Chapter 163: 163. Chapter 163 Report

163. Chapter 163 Report

"Bai Wujie, Xiao Zhangqing..."

"If Bai Wujie really is Xiao Zhangqing... it would be much easier."

Guang Qin True Person showed a faint smile on his face.

He feared most that Xiao Zhangqing's background was not simple; after all, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator whose Soul Transformation was this strong could almost threaten a mid‑Golden Core cultivator, affecting his actions, which was truly baffling.

Even the two major Nascent Soul sects had no such extraordinarily gifted individual.

If it were a talent that happened to emerge by chance and received some fortunate encounter, it would not be frightening.

What he feared was a mysterious background, such as being a 'young master' from powerful factions like the Nine‑Union Trade Guild or the Dan Dao Alliance that span several cultivation realms, or an even more extraordinary background, having happened to wander into Character: Liyang Immortal City.

That could not be dealt with casually.

"He's merely a Scattered Cultivator, unlikely to cause any incident. In fact, he could even be used..."

Guang Qin True Person pondered for a moment, his thoughts unknown, then rose and left the cave dwelling.

……

……

Jinxiu Lane.

Inside Xiao Zhangqing's cultivation chamber, the formation suddenly rippled; Xiao Zhangqing looked at the still‑unformed puppet before him, wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead, and packed it back into his storage bag.

Forging a third‑grade puppet is far too difficult.

His Soul Transformation strength is sufficient, but his own mid‑Foundation Establishment Realm magical power is rather weak; only by activating the solid Golden Core energy stored in the fragments of the Longevity Stone does it become easier.

Even so, the forging speed is extremely slow, a completely different matter from the late‑stage second‑grade puppet he previously crafted.

Even though he possesses a third‑grade medium‑grade Puppet Technique, at his current pace it would still take roughly half a year to truly forge a third‑grade puppet.

Swish! The formation in the cultivation chamber dissipated.

"Lord, I haven't disturbed your seclusion, have I?" Lin Zixi stood at the doorway of the cultivation chamber.

Lately, older sister Lin Ziyu has been secluding herself more, striving to perfect Qi Refining, hoping to attempt Foundation Establishment soon.

Although she still has over ten years before the final limit of her sixty‑year Qi‑Blood peak, giving her some leeway, she still wishes to try early.

In theory, as long as enough accumulation is reached and Qi Refining is perfected, the earlier one attempts Foundation Establishment, the higher the success rate.

Thus, lately it has been Lin Zixi who serves Xiao Zhangqing, attending to his meals and daily life.

Lin Zixi has only just reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining; she still has some distance before the ninth layer, so it's not that urgent.

Of course, she is also a few years younger.

"It's fine. I'm about to take a short rest anyway," Xiao Zhangqing waved his hand and asked, "Is anyone visiting? Or has something major occurred?"

Under normal circumstances, as long as he is in the cultivation chamber, the Lin sisters do not disturb him.

"An old acquaintance is visiting," Lin Zixi said with a hint of surprise, "It's the Shopkeeper Hong from the Nanshan Fang Lingfu Pavilion."

When Xiao Zhangqing was wandering the slums of Nanshan Fang, Lin Zixi had not yet arrived, so she did not know Shopkeeper Hong.

However, out of curiosity about her lord, over the years she has thoroughly mastered Xiao Zhangqing's rise, and she firmly remembers those who have almost imperceptibly helped him.

If one were to name the most benefactor on his path, it would naturally be this Shopkeeper Hong.

Thus, when Hong Jiantao arrived at Jinxiu Lane and announced his name, Lin Zixi's spirit instantly tightened; she dared not look down on him for merely having a 'weak' Qi Refining level, promptly ushered him into the cave dwelling to wait briefly, then hurried to inform Xiao Zhangqing.

"Shopkeeper Hong?"

