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Chapter 64: Lack of Influence
Chapter 64: Lack of Influence
Outside the Martial Arts Academy.
The two emerged from the academy's main entrance and boarded a carriage that had been waiting at the door for some time.
At that very moment, two men who had been keeping watch outside the academy for several days spotted Jiang Ning's appearance and exchanged a glance.
One of them exclaimed excitedly, "We've finally waited for this kid to come out! I'll go inform Master Xu."
"Okay, you go ahead! I'll continue waiting here at the entrance," the other man replied.
Both of these men had a small green snake tattooed on their arms.
Anyone with a bit of knowledge in Luoshui County would recognize the green tattoo as a mark of the infamous Green Snake Gang.
Mingyue Tower.
Cheng Ran, Jiang Ning, and the Elder Zheng that Cheng Ran had mentioned arrived at the entrance of Mingyue Tower.
This was the place where Liu Zhixiang from the Sihe Merchant Guild had invited Cheng Ran for a banquet.
At this moment, upon seeing Cheng Ran's arrival, a man in his thirties immediately approached.
He came before Cheng Ran, slightly bowing and cupping his hands, "Is this Young Master Cheng Ran?"
Cheng Ran nodded, "Yes, it's me."
"Please follow me, Young Master Cheng. My master has been waiting in the private room on the second floor for quite some time," the middle-aged man bowed slightly to show respect.
"Lead the way!" Cheng Ran lifted his leg.
"Yes, sir!" The middle-aged man bowed slightly again.
As he spoke, his gaze momentarily rested on Jiang Ning, but he quickly averted it.
He pondered for a moment, not recalling any memory of a person named Jiang Ning, and thus, he didn't give it much thought.
Knock, knock, knock—
The three of them climbed the stairs to the second floor.
A moment later.
The middle-aged man led Cheng Ran to a private room on the second floor.
Knock, knock, knock—
He raised his hand and knocked on the door of the private room.
"Master, Young Master Cheng has arrived."
As his words fell, a rapid footstep sounded.
In less than two breaths.
The door suddenly swung open.
The person who appeared before Jiang Ning and Cheng Ran was Liu Zhixiang, who had visited the Canglang Martial Arts Academy the day before.
His jaw was adorned with his signature goatee, graying with age, indicating that he was getting on in years.
At this moment, Liu Zhixiang's gaze fell upon Cheng Ran, and his face lit up with joy.
"Please come in, Young Master Cheng! I've been waiting for you here for a long time!" He quickly stepped aside and gestured for Cheng Ran to enter.
Cheng Ran smiled, "Manager Liu, I've brought my junior apprentice brother to the banquet. I hope that's not a problem."
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhixiang's gaze also fell upon Jiang Ning.
After a brief moment of thought, he recognized Jiang Ning's background.
As one of the managers of the Sihe Merchant Guild, he was well aware of the person that the third young master of the Cao family was targeting.
He shook his head repeatedly, "Of course not! Young Master Cheng's presence at the banquet is already a great honor for me. I welcome whoever you bring."
Hearing this, Cheng Ran smiled and turned to Jiang Ning.
"Let's go, Junior Apprentice Brother."
As his words fell, he finally lifted his leg and stepped into the private room.
At the same time.
Liu Zhixiang also spoke to the middle-aged man who had just shown the way, "Go and instruct them to serve the dishes quickly."
Inside the private room.
After Cheng Ran and Jiang Ning took their seats, Liu Zhixiang finally sat down.
As he sat down, his gaze involuntarily fell upon the ebony longsword leaning against the table beside Jiang Ning.
At this moment, the ebony longsword was positioned by Jiang Ning's feet, leaning against the dining table.
He poured a cup of wine for Cheng Ran.
"Young Master Cheng, please have some wine. The dishes will be served shortly."
Then he poured a full cup for the elder named Elder Zheng, sitting next to Cheng Ran.
"Elder Zheng, please try this. It's Mingyue Tower's finest wine!"
As he spoke, Liu Zhixiang was quite respectful.
Because he knew who Elder Zheng was, the man who had single-handedly defeated three ranked martial artists a few years ago.
This man was also the bedrock of the Cheng family's business.
Though he didn't know the man's background, he was aware of his formidable strength.
