Sun Lotus City, Zhao Family's mansion
"Who are you? I don't recognize you." - Called out one of the guards at the main entrance. He did not recognize this youth in front of the gate.
"I am Bao Zhi. You can inform Lord Zhao of my arrival, I'll wait."
The guard narrowed his eyes but still signaled to one of the servants to go. "So pretentious! Just who do you think you are to look for the family head unannounced?" - He grumbled under his breath to his counterpart next to him.
Shortly after, the head of servants himself came to welcome Bao Zhi and escort him to the surprise of the guards.
"Esteemed guest Bao Zhi, please follow me." - Instructed the head of servants with respect and cordiality.
The guards looked on strangely and gave way to Bao Zhi.
"The lord will soon receive you in his study. In the meanwhile you can take a seat in the garden's pavilion on the left." - The head of servants explained as they passed through the ornate garden between the gates and the mansion itself. Songbirds were chirping on the branches of trees. The atmosphere was tranquil.
Bao Zhi sat down and waited patiently. Only a few minutes have passed while he idled.
He was sitting comfortably, seemingly carefree, admiring the lush green garden.
But he was alert mentally. The reason he came here was that someone was tailing him during his trip through the city.
"The feeling has disappeared since I entered the gates. It seems whoever followed me had to stop."
"This most likely rules out the Zhao family."
"Seems like it is the Ye family then." - Bao Zhi contemplated his situation.
Suddenly he heard a commotion from inside.
"Young master! Where are you going? The patriarch has forbid you to leave the house. Please return to your room and cultivate diligently."
"I'm going out to get some gu materials. I need them for cultivation."
"We have everything here the young master can require. If not, I can arrange a servant to get them."
"You don't understand..." - Replied Zhao Min, nonchalantly dismissing the head of servants' complaints.
"Listen to him, son." - Instructed Zhao Feng as he passed by the two of them and continued towards the pavilion.
Zhao Min stood there, frustrated and not willing to go back. He felt disdain at hearing his father's condescending tone.
Now he wanted to leave even more so!
He followed after his father. Riding on his coattails he'd have an excuse to leave.
But Zhao Feng did not go further than their lavish garden.
"If it isn't Bao Zhi! Good to see you again." - Zhao Feng's forced courtesy was glaring.
Bao Zhi did not mind it.
Bao Zhi: "Greetings Lord Zhao, I hope you've been well."
Zhao Feng: "What brings you here? Why didn't you send a letter gu?"
Bao Zhi: "I'm here to discuss some sensitive business. It's better to do it in person."
Bao Zhi didn't have a single letter gu, but he couldn't expose that.
Zhao Min caught up to Zhao Feng at the mansion's entrance.
"Bao Zhi? You came to visit... me?" - Asked Zhao Min curiously, not understanding what was going on. Why was his classmate here?
Bao Zhi did not answer, just nodded and cupped his fists briefly.
Instead, the reply came from Zhao Feng.
"Business."
With that said the two of them left for Zhao Feng's study, leaving Zhao Min dumbfounded at the events.
"What business could Bao Zhi have with my father?"
"And why didn't he even talk to me?"
"Why would he want to talk to my father in the first place?"
Zhao Min's emotions were in a mess.
He felt jealous, confused, and angry.
Inside the study...
"What business do you have with me?" - Zhao Feng sat down and asked in a low voice.
"I have a lead on another inheritance. Similarly wood path, as the previous ones."
"But there are some complications that need to be solved first."
"Just tell me straight."
"Someone wants to intervene. I was tailed when I came here."
This startled Zhao Feng, he asked with an alarmed expression:
"Is the Scholarly Merchant Association onto our business?"
"No, this is not their style. I'm suspecting the Ye family to be behind this."
"I don't see how this is my problem then. You can settle this with the Ye family yourself. I don't wish to deepen our existing feud with the Ye family."
"We are in this together, Zhao Feng. If my master has to personally act, the events will escalate out of our control. Our dealings will be investigated by the association and our cover will definitely be blown then."
Zhao Feng's face turned ashen, he was nervously tapping on his desk now.
"How strong is your master?"
"Rank five."
Zhao Feng had the urge to curse and slam his fist into something. A rank five gu master was on the level of the city lord already.
"Alright. Let's think this through. Why is the Ye family targeting you?"
"Probably the auction."
"Right, old geezer Ye wanted to buy the Five Fruit Golden Sapling Gu that time too. You slapped his face masterfully, I couldn't have done it better." - Recalling the events brightened Zhao Feng's mood somewhat.
Bao Zhi remained silent for a moment.
"The Five Fruit Golden Sapling Gu represents immense profits, it is something they will not let go easily." - Bao Zhi explained.
"How about this, I will lend this gu to the Zhao family and share the profits."
"Oh, you didn't buy the gu on behalf of the Scholarly Merchant Association?" - Asked Zhao Feng curiously.
"No, the Scholarly Merchant Association does not care about material gains, other than keeping themselves afloat."
Zhao Feng connected the dots and immediately understood the situation. Bao Zhi could not seek help from the organization, because the gu he bought was from cheating the organization in the first place. Bao Zhi could only rely on him for help now.
