Chapter 166 - 165: Cold Frost Sword, Farewell Unread

Li Jing spent over an hour studying skills in his room.

When he entered the living room, Liu Sisi had already finished her bath and was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Stinky Tofu was behaving nicely and lying beside her.

Seeing him come out, Sisi pointed to the spot next to her, smiling.

Li Jing moved forward and sat next to her.

"How has the Chicken Shop been doing these past few days?"

"Pretty good actually, the hired helpers are all very capable, and the shop is running smoothly," Sisi replied, then sighed.

"However, opening the new branch may have to be postponed for a while. The flying sword I had commissioned for refining is now completed, and it cost more than 90 million. I need to be thrifty for the next few months, or there won’t be enough operating capital for the shop."

Upon hearing her words, Li Jing knitted his brows.

"What’s the quality of the flying sword you bought? Why is it so expensive?"

"Treasure-level 10."

Sisi smiled and conjured a snow-colored flying sword, handing it over to him.

"Here, it’s my Cold Frost Sword. Want to take a look?"

"Mm."

Li Jing received the sword.

Upon holding the sword, a chill seeped into his palm.

It was obvious that this flying sword was a water-attribute mutation of the ice attribute.

Treasure-level 10, 90 million.

The price was just right.

However, factoring in its compatibility with Sisi’s ice attribute, 90 million wouldn’t be enough to buy it.

The attributes of a weapon typically present themselves after they evolve into spirit weapons.

For the attributes to be present at the treasure stage, expensive attribute materials must be added during the refinement process.

The success of the refining process and whether the attributes are present is up to luck.

Materials that guaranteed attributes on a magic treasure are not only incredibly expensive but also exceedingly rare.

Whether the completed magic treasure carries the attribute is a completely different matter.

On one hand, it possesses attribute effects at the magic treasure stage, and on the other hand, you don’t have to worry about awakening certain incompatible attributes after it evolves into a spirit weapon.

That said, the price of attribute-bearing magic treasures usually marks up by 30-50%.

You have to admit, Sisi’s connections are pretty solid.

Normally, in a magic treasure shop, 90 million may not even be enough to buy a tenth grade treasure, let alone one that carries an attribute.

This move of hers probably saved at least 50 million.

Examining the Cold Frost Sword, Li Jing tiled his head in wonder.

"Which master refiner of the Refining Association created your sword? The quality is quite good."

"The vice president of the association, Li Jinzhi."

Sisi shrugged.

"..."

Li Jing was astonished.

The vice president of the Refining Association personally made the sword?

This level of networking from Sisi was pretty incredible.

As if aware of his thoughts, Sisi snorted.

"To get the vice president to personally refine it for me, I had to pull a lot of strings, including gifting him dozens of Spirit Chickens."

Li Jing was rendered speechless.

A few dozen Spirit Chickens were nothing compared to the favor of the vice president from the Refining Association refining it for you.

After returning the Cold Frost Sword, Li Jing moved on from the topic.

"I took seven days off to go to the Secret Realm and there’s no rush for me to go back to work right now. I’ll be out tomorrow handling some things, but I have a couple of days free to spend with you."

"Spend with me?"

Sisi blinked her eyes, put away the Cold Frost Sword, and said, "You don’t have to. Yuran is still working on a case, right? Besides, you’re still in your newcomer period. You should go back to work as soon as you should."

She then embraced Li Jing’s arm, sighed, and said, "In these three days, I’ve just about got the hang of the Spirit Control Skill and the Returning to Origin Skill that you recommended. I bought the flying sword but haven’t had a chance to learn how to use Sword Controlling yet. As for Second Realm Magic, I’ve only learned the Xuanming Stab and dabbled in the Sky Control Method. I have to get down to learning all types of magic spells, and after all that, I’ll still need to continue my focused training. My days are ridiculously busy. There’s no need for you to put your work on hold for my sake."

After mumbling her grievances, Sisi smiled and said, "I think our relationship is perfect just as it is. There’s no need for anything fancier than seeing each other every day."

Looking a little touched by her words, Li Jing can’t help but smile.

Plain and ordinary, truly nice indeed.

If he could, he wouldn’t seek too much excitement either.

Before jumping across dimensions, to be able to have a cute and gentle girlfriend like Liu Sisi by his side at home, he would already consider himself a winner in life.

Thinking that Liu Sisi has not long entered the Three Realm, and indeed has a lot to learn, Li Jing nodded.

"Alright then, since you wish to focus on learning various magic skills, I will find things to do by myself in the next few days and not bother you."

Liu Sisi frowned upon hearing this.

"Did I not express myself clearly? Did I not mean for you not to let yourself go so you could get back to work sooner?"

"Don’t worry, I won’t neglect my patrol responsibilities."

Li Jing confidently smirked, saying.

"It’s not easy getting a week off, it would be wasteful not to use the whole vacation."

"..."

Liu Sisi fell silent.

She hadn’t thought much about it at the start.

