183 Chapter 182: Women (1/2)
With that arranged, I was left feeling slightly confident. After all, with Tang Qi Hong around to help me, the chances of success had drastically shot up. As embarrassing as it was to admit, I sucked at blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving. In contrast, Tang Qi Hong was a peerless genius in that field, so having her assistane was a huge boon.
Inwardly, I wondered if Tang Qi Hong had any relation to Tang Si Qi, but I'm pretty sure the latter was from a totally different universe altogether. Plus that was fiction and this was reality.
”Do you actually know the Ling Sisters?” Tong Xue rubbed his chin as he asked me quietly. ”That can't be right. There's no way you would know those two girls.”
”I don't,” I told him in an annoyed tone. ”But I feel affronted by your assumption that there's no way I would know them. Do you think I'm a hikkikomori or something? Couldn't I have met them somewhere else, before we entered Wu Ling Academy? Or do you have access to my memories and know every single person I have befriended or not befriended? On what basis are you making that assumption?”
”Sorry. It's all Yi Yuan's fault.” Tong Xue held up both his hands.
”Who's Yi Yuan?” Lian Rou demanded.
”A fictional character,” I told her with a shake of my head and then continued on before she could press further with her question while ignoring the confused expression on her face. ”Come on, Tong Xue, you know that story is full of holes, and the characters all act like idiots for some reason. Like Liang Shao Yang, for example.”
”Yeah, they're always jumping into illogical conclusions and make the most baffling decisions ever.” Tong Xue nodded in agreement. ”I mean, do you remember the line he used when he was talking about Qin Lie/Qin Bing? On one hand, he claimed that Qin Lie could not possibly know the sisters, and assumes that he has never met them before. Then in his next line, he suggests that Qin Lie fancies the two sisters because he's a man and is prone to lust. Which makes no sense – if Qin Lie, who according to him, has never met the Ling sisters before and don't know who they are, how the fuck would he know they are beautiful and fancy them?”
”Yeah, and instead of questioning the illogical conclusion, the girls all accepted Yi Yuan's statement as the truth.” I shook my head in exasperation. ”Like…come on, use your brain a little. If they just thought about it, they would realize how Yi Yuan's statements contradict each other. But no, the author wanted to create drama for the sake of it, and a lot of the awkward situations Qin Lie gets into just seem very contrived.”
”Not to mention that even though Qin Lie is finally in a position of power, is an unrivaled genius in the Armament Sect and his authority exceeds even the Sect Master and the three Great Reverends, he still allows that arrogant bitch Ou Yang Jing Jing to insult him and walk all over him. Normally, if you were in his position, you would put that bitch in her place, right?”
”Easier said than done,” I muttered, suddenly realizing that I was about to be put in that exact same position. And after criticizing Qin Lie for not standing up for himself, I couldn't very well lie down like a doormat and allow Yin Jing Jing to trash-talk me either, or it would make me look like a hypocritical fool. Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened. Yet.
”What are you guys even talking about?!” Tang Qi Hong snapped, her patience fraying. ”From earlier, the two of you have disappeared off into your own world, talking nonsense that the rest of us don't understand!”
”Like I said, we're talking about a xianxia webnovel we've read,” I quickly assured her. ”It's nothing important. You don't need to know, not unless you're interested in reading Spirit Realm. Oh, maybe you might want to watch anime.”
”Xianxia?” Tang Qi Hong made a face. ”No thanks, that's not my kind of thing. I would rather read Peerless Concubine, The Demonic King Chases His Wife or Phoenix Against the World. Or Peerless Alchemist and Mesmerizing Ghost Doctor.”
Ah. So Tang Qi Hong was one of those girls who love to read about those female protagonists who were former marine/assassins/martial artists/top doctors/geniuses who somehow died despite their overpoweredness and still ended up being reincarnated itno the body of a young noble girl who was considered trash and unable to cultivate, and then indulge in a whole lot of face-slapping with skills and techniques that most of the time had nothing to do with their former skills (even the ex-top doctors strangely don't seem to use modern medical skills but mystical fantasy medical skills akin to magic).
Well, given how I read quite a bunch of trashy xianxia stories with overpowered Mary Sue protagonists (like Li Fu Chen), I supposed I was in no position to judge her. So I merely smiled and nodded politely.
”They sound interesting.” Actually, some of them were and I had read or watched some of them. Unfortunately, I didn't geet very far because they tend to get very repetitive after a while. Admittedly, I had the same problem with most xianxia stories – I gave up after a few hundred chapters because of how repetitive they were, and how tedious it was to read about how overpowered the overglorified protagonist was curbstomping every opponent he came across.
”Why are we talking about books again?” Lian Rou asked, still as confused as ever. I shrugged as I glanced at her.
”Actually, why are you here? Did you and Tong Xue have some business with me as well?”
”What? We can't drop by to meet a friend?” Tong Xue protested. I cocked my head as I stared at him suspiciously.
”It's not the action, but the timing. If you wanted to chat, you could have just sent me a message and we will hang out later. Why look for me when I'm occupied with taking care of potential clients? I thought you might have an urgent matter.”
