Book 7: Chapter 13 – A Familiar Back
Actually, he did not have much animosity towards You Yue.
Xue Ying’s relationship with You Yue was so far in the past that he, at the most, would just shake his head and smile. Furthermore, the two of them belonged to two completely different worlds. As of yet, she had not even stepped into the Star realm. As such, her lifespan was relatively short. With such a short lifespan, she would not even have much time left to make another breakthrough to the next realm. Usually, the number of mages in any county who breakthrough to the Star realm could be counted with one hand. Likewise, You Yue’s innate talent was not that high to begin with.
Knowing how short her lifespan was and also knowing how his lifespan would now be over many thousands of years… while also borrowing the World Energy to ‘look’ at how loose the skin on her face actually was, she truly had the appearance of a middle-aged woman. How could he continue to bear any grudges towards her? He could only sigh.
Xue Ying did not plan to interact with her.
He was only intending to brush-shoulders with her today. The paths they walked pointed in opposite directions.
Mn? Her business seems to be rather big? Xue Ying thought when he borrowed the World Energy to probed the fifty kilometer diameter area around him. He could not help but closely observe Kong You Yue. Naturally, he ‘saw’ and ‘heard’ what she and the others in the private room on the third level talked about. Actually, even though Xue Ying often observed millions of people, in reality, he could not multitask and listen to everybody’s words! Being able to multitask and watch over a million different occurrences… was something impossible! Even Demigods could not do that.
Rather than focus on any specific individuals, he would usually just simply observe everyone in a more general sense. Only when he detected a demonic aura would he take particular notice. Of course, he would pay attention to any scenes that were startling as well.
As for killings, fightings, scoldings, collusions, and normal conversations between people, these were fundamentally things that he would notice but not pay any special attention to, unless it was someone he specifically wanted to observe.
……
Third floor.
The two Meteor Knight bodyguards escorted Lady You Yue to the third floor. Led by that old man, he brought her through the corridors to arrive outside a private room. Two ordinary guards stood outside – they were just ordinary knights.
Zhi ya.
One of the guards pushed the door open.
“Haha, Lady You Yue, come in,” said a skinny and thin-looking male who sat on one side of the table inside the private room. He stood up and laughed as he saw You Yue enter the room.
“Baron Yin,” said Lady You Yue. She smiled at the man as she crossed the threshold into the room. The two Meteor Knight bodyguards naturally continued to escort her and followed her into the room.
Zhi ya, the doors to the private room shut.
There were a total of seven people in the room – Baron Yin, three of his underlings, Lady You Yue, and her two bodyguards.
“Lady You Yue, please,” said Baron Yin as he motioned toward a seat with a brilliant smile etched on his face.
Only then did Lady You Yue sit down.
“Come and have a taste of this rare fruit wine I’ve brought back from the province capital, it’s called the Seven Treasures Fruit Wine. They don’t sell it publicly. It’s only because I know a great mage from their Refiner workshop that I was able to get my hands on this incredible wine. Even after obtaining it, I still wasn’t willing to drink it. Today, I’ve brought it out for you, Lady You Yue,” said Baron Yin, his face full of smiles as he hurriedly poured the fruit wine into their glasses. The wine appeared similar to crystal clear lake water and emitted an intoxicating aroma. Inhaling it was a form of enjoyment in and of itself.
“Come, let’s drink,” Baron Yin said as he raised his glass.
Lady You Yue smiled and raised her glass. She said, “Thank you Baron Yin,” and touched the wine with her lips before placing the glass on the table.
“The reason why Baron Yin asked for me today isn’t merely to drink, right?” Lady You Yue asked.
“Haha, Lady You Yue is really direct. Let’s get down to business then,” Baron Yin said. “Currently, I’ve asked to meet with you because of an inn your Kong Clan owns in the province capital. I’d like to buy it. Name your price, Lady You Yue. I’m sure I’ll sincerely agree with whatever price you ask.”
“You’re really letting me state my price? All right. Five million gold pieces. Will you pay that much?” Lady You Yue smiled.
“Don’t shock others,” Baron Yin said. “I am truly making a sincere effort here.”
“If you are truly sincere, then you should be the one to make an offer,” Lady You Yue added. “If we can’t agree on a price, I’ll just leave. Tonight, I still have to attend a banquet, so I can’t stay here for long.”
“Three hundred thousand gold pieces!” Baron Yin said as he gritted his teeth. “How is that?”
“Are you dreaming?” Lady You Yue sneered.
