Inwardly, I wondered if Tang Qi Hong had any relation to Tang Si Qi, but I"m pretty sure the latter was from a totally different universe altogether. Plus that was fiction and this was reality.

"Do you actually know the Ling Sisters?" Tong Xue rubbed his chin as he asked me quietly. "That can"t be right. There"s no way you would know those two girls."

"I don"t," I told him in an annoyed tone. "But I feel affronted by your a.s.sumption that there"s no way I would know them. Do you think I"m a hikkikomori or something? Couldn"t I have met them somewhere else, before we entered Wu Ling Academy? Or do you have access to my memories and know every single person I have befriended or not befriended? On what basis are you making that a.s.sumption?"

"Sorry. It"s all Yi Yuan"s fault." Tong Xue held up both his hands.

"Who"s Yi Yuan?" Lian Rou demanded.

"A fictional character," I told her with a shake of my head and then continued on before she could press further with her question while ignoring the confused expression on her face. "Come on, Tong Xue, you know that story is full of holes, and the characters all act like idiots for some reason. Like Liang Shao Yang, for example."

"Yeah, they"re always jumping into illogical conclusions and make the most baffling decisions ever." Tong Xue nodded in agreement. "I mean, do you remember the line he used when he was talking about Qin Lie/Qin Bing? On one hand, he claimed that Qin Lie could not possibly know the sisters, and a.s.sumes that he has never met them before. Then in his next line, he suggests that Qin Lie fancies the two sisters because he"s a man and is p.r.o.ne to l.u.s.t. Which makes no sense – if Qin Lie, who according to him, has never met the Ling sisters before and don"t know who they are, how the f.u.c.k would he know they are beautiful and fancy them?"

"Yeah, and instead of questioning the illogical conclusion, the girls all accepted Yi Yuan"s statement as the truth." I shook my head in exasperation. "Like…come on, use your brain a little. If they just thought about it, they would realize how Yi Yuan"s statements contradict each other. But no, the author wanted to create drama for the sake of it, and a lot of the awkward situations Qin Lie gets into just seem very contrived."

"Not to mention that even though Qin Lie is finally in a position of power, is an unrivaled genius in the Armament Sect and his authority exceeds even the Sect Master and the three Great Reverends, he still allows that arrogant b.i.t.c.h Ou Yang Jing Jing to insult him and walk all over him. Normally, if you were in his position, you would put that b.i.t.c.h in her place, right?"

"Easier said than done," I muttered, suddenly realizing that I was about to be put in that exact same position. And after criticizing Qin Lie for not standing up for himself, I couldn"t very well lie down like a doormat and allow Yin Jing Jing to trash-talk me either, or it would make me look like a hypocritical fool. Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened. Yet.

"What are you guys even talking about?!" Tang Qi Hong snapped, her patience fraying. "From earlier, the two of you have disappeared off into your own world, talking nonsense that the rest of us don"t understand!"

"Like I said, we"re talking about a xianxia webnovel we"ve read," I quickly a.s.sured her. "It"s nothing important. You don"t need to know, not unless you"re interested in reading Spirit Realm. Oh, maybe you might want to watch anime."

"Xianxia?" Tang Qi Hong made a face. "No thanks, that"s not my kind of thing. I would rather read Peerless Concubine, The Demonic King Chases His Wife or Phoenix Against the World. Or Peerless Alchemist and Mesmerizing Ghost Doctor."

Ah. So Tang Qi Hong was one of those girls who love to read about those female protagonists who were former marine/a.s.sa.s.sins/martial artists/top doctors/geniuses who somehow died despite their overpoweredness and still ended up being reincarnated itno the body of a young n.o.ble girl who was considered trash and unable to cultivate, and then indulge in a whole lot of face-slapping with skills and techniques that most of the time had nothing to do with their former skills (even the ex-top doctors strangely don"t seem to use modern medical skills but mystical fantasy medical skills akin to magic).