”Oh, no, no urgent matters.” Tong Xue hastily waved his hands. ”Sorry for raising a false alarm. Yeah, you're right, the timing was bad…”
”They were just curious and wanted to see who the clients were, and why you were entraining them,” Tang Qi Hong muttered under her breath. Both Tong Xue and Lian Rou stared at her, aghast and mollified.
”You too, Qi Hong!” Lian Rou cried out. ”You could have just talked to Fei Wu afterward, but you wanted to see him as soon as possible! You were just looking for an excuse to meet him!”
Tang Qi Hong's face immediately turned red and she almost fell over as she threw her hands out frantically.
”No…that is! No!”
I sighed as I watched the whole thing. What the fuck was this? A teenage high school love comedy? Why was everyone behaving like hormonal teenage anime characters and resorting to such cliché dialogue and reactions?
”A…anyway, we thought you would kick all three girls from Dark Fiend Valley Sect out of Tushan City after being insulted like that.” Tong Xue hurriedly returned to the topic. ”We were surprised when you just barred Lu Li from the sect entrance and allowed those two girls in. And even personally approached Elder Tie to help them forge Spirit Armaments.”
”Is there any reason I shouldn't have done that?” I asked, puzzled. Why were they making such a big deal out of this? ”They needed help, so I might as well do what I can. Besides, they were not the ones who insulted me. They shouldn't get punished for something their senior did.”
”That's true…”
”Hah!” Tang Qi Hong looked smug for some reason. ”You should know Fei Wu's character by now!”
”Yeah, he's a nice guy.” Tong Xue agreed. ”We've all known that for a while.” He sighed and glanced at the room. ”How boring.”
”What exactly were you expecting?” I asked icily.
”Oh, nothing. I was wondering if you might fancy the two sisters. We're all men, so I understand how you feel.” Tong Xue looked a little embarrassed as he laughed nervously. ”Those two sisters are very beautiful. Their temperament is extraordinary. It's only natural that any guy would be attracted to them. I'm just saying this from a normal man's perspective. Even if I'm not, I'm sure there will be similar rumors floating around.”
Lian Rou pulled him by the ear and began dragging him away.
”Sorry,” she called out as she glanced over her shoulder at a stunned me. ”I should have known better than to go along with Tong Xue's rubbish.”
”That's what I get for being a nice guy?” I muttered, astonished, as I watched them go. ”I was just doing what other normal people would have done.”
”Don't listen to Tong Xue,” Tang Qi Hong assured me. ”He's just talking rubbish, as always. We all know you well enough to know you're not that type of person.”
No sooner than she said that than Yin Jing Jing suddenly looked up from her smartphone. All this while she had paid no attention to our conversation, having sunk deeply into communicating with someone else with her mobile device. However, now, she glanced up from her brightly illuminated screen, her eyes darkening.
I had no idea what was going on, but she was glaring at me coldly, almost as if she wanted to kill me.
”Fei Wu! Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan are the direct disciples of Dark Fiend Valley Sect's sect leader. Don't even think about wooing them! Blacksmithing may be one thing, but if you dare demand anything improper from them, then I'll never forgive you!”
”What the fuck are you talking about?” I snapped, irritated by her high and mighty attitude. ”Why the hell would I woo them? I already have someone I like.”
Tang Qi Hong flushed a little pink, but she stood firmly by my side to return Yin Jing Jing's cold gaze evenly. ”Who gave you the right to speak to Fei Wu like that, Yin Jing Jing? Know your place!”
Yin Jing Jing faltered a little, but she continued to display a fierce defiance. Fortunately, before she could say anything she regretted, Elder Tie Jiang walked out of the private room.
”What's going on?” he frowned and turned to Yin Jing Jing, recognizing her voice when he opened the door. ”Why are you making such a ruckus?”
”N…nothing.”
Yin Jing Jing glared at me before she swiftly stepped into the private room. She looked seriously at Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan.
”Did that bastard ask for anything improper or anything? Did he…did he do anything improper to you while you're inside the private room?”
”B…bastard? Who?” Ling Yu Mei looked confused. Then she frowned. ”Elder Tie was a gentleman. I would ask you not to speak of him in that manner.”
”Ah…no, not Elder Tie!” Yin Jing Jing quickly backtracked. ”Of course I'm referring to that bastard, Fei Wu!”
Both sisters exchanged confused glances, then they shook their heads.
”Why would he? He was outside the private room the whole time. How would he have been able to do anything to us?”
”Also, don't you think you're being awfully rude to someone who we asked a favor from?” Ling Yu Xuan retorted, forgetting her nerves for a moment.
”Ah…” Yin Jing Jing looked a little surprised, but then she waved her hand dismissively. ”Who cares?”
”I do.”
Yin Jing Jing froze when Elder Tie pushed the door slightly ajar to glare at her. Even though the room was sealed from outside to prevent eavesdropping and anyone from overhearing the contents of his discussion with the Ling sisters, leaving the door open would have deactivated the seal and Spirit Diagrams enchanting the room.
”You are to apologize to Fei Wu immediately.”