"I see, you've thought of everything. As always, ha," Asura chuckled, and I had already approached the door to my room.
"Hello, Jiaxing Er, are you here?" I asked, entering the room.
"Yes, brother, I'm in the kitchen!" she shouted from the depths of the room, from where the kitchen was. I had to spend a lot of money and time to find a hotel where there would be one in the rooms.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, heading to the kitchen. Suddenly, a rather pleasant aroma of fresh pies hit my nose, making me stop for a moment.
"I decided to fry some pies, want to treat you?" Jiaxing Er said with an innocent smile, peeking from behind the kitchen door. It was indeed quite sweet and pleasant, but for some reason, my chest ached, and I remembered how Lin Yun Er once treated me to her food. "What, you're not happy? I shouldn't have done it?" Jiaxing Er asked, tilting her head slightly.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking," I said, entering the kitchen and taking one of the pies lying on the plate.
"Careful, they're still hot..." Jiaxing Er didn't have time to warn me before I threw it into my mouth. Although she said they were hot, it seemed to me they were only slightly warm.
"Very tasty," I said, shrugging and chewing. "Alright, pack your things, if you've unpacked them, we're leaving tomorrow."
"Okay, brother," she said, slightly sadly, which made my chest ache even more.
"Alright, I'll go practice for now," I said and went to my room.
The next day, after packing our things, we first went to Mo Fan and the others. We needed to say goodbye and come up with a plausible reason for my departure. This time, we managed to catch Mo Fan and Xu Zhao Ting just as they were heading for training.
"Are you leaving again?" Mo Fan was surprised when he learned about my departure. "What happened this time?"
"I promised Zhou Ming that I would help her start her hunting career," I said awkwardly, scratching my head.
"I see, can we help you then?" asked Xu Zhao Ting.
"I don't think it would be useful for you, after all, she's a beginner and we won't be able to take a good quest," I said, I absolutely didn't need extra eyes. "Besides, I don't think Mo Fan is ready to leave Jiaxing Xia."
"Well, you're taking your sister, Jiaxing Er, aren't you?" Xu Zhao Ting objected with doubt. "And why can't I go with you alone?"
"Well, Jiaxing Er knows poison magic, so ordinary servant-level monsters won't be scary for her, with proper preparation. And aren't you and Mo Fan planning to go look for lightning seeds by the end of summer?" I asked, as if by chance.
"Well, you're right about that," Xu Zhao Ting replied thoughtfully.
"Then it's agreed. I'll train Zhou Ming for now, and in two months we'll all go look for spiritual lightning seeds together," I said, smiling broadly.
"That sounds quite logical," Mo Fan said thoughtfully. "Good luck."
"Thanks, bye!" I said, leaving.
After this short conversation, we went to the city center, where I had arranged to meet Lo Sun. He said that the family elder, before finally agreeing to these terms, must see my work. Although there was no turning back for them, the contract had already been signed. The meeting was in a rather expensive cafe, so we could also eat. I quickly spotted Lo Sun, and next to him sat a man of forty to fifty, quite strongly built, with graying black hair.
"Greetings, young Master Lo, Elder Lo, right?" I asked, greeting them.
"Young Master Lo, Elder Lo, Jiaxing Er greets you," Jiaxing Er also greeted them from behind me, bowing.
"That's right, I am the elder of the Lo family, please sit down," the man said, pointing to the sofa opposite. "You are indeed Jiaxing Yun, Tan Tao's personal disciple?"
"Yes, that's absolutely correct. I think you've already convinced yourself that I was telling the truth. Although they might have told you my pseudonym, which I took for working with the master," I said, smiling slightly.
"Are you referring to a certain Tan San, whose name we were told at Master Tan Tao's workshop?" the elder asked, leaning on the table.
"Yes, exactly," I replied with a smile. "Absolutely correct."
"We were told that a certain Tan San entered as a disciple only a month ago, but already showed such talent that he was immediately made the master's personal disciple and given all sorts of concessions?" the elder continued to ask questions.
"Yes, I am very flattered that the master noticed my talents," I said, pretending to be very embarrassed.
"This will be your first independent order, so are you sure you can handle it?" the elder asked, probably his main question.
"Absolutely. Young Master Lo Sun's request, although complex, is not impossible for me," I stated confidently.
"Then may I see the works that made Lo Sun order artifacts from you?" the elder asked, looking at me predatorily. It was likely that losing such a huge sum for a set of artifacts was a serious blow to Lo Sun for them. And if they were to spend so much, it would only be on something very good.
"Of course, here, take a look," I said, handing him the shields I had shown Lo Sun yesterday.
"Not bad, not bad," the elder muttered, examining the artifacts. "You clearly know your business. But, I think, we should still make a slightly bigger discount for our Lo family, since this is your first order."
"No, you are mistaken, this is the second," I said, smiling.
"Really? But we were told that you only performed minor tasks before, during your training," the elder remarked pointedly.