“Lady You Yue, your Kong Clan bought that inn 10 years ago for only 120,000 gold pieces. Today, I’m offering to buy it at 300,000 gold pieces, more than doubling the price. That should show you how sincere I am with my offer,” Baron Yin added.
Lady You Yue frowned, “Baron Yin, neither of us are fools! You and I are clearly both aware of the current situation that the world is in right now. Since the rumoured Abyss Demons have hidden themselves all around the world, we know with certainty that the safest places are the province capitals! All the nobles and rich merchants are scrambling to find ways to buy property in a provincial capital. They each need a residence in a province capital large enough to allow their entire clan to move into it! Right now, the price of all lands and residences in a province capital is extremely high, and these prices are still rising! From what I’ve heard, this conflict between demons and Transcendents might even persist for more than a thousand years. In the past, my Kong Clan purchased that inn at a low price, but right now, hmph, that inn of mine now has an inner courtyard with tens of pavilions, covering a huge area! Its current value is even greater than ten times of what I bought it at. You want to buy it at 300,000 gold pieces? Are you treating me, Kong You Yue, as some kind of idiot?”
Baron Yin smiled awkwardly at her.
This You Yue… her source of information was really good! Transcendents from the Infernal World had only recently returned, and news regarding the battle between demons and Transcendents had only spread amongst the upper-class clans. She, however, knew of the situation already.
“I also will not play with you. Three million gold pieces! One single price!” Lady You Yue said.
“That price is too high,” Baron Yin hesitated.
“Today, I’m giving you this price. In the future, however, I’ll not guarantee that this price will stay the same” Lady You Yue said as she stood up. “If you have the gold, we can continue with our transaction. If not? Hmph.”
You Yue sneered before she turned around and walked off.
The two Meteor Knight bodyguards opened the door for her, allowing her to walk through. Behind her, Baron Yin’s expression was extremely ugly.
……
Lady You Yue felt extremely pleased with the way things had gone as she walked out of the room. Due to her past relationship with Xue Ying, all the notable characters from Transcendent clans in the entire Tranquil Sun Province treated You Yue with respect and dared not to offend her! After all, nobody was really clear of how close she was to Xue Ying. Therefore, not ‘offending her’ meant making no mistakes in their treatment of her.
Taking advantage of this uncertainty, You Yue moved within the ranks of the upper-class clans and started several businesses. Other people might not dare to act as she did, but she certainly had the fearlessness to do so! That was because those Transcendent clans were not willing to force the issue with the Kong Clan, so as long as the Kong Clan acted within reason, these clans would allow such behaviour.
You Yue held much more influential power than her younger brother and sister, ensuring that she became the Kong Clan matriarch.
As You Yue was extremely ambitious, she was not willing to merely exist within the small County city. As a result, the Kong Clan’s family businesses had long ago established themselves within the province capital. Naturally, she would buy some inns, houses, and courtyards within the province capital as well.
After all these years of hard work, the Kong Clan’s assets had reached over a million gold pieces.
Yet currently, the demons had invaded their world!
The invasion had greatly escalated the price of lands within the province capital! Even ten times the original price was not enough! What the Kong Clan bought years ago has allowed them to greatly profit today! An enormous inn could even have a selling price that started at three million in gold pieces.
It could be said that the demons’ invasion had led to all the wealthy barons and many nobles living in the county to relocate in the province capital!
“Hmph, three hundred thousand gold pieces? What a joke!” Lady You Yue disdained doing such business. Even though there were powerful backers behind Baron Yin, she was not afraid of them. Her Kong Clan had several Transcendent Clans as business partners, so why would she be afraid of Baron Yin?
Deng deng deng. She climbed down the stairs to the lower level.
Lady You Yue naturally swept her gaze around the second floor.
Earlier, she had been walking up the stairs, looking upward as she did so. She had not been able to look around the second floor as she passed through it then. Currently, though, as she walked down the stairs, she was able to sweep her gaze around the second floor, noticing the back of a figure facing her – the figure of a black-robed young man.
“Mn?” Lady You Yue’s body quivered. She stopped.
She stared at the back of that black-robed young man…
It felt extremely familiar!
That familiar back was something which made her remember her regret for all these years. She remembered her past so many times, and Xue Ying’s back was something she was extremely familiar with.
And this current back figure was exactly the same as that in the past!
“Is it him?” Lady You Yue did not dare believe her eyes. She nervously walked towards him, her entire body beginning to sweat. She had not feel such anxiety in many years.