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Chapter 226 – Cleaning Up the Trash
🕑 Added 2025-03-25 01:29:25 +0000 UTCKang Lin genuinely liked Yang Xiu. Even if the two of them did not end up as sisters-in-law, Kang Lin thought they would at least remain friends. Considering that sect life didn’t tend to lead to making many friends, it was prudent to cherish one when one came along.
But the girl had gotten on Kang Lin’s nerves over the last two days. Unlike Yang Ru, who was calm and reserved, Yang Xiu was way too eager to face combat. Her head was filled with visions of glory and honor, all from books about cultivators that she’d read in her youth. Even seeing real death as a result of such a battle hadn’t cooled her ardor.
In contrast, Kang Lin’s grandfather had filled her head with tales of young masters who’d overstepped their bounds and paid a price, some of them the ultimate one. He held a deep disdain for that type of sect member, which was why he’d been assigned Pan Jiang as a disciple; the boy’s father had hoped to have some of that arrogance beaten out of him.
A slow and steady advancement. Patience. Caution. Not acting before all the factors were understood. Those lessons were the ones imparted to her from the time she could walk.
Which was exactly why she had been entrusted with the leadership of the mission to obtain vital resources for the Rising Tide Sect and why Yang Xiu hadn’t.
Kang Lin sighed. She was in charge of the mission. What she said went. The goal was to avoid confrontation if at all possible, and if unavoidable, they would disengage at the first opportunity.
Such concerns were for later, though. She needed to rise and get ready. It had been nice to spend the night in her own bed. Not that the Rising Tide Sect’s accommodations had exactly been lacking, but there was just nothing like one’s own home.
The rest of the morning would be spent on home turf as well. After breakfast, they had a meeting scheduled with Grandfather. The sect was moving fast to get results, showing just how much they held Sect Leader Chao Su in esteem. A rich merchant who had made requests for those same materials would have had to wait weeks or even months for a response.
She took a luxurious bath in her own tub before dressing in a sect robe that it felt like months since she’d seen. It truly was good to be home, so good that a part of her wanted to spend the day getting reacquainted with people she knew. Such an indulgence wasn’t possible, however. Duties called.
The twins remained in their respective rooms waiting for her to collect them as they’d arranged the previous evening, and the three ate together before proceeding to her grandfather’s study.
“Ah,” he said. “Right on time.”
“Esteemed Grandfather,” Kang Lin said just before the twins added their own greeting. “Did your search bear fruit?”
“Indeed, it did, Granddaughter.” He deposited a pile of ingots on the ground, twenty of them total. “Here is the spirit metal you desired, along with a list that gives the name, properties, and cost per ingot.”
Kang Lin cupped her hands. “Gratitude, Grandfather. How much?”
“Twenty-five hundred greater spirit coins.”
Yang Xiu’s eyes went wide. “So much, Elder Kang?”
Kang Lin could understand the girl’s surprise. That was half their total. “Remember, Yang Xiu, that these are spirit metals. And we’re getting a lot of it, and not all of it will be useful for Master’s project. He can use the leftovers to create swords or devices that he can use to trade for the materials he needs. We were not expected to buy these materials with the spirit coins he provided.”
The girl frowned but didn’t object further.
“Quite so,” Grandfather said. “I also found someone willing to create a cauldron for him and even supply the materials.”
“That’s wonderful, Grandfather! What is the cost?”
“The woman needs a new forge to be able to even attempt the project. If your master will build her a new one, she’ll create the cauldron. She says that the quality of the forge will naturally dictate the quality of the cauldron.”
Kang Lin could tell that Yang Xiu wanted to object again, but the deal was actually quite good. It did commit Master’s time, but that consideration was trivial considering the need. The fact that they’d been able to find something at all was amazing.
She cupped her hands again. “Gratitude, Grandfather.”
“For the materials you requested, I have three possibilities available from the Poison Claw Sect. The first is the easiest. One of the mountains at the main sect grounds produces a Fire aspected rock similar in size and qi concentration as the kernel you showed me yesterday. The sect is willing to make a trade for five of the Nature aspected kernels plus two hundred fifty greater spirit coins.”
“We do not have the many with us, Grandfather. I will message Master for confirmation.”
“That is to be expected, Granddaughter.”
“And the other materials, Elder Kang?” Yang Xiu said.
“The next two are exactly what I believe you are looking for. Elder Dai has a rank eleven Shadow aspected beast core she’d willing to trade for the right enticement, and Elder Feng might be convinced to give up his Ice Lotus for the right price. Forgive this old man, but the negotiations for those two sources will need to be worked out directly between the elders and your Master.”
“Understood, Grandfather. Gratitude for all that you and the sect have done. Is there any other guidance you can give these lowly ones?”
“Besides your usual connections, try the Heavenly Transit Mercantile Association.”
Kang Lin raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never heard of that one, Grandfather.”
