The miasma in the deep parts of the rainforest was formed by being exposed to long periods of humidity and rot. If anyone breathed it in, they would feel weak and powerless. If they were exposed to it for a long time, then the Qi in their bodies would lose its liveliness. Gradually, they would become lethargic.
That was why the tribes around the area would usually only search for materials around the area and rarely venture in. Only the truly powerful Berserkers that constantly circulated their Qi when they entered could fend against the poison in the miasma and search within the deepest parts whenever they wanted.
At that moment, He Feng remained unmoving within the deeper parts of the rainforest that were thich with the formless miasma. His pupils shrank. His body was in an incredibly weakened state. He had no way of fighting back.
After all, Xuan Lun was a powerful Berserker of the Transcendence Ream, and his intelligence was, of course, extraordinary as well. If He Feng wanted to deceive him, then he had to pay a price. Only when he was exhausted would Xuan Lun let down his guard, and only then would He Feng succeed.
Now, when he saw Su Ming suddenly appear, He Feng was stupefied. Yet he was not a simple person. He survived when disaster befell his tribe and went through all sorts of things after that. He had already trained himself to always think if what to do next.
At that moment, he may have been nervous, but almost in an instant, he schooled his face to a blank expression. Even if someone scrutinized his face, they would be hard pressed to find any changes.
"Brother, please don't joke around. I did that because I was forced to. Ha…"
He Feng looked at Su Ming walking towards him and laughed bitterly. When he spoke, the latter did not stop and continued closing in on him. He Feng's heart thumped against his chest, but his expression remained bitter with a hint of desolation.
"I know that no matter how I explain myself, you won't forgive me so easily, but before you kill me, could you listen to my explanation..?
"I did not know Xuan Lun in the beginning, but I met his follower once by chance, and we became good friends. I invited him back to my tribe, but I did not expect that it would bring about a disaster. Xuan Lun appeared and killed my parents, my younger sister, and my entire tribe. We're sworn enemies now!
"I cannot die. Brother, I was forced to do what I did. The burden of revenge lies upon my shoulders. My life doesn't belong to me. Within my body lies the deceased spirits of all my tribe members. They're with me waiting for me to take revenge for them!
"Brother, I know that what I did before was despicable, but I had no choice. If I had any other choice, I would not have dragged you into this."
He Feng laughed brokenly, and his expression was filled with desolation and a burning hate towards Xuan Lun.
Su Ming stood dozens of feet before He Feng, circulating his Qi and looking at the person in front of him coolly. The first time he had met He Feng was in the inn. His clothing had caught his attention and brought about a sense of familiarity that reminded him of home, which made Su Ming like him.
The second time he had seen him was at the third layer of Han Mountain City. He saw this person challenging the Chains of Han Mountain and saw his resolution and determination. He also saw Xuan Lun crushing the souls of this person's parents, and him coughing out a mouthful of blood in his sorrow and grief.
At that moment, even though there was no hint of pity in Su Ming's eyes, but in his heart, he still felt that they were in the same boat, though that pity would not be revealed so easily.
The third time they had met was today.
When he saw that Su Ming fell silent but was still circulating the Qi in his body, hundreds of thoughts crossed He Feng's head rapidly. He still held the bottle that could heal his injuries in his hand, but he did not dare drink it, wary of Su Ming's reaction.
He smiled bitterly and relaxed his right hand suddenly. That small bottle that he was going to use for healing fell into the mud by his side, but it did not sink.
"Brother, I was wrong. There is some healing medicine in that small bottle. I'll give it to you, as for me…"
He Feng took in a deep breath and struggled to lift his head to look into the sky in the distance.
"My tribe lies in that direction a thousand li¹ away… in ruins. Brother, I don't know your name, but if you must kill me to quell your anger, then when I die, please bury me there. You can take away all my belongings as compensation for doing wrong against you.
"If you… will forgive my mistake and give me a chance to exact my vengeance against Xuan Lun, then I will sign the pact of South Morning with you and become your follower.
"My life is in your hands. Do whatever you want with it!" He Feng said bitterly and closed his eyes, which still contained reluctance and regret. He looked like he was waiting for his fate that lay uncertain.
Yet in truth, he was using this time to gather his Qi. He was doing so with a special method that others would find hard to notice. The speed at which his Qi gathered was becoming faster. Behind his closed eyes lay a hint of killing intent, though no one else could see it.
'This person may be mysterious, but he seems to only be about twenty something. He's still too naïve. With just a few words, I managed to buy more time. Hmph, if he had immediately acted the moment he appeared, I wouldn't have had any time to resist and would have been killed. Now though… this person isn't the scheming type, perhaps I can continue using him.'
With his eyes closed, He Feng's thoughts raced in his head without stopping. He laughed coldly in his heart.
"How did you know that I was here, and how did you know that I would help you when you fought against Xuan Lun?" Su Ming asked in a dull tone, looking at He Feng, who still had his eyes closed.
He Feng laughed coldly in his heart once again. To him, Su Ming was not only naïve, he also had within him the foolish and pitiable pity and mercy. He was already moved by his words, that was why he chose to ask those questions, giving He Feng a chance to gather up his strength for a bit longer.
