Chapter 354 - Life Is A Performance
Footsteps could be heard as a group of people entered the shop.
Ai Hui was about to turn around when Fu Sisi continued asking, "You haven’t told me how this sword is?"
Since he had taken her money, he should do what he was supposed to. Instead of turning around, he inspected the black sword and commented a second later without hesitation, "Decent sword."
Could he be wrong?
2,500 Heaven Merit Points. How could he be wrong!
Ai Hui had initially thought that the Silverfold Plum in his hands was an extremely good sword, but in front of this black sword, it was not even comparable. It would already be pretty good if the Silverfold Plum could be sold for 1,500 Heaven Merit Points, but in front of this valuable sword priced at 2,500 points, it still paled in comparison by quite a bit.
"You have such a good eye!" the manager quickly praised. "This was made by a weapon master, He Tuze, and is a Heaven-grade weapon. Master He was not pleased with it, so he melted in a huge volume of blood crystals and jade fruits before adding 36 expensive herbs to fas.h.i.+on this Blood Ink Sword. After 30 days of forging and a huge expenditure, this Blood Ink Sword was finally completed. This sword is neither metal nor wood. It does not repel against any element types. It is naturally sharp and indestructible. The main reason for its high cost is that it has an extremely rare property. It is psychic!"
"Psychic?" Ai Hui asked in shock.
He often saw many pa.s.sages in different sword manuals talking about famous swords being psychic. Swords with spirit were common knowledge in the Cultivation Era, and it was said that long hours of practice would cause a sword to develop a special existence, known as sword spirit. Some manuals written by sects even said that there were ways to nourish this spirit. There were also some sword manuals that could make the sword spirit appear as a corporeal existence. For example, the sword, Transcendence, created by G.o.d King Zuo Mo’s senior Luo Li, was like this.
When the Elemental Era came around and swordsmans.h.i.+p declined, the sayings about swords being psychic were forgotten.
Thus, when someone suddenly mentioned that this sword was psychic, how could Ai Hui not be shocked?
"Yes. On the day this sword was completed, its aura cried out for three days straight. Ordinary people could not even get close to it, and in order not to hurt customers, the shop had to spend a huge sum to make this crystal case seal to lock in the sword aura. Master He said that the treasure sword would pick its owner and would be owned by the fated one. We took it out in part to test this."
The shopkeeper expertly knew how to promote his goods. After his explanation, even Ai Hui, who was very low in funds, was stirred.
"Why not you try it? I’ll give it to you if the treasure sword chooses you," Fu Sisi said.
Ai Hui looked at her doubtfully. Something was wrong! 2,000 Heaven Merit Points was definitely a significant sum, so why would she spend them on him for no reason?
"Who is he, Sisi?"
An angry voice boomed from behind, and Ai Hui immediately understood what was going on.
The task of helping to pick out a sword was an excuse. In reality, he was being used as a s.h.i.+eld.
What a cliche plot. Did aristocratic families all enjoy doing such things?
Ai Hui turned around casually.
An angry, smart-looking man glared at him. Beside him were a few gloomy looking fellows who were also staring at him.
"Who is he, Sisi?"
According to the recent news, Ai Hui could easily guess who the speaker was.
Ling Xiao, the n.o.ble son of the Ling residence. It was said that both families hoped for them to get together. If that was it, things would have been simpler, but Fu Sisi expressed intense objection and other families did not wish to see this union either.
Fu Sisi was the most outstanding among the younger generation of the Fu family. The other sons had few accomplishments.
The Ling residence was already powerful to begin with. If the Fu family was to enter the picture, they would pose too big of a threat.
While it had not been Ai Hui’s intention to wind up in such a whirlpool, it seemed that there was no way out. As his mind spun quickly, AI Hui instantly saw through the crux of the matter.
Madam Ye represented the Great Elder, Fu Sisi was using such a method to oppose the marriage, and the Fu family was hesitating over what move to make with regard to Fu Sisi’s resistance. Otherwise, how could a girl like Fu Sisi disobey her family’s will?
The Fu family’s hesitation was not unreasonable. It was a good thing to be able to connect with the Ling residence by marriage, but the Great Elder was not one to be provoked.
Ai Hui, himself, was a teacher in the Ye residence. In their eyes, he was naturally a person of the Ye residence. To engage in conflict with Ling Xiao and incite contradictions was not really a wise strategy, Ai Hui thought. How could the Ling residence sit and watch as such a big gift like the Fu family slipped away? The family was most likely closing in step by step, wanting to actualize the marriage before anything else.
The young lady‘s way of fighting for herself was indeed smarter than her brothers’.
"Who is he, Sisi?" Ai Hui asked, imitating Ling Xiao’s tone with a surprised look on his face.
Behind his back, his right hand pointed toward the Blood Ink Sword at the side.
Since he was already rolled up in this, the real problem was how he could reap the maximum benefit. He was well prepared. If it appeared that the young lady would not get the upper hand, he would retreat immediately. He would not do anything to save face nor would he get all angry over a beautiful lady.
Fu Sisi had not expected that Chu Zhaoyang would be so cooperative and became slightly distracted by this. When, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Chu Zhaoyang’s finger, which pointed at the sword, her eye twitched.
2,500 Heaven Merit Points!
Was this fellow insane?
She could invite a Master to help her for 2,500 Heaven Merit Points!
Did this fellow really think he was worth 2,500 Heaven Merit Points?
