Artificers were wealthy and respectable people, and Foundry City was a gathering place of artificers in the circle. Thus, both land and housing prices were extremely expensive.
Unique Pavilion was located on a large plot of land in the most bustling street of Foundry City, the Western Avenue. It was built in the style of a picturesque garden, and from it, one could see the wealth and power of its owner.
To Xia Fei’s surprise, such a famous and enormous store was rather deserted. There were three rows of parking spaces in front of the cinnabar gates, but only two or three small energy cars were parked there. However, there were quite a lot of employees wearing gray uniforms. At least thirty of them were lined up outside of the gates with respectful smiles on their faces.
Yu Hua and Xia Fei got up close, and six sales representatives immediately followed them. They did not say much, simply leading Yu Hua and Xia Fei through the gates, whereupon two graceful young women offered hot towels and tea, making it feel more like they were entering a luxury hotel. No one asked Xia Fei and Yu Hua what they were buying. All of their actions seemed very natural and not at all affected.
“A good trick,” Xia Fei smiled and said. “Businesses often talk about making their guests feel at home, but only a scant few are capable of it. This Unique Pavilion can be considered very experienced when it comes to customer service.”
Yu Hua nodded in agreement to Xia Fei’s words.
In the courtyard of Unique Pavilion, one would be even more inclined to clap their hands in praise. Every tree, plant, blade of grass, and tile was exquisitely placed and selected. Even the cobblestones paving the small lane running through the flowers were separated by less than a millimeter.
From these details, one could see that the owner of the store had pondered human tastes for a long while, and the arrangements were so intricate and fine that one could spend money here happily. It was as if this was the only proper place to spend one’s money.
While admiring the flowers, they arrived at the reception hall, and the entire way, not a single person asked Yu Hua and Xia Fei what they were buying. The employees led Xia Fei and Yu Hua to a large and warm sofa made of velvety material. After serving seven or eight kinds of fruits and snacks and a pot of excellent tea, the six employees withdrew.
Yu Hua and Xia Fei were somewhat bewildered. These people were seemingly in no rush to do business. Was there any business that left its guests alone in the reception hall?
A minute later, a young girl of seventeen or eighteen arrived with two maidservants.
“Honored guest, it was rude of me not to greet you outside. Please accept my apologies,” the young woman said with a smile.
This woman put on no airs, confidently sitting down across from Xia Fei and Yu Hua.
There was naturally nothing to criticize about her appearance or dress. From her bearing, one could instantly tell that she had a wealthy background. No one else could receive guests with such grace and poise.
Bearing was a very interesting thing. One could not just have it even if they wanted it. Without abundant experience, a pretty daughter from a humble family would never be able to become a girl of a wealthy one.
Seeing this girl made Xia Fei suddenly think of Avril. On their first meeting, Avril had still been young, naughty, and unruly. Over the last few years, she had gradually matured, and Avril gradually gained her bearing. It was rather similar to the one possessed by this girl before him. This was because while they both seemed elegant on the surface, there was a streak of mischief in their bones which could be easily noticed through their smiles or the occasional gleams in their eyes.
“This young miss is Mu Qingping, owner of the Unique Pavilion. May I ask your names?”
Xia Fei was startled. This girl had the surname Mu? Did that not mean that she was a member of the Withered Mu family, one of the Nine Great Clans?
The Mu family was famous. To be more precise, they were part of a higher circle than the Yu family, so why had this girl from that clan come all the way here to do business?
It had to be understood that businessmen did not have a high status in the Law Realm. Even Yu Hua had encountered much opposition for becoming a businessman, let alone a girl from the mighty Mu family.
“I did not think that the owner would be so young and beautiful. May I be so old to ask: Since you have the surname Mu, are you a member of the Withered Mu family?” Yu Hua asked.
Mu Qingping nodded. “I am. Where might you two be from?”
Yu Hua replied, “My surname is Yu, Yu Hua. This one is an Elite Law Warrior of our clan, Xia Fei.”
“Oh, so you are of the illustrious Yu family, the most skilled in the art of spatial tears.”
