Painting of the Nine Immortals

“Sorry, I came uninvited. I hope a grandmaster can forgive- Eh? Grandmaster?”

Looking at the obviously not old man before him, Dong Fang Bi froze.

He originally believed that the person who was capable of achieving such a task must be a knowledgeable master of crafts. Therefore, the moment he walked in, he made a very kind statement.

However, after seeing how young Ling Xian was, his originally respectable sentence turned into a question.

Grandmaster?

What kind of grandmaster is this young?

Dong Fang Bi wasn’t certain. He froze where he was and he wasn’t sure what to say.

Ling Xian was a little startled as well. However, he quickly frowned at this.

The reason why he paid for a solo room was that nobody could interrupt him and so nobody could see him. Yet in bright daylight, someone pushed open the door and entered. Naturally, he was angered at this.

Therefore, he squinted and said in a cold voice, “Who are you? Don’t you know the rules? Don’t you know to knock first?”

“Sorry, sorry, I have been rude.”

Dong Fang Bi snapped back from his daze. He quickly paid his respect and his expression was regretful.

He felt like Ling Xian was far too young and he was very confused. But before barging in, he made sure to check that the person who did the mission was inside this room.

And there was only Ling Xian inside this room. Therefore, despite his disbelief, he didn’t dare to behave erratically.

After all, a mission he assigned for so many years was completed by the person before him. Of course, he was thankful.

“It seems like your position is rather high for you to overlook all the rules in this place. You barged right in.” Ling Xian frowned and said, “Speak, why are you here?”

“I am Dong Fang Bi. I am an Elder from the Path of Crafts and I am the assignor of the mission.” Dong Fang Bi had a bright smile on his face as he introduced himself.

“I see how it is.”

Ling Xian’s brows relaxed and figured out the intention of this person. “Now that I have completed the mission, I don’t believe there is a reason for you to seek me out.”

“I am here to thank you. Of course, I also have some questions that I want to discuss with you.” Dong Fang Bi continued to smile and looked rather sorry. He was not at all behaving with the sternness he normally exudes.

One, it was because Ling Xian fulfilled the wish he had for many years. Two, he thought Ling Xian was very profound with crafts, which meant he had to act less arrogant.

“There is no need to thank me. You assigned a mission, I accepted it. It was a trade.”

Ling Xian brandished his hand, “But, aren’t you being a little too petty? As an elder of the Path of Crafts, you only rewarded 100 contribution points? It was for a mission that was difficult too.”

Hearing this, Dong Fang Bi blushed and felt embarrassed.

Just like Ling Xian had said. This was a difficult mission and 100 contribution points were far too little. Plus, his position was an elder of the Path of Crafts, therefore he looked rather cheap.

“As for discussing it… there’s really no need.”

Ling Xian spoke softly and didn’t want to waste too many words with this person. “As an elder of the Path of Crafts, your skills with crafts must be extraordinary. Meanwhile, I am merely a nameless young pupil. Where do I find the right to discuss with you?”

“Grandmaster, you are being too humble. To be able to complete this somewhat impossible mission has proven your extraordinariness.” Dong Fang Bi flattered.

There was a lot of areas about the design that he didn’t really understand. Plus, he wanted to thank Ling Xian. This was why he decided to break the rule and barge in here.

Though after realizing how young Ling Xian was, he was very suspicious. He still truly desired to talk to Ling Xian and discuss all the questions he had with crafts.

“Grandmaster? Extraordinary?”

Ling Xian shook his head, chuckling. How smart was he? When Dong Fang Bi made the questioning statement, he knew that this elder was not trusting him.

This was why he felt too lazy to talk to this person.

“I cannot be titled as grandmaster. As for discussions… you should find others.”

After this, Ling Xian lifted his legs to walk away.

At this, Dong Fang Bi became hasty. He quickly opened his lips to reverse the situation, “Wait a minute. I truly wanted to discuss some matters with you. Please give me a chance.”

“Truly want to discuss?”

Ling Xian stopped his steps and lectured, “If you ask someone for a favor, you need to present yourself with the correct attitude. From you, I see no such attitude.”

Hearing this, Dong Fang Bi frowned. But very quickly, his anger turned into helplessness.

If anyone else was talking to him in such a manner, he would’ve slapped them. But he couldn’t do that to Ling Xian.

Plus, it was rude for him to just push open the door and barge in.

Therefore, Dong Fang Bi chuckled bitterly, “I am sorry. It was my fault. I apologize.”

“That’s better.”

Ling Xian had a faint smile on his face, “However, I have no time to talk about this with you. Please find someone else.”

Then, he began to walk on. Just as he arrived by the door, however, Dong Fang Bi made a statement that stopped him.

“Grandmaster, please wait. If you are willing to discuss with me, I am willing to pay with contribution points.”

