Chapter 26: Young Miss 26

The Young Miss of the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce has the surname An, and her given name is Chen Yu.

She has a mysophobia.

Therefore, Song Cheng and Tong Jia were taken by the servants of the manor to bathe and change clothes before they went to pay their respects.

The first time Song Cheng looked at her, he not only saw "Strength: 8~8" and "Favorability: 60," but he also saw coldness.

Coldness is a feeling, so how could it be seen? It is only because this was not the coldness of gloom, but the coldness of icy beauty.

It was a kind of coldness built up by her dignified, ritualistic, graceful, and beautiful appearance, her tall stature, her sitting upright in the central seat, and the respect of those around her.

But when she cast her gaze over and revealed a gentle expression, that icy beauty was like an iceberg melting with the arrival of spring, like the night passing and the morning light rising, making one feel incomparably comfortable and yearning to be close to her.

But it was only a yearning to be close, yet one dared not harbor any thoughts of profanity.

This is a kind of charisma belonging to those in high positions.

Combined with the attitude of the servants and Guards of the manor that Song Cheng had seen along the way, as well as some scattered fragments of conversation, he roughly knew that this Young Miss had already completed the "Seal-Taking" procedure, and with her ability, she could completely manage the entire Chamber of Commerce.

Because everything here looked so orderly and full of structure.

"Where is Guan Xi?"

The Young Miss asked impatiently.

Song Cheng performed a salute and recounted the events clearly and logically.

After speaking, he sighed: "Guan Xi called me 'Sir,' yet I was unable to bring her out; I feel ashamed in my heart."

The Young Miss said: "Sir, there is no need to blame yourself. If you feel ashamed, how could I not? I truly knew nothing of the matter regarding the bandits."

She also sighed lightly, and a hint of anger flashed in her apricot-shaped eyes.

She had thought about how much of a scoundrel that elder brother of hers was, but she had not thought that he was not only wicked but also stupid.

Colluding with bandits?

Seeking skin from a tiger—was he not afraid that the tiger would be insatiably greedy and swallow him up as well?

However, the storm had calmed for now, and the elders had entrusted the "Seal" to her, thereby exchanging it for her brother's doubled luxury and indulgence.

At a time like this, even if she were to use "colluding with bandits" to speak against her brother, it would be suppressed, and at the same time, the elders would think she was "cold-blooded, narrow-minded, and deliberately fabricating reasons to secure her position," and so on.

Many thoughts flashed by; the Young Miss rested her chin on her hand, her beautiful eyes examining the youth below the hall, and then she suddenly began to ask about more things.

She asked.

He answered.

As he answered, the Young Miss even dismissed the people at her side.

Because Song Cheng knew too much.

Back in the deep mountains, in order to persuade him, Guan Xi had said everything, just to make Song Cheng believe that "as long as you follow her out, you will definitely be able to take flight; even if we don't talk about wealth and honor, it is still countless times better than being in the mountain village."

Most of the time, Song Cheng was "quoting Guan Xi's original words." Such original words were filled with a person's style of speaking and tone; even if the information was consistent, it itself revealed deeper things such as "closeness and distance."

As Song Cheng spoke, he saw the Young Miss's favorability begin to rise, from the original 60 to 65, then to 70, and then to 75.

When the conversation reached its end, the Young Miss said: "Since Guan Xi called you 'Sir,' and you indeed killed the bandits, would you be willing to test your blade technique?"

Song Cheng understood that this had gone from the initial "casual chat," to an "interview," and now to an "assessment."

He nodded and said: "Naturally."

Whether he could settle down safely in the county town with Tong Niangzi depended on this "assessment," otherwise... he could only be randomly assigned to some unknown neighborhood as a refugee.

On the other side, the Young Miss summoned a maid, and the maid hurried down, returning after a short while to say: "Miss, he is here."

The Young Miss smiled and said: "Mr. Song, let us go to the courtyard."

Song Cheng followed her.

Outside the door, a burly man with a small mustache was standing there like a pagoda, leaning on his blade.

"Ding Kui, stop at the point of contact." The Young Miss gave the order, then said to Song Cheng, "Mr. Song, my Ruyi Chamber of Commerce has guards who do not engage in production and specialize in martial arts. Ding Kui is one of the best among them, and his strength has reached the Great Accomplishment of the Force Realm. Are you willing to fight him?"

Song Cheng looked at Ding Kui.

The data appeared:

【Strength: 10~15】

【Favorability: 40】

Why is the favorability so low? Song Cheng was a bit stunned.

He was not the protagonist in a novel; was it necessary to be targeted everywhere he went and be shouted at by everyone? As for strength, he scanned himself again.

The Fine Blade was lost on the road while fleeing; now he only had 35~35.

The opponent at least had the advantage of a weapon; if he were to be cut on the neck, he would still die.

The Young Miss said: "Mr. Song, if you are willing, pick a weapon from the weapon rack."

Song Cheng heroically said "Good," then stepped forward, picked the only blade, held it in his hand, and spun it, and his strength immediately changed to "37~74."

"Brother Ding, please."

Ding Kui snorted coldly.

A country bumpkin, and still a 'Sir'? Go home and practice for a few more years!! Because the Young Miss was present, he still cupped his fists, then channeled his force into the blade, stood tall, and charged up, fighting with Song Cheng; the two traded blows for twenty or thirty rounds, with no clear winner.

When the blades clashed again and the two separated, the Young Miss gave a look.

The maid said: "Stop!"

The two who were about to pounce again stopped their movements.

