Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 272 - 11: Spit

January 12, 2018

Shen Zicheng has always been seen as mild-mannered and non-confrontational in the Shen Family. Compared to the typical fiery and combative Shen Family members, Shen Zicheng is more captivated by artifact refining and saving private money. Even as the captain of the Outer City Patrol Team, he's far less proactive than his predecessors. This easy-going nature means he's never held in high regard by City Lord Shen Ruoshi.

However, when Shen Jinghai pointed at Shen Qingming and accused her of being Shen Zicheng's illegitimate daughter, this calm middle-aged man's face instantly flushed with anger.

"Utter nonsense! Absolutely utter nonsense! I know my nature is mild, and I like to stash private money, neglect household duties, snore while sleeping... but I'm confident I'm a competent and good husband! I won't allow anyone to destroy my marital relationship with Li Yu, not even you! Shen Jinghai, let's duel!"

Shen Jinghai did not hastily respond to Shen Zicheng's rage. He glanced through his glasses, nodded slightly, "It seems she's definitely not your illegitimate daughter." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Shen Zicheng paused, "Are you damn well testing me!?"

Shen Jinghai, not looking at Shen Zicheng, turned his head and said, "I'm testing this little girl with obvious Shen Family blood. From her reaction, she probably has nothing to do with anyone from Shen City. That's interesting, whose illegitimate daughter could she be?"

Despite her annoyance, Shen Qingming found the situation amusing. She looked silently at Shen Zicheng, who widened his eyes and grabbed Shen Jinghai's shoulder, "Wait, do you intend to brush off what just happened? Slandering my loyalty to marriage and acting as if nothing happened? I want to duel with you!"

Shen Jinghai glanced at him, "You can't win."

"Winning and losing aren't important, what matters is attitude!"

Shen Jinghai said, "I won't mention your private money to Li Yu."

"Oh, in that case, forget it." Shen Zicheng nodded, quickly stepping back, leaving the stage to Shen Jinghai and a group of unfamiliar out-of-towners.

"Alright, now the problem is yours." Shen Jinghai looked at Shen Qingming, "Who is your father?"

Shen Qingming looked at the expressionless young man, but inwardly she only wanted to laugh. After pondering for a moment, the girl said with a light laugh.

"Li Fengyun."

In the next moment, Shen Jinghai's face finally showed a hint of uncontrollable surprise, "Li Fengyun?"

"My father is Li Fengyun, my mother is Shen Yue'e, and I, Shen Qingming." The girl shrugged, laughing at herself, "I thought the champion of the Cyan Cloud competition would be a bit more famous."

Shen Jinghai gradually squinted his eyes, once again assessing Shen Qingming and her companions, then said, "That explains it. I was puzzled why the Shen Family bloodline mixed with the Li Family. So it's you… why come quietly to Shen City? With your status, minor visits shouldn't be applicable, right?"

Shen Qingming immediately flared up, "Quietly? We brought visiting cards, Shen Ziyu's family letter, and followed all the formal procedures. Your reception office set our processing order to ten days later, yet you blame us for being quiet!?"

Shen Jinghai squinted his eyes and furrowed his brow, "All according to formal procedures? Fine, tell me your formal procedure."

Shen Qingming snorted coldly, simply replied, "Shen Ziyu's family letter was classified as miscellaneous correspondence, ranked to be processed ten days later, that's the formal procedure."

Shen Jinghai countered, "Li Family comes to Shen City using a Shen Family member's letter as a stepping stone? This is your Li Family's formal procedure? What about your visiting cards?"

Speaking of visiting cards, Shen Qingming got angry, "You dare ask?! What's the meaning of Ding San's window? You treat Li Family's letters like garbage, and expect us to toss visiting cards with the Patriarch's seal into a trash can!? It's complete humiliation!"

Shen Jinghai tepidly replied, "Garbage? Where does it say it's garbage?"

Shen Qingming angrily shouted, "Playing dumb! Recyclable, non-recyclable! Tell me it's not a trash can!?"

"Does it say trash can anywhere on it?"

"This, this needs to be written?! Recyclable or not, anyone knows…"

Shen Jinghai interrupted coldly, "Does it say trash can anywhere on it, yes or no?"

Shen Qingming was at a loss for words, yet felt even more humiliated and angry inside.

Nearby, Li Wanqing stepped forward and scoffed, "It's pointless to play word games like this. You deliberately use a trash-bin-like shape to mislead others, now you outright deny it, that's quite sly."

Shen Jinghai finally showed a slight reaction, but it was obviously mocking.

"Mislead? If you feel misled, feel humiliated, according to formal procedure, what should you have done? Did you protest on the spot, seek staff help, verify our workflow seriously?"

At this point, even Li Wanqing had nothing to say.

