Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Just as Ma Kong was about to ask a question the door once more opened and his father stepped through the door. In his hand was a golden memory stone, a memory stone specialized for carrying coins. Handing it to Hui Yue, the young man accepted after which he placed the cultivation boosting stone in the elder man’s outstretched hand.

  The transaction had ended, and both Hui Yue and the family leader were incredibly happy with what they gained. So much so that Hui Yue felt slightly guilty for the high price he had obtained. He had no plans on pushing his friend’s family into poverty, but he understood that the family had an astonishing amount of liquid assets and that they were not poor. Waiting for a short while, Hui Yue knew that Ma Kong had not yet mentioned him forming a faction yet, and he contemplated whether or not he should ask about it now that the family leader was actually there.

  “What is it you two kids want to speak with me about?” The family leader suddenly asked and both Ma Kong and Hui Yue were shocked to hear what he said. Both friends cleared their throats, and although Hui Yue wished to start, he felt it was not his place to be the first to ask. Fortunately, Ma Kong seemed to agree with this, and he took a few steps forward. “Father,” He began, and the older man looked at Hui Yue and Ma Kong with great curiosity.

  “Hui Yue is going to start a new faction within Muchuan City. He currently has the Black Lion on his side, and he wished to have the Black Market Auction House support him as well. He will try his best to be backed by the City Lord and therefore also by Zhan Weisheng.” The older man did not seem surprised as all he did was raise an eyebrow when he heard that Hui Yue planned on working with the City Lord, but after that, he said nothing for quite some time. “What is your goal here? What do you want to achieve?” The older man finally asked, and Ma Kong opened his mouth to answer, only to realize that he had not heard what Hui Yue really wanted either. Looking at the older man, a sinister smile appeared on Hui Yue’s handsome face. His blue eyes turned red as killing intent rushed within him when he remembered Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu’s crying faces. The change was so shocking to Patriarch Ma that he had to take a step back as the fiery killing intent hit him. Reining in his emotions, Hui Yue quickly regained the calm he had before, and his tranquil, blue eyes were now smiling warmly, “I have some issues with the third prince,” He said honestly. “My aim is to ensure that the third prince does not take the throne and preferably I will put him seven feet under ground permanently, very soon. Officially, I just want to make my own faction as I dislike being controlled by others.” Hui Yue was honest as he answered the questions something which the family leader had not expected. Suddenly loud laughter rose from deep within his chest, and he looked at Hui Yue with approving eyes. “Well done!” He said happily, “I never took you for one who would take a blow and stay down. I never did like what that prince did to the Wang and Deng families, but who am I to go against a prince?” He laughed, “He had it coming, and I would gladly support you if it means that he no longer has anything to say, even better if he too dies.”

  Hearing his words Hui Yue was relieved. He knew that speaking the truth was a great risk, but Ma Kong was from Riluo City. Although he had supported the City Lord, he was still friendly with the Deng and Wang families. To see them slaughtered one member after another was obviously very painful, something for which he wanted revenge.

  “Thank you, I’ll send someone over when I’ve found a place to settle into,” Hui Yue said with a small bow to Patriarch Ma, who returned by a small bow to him. The fact that he bowed showed that he was serious about following Hui Yue. Nodding satisfied, Hui Yue excused himself. Ma Kong led him out of his family’s mansion where they both promised to meet again later. Leaving this place, Hui Yue went straight back to the building belonging to the Rong twins to find Cai Jie and tell him what had transpired. He was excited as he looked forward to telling Cai Jie everything which had happened. That the Ma family, the family who owned both the Black Market Auction House and the Black Market Insurance, was willing to back him and his faction. Completely uncertain about why he was looking forward to talking with Cai Jie about these things, he was once more questioning exactly what he knew about the golden man, but he quickly discarded these thoughts.

  Reaching the house he quickly found Deng Wu, who was waiting for him, but it seemed that Wang Ju Long had long since left. She had done everything in her power to avoid Hui Yue after hugging him the first day he came back. Looking at Hui Yue, Deng Wu furrowed his brows, “I think this is the first time I have seen you alone since you returned.” He commented. There was no dissatisfaction in his voice, only curiosity as he stated the facts. Looking around as to ensure that the golden man was truly nowhere to be seen, Deng Wu went a bit closer to Hui Yue, “Is he like us?” He asked with a quiet voice, “You know, does he have one of the divine beasts in his body?”

  Hui Yue shrugged and shook his head, “I really don’t know.” He answered. “I asked Lan Feng, but he feels nothing unusual from him. Either he is great at hiding his strength, or he is even more mysterious than you and me.” Hui Yue paused for some time, “I honestly don’t know much about him, but there is a feeling of brotherhood whenever I look at him; it’s quite odd actually. It might be that he is hiding a beast within him,” Hui Yue agreed, but he was not certain. He felt that he should have noticed the beast, had it truly been there.

  “The Ma family will back us,” Hui Yue said to Deng Wu while he had the chance. “With Gao Yan supporting us we have all the information we need at our disposal, and now alongside one of the most influential, noble families in town we can be considered to have a truly strong foundation. Although their auction house is not the only auction house in town, it is indeed quite renowned. Also, they have the insurance company which has elevated their status far above what it used to be. They are no longer only merchants, but nouveau riche who just recently obtained the status of a nobles I am positive that with their support we will be far better of.”

