Shui Yue politely cupped his hands and bid farewell; Ling Xia stood and sent this brother and sister duo off with his eyes, inwardly quite happy that his work was certified by a professional. In the afternoon, the last two magical artifacts were finally sold, with the level-2 one netting an excellent price of 300 energy coins. Subtracting what he spent, his storage bag actually had almost 600 level-1 energy coins now.
It should be noted that the salary the sect gave him for an entire month’s worth of labor and hard work, was only 8 energy coins, or ¥800 in China… Ling Xia patted his storage bag, sighing ruefully in his heart.
The masked man had said that the wine he liked cost 3000 energy coins a jar, but Ling Xia knew that he spoke in jest. In this strange world, the best kind of wine used celestial herbs or spiritual fruits to brew, and they were essentially priceless commodities.
He asked around for the location of the best winery in town, and taking advantage of the daylight hours left, quickly hurried on over. The shop attendant introduced their wide selection very enthusiastically, and Ling Xia spent a long time prudently contemplating his options. In the end, he chose a small jar of the clear, raw, and sweet White Pear Flower, spending 500 energy coins.
Although it wasn’t considered the best of wines, this was a token of his gratitude towards his respected teacher. When he passed by a roasted chicken store, he bought two lotus wrapped chickens for the Snow Flamma as well.
It was becoming late, so while half running and half walking, he rushed back and managed to reach Immortal Welcoming Pavilion before the sky completely darkened.
The disciples guarding the gate distantly noticed his arrival and called out, “Junior brother Ling, everyone was summoned to an emergency assembly this afternoon and told that in the next few days, important guests will arrive. We’re in charge of tidying up and arranging where they will all stay. As for your assignment, you should hurry and find Martial uncle Guang to ask for the details.”
Separately, Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu had come looking for Ling Xia twice by now. Those gatekeepers recognized that they were both the sect master’s direct disciples, so on the surface, they treated Ling Xia extremely courteously. The other disciples who used to look down on Ling Xia were a bit apprehensive, but after seeing how Ling Xia treat everyone politely and amicably without any arrogance or spite, they all gradually felt relieved. Throughout Immortal Welcoming Pavilion, no matter what one’s private thoughts were, their current relationship with Ling Xia wasn’t bad on a superficial level.
Ling Xia smiled at that disciple and replied, “Understood, many thanks for Senior brother’s reminder. I’ll go right away.”
Guang XuZi didn’t reproach Ling Xia for returning late or anything like that, and instead, greeted him with an genial expression before sighing, “Ling Xia, it’ll be tough on you this time. You and Yuan Hui both have Herculean Strength, and our time is short. If this errand was assigned to anyone else, I’m afraid it’ll delay our other preparations. Rest assured, we will give you and Yuan Hui an extra bonus this month.”
Slightly pulling back the corner of his lips, Ling Xia responded, “Martial uncle, there‘s no need to be so courteous. Please do no hesitate to delegate the tasks that need to be done.”
Even though he loathed Guang XuZi’s shameless and abrupt temperament changes, he was presently working under the other, and no matter what, he had to give those in charge the proper amount of respect.
Guang XuZi informed him of his duty, and turns out, it was to put the large meeting hall that’ll receive the guests in order. After all, VIPs would be arriving, so they needed to display and show off some of Immortal Welcoming Pavilion’s spiritual herbs and rare plants. There was one spiritual tree that was right in its flowering season, but handling the density and rigor of its wood was a huge hurdle. Currently, there was a lack in helping hands, hence the disciples with plenty of physical power were sent to work with those tall trees.
Ling Xia nodded, “Yes, I will go with Senior brother Yuan tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Guang XuZi let out a sigh of relief. Last time, he was scared out of his wits by Yu ZhiJue, and whenever he saw Ling Xia, a lump of constant unease would stifle his heart as he remembered that sharp and terrifying ice blade. Guang XuZi then offered some words of encouragement like, “When recommending disciples to Elder X‘s place, we will certainly consider you as a priority”, “You have a lot of potential, if you work hard you‘ll definitely climb up to become a high-level disciple“, and other such empty promises.
After confirming there was nothing else, Ling Xia felt reassured and went to find the masked man. That jar of wine and Ah'Li present had been placed in this storage bag, so those roasted chickens were stillhot and fresh.