At this, Ling Xian’s eyes brightened. Contribution points were what he needed the most. Since Dong Fang Bi was willing to pay him with them, then, of course, he would be interested.”

Seeing how his footsteps stopped, Dong Fang Bi sighed in relief.

Before coming here, he already learned about Ling Xian completing 200 missions. Therefore, he had a guess.

Ling Xian hastily needed contribution points.

Though this guess may not necessarily be correct, it was worth a shot. What was happening now had confirmed that his guess was correct.

This made him excited, but somewhat helpless.

Excited because he stopped Ling Xian and gained an opportunity to exchange knowledge with him. Helpless was because he was an elder of the Path of Crafts and yet he had to resort to paying others in order to talk crafts with someone.

“I like your suggestion.”

Ling Xian smiled and turned around to look at the elder. He teased, “I am just not sure how much contribution points you are willing to give? My time is precious.”

Dong Fang Bi bitterly smiled. After a pause, he answered, “how about 100 contributions per hour.”

“Too little.” Ling Xian sharply responded with two words.

“Then… 200 per hour?” Dong Fang Bi tested.

“Still too little.”

Ling Xian shook his head. His expression remained calm and nobody could tell if he was happy or angry. The reality was that he was ecstatic.

The price of 200 contribution points per hour was a decent price. It was also an easy task. All he needed to do was to sit and chat.

Though he wouldn’t be earning these points as fast as he earned them when completing missions, he had no missions to do. Therefore, he was happy with this deal.

Despite this, he remained unmoving. He wanted to raise the price.

The person before him was an elder after all. He must’ve been wealthy. If he didn’t try and rip him off, then it would be a humiliation to the elder’s position.

“Two hundred is still too low?”

Dong Fang Bi wasn’t sure if he should cry or laugh. He gritted his teeth and announced, “Five hundred! That is the highest price I can offer. If you are still not satisfied, then there is nothing I can do.”

“Five hundred…”

Ling Xian was exhilarated. However, his facial expression was without energy, “Oh well, since you seem to truly want to do this, then we will do 500. I am the one losing here.”

The one losing?

What the h3ll! Five hundred an hour can’t even satisfy you? No grandmaster takes such a high fee!

Dong Fang Bi was cursing inside his mind but he remained helpless.

He truly had many questions he wanted to discuss with Ling Xian. Therefore, he accepted being ripped off.

“Thank you, master.”

Dong Fang Bi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He felt like this whole thing was ridiculous.

Don’t forget, he was an elder of the Path of Crafts. Both in terms of position or knowledge, he was the leader of crafts in the land of the Shang Qing Sect!

No matter when he wanted to talk, he didn’t even need to speak and people would climb up his legs. Yet because he wanted to have a chat with Ling Xian, he had to downplay his position and had to pay the high price of 500 contribution points per hour!

How ridiculous was this!

This was unimaginable!

Yet this impossible thing was actually happening. He naturally wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

“Alright, since you are giving up 500 points per hour, then let’s not waste any time. We will start the timer now.” Ling Xian said in a low voice. He then sat down onto the chair, feeling satisfied.

To charge a fee per hour was not a rare occurrence here. Some cultivators, who had a lot of spiritual stones, would pay by the hour just to chat with senior cultivators in order to acquire some tips.

However, these type of things only happened to the almighty.

Ling Xian did not think that one day, he would also be charging by the hour. The one who needed help was also a crafts master in such a high position!

“Then, I will speak of my questions.”

Dong Fang Bi had a grin on his face, thinking that this 500 points cannot just go to waste. Therefore, he asked a series of 7 questions.

They were all targeted towards the design and targeted towards how to raise the defense abilities of a ninth realm craft to one of the eighth realms.

“You sure are comfortable.”

Ling Xian grinned. But he understood that since he took his payment, he had to help this person solve all his problems. Therefore, after taking a short pause, he answered all these seven questions one by one.

If Dong Fang Bi was discussing traditional craftsmanship with him, then, of course, he wouldn’t be able to answer a single one of his questions. However, about this mission, he had a few things to say.

After listening to Ling Xian’s explanations, Dong Fang Bi’s eyes brightened. Then, his aged and murky eyes turned brighter and his way of thinking cleared.

All of his questions were being solved by Ling Xian and he suddenly felt like this 500 contribution points were all worth it.

Then, Dong Fang Bi asked a few more questions. This time, it wasn’t just about the mission itself, it was broader.

And Ling Xian, just like before, began to answer after thinking for just a few moments.

This made Dong Fang Bi’s eyes shine even brighter. He really felt like these 500 contribution points spent was far too worth.

Just like that, He and Ling Xian sat facing each other and discussed.

One was in charge of asking, and the other in charge of solving. The atmosphere was friendly and cohesive as if the only thing wrong here was that they should’ve met sooner.