Sensing the convenience of the circumstances, Zhao Feng revealed a warm smile.
"Dealing with the Ye family is not a big deal. They are not above us, as much as they would like to think that." - He remarked arrogantly.
"I will help you, but first we should discuss how we share the profits of selling the rank one Golden Fruit Gu."
"Seventy-thirty." - Offered Bao Zhi.
"Forty-sixty. My friend, who's the one in need right now?" - Countered Zhao Feng shamelessly.
"Make it fifty-fifty, the gu still belongs to me. If push comes to shove, I can sell it to someone else. I won't go lower." - Said Bao Zhi with a pained expression.
Zhao Feng accepted these terms readily. The profits of the Golden Fruit Gu would be comparable to multiple mid-sized shops they owned!
Bao Zhi took out the Five Fruit Golden Sapling Gu from his aperture. This gu had an exquisite appearance. It was like a small, palm-sized bonsai tree. It was faintly glowing with golden lights. If observed from up close, one could see five buds along the small branches.
"But first, let's make the contract." - Said Bao Zhi before passing the gu worm over.
"Mm. Naturally."
Zhao Feng retrieved a spiky-looking gu worm from his aperture. It was a green ball, dotted with thin and long needle-like spikes, it was the Needle Pledge Mother Gu. Zhao Feng pinched one of the needles with two fingers and plucked it.
This needle was the consumable rank three Needle Pledge Gu.
Next, Zhao Feng poked his palm with one end of the pointy Needle Pledge Gu then passed it to Bao Zhi who similarly jabbed the other end of the gu into his skin.
The gu drew a drop of blood from the both of them and started to shake as it floated in the air between them.
Pop!
The Needle Pledge Gu split in two and quickly vanished into the bodies of Bao Zhi and Zhao Feng.
If one of them violated the terms of the contract that they agreed upon, then the Needle Pledge Gu would activate and stab itself into the brain and other organs until the target who broke the pledge died.
"You can send the earnings to me through Zhao Min while I'm in the academy. I can't come here to collect it, nor should you send it to my house, that would be too suspicious."
"Not a problem."
"It is settled then." - Bao Zhi inspected his body and passed over the Five Fruit Golden Sapling Gu.
Zhao Feng released a letter gu and instructed an expert to escort Bao Zhi within the city.
They made some small talk before Bao Zhi took his leave.
On his way back he could still feel that someone was targeting him, his human qi exposed his follower time and again.
About an incense stick's worth of time later, the sensation disappeared.
A crashing sound, then a wail could be heard.
"Oh, it seems like they found each other already."
"The Zhao can be relied on for now."
Zhao Feng was now not just taking care of the foe for Bao Zhi, he was even refining the rank three gu in his place. Not just that, the cost of caring for and activating the Five Fruit Golden Sapling Gu was also taken care of by the Zhao family.
What master, what merchant association? If Zhao Feng knew how he was played by Bao Zhi, who knew what expression he would show?
* * * * *
City lord's office
Ding Shuren has just finished his daily duties when a will descended.
It was Bao Xu Lian's will, the immortal responsible for this region that Sun Lotus City was part of.
"Greetings Lord Immortal!" - Ding Shuren greeted nervously. Bao Xu Lian wouldn't visit him so often. What was the occasion, he wondered. A bad feeling was rising in his stomach.
"City Lord Ding Shuren, your progress is the slowest in the region. It is below average. Where are the results you promised?"
Cold sweat was rolling down Ding Shuren's neck. He didn't know what to say.
Bao Xu Lian raised an eyebrow and asked mockingly:
"How long are you going to withhold the resources? This is my final warning to you. The clan will not tolerate subpar results."
Ding Shuren fell to his knees in fright. He was kowtowing non-stop. His long beard was sweeping the dust off his office floor.
"I was wrong, I was wrong! Please give me another chance! I will do my best to correct this!" - He pleaded pitifully, if anyone from the city saw this sight, they wouldn't believe this was their mighty rank five city lord.
"I already told you what to do. Nurture the gu masters! Distribute the rewards. No excuses." - Berated Bao Xu Lian in an irritated voice.
"I will, I will!" - Ding Shuren wanted to find a hole and hide in it in his shame.
Bao Xu Lian's will disappeared in an instant, but Ding Shuren did not dare to raise his head for minutes.
"I will nurture the gu masters, I will nurture the gu masters..." - He repeated over and over like he was in a trance.
His hair was disheveled, and tears and snot were covering his face. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he got himself together.
"I'm such a fool. What am I doing?" - He firmly grabbed the storage gu worm in his hand he got previously from Bao Xu Lian.
Next, he activated his gu worms. Everyone in the radius of Sun Lotus City could directly hear his next words:
"Citizens and travelers of Sun Lotus City, the city lord is speaking."
"Today I am announcing the cultivation board. Every gu master's cultivation and advancement will be registered on the board. The best performers will receive primeval stones and rare gu worms!"
The city got into an unprecedented excitement. A crowd was already forming before the city lord's office on the square.
An assistant suddenly barged into Ding Shuren's office.
"What cultivation board? My lord, we have nothing like that prepared."
"I know! So quickly arrange it!" - Ding Shuren snapped at his assistant.
* * * * *