Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 328 - 65: Intellectual Suppression!

The young secretary Yi, while presenting the check, was keenly observing the other’s reaction, and unsurprisingly saw a hint of temptation in the other’s eyes.

As a promising young man who had just graduated from the Outer Courtyard and was fortunate enough to be assigned to the City Lord’s Mansion as the secretary to the Deputy City Lord, Secretary Yi had very good work habits—preparation in advance. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

No matter how tight time is, preparation must be made as thoroughly and as possibly as possible.

On the way from the City Lord’s Mansion to the Divine Sword Tower, Secretary Yi quickly crammed as much information as possible about Shen Qingming and others.

Li Fengyun and Shen Yue’e’s daughter once became an outlier of the Li Family Mansion, living in isolation in the Shen Garden, a mountain stronghold in Cyan Cloud City. Later, under the guidance of the Li Family’s mysterious Honored Guest Elder Wang Jiu, she rose rapidly to fame, known as the idol Spirit Cat in Cyan Cloud City. Then, at the tender age of fourteen, with Wind-Rising Realm cultivation level, she won the championship of the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition, making her famous throughout the world, at the same time causing the authority of the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition to be questioned once again...

Couple that with the commotion these people caused upon entering Shen City, it all adds up to a worthy adversary to be treated seriously. Since the opponent has clearly expressed the desire not to participate in the Outer Sect Grand Competition, to persuade her to change this decision, Shen Family must show sincerity.

And the sum of ten thousand Spirit Stones, was the amount Secretary Yi independently decided to offer as sincerity. For most cultivators, ten thousand Spirit Stones is considered an astronomical figure, enough to buy a nice property in the expensive districts of Shen City and successfully marry a fair little bride from the outskirts...

With the City Lord’s Mansion’s consistent frugal practical approach, this number is rather extravagant and even exceeds Secretary Yi’s authority, but Secretary Yi fully considered the idol status of the other party, her profession of singing, dancing, and acting cute often resulting in large rewards. Offering too little sincerity might instead upset her. And compared to temporary unauthorized conduct, failing this task would be the real problem.

Now it appears, this move was the correct one.

At the same time, Shen Qingming remained silent, while Li Chaolu, Li Xinyu, and others showed signs of being moved.

A check for ten thousand Spirit Stones, along with the promised policy favors, and a final victory promise that sounds very much like a hint at black-box operation.

Indeed, the conditions sound quite favorable...

However, moments later, Shen Qingming let out a light laugh, tilting her head slightly, and said to the people behind her.

"Ah Jiu, do you know what I just remembered?"

Wang Jiu, having a mental connection with Shen Qingming through their Master-Servant Contract, certainly knew what the girl was thinking.

"With these ten thousand Spirit Stones, you can buy new skirts..."

"Not that part!" Shen Qingming said, embarrassed and annoyed, "Can’t you see anything else?! I meant to say, these ten thousand Spirit Stones reminded me of that ’Congratulations on winning a select general, with a prize of one Apou multifunctional Flying Sword valued at 12,800 Spirit Stones and cash of 10,000 Spirit Stones, please come to XXX to claim it’ scam advertisement! Offering unsolicited kindness is either treacherous or theft!"

Wang Jiu said: "Ah, back when you saw that advertisement on flyers, you also thought with ten thousand Spirit Stones you could buy new skirts..."

Shen Qingming stomped and said: "What’s wrong with girls buying skirts?!"

Wang Jiu wondered: "Nothing wrong, so why are you upset?"

"I..." Shen Qingming was thinking at the time that the Celestial Divine Sword, supposed to save the world, is behaving like this, surely it was beaten silly by the Great Demon God Emperor back in the day!

Secretary Yi listened on the side with cold sweat streaming: "Um, Miss Qingming, you’re mistaken, there really isn’t any fraud involved, we sincerely invite you to participate in the Outer Sect Grand Competition."

Shen Qingming sneered: "Don’t all scammers say this? When they bait, they are eager to show their mind, liver, and lungs. If I believed such nonsense, wouldn’t people laugh at my intelligence level even more?"

Wang Jiu kindly pointed out: "The use of ’more’ here is inappropriate..."

"Nobody could tell if you hadn’t pointed it out!" Shen Qingming got upset again, then turned her head to Secretary Yi and said, "So please go back, don’t delay us returning home."

Secretary Yi was not willing to give up. As a workplace rookie, he knew that right now, this is absolutely the key point for whether his future career can soar.

Also being a graduate from the Outer Courtyard, starting from grassroots in Shen City, some can transcend limitations of origins and cultivation, eventually reaching the high levels of Shen City, while others despite having good backgrounds and cultivation end up with idle, insignificant roles. The difference lies in whether one can seize opportunities.

Secretary Yi had not been working for long, and above him was another secretary of greater seniority and better background, Secretary Jia. To replace that predecessor and become the Deputy City Lord’s Secretary Jia, he must demonstrate his work ability to the Deputy City Lord, especially the ability to handle such tough tasks!

In an instant, Secretary Yi’s thoughts turned swiftly, and just as Shen Qingming was about to turn around to call her companions to leave, Secretary Yi used a Heart Seal to contact Shen Jinghai.

"Lord Jinghai, I need more authorization."

Shen Jinghai swiftly replied: "What? Ten thousand Spirit Stones are not enough? How much do you need?"

Secretary Yi made a bold demand: "Please authorize me an amount of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones."

