhappily.
"Forgive me," Duncan apologized to the woman. "Your beauty truly made me speechless. I have never seen someone as beautiful as you."
The young man beside the woman let out a displeased snort.
"Ha ha ha… don't mind my junior brother. He is a bit protective of me," the young woman laughed easing the tension in the air.
"He has reason to be," Duncan smiled in reply and looked at the young man.
He could feel that the young man was stronger than his senior brother who gave him wine. And that too not by a small margin. He didn't know how such a young person could be that much stronger than his senior brother. But, this broadened his horizons further.
As for the woman before him, Duncan surmised that she should be stronger than the young man based on how subservient he has been towards her until now. After she had spoken, the young man hadn't made any sound. It was enough for Duncan to realize who was in charge of the duo.
"I have wine and meat. Unfortunately, I don't think it would appetizing for people like you. Forgive me, for I am but a poor person living in the wilderness at the moment," Duncan said smoothly trying to initiate a conversation.
He knew that these two people must have approached him for a reason. It would be better for him if the conversation maintained at least a feigned civility. If it came to blows, he wouldn't even last a second against this duo.
"Ah, junior brother must be working hard in the wilderness here. I admire your courage to venture into the wilderness in such a bold manner," the woman smiled.
"Yeah, if I was as weak as you, I wouldn't even step out of my house," the young man mumbled beside her causing her to shoot a look at him.
"Nah, I am just lost in the wilderness. One of my senior brothers played a prank on me and I am stuck here. I am searching for a fellow sect mate in this area so that they could show me the direction back to the sect," Duncan said candidly while laying out the smoked meat he had in his bag.
"You are lost?" the woman asked in surprise. "Your senior brother must be really cruel to play such a prank on you."
The woman's voice was laced with false sympathy that almost made Duncan roll his eyes. He had heard a similar tone from Bessa a lot when she tried to fleece off some unwary stranger. To hear the same tone from this woman was bewildering to him.
"Nah, it's fine. I deserved this. I was the one who first scammed a pot of wine from him. It was only natural that he retaliated. Unfortunately, I am lost in the wilderness. I am sure my senior brother didn't mean for this to happen," Duncan said shaking his head.
"Which sect are you from?" the young man asked rudely.
"I belong to the Heavenly Demon Sect," Duncan said guardedly gauging the reaction of these two people.
He knew of the rivalry between righteous sects and demonic sects in the cultivation world. If these two belonged to a righteous faction, then he might be doomed. The reason for Duncan announcing his affiliation despite that danger was the status of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
If the strength of the sect behind these two people wasn't higher than Heavenly Demon Sect, they might not do anything. After all, inviting retaliation for killing someone as weak as him would only be detrimental to them. And this region was under the Heavenly Demon Sect's power. So, they might think twice about harming him if that were the case.
When Duncan told them that he belonged to the Heavenly Demon Sect, surprise colored their faces. It was the young man who couldn't control himself and blurted out their thoughts first.
"Why would Heavenly Demon Sect recruit a weakling like you?" the young man said causing the woman to throw a sharp look at him.
The young man hung his head in shame but still looked up at Duncan from time to time. It was clear that while he felt chastised by the woman, he was also curious why the sect would recruit Duncan.
"Don't know for sure. My master gave me two options. Join the sect or die. I joined the sect as I like my head a bit much," Duncan chuckled causing the female to raise her eyebrow.
"Who is your master?"
"Liang Tianye, the Vice-Sect Master of Heavenly Demon Sect," Duncan replied nonchalantly. "I am his latest direct disciple."
The moment Duncan told his master's name the woman stiffened a little. Her expression became a little cautious as she looked at Duncan in a new light.
"You are lying!" the young man said heatedly.
"Why would I do so? Here, this is my sect token," Duncan fished his sect token from the bag and threw it to him.
The duo checked the token and a dignified look appeared on their faces.
"You are really the Wind Demon's new disciple, huh," the female said a little surprised.
"Wind Demon? Is that what others call him? He is a demon all right," Duncan mumbled to himself.
"You didn't even know your master's epithet? Which hole did you crawl out from?" the young man said displeasedly.
"I was just a spirit stone miner a few months ago," Duncan replied nonchalantly causing both their eyebrows to rise in surprise.
"Looks like you indeed are a talented young man, junior brother. To go from a mortal to being in the advanced stage of the Qi Gathering realm in a few months is indeed decent progress," the female praised Duncan to smooth things out.
"Passable," the young man grunted begrudgingly.
It was Duncan's turn to be surprised. Since he didn't mention it clearly to them, their assumption that he had used a few months to progress so far was only logical. What surprised Duncan was their evaluation of his progress. He wondered idly what their reaction would be if he told them he had only been cultivating for just over a month.
As much as he felt like rubbing it in the young man's face and showing off in front of the female, Duncan felt that it was unnecessary to divulge that information. Something about the woman made Duncan a little cautious.
"So, what brings a beautiful woman like you and your junior brother here into the wilderness? And don't tell me that you both are from my sect. I am not stupid" Duncan asked, hoping to get the conversation going.
"Junior brother seems intent on driving us away. Have we displeased you?" the female asked charmingly.
"Nah, it's not that. I have already offered you two my meat. And you both haven't touched it yet. So, it is clear that you aren't here for the meat. Then, there must be some other reason for you to approach me. I think it is better to discuss it openly," Duncan smiled in reply and bit into his meat looking at the duo.
"Where are your manners? Is this the way to talk to your betters?" the young man said angrily as he looked ready to reprimand Duncan once more.
"Weren't you listening? I was a spirit stone miner before and I am currently wandering in the wilderness. Manners are the last thing you should expect from me," Duncan said shaking his head. "I don't know flowery words like you. And I am not really the kind of person who beats around the bush. So, it is better if we discuss things openly."
"Junior brother's tongue was really flowery when he praised me earlier," the female said soothingly causing Duncan to turn and look at her. "Anyways, junior brother is right. We did come here to enquire about a person. As for the meat, I am afraid that I have better food in my ring. If junior brother isn't averse, we can chat while sharing the food."
"I am not one to turn down free food," Duncan smiled in return and packed his smoked meat with a wave of his hand. "And that too in the company of beautiful fairies like senior sister."
"Uncivilized bastard," the young man muttered angrily under his breath causing Duncan to smile at him in an infuriating manner.
Duncan had by now realized that this duo wouldn't trouble him much if he doesn't step over the line. They were obviously wary of his master and don't want his master's attention to turn towards them. So, he didn't have much to fear against this duo at present.
So, Duncan was being a little bold at the moment. But, it didn't mean he didn't have self-preservation instincts. He knew that if he didn't answer the woman to her satisfaction, then he would be in trouble.
As he wasn't planning on hiding anything, Duncan didn't mind having some food with a beauty in the moonlight while answering some questions. The fact that it infuriated the young man was only an added bonus.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
Make sure to add this book to your collection and vote with your power stones to show your appreciation for this work.
You can also check out my other book [Booking Glory] and see if it is to your liking.
Reviews and comments are truly appreciated.
Comments