Well, given how I read quite a bunch of trashy xianxia stories with overpowered Mary Sue protagonists (like Li Fu Chen), I supposed I was in no position to judge her. So I merely smiled and nodded politely.

"They sound interesting." Actually, some of them were and I had read or watched some of them. Unfortunately, I didn"t geet very far because they tend to get very repet.i.tive after a while. Admittedly, I had the same problem with most xianxia stories – I gave up after a few hundred chapters because of how repet.i.tive they were, and how tedious it was to read about how overpowered the overglorified protagonist was curbstomping every opponent he came across.

"Why are we talking about books again?" Lian Rou asked, still as confused as ever. I shrugged as I glanced at her.

"Actually, why are you here? Did you and Tong Xue have some business with me as well?"

"What? We can"t drop by to meet a friend?" Tong Xue protested. I c.o.c.ked my head as I stared at him suspiciously.

"It"s not the action, but the timing. If you wanted to chat, you could have just sent me a message and we will hang out later. Why look for me when I"m occupied with taking care of potential clients? I thought you might have an urgent matter."

"Oh, no, no urgent matters." Tong Xue hastily waved his hands. "Sorry for raising a false alarm. Yeah, you"re right, the timing was bad…"

"They were just curious and wanted to see who the clients were, and why you were entraining them," Tang Qi Hong muttered under her breath. Both Tong Xue and Lian Rou stared at her, aghast and mollified.

"You too, Qi Hong!" Lian Rou cried out. "You could have just talked to Fei Wu afterward, but you wanted to see him as soon as possible! You were just looking for an excuse to meet him!"

Tang Qi Hong"s face immediately turned red and she almost fell over as she threw her hands out frantically.

"No…that is! No!"

I sighed as I watched the whole thing. What the f.u.c.k was this? A teenage high school love comedy? Why was everyone behaving like hormonal teenage anime characters and resorting to such cliché dialogue and reactions?

"A…anyway, we thought you would kick all three girls from Dark Fiend Valley Sect out of Tushan City after being insulted like that." Tong Xue hurriedly returned to the topic. "We were surprised when you just barred Lu Li from the sect entrance and allowed those two girls in. And even personally approached Elder Tie to help them forge Spirit Armaments."

"Is there any reason I shouldn"t have done that?" I asked, puzzled. Why were they making such a big deal out of this? "They needed help, so I might as well do what I can. Besides, they were not the ones who insulted me. They shouldn"t get punished for something their senior did."

"That"s true…"

"Hah!" Tang Qi Hong looked smug for some reason. "You should know Fei Wu"s character by now!"

"Yeah, he"s a nice guy." Tong Xue agreed. "We"ve all known that for a while." He sighed and glanced at the room. "How boring."

"What exactly were you expecting?" I asked icily.

"Oh, nothing. I was wondering if you might fancy the two sisters. We"re all men, so I understand how you feel." Tong Xue looked a little embarra.s.sed as he laughed nervously. "Those two sisters are very beautiful. Their temperament is extraordinary. It"s only natural that any guy would be attracted to them. I"m just saying this from a normal man"s perspective. Even if I"m not, I"m sure there will be similar rumors floating around."

Lian Rou pulled him by the ear and began dragging him away.

"Sorry," she called out as she glanced over her shoulder at a stunned me. "I should have known better than to go along with Tong Xue"s rubbish."

"That"s what I get for being a nice guy?" I muttered, astonished, as I watched them go. "I was just doing what other normal people would have done."

"Don"t listen to Tong Xue," Tang Qi Hong a.s.sured me. "He"s just talking rubbish, as always. We all know you well enough to know you"re not that type of person."

No sooner than she said that than Yin Jing Jing suddenly looked up from her smartphone. All this while she had paid no attention to our conversation, having sunk deeply into communicating with someone else with her mobile device. However, now, she glanced up from her brightly illuminated screen, her eyes darkening.

I had no idea what was going on, but she was glaring at me coldly, almost as if she wanted to kill me.

