Fang Xing ignored the murderous intent in the words directed at him and looked to Meng Xuanzhao with disdain. "Of all the wonderful and mysterious herbs in the world, how many do you know?" he asked, his voice calm.
Meng Xuanzhao was once again left speechless. He had the same feeling as before, that his attack had slid off without any damage.
It was exactly as Fang Xing said. There were rumored to be over hundreds of thousands of spirit herbs in this realm, and those that had been recorded made up only a very small portion of it; no matter how well-read or knowledgeable a person might be, no one would be able to say that they could recognize each and every herb. Furthermore, all spirit herbs had different effects, and it was impossible to say with certainty that there wasn't at least one of them out there that could be eaten raw.
"Then why did you lie about your tier after returning from Mount Miasma? My uncle didn't hear anything about this herb, either." Meng Xuanzhao did not dwell on the topic of the herb much further and pushed his questions onward. His desires were rather split; part of him wanted to immediately seize Fang Xing and have him questioned through capital punishment, while yet another part of him was afraid of his relationship with Shijie Linyun and what the consequences would be if he resorted to force. For now, the best thing for him to do was see if he could draw out something—anything—suspicious from Fang Xing.
Fang Xing laughed off Meng Xuanzhao's question. "That was simply because the residual effects of the herb hadn't completely worn off yet; who knows whether or not someone would have drooled after me and used me as the raw material for some evil pellet crafting? To tell you the truth, that herb was really something. I could feel that I was constantly surrounded by this warm and abundant Qi, and refining even a small portion of it increased my cultivation by a large amount. I even feel that the amount of the herb I've absorbed so far isn't even a quarter of its full potential."
Fang Xing's tale with the mysterious herb was based on his actual experiences with the beast core; after having truthfully experienced such an ordeal, he did not need to fabricate anything. Even Meng Xuanzhao started to believe his words, and the rest of them were seen lightly nodding their heads in approval. If a person had not truly experienced such a thing, they would not be able to describe it with such detail and emotion.
'Did the brat really get so lucky to encounter such a mysterious herb?' This was the thought of everyone present; some were jealous that he had received such fortune, while others were enviously wishing to experience it themselves.
Cultivators generally believed in destiny and fate. Almost all of them would believe that if a cultivator chanced upon a rare herb, a mysterious treasure, or an abandoned cave estate of a once-powerful cultivator, it was all considered to be the blessings of good fortune. Despite this, those present still had doubts about Fang Xing and his dog-sh*t luck; it wasn't every day that someone could be so fortunate. Yet this was the answer Fang Xing had given, so there wasn't any justification for further questioning. Even if they swore that Fang Xing lied, what else could they do if Fang Xing continued to tell the same story about the herb? They would stall on this single matter and would only waste time.
This was not what Meng Xuanzhao had planned.
Seeing Meng Xuanzhao's confused state, the dark-faced man next to him quietly asked, "I've got a question though, little Shidi Fang. I heard that you've got a mid-tiered Flying Sword named the Nine Snakes' Sword. Is that true?"
"Yeah!" Fang Xing nodded without any hesitation. He formed a seal with his hand, and a trail of mystifying golden light began to unravel, surrounded by nine little snakes.
"A good sword indeed. Shidi Fang, where did you get this sword?" the dark-faced man slowly asked after seeing the weapon.
Fang Xing laughed. "Bought it at the Black Market. It only cost me thirty Stones!"
The dark-faced man now had a faint smile hanging from the corner of his lips. "A sword like this for only thirty Stones? Did Shidi Fang not feel this was strange at all?"
Fang Xing rolled his eyes at the dark-faced man before meeting his eyes directly. "Will you stop beating around the bush? When I saw the sword, I immediately knew it must have some sort of shady origin, but so what? It's not like the Black Market itself isn't shady. And what, are you not allowing me to buy shady stuff now? Let's cut all the crap and let me ask you this: if you were the one who came across such a sword for thirty Stones, would you buy it?"
Fang Xing's rhetorical question left the dark-faced man with a bitter smile; indeed, he would also not have allowed it to pass if he came across such a deal. Anyone who was able to afford the thirty Stones would probably have bought it, and only idiots wouldn't take advantage of such a good trade. The only question was, did the boy truly buy the sword from the Black Market?
This time, it was Meng Xuanzhao who interrupted the conversation. "Did you know the sword had originally been in the hands of the Black Market Bandit?"
"Even if it was from the emperor of all heavens himself, I would have still bought it. Who cares if it was the Black Market Bandit or the White Market Bandit!" Fang Xing sniggered.
