Simply Trading
/ Simply Trading 76 Xuan Mei & Ling Xi 4
Xuan Mei pulled another bottle out of her basket then, and started to dab the lotion that it contained over the most obvious bruise on Qin Feng's cheek, as she signaled for Lingxi to hold onto his arms. "Make it look as if he is struggling in pain, so it takes the two of us to deal with this medicine. We don't have too much time so we'll have to make this look convincing."
Qin Feng gave out a sharp cry, the moment that she touched his bruise. And jerked back as if in response to the agony that tore at his face. Which was enough to make Xuan Mei smile in appreciation. His acting, it appeared, suited her taste.
"Oh yes! That should do nicely! But you'll have to keep it up for a while. At least until the Elders get here. Ah! Here they are!"
No sooner than those words left her lips, five figures suddenly dropped from the sky. Two of them he recognized without any difficulty. After all, he had just met Elder Ming and Elder Xuan earlier. And there was one other man with a grey-white beard among them who was dressed in a similar over-robe. So he was likely to be an Elder of the Council as well.
There was also a woman lurking behind the others, and Qin Feng didn't have any trouble identifying her as Lady Nu Yuanqing, who ran the Rear Gardens. She was glaring at Lingxi, who was trying hard not to let her agitation show.
The last member of the group was an old man, with his hair and beard a pristine white, who wore a robe of a particular jade green color, that was lined with coils of golden embroidery. And it was obvious, from the deference that the others were showing to him, that he was the most senior of the whole group.
Elder Xuan shocked Qin Feng then, as he took a step forward with an exaggerated expression of surprise the moment that he set eyes on the three young disciples. And his voice also carried the same aura of being caught unawares:
"Huh? Little Mei? What are you doing here, daughter?"
"Father? I heard that Brother Qin had been badly pummeled by ... Well, I was just curious about his injuries and why he was hit by them. So I came over with some of our medicated rubs, so that Sister Lingxi and I could deal with his bruises."
Elder Xuan made a face at her the moment that he heard his daughter's explanation. But Qin Feng didn't miss the twinkle in his eye as he turned to face the other white-haired, white-bearded gentleman in the jade green robe at his back. Nor did he forget to dip into a deep, formal bow in greeting to the same.
From the way that they were deferring to the unknown man, it was clear that he was someone of consequence. And he was nothing more than a lowly Outer Court disciple, handling a minuscule medicine field.
And as it turned out, he wasn't mistaken about the old man's seniority:
"Left Guardian. This is the field that was ... all but destroyed by the girls. As you can see, the medicinal crops have all be gutted. And his humble-looking hut has suffered much damage to its roof. It will definitely take some time to repair that. And it is already close to the Cold Season.
"We should certainly have to claim the forfeit from the ones who wreaked such havoc, rather than putting the responsibility for this on the Outer School disciple in-charge of the fields here. That would be most unfair."
Elder Xuan was quick to point that out, and Qin Feng could see that he had managed to convince the white-haired Left Guardian. Who was nodding his head at the other old man's suggestion.
But he couldn't help but wonder why one of the three most powerful men in the Heaven Sword School was bothering with something as inconsequential like this. Or did this have something to do with the machinations of the Elders' Council? And the clash between Elder Xuan and Elder Nu?
Regardless of that, it seemed he was likely to escape the penalty of losing all of his crops after all! That was certainly something that he was looking forward to!
The Left Guardian didn't waste any time turning on the lone woman in the group either:
"So! It seems the report was not as exaggerated as all that, despite your concerns. Look at the fields! All of the herbs have been destroyed and that means that the boy has no chance of making good his expected harvest for the quarter. How can you say that this is an exaggeration? Given how he has to depend on his contributions to continue his cultivation here, that is a disaster!
"Your disciples have clearly gone too far, Nu Yuanqing!"
The Left Guardian's words drew Qin Feng's eyes to the woman standing about a pace behind the rest. And the quick glance that he shot her way revealed the storm-clouds that were looming in her eyes. But she wasn't looking his way, but glaring at Xuan Mei instead. Clearly, she had the impression that Elder Xuan and his daughter had been responsible for her chiding by the Left Guardian.
Well, Qin Feng was certainly not about to make her change her mind. He was merely a junior disciple, and was in no position to challenge such lofty existences such as the Leading Elder of the Rear Gardens!
Nor did the Left Guardian stop there. He flicked his long sleeves down, making a sharp sound as he turned back to the other members of the Council. And Elder Xuan in particular.
"I see that you daughter is acquainted with the injured disciple, so I think she would be the best person to tabulate all of the damages, and submit it to you. Send that up to me once you have verified it, and we shall take steps to make good his losses."
The he waved his hand, and scowled at the gloomy Nu Yuanqing again. "I think we have seen enough to make up our minds as to what happened here. Take what steps you think necessary, Ming Guanhe. We should take care of our Outer School disciples too, since they are providing a necessary service to our School.
"And we certainly cannot allow fools to run rampant over our Medicine Fields like that!"
* * *
Chapter end
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