Shen Jinghai gently shelved his mockery and asked, "So, what were you doing then? Put down your visiting card, then used Shen Ziyu's family letter to knock on the door, upon learning the queue would take ten days, you resigned to leave. This is your formal procedure?"

After a pause, Shen Jinghai stated, "In an unfamiliar environment, compared to being self-assured and presumptuous, respecting existing order and rules is the more rational choice. Unfortunately, it seems I can't expect Li Family members to understand this truth."

Hearing this, everyone present felt their ears prick, then instinctively looked at Wang Jiu, as the words seemed familiar…

Wang Jiu's face beamed with a smile upon meeting a kindred spirit, "Indeed, as the Deputy City Lord, your insight isn't bad."

Shen Qingming gritted her teeth in hatred. Whose side was this damn guy on?!

But no matter how she looked at it, at least Wang Jiu seemed to be able to communicate reasonably with Shen Jinghai, so let him talk to Shen Jinghai. Shen Qingming had had enough.

Wang Jiu rose to the occasion, nodded, and said, "Since you also acknowledge the importance of following proper procedures, then let's handle the current situation according to procedure. The first priority is..."

Wang Jiu pointed at Shen Zicheng, "I will sign a statement with him indicating that the Li Family's visitors engaged in a fair and open competition with Shen Zicheng and were defeated. Both parties recognized this outcome, and it was witnessed by a highly reputable and authoritative third party."

Shen Jinghai nodded slightly, "Very well."

Shen Qingming found it hard to accept, "Hey, is it necessary to go this far? We didn't even really fight..."

Wang Jiu asked strangely, "Counting the equipment bonuses, Shen Zicheng is almost at the Mountain-Overturning Realm level. If you don't admit defeat, are you going to humiliate yourselves?"

"...I was wrong."

——

After Shen Zicheng quietly left with the statement, Wang Jiu continued to talk to Shen Jinghai, "The first matter is settled. Next is the issue of the invitation letter. Considering the reception is closed, it will be 11 more hours before they open tomorrow. Since the invitation we bear is of high status, with a focus on timeliness, I suggest you personally accept and pass it to the City Lord."

Shen Jinghai grinned slightly and nodded, "Alright."

After receiving the Li Family's invitation—a Profound Ice Crystal Stone—Shen Jinghai examined it and then flicked his finger, sending the transparent invitation into the void.

A moment later, Shen Jinghai raised his head with a smirk of predictable mockery on his face.

"The Lord City Lord has already seen it."

He paused, and Shen Jinghai's smile grew even more, "And then he said..."

"Pah."

——

Pah, a succinct word, yet it conveyed a wealth of information.

When this outcome emerged, Shen Qingming couldn't even feel humiliated; instead, she felt a bit relieved.

Right, this was the script to expect. The long-standing enmity between the Shen and Li families was now almost common knowledge in Xiangzhou. If Shen Ruoshi suddenly showed a benevolent face and welcomed the Li Family with open doors, that would be truly horrifying!

He dared to open the door, but others wouldn't dare to enter!

But on the other hand, such a definitive response truly put an end to the possibility of improving relations.

No matter what grievances existed over the decades, this was, after all, an invitation written in the Patriarch Li's name, sealed within the Profound Ice Crystal Stone, to respond with just a "pah" was a humiliation that couldn't be easily dismissed.

Thus, without waiting for others to say more, Shen Qingming stood up straight and cupped her hands towards Shen Jinghai, "Alright, since the Lord City Lord is so resolute, there's nothing more to be said. We shall take our leave."

Shen Jinghai nodded, "Take care on your way."

Yet Shen Qingming hadn't even taken a step before being pulled back by Wang Jiu.

"Why are you pulling me?!"

Wang Jiu retorted, "Why are you leaving?"

Shen Qingming finally couldn't hold back her outburst, "The guy practically spat in my face. If I don't leave, am I supposed to stay for more humiliation?!"

Wang Jiu asked strangely, "Isn't enduring humiliation part of an envoy's job? As the representative of the Li Family in Shen City, you should be prepared to be humiliated countless times."

"Where do you get this twisted logic?!"

"According to statistics, 83% of those who have worked in diplomacy have experienced humiliation, and 35% have even suffered severe insults. So this is the nature of diplomatic work; you can't just see the glamorous side when envoys are adeptly handling matters, but you must fully recognize the hardships behind diplomacy."

"...So, you think I should face that 'pah' with a smile?"

"Considering your rich life experiences of being insulted, I believe your tolerance for humiliation should be very high."

"You're the one with rich experiences!"

Wang Jiu added, "Moreover, there is still a long time until Shen Ruoshi's birthday banquet, and we're to set off from QingCyan Cloud yun City at the beginning of January. This time is for us to thoroughly prepare to resolve the enmity between the two families, after all."