books44 Chapter 74 Only Eternal Interests
Chapter 74 Only Eternal Interests
When Li Tingyun saw the collar around Si Wuxie's neck, his first reaction was: Coach, I want to learn this!!!
If this trick were used on his master, he couldn't even imagine how cheerful and lively he would become.
Xia Changfeng was somewhat embarrassed. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and the collar disappeared without a trace.
Si Wuxie touched his neck; it still felt a bit tight. Xia Changfeng didn't untie it for him, but simply made it invisible in front of others.
Fine, considering this kid saved Si Wuyou for him, he'll tolerate it this time.
This is because he is magnanimous and doesn't hold grudges against younger people; it's definitely not because he's incompetent or can't handle it.
Xia Changfeng: "Palace Master, you've arrived."
Li Tingyun: "It seems I've come at the wrong time."
Xia Changfeng: "No, you've come..."
He paused, then realized it wasn't a good idea to say it that way, and changed his words: "It's definitely not the right time."
"What nonsense."
Regardless of the time, Li Tingyun raised his chin and pointed at Si Wuxie, "How about we discuss a business deal?"
Si Wuxie was quick-witted; he could tell at a glance that a big order had come in. Even if it meant risking his life, he was willing to give it a try.
"This is not the place to talk, let's go somewhere else."
Si Wuxie snapped his fingers, and the pavilion immediately disappeared. The surrounding scenery changed constantly, with spring, summer, autumn, winter, day and night, sunshine and rain, and various indoor and outdoor landscapes flashing in front of them like a carousel.
Finally, the place where they stood was a huge painted boat, with the moon shimmering on the water, and the sound of oars and the reflection of lanterns.
A cool breeze wafted across the river, carrying the pleasant sounds of traditional Chinese string and wind instruments. Anyone who heard this would surely applaud and say, "Boss, what refined taste you have!"
Standing on the passenger boat, Li Tingyun turned around and saw a string of beaded curtains hanging in front of the moon gate. Behind the curtains sat a musician, her eyes lowered and her face half-hidden behind her pipa.
In the interplay of moonlight and red candlelight, the vermilion floral decoration on the performer's forehead was dazzlingly bright and exquisitely beautiful.
The plucked strings, with their melodious and tender tunes reminiscent of the spring waters of Jiangnan, evoke a scene reminiscent of a traditional Chinese ink painting unfolding before one's eyes: a sunset with flutes and drums, and fishermen singing in the evening. The imagery is profound and the charm is lingering.
Li Tingyun suddenly said, "You played it wrong."
The musician lifted her fingers from the silk strings, thus interrupting a pipa piece.
She admitted in a low voice, "Yes...I was wrong..."
Si Wuxie waved her away, saying, "It seems you're not very skilled. Don't embarrass yourself next time."
The performer, carrying his zither, slowly walked to the window, turning back every few steps, before transforming into a red carp and swimming away down the river.
She was very reluctant to give up this opportunity to transform.
Si Wuxie, however, remained indifferent, saying only, "I didn't expect that the Lord of Taiji Hall would also understand music theory. I'm sorry to have made you laugh."
Li Tingyun said, "I don't really understand it, except for this one."
"Oh? Is there something special about this one?"
"No, it's just that I've heard it many times before, and I can tell where it's played wrong as soon as I hear it."
This ancient pipa piece, called "Spring River Flower Moon Night," also known as "Xunyang Melody," was one he had heard played many times before, and he had memorized the melody.
Li Tingyun knew neither the pipa nor music theory, but this was the only piece he was most familiar with.
Si Wuxie had a penchant for refined pursuits and was accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. For thousands of years, apart from cultivation, he had spent his time in these leisurely pursuits.
He thought Li Tingyun's words were just humble expressions.
Xia Changfeng thought so too.
He was completely unaware that the Palace Master knew all sorts of nonsense. He had never doubted Li Tingyun's extraordinary abilities, so he believed that the Palace Master must have been hiding something.