"Fei Wu! Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan are the direct disciples of Dark Fiend Valley Sect"s sect leader. Don"t even think about wooing them! Blacksmithing may be one thing, but if you dare demand anything improper from them, then I"ll never forgive you!"

"What the f.u.c.k are you talking about?" I snapped, irritated by her high and mighty att.i.tude. "Why the h.e.l.l would I woo them? I already have someone I like."

Tang Qi Hong flushed a little pink, but she stood firmly by my side to return Yin Jing Jing"s cold gaze evenly. "Who gave you the right to speak to Fei Wu like that, Yin Jing Jing? Know your place!"

Yin Jing Jing faltered a little, but she continued to display a fierce defiance. Fortunately, before she could say anything she regretted, Elder Tie Jiang walked out of the private room.

"What"s going on?" he frowned and turned to Yin Jing Jing, recognizing her voice when he opened the door. "Why are you making such a ruckus?"

"N…nothing."

Yin Jing Jing glared at me before she swiftly stepped into the private room. She looked seriously at Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan.

"Did that b.a.s.t.a.r.d ask for anything improper or anything? Did he…did he do anything improper to you while you"re inside the private room?"

"B…b.a.s.t.a.r.d? Who?" Ling Yu Mei looked confused. Then she frowned. "Elder Tie was a gentleman. I would ask you not to speak of him in that manner."

"Ah…no, not Elder Tie!" Yin Jing Jing quickly backtracked. "Of course I"m referring to that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Fei Wu!"

Both sisters exchanged confused glances, then they shook their heads.

"Why would he? He was outside the private room the whole time. How would he have been able to do anything to us?"

"Also, don"t you think you"re being awfully rude to someone who we asked a favor from?" Ling Yu Xuan retorted, forgetting her nerves for a moment.

"Ah…" Yin Jing Jing looked a little surprised, but then she waved her hand dismissively. "Who cares?"

"I do."

Yin Jing Jing froze when Elder Tie pushed the door slightly ajar to glare at her. Even though the room was sealed from outside to prevent eavesdropping and anyone from overhearing the contents of his discussion with the Ling sisters, leaving the door open would have deactivated the seal and Spirit Diagrams enchanting the room.

"You are to apologize to Fei Wu immediately."

"…I…I"m sorry."

Realizing that there was no way she could crawl out of the hole she dug for herself, Yin Jing Jing shamefully bowed her head and apologized, but I could see the hatred and fury flashing in her eyes. Tang Qi Hong frowned when she noticed that too.

"What do you have against Fei Wu? And why are you making all these accusations?"

"No, that"s…Lu Li warned me to make sure he doesn"t lay a hand on the Ling sisters. She thinks he"s highly suspicious…"

Ah, so that was what she had been reading on her smartphone. They must have been communicating on an app, and Lu Li had been feeding Yin Jing Jing lies about me. And the latter had only been too happy to believe them, because…well, apparently her jealousy of my newly ascended status, despite the both of us entering Nine-Tailed Fox Sect at the same time, had led her to see only the worst in me, so as to vindicate her dislike and envy.

I doubted she would go as far as to a.s.sa.s.sinate me, though. That was way too extreme, and only happened in badly written xianxia novels, not reality. Besides, even if Yin Jing Jing wanted to kill me, she had neither the skills nor resources to. She could try to hire an a.s.sa.s.sin, but with the security measures Blood Blades had put in place, the a.s.sa.s.sin would fail. And I couldn"t kill her or imprison her just because of what a fictional character from a story did. That was not going to hold up in court. "Oh, I killed her because I know she will kill me in future. How do I know that? Because I"ve read xianxia stories, and so I know her character archetypes…"

Yeah, as if the judge would buy that. Moreover, she was just not worth the trouble and effort, and I was sure she would self-destruct before long without me lifting a finger. All the same, I was going to stay wary of her and keep an eye out.

It was not good to underestimate an enemy (or potential enemy in this case).

"Miss Jing Jing. Fei Wu is our cousin"s benefactor. He saved her life. That"s why, if possible, I would like you to be less hostile toward him."

