"It’s me, Boss. Do you remember me?" Du Zhi ran up to Nie Shiyun and pointed at his own face as he asked.
Nie Shiyun never expected that he had met Du Zhi before. Since the other called him "Boss" and was a half-demon, could he have visited the artifact refining shop in Fanhua City? However, many people came and went from his shop; unless they were regulars, it was impossible to remember everyone.
"It was that one time... the time I wanted to buy ink crystals from you..." Du Zhi mentioned the past event. Thinking about how he had been swindled by children of other demon tribes back then, he felt a bit ashamed.
A light bulb went off in Nie Shiyun's head as he finally remembered what had happened.
Although the person before him still had a hint of youthful greenness in his face, at first glance, he looked no different from an adult. During their last meeting in the shop, the boy had clearly still been a child. It wasn't that Nie Shiyun was forgetful, but rather that the physical changes in the demon race as their cultivation rose were truly exaggerated.
Zhai Bairong quietly moved a bit further away, turning his head as if he were indifferent. When he heard the person call Nie Shiyun "Boss," he guessed it was an old acquaintance from Fanhua City. Although he had used some minor illusions to alter his appearance during his travels, he wasn't certain if there was a possibility of being recognized. He had never mentioned to anyone that he had run a shop together with Nie Shiyun in Fanhua City; it would be quite troublesome if that were exposed here.
In truth, when Nie Shiyun met Du Zhi, Zhai Bairong hadn't yet moved into the shop, so his worries were somewhat unnecessary. However, he was always meticulous by nature, and it was normal for him to overthink things.
Seeing that Du Zhi and Nie Shiyun seemed to be old acquaintances and had started chatting while leaving him aside, Duan Mingyu felt a bit uncomfortable. His introduction had been interrupted, and his enthusiasm for helping others cooled down.
"Since you've run into an acquaintance, we'll take our leave first," Duan Mingyu said with a forced smile.
Du Zhi didn't sense Duan Mingyu's displeasure. He nodded and waved at him. "Oh, okay! Thank you so much for just now!"
Seeing him smile so sincerely and warmly yet wave goodbye so decisively, Duan Mingyu couldn't say much. He left with the others.
Even after walking quite a distance, Duan Mingyu still felt a bit dejected, as if a sense of emptiness had washed over him. Seeing this, Xu Yehua curled his lips and said arrogantly, "He's just a half-human, half-demon. He likely hasn't learned any manners. Don't trouble your mind over such a thing."
Duan Mingyu opened his mouth but didn't say anything, nor did he agree. Although he had been neglected by Du Zhi, whom he had just met, he vaguely felt that he should have been able to spend more time with the other. If Nie Shiyun hadn't suddenly appeared, they should have been able to get along very well.
Xu Yehua and Rong Lü both faintly sensed that Duan Mingyu was feeling lost because of a youth he had just met, and they felt a bit sour. In fact, they had felt something was off the moment they met Du Zhi. Thus, when Du Zhi was pulled away, they didn't make things difficult for him despite Duan Mingyu's unhappiness; instead, they felt a bit of secret joy.
On the other side, Nie Shiyun and Du Zhi had no idea what those people were thinking. The two of them walked together while chatting.
Only then did Nie Shiyun learn that Du Zhi hadn't gone to the consignment shop. His trip was merely to find a place to stay. After passing the qualifiers in the morning, he heard that the Pinyin Pavilion provided free accommodation for the rogue cultivators who entered the official tournament, so Du Zhi had excitedly come looking for it.
Thinking about how the disciples of the various sects were all led by guides, while these rogue cultivators had to work hard to pass the qualifiers and then go find their own housing, Nie Shiyun couldn't help but shed a sympathetic tear for them.
He hadn't expected the money he gave the consignment shop owner to go to waste, but since he had run into Du Zhi himself first, Nie Shiyun rarely didn't feel stingy about the money. Instead, he felt his luck was quite good.
"I went back to my village afterward. I asked the elders in the tribe, but they didn't have that many spirit stones... But later, I worked as an assistant to an elder who occasionally made weapons, went out hunting, lived frugally, and slowly saved up money," Du Zhi said with quite a bit of indignation. "Last year, I finally saved up eight thousand spirit stones! I thought that maybe with a discount it would be enough, so I went into the city again, only to find the shop had already closed!"
Nie Shiyun couldn't help but correct him: "...I wouldn't have given a discount."
Ignoring his words, Du Zhi continued, "Eight thousand spirit stones makes me wealthier than most people in the tribe! I heard that the Wolf Tribe's artifact refining techniques have been lost, so I thought I'd just take this money, travel outside, and broaden my horizons."
"So you're from the Wolf Tribe," Nie Shiyun stated calmly. He had known these settings for a long time.
"Yeah, yeah. Ah, but my mother was human," Du Zhi scratched his hair.
On the way, Nie Shiyun showed Du Zhi several items he had previously bought that Du Zhi had crafted, saying he had bought them because he found them interesting. He hadn't expected Du Zhi to be the boy he had met by chance before. Du Zhi was overjoyed. In the eyes of a child from the countryside, Nie Shiyun, who could open an artifact refining shop, was bound to be a very powerful figure. When Nie Shiyun mentioned Yunqing Pavilion, saying there were many people with a similar level to his and that there was even a Sect Leader uncle with a Nascent Soul cultivation, Du Zhi was so shocked his mouth couldn't close.
This time, Nie Shiyun didn't even need to offer conditions like free room and board; Du Zhi proactively said he wanted to go take a look. Nie Shiyun naturally went with the flow and brought him back to Yunqing Pavilion.
Nie Shiyun called his cousin and junior sister over to give Du Zhi a brief introduction to the sect.
