Chapter 24 - Breakthrough Again (2/2)
Fifteen minutes later found the two at the gates of Veiled Dragon Pavilion, before the same two guards. But this time, they showed proper respect.
“Please enter, dear guests.”
“What, you won’t go and report first?” Zhuo Fan mocked.
After giving a silly laugh, a guard knew Zhuo Fan was still bothered by what happened before and apologized, “It was us who were ignorant before and didn’t recognize your greatness. You made a deal of a million spirit stones. We do not have the right to block such an honorable guest.”
“Humph, snobs!” Zhuo Fan sneered then took Captain Pang inside, leaving the guards still bent and flattering him. They were clearly miserable inside but still plastered a fake smile on their faces.
The two ran into Long Kui. This time, she lacked the respect she showed before and snorted in anger as she walked away.
“Uhm, how did we offended her?” Captain Pang was baffled.
Zhuo Fan smiled.
“Young miss Long Kui, is this how Veiled Dragon Pavilion treats its guests?”
“Humph, how are you guests?” Raising an eyebrow, she glared at him, “You don’t deserve to be guests when you used us!”
Rubbing his chin, Zhuo Fan smiled and muttered, “Still just a girl, and so naive.”
Zhuo Fan’s voice was faint but not enough to prevent the disdain in his voice from reaching Long Kui. She was treated as the jewel of the clan, and never received such contempt, especially from people around her age.
“Zhuo Fan, who are you calling naive?”
“You, of course!” Zhuo Fan smiled, “Be it business or the politics between the seven houses, everything must be taken into consideration when looking to make a profit. Yet you are prone to anger just from being used in someone else’s plan. Just how did you survive this long? Compared to you, Long Jie is much more mature. He realized I used him and just walked away instead. The way I see it, admitting a loss is also a kind of power. At least the next time I plan on using him, it won’t be as easy.”
This was the first time Long Kui heard such an argument and was stunned.
She came from the clan’s estate and was put in Long Jiu’s care. The elders in the estate spoke highly of her talent but not enough to entrust her with heavy responsibility. When she arrived here, Long Jiu spoke the same. Her talent wasn’t any less than Long Jie but Long Jiu didn’t trust her in being responsible.
She didn’t understand, but now it seemed she was clear on something…
“Love, hate, closeness, and vengeance won’t help you, only benefits.” Zhuo Fan saw her bewildered eyes and chuckled, “Let’s set aside our personal grievances and talk about business. It is also where your talent lies.”
Long Kui thought for a bit and nodded.
But just then a light cough came, along with an aged voice, “Mister Zhuo Fan, let’s talk.”
The three of them looked to see Long Jiu accompanied by Long Jie walking towards them. But Long Jie couldn’t mask a glint of shock as he gazed upon Zhuo Fan.
Yesterday, he saw Zhuo Fan’s heart exploding, but now, he was walking like it never happened. His breath was even and spoke calmly.
[Did he recover in one night? How?]
“Grandpa Jiu, won’t you give this young one a chance?” Not paying any heed to Long Jie’s shock, Zhuo Fan spoke.
Shaking his head, Long Jiu laughed, “Ha-ha-ha, just from talking with you, I ended up being used in the end. To think you still dare to come here. If I knew your true colors before, I would’ve taken you as a thousand-year-old monster taking shelter in the Luo clan.”
[Damn! I almost got found out!]
Zhuo Fan forced a laugh as he dismissed him, “You’re too kind, grandpa Jiu. How can I compare to you?”
“Cut the crap!” Long Jiu switched tones in an instant and said harshly, “Why are you here?”
“I am looking for a safe house for the Luo clan to live in. Does grandpa Jiu know of a good place?”
Stroking his beard, Long Jiu replied, “Why should I help you?”
“Simple, Veiled Dragon Pavilion owes us! Also…” Zhuo Fan laughed eerily, “It will help you watch over us more easily.”
Long Jiu’s eyes squinted as his heart trembled in shock.
[This punk can see through anyone. Ever since killing You Quan yesterday, Veiled Dragon Pavilion has been on the defensive. With how tense our relation with Hell Valley is now, a battle might break out at any time.]
And Luo clan was a variable because of their connection with Veiled Dragon Pavilion, no one dared to mess with it, but it also allowed the Luo clan to do whatever it wanted. One wrong move and it could trigger a war between the houses.
This was why Long Jiu placed surveillance over the Luo clan. Yet, Zhuo Fan went and exposed it. This left Long Jiu feeling apprehensive.
[What is this punk scheming?]
He never imagined a veteran practitioner a century-old would one day be toyed with by a punk. And he didn’t understand the whole picture either, leaving him with an unpleasant feeling…