Majid's eyes darkened, it was obvious the man knew who he was. Past the moment he suspects the Lao Ji recognized him, the latter started to interrogate him relentlessly. His chances were slim, to begin with. He let the man act first and it would be game over, i have to do it, he has no better way. Well there's that way, heh, he can get on his knees and ask for mercy, his last moment, I won't spend them in disgrace.

He knew this world was merciless, no it was the same everywhere, when it came to interests, people have no space for mercy. Convenience was the only consideration, and it was convenient to kill in this world, even he, himself, had that thought the moment he saw Teemao the first time, "heh!" a sarcastic smile escaped his mouth, it would have been convenient if he did.

He looked to his side, Teemao was collapsing, he could see a tear running down his cheek, he can't count on him, even if he was composed. He was really sorry that the boy got involved, but it wasn't in his intent. It was just their wrong fate. All he can do for him now was to create an opening, it's all up to him to seize it or not. If all fail, he would try to acquit the boy at least, deep in his heart he knew he was going nowhere.

Majid turned his eyes back to Lao Ji, the latter was looking back at him, the pressure he felt from his stare made him unable to breathe. That moment felt like an eternity, long, slow, before Lao Ji, at last, looked away, looked at Teamao again, pressuring him for an answer. Majid didn't hesitate anymore, he channeled Qi all over his body, most of the Qi gathered on his hands, his heart beat furiously, as his legs bend slowly like a spider preparing to pounce on its prey.

"LAO Jiiiiiiiii..!" Majid soul left him for a moment. A tall man in his late twenties, with a robust body, strode towards them. "Enough is enough, let's go!" Lao Bo eyes were twitching. On the other hand, Lao Ji's cheek, who was looking at them, blew. He fell to the ground and hugged his belly rolling around. "HAHA…!" Majid's face at that moment was contorted even worse that Teemao. Lao Ji looked at his fellow "H-heh h-heh… wait a second, hehe" He looked back at Majid, the latter eyes lost their life. Lao Ji stared at him for a while, smiled, then looked back at his fellow.

"Ok buddy let's go, I'm satisfied now!" Lao Ji's words felt like cold water it spread a surprising, unreasonable feeling, it froze their minds. After walking a dozen steps, Lao Ji stopped and looked back, "I'm looking forward to your exploits". Then he flashed away vanishing from his place. Absentmindedly, Majid could only see flashing shadows a few times before they disappeared completely from his view. They were even faster than Fiery.

And just like that Lao Ji was gone, like a tornado that changed its mind to another direction, leaving both of them in their ice shell, what the heck! his bubble popped after a while, was the system pranking him, letting him get carried away. He really believed that for a second. Sweat trickled on his forehead, as he remembered what he was about to do. F**k I almost killed myself, there was even another man as strong if not stronger than Lao Ji.

He couldn't make sense of what just happened. Majid knew for sure the man recognized him, why he let him go through, was a mystery. Was he toying with him, was he lurking in the shadows. But he felt relaxed when a ding sounded in his mind, though it gave him another scare it dismissed his worries. How this system of his knew; wasn't in his consideration.

[Congratulation, you completed the Quest]

[Survive the ordeal]

[Congratulation you received a free choice reward]

[Time limit 3 days]

Maybe this popup quests was a wrong idea, he started to regret his request. Though he knew the system got out of its way again, coming up with something displeasing, he wasn't in the right mind to argue, he needs to make sense of this situation.

"WHY!" Majid jerked again from his place at the sudden scream, it must be karma, I won't scare anybody again, I swear.

"Why you didn't just leave…" Teamoa eyes were red, moist, and even snot was bouncing. He ranted on and on, about the fact that he stayed even though he knew he was followed, why he has to associate him with Xiaode, and how all his efforts were wasted as he can't go back to the clan anymore. He continued until his breaths run out. Majid let him be, he knew how much the boy must have suffered, and how much his actions might have looked unreasonable in his eyes. He admired the boy though, he didn't betray him even though they didn't have strong bonds. And he was collected considering his age. Though he showed his emotions to some extent, he persisted till the end, he didn't try to switch sides from the pressure.

Majid waited until he was ready to listen, he then explained what had happened. That he was exposed, "it would have been more suspicious if I escaped..." and how he knew for sure the man didn't know him, and that's why he tried to play it safe as a casual fellow disciples meeting.

"Yeah, he didn't know you, so I can go back to the clan, right!" Teemao wasn't thinking straight, he clung on this false hope.

"Actually, you can't go back anymore," Majid shattered his respite, "rather it would be risky". He waited for the boy to collect himself before he said, "for some reason, that man Lao Ji was able to recognize me and still let me go". Teemao face looked like he heard a court sentence to death.

"You and I somehow ended up sharing the same fate," Majid interrupted his drowning mood, "I have some responsibility in your plight" Teemao looked up at him, "Do you want to join me?" He let his words resonate with the boy before he poured his mind in one go. "I will help you cultivate, share with you the clan's core disciples techniques. I have some plans in hand for the future. If you decided to join me I can share them with you, and we can discuss our next steps together."