"This man here is Young Master Ling Xiao," Fu Sisi explained before turning around to Ling Xiao. "He’s Chu Zhaoyang."
She placed one hand behind her back and open up her fingers, making a five sign.
Ai Hui sneered inwardly. 500 Heaven Merit Points for bringing me such big trouble? What do you treat me as!
"I see. Nice to meet you, Young Master Ling!"
Ling Xiao’s face was full of gloom. Flames could be seen pulsing in his eyes. He was extremely angry.
Young Master… he…
"Young Master" instantly displayed the distance between Fu Sisi and himself.
This adulterous pair!
Ling Xiao was raging.
His mother demanded that he use whatever means to grab hold of Fu Sisi.
While it was true that Fu Sisi was beautiful, had he not seen all kinds of women? In his eyes, Fu Sisi was his prey, and the chase was merely an interesting hunt. His so called adoration for Fu Sisi was only a tool in this hunt.
Yet now, his prey had landed in someone else’s hands.
He kept quiet as his murderous spirit rose in his chest.
Ai Hui placed all his attention on bargaining with Fu Sisi.
Eventually, both agreed to a price of 1,000 Heaven Merit Points.
Ai Hu was pleased. These few days, he had already swindled whatever points he could from the young aristocrats. He got about 200 to 300 Heaven Merit Points from some and 600 to 700 Heaven Merit Points from others.
With the original 200 Heaven Merit Points he had already been paid, he earned a total of 1,200 Heaven Merit Points.
Previously, Ai Hui had racked his brains over the sale of the Snow Cherry before finally milking 1,400 Heaven Merit Points out of it. With an addition of 300 Heaven Merit Points to these 1,200 Heaven Merit Points, he could already afford another Silverfold Plum.
Suddenly, as if the dark clouds had dispersed and the sun shone brightly, Ling Xiao beamed. "I seem to have heard of your name from somewhere. I wonder where you are currently working at?"
Ai Hui was somewhat surprised. Why had he not made a move? Ling Xiao was more shrewd than Ai Hui had imagined, but this made sense. He could not be a simple person since he was able to force Fu Sisi into such a pitiful state.
Life was a performance. Ever since Ai Hui took on the ident.i.ty of Chu Zhaoyang, his stature rose greatly day by day.
Full of shame, Ai Hui said, "I have accomplished nothing. Fu Sisi has been the one helping me, so how can I just sit and watch when she’s been so loyal to me? I came over to Silver City in order to spend the nights with her. I’ve been in luck so far and am currently a teacher."
Fu Sisi stared blankly at Chu Zhaoyang as gooseb.u.mps started surfacing.
Upon hearing the word "teacher," Ling Xiao instantly let his guard down and sneered. "So he’s living off a woman."
"Your words are too…" Chu Zhaoyang’s face changed as he glared at Ling Xiao. Five seconds later, he said in disappointment, "You got me there. I’m so useless, yet Sisi chooses to stay by my side. The heavens, sun, and moon could testify how I feel about her. There’s mutual support through thick and thin. Sisi, can you feel it?"
Finis.h.i.+ng his sentence, Chu Zhaoyang looked pa.s.sionately at Fu Sisi.
He had been blindsided by Fu Sisi. While he had not lost out in terms of heaven merit points, this did not mean that he enjoyed being blindsided. How could he let Fu Sisi off so easily?
Fu Sisi wanted to kill herself. Her hair was standing on end and she felt terrible, as if she’d just swallowed a fly. She was beyond regretful. Why did she seek Chu Zhaoyang? She was so disgusted by it all and felt horrible.
Why had Ling Xiao, who had always been the aggressive sort, not taken action as soon as he could? Why was he spewing so much nonsense?
Her face was red from anger, but she forced herself to suppress it. She lowered her head and asked, "Why are you talking about this now?"
Seeing that Fu Sisi’s face blushed red and that she bowed her head down so bashfully, Ling Xiao’s guards’ expressions changed. They knew their master’s temper too well.
Ling Xiao was about to explode!
The fact that his prey had landed in someone else’s hands was already maddening, yet this adulterous pair dared to display their affection and pa.s.sion for each other in public. Thinking about how his prey had been played with by someone else countless times, but still adopted such an ice-cold att.i.tude toward him, the fury within his chest burned through whatever self-control he had left.
Ling Xiao’s face looked twisted as he laughed nastily. "Kill this coward!"
Ling Xiao’s guards pounced forward with a cry.
Fu Sisi’s face changed slightly. Just when she was ready to shout "run," Chu Zhaoyang appeared before her and started putting on an act. He shouted pa.s.sionately, "Run, Sisi!"
The guards surrounded and closed in on them.
"Run? None of you shall run!"
Ling Xiao was pleased with this cat and mouse game.
Fu Sisi’s face paled a little, but she forced herself to remain composed. She asked coldly, "Ling Xiao, do you dare to attack me?"
Ling Xiao responded warmly, "Sisi, don’t worry, I’m not going to touch you. I’m still waiting to marry you. I won’t kill your little boyfriend either. I will soak him in a salt jug and make sure he witnesses our marriage."
Fu Sisi’s expression worsened, fear evident in her eyes.
"You’re utterly heartless and inhumane! Ling Xiao, let me ask you!"
Chu Zhaoyang’s voice was filled with fear as he shook uncontrollably, before he had a sudden change in tone.
"Why not a sugar jug?"
Everyone was stunned.
Splendid and dazzling sword rays erupted swiftly.