Xia Clan

When Shen arrived in front of the Xia Manor, he immediately approached 2 young men guarding the main gate. Shen wasn't a military type of person, still, he could see that their posture was too relaxed and it looked like they were standing there just for the sake of it.

'No discipline of whatsoever'

"Stop! What business do you have with the renowned Xia Clan?!"

"I want to sell a few Profound cores" Shen deliberately left the fact that he has been told to come here since outsiders might get different treatment, and most importantly he wasn't aware of the prices. He gathered some information on his way here but they weren't too accurate and everyone was saying different things.

The guards looked up and down, observing Shen's strange clothes and dirtied face along with his ash gray hair. Both looked at each other before they started laughing.

"Hahaha, listen, we don't accept beggars here!"

"Yeah, scram before we will be forced to kick you out, old man"

"Beggar, old man, are that supposed to be some witty response regarding my appearance and color of my hair? Here is the proof that I truly want to trade here" Shen asked with an unamused expression before taking a profound core out of his "pocket" to hide his storage space.

Both of their sleepy eyes widened in shock when they saw quite a high-grade profound core.

"?! W-Well, you still can't come in looking so dirty. How about I sell it for you?" One of them replied ash he stretched his arm out towards the core. He wasn't even trying to hide his intentions and the greed plastered all over his face.

*Bam!* Both guards were sent flying through the gate inside the manor's outdoor area, alarming all the people inside.

When Shen calmly stepped inside and looked around, he noticed a lot of female servants staring at him with startled faces.

"Y-You-!" Both guards got up while gritting their teeth in rage.

"Enough! What's going on here?!" An older-looking man shouted while looking towards the people who caused the commotion.

"M-My lord, this man was trying to enter inside, we tried to stop him peacefully at first, however, he made the first move and caught us off-guard! We apologize for our incompetence, lord!" Both guards shamelessly shifted all blame to Shen who in return just coldly smiled.

"So this is the art of shamelessness. Please be careful of the people you hire to protect your estate, sir. I am no beggar and I came here with intentions to sell profound cores, however, those two stopped me and even tried to swindle me." Shen calmly explained and showed the core in his right hand. Both the way he talked and his etiquette were fundamentally different from the locals which only caused them to watch him as if he was an animal in the zoo.

"...I apologize for the trouble, I am sure you had a fair share of troubles coming here so let the servant girls help clean you up a bit first. Then, we may talk business, as a further apology for this inconvenience, I will attend to you in person." The man was observing Shen for a few seconds before he replied in a polite tone, almost trying to adapt to the way Shen was talking.

'He is definitely a businessman for sure...' Shen smiled inwardly after seeing the man's attempt to talk the same way as if to make him feel more comfortable.

"M-My lord-?!" The guards were shocked by this development however they were quickly silenced by the man's glare.

"It's not nec-! I mean, I will gratefully accept your offer!" Shen wanted to refuse but then he remembered something which caused him to accept.

'Why didn't I think about it sooner, if I remove all that dirt from my face, even more rumors might start circulating! Judging by the average looks of men walking in the streets, I will definitely be considered handsome.'

2 girls arrived at Shen's side and lead him inside the huge manor. At first, they didn't look very eager to help him clean his boots and face, however, the moment they were done, washing the dirt off his face...

"Oh my-" Both of them blushed when they saw his flawless face.

"Thank you for your help, ladies. Can you please lead me to your lord now? I would like to finally get rid of those cores." Shen said with a charming smile which only caused them to turn more crimson.

"O-Of course!" Now, the girls were much more eager to lead him through the halls, they were even walking much slower than before while subtly asking Shen some regular questions like where did he come from, his name, and such.

.

.

"We are here, you just need to knock on the door...We probably should return to our posts." The girls said, sounding quite sad while stealing a few secret glances at Shen's face.

"It has been a pleasure, ladies!" Shen politely said with a smile, he never treated them as lowly servant girls which probably charmed them even more, however, they had to leave. Once they were out of his sight, he could hear the quiet giggles of those girls.

'Hehe, go and spread any kind of rumors about me. Women love to gossip, no matter the era or culture.' Shen's charming smile suddenly changed to an amused smirk before he turned at the door.

He knocked a few times to announce himself before opening them and entering.

"?! I would like to welcome you as our guest...young man." The man said while motioning Shen to sit down across him. The man's surprise when he saw Shen's face was plain to see even though he quickly recovered.

"Shen"

"Just Shen...?" The man was perplexed at the shortest introduction he has ever heard. Shen just nodded his head with a serious expression.

"I see...I apologize for perhaps prying too much, my name is Xia Hongyi, the current leader of the Xia Clan." The man introduced himself with a polite, businessman-like smile.

'Cut the bullshit man, I just want to sell some measly things so I can buy a room at an inn or whatever those establishments are called here.' On the outside, Shen might currently look like a patient and polite young man but inwardly he was dying of boredom.