"Brother Xuan, yes, it's me," Sheng Feng said.
"Who might this be?" Sheng Xuan curiously glanced at Sheng Ping whose face was stiff.
"I am Sheng Ping, Brother Xuan. Nice to meet you." Sheng Ping cupped his fist, directly meeting his eyes.
"Oh, it's Brother Ping." Sheng Xuan also cupped his fist albeit lax. "Are you busy, Sister Feng? I had something to discuss." He wondered whether she would actually take the bait.
Sheng Feng did not even glance at Sheng Ping. She quickly said, "No, I am not busy, Brother Xuan. We could discuss it."
Sheng Xuan smiled. "Perfect."
Sheng Feng looked at Sheng Ping. "Sorry, Brother Ping. I have to go."
Sheng Ping coughed, his heart souring. He waved his arm, smile stiff. "No problem. Go do your thing. We can talk later."
Sheng Feng did not reply, instead she followed behind Sheng Xuan.
Sheng Ping watched them leave, his eyes cold as he glared at Sheng Xuan's back.
Although Sheng Xuan was a Martial Master, he had trained to strengthen his body to prepare for cultivation. He could not fully tell what lay behind people's eyes. He had something else.
The Sensing Talisman in Sheng Xuan's sleeves trembled. He shook his head with a smile. Was he making too many enemies? Something worth pondering over.
"Is something wrong, Brother Xuan?" Sheng Feng softly asked.
"Cannot you guess? Brother Ping seems to like you and I barged in suddenly," Sheng Xuan casually said.
"Huh?! No way." Sheng Feng's eyebrows jumped in surprise. "We just met each other." She did not understand at all, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Well, maybe, it's love at first sight. You are a pretty girl, so it's not that crazy," Sheng Xuan calmly said.
Sheng Feng was not sure if she had heard the right words. Not knowing how to respond to his bold words, she withdrew a few steps.
"So, Brother Xuan, what did you want to discuss?" she changed the topic.
"It's just, do you know where I can find sun-attribute materials? You seem very knowledgeable."
Sheng Feng raised her eyebrows, realizing he might be cultivating a sun-attribute art.
"Brother Xuan, you think too highly of me. How could I know matters regarding cultivators, especially about sun-attribute materials," she softly said.
Sheng Xuan curiously stared down at her small frame. "Really? You don't know anything? I helped you with Sheng Ping, how about you help me with this?"
His words left her at a loss. Did I ask you for help? You butt in willingly, so why must I compensate you for it now? She was aggrieved. She was also hesitant. He did help her but it was just a small thing.
"I thought it was out of the goodness of your heart," she said.
Sheng Xuan chuckled. "Sister Feng, it was. I was just curious. Let it be, it's alright if you don't know."
"I will see you later." Sheng Xuan had already turned to leave.
Despite walking for a while, Sheng Xuan did not hear any call, annoyance flashing in his eyes. Did she really know? He knew she came from a branch that was deep in resource gathering and handling, so he figured he had decent chances.
'On second thought, I might be rushing it. We don't even know each other. I also might have been too straightforward. But she seems like a dense person, so I felt like I kinda had to.' Sheng Xuan reflected, heading toward the pagoda. The white walls shone beautifully under the sunlight.
He was about to head inside when he heard an awkward call.
"Brother Xuan."
Sheng Xuan turned to see Sheng Feng, her breathing heavy.
"What do you need, Sister Feng?"
Sheng Feng took a deep breath. "Brother Xuan, I do know something that might be helpful to you."
"That's awesome," he said, "There are too many people here. Let's talk somewhere else."
Sheng Feng nodded. She led him to an empty area. Not satisfied, Sheng Feng also used a Soundward Talisman to prevent any sounds from slipping out.
"So?"
"I know a spot where you might find sun-attribute materials but you know how expensive they are." Sheng Feng looked up at him.
Sheng Xuan calmly said, "Name your price."
"You need to help me secure a water-attribute material," she said.
"Interesting." He rubbed his chin. "Sure, if you help me, I will help you."
"Uhm, how can I believe you?" she softly said.
"You really are cautious." He chuckled, then took out two Spirit Milk Bottles. "Let these serve as collateral."
Sheng Feng's eyes opened wider in surprise, not expecting him to wager such pricey items.
"This. Brother Xuan, you are really too rich," she commented dumbly.
"Do you like these? I have a few. If you take me as your sugar daddy, I will give you some," he playfully said.
Her eyebrows furrowed. She did not understand his words. Separately they made sense but together? No clue. Since it came from his mouth, it was probably something wicked.
