Martial Peak

The next day, early morning.

Hua You Meng came to the guest house as scheduled, holding a tray in her hands that contained several bunches of spirit fruits.

At first glance, it was obvious that these spirit fruits were not ordinary. They exuded a strong aura and rich fragrance. Obviously, they were treasures to cultivators.

Standing outside the door, just as she was hesitating about what to say, the door opened on its own initiative and Yang Kai, who was sitting cross-legged inside, smiled at her lightly.

“This Mistress greets Sir,” Hua You Meng hurriedly and elegantly bowed.

“President Hua is too polite, please come in,” Yang Kai gestured.

“Pardon me.”

Saying so, Hua You Meng stepped inside, put down the tray in her hands, and continued, “The place is quite simple, so this Mistress has taken the liberty to prepare some refreshments for Sir. I hope Sir won’t refuse.”

“Blue Blood Exquisite Fruits?” Yang Kai glanced at the bunch of amethyst grape-like fruits on the plate and was slightly surprised, nodding in approval, “President Hua’s consideration is appreciated.”

“As long as Sir is pleased,” Hua You Meng accompanied him carefully, standing to the side, seemingly both cautious and uneasy.

Even now, she was unaware of the other party’s identity or status, nor did she know why someone as powerful as Lu Tian Feng was so scared of him. If the events of yesterday had taken place in any other small chamber of commerce, it would likely have been totally destroyed, but not only was Five Paths Chamber of Commerce safe and sound, they had even received a great deal of compensation on top of a personal apology from Lu Tian Feng.

This was not something a man of ordinary high status could achieve. This young man was clearly so important that even masters like Lu Tian Feng had to treat him with reverence, so how could Hua You Meng dare act carelessly?

What troubled Hua You Meng the most though, was that she didn’t even know the other party’s name.

“Please have a seat, President Hua. There’s no need to be so formal,” Yang Kai looked at her with a smile.

“In front of Sir, this Mistress doesn’t dare to be presumptuous,” Hua You Meng pursed her red lips and squeezed out a slightly anxious smile, insisting on remaining standing.

Yang Kai rubbed his forehead, thought for a while, and said solemnly, “President Hua, do you still blame this one for what happened?”

Hua You Meng’s pretty face abruptly changed, and she quickly waved her hands frantically, “Why would Sir think so? If Sir had not stepped in yesterday, I’m afraid my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce would have been destroyed and all my brothers and sisters would not have escaped death. This Mistress only has gratitude for Sir, how could she dare blame him?”

“Haha, I hid my strength and identity, and ran into you for no reason, bringing such a disaster to you. Does President Hua truly have no complaints?”

Hua You Meng’s brow furrowed slightly as her innermost thoughts seemed to be seen through by Yang Kai, causing her to go somewhat speechless.

“Not just President Hua, but also your companions have similar opinions, no? They just don’t dare to show it,” Yang Kai chuckled.

Hua You Meng smiled forcefully and said, “Please don’t misunderstand, Sir. There is an old saying that when Immortals fight, mortals suffer. This Mistress and Five Paths Chamber of Commerce are just a small force in this area. Any great disturbance is enough to tear us to pieces.”

As she spoke, she seemed to gain more courage and began forming her words more clearly, “I am truly grateful to Sir for what happened yesterday, but I would not wish to experience it ever again. However, this Mistress’ experience is lacking so she really cannot understand what my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce possibly has that would attract Sir to stop here. With Sir’s identity and strength, is there anywhere in Purple Star City that you cannot go?”

“Indeed,” Yang Kai nodded. “But if I left yesterday, you would all definitely suffer, so I chose to stay. President Hua offered her aid to me at the city gates, so I could not just abandon you to your fate.”

Hua You Meng was startled but soon nodded lightly.

Yang Kai laughed, “Starting over, this one’s name is Yang Kai, and hiding my strength before was just for convenience. If I were to go around announcing I am an Origin King everywhere, wouldn’t that appear too arrogant? As for my status… it is inconvenient for me to say any more so please forgive me for holding back, President Hua.”

Hua You Meng nodded, “Sir must have his own considerations.”

“Yes, but you don’t need to concern yourself too much with any of this. Regardless of what my status and identity are, you should just treat me as an ordinary Origin King…”

Hua You Meng frowned and was a little dazed, but seeing that Yang Kai looked sincere, she didn’t know what to think right away. After some thought, she realized that, with Yang Kai’s strength, there was no reason for him to deceive her, so she simply replied seriously, “This Mistress was too suspicious. Please do not take offence, Sir.”

“There’s no need to address me as Sir, I’m also not used to it. Today I simply wanted to let President Hua know that everything that happened was just an unfortunate coincidence and I don’t have any plans or intentions towards your Five Paths Chamber of Commerce,” Yang Kai looked at Hua You Meng sincerely.

“This Mistress understands,” Seeing him act so forthright, Hua You Meng believed him and only hesitated for a moment before asking, “It’s just that if this Mistress doesn’t address you as Sir, should she call you… Senior?”

Yang Kai lightly coughed, “Just call me by name.”

“This Mistress wouldn’t dare!” Hua You Meng waved her hands in a panic.

“Forget it, just call me as you’d like,” Yang Kai didn’t insist and simply reached out to push the tray of spirit fruits back while saying, “This Blue Blood Exquisite Fruit is useless to me as anything but a delicacy. On the other hand, President Hua can purify her Saint Qi if she consumes them, so please take them back.”