Now, she got the gist of it.

All this while, Li Jing was simply unwilling to work.

Accompanying her and what not, were merely his excuses.

Her ability to understand him, what a waste.

Giving a silent glance at a certain someone, Liu Sisi rolled her eyes at him.

"Once I have completed my seclusion practice, I guess I will apply for a patrol officer position."

?

Li Jing sent a question mark, surprised as he turned his head.

"You, patrol officer?"

"What?"

Liu Sisi stared and said indignantly.

"What do you mean by that look? Are you underestimating me? I’m already in the Third Realm, why can’t I be a patrol officer?"

"Ahem, well..."

Li Jing coughed.

Of course he was not underestimating Liu Sisi, but being a patrol officer, he was sure it wouldn’t suit her.

Whether it was dangerous or not was another issue.

A patrol officer has to deal with a multitude of tasks.

From time to time, they have to confront unreasonable members of the public, Liu Sisi with her temperament, could she endure that?

After a bit of hesitation, Li Jing advised.

"If you simply want to find a proper job, I don’t recommend you to be a patr..."

Before he finished his sentence, Liu Sisi humphed.

"Who said I want to find a proper job? I don’t need the money, I want to be a patrol officer because I want the permission to control the sky in the city. Less than a month after my breakthrough into the First Realm, I just started practicing sky control, I also need to arrange practices for my flying sword control after I bought it, and then practice more."

Then, she said undoubtedly.

"Becoming a patrol officer gives me permission to control the sky, I can practice anyway I want, otherwise, the most I can do is fly around at home. How proficient can I be with this kind of practice?"

"..."

Li Jing.

Liu Sisi’s reason caught him by surprise.

It made sense if you think about it.

No matter the type of magic skill, once learned, they need to be practiced.

Compared to cultivators her age, Liu Sisi’s magic skills are notably lacking, even though her cultivation level already surpassed theirs.

With the Cold Heart Physique, she could learn ice-based magic quickly.

But for sky control and sword control, she needed to practice one step at a time earnestly.

To improve the efficiency of practice, authority to fly in the city is essential.

After thinking a bit, Li Jing said.

"If you simply want permission to fly, there’s no need to go through the trouble of becoming a patrol officer. I gained quite a bit from the recent trip to the Secret Realm and I also managed to get a position as a strategic advisor at the Jianghai Management Bureau. They will be delivering the credentials tomorrow. How about I arrange something for you, be my secretary?"

Liu Sisi paused upon hearing these words, bemused.

"Strategic advisor, the position sounds like it has quite a high authority. How did you, a newcomer patrol officer, end up as a strategic advisor in the management bureau?"

"Never mind how, what matters is this is the truth."

Li Jing spoke, saying.

"Real talk though, I’m not deceiving you, with my current influence, it wouldn’t be a problem to arrange a relaxed secretary position for you. With credentials from the Management Bureau, not only will you be able to freely control the sky, but also get the chance to accompany me to the Secret Realm someday."

"This..."

Liu Sisi hesitated, and asked.

"Won’t there be a problem with you messing around like this?"

"Rest assured, there won’t be a problem."

Li Jing responded with a faint smile.

Seeing his confident demeanor, Liu Sisi bit her red lip lightly.

"So as your secretary, I don’t have to do anything?"

"There usually isn’t much to do at the Management Bureau."

Li Jing shook his head and replied.

"And besides, as an honorary operations advisor, they may not necessarily come to me if anything arises."

"Your role as an operations advisor seems incredibly laid-back."

Liu Sisi murmured under her breath, her thoughtful countenance whispering.

"Since you have a way, just arrange for me. Whether there is work or not, I’ll be able to handle clerical duties as a secretary. I majored in secretarial studies, so I should be able to adapt. Your advisory role amounts to a shell with no substance. I can help you operate it."

Li Jing blinked his eyes at her words.

She was quite right.

If he didn’t do anything, he would indeed be just an empty shell.

He would only have the jurisdiction to mobilize ten thousand people if necessary.

He only knew three people in the entire Jianghai Management Bureau. Where would he find ten thousand people to mobilize?

Authority alone was useless without manpower.

Unexpectedly, he would still have to "mobilize people" through Jiang Yini.

Having this thought, Li Jing felt the need to have a serious talk with Jiang Yini. He could bring over a standard ten-thousand-person workforce for Liu Sisi to manage.

Li Jing nodded in silence, saying.

"You’re right, I’ll arrange to speak with the bureau chief tomorrow after I finish my work. I’ll get you an office and a ten-thousand-person workforce for you to manage."

"..."

Liu Sisi.

Not to mention how proficient Li Jing was becoming at taking advantage of a situation, his scope of authority was getting a tad too high.

An honorary advisor who did nothing, could muster a ten-thousand-man team?

Why not just claim to go to the moon?

If it were anyone else, Liu Sisi would surely think they were bluffing.

But Li Jing would never deceive her.

