Could I Borrow One More Thing?

The first things Yue Guan saw were two swords.

Xu Sheng and Ji Juechen stood side by side, both having brought their swords. A small chip had been knocked off the edge of Xu Sheng's scabbard, while Ji Juechen's sword had been wiped spotless.

"Looks like you didn't just leave them in your rooms as offerings."

Yue Guan took Xu Sheng's sword, flicked it lightly with a finger and listened to the sound of the blade before handing it back.

"Your injury healed?"

"Yes. A physician looked at it, and I tried moving around a bit today."

Yue Guan glanced at him without asking anything else, then turned to Ji Juechen.

"What about you?"

"The sword is excellent."

The corner of Xu Sheng's mouth twitched.

Sure enough, Ji Juechen was the one who should have answered that.

Yue Guan, however, found nothing strange about it. He had someone move a wooden rack away from the window and gestured to Ji Juechen.

"Show me that last thrust you made the other day again."

Ji Juechen nodded, drew his sword and walked over.

He didn't announce himself loudly or spend time gathering momentum. He took his stance, fixed his gaze, and the two yellow rings at his feet lit up one after another as Soul Power flowed into his blade.

His sword shot out.

The thrust didn't split the courtyard wall, but it made Xu Sheng, who stood nearby, instinctively draw his arms in.

Ji Juechen stopped with perfect control, his sword tip hovering in front of the wooden rack without thrusting any farther.

Yue Guan watched for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"That's it. A sword doesn't need to be flashy. If you can send it where it needs to go, then it wasn't wasted on you."

Ji Juechen withdrew his sword.

Xu Sheng was about to add a few words of praise, but Ji Juechen spoke first. "Are there any other Soul Masters here who use swords?"

This time, Xu Sheng didn't even have to guess what he wanted.

Yue Guan chuckled, summoned an attendant and gave him a name, telling him to pass along a message.

"When he gets here, talk to him yourself. Whether he's willing to test swords with you is up to him."

Ji Juechen immediately agreed.

Xu Sheng watched from the side, his eyes burning with envy.

He found this quality of Ji Juechen's truly impressive. Whatever Ji Juechen wanted to do, he just asked, neither hesitating nor beating around the bush, and things got done faster as a result.

"Elder, I'd like to borrow something too."

Yue Guan turned his gaze toward him.

"What are you short of this time?"

"Books."

"Well, that's new."

"A few people in our courtyard have different Martial Souls. We want to find information on suitable Soul Beasts and see what trouble other field teams have run into. Last time in the forest, our lack of experience cost us plenty."

As Xu Sheng spoke, he pulled a folded sheet of paper from his robes.

It wasn't filled with a long list of empty grand ideas, but a few names and Martial Souls.

Jiang Shi, Ironwire Bamboo Bow; Cen Zhao, Crimson Gold Chain Spear; Bai Ji, Cloud Mist...

Yue Guan unfolded it and looked it over, his brows twitching slightly.

"You want to choose their future Soul Rings for them?"

"First we need to understand what paths are open to them. We can't wait until they're nearly level twenty and then go into the forest to try our luck."

Yue Guan read on. When he reached the name added at the end, his finger paused.

Xu Lizhi, steamed buns.

"Food system?"

"Level twenty-three, with two Hundred-Year Soul Rings. He's waiting outside. I didn't have him come straight in."

"Call him in."

Xu Sheng hurried to the door and beckoned.

Xu Lizhi had followed him the whole way. He came before Yue Guan and gave him a perfectly proper bow.

The little fatty clearly knew what a Titled Douluo meant. Even his hands were held very properly in front of him.

Yue Guan studied his youthful appearance and asked a few more questions about his Martial Soul and innate Soul Power. The casual look on his face gradually faded.

Food system, innate full Soul Power.

Xu Sheng watched Yue Guan's gaze linger longer and longer on the little fatty. He felt both proud and, for some reason, a little nervous.

Take a look at my good companion.

But I didn't say you could just take him away!

Yue Guan naturally had no idea where his thoughts had gone. He simply told Xu Lizhi to release his Martial Soul.

Two yellow rings rose.

