บท 169: Zan Clan - Young Master.
'This place is as large as ever' Shu He thought as he looked up at the Covetous Dragon Pagoda which pierced the skies of the sect, its height easily rivalled the Alchemy Tower with multiple tens of levels. He had finished the preliminary set up of his territory, so he decided to take on some of the smaller tasks he had on his mind, a visit to this pagoda was one of them.
He entered the large doors covered with fancy cloth and into the large hall, it was as busy as ever with multitudes of disciples lining up to buy and sell resources among other things, it didn't matter what time of day it was always busy here, luckily Shu He didn't need to use the usual brokers, he headed to a side desk where inquiries were held and spoke to the man there.
"Hello, may I speak to Senior Li?" He asked politely with a smile.
The man looked him up and down before asking "May I ask who you are?".
"I'm Shu He, there shouldn't be a problem, no?" Shu He replied, showing his token as confirmation.
The man's eyes narrowed slightly before nodding "Very well, I'll inform her you are here to see her" he said before wandering off into the back. Shu He felt a few odd stares piercing his back, but he put on a stone-faced expression and pretended they didn't exist.
'I may be pushing my luck by using her as a private broker, but I need to use everything I can…' he sighed internally; Since Old Yu gave him that scroll he has had a weird relationship with the members of this pagoda, he was treated courtlier but not quite luxuriously, he now understood why.
The scroll was just the first step to becoming 'important' to them, at least that's what he has come to assume, to them he was just a candidate, one that may be useful in the future, but it wasn't confirmed, there was still a gap between them because of this.
Because of that the more he contacted Li Liling, the acting manager of this pavilion, for his personal transactions, the more people began to stare and have sour opinions towards him; He tries to avoid doing it unless necessary but again, he needs to use every advantage he was.
Today, however, this meeting was an absolute necessity.
From the back room a lady appeared, bright orange hair pinned up with a silver pin and clear jade green eyes dressed in the dark blue robed attire of the pagoda staff, she looked around slightly before seeing Shu He and smiling lightly at him and walking over.
"Junior Brother, I know I said you could ask for me when you need help, but you should try to be more discreet when doing so" She admonished him before taking a seat on the chair opposite, since the other side was elevated, the person sitting on the other side was about equal height to those standing.
"I know, but this time I really needed to speak with you" Shu He replied as he scratched the back of his head, beautiful women really attracted the attention of those around them, the moment she entered the hall eyes from all over were drawn to her, Shu He felt like he was standing beside the centre of attention.
Though he was slightly used to it since this wasn't the first time.
"You did, did you?" Her eyebrows rose slightly as she placed a finger on her lips in thought "If I remember correctly, you just returned to the sect right? Did you encounter some good fortune on your outing?" a slight glimmer flashed in her eyes as she stared at him.
"Well, just a little… but this isn't about that, not yet anyway" Shu He shook his head as he leaned in on the desk slightly so he could speak quietly, Li Liling responded in turn and leaned in as well to listen.
"Really? Well I'm interested in hearing what you have to say" she said with an expectant look.
In the next moment, Shu He whispered two words, yet she completely froze up with his pupils dilating as Shu He leaned back out with his arms crossed, watching her expression.
'So she knows' He hadn't expected such a shocking reaction, but this confirms that this was a worthy visit. The words he had whispered were simple and wouldn't mean much to the average person, up until recently they didn't mean much to Shu He either.
Those words were <<Shadow's Sublimination>>
Li Liling moved slightly, like her body was a rusty machine moving after tens of years as she stared wide eyed at Shu He "You… what did you say?" she quietly spoke as if to hide her words from the surroundings.
Shu He stared at her dead in the eyes and merely murmured "I said what I said". Li Liling stood up and turned around "Follow me" she ordered, Shu He did so without saying a thing under the watchful eyes of the entire crowd, their stared filled with curiosity and hidden envy.
He entered a gate leading behind the counter and followed her through a back door leading to the same area he had been in when he followed Old Yu way back then, she led him to a room that was clearly covered in formations of various kinds, likely to prevent eavesdropping and other precautions as she sat down with a thump.
"Sit" she spoke with a commanding tone, Shu He did so, so they were soon sat opposite each-other with an oppressive aura filling the room. "Where did you hear that name?".
"Where do you think I heard it?" Shu He asked in turn, trying to sound her out.
"Cut the crap and tell me!" Shu He felt a heavy pressure descend upon him as he found it difficult to breathe, a cold tingle shot up his spine as his expression darkened.
