by Tinalynge
He had never really learned how to behave amongst other people, and he genuinely preferred being quiet and just listening to the others talk.
He wanted to know what they had to say; he wanted to listen and learn about them so that he slowly could get an impression of what kind of person they were.
So far, he was able to see that these four people were good people. They had an urge to distinguish themselves in the army, much like himself, and their age was very similar, so they had a lot in common.
Xue Wei ate his fill, drinking the wine and listening to the conversations. The more he listened, the more comfortable he became.
He was no longer on high alert, and he too knew that if he wanted to make things work in the future, then he needed to be good friends with these people.
Tie Haolong was shrewd and calculating, but he was not a bad person. He showed genuine interest in the others’ lives. Although Tie Haolong might have some ulterior motives towards Xue Wei, Xue Wei concluded that even if he were not the nephew of Primordial Beast Hunter Xiao Lei, the former would have behaved the way he was behaving now.
What Tie Haolong truly wished for was to be the leader of their group. If he could lead their group, he would be getting the most honor if their group managed to stand out in the future. However, at the same time, he would also take the blame if they did badly.
Xue Wei was not interested in taking command. He just wanted to fight and distinguish himself so that he, in the future, could become a great Primordial Beast Hunter.
As the night continued, Xiao Jie got drunk from drinking too much wine; Song Yuyan was also slightly drunk, but she quickly switched to fruit juice when she felt that her cheeks were turning flushed; and Gu Dixing, who had never before experienced a feast like this, had drank and eaten so much that he had collapsed under the bench, snoring loudly.
Eventually, only Tie Haolong and Xue Wei were sober, with Song Yuyan to the side. They looked at one another, their eyes clear and their faces both sprouting smiles.
It was clear that now they needed to have a serious talk.
"You are the strongest in the group," Tie Haolong began, and Xue Wei nodded his head. "That I am," he agreed.
"Your personality sucks," Tie Haolong continued, and Xue Wei nodded his head again. "That I cannot argue with," he said.
Tie Haolong was surprised when he heard this reply, but then he burst into laughter.
"I actually have nothing against you," Tie Haolong chuckled. "I respect your strength, your talent, and your fierce fighting style. When you fought in the arena, I was there watching, and I was surprised to see such bloodthirst, such inhumane fighting methods, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this world only has room for the fierce."
"To be honest, I kinda envy you. Your ability to go berserk like this is astonishing. Your talent is heaven-sent, and your special physique is once in a million."
"I fear that you are the kind of person that cannot succumb to anyone, incapable of listening to orders," Tie Haolong continued. "I cannot control you, but I can ride on your coattails and gain fame."
"Our group will, in theory, consist of four people who work together and one person who sweeps through the battlefield like the embodiment of war itself. Killing everywhere he goes and ensuring that no one survives."
Xue Wei said nothing. He knew that he was capable of keeping his killing intent under control, but he also knew that the killing intent was constantly growing and that he needed an increased cultivation base to be able to keep it in check.
Since this was the case, he did not mention anything about the fact that he could, in fact, if needed, fight in a cold, callous way devoid of emotion, much different to his fierce and emotional display from earlier.
"Our group is a group of misfits," Tie Haolong continued. "There is no need to mention you, but if we look at me, my strength lays in planning and preparation. This is great in many situations, but not so much when you are facing a bloody beast horde. Then you need to be able to think on the spot and make difficult situations. I have a wealth of experience from climbing the ranks of my family to back me up as the leader, but truth be told, even I wonder if I am suitable for the role."
Tie Haolong gave a self-mocking smile and shook his head. "Well, either way, I am better than you," he sighed after a bit of thinking, and his conclusion just served to make Xue Wei chuckle. It was true that although Tie Haolong had some faults and shortcomings, but they were much better than the ones Xue Wei had.
"Although you don't speak much, and although you are seriously antisocial and lacking in every aspect when it comes to knowing how to act when being part of a group, you are not a bad person," Tie Haolong said after a bit of silence, and Xue Wei could not help but snort. Was he praising him or insulting him? It was hard to say.
"I dislike you – no, I envy you... but I also revere you, look up to you, and wish to befriend you," Tie Haolong finally said, and then he laughed out loud.
"I must have been drinking more than I thought I had," he muttered after a bit of time, and Xue Wei smiled wryly.
"We can be friends," Xue Wei said after a bit of time. "After all, we have already opened up to each other and shared some wine. We understand one another. Although we are different, we can still be friends."
"Be friends..." Tie Haolong paused after muttering the two words, his mind abuzz with thoughts that only he knew, but slowly a splendid smile grew on his lips. "We can be friends. Of course we can!"
