Xu Linyun had originally intended for her words to be a bluff and had wanted Fang Xing to know his position in a situation like this. She had wanted for him to leave the sect voluntarily, and it was beyond Xu Linyun’s expectations that such a threat would conversely trigger his competitiveness and make him want to play this game with her. At this, she had been left unable to take back her words and began to hesitate with uncertainty.

　　“Are you gonna bet or not? Stop being as over-emotional as a woman.” Fang Xing waited with impatience, as though he were a gamecock right before a bout.

　　‘But I am a woman!’ While Linyun was thinking to herself, her lips began to move, “Since you want to make a bet, I shall make it clear for you. The duration is three years, and if you ever fear for your life during these entire three years, feel free to come to me and I will speak to Qinxue in order for you to leave the sect safe and alive. If you manage to last the entire three years without any of my help, I will admit that I’ve underestimated you, and not only will I not prevent you from seeing Xiao Mahn, I will also craft pellets and pills for you for three years after.”

　　Fang Xing’s eyes lit up. “For free?”

　　“Not a single Stone!” Xu Linyun nodded.

　　“How about this time? Are you going to craft the Poji Pellet for free, too?” Fang Xing asked. To Fang Xing, the pellets and pills in three years time were not of practical importance. Even though he had no intention of leaving the sect, it was only more pragmatic if he were to focus on getting something beneficial to him in the present.

　　Xu Linyun snickered coldly. “Humph. A hundred low-grade Stones is almost the same as free.”

　　Fang Xing laughed in contentment. “Great, the bet is on!”

　　Xu Linyun’s voice was stern and serious. “Within these three years, you cannot go visit Xiao Mahn or it will be counted as a violation of the bet. If I find out, not only will I not stop Qinxue’s revenge, but I will personally break your legs and have you out of the sect, even if Xiao Mahn later hates me for it!”

　　Fang Xing lightly tapped his chest with his palm. “As a man, I shall promise you exactly that, as long as you don’t take anything back later!”

　　Xu Linyun the turned away as she left a gentle message, “Come to Linyun Valley in three days from now.”

　　Fang Xing was grinning so much that his eyes had become slits. He gave a loud shout, “Wait Shijie Linyun! Let me see you off!”

　　Giving a cold laugh, Xu Linyun did not halt at those words.

　　But then, Fang Xing continued to loudly yell, “Please rest assured, I have remembered everything you just told me. I will work extra hard on my cultivation so that I will live up to your expectations. Oh, and yes, Shijie Qinxue must just be too overwhelmed with sadness; please don’t punish her too harshly! I’m not angry at her at all, it’s not her fault. And it’s three days, right? I will come and visit you then….”

　　Xu Linyun was slightly startled by this. She turned her head and gave Fang Xing a profound look, as though to question whether he had gone out of his mind. Fang Xing, on the other hand, stood his ground, his face full of smiles and sincerity as he waved to her. “It’s a bit cold on the white crane; Shijie Linyun should wear an extra layer next time[2]. Your white dress is beautiful, but it’s too thin, and under the light of fire… heh heh.” Fang Xing had actually wanted to say that the dress had become almost transparent under the firelight but—seeing her temperament—he decided to keep those words to himself.

　　While still maintaining her feelings of disdain, Xu Linyun waved her arm to lift Lin Qinxue onto the crane before giving a farewell bow towards Elder Hong and flying off into the darkness of the night.

　　‘Oh, what a vile kid. He said all of that for show, to demonstrate how close we are….’ It wasn’t until the cool night breeze had cleared her anger that Lin Qinxue realized what Fang Xing’s last words had meant. Those words had not been aimed at or spoken for her, but for all of those present at the Yunyin Summit. To put it broadly, it was actually aimed at all of the disciples in the Qing-Yun Sect’s entire outer court! The boy had pretended to be in a close relationship with Xu Linyun in order to use her name as his new umbrella of protection within the sect.

　　After realizing that she had walked straight into Fang Xing’s trap, Xu Linyun could only shudder with anger. Despite wanting to give him a few more slaps, this was not something someone of her status within the sect would do, let alone try to explain to everyone else. There wasn’t much she could do now, as the sly boy had successfully tricked her, a proud core disciple of the proud Qing-Yun Sect.

　　“You little bastard. If you fall into my hands one day, I’ll make sure you pay for all of this!” Xu Linyun muttered hatefully under her breath, so low that only the night breeze and her crane could hear what she had just said.