“Miss Mu thinks too highly of us.”
Yu Hua’s introduction had been met with the appropriate decorum, but Xia Fei felt like his name had been met by some disdain. In truth, Mu Qingping could not be blamed for this. While large clans would usually have members with different surnames, these outsider members did not have very high statuses and played unremarkable roles in their respective clans. In these clans which were maintained through blood relations, outsiders would find it very hard to be acknowledged. Mu Qingping considered Xia Fei a bodyguard or servant of the Yu family.
After going talking a big detour, with Yu Hua and Mu Qingping chatting for at least half an hour over meaningless subjects, they finally reached the topic of purchasing weapons.
“I won’t hide it from you. Ninety percent of Unique Pavilion’s weapons came from the Withered Mu family. Although a few other artificers have also sent over their products to put up for sale here, the number is small. Our Withered Mu Clan’s products have never been lacking, be it in terms of function or appearance. In coming to make your purchase, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed,” Mu Qingping rather proudly proclaimed.
Yu Hua firmly nodded. “The Nine Great Clans are the most outstanding families in the circle, so there is naturally nothing that can be criticized about the quality. However, this time, it is not me who has come to make a purchase but rather my little brother Xia Fei here. He is a newly promoted Law Warrior and needs one or two good weapons to protect himself.”
Mu Qingping glanced at Xia Fei with obvious disappointment. How could a newly promoted Law Warrior, who was also an outsider to the Yu family, have any money? If Xia Fei was really strong, he would not be staying in some other person’s family.
Xia Fei frowned. Mu Qingping’s attitude made him uncomfortable. Fortunately, she still kept up the appearance, talking and smiling.
“Gentlemen, please follow me,” Mu Qingping stood up and said.
Passing through the reception hall, they entered the rear garden, a splendid courtyard that was at least fifty acres in size. All kinds of plants vied with one another for beauty here, and it felt like one was standing in the middle of a fairyland.
“This place is Hundred Jade Garden. All of Unique Pavilion’s weapons are kept here.”
Xia Fei followed Mu Qingping’s finger and saw transparent display cabinets amid the flowers. Each cabinet contained a weapon or a set of weapons.
There was a pavilion with reclining chairs set up every one hundred steps so that one could rest, drink tea, and enjoy the view if they felt tired.
By putting display cabinets in a garden, Unique Pavilion could truly be said to possess consummate craftsmanship. By turning the cold process of selecting weapons into an elegant leisure activity, it catered precisely to the tastes of rich scions.
Xia Fei’s eyes brightened. When weapons were placed in front of him, he would not even give the most beautiful woman in the world a second glance. All of his attention was drawn to the display cabinets.
Yu Hua was not planning to buy any weapons this time, so he accompanied Mu Qingping in conversation. In a little while, he had gone some distance away from Xia Fei.
In Mu Qingping’s view, Yu Hua, a Law Emperor of the Yu family, was the true big customer, so she gave Xia Fei the cold shoulder.
“These are all excellent products! Look at that saber; it has law energy that can slice and shatter space, and its appearance is beautiful while its edge is sharp! It’s definitely a high-quality product!” Phantom excitedly said to Xia Fei.
Xia Fei frowned. While the weapons were good, for some reason, Xia Fei felt that they were all flawed in some way. It was as if the weapons were too fancy and too covered in finery, such that they seemed unreliable.
To him, weapons had only one purpose: take the lives of others.
Any sort of gaudiness, which had nothing to do with killing, was simply a burden and had no reason to exist.
Mu Qingping smiled, believing from Xia Fei’s furrowed brows that he had been scared away by the price. She had no idea that Xia Fei was not even thinking about price, looking only for a weapon that suited his tastes.
“Big Brother Xia Fei, this Spatial Lock Cloudheart is a very decent suit of protective armor, possessing the multi-aspect defensive power of the Law of Matter. Level 4 Law Sovereign, and it’s not expensive, only 124 grade 4 crystals.” Mu Qingping came up and made a sales pitch.
