Chapter 105: Transaction
“What really amazes me, is that when the leader of Southern Empire had met Long Yin five years ago, of all the people he could have brought, he brought his own daughter. Emperor Long Yin had been slow to make an arbitrary request from the leader of Southern Empire because he knew that the leader of Southern Empire only had one daughter. He had waited ten years for that daughter to grow up, before he made the marriage proposal to tie the Royal Family of Tian Long and Southern Empire together. The Emperor had a very good scheme. The leader of Southern Empire was also worth his title for his plot of guessing that the Emperor would have proposed, when he brought his daughter when he came to Tian Long City five years ago. He took advantage of the situation for his benefit, and waited for the Emperor to make the proposal. Or else, why would the superior status of the leader of Southern Empire be willing to sacrifice his only daughter easily?”
“You are wrong.” Shui Mengchan slightly shook her head, “Our Southern Empire take our promises seriously. Since we have promised to fulfill the Tian Long Royal Family’s request, as that was the request, once our leader had given his consent, there’s no going back. Mengchan will also not break my promise, else I would face the wrath of Heaven.”
“Oh! Such a serious promise? I believe you, but what if Long Yin dies before you reach the age of twenty-five? Can you not comply with it anymore?” Ye Wuchen said laughing.
Shui Mengchan’s silent and calm glance suddenly fluctuated violently. Originally, she had a mildly curious posture while facing Ye Wuchen, but it had quickly turned into a strong quiver like a heavy pressure had fallen upon her. Just like that, she was suddenly very terrified.
She faintly sighed, her voice like a breeze, “Master Ye, if what you’ve said were to come true, now that you’ve said them out loud, are you not afraid you might get killed?”
“About seven people are hiding here, every one of them are equal in strength with me. It’s very easy for them to kill me, so why wouldn’t Lady Shui command them to take action?” Ye Wuchen raised his brows, yet still had a careless expression that did not have a single trace of fear.
“Judging from Master Ye’s wisdom, if you are able to say it so publicly, you must have come prepared. Mengchan wouldn’t take that risk. Please state the reason why you are here.” Shui Mengchan said. Her statements confirmed that what Ye Wuchen said were true. Though separated by a layer of veil, she still feels like she was followed by his gaze so if she continued to deny it, he would only look down on her.
Ye Wuchen laughed and said, “Lady Shui is indeed an extraordinary woman, such kind of forbearance has really earned Wuchen’s respect. Today, I came here to make a transaction with Lady Shui.”
“A transaction?” Shui Mengchan raised her beautiful brows.
“I need a set of painting tools, and a sheet of painting paper with a large enough size.” Ye Wuchen said.
Although Shui Mengchan was puzzled, she still nodded. With an incline of her head, she said, “They will be prepared as per your request.”
Ye Wuchen did not wait long, before a pretty young woman came from the door behind Shui Mengachan’s. Lifting the veil, the woman walked to Ye Wuchen to place the set of painting tools and laid the paper on the floor. The paper was indeed of “large enough” size, as it was sufficient to wrap around Ye Wuchen’s whole body.
Ye Wuchen stood and smiled at the woman whose breath quickened. She quickly shifted her focus then left with an emotionless face.
Placing Ning Xue beside him, Ye Wuchen held a brush in one hand but still held her small hands in the other. In a low voice, he said, “Xue-er, look at how your brother paints, and not anywhere else.”
Ning Xue nodded. “I really like watching brother paint.”
The brush landed on the paper, and Ye Wuchen drews a long line from top to bottom…
Time quietly passed, and aside from the friction from the paintbrush, there was no other sound. The women hiding in the dark quietly observe this man, their hearts still reeling with shock. Every statement he made, every word was like a heavy hammer bombarding their hearts. Even Shui Mengchan could not keep her heart’s serenity when her thoughts surged numerous times.
Ordinary people would subconsciously ignore the mistakes inherent in mere rumors, when in fact, those very same inconsistencies were vital clues to finding out the greatest secrets of the Southern and Northern Empires…
What kind of person was he? What were his motives for coming here? If this person were to cooperate with the Southern Empire, then… But if he intended to hinder the leader of Southern Empire, he would no doubt be an extremely horrible enemy.
Ye Wuchen put the brush away after a few minutes, throwing it aside and rolling up the painting paper. all the while, his face bore a harmless smile. “That young sister a while ago, you may come out.”
Soon, the veil was lifted again and the woman from a while ago took the roll of painting. Returning without a word, she respectfully placed it in front of Shui Mengchan.
Ye Wuchen did not say anything and only refilled his teacup. Placing it near Ning Xue’s lips, “Xue-er, are you thirsty?”
“En!” Ning Xue responded. Her lips moved closer and little by little, she drank gently. At the same time, Shui Mengchan spread out the recently completed painting on top of her incense burner table.