"We start as friends. Fight side by side. Our trust in one another is not something that is built in one day. It is something that we will nurture slowly. All of us will have a brotherly connection for life when the ten years are up. We will face dangers, brave life-and-death situations, but only by relying on each other will we have a chance at survival."
"We are friends from today onwards – so in the future, you can call me brother!" Tie Haolong smiled, and then he swayed a little before his face slammed against the table, his snoring resounding in the hall.
Seeing this, Song Yuyan giggled. She was still slightly tipsy, but it was not so much that she had lost control of herself or in any way had become incapable of separating truth from fantasy.
She had listened in on their conversation casually, and she had been surprised by how frank Tie Haolong had been, yet even more surprised when Xue Wei had acknowledged them as his friends. She understood that this was a great development.
She then looked at Xue Wei who was seated opposite from her and raised her glass. "Xue Wei, my friend, I apologize for not toasting to you with wine, but I fear the prospects of getting drunk. Since this is the case, allow me to give a toast for our newfound friendship with fruit juice!"
Xue Wei said nothing, but a small but warm smile was evident on his lips as he lifted his cup and clinked it against her cup.
"To our newfound friendship!" he too said before emptying the cup in one go and slowly sliding down from the bench, as drunk as the other three men.
"Oh, my." Song Yuyan giggled a little more before sipping her fruit juice and shaking her head in amusement.
Chapter 36 - An Invitation
The following morning, all of them woke up with a headache. They had either been sleeping on the hard ground of the banquet hall or laid across the hard table, so their entire bodies were aching slightly from the uncomfortable positions.
As they awakened, all of them, apart from Xue Wei, had a sheepish expression on their faces. Although Xue Wei felt rather embarrassed too, he did not show it on his face.
Tie Haolong, who now looked very unkempt, with untidy hair and crumpled clothes, cleared his throat.
"Please follow me. I will lead you to the chambers you can use for the next two days until our first deployment as soldiers."
"I imagine that we will not be using our rooms much," Tie Haolong continued, "so I suggest we prepare and tidy ourselves a little before we head out for the Golden Chambers' shop again. Given that a day has passed already,
our armors should be finished by now, yes? I am sure you are all as eager as I am to see the finished product in preparation for the war against the Primordial Beasts and their hordes."
The others nodded their heads. It was obvious that all of them needed to change their clothes and freshen up. Their hair was a mess – strands had loosened from their buns – and framed their faces, and their clothes were wrinkled and not very suitable for them to wear in public.
It was easy to smoothen out the fabric of the fierce beast silk, but although they were capable of doing so, the clothes still reeked of wine and food. They clearly needed to be cleaned.
Xue Wei was led to a small but cozy set of chambers. It had a living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. He headed straight for the bathroom to freshen up, tidy his hair, and wash his face.
He quickly untied the red ribbon that held his hair in position and allowed for all of it to cascade down from the top of his head, after which a smile appeared on his lips.
Xue Wei's hair was long and lush; it was black like a raven's feather and had the same shine to it.
With experienced hands, he once more gathered the hair on top of his head and tied it with another ribbon. This second ribbon was, like the first, made from the same kind of silk as his Fierce Beast robes.
He then stripped out of his clothes and washed himself before he adorned a set of the clothes he had worn when he first entered the capital.
Although they were not made from Fierce Beast silk, they were still better than wearing something that smelled of wine and food.
He then washed the clothes and activated the flame in the clothes itself, watching as the flame danced on top of the fabric. It was hot enough to burn anyone who tried to touch it, but it also made the water dissipate into steam, vanishing into thin air.
Having dried his clothes, Xue Wei was about to change into them again when he decided to keep them for when he was about to march out of the city.
He was likely to be treated to yet another, albeit smaller, feast today too. As a result, it was possible he would end up drunk once more, which would make the clothes smelly again.
Although it was easy to clean them, doing so would also wear down the silk. The more often it was cleaned, the more worn down it would become, especially the silk that Xue Wei had picked that had the element of fire. This element would become destroyed upon too many washes, whereas it would not have mattered if he had picked Fierce Beast silk with a water attribute.
This was also why the water-attribute silk was in higher demand than its fire-type counterpart despite being less luxurious. Fire-type silk was more volatile and could perform better in fights, but it was also more fragile. Most noble-born within the capital wore clothes that had been created from water or ice attributed Fierce Beast silk.
Tie Haolong was like the others; his robes were made from Fierce Beast Silk with the water attribute. The water attribute was not so powerful, but Fierce Beast silk regardless of attribute was a layer of protection by itself. Furthermore, even if the water silk did not grant you the ability to directly attack, its utility in creating water orbs and slowing down the enemy was not to be belittled.
