As Li Yan spoke, the sound of his fingers tapping on the table was very light, but to Feng Tao, it sounded like each tap was hitting her heart heavily.
She felt it was difficult to breathe, and there was murderous intent all around her!
Her face, which had been calm till then, began to turn pale, and only then did she realize that the other party had really killed someone.
Because she had only felt this feeling from those in her family who had killed someone.
Feng Tao was so anxious that he lost his previous composure and spoke quickly.
"Brother Zhang, calm down. Please listen to me. I did not deliberately investigate Brother Zhang. I heard it from the side when my master was chatting with two other uncles.
They had reviewed all the disciples who had recently joined the sect, and when it came to Senior Brother Zhang, my master and the others said a few more words.
He said that my senior brother's actual combat capability should be about one to two realms higher than his actual cultivation level. This might be because he had been wandering outside for many years and needed to protect his life, so I kept it in mind.
I just happened to hear it when I was serving tea to a few elders. This time I had no choice but to come and ask for help from Senior Brother Zhang.
I have absolutely no intention to inquire about you, Senior Brother. I hope you will understand me!"
In a hurry, she blurted out how she knew some things about Zhang Ming. Then she felt her heart beating faster and the situation was not good.
At this time, she had already forgotten the difference in status between herself and Zhang Ming. She felt that the next moment, Zhang Ming might really suddenly attack and kill someone.
Although she regretted being too abrupt this time, she really needed someone's help.
But at the same time, a glimmer of expectation arose in his heart. Zhang Ming must have experience in fighting. This alone made him incomparable to Tian Denghu.
At least when encountering an enemy, the other side can stably exert their due combat power, unlike oneself who may lose his formation. It is considered good if one can exert 60% to 70% of his combat power out of 100%.
In addition, with the help of the eldest brother and the second sister, if we encounter an enemy on the way, we will attack with all our strength as long as the enemy does not attack us as soon as we meet.
Then, with these people working together, it is still possible to hold out for a breath or two, which can buy time for yourself to activate your magic weapon.
The coldness in Li Yan's eyes gradually dissipated, and he could see that what Feng Tao said was true.
But come to think of it, even though someone has guaranteed my origins, I think "Falling Star Valley" will definitely investigate it.
Then it is only natural that he knew that he and his fake master, the Snow Mosquito King, had appeared before.
Li Yan did not ask Feng Tao why he did not look for the other four people who joined the sect with them. He probably just looked down on the other party's cultivation level.
I think if she hadn't heard the words of her master, the foundation-building cultivator, she would definitely not have come to look for me.
"I'm afraid this will disappoint Junior Sister. I'm not as powerful as Junior Sister said!"
Li Yan tapped the stone table with one finger for the last time, which made Feng Tao's heart beat faster. It seemed that the other party was going to end the conversation and stand up to see him off.
Feng Tao was immediately disappointed. She had not expected to succeed before she came. First, she and Zhang Ming were not just a passing relationship as she claimed.
Second, she wanted to know what the situation was outside the valley. Her status was higher than Zhang Ming's and she knew more information. All the senior masters wanted the disciples outside the valley to return as soon as possible, so she had to find someone to go out.
After hearing her request, the powerful foundation-building masters who stayed in the valley all disagreed, but the Feng family was, after all, a loyal vassal of the "Falling Star Valley".
After Feng Tao's repeated requests, she had to make an appointment with people to help her. The sect did not force her to send anyone, so it all depended on Feng Tao's own ability. After all, the sect also sent a strong foundation-building expert.
This is also taking into consideration that the Feng family is not too far away. Now the head of the sect and most of the foundation-building cultivators are traveling around within a radius of ten thousand miles to search.
Under such circumstances, the chances of those hidden enemies easily taking action are extremely low.
In recent days, with the sect master and others going out, something really happened again in the 5,000 miles radius of Luoxing Valley.
I just heard that a suspicious person was spotted seven thousand miles to the south yesterday, and the sect leader has personally chased after him.
Although he finally agreed to Feng Tao's mission to find other disciples to go out together, Feng Tao had to pay for the expenses of the mission except for Fang Guangjun.
The foundation-building cultivator also knew that it would be difficult for Feng Tao to find someone to help. All the disciples above the seventh level of Qi Condensation Stage in the sect were now taken turns to be dispatched to carry out missions, forming patrol teams outside with the sect master.
There are not many masters left in the sect, only some disciples who come back occasionally to change guards, but they all need to take time to rest, and the chance of them being able to take on a mission and go out is not very high.
But Feng Tao was really lucky, as her senior brother Tang Tian and second senior sister Wu Yizheng had just returned from their inspection.
With her master away, Feng Tao could only explain the situation to the two of them. She herself did not expect that these two people would be willing to help.
She wanted to recruit a few more strong men to help her, but this was difficult. As a new disciple, she had limited acquaintances and most importantly, Feng Tao was not very wealthy.
She didn't have that many spirit stones to impress others, and finally she remembered Senior Brother Zhang Ming that her master once talked about, saying that he was even better than herself in fighting.
Seeing that Zhang Ming was about to end the conversation, Feng Tao was anxious and planned to persuade him a few more times.
She was really touched that Senior Brother Tang Tian and Senior Sister Wu Yizhen were willing to accompany her on this outing. After all, she had only known them for more than five months.
