Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

Chapter 129 Old Friends

The two boarded the carriage.

They headed towards Zuiyue Tower.

Zuiyue Tower is located at the junction of the outer and inner city. Its pavilions have upturned eaves and corners, and its brackets are arranged in a staggered manner, creating an elegant atmosphere.

The guests coming and going were all dressed in fine clothes and were clearly powerful and wealthy people.

As soon as they arrived, Shen Yixi couldn't wait to get off the carriage, opening her arms like a swallow returning to its nest.

"Qianqian!"

"Qian'er!"

Ye Ci looked up and happened to see a girl standing in front of the vermilion door of the restaurant.

She wore a white silk dress, with a soft jade belt around her waist, and her black hair was loosely tied up, adorned only with a small, plain silver flower hairpin.

Her eyebrows and eyes were extremely soft and delicate, with the corners of her eyes slightly curved, and her skin was as white as snow in early spring.

She stood at her sides on the steps, her features gentle and her lips naturally tinged with a hint of red. The evening breeze stirred the hem of her skirt, her figure slender and graceful; her quiet presence alone surpassed all the scenery along the street.

Shen Yixi's usual competence has faded somewhat, replaced by a gentle and graceful beauty. Standing there, she is like a peony blooming under the moon, elegant and dazzling.

The two girls embraced for a moment, and then the woman, led by Shen Yixi, walked over.

"This is Yan Qian."

"Offering of leaves".

The woman bowed to Ye Ci, who returned the bow with clasped hands.

"Greetings, Miss Yan."

After the two bowed, there was a hint of awkwardness on their faces, and even Shen Yixi seemed a little embarrassed.

Because both of them were dressed in white, and even their belts were somewhat similar in style, plus the jade hairpins—

Yan Qian glanced at Shen Yixi, then whispered reproachfully in her ear, "Are you trying to make fun of me again?"

Helpless, Shen Yixi took her arm and whispered, "Do you think I wanted this?"

The group didn't exchange pleasantries at the entrance. Instead, led by Yan Qian, they went upstairs and headed straight for the most secluded "Listening to the Wind Pavilion" private room on the top floor.

"Qianqian, did you invite anyone else?"

The couple walked ahead, arm in arm, chatting casually.

"The people who came today are all good friends. Back in the day, we were in the academy in the capital. Several of our classmates also came to Wucheng to develop their careers. They just arrived a little earlier than you. Hearing that you were here too, we naturally wanted to meet you."

"There is another family member from Wucheng. Getting to know them will be beneficial for you. Besides, Wucheng is not like an ordinary prefecture or county. There are many martial artists here, and business is somewhat different from other places. Once you get to know them, it will definitely be of great benefit."

"However, to be honest, their financial resources may not be as abundant as your Shen family's. Everyone also wants to discuss the cooperation with the Jiuding Chamber of Commerce. Anyway—let's go upstairs and talk about it—"

Speaking of which, Shen Wanzhou, also known as Shen Bancheng, is essentially a nouveau riche. Yan Qian's second half of her sentence was also a reminder to Shen Yixi not to be reserved and not to feel inferior in front of others.

"The Nine Tripods Chamber of Commerce?" Shen Yixi asked thoughtfully.

"We've arrived," Yan Qian reminded her.

The door to the private room opened, and Ye Ci saw that Yan Zhan was also there. He nodded to Ye Ci and then came out of the private room.

As two claps rang out, waiters filed in and began serving the dishes.

"Come, sit here."

Yan Qian pulled Shen Yixi over, lightly patted the seat next to her with her delicate hand, and revealed a meaningful smile: "Master Ye, you can sit next to Yixi."

"Everyone here today is a friend. Let's get to know each other so we can look out for each other in the future."

As she spoke, Yan Qian first introduced Ye Ci, saying that he was a retainer invited by the Shen family, a young master of the Transformation Realm, and then deliberately tugged at Shen Yiqian.