After having freshened up, all of them met outside the Tie Mansion, and Tie Haolong raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw what Xue Wei was wearing. It was not until now that he understood why he had purchased more robes - he simply did not have enough of them so far.
Together, the group made their way towards the Golden Chambers. At the same time, they all chatted with one another. Despite Xue Wei being silent throughout, none of the others felt that the silence was oppressive. Instead, it was comfortable.
Song Yuyan was smiling mysteriously while Tie Haolong walked with light steps and behaved as if there were no problems whatsoever. Becoming friends with Xue Wei was a benefit for both him and his family, and he could not help but feel gratified about how last night's talk had gone.
Xue Wei was the same. He had acknowledged the others in this group as his friends and genuinely viewed them as such. This made him feel warm and fuzzy in his heart. For someone with so few friends, he had now gotten four more.
Although he was not ready to consider them brothers or sisters just yet, even he was looking forward to fighting by their side and one day becoming martial siblings with them.
Without saying anything, Xue Wei vowed to do everything in his power to ensure that no harm came to these four people, that he would do everything in his power to protect them.
This was quite different from Xue Wei's usual thoughts of just improving himself and becoming stronger and stronger. He wanted to display his might to the Wayfarers and get the acknowledgment of Wang Xiaoyun's family, but now he also wished to protect these people.
"Nine years," he muttered to himself. "After nine years, we will become brothers and sisters."
Although he had spoken slowly, his words had been heard by the others, and their hearts blazed with pride.
When they walked down the street, they saw how every citizen of the Inner City would look at them curiously. They heard them talk about the new batch of experts going to the recruitment camp that was about to begin soon, and they also spotted an increasing number of groups of noble-born youngsters a year younger than them streaming into the city.
When they arrived at the Golden Chambers, they found that there was a whole queue outside the entrance; many were here to pick up their armors, while others had come to purchase Fierce Beast silk robes.
Last year, when Xue Wei had come to the capital, there had been a lot of disturbances, and a lot of situations that had caused the entire capital to gossip about what he had done, about his talent and about his special physique. Yet it was different this year.
No high profile figure had emerged from outside of the capital, and everything was rather peaceful.
After picking up their armors and robes, the group went to a restaurant to eat a meal while chatting and discussing their next actions.
"I suggest that we use my family's martial art grounds and have a few bouts against one another. We need to know each other's strengths and shortcomings so that we can assist one another when we are fighting side by side," Tie Haolong suggested, and the others nodded their heads. It was indeed a good idea.
If they wanted to trust in one another, they first needed to know how they fought.
However, just as they returned to the mansion, a flustered servant came looking for them. "Young Master Haolong!" he called out frantically.
"We have been searching for you all over the Inner City!" he complained, but Tie Haolong did not get insulted by this sudden outburst. Instead, he smiled and placed a hand on the servant's shoulder.
"What is wrong?" he asked curiously, and the servant displayed a cushion he had in his hands with a letter on top.
"This came from His Highness the Crown Prince's palace. It was addressed to you, Young Master. We obviously dare not open such important information and could only scurry around the Inner City looking for you."
Tie Haolong's face alternated between excited and worried as he slowly reached out to pick up the letter. He then opened it and read it, and the more he read, the more puzzled he became.
"It is an invitation," he said after a bit of time, "an invitation to join his banquet tomorrow night. It will be our last night in town, and he is hosting a great banquet for the ones who just exited the recruitment camp and also for the young geniuses that are going to enter the recruitment camp this year."
Tie Haolong frowned. "It is not unusual for His Highness the Crown Prince to hold such banquets, but it is the first time I have heard of him inviting both the new and old recruitment camp geniuses. What exactly is he planning?"
Although Tie Haolong was speaking to himself, the others could hear his words and understood that this invitation was no ordinary one.
"Should we join?" Song Yuyan was nervous. If Tie Haolong was not certain as to what the aim was, was there a chance for it to become dangerous?
However, after a bit of time, Tie Haolong's smile returned to his lips and he nodded his head. "We ought to show up," he had made his decision.
"This is His Highness the Crown Prince. If we do not show up, we will be insulting him since he personally sent us an invitation. Also, if we want to know what is going on, the best way to figure it out is to actually participate in the event."
Xue Wei nodded his head. What Tie Haolong said made sense, but he still felt rather odd. As if there was something that he could not fully put his finger on, but he knew something was off.
"Oh well, it is just another banquet," Xue Wei sighed and shook his head as he mocked himself. "Since when have you been afraid of a banquet?" he asked himself, and he understood that no matter what, he had to go and see what was going on.