“Middle-stage Soul Sprite!”
As a Late-stage Soul Sprite, Liu Kun couldn’t treat Bai Yunfei lightly anymore and was shocked beyond belief.
“He’s only twenty years old at the very oldest! If he’s able to become a Middle-stage Soul Sprite at such a young age, he’s undoubtedly an extremely talented person if not exceptional! But which family is he the son of? His surname is Bai but I’ve never heard of such a family before. So then which school is he a part of? How did the Ye gain such a friend, did they find a new powerful patron?”
As the gears in his head continued to spin, Liu Kun had been careful enough to not show the conflicting thoughts of his on his face. “Lord Bai, there’s no need to be so polite. Please come in and let us talk.”
As everyone sat down and had their tea cups placed in front of them, Liu Kun started off the conversation with some small talk with Tianming. “Ah, nephew Tianming,” He smiled, “What brings you here today, are you looking for Shun’er?”
“Oh, you’re mistaken, uncle Liu. Brother Bai was the one that wanted to pay a visit actually. I was only leading the way for him.” Tianming pointed towards Bai Yunfei to explain himself.
“Ah? Is that so?” Liu Kun spoke with perplexity. He hadn’t thought that it was Bai Yunfei that sought them out. “Lord Bai, what reason have you for seeking my family today?”
Smiling, Bai Yunfei spoke, “Lord Liu, please don’t think too much about it. I was only pa.s.sing along the way and wanted to pay a visit. Once you read this letter, you’ll understand the reason.”
Handing over the latter You Qingfeng had given him in Cuiliu City, Bai Yunfei allowed Su Dong to hurry forward and take the letter to Liu Kun to read.
Still confused, Liu Kun opened the letter and began to read.
It had only taken a single glance at the letter for the expression on Liu Kun’s face to harden with stupefaction. In the next moment, his expression grew serious, and even his posture had straightened up into an even more formal one by a small fraction.
The more he read, the more Liu Kun couldn’t help but feel his heartbeat accelerate. Under Bai Yunfei’s calm expression and Tianming’s curious one, Liu Kun finished reading the letter and then inspected it to verify the authenticity of it.
In the end, Liu Kun sealed the letter back up and looked up at Bai Yunfei with yet another smile like before. The only difference in this smile was that there seemed to have another emotion in it. Tianming had doubted his eyes almost–it looked as if lord Liu, the lord of one of the three major houses of Gaoyi City–was looking at Bai Yunfei with a ….respectful look?
“It had not occurred to me that lord Bai was acquainted with the young master You. I hope that lord Bai will forgive my tardiness then. If I had known earlier, then I would have sent out an envoy to receive lord Bai into my home.” Liu Kun cupped his hands towards Bai Yunfei apologetically.
“Lord Liu, your words are far too serious. I only came to know senior You in Cuiliu City for some time. I was fortunate enough to be in his care during my stay, but he gave me a letter to hand over the house of Liu for when I went to Gaoyi City. Since I am here, I decided that a visit was in order, nothing more.”
“Haha, you are far too kind, lord Bai! Please don’t see yourself as an outsider. If there is something you need, ten as long as it is within my power, my family will not refuse your wishes!”
“Then, I will accept your kindness in advance. I’ll be staying in Gaoyi City for the next few days. If there is something I need, I’ll visit again.”
“Very well! But lord Bai, please don’t ever be afraid to speak up! If the young master You were to find out, he may very well blame me for neglecting lord Bai’s wishes!”
“….” Tianming hadn’t known what to think or say at this sight. It had been slightly funny to him to see that Liu Kun looked like he was desperately begging to help Bai Yunfei in whatever he needed. Although he didn’t know the reason why, Tianming was able to make the connection between the earlier letter and this mysterious ‘young master You”. This Bai Yunfei was truly a powerful figure to him even more so now if even the letter from someone he knew was enough to cow the high and mighty lord Liu.
The following talks had been very friendly, and Liu Kun had adjusted his mannerisms so that he didn’t sound too much like a bootlicker. He had been very amiable and friendly to even Tianming so that he didn’t feel left out of the conversation.
It had been an hour before Bai Yunfei thought that enough was enough. Just as they were about to leave, the sounds of footsteps could suddenly be heard. Just then….Liu Shun entered the room. He had exchanged his robes for a cleaner pair, and his hair was neatly combed behind his head. All in all, he looked extremely elegant rather than the drunken mess that he was yesterday, like a true young lord.
“Father, I have arrived.” Liu Shun spoke courteously to Liu Kun. And then to Tianming, he spoke, “Hey, Tianming, I heard you ran away from homes for a couple of months. How was it, was it fun?”
Tianming was clearly more familiar with Liu Shun and had smiled in response, “Hey there, brother Liu! It’s been a long time. It was pretty fun outside, and I learned lots!”
Nodding his head, Liu Shun turned to look at Bai Yunfei. When he saw just how young he was, Liu shun couldn’t help but speak to Su Dong behind Liu Kun, “That can’t be right? Su Dong, you sure this guy’s the one who knocked me unconscious? Is he really a Soul Sprite? I don’t think so….”
“Shun’er, you’re being rude!” Liu Kun barked.
“Brother Liu, what do you mean knocked unconscious? You met big brother Bai?” Tianming asked.
“I er….” With his father’s rebuke and Tianming’s questioning, Liu Shun looked to Bai Yunfei, unsure of how to respond.
Before Liu Kun could even formulate a response, Bai Yunfei had already nodded his head to him. “Hehe, young master Liu, we meet again. If you don’t remember, we met yesterday when you were drunk. If I offended you, then please forgive me.”
“Oh….” Liu Kun hadn’t been expecting such a response from Bai Yunfei and spoke up urgently, “Lord Bai, you are far too kind. From what I heard from Su Dong, my drunken dog-of-a-son annoyed you. Please, lord Bai, please forgive my son about that.”
Then glaring balefully at Liu Shun, he spoke, “Lord Bai is a chivalrous person, do you think he’s the same as you, you wastrel? Hurry up and apologise to lord Bai!”
Because he wasn’t drunk, Liu Shun had realized just how peculiar his father was acting and was taken aback from it. Although he didn’t understand what was happening, he didn’t dare retort back to his father and cupped his hands in apology to Bai Yunfei with reluctance. “This one was far too drunk yesterday and offended lord Bai. I beg for your forgiveness and is in your debt. If not for lord Bai’s grace, I would have made a clown of myself. In order to convey my apologies and goodwill, I would like to arrange for a feast this afternoon.”
Hearing such an inappropriate ‘apology’ Liu Kun’s eyebrows furrowed together. Just as he was about to speak up to rebuke him again, Bai Yunfei waved his hands light-heartedly. “Hehe, you are far too kind, master Liu. There’s no need to go through such trouble.”
“Of course I must! This is how I need to express my sincerity. You would do me the honors and placate my guilt in accepting.” Liu Shun nodded his head ‘vigorously’. Inwardly, he thought, “If you decline again, then I’ll just say that’s that then. But if you accept, then I’ll ‘try’ my best. Father shouldn’t be angry about that, would he?”
But then just several seconds later, Bai Yunfei nodded his head. “If master Liu is inviting me so pa.s.sionately, I’ll be imposing onto you then….”