Chapter 278: 270 Gathering

This sudden sharp turn was very abrupt. Yun Xiyan originally did not want to pay attention to the two's words; after all, the Jianghu is treacherous and anything can happen. He might be coaxing her over to counter-kill her, but hearing this person call out her name in one breath, she was still slightly stunned. She remembered she hadn't introduced herself just now, so she couldn't help but bark: "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

Xing Ji said: "I naturally know your name—I know the name of everyone on the mountain. I also know this one—he should be a noble guest from the West, right?"

Wang Fei also calmed down. He neither admitted nor denied it, only saying: "What right do you have to know so much? Are you also from Zhuoyu Villa?"

However, his invitation only had the two characters 'Wang Fei' written on it; even if they were people from Zhuoyu Villa, they might not necessarily know his identity.

Xing Ji said: "Why do I know? Naturally, it's because Tang Zhao showed me. If he invited me up the mountain to help him defend the Sword Casting Conference and didn't even tell me which guests were coming, wouldn't he be trying to pit me? I may pit him, but I won't allow him to pit me."

Yun Xiyan was shocked by his bluntness and said: "You are..."

Xing Ji smiled and said: "I am Xing Ji, he is Xue Laiyi. Neither of us is from Zhuoyu Villa; we are both relatives of Tang Zhao. He is Tang Zhao's grand-master, and I am Tang Zhao's... prospective godfather."

Wang Fei glared at him, thinking: What kind of nonsense is this? This person speaks so unreliably, how can he be trusted?

On this side, Yun Xiyan looked at Xing Ji, who didn't look that old, so how did he get involved with being a godfather? She asked suspiciously: "A grand-master is the master's older brother, but what is a prospective godfather?"

Xing Ji said: "Prospective, it means just a little bit off. I am just a little bit off from being his godfather."

Yun Xiyan pondered: "Just a little bit off from a godfather, hmm, are you his 'god-second-uncle'?"

Xing Ji laughed loudly, and Wang Fei couldn't help but cover his face, thinking to himself: You two are truly on the same wavelength.

Xing Ji was all smiles and said: "The two of you, sit inside, let's have a good chat." He grabbed two stools from behind a flowerpot, gave one to each of them, and said: "Lao Xuetou, why don't you go handle that matter?"

Xue Laiyi grumbled: "I'm a disabled old man, being ordered around by you to run back and forth, not a moment of peace. Do you understand what it means to respect the old and cherish the weak?"

Xing Ji laughed: "Even if I went, they wouldn't recognize me—besides, there are friends here to entertain. Remember to bring the list back." Xue Laiyi glared at him unhappily and left, shaking his wheelchair.

As soon as he left, Xing Ji also sat down. Yun Xiyan was still skeptical and said: "If you aren't bad people, why did you lie just now? Using Snow Ginseng Pills to pass off as Vermilion Ganoderma Pills, that wasn't fake, was it?" She stared at Xing Ji, as if trying to find evidence of "lining his own pockets" on his face.

Xing Ji said helplessly: "That's also because you came too early. Very well, you aren't outsiders, so I might as well speak openly—this Young Master Wang surely knows what a Vermilion Ganoderma Pill is, right?"

Wang Fei said: "Naturally, that is a legendary divine medicine. Hmm? Could it be that..."

Xing Ji knew he had realized it and said: "Since you are a noble of the Imperial Court, you should know that the Vermilion Ganoderma Pill has been lost for a long time. Even the Imperial Court might not have any in stock now. This is an extremely rare item, and very useful; for some people, it is worth risking their lives to seek, truly reaching the level of 'possessing a treasure is a crime'. If this item is written in black and white for any interested party to see, what would happen? Zhuoyu Villa has been away from the world for too long and doesn't distinguish the weight of treasures, only knowing to take out the good things they have to show off. How could they know the dangers here? If I hadn't come to visit my old friend Xue Laiyi today, I really wouldn't have known they had openly placed such a treasure on the exchange list. I had just explained the stakes to Xue Laiyi when you arrived and specifically asked for the 'Vermilion Ganoderma Pill'. In his panic, he had no choice but to use the Snow Ginseng Pills at hand to muddle through. Fortunately, you are friends that Tang Zhao said are trustworthy; if you were outsiders, even if you had seen through it, I would have had to deny it to the end."

Wang Fei suddenly realized, then said: "Then is the Vermilion Ganoderma Pill in..."

Xing Ji said: "He has one here, probably kept privately by Manor Master Xue. After the sword casting is successful, you can secretly tell Tang Zhao your request, and he will naturally not refuse. But once you are outside, you must never say it came from Zhuoyu Villa."

Wang Fei breathed a sigh of relief and said repeatedly: "I understand. Many thanks, many thanks."

Seeing that the matter was settled, Yun Xiyan slapped her leg and said: "Hey, so that's how it is. You should have said so earlier, causing such a misunderstanding. Why couldn't you just speak properly? If we had crossed swords, it wouldn't have been good if someone got hurt."

Xing Ji smiled and said: "It wasn't for nothing that we crossed swords. Firstly, I wanted to see Miss Yun make a move and see the quality of your sword. After all, there's a reason for us to meet at this time and place, and since Miss Yun is an expert, probing the bottom line will make future actions more convenient. As for the second reason..."

Then they heard Xue Laiyi chuckle: "It's just that this person's acting addiction flared up. He is addicted to role-playing and making trouble out of nothing, yet his acting skills are a complete mess, always being exposed and making himself look pathetic."