　　—

　　“Kid, what did you guys speak about for so long?” Elder Hong had been waiting mid-air the entire time, curious as to what Fang Xing and Xu Linyun had been talking about. From his angle of view, he had clearly seen Fang Xing spitting and picking his nose, while Xu Linyun showed a face full of disgust yet had to speak to him while holding in her temper. Clearly they had come to some sort of agreement, since Fang Xing then saw her off as though the two were extremely close. All of this caused his curiosity to grow, and he wanted to know what they had discussed.

　　Fang Xing let out a meaningful smile and bowed politely towards Elder Hong. “It is a secret between myself and Xu Linyun. No matter how much I am thankful for you saving my life, please forgive me that I cannot let you know. After all, it’s a bit… well, let’s say, not suitable right now. Haha!”

　　“Be careful what you say, as a loose tongue can cause many troubles, little monkey!” Elder Hong scolded with a laugh and waved his sleeve to return Fang Xing’s [Nine Snakes’ Sword] before leaving. For someone like him, it was nothing more than a quick question; seeing that Fang Xing did not want to answer, he didn’t care enough to dig any further.

　　Fang Xing took hold of his [Nine Snakes’ Sword] with both of his hands. Afterwards, he placed his hands on his waist and looked around at all of the people that had been complacently watching on from within their cottages. “What are all you bastards looking at? Don’t you all know my relationship with Shijie Linyun? Let me tell you, she treats me so well she’s more like my mother than my real mother! So don’t you all dare to ever offend me!” he loudly cursed.

　　Everyone present had also clearly seen with their own eyes that Fang Xing and Xu Linyun had spoken about something quietly for some time. They were all more than just curious, yet with the words he’d revealed now, they were all surprised as well. This kid was surely a dark horse; who would have known that he had such a close relationship with Shijie Linyun?

　　Seeing that his words had had an effect, Fang Xing was even more satisfied with himself as he threw his [Nine Snakes’ Sword] inside his storage ring. However, as he turned around to see his wooden cottage—of which half had been burned to ashes by Lin Qinxue—he cringed his brows; he would have to ask Hei San to arrange a new cottage for him. “Hei San… you bastard of a Hei San, come over here for your grandfather and find me the best cottage here!” Fang Xing loudly cursed as he folded his little hands behind his back and swaggered towards the Yunyin Summit entrance in search for Hei San.

　　Everything up to this point left the disciples at the Yunyin Summit in dismay.

　　“Is the kid really that close to Shijie Linyun?”

　　Within the outer court, new gossip began to spread like a plague.

　　“That’s right! After he sent Lin Qinxue flying with a slap, Shijie Linyun rushed over straight away. We all thought Shijie Linyun was going to slap him back, but it turns out she was just worried about if he had been injured….”

　　“Yeah, I heard Shijie Linyun was going to heavily punish Lin Qinxue, and she only reduced the punishment because the kid asked her to!”

　　“Shijie Linyun asked the kid to see her at the Linyun Valley. I wonder what it is for….”

　　“What else? To quietly give him some cultivation resources, of course.”

　　As more people joined in on the gossip, the manner in which people looked at Fang Xing changed once more. Before, people had only thought he had the protection of Meng Xuanzhao after gifting away his Ore Essence Powder. Some had looked down on such actions, and it was only after today that they began to feel that they had been wrong all along. This boy didn’t need protection from Meng Xuanzhao at all; since Meng Xuanzhao’s uncle was one of the lowest-ranked elders within the sect, there was no comparison to the future prospects of Shijie Linyun.

　　“Hrm? Don’t you think… the sword that the kid used was a bit strange? It’s almost as though I’ve seen it somewhere before….” Someone finally realized something was odd, and more joined in on the gossip.

　　“Ah, that reminds me… I knew something was wrong already, then….”

　　“Flying Sword, golden flames, intertwined with nine snakes… it’s that! The Nine Snakes’ Sword!”

　　“Yes! Do you remember what Hou Qing said? He found some evidence for that Black Market Bandit, and the bandit had used a sword like that, the Nine Snakes’ Sword. It was apparently stolen from the first Black Market….”

　　A single toss of a stone would give rise to thousands of ripples. In moments, people were wondering and guessing aloud, and the discussion only grew far more heated.

　　—

　　NOTES

　　[1]Wearing Borrowed Tiger Skin (chapter title): Or literally to borrow tiger skin as one’s own coat. This is a Chinese phrase that means to use a more powerful source (a tiger) that does not actually belong to you in order to put on a false pretense of power.

　　[2]Wear an extra layer (of clothing): A common phrase used in Chinese to show care between each other. Usually only used between people that are close, friends, or family members.