novelraw Chapter 48: Master Has Always Been a Smooth Talker
Chapter 48: Master Has Always Been a Smooth Talker
Yu Ye hadn’t expected her Master, Ji Qinglin, to shut down the emotional Little Thunder Duke Lei Qiuyun with just a few righteous and firm words.
But what surprised her even more was that Lei Qiuyun actually called her Master “Teacher.”
Mad Ye: It’s over. Your Master’s got another disciple out there.
After being checked by Ji Qinglin, Lei Qiuyun calmed down a bit and understood her responsibility as Acting President. She turned and gave instructions:
“Have experienced Qi Refiners examine the scene before cleaning up the backyard ruins. Report any suspicious items immediately.”
“Yes.”
Only then did she turn back to Ji Qinglin and say:
“Teacher, I’ll get ready and head back to the hospital with you later. There are a few things I’d like to discuss.”
Ji Qinglin didn’t refuse this time:
“Mm, it’s good that you’ve cooled down.” After Lei Qiuyun left, Yu Ye curiously asked:
“Master, why did she call you Teacher?”
Seeing Yu Ye’s furrowed brows on her little face, Ji Qinglin explained:
“Lei Qiuyun’s pretty diligent in cultivation, but managing a guild is a whole other beast. At first, she was too blunt and reckless, caused a lot of conflict. To help her become more adaptable, Lei Qiong had her work in the General Store for two months to toughen her up. She’s quite humble—calls anyone she learns from ‘Teacher.’ I probably just hit the nail on the head earlier, and she said it out of respect. Why? You jealous?”
“Ah? No way! Disciple’s just curious, that’s all.”
Mad Ye: Tsk, look at her, she knows to call him Teacher. Some people can’t even call him Master with heart.
Yu Ye: Shut up!
Once the three got in the car, Lei Qiuyun, now calm, returned to her composed and elegant self.
“This must be Yu Ye? I’ve heard my father say Teacher took in a fine disciple. You’re just as lovely as he described.”
Yu Ye behaved very sweetly at this moment:
“Nice to meet you, Sister Qiuyun!”
“Teacher, sorry about earlier. I was being hot-headed. You were right—Bangkok’s power dynamics shift constantly. What I need to focus on now is stabilizing the internal forces of Xindong Street Commerce Guild, and not give other factions any openings.”
Ji Qinglin mused:
“I doubt it’ll be that simple. Every guild has spies in place. News of the President’s injury has surely spread. If no one tries to seize this chance to expand, this wouldn’t be Bangkok. But you’re not the same reckless girl as before—got a plan?”
Lei Qiuyun nodded:
“External threats are manageable. Without a pretext, no one will start a fight right away. The real issue is internal stability. Most of the Elders and members are decent folks, but the ones eyeing the President’s position, the fence-sitters waiting to jump ship, and those already bought by other guilds—those are the problems. I’d rather strike first than wait for them to act. I plan to call a meeting with the Elders currently in Xindong Street—use both grace and force to win hearts.”
Ji Qinglin smiled:
“Way better than when you first took over. But applying both grace and force isn’t easy. Grace is fine. As for force—without the President, those loyal but average-strength Elders won’t be enough to intimidate the rest. You’ll need some secret weapon or unexpected show of strength.”
Lei Qiuyun lit up at her Teacher’s suggestion and asked eagerly:
“You mean?”
“Stuff like Zhang sleeping with Li’s wife, or Wang cheating Li in business—dirt like that. Show it, and anyone with skeletons won’t dare to act up.”
A hint of embarrassment crossed Lei Qiuyun’s elegant face:
“Uh… Teacher, you’re still as unorthodox as ever. But I really don’t have any blackmail like that. Do you have any other strategies?”
Ji Qinglin sighed helplessly:
“If it can’t be done cleanly, then we’ve got no other choice. You handle the ‘grace’ part. I’ll take care of the intimidation.”
Lei Qiuyun only knew Ji Qinglin had a knack for handling things. Her father had sent her to the shop for training for that very reason. She didn’t know Ji Qinglin had already reached a high cultivation level, so she assumed he just had some dirt on the other Elders.
Honestly, that seemed right in line with how Teacher operated.
