Lin Xuan heard the words "learned scholar" and merely smiled faintly.
"'Learned scholar' is too generous. I just happen to be better than most at coming up with words that sum things up."
He lifted his teacup but didn't drink, just turned it gently between his fingertips.
Gu Lianwei continued, "And this 'emotional value'—was that something Flag Commander came up with, too?"
"More or less." Lin Xuan nodded.
She had been trying to entice him to spend all along, but never forced him into anything. She relied entirely on the rules to make people want to spend.
Someone with a weaker mind would have fallen for it long ago.
Unfortunately, he didn't need dual cultivation to find happiness or improve himself.
More importantly, he couldn't afford it. Of his three hundred taels of silver, two hundred were borrowed.
Lin Xuan continued, "Your Qiyun Sect has certainly figured out how to run this business."
Gu Lianwei grew interested. "Oh?"
Lin Xuan leaned back in his chair, his gaze settling on her. "People come here thinking they're buying wine, music, and beautiful women.
"But that isn't what they're buying at all."
"What's truly valuable is having someone willing to listen to them."
A flicker of surprise crossed Gu Lianwei's eyes.
Lin Xuan continued, "Merchants toil away on the road, and their wives and concubines at home may not understand them.
"Martial artists spend their days training, and there may be no one who understands them, either.
"And the same goes without saying for those in officialdom."
"Many people have money and status, but not necessarily someone they can relax around and talk to."
He lifted his teacup and took a sip.
"So what they spend their silver on has never been beauty.
"It's the feeling of being understood, respected, and admired."
The room fell quiet. Gu Lianwei watched him silently.
Those words clearly went beyond what one would expect from an ordinary martial artist.
After a moment, she asked softly, "And what about you, Flag Commander Lin?"
"What about me?"
"When you came to Qiyun Sect, were you only here to buy a little dual-cultivation manual?"
Lin Xuan smiled at that. He didn't answer right away, instead looking up at Gu Lianwei.
"Are you sure you want to ask, Miss Gu?"
Gu Lianwei raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't I?"
Lin Xuan sighed. "Because the answer is right in front of me."
Gu Lianwei paused.
Lin Xuan's expression remained unchanged, as if he were saying something perfectly ordinary.
Gu Lianwei smiled faintly. "If you said that to the girls downstairs, Flag Commander Lin, you'd probably win quite a few hearts.
"Unfortunately, what we're discussing here is business."
"Exactly. Business is what I'm discussing."
"I understand."
Hearing that, Gu Lianwei rose and went to the bookcase. From a hidden compartment, she took out a thin booklet. Its cover bore no title, only a pale-gold cloud pattern.
Gu Lianwei placed it on the table.
"This is the Heart-Sync Guide, the introductory section of our sect's dual-cultivation method."
Lin Xuan's eyes settled on the booklet. At last, he was looking at the real thing.
"How much?"
Gu Lianwei didn't answer at once. Instead, she said, "Before you ask about the price, Flag Commander Lin, there's something I'd like to confirm."
"What is it?"
Gu Lianwei sat down again and, for the first time, studied Lin Xuan in earnest with her clear eyes.
His handsome face certainly didn't resemble the dark, rough features of an ordinary martial artist. Rather, it was fair and refined—he was the sort of strikingly handsome man people noticed at a glance.
"Who do you intend to cultivate this method with?"
"Your wife or concubines?"
"A close female friend?"
"Or have you... not found a partner yet?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, full of curiosity.
As she spoke, her index finger tapped lightly on the table with each word, keeping time with her cadence.
"Miss Gu seems more concerned about my cultivation partner than I am."
Lin Xuan didn't answer directly. Instead, he countered with a question. He didn't want to reveal his private affairs.
Gu Lianwei paused.
"Flag Commander Lin, you're truly guarded as a fortress. You're even more skilled at turning the tables than an old hand at this."
"With dual-cultivation methods, if your partner doesn't trust you completely, or if you're both harboring ulterior motives and have weak wills, your qi can easily go into disorder during cultivation. At best, you'll damage your meridians; at worst, you'll suffer cultivation deviation.
"Since you don't intend to use one of our trained dual-cultivation disciples and will be figuring it out yourself, be very careful."
She wasn't annoyed that Lin Xuan had turned her question back on her. Instead, she took the opportunity to drop her probing tone.
As a steward of Qiyun Sect, she understood the dangers of prying too deeply before a relationship had been established. Since he was clearly a sharp man who left no openings, beating around the bush would only backfire.
Gu Lianwei pushed the booklet bearing the pale-gold cloud pattern to the center of the desk with her slender fingers.
"This Heart-Sync Guide may be an introductory dual-cultivation method, but throughout Wuqu Province, you won't find another place besides Qiyun Sect that dares to sell such a method—and is able to do so.
"One price: twenty taels in silver."
Lin Xuan glanced calmly over the thin booklet, quickly calculating. He had about three hundred taels on hand, so buying it wouldn't be a problem.
But twenty taels for an introductory method was clearly a steep markup.
"Too expensive. Ten taels would be fair. Besides, the introductory Bone-Binding Qi-Guiding Method is already useless to me."
Hearing Lin Xuan say it was useless to him, Gu Lianwei looked puzzled.
"What do you mean, Flag Commander Lin?"
"I've already reached the Breath-Connecting Realm. I need a method that covers both Bone Binding and Breath-Connecting."
Gu Lianwei had assumed that someone as young as Lin Xuan, despite holding the position of Flag Commander, had reached the middle or late stages of Bone Binding at most. She hadn't expected him to have already reached the Breath-Connecting Realm.
A Breath-Connecting martial artist of his age was a rare young talent throughout Wuqu Province. And from the way he conducted himself, he didn't seem like the son of some noble family.
Surprised, Gu Lianwei was quiet for a moment, then smiled. "It seems I misjudged you."
"Being misjudged by someone like you, Miss Gu, isn't exactly something to celebrate."
Gu Lianwei thought to herself, Every word he says sounds perfectly proper.
And yet, somehow, there's something improper about it.
It sounds like he's complimenting her.
Or perhaps using the opportunity to compliment himself.
And yet, somehow, it doesn't offend her in the slightest.
She took another cultivation manual from the hidden compartment. This one covered the Breath-Connecting Realm.
"Fifty taels."
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you're not quoting me a higher price because I'm young?"
Gu Lianwei smiled faintly. "Quite the opposite."
"If I'd known from the start that you were a Breath-Connecting martial artist, I wouldn't have brought out the incomplete Heart-Sync Guide."
"Fine, we have a deal." Lin Xuan didn't haggle further. Their conversation had already brought her price down to a reasonable level.
Just as he thought he was about to get the manual without trouble, Gu Lianwei added, "Would Flag Commander Lin like to take it for free?"
"Let's hear it." Lin Xuan was tempted, but still replied with a question.
Sometimes, what was free came at the highest price.
"A high-ranking member of our Qiyun Sect has a child who's gone missing."
When Lin Xuan heard that, he couldn't help frowning.
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