NOVEL WEB Chapter 96: Hierarchy
Chapter 96: Hierarchy
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Xu Lian directly entered the inner hall. There wasn’t even a guard at the entrance of the inner hall, so Xu Lian slipped in unnoticed.
He saw a woman with a red mole on her forehead practicing sword techniques in the courtyard of the inner hall. Her speed was incredibly fast, like a ghost, and Xu Lian’s eyes could only catch a glimpse of her afterimage.
In an instant, the woman sensed someone’s presence and turned to see Xu Lian, one of the young men who had inquired about the price of the mansion earlier. She was furious, “What are you doing here? Are you tired of living?”
Expressionlessly, Xu Lian pulled out the purple jade card from his pocket and showed it to her.
The woman was stunned, her eyes widened, and her anger dissipated. She quickly bowed and greeted Xu Lian, “I am the female official of the Pingyang County First Street Rental Office. I pay my respects to you, sir!”
Xu Lian nodded slightly and began to walk around the inner hall.
The woman was worried, not knowing what Xu Lian, a high-ranking official with a purple jade card, was going to do. She could only follow him like a servant, step by step.
She couldn’t help but ask cautiously, “May I report to you, sir? The Town Guardian lives in the nearby Spirit Tree, and it’s not far from here. Would you like me to call the Town Guardian to come and pay thier respects to you?”
Xu L was taken aback when he noticed the woman’s choice of words. He said, “Have the Town Guardian come to pay their respects,” instead of “Take you to pay your respects to the Town Guardian.”
What did this mean?
It meant that the identity and status represented by the purple jade card was higher than that of the Town Guardian!
It’s not usual for someone with a higher status to pay his respects to someone with a lower status.
So the woman said to let the Town Guardian come to pay thei respects.
Xu Lian was shocked and even more curious about the true identity and background of the White Fox Quarry Patrol Inspector.
The status and identity represented by the purple jade card seemed to be much higher than he had imagined.
Even the Town Guardian of Pingyang County had to come to pay their respects, which showed that the purple jade card was extraordinary.
According to the White Fox Quarry Patrol Inspector herself, the purple identity level referred to the disciples of the Yi Sect who had cultivated their main technique to perfection and graduated.
“How difficult is it to cultivate the Yi Sect’s main technique to perfection?” Xu Lian wondered.
His current level of strength and understanding were too low, and he couldn’t grasp the concept of cultivating the Yi Sect’s main technique to perfection.
“No wonder she didn’t want the Pingyang County Inspector’s card when I offered it to her. It turns out that her purple jade card is even more useful than the inspector’s card.”
Xu Lian finally realized the truth.
The White Fox Quarry Patrol Inspector’s “short legs” were indeed very valuable.
Now that Xu Lian understood the relationship between the purple jade card, the patrol inspector, and the town guardian, he had a clear idea of the situation. “I am the envoy sent to Pingyang County by the higher-ups for a secret investigation, so it’s not necessary for the Town Guardian to come and pay their respects.”
The woman replied with a simple “Yes.”
Xu Lian asked, “Are there any news or rumors in Pingyang County?”
The woman’s heart skipped a beat, as she knew that if she responded poorly, it could affect the Town Guardian’s impression in the eyes of the higher-ups.
She quickly replied, “Under the Town Guardian’s suppression and control, the buying and selling of spirit mansions and rentals on First Street are all fine, and nothing has gone wrong. The whole of Pingyang County is also stable, and other factions and evil spirits dare not make a move. However, the Spirit Tree is about to enter its fruit-bearing period, and other factions and evil spirits may make a move. I don’t know if the Town Guardian can handle it, so I hope the higher-ups can take precautions.”
Xu Lian nodded slightly, “I understand now.”
After saying that, Xu Lian didn’t say anything else and turned to leave.
As if he had just remembered something, Xu Lian stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at the woman with the red mole on her forehead. “The people outside have some connection to me, and they want to buy a low-grade spirit mansion. Can you give them a discount?”
The woman was taken aback, but then quickly replied, “You’re joking, sir. Since they’re your friends, how could we possibly charge them spirit stones? We’ll just give them the Spirit Mansion.”
Xu Lian asked, “I know that all the Spirit Stones earned from buying and selling Spirit Mansions have to be handed over. If you give them a spirit mansion, how will you explain it to the higher-ups? Won’t there be any problems?”