Upon hearing that, Xiao Zhangqing was also a bit surprised, then cheerfully said, "Has Shopkeeper Hong been brought in?"

Lin Zixi nodded, "He is already waiting for you in the main hall."

"I'll go now," Xiao Zhangqing said without pretense.

Compared to Xiao Zhangqing's calm demeanor, he felt a touch of happiness.

Hong Jiantao, after many years, saw Xiao Zhangqing again and was noticeably more restrained.

The moment he saw Xiao Zhangqing appear, he instinctively stood up to greet him.

After all, the Xiao Zhangqing before him was no longer the early‑Qi Refining Scattered Cultivator who could only scrape the bottom of Nanshan Fang, but a being who could single‑handedly contend with two major Fake Core True Persons.

"Pleased to meet… Deputy Commander Xiao."

Besides his restraint, Hong Jiantao also felt awkward and unfamiliar.

On his way to Jinxiu Lane, he repeatedly pondered in his mind how to address Xiao Zhangqing upon meeting.

According to cultivation world etiquette, without master‑disciple or kinship ties, a Qi Refining cultivator meeting a Foundation Establishment cultivator must call them 'senior.'

If one meets a Golden Core True Person, calling them 'elder ancestor' would not be excessive.

Yet for Hong Jiantao, whose half‑body is already buried and whose lifespan is short, calling someone who was once a junior 'senior' was something he could not bring himself to say.

After much thought, he felt addressing Xiao Zhangqing by his position in the Character: Liyang Guard seemed more appropriate.

Indeed.

After slaying the Blood Crow True Person and returning to Character: Liyang Immortal City, Gu Zongyuan promptly promoted Xiao Zhangqing to Deputy Commander of the Character: Liyang Guard.

A terrifying force capable of killing a mid‑Golden Core cultivator is virtually the second‑most influential figure in Character: Liyang Immortal City; serving as Deputy Commander of the Character: Liyang Guard is more than fitting. "Please sit, Shopkeeper Hong," Xiao Zhangqing stepped forward, helped Hong Jiantao up, and told him not to be formal.

After resettling, he said seriously, "Shopkeeper Hong can still call me Xiao or Changqing, both are fine. There's no need to use the unfamiliar title Deputy Commander Xiao."

He could never resort to calling someone 'senior' when destitute, 'Dao Companion' when of similar cultivation, or 'little friend' once surpassing them.

That single sentence greatly eased Hong Jiantao's previously restrained and somewhat uneasy mind.

It seems Xiao Zhangqing truly is as Jiang Jiyue described when she returned last time.

Although times have changed, Xiao Zhangqing remains the same Xiao Zhangqing from the Lingfu Pavilion, at least in attitude.

"Then I'll play the elder and keep calling you Changqing."

Hong Jiantao, not one for fussiness, was no longer restrained, only sighed, "After more than ten years apart, I never imagined you were only a few layers back then, yet now you've surpassed most Fake Core True Persons. Little Nanshan Fang has produced such a heavenly prodigy."

Xiao Zhangqing said, "If it weren't for your support and help, Shopkeeper Hong, I might still be struggling in Peng Hu Qu, never seeing a day of breakthrough."

Hong Jiantao shook his head: "Golden scales are not pond creatures. With talent like yours and your steady temperament, showing your edge is only a matter of time."

The logic is exactly that.

Xiao Zhangqing traveled here, gained an inventory cheat, and his rise is only a matter of time.

But in his original state, without the cheat, Hong Jiantao's help like this is a lifeline.

Moreover, at that time Hong Jiantao didn't even know how Xiao Zhangqing's talent was, and hadn't thought to report it.

So this friendship is far more precious than the Mu family's earlier desire to invest in him.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a moment.

Hong Jiantao began to ask about today's business: "Zhangqing, did you petition the City Lord's residence to have a third of the Song family's assets handed over to the Jiang family for management?"

