Though he couldn't help disliking Third Young Master Liu's bluntness, Wu Ming still stepped forward.
Facing the beautifully patterned Red Cloud Talisman, Wu Ming asked curiously, "Third Young Master, let's set the apology aside for now... But investment can't be an end in itself; it's the returns that matter. You've invested in me and in the Gujian Sect. What return are you ultimately hoping for?"
Liu Qi smiled and replied solemnly.
"Why, you yourself, of course!"
"Mm!" In an instant, Zhang Miao's delicate body trembled. Her lovely eyes seemed to brim with radiance, and her face flushed, damp with emotion. She clapped both hands over her nose... but droplets of blood still trickled through her fingers, falling onto her clothes like scattered plum blossoms, bright crimson and unmistakable.
Gu Bai was startled. "Young friend from the Zhang Family, are you all right?!"
Zhang Miao waved her hands repeatedly. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just so happy, hehehe..."
"??"
Gu Bai was more baffled than ever, yet he had a vague feeling that he was standing before an unfathomable abyss. It would be unwise to keep probing...
Wu Ming couldn't help cursing silently in the Gujian Sect's own colorful language.
His fiancée had started bleeding in public, all because her beloved's heart was set on another man... What kind of a joke was this!?
Seeing that Wu Ming was clearly displeased, Liu Sanlang couldn't help sighing. "Miaomiao, could you please try to hold back a little?"
"I am holding back!" Zhang Miao argued. "You're the one who keeps saying things like that..."
"If you hadn't interrupted me, what I was saying would've sounded pretty proper..."
As he spoke, Liu Sanlang could only smile wryly. The Red Cloud Talisman twisted slightly, as though shaking its head in exasperation.
"Fellow Daoist Wu Ming, I truly and sincerely wish to befriend a person of your caliber. I have absolutely no... other intentions!"
Wu Ming found it utterly ridiculous. "Your way of befriending people of talent is to build a Qingluan Post Station right outside their home? What, do you think you're watching a virtual streamer!?"
Liu Sanlang froze for a moment, then couldn't help laughing. "I suppose it was a little inappropriate... But I thought this was exactly what your sect needed right now. And as it happened, I had a chance to influence the location of a newly built post station, so I figured I might as well do you a favor."
Wu Ming asked again, "That earlier 'small token of my regard' already made you the Gujian Sect's Top Donor. And now you've added another favor, one so valuable. The cost of befriending me seems a little too high."
"Not at all!" Liu Sanlang replied. "In my eyes, Brother Wu is worth every effort it takes to befriend him! I only regret being the third son in my family, with limited resources at my disposal. All I can do is offer a favor. Otherwise, the sincerity of an Aristocratic Clan would amount to far more than a mere Qingluan Post Station!"
Those words finally earned a more serious nod from Wu Ming. "Hmm, that sounds sincere. I'll give you two more points of goodwill."
Liu Sanlang paused, then said solemnly, "Every word I speak comes straight from the heart, with Heaven and Earth to bear witness! If it means befriending someone with an Immortal Fate as deep as yours, Brother Wu, I'd brave boiling oil and raging flames!"
"No need to call on Heaven and Earth as witnesses, and no need to brave boiling oil and raging flames. Once the Qingluan Post Station is built, I'll tentatively consider you a friend!"
Liu Sanlang was overjoyed. "It's a deal!"
The instant he finished speaking, Zhang Miao's nose began bleeding again... Meanwhile, Zhu Ying, who had witnessed the whole thing, stood there utterly bewildered.
"Y-you two, what on earth are you up to...? Wu Ming, get a hold of yourself!"
Wu Ming clasped his hands toward his senior sister. "You're right to reprimand me, Senior Sister."
Then he turned to Liu Sanlang. "Brother Liu, my senior sister says you should add more money."
Zhu Ying was shocked. "I didn't say that!"
Liu Sanlang, however, took it as good advice. "Senior Sister is right. I should add another sum for Brother Wu..."
"Don't call me Senior Sister!"
She said that, but Zhang Miao had already taken another little brocade pouch from her robes. When she opened it, it contained no less than five hundred Spirit Stones.
Liu Sanlang sighed. "Miaomiao and I only began our formal cultivation recently, and the resources our family gives us are still limited. This is all the Spirit Stones we can produce at short notice. I hope you won't find them too meager, Senior Sister..."
Zhu Ying snapped, "Are you even listening to me?!"
Just then, a faint cough sounded from inside the Sect Leader Temple.
At last, Gu Bai spoke.
"Third Young Master Liu, your sincerity is truly moving. But you and Ming'er only met once, a month ago. How can you be so certain that he's the one you must have? As far as I know, the Liu Family may be gracious toward the talented, but they would hardly be so taken with a Rogue Cultivator of Desolate People origins."
