The Princess And The Lord

"Third young master Xie, what are you doing? I recruited this man myself. Do you want to steal the talented disciple from me?" Nan Yu Qi curled her lips with a vexed expression.

"What do you mean steal? This man is a Sacred Mountain Peak disciple and you are just someone who was sent by the elders to invite him. Let us also not forget he wasn't the person you were supposed to bring in the first place. It is just a coincidence you met him," Xie Xuan Zie sneered at her.

"The man belongs to me because he was not specifically picked by the elders. He would not have entered the society if it was not for my keen eyes," Nan Yu Qi shifted her gaze to Zhao Li Xin to warn him not to go against her will. "A good man should know how to repay the kindness he was given."

Zhao Li Xin didn't say a word. He felt nauseous when Nan Yu Qi claimed he belonged to her. His body temperature rose slightly as anger burned within him. He was disgusted to see them fight to claim him. They did not treat him like he was human but a valuable weapon they were eager to own.

Zhao Li Xin has lots of experience with such people since childhood. It was not hard to know what are the three were thinking. Zhao Li Xin cupped his fist and bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for your offer but my skills are still lacking for me to be able to serve anyone properly. I will nurture myself first before I present myself in front of all of you again."

Zhao Li Xin tactfully rejected their offer and left the training grounds without waiting for them to speak. The Xie brothers and Nan Yu Qi were flabbergasted. Zhao Li Xin's smooth rejection was beyond their comprehension. A normal disciple would have given them a quick answer to the offer yet the new disciple was different. They were also worried another family may get to know about the disciple's talent which will then increase the number of opponents interested in grabbing the d*mn Lu Xin.

Zhao Li Xin smiled deviously as he walked away. He wanted to create a murky water situation to see who else will turn up with an offer. He wanted to know the depths of the conspiracies inside the Sacred Mountain Peak society that his own people had failed to reveal.

"What are you looking for?" A man suddenly called Zhao Li Xin from behind a tree. 

Zhao Li Xin halted his steps and turned his head to the side. He replied, "I'm looking for four beasts."

The man's eyes glistened as he said, "All the beasts burned in the Immortal fire."

"…and the fire burned for eternity," Zhao Li Xin said calmly as he walked toward the stranger.

"All Hail Lord Long Ming," The man said with an excited smile.

Zhao Li Xin nodded as the man bowed his head deeply. The man didn't dare to kneel as he feared it would arouse suspicion if anyone accidentally caught them. His voice was solemn, "Greetings, Milord!"

The man had recently been informed the great Lord Long Ming would infiltrate the Sacred Mountain Peak society with his wife. The man didn't understand why his Lord chose to bring his wife to the society but he was sure his Lord had a good reason for it. Either way, the man was exhilarated to meet Lord Long Ming. He was moved as it was a great honor to personally meet the Lord.

He deducted the man before him was their Lord because he had been told their Lord would disguise himself as a new recruitment with a wife. Lu Xin was the only new recruitment who had brought a wife with him which quickly narrowed his search. He decided to meet the new recruit and test the man with their code.

"Your name?" Zhao Li Xin asked.

"Mong Gui but they now know me as Sang Gui, milord," The man responded politely. He looked around to ensure they were alone before he gestured politely. "Milord, I have something to report but this is not a good place to talk. Please follow me, milord."

Zhao Li Xin followed the man to a dilapidated courtyard. The building looked old and smelled musty. The whole courtyard was covered with long wild grass. The place seemed to have been vacant for years. Mong Gui entered the wrecked building, walked to the corner, and pulled a tattered rug from the floor to reveal a small keyhole. Only someone with keen eyes would notice the small keyhole.

Mong Gui took out the key hanging underneath his collar. It looked like a normal pendant. He twisted it and a secret key appeared from the bottom. He put the key in the small hole and twisted.

'Clank' 

A faint metallic sound could be hard as a small door opened on the floor. Mong Gui jumped inside the hole and Zhao Li Xin followed. Once they were in, Mong Gui pushed the stone beside him closing the small door above them while a torch around them lit up at the same time. They walked through a tunnel until they reached an underground basement. It was a rectangular room with a big rectangular table in the middle and a bookshelf next to the wall. The floor was cracked but slightly clean. It was obvious someone was keeping the place clean.

There was an incomplete map of the Sacred Mountain Peak's territory on the wall. There were also face paintings with names of the Nan, Xie, Chen, and Mo family written on paper and plastered to the wall.

"This is all the information I have gathered in three years I have been here, Milord," Mong Gui was nervous like a student presenting his work to the principal.

Zhao Li Xin stood in front of the wall and took a minute to examine the information on the wall. He then walked to the table and scrutinized the scattered papers on it. He nodded and muttered in a flat tone, "Not bad…"

Mong Gui's face brightened at the praise. His Lord didn't like to compliment anyone and such a compliment could only mean he had done a great job. He was happy as his hard work was finally recognizable by his Lord.

"Tell me everything you know," Zhao Li Xin pulled a small stool from a corner, flicked his robes out of habit before he sat.

"Yes, Milord!" Mong Gui obediently nodded. "The Third and Fourth Xie masters' feud has increased after Xie Xiu Wei's death. Xie Xiu Wei had pressed them to the corner but both are now fighting for the leader's chair as Xie Xiu Wei is no longer here. This is also the reason Xie Hua Ling left the Chen family to align with the Nan family."

Mong Gui tapped the paintings on the wall to correspond with the names he spoke, "However, Xie Hua Ling failed to realize his shameless behavior would infuriate the Chen family, especially Chen Hu Yin. But Xie Hua Ling has not been short-changed for picking the Nan family over the Chen family."

Zhao Li Xin took out a wine flask and cup from his spatial ring and poured himself some wine as he crossed his legs elegantly. His charm didn't decrease despite wearing an ordinary face. He calmly sipped his wine and share what was on his mind, "I know this Chen guy is siding with Xie…something to trouble the other Xie brother, but what I want to know is the Chen family motive. Are they doing this to purely avenge Chen Hu Yin's poor sister or does he have other motives? I also want to know the Mo family's position in this matter."

"I don't know the Chen family's true motive yet. My Chen family insider didn't say much… but he said Chen Hu Yin's temperament has slightly changed in the past few years."

"Changed? How?" Zhao Li Xin lowered the winecup from his lips.

Mong Gui shook his head, "Well… It might be nothing but… he has become more eager to raise his cultivation at a fast pace. This is also the reason the Xie family has become more wary of him."

"Huh…" Zhao Li Xin gave a short grunt as he lifted the winecup to his lips once again.

"And the Mo family… the young master Mo died during his cultivation breakthrough. The rumor says he died because he lost control over his powers and his body couldn't contain the sudden increase of powers," Mong Gui said.

"What was the level of his cultivation at the time?" Zhao Li Xin was curious.

"They say he was at Emperor Level at Core stage," Mong Gui replied.

"How old was he then?" Zhao Li Xin asked another question.

"Twenty," Mong Gui replied.

Zhao Li Xin went quiet. The young master Mo was almost the same age as him when he reached Emperor Level. However, people like Zhao Li Xin were very rare according to the big lizard, Huo Long. Zhao Li Xin was the only person in the world to be born with a divine body and there was no other person like him.

Zhao Li Xin thought something was not right about the Mo son. Young master Mo's ability was something out of ordinary yet he easily died during a breakthrough. Zhao Li Xin tapped his finger on the table, a habit whenever he was in deep contemplation. He lifted his head after a while, "Send a message to Jin Hao for me."