Problems Knock The Door (2)

In a few minutes, Long Ming arrived at that garden and was surprised to see Yuying still training. This time, she was doing a series of exercises, using weights on her arms and legs, along with various gym equipment that had suddenly appeared around her.

Near Yuying, Long Ming also noticed a new person, a muscular adult man. He was assisting her with her exercises, either by encouraging her or increasing the weights on the equipment.

As he approached her, he could hear the man shouting things like "let's go!" and "you can do it!", occasionally interspersed with expletives like "stop being a coward and do one more repetition!" and "are you a chicken? No! Then stop acting like one!" Long Ming was truly impressed by this, as he didn't expect such intense training from a family of cultivators, but then he found it reasonable and approached the two women who were watching Yuying train since early morning.

"Hello, ma'am. I feel we haven't properly introduced ourselves, but I'm Long Ming, a guest of Patriarch Wu Qinlao," he introduced himself to a woman sitting near the table, holding a cup in her hand, her purple eyes curious as they looked at him.

She was a beautiful woman, with an elegant and magnificent face, her hair elegantly styled in a bun with loose strands at the back, adorned with various shiny and exquisite jewels. In Long Ming's opinion, she exuded the elegance and vibe of a queen, as if she were the ruler of a kingdom; therefore, it became obvious that she was the matriarch of that family, and if she weren't, there would be something wrong with that family.

"So, you're the old Gao's bodyguard? My husband was right in saying you're handsome," she spoke in a complimentary tone, though Long Ming could sense some meaning behind her words.

"I've always been told I'm handsome, but I had my doubts. But now that you also see me that way, then I believe I truly am," he replied courteously, though he stiffened slightly as he felt his response seemed like a flirt. This feeling intensified when he saw her smile widen.

"Anyway, could you tell me your name, ma'am?" he asked in the next moment.

"Call me Xie Meng Fei. And this here is my daughter's personal maid, Wan Yi," Xie Meng Fei introduced herself and the other woman standing behind her.

"Please, have a seat here. I'm very curious about you," she said, pointing to a chair beside her. Without much thought, he accepted the invitation and sat down.

"I see the young lady Wu Yuying is quite diligent in her exercises. When I woke up, she was already training, and she hasn't finished her exercises yet!" After sitting down, Long Ming accepted a cup of tea offered by Wan Yi and began conversing with Xie Meng Fei, who indeed seemed to be Yuying's mother.

"Fortunately, she has always been like that, disciplined and hardworking. That's the perfect personality for any cultivator, especially one with talent. Don't you think so, Long Ming?"

"A focused mind is vital to achieve anything in this world," he casually spoke, taking a sip of his tea.

"Indeed. Anyway, I saw you passing by here this morning. You were heading to the center, correct?" Xie Meng Fei suddenly questioned Long Ming, her tone carrying a hint of amusement.

"Yes, that's right. I like to wander the streets when I'm in a new city, it's good to get to know the place and learn everything I need," he replied, looking at her inquisitively.

"I see. I hope you can explain that to the elders," she said mockingly. Long Ming felt his whole body stiffen before turning to her and asking, "Why would it be necessary to explain that to them?"

"Well, shortly after you left the residence, the elders sent a servant to escort you to the meeting room. It seems they want to meet you, but it's probably just out of curiosity. Of course, your sudden departure from the residence displeased them greatly, so it would be good if you could apologize," she stated.

"...I see. Mrs. Xie Meng Fei, could you tell me a bit about each of the elders?" he asked in the next moment.

Then the two began talking for a few minutes until Yuying finally finished her exercises and looked towards her mother.

"Long Ming?!" she exclaimed in surprise, noticing him beside her mother and apparently conversing peacefully with her.

"Oh! Finally finished your exercises, young lady Yuying?"

"Where have you been? Anyway, never mind. Please, go to the clan meeting room, the elders want to discuss something with you," she said, her voice breathless and tired, yet it was quite obvious she was concerned about this meeting.

"Can you guide the way there, young lady Yuying?" he asked, looking at her.

"Unfortunately, I can't. I still need to take a shower. But Wan Yi can take you there," Wu Yuying was amazed by his request but quickly declined since she wanted to rest for a while and asked Wan Yi to accompany him instead. Long Ming sighed disappointedly at her refusal but accepted her request.

"Oh, wait!" When Wu Yuying was about to leave, Long Ming remembered something and suddenly called out to her. Yuying looked at him questioningly, so Long Ming rummaged through one of his bags and pulled out a beautiful silver necklace with a golden lotus-shaped pendant.

"I wanted to buy a gift as a token of gratitude for guiding me during yesterday's tour," he said as he approached her and handed her the necklace.

Yuying was astonished by his gesture, and even Xie Meng Fei and Wan Yi were surprised.

"Long Ming, I..."

"Don't worry, this is just a gift from a friend. I have no intention other than becoming your friend during my stay here. After all, you are the patriarch's daughter, so it's natural that I would want to build a good relationship with you," Long Ming explained sincerely, noticing that his gift could lead to a misunderstanding.

"Is that so? Well, if that's the case, I'll accept it. Thank you," after Yuying's explanation, she felt relieved and finally accepted the necklace. She then bid farewell to them and went to take a bath.

"Mrs. Wan Yi, could you guide me to the meeting room?" Long Ming spoke next, completely ignoring Xie Meng Fei's and Yuying's trainer's reaction, who was still there with wide-eyed shock.