The painting was of a sword, entirely covered in gold. Whether it was the sword hilt or the sword blade, it was as glossy as a mirror. Shui Mengchan exclaimed in admiration, “The reputation of Master Ye’s painting skills are really well-deserved, to be able to portray a sword as glossy as a mirror on this rough paper. Just with this act, Mengchan is already ashamed of being inferior. Although this sword is on the painting, it looks real and even carries the majestic power a sword…”
Shui Mengchan’s voice is stopped short as if being choked. On the sharp end of the sword, was a very small but eye-catching word—South.
Her pupils of her already enticing eyes dilated as her gaze quickly swept through each and every corner of the sword, again and again, her eyes flickered more intensely.
After a while, she suddenly yelled in excitement, “Quickly, hand me a ruler!”
Upon hearing her impatient voice for the first time, the young woman behind her did not dare to move slow, and quickly turned to leave with hasty footsteps. When she returned, she was holding a very long tape measure. Shui Mengchan stood, unfolding the tape measure, she measured the different parts of the painting: the length and width of the sword blade, the length and width of the word hilt, and then the overall length of the entire sword, even the length of the central line… As she measured them one by one, her expression became more and more excited.
She never saw the sword of the Southern Empire. The current Southern Empire Clan, including the leader had never seen the sword of the Southern Empire either. Since the beginning of the era of the Southern Empire, no one had ever seen it, and only its distinctive features were recorded in the ancestral books. At first glance, Shui Mengchan naturally would not have recognized it immediately. Now that she had looked at it carefully, the sword on this painting was exactly identical to the descriptions. The distinctive features, even the measurements were all similar to the records. The ancestral books of the Shui Family were naturally only known to members of the Shui Family in Southern Empire. The only explanation for this was…
“Is this the sword of the Southern Empire!?” She finally uttered in surprise. Her words shocked the people in the dark enough that they did not completely believe their ears.
Several thousand years, maybe even ten thousand years. For what other reason did the Southern Empire exist other than to find the sword of the Southern Empire—Star Cutter. This was the original reason the Southern Empire even existed. After all these years, not to speak of finding it, even the whereabouts of this sword were never even heard of. After many years, even those of the Southern Empire doubted its existence.
But today, this Master Ye was the cause of their astonishment. For them to hear the name of the object that the people of Southern Empire sought throughout their lifetime.
“You deserve to be called the princess of the Southern Empire for recognizing it so quickly. This is the sword of the Southern Empire.” Ye Wuchen answered.
Shui Mengchan carefully rolled up the painting while trying hard to suppress her emotions. “How are you be able to paint this sword?”
“Is this really hard to guess?” Ye Wuchen laughed, and said, “Because I have seen this sword. Not just seen, I also know where it is right now. But only now, when I heard the things about your Southern Empire leader, did I know that your leader has been looking for it.”
The breathing from the hidden crevices became heavier. If even a person without any cultivation were to walk in, they would clearly be able to discern that there were people hidden in the dark. This was the effect that the sword of the Southern Empire brought them, wherein the even revealed their hiding spots at just the mention of the sword. If the Southern Empire were to obtain the sword, they could certainly rule the world very easily, and nobody would dare to oppose them, not even the Northern Empire—unless they were able to find the bow of Northern Empire named “Distressed Calamity”.
“Where is it?” Shui Mengchan blurted out.
Ye Wuchen made a vague hand gesture, and did not answer her question. Instead, he slowly said, “Can we now discuss about our transaction? Oh, right. I need to remind those ladies, who prepared to throw themselves in, that since I dared to come here, it means I’m not afraid of falling in your hands. You can try, but in the end, you will never be able to get the sword of the Southern Empire. The sword might very well be in the hands of the Northern Empire soon. I actually wanted to find out what will happen if the sword of the Southern Empire were to fall into the hands of the Northern Empire. Would they still maintain peace with you?”
Shui Mengchan gradually calmed, and she made a halting gesture, reeling in the restless people in hiding, then slowly said, “Master Ye, please do not misunderstand us. They are always with me, left and right, all year round to protect me. They will not do you any harm, Master Ye. How can I make you tell us the whereabouts of the sword of the Southern Empire? Mengchan will surely comply.”
“Lady Shui, you really are a straightforward person, so I will tell you directly.” Ye Wuchen nodded with satisfaction. Fixing his eyes at the figure behind the veil, he continued, “I can guess the reason why Lady Shui resides in the Tian Long City. Probably, the influence of the Southern Empire is gradually penetrating Tian Long City, even up to the Royal Family. Your informers are scattered all around the Tian Long City… Oh? Lady Shui, please even deny it. If I were to guess, the leader of the Imperial Guard, Superior Wu Shang, should be a mediator of the Southern Empire, right? That day, during my conflict with him in front of Meng Yan Lou, you were witness to it. That time, he looked to Lady Shui’s room on the top floor three times. Although each glance was brief, each time, his expression became respectful. To my knowledge, the Emperor almost never steps inside Meng Yan Lou.
Shui Mengchan’s heart trembled violently. The leader of the Imperial Guards, Wu Shang, truly was the mediator from the Southern Empire.
Leaving out the other matters, his insights alone had already reached a universally shocking level.
Translated by: Fatty_Uncle
Edited by: seriouspotato and patrick_father_of_dragons