"…"

When even Ling Yu Mei said so, Yin Jing Jing had no choice but to swallow her pride and withdraw. She nodded and bowed, this time a little more sincerely. I wondered how much of it was because of Ling Yu Mei"s statement, and how much of it was because Elder Tie had just intensified his glare.

"I apologize for my remarks. I have gone too far."

"It"s fine." I mean, what do you expect me to say? Imprison her for six months for "slandering" me? I wasn"t that petty or tyrannical. Yes, her att.i.tude p.i.s.sed me off, but I was too much of an adult to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Yin Jing Jing was somewhat relieved. She then rose to her feet and turned to the Ling sisters.

"All right. Lu Li may have gotten impatient while waiting outside. We should leave first." Yin Jing Jing nodded and led the two sisters down the corridor. When she pa.s.sed by me, she warned me in a low tone again. "They belong to the Seven Valley Sects. You have better not get any funny ideas, or don"t blame me for not going easy on you!"

Bam!

Yin Jing Jing almost shrieked when my palm struck the wall in front of her, and she fell back to land clumsily on her rump.

"Not going easy on me?" I sneered as I planted a foot right between her trembling legs and leaned down to glare at her. "I would like to see you try. How exactly do you plan on not going easy on me? You want to have a match now?"

"Uh…no…I…" Yin Jing Jing"s eyes had widened in fear now, especially when she realized that she had just made a terrible mistake. Despite trembling violently, her arrogance surfaced. "You…you wouldn"t dare! My mother is the sect leader of Snow Valley Sect! If anything happens to me, she and the sect will not let you off!"

"Have you forgotten where you are now, Yin Jing Jing?"

It was Elder Tie"s voice, and it had gotten so chilly that the girl shivered. The elder lowered his head to regard her with a cold, hard look.

"Are you threatening our future Blood Blades commander? Inside our Nine-Tailed Fox Sect itself? I don"t care if your mother is the sect leader of the Snow Valley Sect…here, you are nothing more than an outer sect disciple. And you seek to threaten Fei Wu? Is there something wrong with your head?"

"Even if something happens to you, what is Snow Valley Sect going to do?" Tang Qi Hong added. "Declare war on Nine-Tailed Fox Sect? For your sake?" she smiled. "You should remember the treaty. The moment you set foot in Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, we don"t care about your past, your status or background. If you"re an outer sect disciple, we"ll treat you as one. We don"t care who your parents are, even if you"re the imperial princess herself!"

"You…you…!" Yin Jing Jing was wailing.

"The treaty states that whatever happens to you here inside the sect is your responsibility. That"s the same position we took with regards to Liang Shao Yang, which is why Divine Shadow Sect still hasn"t been able to gather enough justification to invade us, or rally any of the other sects to their cause." Elder Tie was smiling now, but his expression must be below zero. "And Liang Shao Yang was in a more favorable position than you, was he not? If we"re not afraid of Divine Shadow Sect, why would be afraid of your Snow Valley Sect?"

"You won"t get away with this…!"

"And you think you can get away with threatening one of the brightest prospects of our sect? Wake up, girl. This is not your Snow Valley Sect. this is Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. If you don"t like it here, if you can"t accept our terms, then you"re more than welcome to leave."

Yin Jing Jing blinked back tears, unable to refute Elder Tie"s words. She slowly stood up, and then quickly left without another word. The Ling sisters glanced at her worriedly, and then they turned to bow apologetically toward me.

"Please don"t take Miss Yin"s words to heart. I"m sure she"s just confused…"

"I bet Senior Lu has been filling her head with nonsense." Ling Yu Xuan sighed after her sister apologized. "The two of them are so similar…even I find their arrogance oppressive sometimes."

"Little Sis!" Ling Yu Mei reprimanded her, but Ling Yu Xuan stuck out her tongue, as if to say, "but it"s true!" the older sister then turned back toward us, bowed one last time, then pulled her younger sister with her to chase after the departing figure of Jing Yin Yin.

"They are really an interesting pair, those two sisters."

