At Xu Yi's insistence, Liu Xiangdong "reluctantly" accepted the Sumeru Ring. "Very well. I'll swallow my pride and accept Brother Xu as my brother. From now on, if you ever need anything, and it's within my power to help, I won't hesitate." The essence of socializing was building connections.
There were two keys to building connections. One was knowing what to say—or knowing how to put on a show—so the other person felt you were on the same wavelength. The other was having shared interests. With both of those in place, there was no relationship you couldn't cultivate. Clearly, Xu Yi had breached Liu Xiangdong's defenses.
"Here's the situation. I came on someone's behalf to buy Star Core Marrow and a True Dragon Eye. Do you know where I might find them, Brother Liu?" Xu Yi chose to convey this information through thought.
In an instant, Liu Xiangdong's narrowed, milky-white eyes opened wide. "Both of these treasures are exceptionally valuable. Are you really looking to buy them, Brother Xu? Oh, right. I've used an Ancient Forbidden Technique here, so no one can spy on us. You can speak freely."
"Of course I'm serious," Xu Yi said. "Naturally, with my means, I couldn't afford to buy either of them. I'm only responsible for gathering information. Do you know anything about these two treasures, Brother Liu?"
"You ask about some very precious things, little brother. If anyone else had asked, I'd have claimed I didn't know. But since it's you, I can't let you down. Si Fang Zhai has a True Dragon Eye, one of its three shop treasures. As for Star Core Marrow, there's no word of any yet. But Qiuyue Hall is holding an auction tomorrow night, and a Star Alliance Starry Sky Boat fleet is due back. They might