Cheng Ran's father had once received a great favor from this man, and so he could repay this favor.
After dealing with Elder Zheng, Liu Zhixiang hesitated slightly, but he still poured a full cup of wine and pushed it towards Jiang Ning.
"Please, young brother!"
"Thank you!" Jiang Ning expressed his gratitude.
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Looking at all this, Cheng Ran spoke up, "Manager Liu, let's get straight to the point! I don't like dealing with roundabout matters!"
"That's fine!" Liu Zhixiang immediately took out a folded white paper from his pocket and placed it in front of Cheng Ran, "Young Master Cheng knows what this is about. I won't say more, these are the conditions offered by the Sihe Merchant Guild. Young Master Cheng, feel free to take a look. If there are any issues, we can discuss further."
Cheng Ran opened the white paper that Liu Zhixiang had placed in front of Jiang Ning and took a glance at it before handing it over to Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning also took a look, and after comparing it with the list of resources mentioned in the invitation from Zhou Xing, he secretly shook his head.
The conditions offered by the Sihe Merchant Guild were not as good as those offered by Zhou Xing, only about seven or eight times less.
At this moment—
Cheng Ran also spoke up, "These conditions are not as good as those offered by my senior brother Zhou Xing!"
A smile appeared on Liu Zhixiang's face, "If you're not satisfied with the conditions, we can discuss further!"
Cheng Ran shook his head and slowly said, "I can choose not to discuss the conditions, and I can still accept the conditions offered by the Sihe Merchant Guild!"
"Is that so?" Liu Zhixiang's expression turned serious, and then he revealed a pleased look.
Cheng Ran said, "But I have an additional condition."
"Please, Young Master Cheng, speak!" Liu Zhixiang urged.
Cheng Ran gestured for Liu Zhixiang to look at Jiang Ning, "This is my junior apprentice brother, Jiang Ning, and also my best friend! His talent in martial arts is even greater than mine!"
Liu Zhixiang's gaze fell on Jiang Ning, and upon hearing these words, his expression turned to one of surprise.
Cheng Ran continued, "My additional condition is also simple. The Sihe Merchant Guild will provide another list with the same conditions, and this list will be given to my junior apprentice brother. With these conditions, I will agree to all the terms proposed by the Sihe Merchant Guild!"
Jiang Ning also stood up and said, "If the Sihe Merchant Guild is willing to trust me, I, Jiang Ning, will not disappoint you. One day, I will repay this favor, and I also owe Manager Liu a favor!"
A favor!
Hearing these two words, Liu Zhixiang's heart felt a bit uneasy.
Being targeted by the third young master of the Cao family, what future could there be? The so-called favor was just an empty promise.
He had been in the business world for so many years; how could he believe in Jiang Ning's pie in the sky?
But with all this, he could only hide it in his heart.
At this moment, Liu Zhixiang's expression turned difficult.
"Young Master Cheng, is this not something I can decide?"
"You don't trust me?" Cheng Ran's gaze burned into Liu Zhixiang.
"I naturally believe in what Young Master Cheng says!" Liu Zhixiang spoke, his gaze shifting between Jiang Ning and Cheng Ran, "I also believe in this young brother Jiang Ning's outstanding talent in martial arts. If he weren't so talented, he wouldn't have become Young Master Cheng's friend."
"But..."
"Sigh..." Liu Zhixiang sighed again, "But in the Sihe Merchant Guild, I'm merely a manager, with little influence. My words don't carry much weight, Young Master Cheng!"
"Please forgive me, Young Master Cheng!"
Hearing such an obvious refusal, Cheng Ran's expression darkened, and he immediately became somewhat difficult.
"Manager Liu, in the Sihe Merchant Guild, your words carry little weight. Do you think I, Cheng Ran, am a three-year-old child?"
Cheng Ran suppressed his anger, but in his eyes, Liu Zhixiang's words were like treating him as a three-year-old child.
A manager in a merchant guild, where does such little influence come from?
Such a small investment, he alone had the authority to make this decision.
This made him feel like he had lost all face in front of Jiang Ning.
The next moment, Cheng Ran stood up and flicked his sleeves.
"Junior apprentice brother Jiang, let's go!"
Jiang Ning secretly sighed in his heart, grabbed the invitation, and stood up.
(End of Chapter)
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