Soon, this child who hadn't seen much of the world was marveling repeatedly. Perhaps because he trusted "Boss" Nie Shiyun too much, after just a few words, he proactively asked to join Yunqing Pavilion.
"This..." Nie Xing'an hesitated for a moment. Being an outer disciple wasn't hard, but looking at Nie Shiyun's intent, he wanted the Sect Leader or Nie Li to take this person in. The Sect Leader and Deputy Sect Leader's disciples could be counted on one hand, and Du Zhi's identity was somewhat sensitive—a half-human, half-demon. At this moment, how could they just make such a decision so easily?
Du Zhi's enthusiasm wasn't dampened by Nie Xing'an's hesitation. He patted his chest and said, "Do I also need to participate in some selection? Humans have exams for everything, I understand. I successfully advanced in that qualifier just now, so this should be no problem!"
Nie Shiyun gave Nie Xing'an a look, and the two went outside to discuss.
Qi Xuan'er knew they had business to discuss. As a junior, she naturally wouldn't follow them and stayed in the room to entertain the guest. Qi Xuan'er was introverted and actually a bit afraid of doing this kind of thing, but she felt it wasn't good to not say anything at all. She asked tentatively, "Did you leave your family to come to the human territories alone?"
"I did come alone. But I don't have any family! My mother was from the mortal realm and passed away decades ago. Before she left, my father sent me to the tribesmen and stayed in the mortal realm to accompany her. Then he never came back."
"Ah..." Qi Xuan'er hadn't expected Du Zhi to reveal such a sad background as soon as he spoke, but looking at his expression, he seemed quite relaxed. For a moment, she became awkward all by herself. She said "my condolences" and then fell silent again, unable to follow up.
Fortunately, Du Zhi was quite talkative himself. Back in the demon race, the demon children thought half-demons were strange and didn't really play with him. As a result, now that he had come to the human race, humans all looked at him with strange eyes, and no one had talked to him along the way.
After a while, Nie Shiyun and Nie Xing'an returned, ending the awkwardness in the room.
"Is it okay?" Du Zhi asked excitedly.
Nie Xing'an nodded. "But the formal ceremony will have to wait until the Immortal Cultivation Conference is over and we return to the sect."
Du Zhi was very happy. However, in Nie Shiyun's view, he was clearly the one getting a bargain. Du Zhi hadn't made a name for himself among humans yet, so naturally, no one was interested. But his Single Gold Spirit Root alone was enough to make people salivate, not to mention his talent in artifact refining. Furthermore, as a half-demon, his lifespan was much longer than that of human cultivators; he was bound to achieve great things in the future. Before long, the sects, large and small, asking him to join would line up from the Pinyin Pavilion's gates all the way down the mountain.
Although he and Nie Xing'an had overstepped their authority by making a decision for the sect in advance, who told them it was a family business? The Sect Leader and Deputy Sect Leader were both their masters and their respective fathers. Although they had overstepped for a moment, it was easy to talk things over with family.
With the matter settled, and because Nie Shiyun had moved into a private courtyard, Yunqing Pavilion had a spare spot. Nie Shiyun directly invited Du Zhi to stay at Yunqing Pavilion. Hearing that the accommodation for sect disciples was much better than for rogue cultivators, Du Zhi naturally agreed happily.
Everything went smoothly; the only slightly difficult thing was that Du Zhi still habitually called him "Boss," "Boss." Although it was harmless, it still gave Nie Shiyun quite a headache.
They chatted until dark, until a feeling of dissatisfaction faintly appeared in Nie Shiyun's consciousness through the master-servant contract. Only then did he remember that Meiqiu was still waiting to be fed. Nie Shiyun then stood up to bid the others farewell.
Tomorrow morning, the preliminary match schedule would be announced in the square, and everyone agreed to meet then. Leaving the Yunqing Pavilion courtyard, Nie Shiyun hurriedly rushed down the mountain. Fortunately, the spirit food shop hadn't closed yet, though there weren't many dishes left to choose from. Feeling a bit guilty, he bought more food for Meiqiu than planned and then hurried back to his residence.
He returned to the courtyard and found that the oil lamp in the room was actually lit. A figure could be vaguely seen through the paper window. Nie Shiyun hadn't expected Zhai Bairong to come so early; he had actually kept the other waiting.
Meiqiu, inside the jade pendant, sensed that Nie Shiyun had entered the restriction and finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He poked his head out from the pendant. "Hurry up and take out the food! I've been waiting the whole afternoon—"
"Wait a moment, it's not like you're going to get any less!"
Once Meiqiu's raspy, broken-gong voice started, it couldn't be stopped. Inside the room, Zhai Bairong had been sitting on a chair in the outer room. He couldn't help but take out the Star-Moon Spirit Wood Sword he had carefully looked at this morning and admire it over and over again. Realizing Nie Shiyun had returned but hearing an unfamiliar voice at the same time, he was startled. He thought to himself that perhaps he shouldn't have lit the oil lamp so casually and instinctively wanted to find a place to hide.
Knowing that the person inside would surely be suspicious and uncertain upon hearing Meiqiu's voice, Nie Shiyun immediately informed him through the door, "It's fine, it's my spirit pet."
Zhai Bairong froze, only then stopping his steps toward the inner room. He came over and pushed open the door. He saw Nie Shiyun holding an ink-black bird by the scruff, smiling helplessly at him.
"...A crow?"
Hearing himself being mistaken for a common crow again, Meiqiu kicked his legs in Nie Shiyun's hand in dissatisfaction.
***
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Transmigrated into a Total Shou Novel as a Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up 1v1-ing the Male Lead | Chapter 45 | Recruiting the Half-Demon | Novela.app | Novela.app