The look in the Young Miss's eyes that had wanted to "entrust him with an important task" faded a little; after a few changes, she looked at Song Cheng and smiled: "Mr. Song's strength is indeed extraordinary."

Ding Kui's favorability dropped again, becoming 35.

Song Cheng saw that Ding Kui had been fighting him fiercely and had been wondering where he had offended this burly man, but at this moment he suddenly understood, so he said: "Young Miss, the title of 'Sir' is too much. I merely practiced a few farming tricks in Tanghe Village; how could I be mentioned in the same breath as the heroes and gallants of the Chamber of Commerce?" As soon as these words fell, Ding Kui's favorability "swished" and rose.

It went directly from "35" to "70."

It really was that one second he was hated to the bone, and the next second they were friends; language is just that wonderful. In the end, the "two peaches killing three warriors" story is just about face.

Of course, if Song Cheng were to directly expose his strength, he could completely beat Ding Kui until he had no temper left, but the result would, nine times out of ten, turn into "beat Ding Kui, and a stronger guard comes along."

He fought all the way, and offended everyone along the way, because he was not a member of the merchant association, but an outsider.

At the same time, he would instantly be at the center of the storm. Whether the Young Miss believed him or not would become a problem. Even if she believed him, even if she used him, the problems he would need to solve would be "problems matching his full strength." But could he get any benefits? Not at all.

In the deep mountains and old forests, his line of thinking was wrong, but what was wrong was not the heart of "quietly becoming stronger," but the mistake of wanting to take the easy way out by staying in a wilderness where "Yang energy is insufficient and it is difficult to fill the Yin."

On the way here, he had also thought it through.

Being an expert but pretending to have no power at all—this kind of stupid thing, he could not do.

Should he not eat well and drink well? Should his life not be improved? He, Song, did not seek to be brave and fight, but he also wanted to live a good life.

Therefore, he set a life strategy for himself: hide sixty or seventy percent, reveal thirty or forty percent.

Use that "sixty or seventy percent of hidden strength" to counter potential risks, and use that "thirty or forty percent of revealed strength" to gain status.

Now, he was simply carrying out his choice.

As many thoughts turned to the other side, the Young Miss asked, "Then how old are you this year?"

Song Cheng said, "Seventeen."

"Seventeen?"

The Young Miss showed a smile.

A seventeen-year-old Force Realm Great Accomplishment martial artist who walked out of the countryside was a rare and good seedling.

Which power does not like good seedlings?

Cultivating and winning them over is not fast enough. Suppressing or targeting them is impossible.

So she said, "Seventeen, two years younger than me. Then, Song Cheng, where did the blade technique you practice come from?"

Song Cheng said frankly, "There was a secret technique passed down in the village, bestowed upon me, named 'White Snake Blade'."

Beside them, Ding Kui clapped his hands and praised, "What a White Snake Blade, no wonder when I sparred with Brother Song, I only felt that Brother Song's blade technique was agile, truly extraordinary!"

Song Cheng waved his hands repeatedly and said, "It cannot compare to Brother Ding's seasoned blade technique; I am still far behind. If we went a few more rounds, I would surely be defeated."

Ding Kui's favorability shot up, going from 70 to 80.

Most Martial Artists care about face; if you can spar with them and also give them face, they will like you. Conversely, they will draw their blades and chop you up; it would not even be an exaggeration to call it a life-and-death feud.

Thus, Ding Kui laughed heartily and said, "Brother Song suits my temperament, let's go drink in a while."

When saying the two words "drink," he winked and raised his eyebrows.

Clearly, this "drinking" was not ordinary drinking, but had some tricks to it.

Song Cheng smiled and said, "That would require reporting to my wife at home."

Ding Kui laughed boisterously, "Shouldn't women listen to us? Brother Song is still afraid of his wife?"

After saying this, the air suddenly went quiet.

Ding Kui suddenly realized that the Young Miss up high was still there.

An Chenyu said indifferently, "Ling'er, the guards have also worked hard these days. Since Little Song has just arrived, it is only right for them to welcome him. Let all these expenses be recorded in the accounting office; consider it my treat."

The maid responded.

Ding Kui hurriedly said, "Thank you, Young Miss, for the treat."

An Chenyu said, "Guard Ding, you may go back first."

Ding Kui took his leave.

An Chenyu looked at Song Cheng and said, "Little Song, are you willing to settle down in my An Family?"

Song Cheng smiled and said, "I'm afraid I don't meet the threshold."

An Chenyu said, "Then it is settled."

Having said that, she said, "Ling'er, go find the Steward and have him make a trip to the County Government today to help Song Cheng and his wife settle their residency."

The personal maid named Ling'er responded and hurried out.

In the courtyard, only the Young Miss and Song Cheng remained.

An Chenyu smiled and said, "Little Song, I want to cultivate you, are you willing?"

Song Cheng was not a person who would refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, and furthermore, he had no better choice, so he said directly, "I am willing."

An Chenyu let out a breath, suddenly her apricot eyes flickered, staring at him, and she asked softly, "When you sparred with Ding Kui just now, did you hide anything?"

Song Cheng said, "I did."

An Chenyu's apricot eyes lit up: "How much?"

Song Cheng said, "Twenty percent."

An Chenyu's beautiful face showed a smile, and she said, "Be my younger brother. I have an incompetent older brother, and now I want to take in a competent younger brother."

Song Cheng knew this was a transaction.

There is no love without a reason in this world.

Although he had displayed just the right amount of strength and potential, good character, and a simple and clean background, he still needed a ritual to draw closer their relationship in order to obtain privileges.

He nodded and decisively called out, "An Jie."

(End of this chapter)