71 Chapter 70: The sect leader’s daughter (1/2)
I spent the next five days grinding the bones into fine phosphorus powder, capping them inside plastic containers and setting them aside. By the time the deadline was up, I managed to fill up fifty bottles and stacked them up in a crate.
”Hello, Fei Wu! Are you done?”
Tang Qi Hong sounded cheerful as she skipped into my apartment. I had left the door unlocked, because I didn't have anything for burglars to steal, and Tang Qi Hong and Tong Xue regularly dropped by for a visit, so there was no point locking the door.
”Yeah. Just about, too.”
I ground the last piece of bone into powder and then poured it into a container. Capping it, I rose to my feet and carried the crate to Tang Qi Hong.
”Here they are!”
”Oh! Impressive! You actually did all of them in five days!”
Tang Qi Hong was surprised. I shrugged.
”Yeah, but I probably was sloppy with my work.”
I could boast about my speed, but the quality of my work was another matter entirely. I had no confidence regarding that.
Tang Qi Hong smiled wryly as she took out a bottle to sample the powder, stirring the contents with her finger. And no, I sure as hell will not be describing her finger as jade. What was it with Chinese xianxia novels and their obsession of describing girls as jade?
”Hmm, it's far from perfect, but it's passable.” Tang Qi Hong nodded in slight approval. ”I have to say, for your first time, you did a good job.”
”Uh, thanks.”
I was sure that Tang Qi Hong was merely being polite, but I felt relieved that she wasn't angry or something. At least I didn't screw up too badly, or to the point where even Tang Qi Hong would get mad at the sheer lack of quality.
”But wow, you actually ground all fifty kilograms of monster bones.” Tang Qi Hong's eyes were wide. ”Normally most people would need about two to three weeks to grind everything. You're really, really fast!”
”Huh? Is that so?”
All I did was sit down for six to eight hours a day and did nothing but grind. It was tedious, it was extremely boring, and it was dull, but I just ground over and over and over again until every single bone was grounded into phosphorous powder. What I lacked in skill and talent, I compensated for in patience and tenacity.
”Good job.” Tang Qi Hong sifted the contents of several more bottles before nodding. ”Well, they are not perfect, but I can polish them up a bit before using them for spirit armor. You should come along and watch my forging methods too!”
”Sure.” Since I had taken the trouble to pass the examination and join the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, I might as well make full use of my time here and learn as much as possible. To be honest, I knew that Tang Qi Hong was merely using that as an excuse to get me to transport the fifty kilograms of phosphorus powder back for her. But I saw that as good physical training, and had no objections in helping her out.
Thanks to spending so much time grinding these damned bones everyday, I ended up cutting the hours I spent on martial arts training…on practicing the Heavenly Draconic Meteor Sword techniques. I should just go ahead and help out with physical labor.
Obliging Tang Qi Hong's request, I picked up the crate and followed her back to her residence. Unlike me, Tang Qi Hong had an entire house to herself. As expected of an inner sect disciple, even their quarters were on a completely different level from us outer sect disciple.
”Still, I didn't expect you to pull it off the first time. Even though the quality isn't topnotch, the quantity you achieved is staggering. I was joking when I said I wanted fifty kilograms if possible, but I only expected you to do ten to fifteen.”
”Well, I'm getting paid for it,” I muttered.
”Heh…I see.” Tang Qi Hong looked a little impressed, and then she glanced at the crate again, thoughtful. ”Still, how did you pull it off?”
”I cheated,” I admitted. ”I used Google.”
”That's not cheating.”
I shrugged at that, but didn't bother to debate further. The both of us then arrived in her house, and I placed the crate of phosphorus powder in a corner of her elegant and spacious workshop. As I said, the inner sect disciples were bestowed privileges and resources that were way beyond that of an outer sect disciple.
”All right!”
Rolling up her sleeves, Tang Qi Hong then began to get to work. Smiling, she turned to me and gestured for me to come closer.
”Watch and learn! I'll teach you a few tricks in crafting!”
”T…thanks.”
Swallowing, I stepped closer and assisted Tang Qi Hong with her forging, all the while learning whatever I could from her.
*
”Done!”
After three hours, Tang Qi Hong called it a day and dismissed me. Smiling happily at her finished product, she turned to grin at me.
”And that's how you do it!”
”Oh…right.”
”Phew…” Tang Qi Hong wiped the perspiration off her snowy complexion and shook her head. Stretching her arms, she turned away with a flutter of her skirt. ”I'm going to take a shower. All that work has made me pretty sweaty!”
”…okay.”
If this was a h-anime, I would have offered to join her, but this was reality and such a suggestion would earn me a slap in the face, and Tang Qi Hong would probably ban me from coming to her workshop ever again. So I desisted from saying anything stupid and merely nodded with a soft acknowledgement.
”You're free to go,” Tang Qi Hong told me with a smile. ”You can have the rest of the day off, though most likely you'll return to training and cultivating.”
”You know me so well, though,” I admitted with a grin. She glanced at the empty bottles of phosphorus powder with a thoughtful expression.