  Deng Wu nodded his head as he looked around, “I want to help you with anything you need” Deng Wu said seriously, “I can’t live with what he did. I will never be able to move forwards unless I avenge my family. I know it will not bring anyone back, but I will feel better knowing that the man who caused it shared their fate.”

  Hui Yue gently placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Don’t worry.” He said, “I will definitely need your help with this. There is no way I can deal with the third prince without you and Little Dragon. Not to mention we also need Wang Ju Long. This will most likely take quite a bit of time. Our faction needs to gain strength, and we need to find a way to dispose of the third prince without anyone noticing or be so strong that by the time we kill him no one would dare go against us. Much like how no one dared to go against the third prince when he killed the fiance of the first prince.”

  Gratitude was visible in Deng Wu’s eyes, and Hui Yue smiled sadly. Seeing his strong friend who used to be so light-hearted suddenly become so serious and stern, it seemed wrong. “I need to go find Cai Jie now, and afterwards, we’re going out to find a mansion that will suit us. You should come with us; your opinion is valuable to me, and I am not certain how to find a house in this city. Are there any real estate agents here?” Hui Yue said as he went towards the library, Deng Wu following behind him.

  “Real estate agent? What is that? I have no idea what you’re talking about, but buying a house in the city is not too hard.” Scratching his chin for some time, Deng Wu laughed, “Sure. I’ll help you look, but our group is going to draw attention. You alone draw attention but with all of us and our unique hair colors together, well, it’ll be interesting to see everyone’s reactions.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Hui Yue said with a smile on his face. “If anything, it makes people recognize us.We will be remembered like this better than if we looked like everyone else,” He smiled and Deng Wu agreed. “I’ll go fetch Cai Jie. We’ll be back soon,” Hui Yue said as he left Deng Wu and headed towards the small librar
y where he left Cai Jie earlier in the day. Opening the door, Hui Yue was surprised when he saw that the library was empty. The book Cai Jie had been reading earlier was laying on the table. Moving towards it, Hui Yue picked it up to look at it only to realize that it was a book he had read back at the academy. It was a book which contained the poem about the Great Sin. Flipping to the page where he remembered the poem was written down, Hui Yue was astonished to see it was ripped out of the book, and he instantly knew that his friend had taken it and gone somewhere.

  Thinking for a while, Hui Yue went towards the room belonging to Cai Jie, but he was not there either. Shrugging, he figured that the other man had left because he had something important to do. He only hoped that Cai Jie would return later. After not finding Cai Jie he went to the front of the house where Deng Wu was waiting for him, “No Cai Jie?” He asked and Hui Yue shook his head, “No, but we can still go buy a house without him. Hopefully, he doesn’t get lost somewhere.” He grinned, “If he does, I am sure he will stand out wherever he is. I’ll just go ask Gao Yan to help locate him.”

  While they started moving, Deng Wu could not help but think that although Hui Yue knew little about Cai Jie, yet he was still assuming that he would return.

  Chapter 306 - House Hunting

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  Chapter 306: House Hunting

  Hui Yue was curious about where Cai Jie had gone, but deep inside he was confident that his newfound friend would return so instead, he smiled with excitement as he thought about buying a house of his own once again. Setting up a base within Muchuan City, he would have a place where he could train to become stronger. Struggle made one grow stronger and currently he had a lot of struggles ahead of him. His original plan had been to live a low-key life in the capital, but now he knew that this would be impossible.

  To think that all the nobles knew about him being the Grand Marshall of the beast army was something that would make it impossible to be low key. He would have all the families of stature within the city observing his every move, and he could not expect to be able to hide anything. Another reason that he could not be low key was because of Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long. These two friends hoped for Hui Yue to do something about the third prince, and for that reason alone he could not stay unknown.

  “Don’t think too much about us,” Deng Wu said suddenly as he looked at Hui Yue with a smile on his face. “The fact that you have returned is enough for us. Rushing to get revenge will just cause us to fail. I would rather you take things slow and calmly find a way to deal with him. Both Wang Ju Long and I will keep working hard so that we won’t drag you down.”

  “I know, don’t worry,” Hui Yue said with a smile on his face. “Take me to the place where I can purchase a house,” He continued, and Deng Wu nodded his head. Leaving the house, Hui Yue was not getting any less attention walking beside Deng Wu than when he was walking around with Cai Jie. All three of them were oddities, different from the norm, and due to this many were certain that these two people had the blood of magical beasts running through their veins. This caused many to both despise and also fear the two men. The commoners’ fear was present despite them being unaware of Hui Yue’s part in the battle over the Siban Empire.

  Walking through town, Hui Yue enjoyed the peaceful, bustling city around him. No beasts, no fighting, no crusaders. This was a busy city filled with citizens who had their chores, their busy schedules, their work, and their everyday life to live. Being apart of this stressful environment, Hui Yue felt as though he was back home. Although he originated from the small village, he had lived in Hong Kong during his previous life, in a city filled with millions of people. When he moved to Riluo City he felt at home, but after leaving it, he had traveled constantly. This constant travel had made him weary, and to now once more settle down in a city, Hui Yue felt elated.

