"Please step up."
Jin Wangsun and Tang Ye stepped forth in unison. "Your subject is ready."
Jin Wangsun glared at Tang Ye through the corner of his eye. His grudge with Ming Feizhen in their fight for the Princess was a grudge no doubt, but his biggest grudge was with Tang Ye thanks to his relationship with Huo Qing'er. He stole the man's fiancée. But it didn't end there. He then had the audacity to send his own men to Jin Wangsun's abode to keep him under surveillance, robbing the man of any semblance of freedom. Jin Wangsun hated Tang Ye to the very core. At most, Ming Feizhen got on his nerves. Tang Ye, however, was who Jin Wangsun perceived to be the blood debtor.
Gnashing his teeth, Jin Wangsun declared, "Once this is over, I'll reduce you to dust!"
Without sparing him a look, Tang Ye responded, "I have yet to settle the score with you for hitting Miss Qing'er. If it's a fight you want, I'll give you one."
The two exchanged glares. Sparks began to form between the two as they fired their rage at each other.
Hongjiu strutted in at the perfect moment and broke the two up. Golden armour guards were tasked with maintaining security and order at Wuying Hall. However, due to the level of skill of the two individuals at each other's throats, nobody volunteered for the death wish. To their astonishment, though, someone was actually brave enough to get in between the two.
Truthfully, the Emperor had no idea why Jin Wangsun and Tang Ye were so hostile with each other. He assumed that Tang Ye was standing up for his good friend, Ming Feizhen. Nevertheless, acting on personal grudges in Wuying Hall was inappropriate. As he watched Hongjiu separate the two, he stroked his beard and said to himself, "When it comes down to it, my guards are still the most sensible. Who is he? I must reward him after this."
The other golden armour guards looked over feeling envious. At the same time, they regretted and reproached themselves for lacking the courage to take those few steps forward.
Hongjiu didn't stop after he separated the two. He made sure to insult Jin Wangsun while he was at it. "Shut up. Shut up! If you've got a grudge, bring out the goods to settle it. Why are you so damn clingy? Did he steal your wife?"
Jin Wangsun thundered, "Hongjiu, our score has yet to be settled. You led your men in the assault on my Gold and Silver Sect. I'm telling you, we have a grudge."
"Whoa! What's your horoscope? Crazy dog? Why are you biting everyone in sight? Like I said, if you're so tough, bring out the goods. Is yours as good as my senior brother's?"
"Bring it on, then! Hmph!" declared Jin Wangsun, before taking off.
Jin Wangsun told A Hu to bring out a golden container that wasn't very big. The container was made from genuine gold, making it extremely valuable.
Hongjiu felt a sense of uncertainty. He went to Jiangnan to eliminate Gold and Silver Sect, and then rushed back through the night, so he wasn't sure what Ming Feizhen brought back. He, therefore, scuffled over to Tang Ye and spoke using ventriloquism. "Tang Boy… will our item suffice? Judging from Jin Dagang's demeanour, I think he might really have some good stuff."
Tang Ye found himself in a dilemma. "You don't know, either?"
"Huh?" exclaimed Hongjiu, turning to face Tang Ye. He was totally stupefied. "You mean to tell me that you don't know, either?"
"I don't!" said Tang Ye, voice muffled. "You're from the same school, yet you don't know?"
Hongjiu looked somewhat pleased with himself. "So you don't know, either, huh? I guess Senior Brother doesn't play favourites. I see he remembers old dogs, I meant old friends, after finding himself new friends. Wait. If we don't even know… aren't we pretty much screwed?"
Tang Ye and Hongjiu looked down to view the black container in Tang Ye's hand.
The black container didn't stand out. It wasn't made from gold or timber. Its material was a question mark, but it was cold to the touch. Holding it was comparable to holding a block of ice. It was only thanks to his training with Yang Blood True Qi that Tang Ye was actually able to withstand the cold sensation. In short, the black container was ordinary in appearance, but had unique qualities, thereby qualifying it as something not to be underestimated.
Hongjiu touched his chin and mumbled, "Eh? Isn't this the weapon container I gave Senior Brother? Why did you bring it here?"
Hongjiu's complexion suddenly changed. He lowered his volume. "I-Is this what we're submitting? Has Senior Brother lost his mind?! Why is he being so generous?!"
