Mu Rong Qiu cackled wildly when he thrust his blazing palm at me, the insidious flames melting the glass case and sending antiques flying. For a moment, I did nothing but watch him attack me, not moving a single step from my spot.
Then a spectral arm appeared and smacked Mu Rong Qiu's hand to the side.
"Ugh?!"
As expected of a trained assassin. Mu Rong Qiu immediately sensed the danger and retreated before a ghostly hand could strike him in the face, jumping back several meters and knocking over a shelf. He clutched his hand, noticing a swollen bruise on it despite the protective aegis of his shadow flames. He then raised his head to glare at me, his eyes widening when he saw that there was nothing next to me. He could have sworn he saw me summon a ghost…or at least a part of a ghost.
"How?!"
"Darling! Are you all right?!" the pink-haired girl hurried over worriedly, checking on him. She turned to glare at me. "What did you do!?"
"Are you blind, girl?" Mu Rong Shu demanded, folding her arms and glaring at her. "Can't you see that it was cousin Qiu who attacked my husband first?"
"He's just trash! He doesn't have the right to fight back! If darling wants him to die, then he must cut his own throat and die for him!"
"If I'm just trash, how did I succeed in defending myself and deflecting his attack then?" I rolled my eyes. Deluded people were just deluded. They insisted on calling me trash for no reason other than because I married into the Mu Rong family.
"You seem to be getting cocky just because of a single fluke, cousin-in-law." Mu Rong Qiu gnashed his teeth and gathered his qi around him. A shadowy skull materialized around him and his veins bulged, allowing his muscles to expand. His clothing stretched and began to tear from the pressure. "I was only using thirty percent of my strength earlier. If you can take my strike at full power, then only will I acknowledge that you are not trash."
"Enough!"
The thunderous voice caused everyone in the shop to freeze. Immediately the shadowy skull dissipated, as if shattered by the force of the shout alone. Mu Rong Qiu staggered, his muscles contracting back to normal and he lowered his head hastily.
"Grandfather!"
"Grandfather." Mu Rong Shu and I also greeted the old man politely when he stepped into the store, seething. He ignored us for now and glared at Mu Rong Qiu.
"Why the hell are you bothering your cousin-in-law? What gave you the guts to attack him and wreck his shop?"
"Grandfather, you…" Mu Rong Qiu swallowed bitterly. "You're reprimanding me over an outsider?"
"What outsider?" Mu Rong Lao smacked him in the head. "He's your cousin-in-law! He's our family now!"
Mu Rong Qiu could only stare at his grandfather, shocked. He clenched his fists. "He insulted me! I can't let him get away with that!"
"Uh, you made fun of me first?" I pointed out.
"Huan Shi is right. I heard you insult my husband first. Both you and your girlfriend." Mu Rong Shu stood at my side, as always. "He didn't do anything to you, so why are you always harassing him and calling him useless trash?"
"Because it's the truth?" Mu Rong Qiu turned to me. "If you aren't afraid, prove it with actions, not words! Show me your strength! Otherwise there's no reason for me to believe otherwise!"
"Sure." I pushed my glasses up my nose. "But pick another time and place. I can't have you wrecking my shop."
"Speaking of which…" Mu Rong Lao raised his hand, a ghost of a smile creeping onto his wrinkled face. "The Mu Rong family tournament is due in another couple of weeks. The both of you can settle your differences then. But before the family tournament, the both of you are not allowed to fight each other. Is that clear?"
"Yes, grandfather-in-law. But is that really all right? I mean, allowing an outsider like me to participate in the Mu Rong family tournament…do I have the right to…?"
"Like I said, you're no longer an outsider. Ever since you married Xiao Shu, I've considered you family." Mu Rong Lao smiled warmly at me. "I will personally permit it. If anyone says otherwise, they can take the matter directly to me."
"Fine." Mu Rong Qiu glared at me. "This isn't over! We will settle this at the family tournament. Mark my words, you will be begging me for mercy and forgiveness."
He stomped off, even as the pink-haired girl tried to placate him by clinging onto his arm and whisper soothingly into his ear.
"Did I say you can go?" Mu Rong Lao asked. Mu Rong Qiu spun around, blinking in astonishment. The girl holding his arm almost tumbled over from the sudden movement, but she righted herself by leaning on him. The handsome guy with spiky hair and in a tacky purple suit ignored her presence to ogle the Mu Rong family patriarch.
"Huh? Is there anything else, grandfather?"
"Of course," the old man snapped and gestured around the ruins of my shop. "You went wild in someone else's shop broke all of his stuff, and you want to leave without paying? Haven't I taught you to take responsibility for your actions?"
"That's…!" Mu Rong Qiu tried to protest, only to wilt under Mu Rong Lao's intense gaze. He gritted his teeth and seethed, but obediently took out his credit card. "Fine! I'll pay for all the damages! How much is it?!"
"Uh…" I glanced around the shop and did a quick estimation. "About eight million yuan?"