Ye Ci stepped over and sat down next to Shen Yixi, who covered her mouth and chuckled.

I don't know what she's so happy about.

"Xiaoqian, do you still remember me?"

A young man pulled up a chair, sat down next to Ye Ci, and leaned closer to say something.

Shen Yixi glanced at him: "I don't remember."

The man wasn't embarrassed at all, and said with a grin, "My name is Du Ruofeng, a man like the wind."

Ye Ci glanced at him and thought he was a fool.

Shen Yixi chuckled and introduced Du Ruofeng to Ye Ci: "Du Ruofeng studied for several years and practiced martial arts for several years, but accomplished nothing. However, he..."

My father is an official in the Ministry of Revenue in the imperial court. I suspect he embezzled a lot of money, so I sent him to Wucheng to do business.

"Greetings, Brother Du."

Ye Ci quickly interrupted him and bowed to the man.

He felt that Miss Shen was truly merciless in her words, which left Du Ruofeng stunned, but he could tell that she had a good temper and showed no sign of anger.

"My dad said it doesn't matter how much or how little I earn, as long as I don't get in the way at home."

Du Ruofeng didn't seem to mind, and familiarly put his arm around Ye Ci, saying, "If you want to develop within the sect in the future, I don't have many connections, and besides, it all comes down to ability; outsiders can't help you. But if you want to enter the imperial court as an official, hehe, I'll pave the way for you—"

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yixi interjected, "It's a deal."

Du Ruofeng:

He then retorted, "Shen Yixi, why is your mouth so sharp? You didn't even let me finish speaking. I was just about to ask you about your relationship with this Master Ye. It's not just that he's a master, is it?"

Without waiting for a reply, he put his arm around Ye Ci's shoulder: "She's usually arrogant and haughty, not a good girl at all —"

"you!"

Shen Yixi was instantly at a disadvantage, and a slight blush rose to her face.

Yan Qian covered her mouth and laughed for a while before taking the initiative to continue the conversation, introducing the other people: "His name is Xue Shouzhen, and the restaurant is owned by his family."

"Brother Xue," Ye Ci said, bowing.

This was also a young man, dressed in a dark brocade robe. He nodded and replied, "I come from a county under Qingzhou and run several restaurants in Wucheng. If Brother Ye comes to patronize us, I can give you a 50% discount."

It's obvious from the sound that they are not as well off as the Shen family in terms of industry.

Yan Qian continued, pointing to a young man and introducing him: "This is Hou Yujing. He has been in Wucheng for many years and has good relationships with many sects."

Ye Ci also cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Hou."

Hou Yujing, with his rather rugged appearance, laughed and said, "What sect connections? I just arrived a few years earlier and run a few weapon-forging shops here. Compared to Shen Yixi, I'm nothing."

"It's just a drop in the ocean. She said she wanted to take over all my family's shops and have me work for her."

Judging from the sound of it, it was just an ordinary weapon forging shop, and I guessed that the people they knew were from a small sect like the Yanqing Sect.

There were two other young men present, but they were less accomplished than the previous two. One was named Yang Zhihe, and the other was named Ding Xian. Both of them had entered the Nine Dragons Academy of the Lieyang Sect through Yan Qian's connections and were ordinary outer disciples.

The two men, possessing only internal strength, exchanged greetings and then sighed, "Our aptitude is lacking; we can't improve our martial arts in the prefectural city. Our families hope we can reach the Transformation Strength level, so we can only try our luck in the Martial City. But the costs in the Martial City are more than ten times that of the prefectural city!"

"I'm now at the peak of the Dark Force realm, and I've failed twice in my attempts to break through."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ci was slightly taken aback. Back in Songjiang County, everyone said that if you failed to pass the test, you would never have another chance.

I didn't expect Wu Cheng to be so powerful; he was able to continue even after failing to break through.

No wonder it is said that the martial arts training of noble children is different from that of ordinary people; this alone is enough to leave many people behind.