“They’re a small concern located near the docks. Sect Leader Chao Su had dealings with them, however, so they might be willing to provide assistance in order to maintain that relationship.” He shrugged. “Worth a try.”
All three disciples cupped their hands and announced their gratitude.
The meeting had been much more successful than Kang Lin had expected. To have a lead on three of the materials was a bigger boon than she thought they would accomplish for the entire trip, and the fact that Grandfather had found someone to make the cauldron was fantastic. Master was going to be so pleased.
“Well, that was disappointing,” Yang Xiu said as soon as the three had exited Grandfather’s study.
“Huh?” Kang Lin said. “In what way?”
“What do you mean, in what way? Just the metals were half our spirit coins, which you were worried about us carrying around because it was such a treasure. And we’re not going to actually be able to take anything else to Master, only tell him that we found people willing to negotiate with him. We were supposed to do this!”
As Kang Lin was about to respond, Yang Ru grabbed her hand. It was a bold move for him, and he wasn’t prone to bold moves. She looked at him, and he shook his head.
Kang Lin sighed. So what if Yang Xiu was living in a fantasy world. Let her remain in it for a while longer.
“Fine,” Kang Lin said. “Let’s go see what we can accomplish.”
Yang Xiu rushed to her and hugged her. “Thank you, Sister.”
It turned out that they could accomplish very little. None of the merchants that Kang Lin’s family normally used either had anything they wanted or even knew where to find it. The best they could recommend was the auction house, so after she exhausted all her sources save for the small one that Grandfather had mentioned, the trio headed to the auction company.
An attractive woman met them inside the door with a deep bow, one much too low for mere Foundation Establishment disciples. “Greetings, honored cultivators. This lowly one welcomes you to the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House. How may this lowly one be of service?”
Yang Xiu stepped forward. “We’re looking for—”
“Information about the next auction,” Kang Lin said.
The girl was talented and a great fighter, but one didn’t just walk into a merchant’s business and tell them exactly what you wanted. That method would get you robbed blind.
While Yang Xiu glared at her, the attractive woman seemed to take the exchange as a manner of course. “The next minor auction will be in two weeks’ time, but this lowly one suspects that the mundane items on offer will not meet your needs. The next minor auction is in six weeks, and it is likely to be more to your liking with many high-end cultivation resources suitable for a young miss of the Poison Claw Sect and the two most famous members of the Rising Tide Sect.”
Kang Lin kept the frown from her face, but she was sure some of her displeasure seeped into her tone. “It is a surprise that such an illustrious establishment would know of these lowly ones.”
“Nonsense! the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House is honored to have such distinguished guests. Three disciples of the great Sect Leader Chao Su, who put on such an amazing display of prowess. Though this one’s boss did weep when he was told of the destruction of so much wealth. This lowly one is sure that your Master’s anger was well deserved, however. This paltry organization will certainly do everything possible to avoid his wrath.”
Yang Xiu was grinning from ear to ear upon hearing that statement, but the fact that the woman knew so much about them was a bad sign. If she knew, then others probably did, too. Which meant that word of their whereabouts was reaching throughout the city.
“Come. We have the information we came for. It’s time to leave.” Kang Lin cupped her hands to the woman. “Gratitude, Mistress.”
The woman bowed low again in return.
It was Kang Lin’s turn to be bold as she grabbed Yang Ru’s hands and practically drug him out of the building. She had a bad, bad feeling about the situation.
As soon as they stepped into the sunlight, her fears were realized. A Golden Core cultivator wearing the gray robes of the Jade Chameleon Sect descended on a flying sword, towing behind it a sled with five Foundation Establishment cultivators.
“Well, well, well,” the Golden Core cultivator said. “What do we have here? A trio of whelps from the Rising Tide Sect. It seems like it’s time for my juniors to clean up the trash.”
Comments
Keldra
Feels like this chapter is alluding to Kang Lin and Yang Ru not ending up together.
BWFoster78 Last
Should have been major. Sorry!
Dark Phoenix
[The next minor auction will be in two weeks’ time, but this lowly one suspects that the mundane items on offer will not meet your needs. The next minor auction is in six weeks] Was it your intention to state the next minor auction twice? Was the 2nd meant to be major auction? Or perhaps you intended for it to be [ The next minor auction 'after that' is in six weeks]
KingOrgasmusTwo
She’s exactly acting like that: disdain for the city and its inhabitants and not being able to finish the mission and arrogance and pride for her master
Xiver
I agree. I think it would make more sense if her motivation for a fight was related to the death of Ye Zan. Maybe survivor's guilt. Her naivety still works in all the other ways though.
BelligerentGnu
Two thoughts: seems a little off that yang xiu wasn't tempered at least a little by her sect mate's death - or, at least, *more* tempered. And I wonder what would have happened if Kang Lin hadn't been stopped by Ru.