The woman explained, “Originally, First Street didn’t have that many spirit houses. We built some of them ourselves, but they aren’t recorded in the books. Besides, the price of spirit mansions can fluctuate, and the amount of spirit stones we give each time is always more than the amount set by the higher-ups, never less. So there’s no problem at all.”
Xu Lian understood that they had built extra spirit mansions without permission and were selling them at inflated prices to earn more spirit stones. This made him a bit unhappy as he realized that the Town Guardian must have earned a lot of Spirit Stones and was just giving him a small amount, 3,000 Spirit Stones, to get rid of him.
It was clear that the Town Guardian didn’t take the new Patrol Inspector seriously.
“I’ll have to find another opportunity to get back at the Town Guardian… she’s not being very courteous,” Xu Lian thought to himself.
He made up his mind and told the woman, “Wait for me for a moment, I’ll be right back”.
The woman didn’t know what he was going to do, so she just responded with a “yes”.
Xu Lian slipped out of the inner hall and came to the outside, where he told the others, “I’ve already spoken with the female official, and we can buy a spirit mansion for 11,000 Spirit Stones. You can give me the spirit stones, and I’ll go in and buy it directly.”
This surprised Tong Miao and Lin Ying, who were even more curious about Xu Lian’s background. They had never heard of anyone being able to negotiate a price with the rental office, let alone doing so successfully.
Lin Yue, Hua Rongjun, and Lin Wan, on the other hand, didn’t find it unexpected, although they weren’t entirely sure what the purple jade card meant. They assumed that negotiating a price shouldn’t be a problem.
Lin Yue took out 3,000 spirit stones and Lin Wan took out 6,500 spirit stones, and they handed them over to Xu Lian.
Hua Rongjun smiled and said, “We’re really bothering you, Little Xu.”
Xu Lian replied, “It’s no problem…”
He took the spirit stones and slipped back into the inner hall.
The woman with the red mole on her forehead had already prepared the deed and was holding it out to Xu Lian with both hands.
Xu Lian didn’t hesitate and took the deed without paying a single spirit stone. He looked at the woman and asked, “What’s your name?”
The woman with the red mole on her forehead replied, “My name is Liu Wan, and I’m at your service, sir.”
Xu Lian casually said, “Liu Wan? Hmm, I remember it.”
Liu Wan was delighted, knowing that it was a good thing to be remembered by a high-ranking official. “Thank you, sir, for remembering my name.”
Xu Lian looked at the red mole on her forehead and said, “This is a guardian mole, right? You haven’t been with a man yet? In our Yi Sect, we don’t emphasize this kind of thing. Career and family are both important.”
Liu Wan’s face turned red as she replied, “My parents had it done for me when I was a child. I have been busy with my cultivation and haven’t had time for marriage. Thank you, sir, for your concern.”
Xu Lian just teased her a bit and didn’t say anything else. Then he left the inner hall.
When he came outside, Xu Lian handed the deed to Lin Yue. Although Tong Miao had contributed the most, Xu Lian still gave the deed to his future father-in-law to keep.
Lin Yue quickly opened the deed to check it out. Hua Rongjun, Tong Miao, and Lin Wan also gathered around to take a look. This was a big purchase for the Tong and Lin families, and they couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
As they looked at the deed, the four of them were shocked and exchanged a glance. Eventually, their eyes focused on Xu Lian.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Lian asked, sensing that something was wrong.
Lin Wan took the deed from her father, Lin Yue, and looked at it. She was afraid that Xu Lian had made a mistake. After taking a look, she was also shocked and stared at Xu Lian with an unusual gaze.
Xu Lian was confused, “What’s going on?”
Lin Wan said, “We bought a low-grade mansion, but this deed is for a mid-grade mansion. Did the official make a mistake?”
Xu Lian thought for a moment and then understood. It was likely that Liu Wan had intentionally given him the deed for a mid-level mansion to curry favor. It was unlikely that she would make a mistake like this by coincidence.
Tong Miao took the deed from Lin Wan and handed it to Xu Lian. “This is definitely a mistake by the female official. We bought a Grade D mansion worth 12,000 Spirit Stones, but this Grade C mansion is worth at least 34,000 Spirit Stones. We can’t just take it without permission. If we get caught, we’ll all be in trouble. You need to tell the female official to exchange it for the deed of the Grade D mansion we bought.”