Back during the battle.
"WATCH OUT!" Fang Yue screamed.
Tang Lin's canine finally made contact with the colossal ape's fist as his crimson qi suddenly went berserk. Suddenly, a blinding light formed, but Tang Lin could still see what was happening.
"T-T-This…" Tang Lin stuttered.
'It seems like the crimson qi is trying to devour the colossal ape', he thought, completely flabbergasted.
Sensing the overbearing aura of his crimson qi, the colossal ape started to become fearful for its life as it watched the crimson qi somehow penetrate its impeccable skin that it was proud of.
*ROAR!*
Unexpectedly, the colossal ape ripped off its left arm as it turned around and ran away. All that was left was the severed arm of the colossal ape as it rapidly transformed into a pure form of red essence that was absorbed into him.
An enormous rush of essence then circulated through his meridian channels as it nourished and cleansed his body.
'Was that blood essence? Has the crimson qi been transforming the blood essence of other beasts to recover my body? No wonder I didn't die after falling off that cliff. It must've been through the absorption of the spirit wolves' blood essence, which was why there were so many skeletal remains around me when I woke up', Tang Lin concluded.
By the time he finished absorbing all of the blood essence, the dust had settled as Fang Yue looked at him standing next to the emaciated arm in shock.
"You… W-What just happened? How did you do that?" she asked, still bewildered.
Not wanting to bring attention or trouble to his crimson qi, Tang Lin tried to think of a way to cover it up.
"Uh, that, I-..." he said, fumbling over his words.
"Fang Yue! Are you okay?" someone interrupted as a group suddenly arrived at the scene.
"Who are you?" asked someone who looked like the leader as she pushed Miss Fang Yue back behind her
She was a middle-aged woman who had some white strands of hair, yet her power and aura seemed unaffected by the passing of time. Compared to Tang Lin, she was a head taller with voluptuous curves and slim body. Tang Lin had just reached a height of 1.4 metres, while his body was lean and slightly muscular now. Despite that, he couldn't help, but gulp at the pressure he felt in her presence.
"I'm-..." he said.
"Aunt Fang, don't! He's with me. He saved my life, so we owe him a favour", she answered for Tang Lin after seeing that she was about to draw her sword.
Tang Lin felt grateful to her for backing him up, but he also felt worried whether she was still going to investigate him.
Standing opposite to each other, Tang Lin endured the awkward silence as Aunt Fang continued staring at him. After a while, Fang Yue broke the tension by introducing each other.
"This is Fang Rong, my aunt, who is an elder of my Fang family clan and this is, uh-...", Fang Yue paused as she realised she had never asked for his name.
"Umm… So, what was your name again?" she asked, looking back at him.
"Sigh. Hello aunt Fang, I'm Tang Lin, a servant from the Xu Family", he replied, clasping his hands, while slightly bowing towards aunt Fang.
In Tang Lin's mind, he didn't want to keep addressing himself as the Xu family's servant, but he wasn't sure what their intentions were. Thus, he used the Xu family's name for his own sake to pretend that he had a bit of backing, despite his hatred for them.
"Tsk, just a servant of the Xu family clan. If you really are one of the Xu family's servants, then where are the rest of them?" she interrogated, still suspicious of his words.
"Uh… I got lost in the forest and separated from the others. So, I don't know where the others are", he responded, while mixing truths and lies.
"Anyway! Aunt Fang, what happened back there? You just told me to suddenly run away before, is everyone okay?", she asked nervously, glancing at her clansmen.
"Most of us are fine, but some were injured. We accidentally stumbled upon a den of giant serpents, which was why we told you to leave first. It was dangerous and I wouldn't be able to fight properly if I still had to protect you", she explained.
"We need to hurry or we'll be late", Aunt Fang advised.
*Hmph*
"You too! Don't delay us", she prompted roughly.
Tang Lin didn't expect them to let him follow their group as he walked along the rear of their group.
"Hey, what are you doing at the back? Come here, I still have a lot of things to ask you" she insisted curiously.
After having to evade her questions, she started feeling frustrated as she pouted. Although he felt bad, he couldn't risk bringing danger to himself from a slip of the tongue.
*Da-thump*
'Ahhhh, how can she still look so cute even when she's angry?' he thought as he looked away to hide his blush.