Death... and me

After that, Malaka then asked Frandin with a slightly furious expression.

"Then again, why did you have to say that you could see Xiria's nipples? That was way too mean, especially since she isn't a bad Zasfin."

Qia and Calina nodded in response. As much as he was keeping up that play, that was a little too much, in their opinion. At the very least, he could have used a Spiritual Sense message to warn her instead of saying that out loud.

As soon as Frandin heard those words, his face began to profusely sweat as it went as red as Xiria's face from before.

"Pl-Please, don't remember that. Just thinking about all of this makes me feel like crying. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep up that pretense in front of so many experts? My head was barely working at all, thinking that they might find out that I'm actually a nobody."

Frandin then curled around his legs on the ground, doing his best to forget everything related to that. In the end, that was simply not his character.

The girls couldn't help but laugh when they looked at Frandin. This guy seemed a lot more naive than they thought. Well, back in Danve City, Frandin was a lot more daring than he was at the moment with Roan's group. It's just that he had never gone that overboard. Poor Frandin felt like throwing his head in a hole due to the awkwardness.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of Frandin's room a few hours later. Fortunately, those hours were enough for him to recover. By now, he had also changed clothes, and Roan finished healing his body as well.

"Sorry, Young Master Gian. The candidates are back in the hall, waiting for you."

Frandin glanced at Roan and the girls before he nodded at the human servant.

"Very well, I'll be right there."

Frandin, Roan, and the girls then followed the guy to the hall. There, they found Xiria, Pioran, Qarviu, and the other two. Of course, the elders were there as well to see what Gian(Frandin) had to say.

Frandin looked at the five of them and could see that some seemed to fear him now. Frandin couldn't help but mentally feel pleased with himself.

'To think there would come a day that several Rank Five Bloodline Soul Mark owners would fear me. Even if their Marks were given marks, that's still several times better than what I was in Danve City.'

Nevertheless, he quickly recovered and restarted his aloof play.

"Ahem... Well, then. I think you've had a small taste of what will be your daily life once you come with me. Once again, I will ask. Are you sure you want to follow me? Also, there's one more thing I need to clear up here."

Frandin then took a black pill from his pocket and held it in front of those five.

"This is a poison pill. It's quite a potent one that I got before leaving for this journey. The only one who knows how to make its antidote is me, no one else. With that, let me say that I'm also an alchemist."

Frandin then continued.

"Anyway, if you decide to come with me, you will have to swallow it. Although you could already probably understand, I'll still tell you why. It's impossible to keep my own training schedule without exposing a few of my own secrets. These secrets are directly linked to my own origins, which must be kept hidden. Not to mention things like my cultivation technique, resources, contacts with my elders, etc."

"I can't run the risk of my new subordinate escaping and then telling everyone about it. That being said, once you swallow this pill, I'll prepare an antidote that can keep the poison at bay. If you stop taking it, you will die!"

The expressions of the elders and the last five candidates changed. It was obvious that Gian didn't trust them at all. However, would they have done something else if they were in Gian's shoes? The answer was, no, they wouldn't. This was the cultivation world. Trust is a rare commodity, and everyone knew that.

Nonetheless, such an action would put their own lives in Gian's hands. They would need to follow his orders whether they liked it or not.

"Don't tell me that I'm being unreasonable. I'm already telling all of you beforehand that this is how I work. My humans here are also under the same effect. I don't treat them badly, but I can't allow them to spread my secrets, either. If any of you, or even all of you, want to give up this chance, I don't care. I'll simply find someone else in another clan. Simple as that. There's no lack of people with a given Rank Five Bloodline Soul Mark that would be willing to do that."

With that, everyone's expression had become more solemn. Gian(Frandin) was right. The simple act of warning them already told them a lot about his character. Well, he might just be putting up a display, and that he was, in fact, a wicked guy. Unfortunately, there was no way of checking that. Their decisions simply didn't matter to him due to his many available options.

Qarviu and Pioran then stepped back. For these two, those were way too many conditions. Constant danger while Gian would have their lives at his palm. They decided that it wasn't worth it.

After some time, there were only three remaining Zasfins, including Xiria. As one couldn't expect, Laun immediately sent her a Spiritual Sense Message.

'Step back. You don't need to stoop that low. So what if you are losing out on a great opportunity? That might as well be an opportunity to die instead. You really don't know what this guy will force you to do once you take that pill.'

Similar Spiritual Sense conversations were going on with the other two Zasfins and their relatives. Frandin looked at them and could see the conflict in their faces.

'Hmph! At least you have a choice. Back when I was taken away, that was my only option other than dying.'

Of course, Frandin was here of his own volition now. The twins' group already made it clear that he was welcome to do so if he wanted to leave.

Seeing that no one had stepped forward, Frandin sighed as he decided to put the pill away. However, just as he dropped his hand, determination appeared on Xiria's face as she stepped forward and grabbed the pill from his hand.

*Gulp*

"Is that all? Hmph! You will need more than that to make me give up!"

Laun and Latia were taken aback. That didn't go as they planned at all. Xiria's position in the clan wasn't high, but she wasn't at the bottom either. They still could provide her with enough resources for decent cultivation. Why would she choose to become someone's slave?

"No can do! Xiria, spit out that pill right now! I won't let you do it!"

Laun quickly stepped forward and demanded.

"That's right, Xiria. Mother doesn't want you to run such a risk with no guarantees."

Said Latia after Laun was finished speaking.

Xiria then looked at them, but her resolve could already be seen.

Nonetheless, Frandin gave her one last chance.

"Hahaha! Now, then. Your parents really love you very much. Very well, I'll give you one last chance in case this was a hurried decision."

Frandin then threw another pill bottle to Xiria, this time containing a pill with black and white colors.

"This is the full antidote. Unlike the one I'll be giving you in the journey, this one can completely heal the poison of that pill. I'll be staying in this city for a few more days, so you can take your time to think. If you want to give up, just take this pill, and you will be cured. Listen to your parents and make sure you three get everything dealt with. Once again, it won't matter if you decide to give up or not. I can simply find someone else. But for now, you will be my first choice since you were the first one to step forward."

Frandin also took another pill bottle. This time, however, these pills were used to keep the poison at bay, not healing it.

"Use these pills if you ever start feeling pain. These pills won't heal you but will keep the poison at bay. It will give you more time to think before I come back. Don't worry, I'll pass by before we need to leave. Besides, I'll need your ancestor's help for that in the first place."

Xiria, Laun, and Latia were surprised by Frandin's words. He left a way out for Xiria from the very start. That made it even harder to believe that he was a wicked Zasfin with that.

"Thank you."

Frandin waved his hands, pretending to not care too much about it.

"Alright, then. Roan, Calina, Qia, Malaka, we're leaving. We have many other things to prepare."

"Yes, young master."

They replied in unison as they followed right behind Frandin's imposing figure.

As one could imagine, Frandin left the Asume Clan after saying that. The other two Zasfins that remained alongside Xiria ended up giving up as well. They couldn't make their heads about having to live with poison in their bodies. Frandin's words implicated that he would eventually let them go, but when would that be? No one knew. Nor did they know if it was the truth.

After Frandin disappeared in the distance, Laun and Latia changed their focus to Xiria. Xiria did the same, but her expression was still as determined as ever.

"Mom, Dad. Let's talk."