'This person… is akin to me from many years ago. Ah, it's a pity. It would have been better if he did not appear, but now that he has, then he has no chance of surviving. If he dies it'll be easier for my future plans to make Xuan Lun hesitate.'
When He Feng opened his eyes, there was an honest and sincere look in his eyes, without a hint of deceit. Also, there was still that same bitterness from before.
"I came from a small tribe. Most of my tribe members wear beast skins. We can't compare to a middle tribe, much less Han Mountain City.
"I've always begrudged those in middle-sized tribes. I begrudged them for not needing to wear beast skins and begrudged them for having counterfeit Berserker Vessels," He Feng spoke softly.
"But those are limited to feelings of resentment. I was never jealous. I only had a determination to make my tribe stronger. I wanted to make myself stronger… There's a special skill in my tribe. At that time, I thought I could become a guest in a middle-sized tribe with that skill and allow my tribe to gradually become stronger.
"The Art had no name, as if it did not belong to the Berserker Tribe. When we inherited the Art, it was also vague and unclear. No one in my tribe knew where it came from, what were its uses, but we could sense whether a person was weak or strong without using our Qi.
"These sensations would be like a memory. If we chose to remember it with our hearts, then it'd be like a brand. As long as the other person was not too far away, we could sense them. It's precisely because of that Art that I've been able to avoid Xuan Lun so many times over these years.
"When we were in the inn that night, we were the only ones there drinking. I noticed you at that moment. You may have seemed like you were only at the seventh level of the Blood Solidification Realm, but with this Art, I could sense a frightening presence from you that was equivalent to that of Transcendence.
"At that moment, I knew that either you had an incredible treasure on you, or you had hidden your real power.
"That was why I left a spiritual brand on you. This brand is very mysterious. It's largely different from the other Berserker Arts we know of, that's why you didn't notice it.
"When Xuan Lun was after my life, I came here based on that feeling to seek your protection. This Art may seem weak, but there're a lot of uses for it.
"You don't seem like you're from the tribes around the area. I have a bamboo slip regarding this Art in my bosom. You can take it and check the truth of my statement."
He Feng was not lying. He was someone who thought a lot and in detail. Even if it was to drag out time, he would not reveal any holes in his words. He chose instead to put on an expression full of bitterness with a hint of nostalgia when he spoke words that would incite pity.
To drag out time, he was aiming to touch Su Ming's emotions and use logic to make him understand by saying he would become his follower, by offering all his belongings, and by giving him the mysterious Art.
In He Feng's mind, there was no way that Su Ming could remain unmoved.
"Do you have any other questions? If I know the answers to them, I'll definitely tell you."
He Feng put on a sincere expression and looked at Su Ming, speaking weakly. However, he was accumulating light within his body, and it was becoming stronger. The reason why he had the confidence to kill Su Ming with one move was because he had originally thought Su Ming would run far away after he escaped from Xuan Lun's attack, but instead the other still lurked around the place.
From this, he could deduce that Su Ming was not hiding his real power, but had with him a powerful enchanted vessel. His level of cultivation was truly only at the seventh level of the Blood Solidification Realm.
If they were far from each other, He Feng would hesitate on acting, but if they were so close, he had the confidence that he could kill this person before he had the time to activate his enchanted vessel. However, he had to first make sure that this naïve person who still lacked any processing abilities lost his wariness.
'This person should still ask me why Xuan Lun would come after my life so many times. After all, the power levels between Xuan Lun and I are too far! Anyone would see that there's something off about this.
'Even if he doesn't ask me that, he'll ask about my relationship with Han Fei Zi. When Han Fei Zi saved me, this person was watching underneath.'
He Feng had already formulated his answers, and how he would handle the situation. He was just waiting for Su Ming to ask him. As he answered the question, he would make this person lose his wariness and act at that moment!
"My final question is…" Su Ming looked at He Feng and let his question hang. He Feng's expression remained blank, but nervousness flooded his heart once again. "Are you done preparing for your counter attack?"
As the words fell lightly into He Feng's ears, his heart trembled, but a baffled expression appeared on his face, as if he could not understand Su Ming's words.
The moment the baffled look appeared on his face, He Feng suddenly widened his eyes. They seemed to pierce through Su Ming, who was standing dozens of feet away from him, and looked at the sky behind him. An appalled look appeared on his face, and he shuddered.
"Xuan Lun!"
The moment his words left his mouth, He Feng quickly opened his mouth wide, and a dim light flew out. That dim light let out a flash and closed in on Su Ming in the blink of an eye.
Translator's Thoughts Mogumoguchan
Li (里) is a unit of measurement in China. 1 li is equivalent to 500 m, or 0.31 miles.
I chose to use li instead of converting it to miles or using the metric system because:
1. If 1 li was equivalent to half a mile, I would have used miles, but as it were, saying "Please walk 310 miles into the distance, and you'll find my tribe" sounded a little off to me, so I decided to retain the Chinese unit of measurement.
2. The metric system is the same. It is also too precise, and that sort of precision did not exist at that time.
Also if you want to know more about li, you can go to Wikipedia and type in li (unit). They go into great detail about the li system in a Wikipedia style there, and it's pretty accurate.