The masked man was very delighted to see the wine, laughing out loud and immediately lifting the jar to take a gulp, drinking in a grand and exhilarating manner. Because the mask he wore got in the way, he had slightly nudged it upwards, revealing skin as fair as marble and a chin with elegant contours.
Ling Xia surreptitiously peeked his way. Even if the masked man had snow white hair, one could tell that he surely had the face of a beautiful man.
It was really such a scam that all mysterious experts fell into the same 'hyped up character whose face is hidden' category. Were they not afraid of getting rashes caused by the lack of ventilation... On the other hand, Ah'Li, that glutton, still ate with relish and joy, plopping down after it was full and lying there brimming with content, its eyes hooded.
Ling Xia chuckled, “Senior, then I’ll go and continue to refine artifacts.”
In a half reclined position, the masked man hugged the wine and waved his hand without much care. Random hums escaped from his mouth, resembling that of a short tune.
Ling Xia’s goal tonight was to refine a better magical artifact than the best he’d made so far. Not only the functions, but the appearance must also be pleasing!
He skillfully placed various different types of materials into the furnace, added a bit of supplementary spiritual wood to the fire, and when the items inside began to half dissolve, started to use his psychical energy to break them down.
From the jade hairpin that Yu ZhiJue gave him, he could tell that the boy liked elegant and exquisite things. Thinking of that stunning and deviously charming final boss villain from the latter half of the novel, Ling Xia felt his lips twitch a few times. Just how much did the author love the villain anyways; every time he appeared, the author would use over half a page of descriptions to immortalize how gorgeous his features were, how gorgeous his attire was, and how gorgeous his troops looked standing in formation… …
Before he started refining, Ling Xia had already decided to craft this artifact into a type that could be hung on one’s body, something convenient to wear.
Inside the furnace, the various materials had started to coalesce, and Ling Xia concentrated on using his divine sense to control the development. He patiently removed the impurities little by little and the pendant’s outline gradually solidified, slowly condensing and taking shape.
By the time he finally stopped, Ling Xia was already dripping with sweat, and due to over-drafting too much psychical energy, his temples incessantly throbbed with pain. But he couldn’t bother with wiping away his sweat, and removed the pendant from the furnace first.
The artifact was truly incredibly beautiful, its dimensions half the size of one‘s palm, and exhibited a lovely hue that was similar to jadeite. This world didn’t have the concept of Chinese zodiacs, so Ling Xia styled the design in reference to ragon‘s form. As a whole, it was simple and imposing, but its finer details were handled with meticulous care.
He took out another tool to appraise its functions, and the result was also very satisfying. This actually turned out as an high-end level-2 artifact! Moreover, aside from having support-based properties, it had defensive capabilities as well, able to block 20% of all elemental energy attacks.
The masked man had finished taking his nap, and seeing Ling Xia’s ashen face, warned with a frown, “You must always work within your limits. If you excessively overexert yourself, it will damage your cultivation instead.”
Ling Xia let out an embarrassed laugh, then held up the pendant and offered, “Senior, have a look.”
The masked man took the ornamental artifact and turned it around in his hands. “The energy stones’ degree of fusion is quite high, and its support abilities are also not bad… Hmm, it can’t be that you spent this much effort because you wanted to gift this to a cute girl, right?”
That last part was said in a somewhat teasing manner.
“… …It‘s for my little brother.“ Ling Xia was a bit speechless.
Due to the overuse of his psychical energy, Ling Xia was ordered by the masked man to rest for a day before refining again, and he complied. The day after that, he successfully refined a thin, fire attribute chain with defensive properties for Song XiaoHu, perfect for hanging that lighting shaped pendant of his. While not as amazing as Yu ZhiJue’s dragon ornament, the final product was still quite good.
At the same time, he was busy with the task of arranging and tidying up the large hall and the gardens. Ling Xia wasn’t interested in who the important guests were; he was just happy that the hall was close to Deadwood Mountain, making it a lot easier for him to go visit those two kids.
Taking advantage of his lunch break, Ling Xia went to find them, and sure enough, Yu ZhiJue was at the training arena again. Song XiaoHu wasn’t there because he went out on a mission with Feng Luo.
Ling Xia didn’t go inside and asked someone to call Yu ZhiJue outside instead. Yu ZhiJue stepped out with sweat on his forehead, and while the expression on his face may have been aloof and reserved, it was clear that he was very happy Ling Xia dropped by to see him.
