Chapter Forty-Seven: Tang Wei Loses Her Temper

The taxi stopped at the foot of a mountain. The driver turned around and said to Xuan Zi, “Young man, this is as far as I can go. I guess you’ve heard the buildings in these mountains are remnants of a five-thousand-year-old ancient civilization from China, and you want to visit? My advice is to just take a look from down here. This is a private residential area. Plenty of people have tried before, but every one of them was chased away by the guards at the entrance. You don’t look like you’re much of a fighter either, so I’d recommend you not tempt fate!”

Zi Xuan smiled and replied, “Thank you, sir. We’re just here to look around. Please drop us off right here.”

“Should I wait here for you then?” The driver was delighted at the prospect. “Great, now I’ll get paid for both the trip here and back. Looking around at the foot of the mountain, you won’t see much anyway, so you’ll be back in less than ten minutes. Waiting here is definitely worth it!”

But he was about to be disappointed. Zi Xuan refused his offer, slightly annoyed, “No need. Someone will pick us up later. Thank you, please head back now.” Then he handed the driver a hundred yuan note.

“Are you sure you don’t need me?” After Zi Xuan confirmed with a nod, the driver reluctantly dug out some change.

Zi Xuan saw through his intentions, but since the man had been courteous, he opened the car door and prepared to get out. “No need for change. It’s a long way out here in the suburbs, so consider it compensation for your gas.”

Tang Wei got out behind him and watched as the driver turned the car around and sped off. She slapped Zi Xuan’s back hard and grumbled, “You don’t earn your own money, so you don’t know how precious it is, do you? Giving away gas money like that—do you think you’re some big shot? Stop pretending!”

“Weiwei, you finally spoke to me! I thought you were really ignoring me.” Zi Xuan exclaimed happily, only to receive another eye roll. He stammered, “Well, I just found him likable! Besides, we have plenty of jewels in the space. They’re just sitting there, so why not use them to benefit others?”

“Can’t you come up with a better excuse? That makes no sense at all!” Tang Wei retorted irritably, eyeing the strict guards ahead and recalling the driver’s warning. She asked anxiously, “Zi Xuan, do you think we’ll be chased away as well?” Alas, it seemed someone was only intimidating his own people.

Zi Xuan immediately put on a valiant expression, full of confidence. “Weiwei, don’t worry. With me here, let’s see how they handle us!” He strode forward boldly.

Upon reaching the guardhouse, Zi Xuan politely addressed the guards, “Brothers, I’m here to see your master. Would you please pass on the message?” To avoid misunderstandings, he deliberately removed the item that concealed his cultivation level.

“Go, go, go! You think you can make trouble here? Want to meet our master? Don’t overestimate yourself!” The men in the guardhouse didn’t even lift their heads, their tone arrogant.

Tang Wei followed closely behind Zi Xuan, sizing up the three guards inside. All of them were only at the fifth stage of Qi Refining—enough to intimidate ordinary folks, but not much use against anyone truly powerful. She recalled what Old Man Shi and Old Man Li had said and decided to let Zi Xuan handle it.

“Brothers, you can sense our cultivation. We’re fellow practitioners. We really have urgent business with your master, so please pass on the message.” Zi Xuan maintained his polite demeanor, handing them several red banknotes. He’d learned this trick from TV—money makes the world go round. But for these petty guards, he wouldn’t waste precious spirit stones; after all, the lowest quality in their space was top-grade, and it would be a waste to bribe them with those.

“So you’re fellow cultivators, huh? Let me give you some advice—don’t bother. Our master never sees wandering cultivators. If you really have business, go to our branch in the city and talk to the manager. I’m only telling you this out of respect for the money.” One of them, softened by the cash, spoke in a slightly better tone, then distributed some of the notes to his companions and returned to ignoring them.

The oldest of the three, after pocketing the money, glanced at it and frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the amount.

“We’re not wandering cultivators, just here to see your master. Besides, the city manager won’t be able to help with our issue,” Zi Xuan persisted gently.

The frowning man stood up and slammed the table, shouting, “You think your business can’t be handled by the manager and must be solved by our master? Do you think our master exists just to deal with beggars like you? Keep causing trouble and you’ll regret it!”

Zi Xuan was beginning to lose patience too, his smile cold. “Oh? Just the three of you? I’d like to see how you plan to make us regret it.”

“Don’t push your luck! Think your cultivation is higher than ours so you can scare us? Let me tell you, offending us is offending the entire Xuan Yuan clan. You two clowns want to challenge us? You won’t even know how you died!” The first guard shouted, full of bravado.

“So, according to you, the few of you represent the Xuan Yuan clan? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Seems like the Xuan Yuan clan’s glory is fading,” Zi Xuan mocked, shaking his head.

The three guards were furious at his expression, jumping up and down in anger. Damn it! Being looked down upon by two itinerant cultivators—if their peers heard about this, they’d never live it down. No, they had to teach them a lesson. The three clowns opened the door and started cursing Zi Xuan and Tang Wei, their words vile and unbearable.

They figured Zi Xuan and Tang Wei wouldn’t dare do anything to them. After all, who would provoke the Xuan Yuan clan, the foremost family in cultivation? But today, it seemed they’d met their match—Zi Xuan and Tang Wei had come specifically to stir up trouble.

Outside, the pair’s faces darkened, and it wouldn’t be long before things got interesting.

Tang Wei held back her anger as long as she could, but when she couldn’t stand it any longer, her power erupted. She gathered the strongest fire energy in her palm and thrust it toward the guardhouse. With a bang, flames surged, and the three men fell instantly silent, retreating in terror. One even wet his pants in fright. In moments, the gate at the foot of the mountain had burned to ash.

Tang Wei didn’t intend to become enemies with the Xuan Yuan clan, so she only set the gate ablaze after the guards had stepped outside, giving them a show of strength. Seeing them stupefied, she declared fiercely, “You thought I was a sick kitten, huh? Go ahead, keep cursing. Want to end up like that gate? Now, can we meet your master or not?”

The oldest guard was the first to recover, stammering, “D-d-don’t come any closer!”

Zi Xuan laughed at them. “Weren’t you brave a moment ago? How come you’re so scared now? Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

The smartest-looking guard quickly said, “Even if you have some power, you can only scare weaklings like us. If you really have guts, stand still and wait for our senior brothers from the inner gate. Then we’ll see how tough you are!”

Tang Wei answered with amusement, “Don’t bother with tricks. I won’t kill you, so if you want your senior brothers, hurry up and call them.”

“Don’t regret it!” The most arrogant guard, upon hearing they wouldn’t be killed, immediately stood up, pulled a signal talisman from his belt, activated it with spiritual energy, and watched it dissolve into fragments.