Curious, Tang Ye asked, "What's the matter? Do you know what's inside? Big Brother said to use it. Is it valuable?"
"You bet it is," answered Hongjiu, as he wiped his sweat on his forehead. His complexion turned pale. "Besides creating one's own new style on Stirring Dreams Rainy Skies Peak, they must also place a unique and precious treasure in Vast Sea Submerged Pearl Hall. Grandmaster left half of the Founding Emperor's imperial jade seal. My shifu left behind the Demon Sect's Spring Rain Windy Nights Painting. This black container holds the item my senior brother intends to leave at Vast Sea Submerged Pearl Hall!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't you think the two items you just mentioned are too frightening to even think about?!! Also, why would Big Brother have to leave a treasure in your treasure storage as previous patriarchs of Mount Daluo did?"
"Don't you see how wise and peerless my senior brother is? Why would it be surprising for him to be a patriarch?" rhetorically asked Hongjiu, scanning left and right. Voice quiet, he added, "But this thing's value… is on par with the other two if not more valuable."
Tang Ye suddenly found himself speechless. He focused his gaze on the black container in his hand. The very thought of its significance had him break into a cold sweat. He did give the container a shake before to try and figure out what was inside by its sound, but he couldn't hear anything.
"Don't tell me it's broken…" pleaded Tang Ye, in his mind. "Are you saying that whatever is in this container… is worth the value of those other two items?"
"In terms of rareness, that might even be rarer than the other two."
Tang Ye began to worry. "Wh-What exactly is this?"
Hongjiu muffled his voice to respond. "This can be used as a weapon, medicine, armour and even as a catalyst for qinggong. It's impregnable to fire and water. Iron can't break it. It is the toughest… silk thread in the world."
"Silk thread?" asked Tang Ye, eyes narrowed. He tapped the container. "Your Majesty, your subject is ready to make a submission!"
"Hey! Don't give him that! It's too valuable to offer!"
Jin Wangsun jumped in before they could come to a conclusion. "Your Majesty, your subject is already ready. Please take a look at Wangsun's first."
With a laugh, the Emperor replied, "It matters not whether I look at yours first or after. However, as you are already ready, I shall examine yours first."
Hongjiu wished he could slap Tang Ye. Sounding aggressive, he exclaimed, "You bastard! You realise it's worth more than the entirety of Mount Daluo put together?! If Shifu finds out you gave it to the imperial court, he'll rob the national treasury!"
"It's just a silk thread, big deal."
"You don't know shit!" aggressively exclaimed Hongjiu. "It isn't an ordinary silk; it's Celestial Spider Silk!"
Tang Ye was confused. "Celestial Spider?"
"You ignorant brat, you don't even know Celestial Spider Silk? Listen up: in a mountain far, far away, there's an insect called Snow Spirit Spider."
"Oh! You're talking about the ultra-rare type of spider that has snowflake marks on it, has a unique body that's extremely cold, born ten thousand miles deep in the ground, found at the peak of Heavenly Mountain located in the far Northwest? I heard that the spider grows up in Heavenly Mountain's snow and gold, thereby reinforcing its silk to the point that it's tougher than iron. Apparently, adding it to an ordinary weapon would turn it into a super weapon. It is easily an item those in metal and iron work would dream of having. However, due to snow spirit spiders only being found at the peak of Heavenly Mountain, not to mention living together in groups, it's apparently inconceivably difficult to obtain."
"How do you know even more than me…?"
Tang Ye calmly answered, "I once trained at Kunlun, which is also located in the cold area in the Northwest. Therefore, it's a given that I heard about the legendary rumours on Heavenly Mountain. Snow spirit spiders are renowned in legends for their aggression.
Tang Ye took another look at the black container in his hand. "They are basically as famous Snow Spirit Spider Silk."
Glossary
*Old friends and new friends – Because of the Chinese phrasing, Hongjiu got the word wrong due to the slight similarity in pronunciation. It's lost in translation.
** Crazy Dog Horoscope – It’s the thirteenth zodiac, albeit pending patent. In other words, Hongjiu made it up to use as an insult.
***The spider's explanation is deliberately written in a wordy manner to capture the original speech. Fun to read in Chinese for ridiculous level trolling, but not so much to translate.
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