It was not surprising for her that Tian Denghu offered to go. Anyone, not to mention her, could see what Tian Denghu was thinking.
However, she rejected it directly at first. Later, the other party even suggested not asking for any compensation. Feng Tao was really embarrassed now.
In comparison, Feng Tao certainly hopes that Zhang Ming in front of him can take action. The vision of his master and two uncles must be right.
As for the other people in the sect, she was really unfamiliar with them, and could only guess their combat power, which was a bit unreliable. Just when Feng Tao was about to say what conditions she might offer, Zhang Ming on the opposite side unexpectedly spoke first.
"It's not impossible, but we need to agree on the preconditions. If both parties have no objection, we can discuss the rest."
Feng Tao was about to say something, but when he heard this, he couldn't help but feel happy.
"Brother Zhang, please feel free to speak!"
“First, if we encounter a strong enemy attacking us on the road, I will only drag the enemy away if I am able to do so, so that my junior sister will have the opportunity to use her magic weapon;
Second, if I arrive at the Feng family smoothly, I will not participate in any siege except for dealing with the three foundation-building ghosts. I can choose not to take action against the other ghosts if they are above the fifth level of Qi Condensation.
If Junior Sister can agree to these conditions, we can continue the discussion."
Li Yan said calmly. As for how to negotiate in a way that suits his status, Li Yan was very familiar with it. Not to mention that he bullied a young girl, anyone who stepped into the immortal path was a fellow Taoist.
"Just tell them that if the situation is not right, you can just turn around and run."
Feng Tao thought helplessly in her heart that the other party did not have the heart and passion of a man at all, which was far from Tian Denghu and the others.
After Feng Tao thought for a moment, she uttered the song of a nightingale.
"How about this, regardless of whether Senior Brother Zhang makes a move or not, I will pay half of the reward after the terms are agreed. As for the rest, we will calculate it separately after this trip is over, how about that?"
Feng Tao thought to himself, "Whenever you encounter a stronger enemy, you will choose to escape. You can even say that it is beyond your ability. How can I define this
Anyway, as long as you go there, there will be an uncle-senior and two senior brothers and sisters there, they will know clearly whether you can take action or not.
At most, I will let you take half of the reward and run away, but I will see how you can stay in the sect in the future."
She had also looked for some people she had met before, but when they heard that she would be so far away from the sect and only have one foundation-building cultivator accompanying her, they immediately refused.
In fact, the key point is that Feng Tao couldn't afford the remuneration, so she simply didn't even go to the mission hall to post it, but looked for people privately.
She came to find Li Yan because she remembered the conversation between her master and several uncles. She wanted to have an extra layer of protection, so she came to give it a try.
If it really doesn't work, we will have to leave after an hour. The family's defensive formation may not last long.
Although the conditions Zhang Ming offered now are harsh, this is all he can do when hiring people.
"That's fine. Just follow the conditions Junior Sister said."
Seeing that Senior Brother Zhang Ming agreed to the prerequisite, Feng Tao was happy in her heart, but she also became more nervous. She then spoke with some embarrassment.
"But...but...my family is just a small family and cannot afford to pay a price beyond our means. How about this? For this mission, I will give you 20 low-level spirit stones, how about that?"
After she finished speaking, Feng Tao looked at Li Yan somewhat nervously. This was the most spirit stones she could offer. If she was not in a hurry to go back, she would not have set such high conditions at once.
When Li Yan heard this, he was stunned.
"So little? A cultivation family should earn a thousand spirit stones a year, right?"
Seeing that Li Yan was a little dazed after listening and his rosy face turned slightly red, she hurriedly explained.
"Brother Zhang, it is like this. Since our family is attached to the 'Falling Star Valley', it is also their responsibility to protect the dependent sect and family. The cost of Uncle Fang's mission this time is borne by the sect.
But... but actually we have to hand over spirit stones to Falling Star Valley every year, so that the sect will come forward to protect us if something goes wrong.
For a small family like ours, the annual income of spirit stones will not exceed two thousand yuan. The family itself needs a large amount of spirit stones for both cultivation and daily life.
Therefore, at the end of the year, the remaining amount would not exceed one or two hundred yuan.
During this crisis, the family's defense formation must have been continuously operating, and it is estimated that all the remaining resources of the family have been mobilized.
On the other hand, although Senior Brother Tang Tian and the other three will not be paid for their work, our Feng Family will never let others work for nothing, so we have to pay them a lot of spirit stones, so..."
Li Yan didn't say anything, but he thought about it in his heart. That's true. He doesn't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are.
Just think about how much income even a second-rate sect like "Falling Star Valley" can have in a year, not to mention those weaker dependent small families.
Of course Li Yan didn't care about this little bit of spirit stones. He was just thinking about how to take the opportunity to propose his own conditions without arousing suspicion from the person in front of him.
After Feng Tao finished speaking, she saw that Zhang Ming opposite her was silent for a while. She couldn't help feeling anxious and gritted her teeth.
"Brother Zhang, do you think this is okay? If not, then I will have to say goodbye.
The price is thirty spirit stones. If possible, I will pay fifteen first. The rest will be paid after the task is completed."
She had already planned to sell the flying sword without telling her master, and she would accept it even if her master found out and scolded her afterwards.
A high-level spiritual weapon could be sold for at least a hundred spiritual stones, and then the money could be used to reward the other three people.