She was doing this out of goodwill. In truth, it was impossible to find cheap armor in Unique Pavilion. Xia Fei would only be more disappointed the more he kept looking. She could clearly see that Xia Fei did not come from a wealthy family, so Mu Qingping decided to select a suit of armor, which might be in his price range.
Xia Fei had no idea of Mu Qingping’s good intentions. He directly asked, “What’s the purpose of this cloud-shaped piece of armor on the shoulder?”
“This is a decoration. Don’t you think that adding this piece to the armor makes it very beautiful?”
Xia Fei frowned, insensitively asking, “Can beauty defend me?”
Mu Qingping frowned. “No.”
“What about this golden chain ring at the waist? Is this for defense?”
A vein bulged on Mu Qingping’s forehead, an unkind look surfacing in her eyes. “Not as well.”
“The breastplate mirror has been carved in the shape of a water lily. Does this boost its defense?”
“No.”
Mu Qingping was beginning to lose her patience. As a young lady of the Mu family, she had always grown up in a graceful and noble circle. She had never met someone as shortsighted as Xia Fei. It was as if the only thing that mattered to Xia Fei was practicality. He cared little for whether or not a suit of armor was beautiful or the detailed artistry that adorned it.
“Armor needs to be worn on the body. I trust that there’s no one who doesn’t want to make themselves appear a bit more handsome, so there’s a need for decorations like this,” Mu Qingping indifferently retorted.
Xia Fei calmly replied, “I don’t reject your words, but armor is armor. The first consideration should be protection, not aesthetics. The width of the shoulder has been widened by 0.7 centimeters, which will cause unnecessary obstruction when moving the arm. The breastplate has an odd shape, leaving 19% of the heart unprotected…”
Mu Qingping and Yu Hua were flabbergasted. No one could have imagined that Xia Fei would be able to find a whole host of problems in this seemingly magnificent suit of armor, and he spoke so clearly and logically that there was no way of arguing against him.
These details had been obscured by beauty, but this did not mean that they did not exist. Xia Fei’s sharp eyes had penetrated through the beauty and seen the essence. This sort of observation ability was simply astonishing!
Mu Qingping was unconvinced. For a weapon produced by the mighty Withered Mu to be criticized so thoroughly by a lowly Law Warrior was sheer humiliation!
“What about this one? This Silver Needle Torrent is a top Law Emperor battle armor, Unique Pavilion’s treasure!” Mu Qingping pointed at a half-suit of silver armor and said.
Yu Hua was startled. A top-class Law Emperor battle armor! In other words, this had the defensive power of a level 9 Great Law Emperor! It was the best of the best!
Xia Fei sighed. “The designer of this armor is probably a woman.”
Mu Qingping coldly glared at Xia Fei, clearly dissatisfied. “What does it matter if it’s a woman? Don’t look down on others!”
Xia Fei smiled. “I wasn’t looking down on anyone. On the contrary, from the meticulous design and excellent quality of the armor, I can see that a lot of thought and effort was put into it. Normally, male designers are much cruder and won’t focus so much on the details.”
Mu Qingping became a bit smug, finally feeling that Xia Fei had said something right.
However, before she had much time to bask in this pride, Xia Fei added another comment.
“It should have been a top-class suit of armor; alas, the designer forgot something very important. The waist was designed to be too slim, yet there’s no waist adjuster installed. How many people can actually wear this?”
The garden instantly fell silent. Everyone had somehow failed to notice such a fatal flaw.
This was like the difference between a fashion model and an ordinary person. Clothes on a fashion model were truly gorgeous, but not just anybody could go out wearing them. After all, how many people had the body of a fashion model?
No matter how good this set of armor looked or how great its quality was, nobody could deny that eighty percent of warriors would be unable to wear it, for it was far too demanding on the wearer’s body.
A suit of armor that the vast majority of people could not wear simply could not be described as a top-class suit of armor.
Xia Fei suddenly realized what he had done. He had been so focused that he had said something that he should not have. In fact, Mu Qingping’s face was already turning green!
