CHAPTER 4 — The Sword's Whisper and the Merchant's Smile
Night had deepened over Northpeak City, yet the lamps outside the Xueyin Merchant Pavilion glowed warmly, casting arcs of gold across the polished stone streets. Inside, the atmosphere was quieter than expected. After the chaos in the courtyard earlier and Elder Wan's suspicious stare, Jason found relief in the muted bustle of clerks reorganizing scrolls, ledgers, and crates of spiritual materials.
Xueyin Pavilion, unlike other trading houses, was refined without being ostentatious. Red sandalwood beams lined the ceiling, and jade ornaments shaped like flowing clouds hung from the support pillars. The faint fragrance of spirit-silk paper filled the air—an expensive scent Jason Wu had no business appreciating. But he exhaled anyway.
"Not bad," the Longwu Sword murmured in his mind. "At least your future wife's place looks prosperous."
Future wife? Jason nearly choked. Stop spouting nonsense! I met her this morning!
"You're welcome."
Jason sighed and walked deeper into the building.
Just then, Xueyin appeared from behind a stack of ledgers, brushing away a loose strand of hair. Her robe today was lighter, a soft pale-blue hue tied delicately at her waist. The lighting made her features almost ethereal. Jason Wu wasn't used to looking at people this beautiful without being asked to pay a viewing fee.
"You're back," she said with a faint smile. "I thought you vanished after the commotion earlier."
"Don't worry," Jason Wu replied, scratching the back of his head. "I'm not good at vanishing. I owe too much money."
Her laugh slipped out before she could stop it, light and soft. "Come. There's something I want to show you."
She led him into a smaller meeting hall, quieter and more intimate. A round table stood at the center, covered with a projection talisman that displayed holographic spiritual patterns. Xueyin tapped the talisman, revealing fluctuating light-screens of market charts, transaction histories, and commodity records.
"This," she said, "is the trade data related to the 'Ironroot Lily.'"
Jason Wu blinked. "You… actually checked it?"
"I run a merchant pavilion," she replied, folding her arms with a satisfied expression. "I check everything."
Longwu Sword hummed in amusement. "Sharp mind. Good taste. Keep this one."
Enough, Jason Wu warned it silently.
Xueyin turned to him. "I've confirmed something: your grandmother wasn't mistaken. The Ironroot Lily doesn't bloom naturally anywhere near Northpeak. Someone is deliberately circulating altered versions of it—ones that imitate the look but not the medicinal properties."
"That would explain why Elder Wan panicked when I mentioned it." Jason Wu leaned closer to the projection. "But why falsify a medicinal herb? What's the gain?"
"Profit," she answered simply. "If you can control the supply and distort the demand, you control the price. And if a powerful sect relies on that herb for healing pills or cultivation materials, manipulating it becomes leverage."
Jason Wu felt his stomach twist. "So someone's trying to pressure the Windward Forge Sect?"
"Or profit from weakening them," she said. "And since you arrived carrying that sword…" She eyed him lightly. "…it seems like trouble follows you."
"Please don't say that like I have a talent for it."
"You do," she replied instantly.
Jason Wu opened his mouth to protest, but before he could speak, the Longwu Sword chuckled in his mind.
"She's not wrong, boy. Our lineage is a beacon for chaotic fate. Your father attracted trouble. Your grandfather practically married trouble. You? You're on track to surpass both."
I didn't ask.
"But you needed to hear it."
Jason Wu pinched the bridge of his nose.
Xueyin, seeing his expression, misunderstood. "Sorry. I didn't mean to overwhelm you."
"No, no…" Jason Wu quickly waved his hands. "It's not you. It's—uh—internal issues."
"A stomach ache?"
"Something like that."
Longwu Sword cackled.
Xueyin suppressed another laugh. "Regardless, there's more." She turned the talisman again, showing a long list of deposits and withdrawals. "Look at the purchase trail. Someone bought large quantities of the forged lily from various regions. And each time, the payment came from the same masked source."
"A single buyer?" Jason Wu narrowed his eyes. "Do we know who?"
"No name," she said. "But the last transaction was routed through Northpeak City. That means the buyer is close."
"Or watching," Longwu Sword added quietly, its tone suddenly more serious. "Be cautious, boy. I sense something familiar… a cunning aura I've encountered before."
Jason Wu tensed. Who?
But the sword didn't answer immediately.
Instead, Xueyin closed the projection talisman and stepped back. "This information is dangerous. If someone is tampering with sect-level resources, they won't appreciate us uncovering it."
"And yet you still investigated?" Jason Wu asked, touched despite himself.
She shrugged. "Someone had to. And… I trust you."
Jason Wu blinked—words he rarely heard.
"…Why?" he asked softly.
Xueyin hesitated, eyes drifting toward the faint glow of the Longwu Sword at his back.
"My intuition," she said finally. "And because when you stood up earlier today, you didn't do it for pride. You did it because someone was being mistreated. That matters."
Heat crept up Jason Wu's neck. "Well… I'm not always that noble."
"No," the sword scoffed. "He's not."
Jason Wu nearly elbowed the blade.
Xueyin smiled gently. "Still, I believe you'll make the right choices. That's enough for now."
A moment of quiet settled between them—unexpectedly comfortable.
Then footsteps echoed outside the hall. A hurried clerk rushed in.
"Miss Xueyin! Someone is demanding to see Jason Wu immediately. He says it concerns the Windward Forge Sect… and that Jason Wu is in grave danger!"
Jason Wu exchanged a quick glance with Xueyin.
Longwu Sword vibrated lightly, its tone darkening.
"It begins."