Xing Ji wasn't angry and said: "Why else would we have such rapport? The last time we cooperated, we were seen through at a glance by a twelve-year-old child. This time, it was pointed out by this young lady in one sentence, which shows that our level of cooperation is stable and our performance is not affected by the outside world."

Xue Laiyi returned from outside, shaking his wheelchair, and said: "If you would just control that mouth of yours and not do those flashy things, with your ability, you wouldn't have ended up keeping a disabled old man like me company."

Wang Fei suddenly said: "Lord Xing, you are a military officer under the Yunzhou Marquis Mansion, right?"

Xing Ji's expression didn't change, and he said: "No. I am a commoner."

Wang Fei was stunned. He had originally guessed that Xing Ji was under the Gaoyuan Marquis, because Yunzhou is not like the Central Plains and lacks deep Jianghu foundations; experts like Xing Ji are usually in the government or the military. But Xing Ji denied it so cleanly and decisively, not appearing to be faking it, which made his subsequent words impossible to say.

Xing Ji did not want to have an official conversation with this heir, so he said to Xue Laiyi: "Let's take a look. What good things has Zhuoyu Villa prepared?"

Xue Laiyi handed him a manual and said: "The full exchange manual for this conference that I asked for. They really have prepared quite a lot of things."

Wang Fei said in surprise: "There are so many? When he showed me the exchange voucher just now, there weren't this many good things."

Xing Ji said: "Good things must be released in batches to make their family assets look wealthy and endless. Azhao understands business better than I imagined. Hmm... this can't be wanted, and this can't be wanted either." As he looked, he ticked items off in the manual. Seeing a certain line that was inappropriate, he lightly swiped his finger across the paper; that line, along with the surface layer of the paper, was naturally destroyed, yet the paper did not break. His force was very ingenious.

After flipping through it quickly, he didn't know how many he had crossed out. Yun Xiyan and Wang Fei were close enough to touch, yet they didn't even know the names of these things; it was all up to him to decide. After flipping through it once, Xing Ji handed it to Wang Fei and said: "Young Master, take a look? Is there anything you are tempted by?"

Wang Fei understood his meaning—if one were to talk about status among the guests present, no one was nobler than him, and very few were wealthier. If even he could take a fancy to something, it must be very precious; for the sake of safety, it was better not to put it in the exchange book.

However, in fact, there were many things he took a fancy to, such as that Snow Dragon Carriage which was very handsome. He also saw many things in the exchange book that were inexplicable but sounded very good, such as 'All-Intelligence Furniture', 'Phantom Game Console', etc., and he wished he could find Tang Zhao to buy them right now.

But he just restrained his itching hands and only looked at the materials in the back—no matter what, Art Tools are harmless. Even if the Art Tools are exquisite, it only shows that Zhuoyu Villa's level of Rune Formula is high; they are in this business, so how could one not allow them to make their own good things?

He looked through the materials born of heaven and earth, picked out some he cared about, but then immediately added: "Although these things are good, it's not like they can't be kept. Otherwise, if there isn't a single good thing in the book, wouldn't it make Zhuoyu Villa look like they have no foundation?"

Xing Ji said: "Materials don't count for much, a few less is fine. There are really quite a few good things among the Art Tools. And finally..."

Flipping to the last page of the manual, Wang Fei exclaimed, and even Yun Xiyan, who leaned over to look, was shocked: "Exchanging for a Sword Casting slot? What a grand gesture."

Having this is definitely enough to attract people. One must know that the hardest thing in the world is to find a path to sword casting. Although there are many Sword Masters in the world, they are either high and mighty, in the hands of the Imperial Court, or already have factions; ordinary people simply cannot encounter them. If they can have a path to sword casting, even if it is just one slot, how can everyone not be eager and excited?

But is such a grand gesture for real?

Casting a sword takes a very long time. Don't look at how Xue Xianyun has been in seclusion for half a year and is already on the verge of completing the sword; he had prepared for many years, deliberated on the plan hundreds of times, and could ensure nothing would go wrong. This means the last half year was just operation, without much thinking, doubt, or even pausing, let alone failure and reworking.

It is very normal for a normal sword to take one or two years to cast.

And after this sword is cast, will the next one be the sword for the exchange?

Is Xue Xianyun that free?

Not to mention others, Wang Fei knows that Tang Zhao also doesn't have a sword, and he also wants to be a Sword Guest. Could it be that his sword can't even line up in front? Also, the Xue Clan daughter doesn't have a sword either; doesn't she want to be a Sword Guest?

Not to mention the orders from the Land Inspection Division that Wang Fei doesn't know about.

Even Xing Ji doesn't know how Xue Xianyun is going to squeeze out time to cast swords for outsiders. He does know that Tang Zhao's sword can be cast by himself, but what about the others? Shouldn't his own disciples be at the front of the line?

If someone who is at odds with him gathers enough exchange qualifications, does he have to cast a sword for them too? Is he not afraid of aiding the enemy?

The few of them were discussing the manual when suddenly a red shadow flashed inside the tent. Xing Ji's heart stirred, and he already smiled: "Laofeng is back. How does it look?"

A little girl crawled out from somewhere in the tent, with cheeks like red apples and a pair of eyes like jewels, and said: "I went to check, there is no problem over there."

Xing Ji smiled: "That couldn't be better. We have a few more points of certainty."