116 Little Tribe Chief (1/2)
”Senior, we are on our way to the center of the continent,” Xue Wei answered with a slight smile on his face. Hei Gou was still alert; his body was straight like a rod, and his eyes kept darting from side to side.
What caused him to be this scared was the five old men in front of him. They were clearly much stronger than both he and Xue Wei, so strong that he was completely incapable of sensing the depth of their strength.
Since their strength was this immeasurable, it was clear the two of them would have been dead right now if it was what they wanted.
Xue Wei, on the other hand, was extremely relaxed. He had a feeling that these men would not do anything to him. Since that was the case, why be nervous?
The old man that was referred to as Elder Zhang had a good impression of Xue Wei in his heart. To think that a man like him had appeared was truly something that he was astonished by. This young man was carefree and casual in front of someone who could take his life with but a slap of their hands.
This required incredible willpower and determination. But it also required a certain amount of confidence and a daring personality.
In this regard, Xue Wei was already better than most of the experts in his tribe, as most of them would shiver in fear whenever they were close to him.
Even now, the young woman who was sitting next to Hei Gou looked at this elder Zhang with a reverent expression and slight fear in her eyes.
Xue Wei did not answer all of Elder Zhang's questions, and he in fact only answered the one regarding their journey by elegantly and stealthily disregarding the rest of them.
”To think that you two young men are going to the center of the continent at such an age and with such a strength,” he said with a nod of his head. ”That is suicidal,” he added.
”Since you came from the Kingdom of Heping, you can be considered to be great geniuses. However, the moment you enter a larger stage, you will realize that you were in fact just frogs at the bottom of a well,” he said sagely and nodded his head.
”You two must have started cultivating when you were ten years old. To reach the rank of a fifth layer Earth Warrior and a first layer Sky Warrior is indeed not a bad accomplishment at your ages, especially you, the Sky Warrior rank one,” Elder Zhang praised, ”but even in our tribe, we have a couple talents at your age with the same kind of strength.”
”We are also considered a part of the barren land, the uneducated area with poor and underdeveloped martial arts, yet even here your accomplishments are considered 'decent' at most.”
Hei Gou was a proud figure and he was no longer feeling scared, instead he was so upset that could no longer hold back.
”Old Geezer, we are not as simple as you think!” he exclaimed. However, before he had the chance to continue, Xue Wei gave him a firm, plain glance and smiled, which made Hei Gou instantly shut his mouth and sit back down.
Xue Wei's gaze instantly brought him back to his senses, to the reality of things. Hei Gou could read from Xue Wei's determined eyes a sort of resignation that told him his choice to act up and reveal their identities would be respected, but the weight of the latter's gaze also seemed to ask if the former could shoulder the responsibility of doing that.
Hei Gou realized what it meant to take responsibility in this situation. It meant that the two of them would undoubtedly die, which instantly made him shut his mouth tight like a clam.
Elder Zhang was surprised. When he heard Hei Gou make such an outburst, he expected to sound out some of their secrets. But when Hei Gou was silenced with but a mere glance from Xue Wei, the elder started to understand the dynamic in this duo, realizing he had given Xue Wei less credit than deserved.
It was true that his strength was something easily squashed beneath the hand of the elder, but some humans had a destiny that could cause unexpected things to happen. If destiny willed it, even if he were to try and slap this kid to death, then it was likely that some extreme expert would descend and kill him.
Elder Zhang felt a chill when he realized what he was thinking about. Then he snorted at himself in contempt. He was an esteemed expert at the top of his food chain, an expert that had experienced many things, and now here he was, feeling a threat from Xue Wei, a simple Earth Warrior, who simply posed no threat to him in any imaginable way.
Waving his hand, Elder Zhang sought to dispel his embarrassment, but he made no mention of it. He was not the kind of petty man who would kill someone just to erase such embarrassing thoughts.
In fact, he looked favorably on Xue Wei and Hei Gou. Hei Gou reminded him of his long lost Little Lao, and Xue Wei was a rather interesting figure as well.
Although the others were more interested in Hei Gou than Xue Wei, this elderly expert was much more interested in Xue Wei. Although he was weaker, he seemed to have more secrets, which made the elder curious.
”The two of you will be shown to a tent where you will be staying temporarily while we figure out what to do with you. Make sure to visit Little Lao's parents while you are here. Also don't cause trouble and don't try to leave the tribe grounds. Although you are not exactly held captive, you are not someone we can trust either.”