  “The houses here in Muchuan City are quite expensive. You need to be willing to pay at least a couple hundred spirit coins, but the mansions are far greater than the ones you would see back in Riluo City. When you purchase a home here in Muchuan, you often buy the staff with it. This includes everything from guards to chefs to maids to gardeners. Although you can later choose to change all of it, most people do not bother. It does not matter which maids you want or which guards you buy, all of them will still sell information to Gao Yan. Everyone knows that.” Deng Wu explained as they walked through town, and Hui Yue nodded while hearing this. For him, it was beneficial to have a full staff following the purchase as he could not be bothered to do all that afterwards.

  The walk with Deng Wu was far shorter than when they had gone to the poorer ends of town to find the Black Lion because the building where the houses were sold was located within the high-class housing district. Hui Yue assumed that there were more than one of this kind of shop, but they each specialized in houses in their own district. The house was a massive building built from marble. The first floor had a lot of desks with clerks present. Looking around, Hui Yue was slightly confused. He had expected the place to be filled with images and real estate agents, but instead Deng Wu took him by the arm and led him towards one of these clerks. Around half of them were occupied with customers. Some had memory stones in front of them while others were looking through memory stones the clerks had shown them.

  Heading to one of the desks, Hui Yue looked around everywhere, but he still was somewhat uncertain about what he was expected to do so he just followed behind Deng Wu letting the blue-haired man lead them.

  “Our young lord wishes to purchase a mansion. It needs to be of a certain size and have a first class location. It needs to have gardens which allow for the young lord to train undisturbed and the mansion has to be fully equipped with servants and guards.”

  Looking at Deng Wu, the clerk observed their blue hair and white hair before he gave a snort. It was clear that he saw them as mixed blood; creatures who were not fully human and therefore beneath him. “To purchase something you need to have the coin to back it up. What you requests costs a minimum of three hundred spirit coins. If you can show me that many then I will assist you, but if you are here to just waste my time then please leave instantly.”

  This man was no commoner, but he was no noble either. He was not from a great family; instead, he was a merchant who made a decent living for his family. He had never heard about the Grand Marshall of the beast army. He had never needed to hear about it as he was nothing but a clerk in the house shopping district, but his boss was different and as he patrolled the floor he felt his heart go to his throat as he saw a white-haired young man within his shop. Instantly, he rushed towards the desk, and his eyes turned cold as he saw the contempt on the clerk’s face and the amusement in Hui Yue’s eyes.

  “My lord!” He called out before he reached them, his voice was loud and his arms spread out ready to embrace the two men he saw. Everyone on the first floor went quiet for some time and looked over at the man. Every clerk was surprised to see their boss with such a polite smile on his face. They were surprised to see him show such friendliness when clearly no noble was within the room. They knew about the nobles of Muchuan City, but looking around, all they saw were merchants who had risen to the upper class through their trade. The only ones they did not know were the blue and white-haired young men, ‘Could they be someone important?’ Thought most people sitting around the area.

  “My lords, it is a great honor to see the two of you within my humble store. Is it your intention to settle in Muchuan City? In that case, it will be our honor to help you find the most amazing mansion.” He said, while rubbing his hands and bowing deeply to Hui Yue. As he stood up he noticed that the clerk behind him still had eyes filled with disgust and confusion.

  When Hui Yue’s eyes turned far friendlier than they had been before, the shop owner smiled as he led the young man into his office. This entire scene was witnessed by everyone within the shop, and rumors started to float. Rumors about two humans with mixed blood who had the status of lords, even the Lord of Mansions
, as he was usually called, treated them as such.

  “Please sit down,” The lord said as he gestured towards two chairs in front of his desk and both Hui Yue and Deng Wu sat down eager to hear what exactly he had in mind for the two of them. Having his back turned to them, he started looking through a great many memory stones. Every so often he would pick up one memory stone after another until he had nine in his hands as he moved towards the desk where the two were seated. Placing these memory stones on the table, he gestured for Hui Yue and Deng Wu to look through them, “These are the most amazing properties we have for sale right now,” He said apologetically, “Their price is steep, but they are definitely worth the price. Please have a look.”

  Hearing his words Hui Yue shrugged as he picked up one memory stone and placed it on his forehead. A silvery blue light shone forth, and the pictures, floor plans, lists of the servants and guards was present in his mind. Everything flooded into his mind. This particular mansion was a five story tall mansion with a large park in the back. Within the park were trees, ponds, and normal things one would find at a park. The building itself was fairly old but well maintained. It was built in the pagoda style of years ago that was popular, and the top tier was meant for servants. The fourth and third floor were suites for the owner and their family or guests, while the second floor was filled with libraries, offices, and so on. The ground floor had kitchens, a dining hall, and an entrance hall. All in all, Hui Yue was quite astonished by this building. He liked the location. It was placed on Castle Avenue, the road leading to the royal castle and the park seemed perfect for training. Although Hui Yue was taken in by the mansion, he still wanted to look through the other properties.