"You and young friend Zhang were willing to sincerely apologize for your family's mistake. That is already a rare virtue. But your sincerity in befriending Ming'er goes far beyond virtue alone."
After a pause, Gu Bai continued, "Besides, if you go to such lengths to befriend Ming'er today, how will you befriend anyone else in the future? If others think you're showing favoritism and grow jealous—or even take their resentment out on Ming'er—what then?"
His words were both a question and a subtle test.
After thinking it over, Liu Sanlang answered earnestly, "As you say, True Person, Brother Wu and I may have met only once, but that one meeting was enough to reveal the depth of his Immortal Fate!"
"True Person may not know this, but the Liu Family's current matriarch, Madam Rong, isn't my birth mother. My mother was descended from the Li Family of Qingzhou, whose ancestors included several Celestial Masters skilled in deciphering talismans. My mother passed away early, so I wasn't able to inherit her full teachings, but I did learn how to read people. The moment I saw Brother Wu, I sensed that he was no ordinary person. The more I thought it over afterward, the more astonished I became."
"That Fragrant Dye Dharma Sword was bestowed by the Sanqing Immortal Sect. It carried an immense amount of Immortal Fate and fortune. Madam Rong had worked hard for a long time to ensure the Liu Family would claim that Immortal Fate. By then, the timing was perfect, and the sword was all but in her grasp... Yet Brother Wu really did just happen to be there, and still managed to take the sword from me with ease."
"An ordinary person might have fumed with resentment, or even tried to take a desperate gamble. But I've understood one thing since I was young: when you meet someone you can't afford to oppose, it's better to follow them than to fight them. Didn't the Liu Family rise to prominence in Wu Prefecture, and Luohuang Mountain rise to prominence in Qiongzhou, by following the right people at the right time?"
"And the outcome proved my judgment right. Those who recklessly tried to fight him have already suffered the consequences, and Madam Rong was no exception! Meanwhile, I've become friends with Brother Wu, whose future is boundless!"
Wu Ming reminded him, "At the moment, I'm only a prospective friend."
Liu Sanlang said apologetically, "I got ahead of myself. I'll have people from Wuting start laying the Lingguang Path as soon as possible..."
The Red Cloud Talisman then turned toward Gu Bai to answer the elder's second question.
"As for showing favoritism when befriending people... Sect Leader True Person really needn't worry. Brother Wu is unknown for now only because he hasn't been cultivating for long and hasn't yet had the chance to show his talent before a crowd. Once the world sees how formidable he is, people will only marvel at my ability to recognize talent—and the returns on my investment!"
Those words both praised Wu Ming and showed off Liu Sanlang's confidence. Gu Bai couldn't help nodding at how deftly he'd put it.
"If that's so, I have one more question. You've mentioned 'investment' twice now. I suspect you don't just want to befriend Ming'er; you also have something practical to ask of him..."
The Red Cloud Talisman bent slightly, as though nodding without reservation.
Liu Sanlang said, "Sect Leader True Person truly sees through everything. I sincerely wish to befriend him and have tried to avoid making this about self-interest, but I do have one request for Brother Wu... I hope to form a team with him and explore the Moli Immortal Mansion!"
At this, Gu Bai couldn't help coughing, and Zhu Ying's expression shifted. A bone-chilling aura suddenly radiated from her.
The Immortal Mansion? So it was the Immortal Mansion again!? And the very Moli Immortal Mansion no one had managed to fully explore in hundreds of years!? The Liu Family really were all birds of a feather!
As for Wu Ming...
"Good. It's a deal!"
The moment Wu Ming heard "Immortal Mansion," he agreed without the slightest hesitation!
Zhu Ying was shocked. "Wu Ming, have you gone mad?!"
Wu Ming said, "Brother Liu, my senior sister says you should add more money."
Zhu Ying was even more shocked. "I didn't say that!"
Liu Sanlang understood at once. "Miaomiao, write out an IOU!"
Zhang Miao was entranced. "...You two really do have such perfect chemistry! I knew it—you're the real thing!"
Wu Ming said, "...Young Master Liu, the matter of the Immortal Mansion is of great importance and needs careful consideration. I haven't been feeling well lately, either, so let's put it aside for now."
"Brother Wu, please don't misunderstand!" Liu Sanlang said helplessly. "Miaomiao, I'm begging you—wipe your nosebleed first. It's about to drip onto the IOU..."
Just as the scene was starting to descend into chaos, Gu Bai finally spoke.
"Why the Moli Immortal Mansion?"
Before you continue