One hundred thousand Spirit Stones, that’s equivalent to the reserve value of some small Spirit Stone mines in remote areas, so even Shen Jinghai had to inquire further.

"Such a large expenditure, especially handing it over to the Li Family in an almost bribing manner, how do you plan to explain this later?"

Secretary Yi brainstormed and said: "We are doing this for fairness! Shen Qingming and others are from Cyan Cloud City, the education and foundation for cultivation they received since young are neither comparable to ours of the Shen Family. To allow them to compete fairly with our fine sons of the Shen Family on the same starting line, they must be provided with certain subsidies. Just like, back when Shen City allied with nearby ethnic groups and Spirit Monsters, there were extra points for ethnic groups in the recruitment for some official positions."

"I see, for fairness, so we use one hundred thousand Spirit Stones to buy over the Li Family..." Shen Jinghai softly repeated, then chuckled, "Well said, so I’ll grant you the authorization. If this succeeds, upon your return you’ll be the Chief Secretary."

The secretary was overjoyed: "I won’t disappoint you, my lord!"

The speed of communication through the Heart Seal was extremely fast, and the conversation with Shen Jinghai was almost over in an instant. Then the secretary immediately picked up the pen authorized by Shen Jinghai and made a change on the check in his hand.

Ten thousand spirit stones instantly became one hundred thousand spirit stones.

This figure finally made Shen Qingming’s expression change.

"One hundred thousand?"

The secretary gritted his teeth and said seriously, "That’s right, as long as you are willing to participate in the grand competition, I can hand over this one hundred thousand spirit stones to you right now."

"Oh, paying in advance?" Shen Qingming was truly tempted. Although the past month’s twists and turns had made her lose hope in the Shen Family’s goodwill, to say this was a trap or a scam... Why would anyone throw such a heavy bait out?

With one hundred thousand spirit stones as bait, what kind of big fish are they trying to catch? Even human trafficking wouldn’t earn that much...

This only made Shen Qingming even more puzzled.

"What’s the reason?" This time, the young girl wasn’t in a hurry to refuse but instead asked first, "Previously, your Shen City was indifferent to us, and now you’re suddenly offering such a large sum of money to have us participate in some Outer Courtyard martial competition, or to be more direct, paying to have us attend the City Lord’s birthday banquet. There must be a reason for this change in attitude."

Saying this, Shen Qingming didn’t rush to take the check but sat down and calmly said, "If I don’t get a reason, although I’m tempted by the one hundred thousand spirit stones, I won’t accept it. If you can give me a satisfactory explanation, I’ll participate in this grand competition as you say."

Having been pushed to this point, the secretary was determined.

"I am just a low-level employee, so many things can only be subjective assumptions... but in my opinion, the previous coldness towards you was not the intention of the Lord City Lord; it was the self-assertion of others, so..."

Shen Qingming smiled slightly: "So, you’re putting all the blame on the subordinates? I can vividly recall that dismissive ’bah’ from the Lord City Lord."

The secretary pushed the check forward: "So now we hope to resolve the previous unpleasantness, let bygones be bygones. Just like how you traveled a long way to Shen City for your own matters."

Shen Qingming lowered her gaze, looking at the glittering check, then turned around: "What do you think?"

Shen Ying leaned in to take a glance: "Take it. It’s real."

The secretary was astonished: "Miss Shen Ying!? I’m sorry, I just..."

Shen Ying laughed generously: "It’s fine. You didn’t step on my feet, spill water on me, or fail to provide utensils when inviting me to dinner, so it’s already very good."

"I..." The secretary broke into a cold sweat once again, not out of fear of offending Shen Ying, but because... that insider trading just now must not be known by outsiders! Offering ten thousand spirit stones to invite someone for a competition and even pre-deciding the champion, if this scandal got out, there was no doubt he would quickly go from Secretary to Inmate.

However, Shen Ying chuckled: "Don’t worry, I’ve seen too many of these insider trades, and I’m currently standing on their side, so I won’t cause trouble."

The secretary took it seriously and thanked Shen Ying profusely, bowing repeatedly. However, when he straightened up, he realized there was just a coat rack before him...

Next to him came Shen Ying’s loud laughter: "Hahaha, using the Void Clarity Body to create an illusion, I didn’t expect someone would actually fall for it. Wanqing, your creative idea is truly wonderful. Sparring with your divine thoughts really opens up one’s mind!"

The secretary gritted his teeth but had to bear the humiliation and accompany the laughter.

In the end, Shen Qingming didn’t let his efforts go to waste either.

The young girl took the check, smiled, and said: "Alright then, since you are so sincere in wanting me to attend the Lord City Lord’s birthday banquet, I’ll reluctantly go through the motions."

The secretary breathed a sigh of relief, almost wanting to collapse on the spot: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

Shen Qingming put away the check and asked: "But I have one more question."

"Please ask."

"Since you want me to attend the birthday banquet so much, why not just invite me directly instead of organizing some Outer Sect competition?"

The secretary said: "Considering historical reasons, directly inviting the Li Family to the banquet is a bit..." as he spoke, he pointed to his face with a wry smile, implying it was a matter of pride.

Shen Qingming said puzzled: "If that’s the case, just invite the famous Cyan Cloud idol group Spirit Cat Plan to perform under the guise of a commercial show. According to the current market price, such a performance would only cost one to two thousand spirit stones at most."

"..."

The secretary was dumbfounded for a while, then plopped down on the ground with a thud.

Shen Qingming added: "I won’t be returning the check, by the way."