81 Straight Talking (1/2)
Xue Wei was surprised when he saw how the maids were waiting for them, and even more so when he entered the mansion and was led to the dining hall where a feast had been prepared.
Although Xue Wei was surprised, his face did not display any of his emotions, while the others did nothing to hide their surprise, which made Tie Haolong chuckle.
He then lifted his sleeves and showed off a braided cord around his arm with a small bead placed within it.
”This is a communication device,” he introduced. ”It is a thing that allowed me to inform my family that we were on the way and have them prepare the meal in advance.”
”These communication devices are very rare,” Tie Haolong continued the explanation, and his face grew stern all of a sudden, his eyes solemn. ”Only a handful exist within each of the noble families, and they are guarded as treasures. Only the important members are allowed one of these devices, and I was only granted one because I had to go to the recruitment camp.”
Xue Wei almost snorted. Was Tie Haolong not indirectly stating that he was an important member of the Tie family this way?
But when he thought about it, he had to admit that it made sense. A family had to put value on the members that showed promising potential and to have made it to the Genius Camp showed that he had talent.
Finishing his time at the Genius Camp as one of the few third layer Earth Warriors showed that he was very much above the rest of the geniuses, only overshadowed by a few figures.
When such a genius emerged, it would be strange for the family not to consider him important in their ranks, and Tie Haolong also had a way of manipulating people.
During this time, everyone in the group, Xue Wei included, had already agreed that Tie Haolong was their leader. He was the one in charge of their group despite not being the strongest, and this in itself was quite a feat.
But Xiao Jie, Song Yuyan, and Gu Dixing had given him their full support; and they would follow him blindly in the future and had placed all their faith in him knowing what was the best for their group.
Xue Wei had conceded the position of leader to Tie Haolong simply because he could not be bothered to step up and take over.
He also knew that he would not be able to unite their team with his apathetic and uninterested personality, and worse, when fighting, he would not be able to keep a cool head and properly call the shots.
The night was spent with all of them eating their fill at the feast. While Song Yuyan, Xiao Jie, and Gu Dixing were busy narrating their entire lives to Tie Haolong, Xue Wei was smiling as he listened to all three despite the bombardment of personal information.
Xue Wei could not help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. His impression of Tie Haolong was a scheming and shrewd person, but right now he was patiently listening to everything these people had to say with a smile on his face and even the right comments at the right times.
Xue Wei had to commend him for his way of accepting anything that was being said to him. He was hospitable, friendly, and attentive to their every need. He showed genuine interest in what they had to say, and he was happy to assist in anything he could assist with.
At the start, Tie Haolong had tried to pull Xue Wei into the conversation, yet after being met with single sentence answers and an apathetic expression, he quickly understood that it only made the conversation among the group awkward, so he decided to focus on making Xiao Jie, Song Yuyan, and Gu Dixing feel better.
Xue Wei had nothing against Tie Haolong and the others, but he did not know them either. He was always cautious when it came to forging new relationships.
He had already experienced it once, people trying to reel in his uncle through him, and it wasn't as though his early experiences were any help in making him socialize with others - the thought of it alone made him recall nothing but the memories of being hurt by others. He was socially awkward when it came to strangers, and his only friends were Shen Mu and Luo Zhirou.
He had never really learned how to behave amongst other people, and he genuinely preferred being quiet and just listening to the others talk.
He wanted to know what they had to say; he wanted to listen and learn about them so that he slowly could get an impression of what kind of person they were.
So far, he was able to see that these four people were good people. They had an urge to distinguish themselves in the army, much like himself, and their age was very similar, so they had a lot in common.
Xue Wei ate his fill, drinking the wine and listening to the conversations. The more he listened, the more comfortable he became.
He was no longer on high alert, and he too knew that if he wanted to make things work in the future, then he needed to be good friends with these people.
Tie Haolong was shrewd and calculating, but he was not a bad person. He showed genuine interest in the others' lives. Although Tie Haolong might have some ulterior motives towards Xue Wei, Xue Wei concluded that even if he were not the nephew of Primordial Beast Hunter Xiao Lei, the former would have behaved the way he was behaving now.
What Tie Haolong truly wished for was to be the leader of their group. If he could lead their group, he would be getting the most honor if their group managed to stand out in the future. However, at the same time, he would also take the blame if they did badly.
Xue Wei was not interested in taking command. He just wanted to fight and distinguish himself so that he, in the future, could become a great Primordial Beast Hunter.