If he dared to say it, he definitely had the ability.

Shifting to a more comfortable position, Liu Sisi asked hesitatingly.

"You have so much authority in the Management Bureau, isn’t patrolling a bit redundant?"

"Two jobs mean two paychecks, how can that be surplus?"

Li Jing seriously declared adding,

"Besides, I would have to support you in the future, isn’t it a good thing to earn more while young?"

His sentence, "I will have to support you in the future," made Liu Sisi blush slightly as she nodded.

She didn’t know the real reason why Li Jing insisted on being a patroller.

But she knew that Li Jing was very capable and earned quite a bit of money thanks to his excellent ability at the auxiliary patrol position.

His income significantly surpassed the profits earned from managing the chicken shop.

Her boyfriend was ambitious, even thinking about supporting her, what could Liu Sisi possibly say as a woman?

She had never made any demands of Li Jing.

But since Li Jing had this intention, she was genuinely pleased.

Who wouldn’t hope for their boyfriend to progress?

Holding his arm tighter, Liu Sisi softly says.

"You made the promise to support me in the future, don’t regret it later."

Looking at Liu Sisi’s embarrassed expression, Li Jing graciously agreed.

"If you’re willing, I can start supporting you right now."

"That’s enough, you’re pushing your luck."

Liu Sisi clicked her tongue and glared at him.

"We’ve only just started dating and you’re already tricking me into marriage. Dream on."

Li Jing chuckled.

With his current resources, supporting Liu Sisi wouldn’t be a problem.

Yet Liu’s Sisi’s consideration was a bit overboard, assuming this to be deception into marriage.

...

The long night soon passed.

The next morning, Li Jing went to the service hall as per his plan, bought a new phone, and got a new sim card with it.

Once done, he rushed back home.

The Management Bureau was going to deliver his certificate today, and he wasn’t sure when they would arrive.

Liu Sisi would be home but wouldn’t wake up before noon.

If he misses the delivery, it could cause trouble.

Returning home, he tidied up, let Stinky Tofu loose in the yard to burn off some energy, and then called Unwritten on the new phone.

The call was answered quickly.

Then, Unwritten’s deep voice came over the line.

"Hello, who’s there?"

"It’s me, Li Jing."

Li Jing introduced himself.

"Li, the Inspector?!"

Unwritten was surprised, then asked in confusion.

"What do you need me for?"

"Are you available to meet at my place?"

Li Jing asked, continuing,

"I need your help with something. Let’s talk face to face."

"OK, give me two minutes."

Unwritten responded promptly.

He wasn’t just a courier for the dark web’s black market, he also ran his own "private business."

If Li Jing needed him, of course, he would act promptly.

Maintaining a good relationship with an active patroller like Li Jing would bring him many benefits.

...

Unwritten was very punctual.

Exiting the call and within exactly two minutes, he appeared in the dark corner of the villa’s courtyard, like a ghost.

Stinky Tofu, who had initially been frolicking about the yard, was first to notice Unwritten’s arrival. It let out a cry and quickly dashed to Li Jing’s side, snarling at the corner where Unwritten was standing.

Stinky Tofu’s textbook "hide behind the owner" intimidation tactic succeeded in alerting Li Jing to Unwritten’s arrival.

Li Jing hadn’t noticed Unwritten’s arrival himself.

Instantly, he became highly interested in Unwritten’s unusual escape skill.

This special escape skill of Unwritten’s was extremely strange and apparently wasn’t available for purchase on the Immortal Learning website.

If he ever got the chance, he could try to acquire it.

Petting Stinky Tofu’s head to calm it down, Li Jing went over and directly stated his request.

"I want to register as a merchant on the dark web black market, can you vouch for me?"

"A merchant status?"

Unwritten looked over, surprised.

"Inspector Li, you..."

"Just answer if you can or cannot, don’t ask more."

Li Jing responded, saying,

"Don’t worry, if you help me with this favour, your help will not be left unrewarded."

"Alright."

Unwritten nodded, then asked,

"So, what’s my reward?"

Unwritten asked directly, and Li Jing wouldn’t beat around the bush either.

"I’ll focus on the low-end market, buying and selling all kinds of resources, and raise my darkweb membership level to the highest. Whether you believe it or not, I’ll completely disrupt the low-end market."

Li Jing calmly explained, continuing,

"The purchasing and selling of these resources will require transportation and storage. If you help me secure the merchant status, I’ll hand this side over to you. The profits you make from managing these deals will surely be substantial."

Upon hearing these words, Unwritten squinted his eyes and offered an Immortal Messaging ID.

"You seem so confident, Inspector Li. Your plan sounds promising, but controlling the market on the dark web is not easy, especially the low-end market where all kinds of people are mixed in. I advise you to proceed according to your capabilities."

After finishing his piece, he turned into a black fog and disappeared, leaving a spoken message,

"Add me on Immortal Messaging and send me your account name, I’ll arrange it for you."