Meng Xuanzhao could sense Fang Xing was presenting himself considerably differently now compared to the obedient and well-behaved manner from a month ago; Fang Xing's words were now overbearing with an aggressiveness that didn't allow them to get very far with their questions. Meng Xuanzhao wanted to grow angry and curse, but the potential threat of Shijie Linyun made it so he could only swallow down his discontent.
"Shidi Fang, let's all just get to the point. Within the outer court, there has been a rumor going around saying you are connected to the Black Market Bandit. Is this true?" A young female in a light yellow dress softly asked, breaking her silence. She glanced at Fang Xing.
"And who has been saying that?" Fang Xing replied in slow, meaningful manner.
The yellow-dressed female quickly hid her surprise and settled into a gentle smile. "Does it matter who said it?"
"Of course! I'm going to f*ck all eighteen generations of his ancestors!" Fang Xing loudly cursed.
Everyone was stunned. No one had thought he would speak such vile words so abruptly.
"Why are you so furious, Shidi Fang?" Meng Xuanzhao had been the first person to harbor such strong suspicions towards Fang Xing and his association with the Black Market Bandit; it could be said the curses were an attack directed towards him.
Fang Xing slowly crossed his legs at that. "Well, someone's obviously framed me. Why shouldn't I be furious?"
Meng Xuanzhao smirked. "To tell you the truth, I was the one who suspected you the most!"
"Oh?" Fang Xing pretended to look at Meng Xuanzhao in surprise before he twisted his lips into a meaningful smirk. "Then I guess I'll f*ck all eighteen generations of your ancestors?"
BAM!
Meng Xuanzhao slammed his fist against the stone table with a powerful force, his fury finally ignited. "You damned mutt! How dare you curse me!"
The dark-faced man hastily stood up to prevent Meng Xuanzhao from going any further before looking to Fang Xing. "Calm down, Shixiong Meng. How about we do this: tell us why you have been suspecting Shidi Fang, and we can all discuss this together."
Without moving an inch of his gaze away from Fang Xing, Meng Xuanzhao gave his reply, "That day, the Black Market Bandit appeared right after I received the Ore Essence Powder from you. Don't you think this is a bit too much of a coincidence? And when he robbed me clean, he revealed the name 'Liu Feng', revealing that he was the source of the information. But Shidi Fang, if I remember correctly, you've had grudges with this Liu Feng, right?"
Now that everything was out in the open, all eyes once again landed on Fang Xing as they awaited his explanation.
Fang Xing didn't mind and gave a smile. "Of course there's a grudge between us! I was used as live bait by that bastard of a Hou Qing all because of Liu. In fact, after we parted that day, I bumped into him and we had another fight. I was going to go back and teach him a good lesson the day after, but for whatever reason, he has disappeared since. What a pity that—" Fang Xing suddenly paused his speech as though remembering something, before giving out a loud cry, "Oh my. Shixiong Meng, was that—"
Meng Xuanzhao interrupted with cold words, "That's right, it was me. I wanted to question him about the Black Market Bandit, but he vowed that you had framed him. Shidi Fang, what do you think the odds of that happening are?"
As though shocked, Fang Xing opened his eyes wide as he stared at Meng Xuanzhao.
Meng Xuanzhao, the dark-faced man, and the yellow-dressed female all looked towards Fang Xing. They all believed that he was finally stuck and no longer able to answer.
However, after moments of shock, Fang Xing betrayed that expectation of silence. "Liu never returned after…"
"You'll never see him again," Meng Xuanzhao answered, intentionally trying to apply more pressure.
Fang Xing grew even more shocked. "It was you?"
Meng Xuanzhao gave a chilling smile. "That's right. In order to find the Black Market Bandit, I sent Liu Feng to visit the King of Hell. Now that I've heard about you and your relationship with the bandit… Shidi Fang, it is now up to you whether or not you'll tell us what we want to know about that bandit."
The meaning behind his words was clear: if Fang Xing shielded the Black Market Bandit, Meng Xuanzhao wouldn't mind having him share Liu's fate. Fang Xing's eyes widened even more as he looked on in extreme terror, while Meng Xuanzhao still held that cold smile filled with confidence and satisfaction.
BAM!
A loud thud rang out, as it was now Fang Xing's turn to slam the stone table. "Meng Xuanzhao, you criminal!" Fang Xing angrily screamed before displaying a deathly stare and deeper tone, "You've used private physical punishment on a sect disciple, all for some stupid Black Market Bandit. Who gave you such power? Since when did the sect allow you to murder people for your own pleasure?"