Lighting Lanterns in the Mountains and Seas

Chapter 653 - 568: For the Sake of Brotherhood

"Damn it," Li Hongjiu wanted to curse, and the way he looked at Shi Chun was odd. The fine wine was turned tasteless by this guy's ramblings.

He originally planned not to fall into the trap no matter what the other party said. But now, if this matter is true, he might not be able to escape this rogue but will likely not escape his master's wrath.

In other words, he might as well face the chop either way.

The problem is, this jerk seemed to have a point. If matters fell into his master's hands, he would indeed miss the chance of unlimited fine wine.

Shi Chun wasn't done and continued persuading, "Brother Jiu, to speak bluntly, you're quite a lazybones. If your master really takes this on, whether you can train this disciple well or not, there's face to be maintained, and your master would need to give an account, right?

Even if it's just for show, he'll have to prod you with a stick to make sure you teach that disciple well. Yet, that disciple of yours lacks cultivation talent, and oh dear, your master's stick might break several times. I remember during the Artifact Refining Competition, I saw your master beating you to death with that stick in front of everyone.

If you follow my way to settle this, it'd be different. You don't even have to take the disciple back home—just let her stay there.

You can teach her however you like, whether she makes progress in cultivation or not won't matter. No one would hold you responsible for not teaching well. Once you finish the wine, you can come over with the excuse of teaching the disciple, when really you're just coming to collect more fine wine back. You can come and go as you please, unfettered. Isn't that ideal?"

He could say that because he really didn't care for Dongliang Ying's cultivation prospects. Someone without a foundation in cultivation, what's the point in training? Instead of wasting time, why not use it to achieve his goals?

Li Hongjiu, who came here completely carefree, was truly silenced this time. His chopsticks stopped moving, the wine was left untouched, and he sat there occasionally casting sideways glances at Shi Chun.

After a long while, under Shi Chun's eager gaze, he slowly said, "So all along, you didn't come to me for my sake, but just happened to bump into something related to me and wanted to take advantage of it, huh?"

Shi Chun sighed, "Brother Jiu, if you want to think that way, there's no point in explaining further. Even so, there's no harm to you, right?"

Li Hongjiu snorted, "I just knew you weren't being so kind. What does this have to do with me liking the rice shop lady?"

Seeing him initiate the inquiry, Shi Chun immediately said, "Well, the rice shop lady is from the Bai Family. The Bais have deep ties with the Phoenix Clan. Some officials of the Phoenix Clan were personally brought up by the Bai family head, and the Goddess on the Divine Mountain is among them. To refine materials for Death Refusing Incense over there, I need an inside helper.

The rice shop lady is the Bai family head's own granddaughter. If I can get her out of a tight spot, won't she owe me a favor?

However, it is indeed difficult to rescue her. But that library maid has connections and she's just looking for you to accept a disciple. I told her you like the rice shop lady, and didn't that rescue the person incidentally?"

"…." Li Hongjiu stared at him, utterly speechless, realizing he was being used thoroughly even before knowing anything, by this scoundrel.

"Of course, to make the act look real, I also told the rice shop lady that you, Li Hongjiu, have been secretly in love with her."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongjiu bared his teeth, "You mean I still have to act out a love-chase?"

Shi Chun quickly waved his hand, "Brother Jiu, you're overthinking. There's no need for such trouble…"

Li Hongjiu just breathed a sigh of relief, when the tone shifted, "She's married. All you'd be doing is making a token appearance, confessing a little, then she'd surely reject you immediately. You'd give up and leave, end of story. It's just a small act to neatly wrap up the situation and then there'd be no more interactions, wouldn't require you to do anything."

Li Hongjiu, incredulous, slowly stood up, with an incensed expression, "Are you even human? Asking me, a closed-door disciple of the Yanbao Sect Master, to confess to a married woman?"

Shi Chun merely spread his hands, "How would anyone know? You'd obviously do it when no one's around. Would you spread rumors about this? She's a married woman, and also the Bai family head's own granddaughter; she knows the weight of her reputation, so she wouldn't gossip about it. I certainly won't, otherwise, Yanbao Sect wouldn't let me go either."

He waved a hand at the wine jar, "Would you walk through the motions for unlimited fine wine or not?"

Li Hongjiu stepped away from the table, pacing back and forth in the hall, grumbling, "You're a piece of work, always setting me up, who knows if what you say is true or false."

Shi Chun immediately got up to defend himself, "Once you get to Chao Yue Hall, you'll naturally know if the disciple situation is true. Just go and make a small confession at the rice shop, let her reject you, then proceed to the library to accept a disciple, just in name. Teach if you want, it's up to you. That's all, without you shouldering any risk. If there's any inconsistency in what you're asked to do, you can immediately walk away. No one can force you, and my actions wouldn't implicate you, so where's the risk?"

Li Hongjiu stood at the threshold, looking out at the courtyard, falling into contemplation.

Shi Chun did not disturb him, allowing him to think it over, as he sat back down, picked up his chopsticks, and heartily ate, slurping his wine on purpose.

Not long after, Li Hongjiu turned and came back, sat down, and huffed, "For the sake of brotherhood, I'll help you this time. But let me make it clear, if I find any discrepancies or the situation gets complicated, don't blame me for walking away immediately."

"Of course not, it's a win-win situation." Shi Chun said as he promptly poured him more wine.

As they clinked glasses, he continued, "I knew Brother Jiu knew the real deal and wouldn't turn a blind eye. You know Wu Jinliang, right? That scoundrel is pure evil, completely self-serving. For this chance to make a buck, do you know what he said? Threatened to expose your mishaps with Thunder Magic if you didn't comply, trying to blackmail you, but I shut him down. How could our friendship be overshadowed by a few Magical Treasures? There'll be more opportunities to rely on you, Brother Jiu. We must think long-term, right?"

This was something he wouldn't bring up lightly at first, as it's blatant blackmail. With Li Hongjiu's shameless ways, it's dubious whether such threats would work.

Now that the other party agreed, it's a must to mention, to prevent easy backpedaling.

Hearing this, Li Hongjiu immediately recalled not being able to bluff Wu Jinliang at the lakeside and being embarrassed with the 'backhand,' sneeringly grunting, "That Wu Hehe is nothing good."

"Forget about him, Brother Jiu, since we've reunited after a long time, let's drink heartily, and when done we'll head to the rice shop…"