Chapitre 19: Chen Wei's Thoughts
Chen Wei picked a single dumpling from the tray, glanced at the man before him, noted his stoic expression, and wolfed it down. It was still one of the best snacks he had had in his nine-year stay in the Void Sword Sect.
Nine years and five months.
That was how long Chen Wei had spent in this place, because he understood the rules more than most.
Being promoted to a Servant Disciple wasn't always the best thing that could happen to them. Usually the trial disciples assigned to the inner or even core disciples would suffer hell under their supervision.
And Chen Wei understood that. That's why his goal hadn't been just to break through to Qi Gathering and up his rank. No, he sought more than that, deeper than that.
What was the best way to get on the good side of an Inner Disciple? Chen Wei didn't know what others would answer, but in his opinion it was always a bribe. And it worked. Fabulously.
For years, he had been sending a gift of thousand contribution points to Inner Disciple Song Yan. And this was going to be the last one. One final offering before Song Yan took him under his tutelage. His life would've been set.
Except Song Yan wasn't going to receive anything. Chen Wei didn't have a hundred contribution points in his possession, much less a thousand. And the reason? He was sitting right before him, eating dumplings at that.
Chen Wei gingerly advanced his fingers, hoping he wouldn't get caught, but alas, his efforts were in vain. The man looked at him with a placid expression, and he reluctantly withdrew his hands.
"These are some of the best meals I've had in my life." The man spoke. "You sure have good tastes, Chen Wei."
It was a compliment and was supposed to feel good. But Chen Wei couldn't feel good. Because to him it looked like a master praising his puppy. He instead adopted an impassive expression and watched as the man gobbled down one dumpling after another.
After he had finished his meal, Trial Disciple Lin Fei leaned back and let out a satisfied sigh. "That was good." He then looked at Chen Wei and smiled. "I actually came to meet you for a reason."
Other than eating, yeah, sure, Chen Wei whined inwardly but didn't let it show on his face. "What can I help you with, Boss?"
"I need you to sell another batch of the talismans." Saying so, Lin Fei withdrew five long pieces of paper that had masterfully crafted sigils crafted onto them. "These should fetch you more than the previous one's."
Chen Wei hesitated. Although it was true that he had developed some connections over the years, those depended on giving each other some face. If the other party came to realize that he had more wealth than he let on, then it was only a matter of time before all the pretense was torn apart and he was thrown to the wolves.
Lin Fei seemed to have understood his predicament as he laughed lightly and pointed at the two talismans. "I think you can drop the charade and be more forthcoming. Just say that someone asked you to sell them, and they shouldn't put their noses where they don't belong."
That was indeed a smart move. The only thing worse than killing a golden goose was finding out it had a very powerful, very scary master. If Chen Wei pretended to have the backing of an apprentice inscription master, then those people would certainly be afraid of offending a possible Qi Refinement Realm cultivator at the very least.
"But what if someone tried to be reckless?" Chen Wei asked.
Lin Fei gave him a cryptic smile and answered, "In case they do follow you, they will find out about me. And if they were to come, then I wouldn't mind hosting a welcome banquet for them. At the very least, it's not something you need to concern yourself with."
His reasoning provided only a mild relief to Chen Wei, because no matter how unlikely, there was still a chance that he could be caught and tortured.
"Of course." The sudden voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked at Lin Fei questioningly. "You will get to keep a share of the profits like the previous time."
That, Chen Wei thought, at least made the risk worthwhile.
Lin Fei leaned forward, the smile vanishing from his face as a somber look took over. "I said to you previously, and I will repeat it again: I am a very simple man. I reward those useful to me, and I will not think for a second before discarding you if you failed to be useful."
And that, Chen Wei gulped, is why I'm even bothering to listen to you.
Because the threat of Chen Wei having a backing might prove enough for others to back off, but the threat of Lin Fei's backing was enough for him to comply without a single whine.
For others, it was a maybe. For Chen Wei, it was a surety.
He could still recall that cold chill that had crawled up his spine after Lin Fei had beaten him to the ground. He wasn't an idiot to think that Lin Fei had help defeating his men, but he was perceptive enough to notice how a nobody had suddenly gone from a faceless background character to the top dog.
Which meant Lin Fei had backing. Real, tangible backing. And they were an apprentice inscription master at the very least.
But the most scary part? They somehow trained Lin Fei to go from barely stepping foot into Body Tempering to Meridian Opening in but a single month. Which was unprecedented. No! It should've been impossible.
It still filled him with dread when Chen Wei realized that Lin Fei was only at the Meridian Opening yet had been able to beat most of his men and him—a genuine Dantian Establishment cultivator.
What Chen Wei didn't know, however, was that when Lin Fei had trounced him and his goons, he had merely been at the Body Tempering.
"So, what do you say? Are you willing to submit to me?"
Chen Wei was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the words. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and bowed his head. "If you'll have me, Boss Lin."
"Good."
Seeing the satisfied smile on his face, Chen Wei felt relieved. Because this man before him was scarier than he had any right to be. And it was because Chen Wei understood the world, the ugly and brutal truth that propped the foundation of this world, that he also understood that this man, this Lin Fei, was someone destined to rise to the top. He would either make it or break it.
Whichever the case, Chen Wei had already docked his boat with him. So, he would see it to the end.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone