“Sister Qiyue… hello. You know my name?” Su Feifei said it with some excitement. Before today she had been no different from a great many people who wanted to see with their own eyes what sort of heaven-born face belonged to this Liu Qiyue, spoken of as an immortal maiden, called the most alluring woman in Huaxia. Now she had finally seen her, and she finally understood how the reputation had come about.

And at the same time, a fluttering unease was taking root in her. Women are sensitive creatures, particularly where feelings are concerned — and the source of her unease was precisely the unmistakably aggrieved note in Liu Qiyue’s voice a moment ago when she’d addressed Ye Tianxie… Could she possibly—

If Liu Qiyue loved Ye Tianxie, how on earth could she compete?

“Of course I know it. And I also know that you’re currently sharing a bed and a table with that heartless little brother of mine, to the envy of all around you…”

“I—” Su Feifei was briefly at a loss, with no idea how to refute it or how to answer. Liu Qiyue radiated a charm from head to foot that even a woman found herself wanting to sink into — and more than that, a presence that pressed invisibly on the mind. A woman like this could take command of an entire room with a lift of her hand. It had nothing to do with face or figure; it was a bearing and a force forged through particular kinds of trial and cultivation.

“Big Sister, don’t tease Feifei. Whatever is or isn’t between us, you’ll have known long ago.” Ye Tianxie shook his head helplessly and gave a private, wry smile. He was not a stupid man — but there existed in this world things even he had no courage to face, and could only run from. And even now, he was running… still not quite daring to meet Liu Qiyue’s eyes.

He was certain of this much: had it not been for her, he would have fallen under Liu Qiyue’s spell long ago — this woman who, at their very first meeting, had thrown his famously placid and unshakable mind into complete disorder.

Liu Qiyue covered her mouth and snorted with laughter, her gaze sending its own message, her white teeth pressing lightly into her red lips as she cast him a pair of soul-stealing eyes, all her charm unfurling in an instant like a stone dropped into still water. Ye Tianxie’s heartbeat climbed, and he looked away without meaning to. “All right, all right. It’s only been a few days and already you’re this eager to defend her. Little Sister Feifei, this brother of mine is rather greedy and rather lazy. Do take good care of him… I would be very grateful to you.”

What that sentence carried was sincerity from the heart, and it slowly dissolved most of the tension and the flustered helplessness in Su Feifei. She found herself nodding, almost without deciding to. In front of Liu Qiyue, the daughter of the richest man in Asia was so thoroughly suppressed that she couldn’t get her own nature off the ground. Her reputation, her lineage, her allure, her presence — in all of it, there was simply no one to compare with her.

“Heh, Big Sister, Second Brother, we’re all together again at last. It’s been the better part of half a year since the last time… Let’s find somewhere quiet first, and whatever anyone wants to raise or say, we can take our time with it. Oh — Second Brother, why did you have us meet here, of all places?” Zuo Pojun stepped forward to ask — and then smacked his own forehead. “…Hang on. You came out of this place just now. You can’t mean—”

Ye Tianxie jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the gate behind him. “Come with me.”

He took a step back, and the closed gate swung open — and along with it, so did Zuo Pojun’s and Murong Qiushui’s mouths, to a truly preposterous width. Even Liu Qiyue was briefly stunned.

“My god… Second Brother, please don’t tell me this place is yours—”

“Correct.” Ye Tianxie’s mouth twisted.

“I—”

He walked them through his first home in the World of Fate, top to bottom, and there was, naturally, no shortage of yelling and exclaiming from Zuo Pojun. In front of Ye Tianxie and the others he never once reined in his feelings; everything came out exactly as it arose. Because it was only with them that he was in his most relaxed, most comfortable state. What bound the four of them was not merely an oath sworn with the moon as witness — it had been forged between life and death, and it was unbreakable.

They came into the great hall and had barely sat down before Zuo Pojun burst out with it. “Second Brother, how in the world did you get hold of this place… God almighty, this is terrifying. I half thought I was hallucinating.”

“Completed a hidden quest, that’s all.” Ye Tianxie said it entirely casually. Then he briefly ran through the whole business — the Unique quest taken at the City Lord’s manor in the City of Stars, its completion, and the chain of coincidences along the way that had landed him a special class. From them he had nothing whatsoever to hide.

“Second Brother, you may not realize it, but the thing being argued about most fiercely these past days is your class. When the class name ‘Rebel-Boned Evil Dragon’ appeared, it very nearly shook all of Huaxia — and today, even the world forums are in a frenzy over the fact that a hidden class has appeared in the Huaxia server. Phew… Second Brother, I don’t know whether to say your ability is terrifying or your luck is astonishing. Well — we all know you’d have crushed everyone even with the most ordinary class going. And with a hidden class on top of it, there’s simply nothing more to say.” Zuo Pojun said it with feeling.

