Zheng Xun hung there like a salted fish, waving to Huo Ziyan without caring what expressions the others wore.
He was famous for being unable to read the room, anyway.
And he didn't need to.
He had shown up so openly and acted so completely in the right that, for a moment, the others didn't even remember to ask what he was doing at Azure Mist.
Meng Yijia was the first to react.
"Mr. Zheng, what are you doing here?"
"Me? Little Huo and I were halfway through mining when he left without a word. I wasn't happy, so I came after him to see what he was doing."
Hooking one hand over the outer edge of the portal, he looked down, hauled something up, and tossed it out with a bang.
It was a sack of ore.
Only after his treasures were out did Zheng Xun brace both hands on the edge and haul himself through.
Though he was the uninvited guest, Zheng Xun was more at ease than anyone else there. He sat cross-legged on the floor, guarding his sack of ore as he spoke to the others.
"Looks like you don't have any real business here. I thought you'd called him back for training."
"We were just discussing training with Ziyan. This is an internal Azure Mist matter, Mr. Zheng. If you wish to visit, please make an appointment."
Meng Yijia spoke with a fine air of propriety, but that approach didn't work on Zheng Xun.
If it did, Xiao Jun would have brought Zheng Xun to heel long ago.
"It's so late. What couldn't you talk about during the day? You're taking up his personal time."
"This is a very serious matter, Mr. Zheng. Please stay out of it."
"Go on, then. I'll listen."
Zheng Xun folded his arms and refused to leave, insisting on hearing what they had to say.
Meng Yijia was struck dumb, unsure what to say for a moment.
Captain Liu of the third team and his vice-captain looked at each other, unsure what to say to this Mr. Zheng who had suddenly appeared. He was even dressed like a miner in ragged clothes.
Xu Guan waved them off, telling them to leave first.
The two of them shut the door and left as though fleeing.
Four people remained in the room, and Meng Yijia began to recover his composure.
This Zheng Xun was truly frightening. Let your guard down for a moment, and he would lead you off track.
"Mr. Zheng," he said, "Ziyan is still a member of Azure Mist for the time being and must obey the guild's rules. He made excuses to skip training. That sort of thing seriously disrupts order and cannot be allowed."
Zheng Xun hadn't heard much of their earlier conversation.
But he was quick-witted.
He had already seen that Huo Ziyan was being heavily suppressed at Azure Mist. Given the strange way the thin man before him spoke, it wasn't hard to guess who was suppressing him.
"Your guild's business is none of mine," Zheng Xun said, refusing to be led into a trap. "I came looking for Little Huo too. Like I said, you can scold him first, and then I'll take him out to play."
"Why does it have to be Huo Ziyan?"
Xu Guan, who had barely spoken from the start, finally deigned to open his mouth. Zheng Xun didn't know him, but from his bearing, he could tell that he outranked the other two.
"It doesn't have to be Little Huo. I went mining, and he helped me out. If you're willing, you can come along too, of course."
He was quite generous about it.
Meng Yijia simply couldn't understand the logic behind Zheng Xun's words.
"Captain Xu and I are Azure Mist's captain and vice-captain, and you want us to mine in a Sand Zone mining dungeon?"
"What's wrong with that? Isn't ore dug up by people? Why can't you go?"
"You!"
Xu Guan gestured for Meng Yijia to quiet down.
"Zheng Xun, I know who you are. You made a big announcement at the press conference that you were going to start a guild, but it doesn't look like you have much money to support it. There's been no news of you lately, so you must have been staying at Songbird. You have nowhere else to go. Songbird owes you a huge favor, so they're handling all the formalities required to start a guild for you. And you haven't entered a dungeon in over a week; you've been mining because you're short of money."
Xu Guan was worthy of being Azure Mist's ace. He managed the team with an iron hand, and his mind worked just as quickly. He was a clever man.
He had gotten eighty or ninety percent of Zheng Xun's recent activities right.
"You approached Huo Ziyan because you're short on people and want to rent him cheaply."
Huo Ziyan was about to explain that he had run into Zheng Xun by chance, and that he was the one who had taken the initiative to get close to him.
But Zheng Xun gently lowered his right hand at his side, telling Huo Ziyan not to explain.
"I do need Little Huo. He has a good personality and doesn't steal credit, unlike certain people who like to step on decent people to climb higher."
As he said this, he deliberately glanced at Meng Yijia.
With Xu Guan present, Meng Yijia didn't dare argue. He was afraid Xu Guan would see through him.
"Your Azure Mist put him up for rent, and as it happens, I've saved up enough money."
Zheng Xun raised his chin.
"I want to rent Huo Ziyan."
"I refuse."
As soon as Xu Guan spoke, Zheng Xun's brow furrowed deeply.