"What the fuck!?" Mu Rong Qiu practically shrieked. "Eight million yuan for a bunch of useless antiques?! Why don't you just rob me instead?!"
"Because they are antiques," Mu Rong Lao retorted. "And Huan Shi is already giving you a generous discount. If I were the one asking, I would have asked for ten million yuan."
"Fine!" Mu Rong Qiu practically flung his credit card at me. "Go ahead and swipe it! Hurry up! I haven't got all day!"
"Thank you for your patronage," I said as I caught his credit card and moved to the payment device to swipe it. Then I handed it back to him, but Mu Rong Qiu snatched it out of my hands rudely before stomping off, his latest girlfriend trailing him frantically. I then turned to Mu Rong Shu and winked. "At least we made our first piece of business for the day."
She giggled. Mu Rong Lao then cleared his throat and nodded at me.
"Huan Shi, if you don't mind? I would like to have a word with you."
"Yeah, sure."
"Husband, you should bring grandfather to the guest room. Don't worry about the shop, I'll take care of it and clean up the mess."
"Thanks. I'll help you when I'm done." I turned and followed Mu Rong Lao into the guest room at the back, where we usually received rich and powerful guests. The Mu Rong family patriarch counted as one, obviously.
"Tea, grandfather-in-law?"
"Yes, thank you. Pu Tong tea, please." I nodded and selected the specific tea leaves to brew it before setting the cup and teapot in front of Mu Rong Lao. He sipped it and leaned back against his chair, groaning contentedly. Then he looked at me when I sat down opposite him. "Huan Shi, I'm sure you've already heard about this, but I've received information regarding a new tomb in the Huai Zhu area."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, but nodded. I had heard rumors that Mu Rong Lao received information regarding a new tomb, but I didn't know it was in the Huai Zhu area. I did understand why he was telling me this, though. "You need me to check it out?"
"Yes. There may be antiques in the tomb. Recover whatever relics you can and bring them back to the Mu Rong family. As usual, use this shop as a cover and store them here. Once you've secured the items, notify me and I'll come here to check them out." Mu Rong Lao smiled. "I'll make sure to reward you appropriately."
"Thanks." I inclined my head gratefully. I knew that this was a massive chance that Mu Rong Lao was giving me. The fact that he chose to assign this mission to me instead of Mu Rong Qiu already spoke volumes for the faith he had in me.
Then again, Mu Rong Qiu was more suited for assassinations while I was the one Mu Rong Lao approached when he wanted a tomb explored or relics recovered.
"Another thing," Mu Rong Lao continued. He studied me intensely. "Your spirit summoning still isn't fully complete, is it? Even though you can materialize only thirty percent of your war spirit and it's already more powerful than Xiao Qiu, you have difficulty cultivating it to perfection? I only saw the arm and part of its chest and body."
That must mean Mu Rong Lao had been present earlier than I thought, if he had witnessed the brief exchange.
"I've been cultivating the war spirit for three years now," I said with a sigh. "But I only managed to construct thirty percent of its body. At this rate, I'll need another seven years before I can finish constructing his full body."
"No rush, no rush." Mu Rong Lao chuckled, stroking his bearded chin. "Even with only thirty percent of its body formed, your war spirit is already extremely powerful. I think it can defeat most peak Warriors…maybe even a low level Master."
I nodded thoughtfully. Urban cultivators had simplified the cultivation realms into easy to understand terms. Beginner, Warrior, Master, Grand Master, Saint, and Divine Saint. Each of these realms were divided into four levels, low, medium, high and peak. Mu Rong Lao, the patriarch of the Mu Rong clan, was at the peak of Grand Master. He had difficulty breaking through to Saint Realm, which was why he was seeking for more relics, which hopefully would nourish him with the qi and resources for him to achieve that elusive breakthrough.
"But more importantly…about this tomb…" Mu Rong Lao leaned forward, his gruff voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "I heard that there might be something useful for you."
"Useful for me?" I repeated dumbly. Mu Rong Lao nodded.
"There is a relic in this tomb…an ancient armor that might be able to speed up the construction of your war spirit. If you are able to get your hands on it, you might be able to construct sixty percent of your war spirit. Of course, if you obtain it, you're more than welcome to keep it, provided you give me the other relics. Not like you'll need those anyway."
"Sure." I nodded in understanding. The Zhao family's summoning techniques were strange and incomprehensible to most cultivators, so conventional methods were not very useful for them. Consequently, most relics and artifacts were of no use to cultivating summoning techniques. That was why Mu Rong Lao trusted me – because I was less likely than others to pocket the relics for myself. And those artifacts that were beneficial to summoners…well, he had no use for them.
"Excellent, excellent." Mu Rong Lao nodded. "You can set of anytime you want. Just let me know when you return."
"I will." I rose from my seat, cupping my hands and lowering my head. "Thank you very much for assigning me this mission. I hope to bring back some good news."