"It's not really a petition. A few days ago Commander Gu came to see me and casually asked whether I was interested in taking over any of the Song family's assets, or building my own power. I had no such plans, so I declined. Then Commander Gu said that among the ten great families I have no close ties; the Song family's holdings are too vast to be given entirely to a newly risen family, so a portion must remain with the original ten families. That's when I thought of the Jiang family and mentioned it in passing…"

Xiao Zhangqing spoke in a nonchalant manner.

Hong Jiantao heard this and was both amazed and bitterly amused.

He said, "There are no free pies in heaven."

It turned out Xiao Zhangqing indeed gave the Jiang family a hand.

Only it's laughable that he still thought it was the merit of Master Guangqin, that the other party kept a promise, did a good deed without leaving a note, and helped covertly.

As a result, he entered the wrong temple and worshiped the wrong Bodhisattva!

"This is the Jiang family's prepared thank‑you gift. It's not much; compared with a third of the Song family's assets and the unseen great help it gave the Jiang family, this gift is nothing at all. Zhangqing, you must accept it." Hong Jiantao took out a storage bag and said earnestly.

This was previously prepared by the Jiang family for Master Guangqin.

Fortunately, Master Guangqin's attendant also misunderstood Jiang's intention, thinking Jiang was being obstinate in demanding Master Guangqin to act.

Now it's a perfect time to hand this thank‑you gift to its rightful owner.

Although Xiao Zhangqing just now spoke casually, without expending any effort.

It's because Xiao Zhangqing is kind‑hearted and nostalgic, but Hong Jiantao cannot truly think that way.

Putting it another way, even if Xiao Zhangqing truly helped the Jiang family as he claimed, merely mentioning it in passing, the Jiang family cannot just accept it as a given! Seeing that Xiao Zhangqing has no intention to take the gift, Hong Jiantao was about to persuade him again; he sincerely wants to give a reward in gratitude.

At that moment, Xiao Zhangqing produced two talisman pens.

They were the pens that Hong Jiantao had given him twice back when they were at Nanshan Fang.

Silver Moon Wolf Hair Brush, Double‑Wing Tiger Hair Brush!

The former, a well‑matched talisman pen Hong Jiantao had used for decades, was given to Xiao Zhangqing before he left Nanshan Fang.

The latter was the talisman pen Symbol Master Lu Qiu used at the first stage, which Hong Jiantao passed on to Xiao Zhangqing. Of course, Lu Qiu only gave it because of Hong Jiantao's face; otherwise Xiao Zhangqing didn't even know him then—a nameless junior—how could Lu Qiu possibly present a pen to him?

These two talisman pens are now of no use to Xiao Zhangqing.

Whether for equipment or daily talisman drawing, Xiao Zhangqing uses the second‑stage premium Sky‑Blue talisman pen.

But those two pens provided great help when Xiao Zhangqing was weak, so he kept them.

"Consider these thank‑you gifts as the Spirit Stone I spent to acquire those two pens," Xiao Zhangqing said with a smile.

"This…" Hong Jiantao naturally recognized the two pens; one of them he had used for decades and was rather reluctant to part with when he first gave it away.

Xiao Zhangqing pushed the storage bag back: "My help to the Jiang family this time isn't as great as the help Shopkeeper Hong gave me when he handed me those two pens at Nanshan Fang. So it's reasonable, isn't it?"

Seeing this, Hong Jiantao realized Xiao Zhangqing truly had no intention to accept the gift, and he silently put the storage bag away.

Later he'll see if there's any place where he can return the favor.

Finally.

When Hong Jiantao arrived he was nervous and uneasy, but when he left he was overall quite happy.

Especially after leaving Jinxiu Fang, on the way back to the Jiang family, though he was full of emotion, he couldn't help but smile as he walked.

People say Hong Jiantao has a good eye and judges people accurately.

But all his previous insights combined still aren't as spot‑on as the one he has on Xiao Zhangqing! (End of chapter)