"Sir..."
"My surname is Xu."
"Mr. Xu, this is modern society. You should respect the spirit of a contract."
"When it comes to renting out team players, the captain has a say. I refuse."
"Let me remind you, that's going back on your word."
"You and I were only discussing it verbally. Nothing legally binding was established."
"..."
Zheng Xun immediately felt that this was a huge headache. He hadn't expected the people of the Azure Mist Guild to be so shameless. They clearly meant to discard Huo Ziyan, yet now that someone wanted to rent him, they were actually playing hard to get.
What the hell is wrong with them...
"Then there's nothing I can do. Little Huo, wait a little longer."
Zheng Xun didn't press the matter. He was a complete novice when it came to the messy terms involved in renting players, so he needed a professional for this.
"Let me remind you," Xu Guan said from behind him as Zheng Xun slung his sack of treasures over his back and prepared to crawl back through the portal, "even if you go to Xiao Jun, it won't help."
Zheng Xun ignored him. He didn't even turn his head, pretending not to hear.
He left with an air of arrogance, but as soon as he returned to Songbird, he frantically searched everywhere for Xiao Jun.
Su Hairong told him that Xiao Jun was away on a business trip and to call him if he needed anything.
Now Zheng Xun was in his room on the phone with the very busy Vice Guild Master Xiao. Cheng Jie was there too.
"It's tricky." There was some noise on Xiao Jun's end at first, but then he moved somewhere quiet. "When it comes to renting a player, besides the player's own wishes, the team's coach and captain, as well as the guild's higher-ups, all have a hand in it. Since Huo Ziyan was put up for rent, the higher-ups must have agreed at the very least. Azure Mist is a little unusual; the first team's captain has a great deal of say. Now that Xu Guan won't let him go, other guilds have no standing to interfere."
Cheng Jie chimed in with an unhelpful remark.
"Then you're screwed. Xu Guan is famously stubborn. Ten donkeys couldn't pull him back; once he's made up his mind, it's hard to change it."
Zheng Xun shot him a sideways glare, telling him to stop butting in.
"It's not as if there's no way," Xiao Jun said over the phone, sounding as though he was in a very good mood. "If you're willing to join Songbird and give up on starting your own guild, I could personally step in and settle a little matter like this."
"Then forget it." Zheng Xun sounded listless. "I'd be fighting for your Songbird for free until I dropped dead. I'd lose out big-time."
"Hey, has our Songbird left you short of food or drink?" Cheng Jie rolled up his sleeves. "We even helped you set up your guild. Don't push your luck!"
"I'm a little curious," Xiao Jun asked. "Why are you so set on Huo Ziyan? It's not as if there aren't other players around his level."
Zheng Xun's reason was straightforward, and he had no qualms about giving the real one.
"Because he's cheap."
"All right." Even Xiao Jun laughed. That reason was very much like Zheng Xun. "Though reason tells me I should advise you to give up sooner rather than later, Azure Mist's attitude is a bit much. The price was clearly marked, and it was a matter of mutual agreement. Why can't someone rent a player they've put up for rent?"
"Exactly, exactly." Zheng Xun nodded repeatedly.
"Songbird can't easily interfere in this matter. As vice guild master, I naturally have to protect the guild's interests."
That was how Xiao Jun talked. He always started by invoking some grand principle; what came next was the important part.
"But you personally are close friends with Xueji and me. As your friend, I can't just stand around with my hands in my pockets and watch you worry."
Zheng Xun was about to get anxious.
"Cut the roundabout talk, Brother Xiao." He only called him Brother when he needed a favor. "What dirty tricks have you got? Let's have them!"
"I wouldn't call them dirty tricks. Let's just say it's a little gift between friends."
The sound of typing came from Xiao Jun's end.
"I've sent it to your wristband's inbox. Make sure you receive it."
The call suddenly cut off. Someone had probably interrupted Xiao Jun, making it inconvenient for him to continue the call.
Zheng Xun lit up his wristband screen. Sure enough, there was a new message.
He projected the file from his inbox onto the wall. It was a simple map showing several scattered dungeons, seemingly in different zones.
The dungeons didn't appear to have anything in common. The only thing they shared was that they were all marked with Azure Mist's celadon-colored guild emblem.
"What's this?" Zheng Xun asked, puzzled.
Cheng Jie squinted at it and slapped his thigh.
"Fuck, isn't this Azure Mist Guild's marked map? Brother Xiao really does favor you."
Zheng Xun was still completely baffled. Cheng Jie, who loved a good spectacle, was even more excited than the man involved. He pointed at one of the dungeon markers and jabbed at it repeatedly.
"Old Zheng, don't hold back. Rob them one by one! Rob the fucking lot of them!"