While enjoying wine, Ping Ching looked at Chui Yim in a daze. She didn’t understand how as a twelve-year-old, Chui Yim behaved like an easygoing man, especially when they chatted. He sounded like a senior giving the younger generation advice, and he spoke mostly without honorifics.
Moreover, she realised that Chui Yim’s alchemy had improved by leaps and bounds since she last spoke to him. He was now basically on par with her. An expert in medicine, able to create gliphs before the single-gliphic state and a natural alchemist… How is there such a well-rounded genius?
“Little… Little Ching!”
Hearing her name, Ping Ching regained her senses only to see Ping Man Bun next to her with an apologetic look.
“Little Ching, I’m so sorry for today. I apologise for being so impulsive, and I ask for your forgiveness.”
“We’re childhood friends and the future of the Ping Clan. There’s no hatred between us.” Ping Ching smiled thinly. “Cheers. Let’s drink our resentment away.”
“Sure,” Ping Man Bun replied with a smile.
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It was unknown how many people had toasted Chui Yim. It might be because of his contribution to the clan or how he constantly drank that made others feel like joining him. But many Ping Clan members toasted Chui Yim today, which he accepted happily. After some time, he was drunk.
The Ping Clan elders and Ping San Yat watched the crowd with smiles on the stage.
“I wonder what rewards the clan plans on giving my disciple for his grand contributions,” Ping Chi asked with a smile.
“Master…” Ping San Yat coughed.
“Don’t try to rely on your connection with me now.” Ping Chi’s face fell as he glared at Ping San Yat. “Rewards must still be given.”
Ping San Yat and great elder Ping Cheng Sau exchanged glances before discussing the rewards with the other elders and Ping Chi. All their faces turned red as saliva flew all over the place. But since they used energliph to block their voices, the Ping Clan disciples could only watch them shout agitatedly with red faces yet without hearing anything.
“Deal.” After some time, Ping Chi replied with a smile, Ping San Yat and the other elders heaving a sigh of relief, knowing that they had finally pleased him.
“We’ll have the rewards sent over by tomorrow.”
“Hahaha, no rush… But the faster, the better!”
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In the end, Chui Yim had to be carried back to his room by Bak Wun. He woke up hungover the next day.
He endured the pain and circulated the Nine Levels of Heaven’s Flame. After a few rounds, his migraine subsided slightly as he silently observed the Heaven’s Flame inside him. It seems like there won’t be any changes so soon. With a sigh, he stood up and left. As he wasn’t a member of the Ping Clan, his win yesterday didn’t excite him.
It was another ordinary day for him.
He visited Chor Shing Chit who was still in a coma, leaving for Ping Chi’s courtyard after checking Chor Shing Chit’s pulse. However, he felt that something was off on seeing numerous hardy horse coaches going in the same direction as him.
He reached Ping Chi’s courtyard to see Ping Ching with a checklist as she counted various goods with several Ping Clan members. She smiled at his arrival. “Did brother Chui rest well?”
“My head still hurts. What’s all this? There’s so many… Wow…” Chui Yim exclaimed, then laughed bitterly. He was shocked to see the items unloaded from the coach… These are all rare herbs and elixirs!
“These are the rewards master negotiated for brother Chui,” Ping Chu replied with a smile. “Brother Chui’s victory during the competition yesterday helped our clan maintain our leadership of Southern Ping. You’ve accomplished a great deed for the clan. This is your reward.”
Chui Yim’s heart dropped on hearing this immediately. Why wasn’t it delivered to me directly then?
“You old fox! Get out here!” He shouted as he dashed into the courtyard, leaving Ping Ching smiling bitterly.
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He was greeted by the sight of Ping Chi brewing tea happily in his courtyard. “Oh, you’re finally here, my dearest disciple. Do you want some tea? This is one of the best teas for cultivation that increases the chances of enlightenment. Even I won’t normally get to drink this, but thanks to my disciple, I got a kilogram of the tea leaves.”
“The reward belongs to me!” Chui Yim shouted angrily.
“My disciple likes to joke.” Ping Chi laughed. “Don’t you remember what you said when you were drunk yesterday? You said that you didn’t need any of this, that you would give me everything to respect your master?”
Chui Yim’s expression was more than interesting. He stared at Ping Chi like he had never seen anyone more shameless than Ping Chi. “You…”
“Okay, okay, stop complaining after getting a small advantage. Here’s your reward.”
With a wave of his hands, Ping Chi threw a badge made of jade at Chui Yim. Chui Yim caught it and looked at it. It was a snow-white round badge with a Chi character carved on it.
Chui Yim inspected the badge before frowning when he realised that it was an ordinary badge. “What the hell is this?”
“Insert your energliph into the badge, you bumpkin,” Ping Chi replied disdainfully. Chui Yim did as he was told, a ray of light shooting out from the badge as he did so.
Ping Chi’s direct disciple!
Four large words written in bold, cursive calligraphy were seen. It unexpectedly looked so… old fashioned. Chui Yim was flabbergasted. He muttered to himself upsettingly, “What on earth is this…”
But he wasn’t upset at all; his experience interacting with the Tse Clan, Chor Clan, and Ping Clan taught him that these jade badges often came with small storage spaces, similar to his bag. This badge in particular was already full.
It contained a single item, a cauldron.
Thump!
He took out the cauldron which stood tall in the courtyard, filling the courtyard with a flaming hot aura!
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