Ye Tianxie nodded slightly, gave a rough account of his affairs in the game, then turned to Liu Qiyue. “Big Sister, currency exchange opens today… Will the July Chamber of Commerce still be appearing?”

“Little Brother Tianxie, you don’t understand your sister at all.” Liu Qiyue murmured it fondly and shook her head gently. “The July Chamber of Commerce exists because of you. Since you are here, of course it will be here.”

Her voice was not the tender thing a young girl’s is; it was round and full, and rather languid, and in its turnings it carried a natural pride and a natural allure that set a listener’s mind swaying, until the soul itself seemed on the point of leaving the body to follow that voice wherever it went.

Ye Tianxie: “…”

Su Feifei bit her lip and shifted, by a very small margin, closer to Ye Tianxie. A powerful, powerful sense of crisis had come over her… Right now, she was the one nearest to him, the one at his side every single day. Before she had made him love her, how could she possibly let anyone else take him away?

“Second Brother, Big Sister has actually been preparing from the very beginning. Personnel, plans, direction — all of it is ready. She’s only waiting for currency exchange to open today; once she has the land, operations can begin immediately… Right now, the one genuinely difficult problem is the land. Those guilds and powers who mean to make something of themselves in the World of Fate will certainly have made every preparation too, all of them waiting for the instant currency exchange opens… One step ahead is every step ahead; everyone understands that principle. Whoever establishes their name and reputation first has already won more than half the battle. And the decisive factors are position — and resources.” Zuo Pojun explained.

Position. Resources.

Position, for a chamber of commerce, needed no explanation. A commercial house in a game exists to make things convenient for players; site it somewhere remote, where merely getting there from the city center eats an enormous amount of time, and what convenience is there? Who would patronize it?

Resources were the more important factor still. Without resources, where would the customers come from? At present, a chamber’s stock came essentially from buying up goods from players and reselling them at a premium to those who needed them more, or from taking goods on consignment and charging a commission. And to attract more players to consign, the key was obviously reputation. The higher the reputation, the more consignors — and to make a reputation ring out, what was required was explosive stock.

For example: if a chamber of commerce suddenly announced it was selling gold-tier equipment, or even Immortal Spirit-tier, the Huaxia server would erupt, and countless players would remember that chamber’s name.

“Resources aren’t a concern… As for position—” Ye Tianxie thought for a moment. “I might be able to get hold of a decent site. I’ll go and try shortly.”

“Ah? Really?” Zuo Pojun was delighted.

“Is there anything in this world our great Second Brother cannot do?” Murong Qiushui snorted through his nose. Liu Qiyue covered her mouth and laughed softly.

“Feifei, you haven’t taken a class yet, have you?” Ye Tianxie said to the girl beside him.

“Mm.” Su Feifei answered.

Ye Tianxie considered briefly, then looked up. “Let’s do it this way. Pojun, Qiushui, the two of you take Feifei to change class first. Big Sister, you go and prepare the chamber’s affairs. I’ll go try to secure us a plot of land… I can’t guarantee it, but the possibility is there.”

“Er… all right.”

Out through his own front gate, Ye Tianxie couldn’t help wiping the cold sweat from his brow. Liu Qiyue’s eyes, and the shifting of Su Feifei’s mood — how could he possibly have failed to notice either? It left him feeling rather as though he were sitting on a bed of needles.

He steadied his breathing and set off at a run for the City Lord’s manor. He had rid the City of Stars of an enormous scourge; the City Lord should not have forgotten him quite this fast.

Arriving at the manor gates, Ye Tianxie addressed the official who had shown him in last time with perfect courtesy. “Might I trouble you to take me to see the City Lord? I have a matter I need to discuss with him in person.”

The official’s face was wreathed in smiles. “Brave one from another world, please, follow me. The City Lord has said that if it is you, you may come to him at any time. Oh — and please permit me, on behalf of all the citizens of the City of Stars, to express our heartfelt gratitude. Without you, we would still be living under the shadow of the Blood Phoenix.”

“You’re too kind.” The corner of Ye Tianxie’s eye twitched, repeatedly. The way this man talked, he might as well have been singing.

Inside the manor, the City Lord of the City of Stars was sprawled comfortably in his chair. As a senior public servant of the Lost Continent, he was like most public servants in Huaxia: worked to death when busy, and bored to death when not. At present he was very plainly in the latter state. Hearing the noise, he cracked one half-closed eye open — and the moment he saw Ye Tianxie, he came to life, sitting up straight. “It’s you, brave young man! And what brings you to me this time?”

“Good day, Lord City Lord. This time, I’ve come to ask a favor.”

(End of Chapter 144)