With no better option at the moment, Lei Qiuyun nodded and said:
“Then I’ll have to trouble you, Teacher.”
Yu Ye, meanwhile, had a look of anticipation on her face, thinking: Master’s finally about to make a move. Wonder which unlucky Elder is gonna get wrecked this time.
Though out of danger, President Lei Qiong still hadn’t regained consciousness. His severe injuries meant even if he did wake up, returning to his peak was unlikely. The Commerce Guild was in a state of panic—calming everyone down was now urgent.
The next day at noon, in the conference hall of the Xindong Street Commerce Guild HQ.
The square-shaped meeting room had over ten chairs lined up on each side. Hanging in the front were two characters written by Lei Qiong himself—“Xindong”—while behind them hung a plaque that read “Harmony Brings Wealth.”
Lei Qiuyun didn’t make this a big meeting—she only called the Elders who were based in Xindong Street.
On one hand, things had happened suddenly, and important Elders from out of town couldn’t return in time. And this wasn’t the sort of thing suitable for video conferencing.
On the other, Lei Qiuyun wasn’t fully confident. Though she planned to use both grace and force, keeping the scale small gave her room to maneuver. If things blew up, at least she wasn’t facing the whole guild. She’d still have a chance to recover.
The Elders seated on either side didn’t wait for Acting President Lei Qiuyun to arrive before taking their seats—clearly, they didn’t have much respect for her.
During internal guild meetings, all communication devices were disabled. Each chair was occupied by an Elder, with a disciple behind them.
Ji Qinglin still wore his gray hoodie, but it was tidied neatly by Yu Ye. Yu Ye had her hair up in a bun and wore a plain cultivation robe. She had wanted to wear something more eye-catching, but felt it wouldn’t match her Master’s style, so she changed back. In its simplicity, she looked even more like a mysterious immortal maiden.
That morning, Master and Disciple had even discussed it.
“Master, don’t wear that old thing. Today’s an important day—you should dress up a bit.”
“The President’s out of danger. It’s not a funeral. Why dress so formal?”
“Disciple figures you’ll need to fight someone today to help Lei Qiuyun assert her authority. If you dress too plain, how will you blind their dog eyes?”
“Pfft, you’re calling a fight ‘an important day’?”
In the end, she couldn’t change his mind, and he wore what he wanted. But he did agree to let her pick next time.
Ji Qinglin and Yu Ye casually took seats at the far end of the table. The other Elders barely glanced at them. Aside from a few nods, no one greeted them.
Closest to Acting President Lei Qiuyun sat Elder Yu Jizi of Zilong Peak. He looked forty or fifty, wore a purple cultivation robe patterned with binary 01s, and had a gray-white mechanical left arm. Behind him stood Ji Congliang.
When Ji Congliang saw Ji Qinglin and Yu Ye arrive, his brows knitted tight.
These days, he’d told quite a few people that Ji Qinglin might be the Commerce Guild’s hidden protector, but no one believed him. Even his Master Yu Jizi said he was delusional—after all, Yu Jizi had known Ji Qinglin longer.
Once everyone had arrived, Lei Qiuyun raised her voice:
“I’m sure you’re all aware of what’s happened to my family lately. My father is seriously injured and still unconscious. No doubt the other powers in Bangkok are eyeing us like wolves. I’ve invited you all here today in hopes that we can unite, contribute ideas, and get through this crisis together.”
Hearing this, the Elders had mixed expressions—some confused, some regretful, some sneering.
A few Elders who had already considered jumping ship had even discussed privately that they’d stir things up at the meeting—talk up the benefits of other guilds and the challenges ahead, laying groundwork for their eventual exit without getting a bad name.
They exchanged glances. Elder Hong Sanshui from Hongyun Fisheries was just about to stand up.
*Smack*—
A loud sound echoed from the end of the table as Ji Qinglin slammed the table and stood.
“President, that’s far too distant a way to speak! We’ve all received deep kindness from President Lei Qiong and have no way to repay it. Now that the Guild is facing this crisis, do you really think we’d praise other factions and commit such beastly acts of betrayal, worse than pigs and dogs?”
Elder Hong Sanshui, halfway out of his seat, turned back to look at Ji Qinglin. His face flushed red. He clenched his jaw and, in the end, sat back down.