The first of allies (2)

"My past was erased the moment I started serving my lord," replied Jiang Shiqin in an unaffected manner.

Fu Guanting inspected his expression for a short interval before resuming his nonchalant smile. "And who might this lord be? The Head of Autumn Pavillion? Sect Master of Thousand Blooming Lotus Sect? Or some powerful figure in the capital who wish to dominate the Distant Lands?"

"My lord possesses a massive amount of strength, yes." Jiang Shiqin paused. "But he wishes no harm upon this land."

Fu Guanting snorted. "Decades ago, somebody said the exact same thing, and now the Distant Lands is a so-called 'autonomous province' of Northern Wu."

"In name and in truth," Jiang Shiqin asserted. "The amount of taxes collected from this city is equivalent to those from a poor desert town elsewhere. There has never been a capital-sent magistrate or a chancellor, and the five great sects' rule is undisturbed. The Distant Lands receive a constant flow of goods and materials from the rest of the nation, and conditions are as favorable as the ancient King Liao of Han's treatment towards his vassal states."

Fu Guanting stayed silent for a while before bursting out in laughter.

"As expected of a person who had gained the honorary title of 'scholar'. Let me reintroduce myself - I am Fu Guanting, second disciple of Falling Stars Sect and the one commonly referred to as the Snow Serpent. Incidentally," he shrugged, "I was ranked 8th in the tournament, and you won against Li Airu, so I'll ask that you don't challenge me like how a few idiotic roaming cultivators typically conduct themselves whenever they meet another cultivator." There was a trace of dark amusement in his eyes.

Jiang Shiqin recalled one of the widespread tales of the Snow Serpent's method of dealing with others. Allegedly, upon being challenged to a fight by an ignorant cultivator one of the minor sects, Fu Guanting had merely thrown a look of contempt at the fuming cultivator before departing offhandedly. The second time they met, the unrepentant cultivator continued pestering the Falling Stars disciple. It was not clear what truly happened, but the cultivator's companion ended up betraying him and ran away after stealing all of his spiritual items, which resulted in his failure to complete an important mission from this elders and being ousted from his sect. Moreover, his old enemies somehow got wind of his exile and took revenge on him one by one. His current fate was unknown.

Perhaps such an incident was merely a coincidence, but when those who displeased Fu Guanting's incurred many similar misfortunes, the merciless, unforgiving reputation of the Snow Serpent spread far and wide. The essential thing was that evidence of his misdeeds had never surfaced before, and he retained his exalted status among the disciples of Falling Stars Sect.

Jiang Shiqin simply smiled. "I dare not. I am a scholar, after all. Being pummeled by a cultivator capable of amplifying others' negative emotions is not a pleasant affair," he hinted.

Mocking disbelief flashed through Fu Guanting's face.

"If you say so. In any case, your suspicion is correct." he admitted easily. "I might have suggested something to Li Airu. Who knows how much loathing she harbors towards the capital-born due to her wretched childhood." His dark eyes were devoid of guilt.

"Falling Stars Sect's calming scent," Jiang Shiqin said flatly. "It encompasses the entire compound, not only the entrance road as your sect claimed, does it not?" His voice abruptly lowered, a barely discernible trace of ice veiling his normally warmth-filled tone. "During one of my journeys, I came upon a strange type of drugs capable of distorting people's emotions, not only the negative feelings but also the positive ones. For instant, an elderly man, after being administered the drug as part of his medical treatment, became more and more cheerful over the weeks. It makes me wonder about the origin of your sect's prized calming scent."

The earthly scent of wood and soil continued to permeate the air, even as Fu Guanting raised his eyebrows slightly.

"It's a strange tale indeed. But what relationship does your story have with my Falling Stars' unique treasure?"

Having expected such a response, Jiang Shiqin raised his hand and picked one of the tiny leaves hanging on the branches above. While his fingers were caressing its velvety surface in a careful manner, the scholarly young man casted his gaze above towards the sunlit net of numerous leaves.

"The smell of soil and wood is extremely pronounced here, and the air lacks the usual musky sweetness of greenery and dew. Yet, the leaves and stipules retain this strong scent.

He stared straight into the other's eyes." The question is, whether there exists another scent - natural enough to dissipate into the air, yet strong enough to overwhelm the slightly weaker ones."

When he finished the sentence, Fu Guanting's face seemed to stiffen for a while.

After a few moments of tense silence, the other person finally opened his mouth.

"Are you a dog?"

"..."

The blue-clothed man appeared to be in deep deliberation once more.

"Not a canine, hmm. Bear ancestry?"

Jiang Shiqin decided to ignore this wholly unreasonable question. Shouldn't Fu Guanting have suspected the existence of some kind of acute spiritual sensing first? Why did he have to attribute his findings to animalistic behaviors?

Fu Guanting glanced at him, a complicated look on his face. "You probably won't tell me your secret, I imagine. I have to admit I'm impressed with your observations though. But don't you think those reasonings," he grinned ill-intentedly, "are quite far-fetch? You have no solid evidence."

Contrary to what he had anticipated, there was a hint of pleasure on Jiang Shiqin's face. With a wry smile, the scholarly man nodded.

"That is true. But perchance, I say, the other disiciples find out about this through heresy - I must repeat, perchance only. And perchance their fighting spirit get the better of them, which leads to a few particularly caring elders wondering why their beloved students are behaving so irrationally..." He trailed off.

Before the Snow Serpent could retort further, he quickly said in a helpless tone. "Please stop administering tests to me. It's becoming something like a exhausting tradition since I arrived at the Distant Lands."

Seconds passed, and the forest suddenly resounded with laughter from Fu Guanting after he saw the awkward look on the suddenly pitiful-looking Jiang Shiqin. Leaning with one arm on the tree behind to support himself, Fu Guanting smiled, the first one that possessed any semblance of genuineness within the day.