Chapter 143: Mai Dong
Before the lavish ball began, Xie Qing was puzzled about what to wear. So, when he was searching in his spatial rings for something that might fit, he found a forgotten set of clothes.
The Imperial Censor used to be something like a first-rank official, but now he was just for decoration. However, the uniform remained the same, so in the eyes of all those present…
Xie Qing, who was wearing these clothes, was openly supporting Huang Jing!
And when Huang Jing told Xie Qing about this, he just shrugged his shoulders and said:
“Isn’t it better? Although I didn’t know this, at least I helped you. Not a bad result, right?”
“I don’t deny it, but be more careful next time,” Huang Jing said tiredly.
“Ha-ha-ha, relax, man! ” Xie Qing laughed carelessly, and then leaned towards Huang Jing’s ear: “Listen, there are so many beauties here, maybe we can find someone for you?”
“Hey, are you trying to be my matchmaker?”
“Why not? I would like to see my grandchildren!”
“…You know, I can hit you.”
And while these two were joking with each other, a woman in a beautiful dress entered the spacious ballroom. At the sight of her, all those present – men and even women – could not help but cast an admiring look at her.
“Oh, look, it’s your favorite Fang Lan,” Huang Jing said with a smile.
Indeed, the girl who entered the hall was none other than Fang Lan, who had changed her dress to a more festive one. Her light-blue hanfu with a long robe and luxurious jewelry attracted attention to herself.
Moreover, she was wearing makeup today, which made her twice as beautiful. Her eyes were highlighted with red shadows, and her lips were painted with light-red lipstick.
Even Xie Qing, who was accustomed to female beauty, was speechless for a moment. He could only stare at her beautiful appearance like a log for some time.
“Hm?”
He secretly pinched himself. Xie Qing felt a little embarrassed.
“I must have been lost in thought.”
Well… no matter how much he tried to pretend to be an adult, in the world of cultivation, and among mortals, a 19-year-old guy was still a teenager (people lived longer here), so his reaction was normal.
Fang Lan was also surprised when she saw that Xie Qing could not take his eyes off her. She felt a certain pleasure in her chest and her red lips involuntarily rose in a smile.
As she approached the two guys who had already managed to take three glasses, she snorted.
“I thought you would come in your usual clothes.”
“Don’t compare me to him, I often visit such places and I know the etiquette and dress code,” Huang Jing said, distorting the corners of his mouth and pointing his left thumb at Xie Qing: “So all the questions are to him.”
“Hey-ey… what kind of questions can there be to me? Look at how I’m dressed. Wherever I go, I always have the looks of hot women. This alone confirms that I am beautiful!” Xie Qing said arrogantly, proudly puffing out his chest with a sly smile. He looked at Fang Lan and said to her: “Lan, I’ve decided that we need to find a bride for our Huang Jing. What do you think? There are many beautiful ladies here…”
“Are you kidding? We’ve already talked about this… I prefer freedom!”
“Hee-hee…”
The guests standing in the distance could only sigh heavily. Many of them wanted to approach Xie Qing and talk to him, but next to this guy was such an unapproachable aura.
Moreover, who could dare to talk to him, especially remembering his skills?
As for the ladies… among them, there were no brave ones who could approach him.
So the guests had to sigh, watching how the three teenagers… or rather, one teenager and two middle-aged people were communicating.
***
Huang Jing was the host of the banquet, so he could not devote all his time to Xie Qing and Fang Lan.
At the same time, Fang Lan herself needed to establish new connections at least, as her business needed investments. Although Xie Qing could buy and give her pills at his own expense…
“No.”
“Why not? ” Xie Qing raised an eyebrow, looking at Fang Lan: “It’s not difficult for me.”
“I can’t always take advantage of your kindness. Moreover, this business is partly owned by my family, so I don’t want you to spend money unnecessarily!” Fang Lan explained and distorted the corners of her mouth: “Moreover, I can’t just accept kindness. I will provide you with ingredients and payment for the work.”
