Chapter 40

"If I had to make an assumption, my uncle saved all of you and so you should all properly thank him later on once he returns. He may be a strong figure even in our clan, but he has a strange obsession with counter attacking opponents who underestimated his strength." Song Ehuang said loud enough for every expert present to hear before sitting down on a chair next to her panther.

Her words were very direct and held a bold statement through the surface. Sure, the experts may not have needed to give her uncle some gifts as a way to boost their relationship with the Song clan, but it would be wise to do so in a situation such as this. Her words even made the caravan owner feel slightly uneasy since he still charged the two to travel with them.

"I do not have the means to give your uncle a good gift compared to the other experts present, but if you were to give me some time, I could create something for him." Without wasting a moment, He Chao took this opportunity to speak to Song Ehuang while her uncle was not around. He wanted to build at least a friendship with her, but he was rather afraid of her uncle.

"You seem to have a rather poor background, but your words are intriguing to me. If you are stating that you will create something for my uncle, you are either an unrivaled alchemist even compared to our Patriarch or you specialize in a different trade that my Song clan is not used to dealing with. If I were you, I would state which is it so that maybe when we arrive at our destination, my uncle would be willing to take you in as an outer clansman."

He Chao was not surprised that Song Ehuang had the personality of a spoiled little princess, and he actually liked that she was like this. The reasoning was because he had yet to meet someone personally with such a background. Before he could reply to her request, General Fan Jing appeared before slightly bowing towards her.

"You must be the one who ordered for reinforcements. From your earrings, I must ask if you are a higher up of the domineering Song clan? If you show me the way towards the enemies, I will do everything that I can to capture them all in a timely manner and bring them all with me to the local jailhouse of our headquarters. There they will be questioned without rest until we get to the bottom of why they chose to target you in broad daylight!"

Song Ehuang seemed to think of something before simply showing a sincere smile. "My uncle is currently in the process of collecting all of those who chose to act against us so until he returns please remain here so that there is no misunderstanding. I do not know what my uncle's plans are, but it seems that this sneak attack was not something he was expecting to happen within your Commandery's territory."

Song Ehuang's words seemed to have hit a sore spot with the general, but all he could do was exhale before letting out a smile and slightly bowing once more towards Song Ehuang. The Song clan was not part of the royal family, but their Patriarch have assisted them enough to where ordinary military officers were told to assist any of their higher up clansmen in a time of crisis and to treat them with the utmost respect.

Not only that, but the Song clan has been known to repay such favoritism regardless of the background of said individuals. So if the general were to assist Song Ehuang and her uncle during this time, the rewards he would receive would not be considered by any means small. Plus, he himself was a Master stage cultivator which would allow him a chance to be bribed to join the Song clan since they were known to recruit experts from all over the local area.

About ten minutes later, Song Ehuang's uncle returned and directed General Fan Jing with proper instructions. Her uncle was so enraged that such a small and weak force was sent out to attack and most likely wanted to abduct his niece, that he did not let a single one of the bandits go. General Fan Jing used a very special seal technique in order to cage up the nearly fifty individuals and corpses of those that Song Ehuang's uncle felt overly eager to kill while the rest of the experts remained vigilant and ready to approach with thank you gifts.

General Fan Jing quickly retreated towards the jailhouse with all of the new prisoners without wasting any time and Song Ehuang of course went back to remain in the carriage as her uncle was politicking with the other experts including the Wind Guard who was not willing to join the Song clan no matter how much her uncle tried to convince him with even a special rank within the clan just like he himself earned from being a strong expert.

All in all, there were three Adept stage experts present who took his offer to join the Song clan as well as one Intermediate stage expert, however the difference in their strength showed during the offer negotiations. Still, compared to the small clans and schools they had come from, the Song clan was too big of a powerhouse for them not to eagerly join regardless of the type of accommodations offered to them.

And so, after the Elementary stage cultivators understood that they were too old to join the Song clan, it was finally He Chao's turn to try to talk to Song Qiao to build a relationship with him. He was not the type to kiss up to anyone, but right now it would not make him feel odd since everyone else took time to rub Song Qiao the right way.

"Hey kid, if you keep standing there like a statue, I will just head back into the carriage with my niece to tend to her. So speak while you have the opportunity to." Turning towards He Chao, Song Qiao took the initiative to direct him to have a talk with him. This surprised He Chao since from his interactions with the other Elementary stage cultivators, it did not seem like Song Qiao held much respect for them.