Hua You Meng smiled and looked at Yang Kai with some gratitude, “Many thanks, Sir.”

She had bought this plate of spirit fruit at a very high price, and they were quite rare. If it weren’t for Yang Kai’s identity and strength, how could Hua You Meng have done this? She was a frugal President who would normally never spend so wastefully.

“En, someone is outside looking for you,” Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed as he glanced outside.

Hua You Meng looked out but did not see anyone outside the door, but just when she was about to ask, she saw Gao Hong hurriedly walking over.

Gao Hong’s face was filled with smiles, as if something good had just happened.

“Sir, please wait for a moment. This Mistress will quickly deal with this,” Hua You Meng said before hurriedly withdrawing.

When she met Gao Hong outside, the two women whispered to each other, and soon Hua You Meng wore a look of surprise and asked urgently, “Really?”

Gao Hong nodded seriously, to which Hua You Meng replied in pleasant surprise, “Let me go out and have a look.”

Saying so, she hurried back into the store.

Shortly after, Hua You Meng appeared neatly in Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s front foyer. At this moment, Xia Jing Wu, Hai Tang, and Yao Qing were waiting quietly together with a group of cultivators dressed in shining armour. At the lead of this group of cultivators was a pale-faced man who stood at attention while waiting silently.

Seeing their attire, these cultivators were easily identifiable as Purple Star City Guard, the same as Bai Zheng Chu and Lu Tian Feng from yesterday.

After seeing Hua You Meng, the lead man quickly cupped his fists and respectfully said, “I take it this Madam is the famous Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s President Hua?”

Hua You Meng was slightly taken aback but still replied promptly, “Not at all, Hua You Meng greets this Sir.”

“President Hua is too polite,” The pale-faced man smiled amiably. “Allow me to introduce myself, this one is Purple Star City Guard Vice Commander Qu Zheng!”

“This Mistress has long heard Vice Commander Qu’s honoured name, but I wonder what Vice Commander Qu has come to my humble chamber of commerce today for?” Although she had received some news from Gao Hong just now, Hua You Meng couldn’t be certain of anything yet, so she still took the time to ask.

“This Qu has come here today on orders of Senior Lu to hand these things over to President Hua.” Saying so, he took out a jade box from his Space Ring and handed it over respectfully.

Hua You Meng wore a solemn look as she reached out to accept the jade box.

Upon opening the jade box, Hua You Meng saw that it contained a number of neatly stacked papers, and after pulling out one and examining it, she couldn’t help calling out in shock, “Land deeds!”

“What?” Xia Jing Wu and the others were also shocked, with even Gao Hong’s jaw dropping.

Although Qu Zheng had said when he arrived that he had come to deliver a gift to Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, he had not explained what that gift was, but seeing the land deeds at this moment, everyone finally understood.

“So many land deeds?” Hua You Meng was completely stunned as she began taking the deeds out one by one. There were more than thirty deeds in the box, each one representing ownership of a shop or plot of land.

“Ahaha, President Hua is too serious. En, these land deeds are for all the stores on Soaring Dragon Street, where Five Paths Chamber of Commerce is located,” Qu Zheng explained with a smile, “Senior Lu said that although Five Paths Chamber of Commerce is small, it has operated for many years with great integrity and made significant contributions to the development of Purple Star City, a model for all merchants. These land deeds are a special token of appreciation for the hard work your chamber of commerce has done and are being transferred to President Hua in hopes that others will follow the example of your chamber of commerce.”

“This…” Hua You Meng’s tender body trembled, unable to believe what she was seeing with her own eyes, simply feeling that the land deeds in her hands were so heavy that they were crushing her beneath them.

“President Hua, please don’t refuse,” Qu Zheng stretched out his hand and stopped her before she could say anything, declaring solemnly. “This Qu is here on orders. If President Hua refuses, then this Qu will not be able to fulfil his mission and will be punished with imprisonment in the Frozen Prison. This Qu has heard that President Hua has a kind heart, so this Qu begs her not to make things difficult for him.”

Hua You Meng looked at Qu Zheng as if she did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Qu Zheng immediately struck while the iron was hot, smiled, and said, “Good, this Qu will take it as President Hua accepting these, so he will now return now to report he has completed his mission.”

“How could that…” Hua You Meng was a bold and wise woman, but she was still somewhat overwhelmed right now, not knowing how to respond. After a moment, she hurriedly said, “Uncle Xia, prepare a gift for our honoured guest’s hard work.”

She knew from the words the other party had spoken that she couldn’t return these land deeds.

Uncle Xia responded and hurried to prepare some small offerings.

Qu Zheng, however, reacted with something akin to terror as he hurriedly cried out, “President Hua, there’s no need for that! This Qu is simply doing his duty, how could he dare accept any benefits? President Hua’s sentiments are more than enough.”

The other guards had also gone pale, as if the small gifts Xia Jing Wu wanted to offer them were some kind of deadly scourge to be avoided at all costs.

Qu Zheng stood on the spot anxiously, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead vigorously as he glanced towards the backyard from time to time.

After a while, he heard a voice in his ears, “Good, go back and tell Lu Tian Feng that he has handled the situation well this time and this King is very satisfied.”

Like he had received a pardon from the Heavens, Qu Zheng cupped his fists in that direction and bowed deeply while calling out, “Many thanks, Sir!”

Saying so, he quickly turned to Hua You Meng and said, “This Qu will take his leave. Good day, President Hua!”

As soon as his voice fell, he dashed out, his figure barely visible from behind as it raced off.