Elder Tie suddenly said after the trio left. Both Tang Qi Hong and I turned to stare at him. He shrugged as he turned back to us.

"As you probably know, I can"t reveal their secret techniques and go into details, but suffice to say, they make an intriguing combination." He nodded in the direction where the girls left. "The older sister uses water, and the young sister uses fire. But despite the polar opposite elements, their qi don"t conflict with each other. On the contrary, the sisters" watery and fiery qi seem to enhance each other"s powers."

"Uh…are you sure you should be telling us that?" I asked, remembering the rules that we were bound to.

"As long as I don"t go into the details and reveal any secrets, it"s fine. I"m just saying an observation, not talking about any concrete techniques." He smiled. "Well. I should get going then. I need to forge the Spirit Weapons for both girls."

"Do you need me to a.s.sist you?" I asked, feeling a little responsible because I was the one who approached him with the request, after all.

"You?" Elder Tie scoffed. "Go focus on your martial arts."

"Elder Tie," Tang Qi Hong quickly interjected. "Fei Wu might not be good at blacksmithing, but he makes an excellent a.s.sistant. I"m speaking from experience. He has a.s.sisted me in forging Spirit Artifacts before."

"Oh?" Elder Tie raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. "Interesting. Well, you were always a hard worker, so I can"t say I"m not surprised. But a.s.sisting is completely different from actually forging a Spirit Artifact."

"Um, yeah, I"m asking if you need a.s.sistance…"

Elder Tie waved my words away. "I already have a.s.sistants of my own, so don"t worry about it." he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Focus on your martial arts for now."

"…sir."

I exchanged a glance with Tang Qi Hong. Ironically, after this, we were planning to head back to my workshop so that I could show her my Terminator Profound Bombs…ahem, I mean, my Spirit Bombs, and ask her to help me with them.

"Do you mind telling us what weapons they requested for?" Tang Qi Hong asked.

While the blacksmiths were supposed to keep the techniques and martial arts of their clients a secret, the type of weapons being forged was fair game. After all, it would be impossible to keep that a secret. The Spirit Weapons would have to undergo packaging, auditing, delivery, and other administrative and logistic processes, all of which were obviously undertaken by the lower-ranking disciples of the sect. The elders wouldn"t have time to package and deliver their products on their own, after all, and relied on their a.s.sistants, who in turn depended on an entire network of logistics and support staff to help spread the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect brand all over the Great Zhou Empire.

"That"s the strange thing." Elder Tie frowned. "The elder sister, Ling Yu Mei, requested for hoops. She said, preferably more than two circular hoops."

"Hoops aren"t a weapon?!" I blurted out, astonished. Okay, maybe the anime adaptation showed her using hoops but I still did not expect that. Like, that was quite a lot of hoops to jump through before you could use them as weapons. Actually, how did you use them as weapons? From what I remembered, she sliced through enemies with the hoops, but how the f.u.c.k did that work? And why not just use normal swords?

"I don"t know," Elder Tie replied wearily.

"How about the younger sister?" Tang Qi Hong was trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Hmm, it was a bit more practical. She like hammers."

"Hammers?" both Tang Qi Hong and I glanced at each other. Well, certainly hammers were more practical as weapons, but a slender girl like Ling Yu Xuan wielding hammers and smashing her opponents to bits…somehow it was difficult to imagine.

Perhaps she was looking for Spirit Weapons that were compatible with her fiery element. But if that was the case, she could to the same thing with any other weapon, like swords or arrows. It didn"t have to be hammers.

Well, I had no idea what techniques the two sisters learned in the Dark Fiend Valley Sect, and I cared even less. So I just nodded.

"Elder Tie, if you need any a.s.sistance, please let me know." Bowing politely, I then took my leave. Similarly, Tang Qi Hong bade Elder Tie farewell before following him.

"Those sisters are a bit…eccentric." She remarked.

"Well…" I scratched my head. "If we succeed in forging the Spirit Weapon that I have in mind, I might actually be more eccentric than them…"