Besides the pipa, qin, and se, a game of Zhenlong chess was also set up on the painted boat.
Si Wuxie cordially invited Li Tingyun to play black pieces and discuss ways to break the deadlock together.
After looking at it for a while, Li Tingyun said, "Why don't we change the rules and play it differently?"
Si Wuxie felt he must have some ingenious ideas, and asked, "What other novel ways are there to play Go?"
Li Tingyun: "For example, whoever forms a five-in-a-row first wins."
Si Wuxie: "Is...is this still Go?"
Li Tingyun: "No, I usually call it 'Five in a Row'."
Si Wuxie: "Alright, let's give it a try."
So the two happily started playing Connect Four. Xia Changfeng sat on the other side, which was good; he could understand this one too.
"What did you mean by 'business' earlier?"
"Literally, you do me a favor, and I'll help you earn more money, or rather, earn the resources needed for cultivation."
"It sounds like a big deal."
"That's right, you'll get more in return by working with me."
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Si Wuxie knew very well who the person sitting opposite him was who wanted to cooperate with him.
Master of Taiji Hall, Li Tingyun.
Cooperating with him means forming an alliance with Taiji Palace.
Although the Taiji Palace has a bad reputation, its strength and status cannot be denied. It is comparable to the Dao Xuan Sect and the Fengdu Ghost Realm, and it has considerable influence in the cultivation world—of course, it is a negative influence. Just mentioning it makes people feel extremely scared, even more so than the underworld.
"I don't understand why you contacted me, and why I should trust you?"
Si Wuxie pointed out the crux of the problem: "I don't think you're a moral person."
"But I think you and I are the same kind of people, neither of us cares about morality, but only about interests."
Li Tingyun said, "There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies in this world, only eternal interests."
Si Wuxie narrowed his eyes; these words struck a chord with him. "Well said. Then let's be frank: what do you want to use me for?"
Li Tingyun said, "Merit, I need merit."
[Ding ding, host, you finally remembered to accumulate merit points. I thought you didn't want to grow up.]
"Bullshit. What's so great about being a kid? You can't do anything when you're a kid. All I ever think about is growing up quickly and turning back into a normal person!"
【Then why haven't you been doing quests to earn merit points during this time? You don't seem to be in a hurry at all.】
"It's not that I'm not in a hurry, it's that the system is messing with me!"
"If you don't believe me, go check out the task pool. Recently, all the tasks posted are thankless and arduous."
"Rewards for good deeds are not measured in units of tens or hundreds, but in the fractions of a cent!"
"The system wants me to kill the Emperor of Fengdu, and the reward is 0.01 merit points?! Can you believe it?!"
I really like one of Wang Laoliu's lines: "Huh?"
【Ah...ah...this is really going too far, 001 is really inhuman.】
Luckily, I sacrificed my sleep privilege to get you a backdoor way to accumulate merit by working at the border market.
[Host, you should go get a job. We working people will definitely have a bright future.]
"Working for someone? I'm a worker, the system is the evil capitalist."
"Workers should never think about redeeming themselves from capitalists."
"Believe it or not, the system will never exchange the merits I earned at the border for one-to-one. If the system is willing to give me one point for every hundred I earn at the border, then it's a case of capitalists having a conscience."
[Oops... Just now, the system detected the host's recent movements and issued a related alert.]
Regarding the exchange of merit points, I'd like to say a few words below—
[Actually, the merits the host earns in the market should more accurately be called "hidden virtues."]
When Si Wuxie heard Li Tingyun suddenly mention "merit," he asked somewhat uncertainly, "You want to accumulate unseen merit?"
After hearing the system's words, Li Tingyun nodded to Si Wuxie and said, "Yes."
Si Wuxie looked puzzled. "But, only mortals care about things like 'hidden virtue'?"
For cultivators, good deeds done in secret are optional.