"They can't know everything, can they?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. "Before you, I was commissioned to make a sword with an ice attribute. The blade is already ready, but with it, you can already kill a junior leader if you wish," I said, showing the blade I had forged during the master's final exam. I plan to use it for Zhou Ming's sword.
"Incredible work!" the elder was surprised. "And you did this after only a month of training?"
"Absolutely," I said, returning the blade and shields to my spatial bracelet. No need to show them off.
"Then may I ask one last question?" the elder asked politely, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, of course, what is it?" I asked, showing great interest.
"And what will you be making artifacts for young Master Lo Sun?" the elder asked, burning me with his eyes again.
"From the earth and ice Tian Shan armadillos, defensive ones, and an attacking one from the earth Qinling panda," I answered calmly, as if I hadn't named two well-armored true leaders and one high-ranking servant. "Of course, I will use not pure materials but their alloys with corresponding ores. Moreover, a special magical formula will allow young Master to enhance them with his magic," I added, seeing his formidable and surprised gaze simultaneously.
"Not bad, not bad," the elder muttered, then asked, "You said you would go yourself to get the necessary materials, is that true?"
"Yes, naturally, accompanied by a group of hunters, but I will personally select the right beast and personally obtain all the necessary ingredients. I will also use only the souls of the named beasts to achieve the maximum effect," I said, smiling affectionately.
"Alright, this is quite satisfactory for us," the elder conceded, handing me a credit card. "Here is one hundred million yuan on this card. I hope the work will satisfy both the Lo family and the young master."
"Naturally," I smiled. "I also hope for good cooperation with the Lo family in the future."
After this conversation, we sat a little longer, ate, and talked, but on more casual topics. The elder turned out to be a decent person, knowledgeable in his field, and also one of the top-level mages of the Lo family, though in one element. He let slip the latter by accident, but I guessed it myself by studying the energy he emitted. His name, by the way, is Lo Nan. As for Lo Sun, he was also not such a bad guy as it might have seemed. No, of course, he is closer to spoiled golden youth, but at the same time, he trains diligently, striving to become a worthy member of the Lo family. In some ways, he even reminded me of Zhao Manyan, only the latter's character should be more pleasant, although I will only find this out in about two or three months.
"Brother, are we going to the Tan Shan mountains to fulfill this order?" Jiaxing Er asked when we were in a taxi to the airport.
"Not exactly, first we'll stop by Xi'an," I said indifferently, sighing deeply. After all, dealing with the upper echelons of society was always difficult for me, it tired me out so much in my past life that it was enough for another ten! Although Elder Lo Nan was a pleasant person.
"Really? And what is brother doing in Xi'an? Is he really going to pick up that girl, Zhou Ming?" Jiaxing Er asked in surprise.
"Yes, and you didn't believe I was telling the truth?" I smirked, smiling tenderly as I looked at her sitting next to me.
"I must note that brother lies so skillfully that even his sister has never been able to tell when he is telling the truth and when he is not," she said sarcastically and slightly offended, puffing out her cheeks.
"Ha-ha-ha!" I laughed seeing her like that, she really reminded me of a small and naive younger sister. "This is the essence of the game your brother plays, and as soon as he is figured out, then trouble can be expected."
"For some reason, I feel like that won't happen for a long time," Jiaxing Er said, trying to be indifferent, waving her hand.
"Ha-ha! If everything goes as it should, which it should, then I will never be exposed," I said, taking out my notebook. "By the way, Zhou Ming is also my disciple, the first one, she became one a day before you."
"Really? Well, that was quite expected. I understood everything during my last visit to Xi'an. You could speak a little more discreetly about your affairs," Jiaxing Er said with feigned surprise.
"I just decided to remind you about it and tell you not to forget that Jiaxing Er is primarily my sister. It's better for her not to know that you are my disciple. She still considers herself the only one and therefore special," I said, anticipating a possible situation, while also flipping through my notebook and marking the ninth page, which was dedicated to entering Mingzhu.
"Brother, what is that?" Jiaxing Er asked, trying to look into the notebook, but I slammed it shut right in front of her nose and immediately hid it in my spatial bracelet. I need to be careful, as she is the only one around me who can understand what is written in it. Fortunately, without my knowledge, she cannot easily take it and read it, at least the spiritual contract will inform me of that.
"And this is another of brother's secrets that a little sister doesn't need to know at all," I said, tapping her on the nose, I got a little carried away and for a moment thought she was a very small child. After all, I didn't have real brothers and sisters, and with Mo Fan and Jiaxing Xia, I often just played a role necessary to achieve my goals.
"Hey, brother, don't consider me a little child!" she shouted, hitting me lightly on the shoulder with her fist. Although the contract had a prohibition against causing me bodily harm. But I could simply not consider this blow as such.
"Hey, you two in the back, be quieter, you're distracting me from driving!" the taxi driver's voice was heard from the front seat.
"Sorry," we replied awkwardly.