Blue Phoenix

Ma Kong and Hui Yue ended up chatting about what Hui Yue had experienced during his travels in the dungeons, and Ma Kong was genuinely surprised to hear about how they lived in caves. About the fact that there was no sky above them, yet still, there were moons and suns, clouds and stars.

Although Hui Yue was usually a bit more quiet about his experiences, he could see how Ma Kong listened with great interest. Although he had heard about it from Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long, he now learned about the Vermillion Bird’s dungeons as well. Although he asked about the subject to keep Hui Yue from being bored, Ma Kong was instantly swept away by his storytelling. He couldn’t help but ask questions and imagine every scene that Hui Yue described. He understood that Hui Yue had a very difficult time during his travels, but all these challenges he had been through tempered his mind and body.

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 library 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.