Teemao fell silent, sank deep into his thoughts, all his life rolled in front of his eyes. He was an orphan like a lot of outer disciples, the clan was their only way of survival. Though his prospects with the clan weren't great, there was no better choice. The clan didn't force them to stay, but they motivated them with hope. Those who worked hard could upgrade into an inner disciple. Even if he wanted to leave he was weak, he wouldn't be able to cross the beast forest to other cities. And it was useless anyway, he couldn't satisfy their clan's low standards, there was no way he would make it to higher clans.

He does his homework, herb gathering was the way for him. He was passionate about alchemy and adventures. He could make some medicines to help his cultivation, and luck might smile at him sometimes, he would stumble upon rare plants or treasures. He couldn't dream about spirit stones, it was so costly that it took 3 months of his work to get one. Inner disciple, on the other hand, enjoys 3 of these each month, enticing the outer disciples to work harder.

He learned medicine for years and trained tirelessly with the ingredients he gathered from the forest. He found himself a side job along the way, he sold his medicinal products to the commoners. When his skills grew enough, he started to make cultivation potions. He looked for the ingredients he can by himself, he bought the rest from the market and the clan with his contribution points. His heart bled at the wasted materials with each failure, but he persisted until he succeeded.

He caught up with the other disciples who concentrated on cultivation, His effort paid off, his medicines were effective. But he wasn't able to make it to the inner circle no matter how hard he tried. It just took a lot of his time to gather the ingredients, especially the contribution points. His monthly wage is spent on one batch of the spiritual herbs, and it took but a few days to consume them. There was no age limit to enter the inner circle, the clan let the hope always present. Their standards grew harsher though, the hope was like a beautiful star, your hands can never reach.

He rose his head after his deep reflection, he stared at Majid, he seemed like a trustworthy person, after all, the young master doesn't need him, he was stronger, smarter, he would only drag him down. That could only mean the young master has his best interest in mind inviting him. Even though this young master was the cause of his problems and it was dangerous to stick with him, he can't survive alone anyway, he can't even make it to the next city alive. If they could survive this ordeal maybe he could achieve his dreams. He was not satisfied to remain an outer disciple with no hope, he wasn't keen on keep being enslaved, and even his life was at stake now, he can't go back, No, I won't go back. his dreams were wide in this vast world, adventuring and looking for rare medicinal herbs, treasures and grow stronger.

Teemao looked up at Majid for a while, then he raised his hand in front of him, the latter shook his hand immediately, "let's leave here first". He was about to move when he looked back at Teemao, "Make sure you leave no trace behind". They rushed away, Majid didn't hesitate to point out some of his fellow's mistakes, boasting his minor experience.

Majid checked time as they moved, it was 12:27 AM the whole situation from when he was discovered till now, didn't even take 20 min, but it felt like years that his hair turned white. The trees concentration lowered, a clearing appeared behind, and a rocky range welcomed them at the end. Majid sat near a tree at the edge of the clearing, facing the rocky hill.

"Don't you feel like there something suspicious about here?" Majid asked squinting his eyes at the hill. Teemao took a few looks around then shook his head. Majid started to look around the hill, so Teemao joined him. Stealthy, Majid kept an eye on him.

"I think there's something behind this!" Teemao's eyes twinkled "Could there a treasure inside!" he was restless fidgeting around. "Calm down this... this my hideout" Majid smiled awkwardly seeing the boy enthusiasm, "I just wanted to see if it was safe". Teemao stopped like a robot that lost its power.

Majid pulled the boulder to the entrance, Teemao enthusiasm came back, he was amazed. Well, this secret hideout and staff never fail to amaze kids, even at his age he was excited about his secret base. But when Teemao saw the spirit source his eyes shot out. It looks like a spirit source was one of the highest cultivation resources. Though the grade its grade was low, it was still superior for body tempering cultivators.

Teemao calmed down when he saw Fiery, he followed Majid like his shadow, he didn't notice before, but maybe this fellow hurried departure last time, was because of her. It wasn't surprising for a boy of this world to know of her strength. The foxes on their side didn't mind him, so it doesn't take him long to gather his courage, he tiptoed his way to the spirit source, he was so thirsty for this haven of cultivation. Majid left him alone a found himself a quiet corner.

Majid hid the worries in his heart, he didn't want to burden the boy. Inside he was heartbroken, he has to consider leaving his safe haven. These 4 months proven to be endless, he thoughts it would pass in a jiffy like his days in his past life, but fate has its own say on the matter.

He was conflicted about that guy Lao Ji, why did he involve himself in this only to let him go. He was from a tired party was the only reasonable explanation, but a party associated with the enemy. So he wasn't about to believe that was the end of it, he might not act himself for god knows what reason, but he might tell the others.

Now that his cover was over, it was just a matter of time. His hideout wasn't too far from that place, if they started their search from there, they would stumble upon this cave eventually, he wasn't about to have fate in his hidden skills. Thought his little experiment with Teemao proved that his hideout was safe to some extent, but it proved also that it could be found. It was too dangerous to stay here. He deliberated his options for a long time, again and again, considering all possibilities before he stood up, he was firm, found his answer and made up his mind.