“Hmm? I agree about the part of the ingredients if you want it so much,” Xie Qing nodded, shrugging his shoulders. However, then he leaned forward, embraced the girl by the waist, and bit her earlobe, making Fang Lan shudder. Then he whispered: “However, I will accept the payment for the work… only in the form that is familiar to us. Do you understand?”
“L-let go of me… p-please, I need to have time to establish connections before the end of the ball…” Fang Lan blushed and felt her legs go numb. Xie Qing smiled and let her go. The girl immediately ran away.
Several people were watching this, but as soon as Xie Qing gave them an indifferent look, they immediately pretended to be deaf, blind, and mute.
“Hmph! Only I can see her blushing face, you bastards!” Xie Qing thought, snorting.
…well, a hopeless case.
***
The ball was… extremely boring for Xie Qing. Yes, there were many beauties here, but most of them were either underage or married.
“Of course, the fact that they are married will not stop me, but… all of them… um…”
Most of these married women… mostly looked like they had escaped from a BDSM story. Moreover, the key tag was “guy is passive”!
And Xie Qing, excuse me, did not like that very much. So he could only sadly hide in a corner and drink wine.
And, to his great fortune, after a long time, when the ball was already coming to an end, several people finally approached him.
“Young Master Xie, I apologize for disturbing you…” a chubby man with gray hair and a long beard addressed him. He was taller than Xie Qing by several centimeters.
“You’re not disturbing me. Hello,” Xie Qing nodded, sipping wine.
“Oh, wonderful. I am a representative of the ‘Silver Moon’ Commerce. Can we talk in a more secluded setting?”
“Oh?”
Xie Qing smiled faintly, and his eyes narrowed. A representative of the ‘Silver Moon’ Commerce… these guys with whom he had a contract for pills.
The fact that his identity was revealed was equal to zero. Therefore…
“Let’s go,” Xie Qing nodded and waved his hand, summoning a servant: “Prepare a room with soundproofing.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
“Here it is. This is a gift from our organization for the fact that we so rudely interrupted you at the ball. I ask the young master to accept this modest gift!” the man said with a smile, putting a spatial ring on the table and pushing it towards Xie Qing.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have… but it’s rude to refuse a gift, so I’ll gladly accept it,” Xie Qing replied with a shameless smile.
The man just nodded. By the way, his name was Mai Dong.
Xie Qing quickly examined the ring, and there were about 12,000 Spiritual Stones and a pill that amused him.
“Protection Pill… and with such purity. Ha-ha-ha, this is my own prepared pill. They took it for this?”
Although he was laughing, it was in his thoughts. Mai Dong only saw that Xie Qing threw a short glance at the contents, and then put it in his pocket.
“Well, young master. I don’t want to take up more of your valuable time than necessary, so I want to get to the point of our offer!” Mai Dong said in a serious voice: “Our leader would like you to help us escort an important caravan. Its final destination is close to the seal, so we need strong cultivators.”
“Oh, really?”
Xie Qing nodded. Of course, it was dangerous near the seal, but there were important fortifications and cities there, created for emergency response in case of danger.
Sometimes, on the order of the Dynasty or the sects, goods were delivered there. The ‘Silver Moon’ Commerce was not one of those who would stop at such a benefit.
“And so… this zone is quite dangerous. It should be mentioned that it would be more advantageous for you to enlist the support of more powerful cultivators, right?” Xie Qing asked with a smile.
“Well…”
“Or is the reason that these cultivators have refused? A reasonable decision. After all, even a cultivator of the Soul Integration stage is in danger there,” Xie Qing nodded, not paying attention to Mai Dong’s pale face: “And therefore, you should understand that as a cultivator of the Soul Nascent stage, I can be subjected to a much greater danger if I go there. So why do you think I will agree? Or do you have something that can attract my attention?”