"No, thank you." She shook her head. "But I will take these as collateral."
"Alright."
She took them from his hand and inspected for a few moments, then stored in her storage pouch.
"Actually, you might find your sun-attribute material where I might also find my water-attribute material," she revealed.
"No problem. Where is the spot?"
"It's that pond we were near before."
Sheng Xuan nodded in realization. "Is not that clan property? Where did you see those spirit fish?"
"It's those fishes in the pond."
"Ah."
Sheng Xuan wanted to ask how she knew all this but considering her background, it made some sense.
"So, there is a sun-attribute fish there?" Sheng Xuan sounded unsure.
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. It had a luminous golden stripe on its belly."
Sheng Xuan stared into her big eyes. Sheng Feng was uncomfortable. His eyes were red and looked intense, yet she did not pull away.
"Do you know the consequences of swindling me?" he gently asked. His smile deepened.
Sheng Feng shivered, goosebumps springing up on her pale skin. She did not know everything about Sheng Xuan, only that he was quite rebellious.
"No- I am not swindling you," she firmly said.
"Alright, I will trust you then," he said, "So, what's blocking you, why don't you just go and fish your water-attribute material?"
Sheng Feng whispered, "I can not. It's clan property. And this pond falls under the care of the Southern Cultivation Pagoda. We are in the Eastern Pagoda. Fishing is not allowed and even if we did fish it out, we will have to hand it over."
"And-"
"There is more?" Sheng Xuan was at a loss.
"Yes. It might also be the biggest issue. I am not sure but the pond caretaker might have already caught a glimpse like me. By now, they have probably already made their move too."
Sheng Xuan gave her a sidelong glance. Was she trying to build urgency?
"Hold on. Did you even see any water-attribute fish?"
Thinking back, that question sounded so stupid. He clarified, "Spirit fish, I mean."
Sheng Feng's eyelid twitched. "Yes, I saw a luminous blue-striped one too."
"Damn. Are you able to see everything?" Sheng Xuan said, "Hold on. Can you see through me too?" He nearly covered his chest and groin but that might bring down his domineering presence, so he did not.
Sheng Feng hurriedly waved her arms around. "No, of course not. What are you saying, Brother Xuan!" The absurdity made it funny to her albeit she did not laugh.
"Just making sure, you never know. I am still a mortal."
Sheng Feng brought the topic back on track. "So, what do you think?"
Sheng Xuan lowered his voice. "You are suggesting we steal?"
Sheng Feng shook her head vigorously. "Never."
"Alright, forget I said that," Sheng Xuan said, "Let's go take a look at the spot first again."
"Sure."
...
The pond was quite large, surrounded by well-kempt short trees. Occasionally patterned multi-colored fishes flew out of the calm blue-green water. They were not the only people here.
A few others took up spot here and there, resting and enjoying the serene scenery. On the signboards, 'no fishing' was written in bold, large red characters.
Sheng Xuan scanned the water for a while. He saw many large spirit fishes with colored patches of white, red, black, yellow, green and more. Some even had golden patterns but lacked luminosity.
Sheng Xuan was not an expert on these, so he was not fully certain. However, materials rich in certain attribute tended to emit a natural glow which he had seen before. He was confident if he saw what she had seen, he would be able to tell.
Sheng Xuan deployed another talisman. Sheng Feng was at a loss for words seeing the extravagance.
"Are you certain you saw a luminous stripe and not something else?"
"Yes, I am certain," she said, staring at him with her bright and clear eyes.
"Do you know how to catch them?" he already had a few ideas himself.
"Uhm..."
"What? Do you want more collateral?" Sheng Xuan said.
"But the bait is really expensive," she said.
"Yes, but if we do get exposed, I can protect you. Is not that what you are banking on?" he calmly said.
"Eh..." Sheng Feng realized he had seen through. It felt like being caught in a lie. Her face turned red.
Sheng Xuan chuckled. "It's alright." He wanted to pat her head but she skipped away.
"No touching," she firmly said.
"Cannot a brother pat his little sister?" Sheng Xuan sighed.
"I am not your little sister," she refuted.
"Okay, okay."
At this moment, Sheng Feng noticed someone from the corner of her eye, inconspicuous among dense thicket.
"That's the caretaker," she pointed with her eyes.
Sheng Xuan glanced in that direction. He had to narrow his eyes to make out the figure in blue robes. There seemed to be someone else beside him.
He strained his eyes to make out the silhouette and blurring features. Realizing who it was, Sheng Xuan was surprised. "Brother Kuo?"
"What could he be doing here?" Sheng Feng murmured suspiciously.