'As expected, there are crouching dragons and hidden tigers everywhere! This woman feels almost as oppressive as the sect master!' But he didn't buckle under the pressure and spoke clearly "Didn't Old Yu tell you anything? He gave me that scroll, right?".
Suddenly, the pressure receded as her eyes widened slightly before she sighed lightly "Right… but stop messing around, just tell me already" her tone had softened slightly, it appears she had lost herself after hearing the name of the technique.
Shu He decided to relent and nodded, he explained how he had regained his memories of opening the scroll and the events surround it, before talking about his encounter with the Hive members and his sudden awakening of the technique.
Her hands shook lightly as did her pupils as she struggled to get her voice out "Can you show it to me?" her voice was slightly croaky like her muscles were spasming as she spoke.
Shu He easily agreed, he concentrated as her felt 'himself' and his aura before he began dissipating it into the surroundings, becoming one with them and calming his mind, he had practiced it a little since that day and it wasn't too hard to pull off, but it was still physically and mentally demanding.
Li Liling slowly stood up, her eyes were filled with pure shock as she approached him step by step before lifting her hands and touching his face startling him a little bit, but he just let it happen.
"Amazing… such a complete form of sublimination… so this is his…" she felt around like she was touching a rock, much to Shu He's dismay "I know you're there, yet my conscious tells me you're not… if I didn't know initially there's no way I'd be able to 'see' you…".
"Uhh…" Shu He couldn't take it and broke the technique "I know you're curious but being touched like this is distracting…" he spoke honestly, looking at her hands on his cheek and chest.
"Ah- My apologies, I couldn't tell what I was touching…" She backed away in embarrassment before clearing her throat "Either way, this is definitely that technique… it's exactly how it was described!".
"So, what is this technique? Why did that old man give it to me?" Shu He pushed the question, it was what he was really wanted to know, there's no way he'd get this without a cost.
Li Liling sat down gently and breathed in and out to calm herself, Shu He could almost heart her heart beating heavily through her thick chest before she looked up once more "I don't know how much I can tell you without his permission".
"His? You mean Old Yu?" Shu He guessed the identity easily.
"His full name is Zan Yu… I guess I can say this, he is from the Zan clan".
"Zan clan…? I don't think I've heard of them…" Shu He wracked his brains, but he didn't recall a clan or family with that name, they were either incredibly obscure or so small they weren't noteworthy.
'But that can't be right, if they have such a technique…'.
Li Liling shook her head "That's no surprise, they were a great clan but one that lived in the shadows… though, they no longer exist".
"Doesn't Old Yu still live though?".
A bitter expression crossed her eyes "In his words, a clan can't exist with only a single person" she leaned back on the chair "He took me and a few others here as his disciples, but we aren't anywhere close to being on the level of that clan".
"Even with the power you displayed earlier?" Shu He asked with shock.
She looked at his with a wry smile "Not even close".
Shu He felt a deep shock, how powerful must this clan have been then?
"That scroll you were given contains the one way the founder's technique is passed down, if the person who opens it is deemed unworthy then that's that, nothing happens… but if they are then the technique shall inscribe themselves upon them and…" She paused.
"And then?" Shu He couldn't help but ask, the most important point was next, what did the contract he get involved in do?!
"I don't know" She sighed and shook her head.
"YOU DON'T KNOW?!" Shu He couldn't help but shout.
"Don't blame me, the master never explained it because no one had ever met the requirements…".
Shu He almost melted on to the seat "Seriously?????" he then looked over at her "When will that old bastard return?".
"He came back when you were out and told me to keep watch on you then headed out, he's still searching for more candidates after all".
The both of them sighed deeply, sending the room in to silence.
"So what now? Do I just keep waiting for him to return?".
"I suppose so…" Li Liling lent on his palm before looking at Shu He and clapping suddenly "I can help you a bit more though, Junior Brother, no, Young Master!".
"Wait, what?" Shu He looked at her oddly "I'm 'Young Master' now?".
"Yes! If you have begun learning the technique, you can be considered a disciple of the founder himself so as a disciple of a disciple, your status would be above me!".
Shu He's expression moved between confusion, consideration, reluctance and then acceptance "Alright… if I can get some more help then I'll accept it, I doubt I have a choice because of that contract anyway…" He sighed.
"That's a good attitude! In the world of cultivation, you should wring every benefit you can get dry" She nodded happily because of his acceptance.
"Then, first, I need some items".
Shu He smiled slightly, in the short term he would certainly wring these benefits bone dry.
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