”You did devote most of your time into helping me, after all. I'm sure you plan to catch up on all that lost time.”
”It won't take that long,” I assured her with a cheerful expression, so as to not worry her. ”I learned a lot from you, too. Thanks!”
”Sure!”
With that, I left the workshop and began jogging back in the direction of my apartment. It had been a while, and I wondered if I should resume my physical training today. While I did practice the Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship whenever I could, I hadn't been keeping up on my 50 kilometer run and 500 pushups and sit-ups for the last five days.
While I was on my way back, I saw a young girl – about thirteen and fourteen (well, she was only a couple of years younger than me) stagger out of a shop with a bunch of scrolls and manuals in her hands. Thanks to her diminutive size, she was struggling under the weight and volume of the stuff she was carrying.
”Whoa!”
She stumbled over the path and almost spilled her stuff into the road. Fortunately, I was nearby and I managed to grab the stuff before she could fall over.
”You okay?” I asked as I picked up the stuff for her. She nodded, embarrassed.
”Thanks.”
Now that I had a good look at her, I was slightly surprised by what I saw. The girl was incredibly cute, reminding me of a stuffed animal or a squirrel or something. She had thick, dark brown bushy hair that was tied cutely with a ribbon, and was dressed in a red frilly blouse, a pink cape and a long, black skirt, all of which looked both fashionable and traditional at the same time. Plus her kiddy shoes were gray and seemed a tad too big, yet it suited her aesthetically.
It was almost as if I had encountered a doll who had turned into a human.
”Where are you going? You need help?”
Instead of returning the stack of scrolls that had almost spilled out of her hands, I helped her carry them. The girl looked a little troubled.
”No, I can handle it myself.”
”That's fine. I was about to go home anyway, so I have some spare time. Let me help you.”
”…if you insist.” Despite her childish looks, the girl was more mature than she looked. She nodded gratefully and gestured toward a nearby car that was parked a couple of yards away. ”If you don't mind helping me stack these in the boot of that car.”
”Sure. That's no problem at all!”
The car beeped as the girl seemed to press a button on her remote car keys, and the boot automatically swung open. I dumped the stack of scrolls into the boot a little too hurriedly, and tried to tidy them up as they spilled all over.
”No, it's fine. They'll just fall over again later!” the girl assured me, and I obeyed, because quite frankly I had better things to do than waste time and effort on something that was not meant to be. She then bowed deeply. ”Thank you!”
”It's nothing,” I assured her. ”Do you need any other help?”
”No, I'm just waiting for my driver.” The girl beamed brightly and took both of my hands. ”Thank you again!”
”No problem.” With nothing else to help with, I saw no reason to linger about, so I took my leave. As I did so…
”FEI WU!”
”Whoa!”
I stepped to the side, narrowly avoiding Tong Xue as he barreled right into me. Tong Xue almost crashed face first to the ground, but then fell over anyway because I decided to meanly hook my foot over his ankle and trip him up.
”Hey!” Tong Xue complained as he threw both hands out to break his fall and sprang back to his feet once again. I gave him an it's your own fault look.
However, Tong Xue ignored me and grabbed my shoulders. I winced and resisted the urge to tear away from his grasp.
”Do you know who you just talked to?!”
”A girl,” I replied dryly.
”That's not what I'm asking!”
”Obviously.” I sighed and rolled my eyes. ”Anyway, I don't, but I have a feeling that you're going to tell me.”
”She's Zi Xiao Ji! The daughter of the sect leader and sect mistress of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!” Tong Xue was practically yelling into my face, and I recoiled, trying not to breathe in the air he was exhaling. The guy was too close.
”Cool.”
”Cool?! Is that all you have to say?!”
”What do you want me to say then?” I was getting irritated. ”Should I be overawed and start clamoring over what a miraculous encounter that was?”
”…you don't know who Zi Xiao Ji is, do you?” Tong Xue looked at me incredulously. I shrugged.
”The daughter of the sect leader and sect mistress of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, Zi Xiao Ji, right? You just told me.”
”That's not what I mean! You do know who Sect Leader Zi Shou De, and his wife, Sect Mistress Su Da Ji…I mean, Zi Da Ji, are, right?!”
”Of course I do,” I replied irritably. I knew that much at least, given how famous those two were. Zi Shou De was one of the most skilled blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers in the Great Zhou Empire, and most likely all of the Middle Continent. He was also known as the Spirit Engraving Zhou Emperor. His wife, Su Da Ji, or now Zi Da Ji after her marriage to Zi Shou De, was the most powerful martial artist in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and was the one who developed the Nine-Tailed Fire Fox Formula martial arts techniques to new heights. She was the ultimate bodyguard who escorted and protected her husband whenever he showed up to release a new spirit engraved gear. The two of them were legendary and without peer, and were the sole reason why the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was established as one of the eight major sects.
So that girl earlier, Zi Xiao Ji, was their daughter.
”Wait a second…”
I suddenly realized something. Tong Xue sighed in relief and shook his head.
”So it finally hit you, huh?”
I paid no attention to him and instead responded with a question of my own.