Xu Lizhi made one Recovery Big Meat Bun and one Light and Nimble Xiaolongbao, holding them out for Yue Guan to see.

After listening to him explain their effects, Yue Guan took the xiaolongbao, examined it carefully, then put it back on the tray.

"You certainly know how to find people."

He was speaking to Xu Sheng.

Xu Sheng hurried to respond modestly, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Yue Guan handed the paper to the attendant and instructed him to take Xu Sheng to the deacon in charge of the records. They were to be allowed to borrow the commonly used Soul Beast records and old field-operation logs available for consultation, according to the rules.

After that, he singled out Xu Lizhi's name.

"Check whether there are any food-system cultivation notes suitable for him to read at his current level. If none are readily available, copy out a catalogue for him first."

Xu Lizhi looked up, delight appearing in his eyes.

Xu Sheng's thanks this time were even more heartfelt than before.

This trip really wasn't wasted!

Ji Juechen had found someone to test swords with, the courtyard would have books to consult when choosing Soul Rings in the future, and the little fatty could get food-system cultivation materials.

Any one of those was more useful than a few empty words of praise.

Seeing him looking as though he were already counting up his gains, Yue Guan suddenly asked, "What else do you want to borrow?"

Xu Sheng hesitated.

"Do you have anything that can hold things?"

He pointed to the cloth bundle he had brought.

"For the whole courtyard to use. We Outlanders have our own storage slots, but Ji Juechen and Lizhi can't use them. I can store things for them, but once we split up, they have to come find me whenever they need something."

Xu Sheng explained what they used the medicine box and ropes for.

"If we get something they can use too, whoever's responsible for backup can carry it. It'll be convenient to switch people around as well."

Yue Guan looked at him.

Xu Sheng hastily added, "An ordinary one will do."

"Even an ordinary Storage Soul Tool isn't one of the vegetable baskets in your courtyard."

Yue Guan set down his teacup, but his expression didn't darken. He merely told the attendant to make a note of it and check whether the field-operations storehouse had any old items that could be assigned to them.

"First, make something of this team of yours. Whoever gets the item, the decision has to be justifiable to everyone else."

"Understood!"

Xu Sheng answered at once.

He hadn't been turned down outright, so there was a chance.

He was about to take Xu Lizhi and leave when the attendant suddenly mentioned that Fang Zhan was outside as well, reporting on arrangements for patrols after the rain.

Xu Sheng stopped in his tracks.

Yue Guan noticed and asked, "Interested?"

"I'd like to hear about it first."

"Then listen with me."

Fang Zhan came in and wasn't surprised to see Xu Sheng there. He quickly described the situation along several stretches of road.

It had been raining steadily of late, and two small outposts to the east needed teams to take turns providing backup. The shortcut through Bluestone Gorge in particular required the water level and bridge to be checked first. A single squad had too few people: some had to scout the way, while others had to guard their place of shelter, and they often couldn't manage it all.

As Xu Sheng listened, his eyes gradually lit up.

Before, he'd had no partners and could only wait for assignments. But this matter was just right for putting his ten people to work.

"Deacon Fang, how about pairing me with another team?"

Fang Zhan glanced at him.

"Red Pine Courtyard has ten people already?"

"We're all here."

"Ten is enough for a team. Who do you want to team up with?"

"People who can fight."

Fang Zhan laughed.

"They might not be willing to work with you."

"Let's get acquainted first. If we haven't even met, how would I know whether they're willing?"

Fang Zhan thought for a moment and mentioned an Outlander team that had just finished an assignment nearby.

There were five of them, all with two rings. Their leader was Meng Xingzhou, level twenty-eight, with Purple Lightning Bamboo as his Martial Soul. He was fairly steady in the way he handled things.

Hearing that, Xu Sheng's heart itched even more.

Five two-ring Soul Masters!

If he teamed up with them, he wouldn't be fighting alone when he went out.

"Please pass them a message for me. I'll treat them to a meal."

Fang Zhan looked at him as though he had remembered something.

"After you treated people to a meal, there were more and more people in your courtyard."

"This time it really is just a meal."

Xu Sheng answered very sincerely.

As for whether they'd be willing to work together after the meal, that was another matter.