Ling Xia looked at the child before him with a broad grin. Possessing red lips, white teeth, and ink black hair, this kid really did have charming looks, so much that it made one want to kidnap him away. Flustered from such a gaze, Yu ZhiJue angrily demanded, “Why are you so strange today? What are you staring at me for?“
Ling Xia opened his hand and revealed the dragon shaped pendant. ''For you.''
Yu ZhiJue's eyes visibly lit up, his face rapidly blushing to light red as he huffed, ''Hmph, I didn't ask you give me anything.'' Despite saying so, he swiftly tied that pendant on his belt, his actions refletiong a gentle carefulness that exposed and impossible-to-hire delight.
Ling Xia's eyes immediately curved in satisfaction and he added, ''This is something i refined. Does Ah'Jue like it?''
Hearing this, Yu ZhiJue paused, then evoked some elemental energy as a test. Sensing that ornament resonate in kind, he looked at Ling Xia with bewilderment as he asked, ''How come you know how to refine artifacts?''
Ling Xia inclined his head and replied, ''I learned artifact refining from a senior recently. I've just started, but in future, i'll definitely make even better ones for you.''
Yu ZhiJue’s expression suddenly turned gloomy. Since Ling Xia was able to make such a delicate and immaculate artifact, he must have studied for more than just three or five days, and yet kept it secretly to himself this entire time…
Ling Xia knew from one look what this child was thinking, so he quickly explained, “I met that senior in an unexpected way. He lives in seclusion on the reverse side of the mountain and doesn’t like people disturbing him. You also know that I’m dumb, and even cultivating under his guidance, might not achieve any progress. So I thought it’d be better to surprise you after I had succeeded.”
In the novel, Yu ZhiJue’s sensitivity and paranoia was one of the major reasons he became a villain, and consequently, Ling Xia had to prevent any misunderstandings from forming between them.
As expected, Yu ZhiJue’s complexion cleared up slightly after hearing this. He also recalled that he had seen Ling Xia reading books related to artifact refinement the last two times he went to visit. He lifted his head and stole a brisk look at Ling Xia, and was then shocked to discover that the other seemed thinner than what he remembered…
Yu ZhiJue couldn’t help but knit his brows and question, “Is there a need to exhaust yourself every day like this? I’ve seen what other people in ShaoYang Sect have refined, and the artifacts created by those with one or two years of experience can’t even compare to yours. In fact, it’d be better if you moved in with me. The equipment and books here are both superior to what Immortal Welcoming Pavilion has, and I can help you find energy stones and materials. There are some very proficient senior artificers in the sect, and I can help you ask about them as well.”
He blurted all this out without really thinking too deeply, and as soon as he finished, his face promptly burned with heat. He had never gotten used to interacting with people, but if it was with Ling Xia, he probably wouldn’t dislike talking more...
Ling Xia flapped his hands and refused with a smile, “There’s no need for all this, that senior is quite great. Didn’t you also say that those other people were less competent than I am in spite of having studied longer?”
Seeing that Yu ZhiJue’s wrinkled brows persisted, he thought for a bit, and then compromised, “Give me another month. I’ll move in a month later, okay?” According to the plot, the masked man’s temporary stay here should last for around one more month.
Hearing Ling Xia’s words, Yu ZhiJue exposed one of his rare smiles. “Ok, deal.”
Ling Xia couldn’t resist reaching out and petting the other’s head. Stroking this child’s hair felt like caressing silk, its slightly cool and sleek texture truly comfortable to touch… …
After he bid farewell to Yu ZhiJue, Ling Xia continued to the gardens, and with the other disciples, began to spruce up the flowers and trees. But when he caught the pieces of a conversation between two disciples that passed by, his complexion instantly became deathly pale.
He rushed over almost recklessly, forgetting to even salute as he beseeched, ''Who did you say was coming just then?''
A black clothes disciple gave him a strange look before replying, ''YunXiao City's governor, Cui TianCheng, and also Shang YunLing's head steward, Shag Kai.''
Ling Xia's heart wildly pounded with deafening thumps, his palms abruptly awash with sweat. It had been two months since that matter, and during this period of time, he had been busy bustling about. Occasionally, he had rejoiced abot how they lucked out, about how the people from YunXiao City didn't return to search for Shang Yan, possibly having gone elsewhere to look. About how perhaps, to his family and YunXiao City, Shang Yan wasn't considered an importaant disciple...
But now, it was clear that they hadn't dodge thie bullet, and reality proved just how naive those thoughts of his were!
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