"Of course, Mr. Long. Please, follow me," Wan Yi said politely, leading the way. Long Ming then bid farewell to Xie Meng Fei and the trainer before following Wan Yi.

"Young Master Long," after walking in silence for a few minutes, Wan Yi suddenly caught Long Ming's attention.

"You can just call me Long Ming, ma'am. Or Young Long. I don't come from a prominent family, and I'm just a wanderer."

"...Young Long, are you interested in Miss Wu Yuying?" Wan Yi's question surprised Long Ming, as he had already stated that he wasn't interested in her.

"No, I'm just someone who likes to get along with others, and especially make

friends with those who seem like good people. And Miss Yuying seems like a good person," he replied, maintaining the same discourse as before.

Wan Yi remained silent, but if Long Ming could sense Qi, he would notice a kind of miasma around Wan Yi. She remained quiet for the rest of the way, and soon they arrived at a huge building, its entrance wide open exposing its entire interior. Approaching the entrance, Long Ming noticed several men and women sitting in chairs on both the right and left sides, facing each other.

In front of the entrance, there was a chair especially larger than the others, where Wu Qinlao was seated. On both sides of Wu Qinlao's chair, there were two chairs, one prepared for his descendant and the other for his wife. As one can imagine, both were empty.

"I see you've finally arrived, Long Ming," Patriarch Wu Qinlao spoke as he looked towards the entrance, from where Long Ming was walking calmly towards him.

"This humble youth greets the Wu family patriarch, Wu Qinlao. And also greets Elder Wu Feng, Wu Xia, Wu Ling...." Long Ming politely greeted them after a formal bow. He remained standing near the entrance, facing the patriarch and behind the first elders in that row.

Long Ming curiously observed all those elders, associating their positions and expressions with Xie Meng Fei's descriptions and what he had heard previously. However, Long Ming noticed that there was an empty chair, but he decided to ignore it for now.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, as I had gone into town to buy some gifts for you as a token of appreciation for the stay. Unfortunately, my action ended up slightly delaying our first meeting," he replied before any of them could express dissatisfaction with his delay.

"Gifts? And why do you think these gifts will satisfy us?" one of the elders asked, he was Wu Yong, and also the second elder in terms of hierarchy, second only to the patriarch and matriarch, and obviously the ancestors.

"Because it was a joint gift from me, Matriarch Xie Meng Fei, and many of the family's staff. One could say that I was just the one who bought the gifts, as the true responsible parties for these gifts were the Wu family themselves," Long Ming replied cunningly, attributing the creative choice of these gifts to the entire Wu family.

"Well, if it was my wife's idea to buy such gifts, I see no reason to complain about your departure. But still, when did you meet her?" the patriarch asked questioningly.

"When I woke up, I decided to walk around the residence courtyard and noticed Miss Wu Yuying training, accompanied by Matriarch Xie and her maid Wan Yi," Long Ming explained politely. His explanation seemed quite plausible, so they nodded in agreement.

"If you'll allow me, let me bring the gifts to you," Long Ming said next, looking at the patriarch for approval. When Wu Qinlao allowed it, Long Ming approached the nearest elder and handed him an intermediate mortal-grade sword, then Long Ming approached another elder and gave him a black outfit adorned with silver inscriptions, then gave a necklace to one of the female elders, a set of spices to an elder who liked cooking, a pair of steel bracers as well as steel shin guards....

Finally, Long Ming approached Patriarch Wu Qinlao and gave him a manual of superior mortal-grade sword art, which he had obtained from that tomb. Wu Qinlao was intrigued by the gift but accepted it happily before starting to read.

After that, Long Ming returned to where he was initially and observed them calmly. The elders had complicated expressions because, although the gifts were not truly phenomenal, they had been chosen by not only other members of the Wu family but also by the matriarch herself. In other words, to refuse or complain about these gifts would be to disregard the good deed of these people. And, consequently, they couldn't complain about Long Ming's departure either since he had only gone to buy the gifts.

This left Wan Yi completely shocked because she knew very well that Long Ming had told a half-truth. After all, even though Xie Meng Fei had suggested what gifts they might like, she only said that for the things Long Ming had already bought, and he only decided to give those products as gifts when he found out that the elders were upset about his disappearance. In other words, he used Xie Meng Fei's advice to cover his true purpose with that departure.

"Well, now that this matter is settled, let's move on to the main topic of this meeting," the patriarch spoke after finishing reading the manual, a subtle smile on his face, showing how pleased he was with the gift. Long Ming was relieved by this, though he was quite depressed about having to give away so many things he had bought for those elders whom he didn't even know the name of half an hour ago.

"Tell me a little about yourself, Long Ming. Your family background, how you met old Gao, and the reason for accompanying him here," the patriarch spoke next. His sharp eyes caused a powerful oppressive sensation in Long Ming, as if a simple lie would be enough for him to be killed right there. Of course, he expected this, as even though they knew Gao Ting, the same couldn't be said about Long Ming.

"Ah, I'm just a simple peasant who left his village when he was 14 to explore the world and get stronger. A few months later, I met old Gao in a city far from here, and we soon became good friends. Thanks to old Gao, I survived numerous life-or-death situations due to my lifestyle, and matured as a man due to his advice and wisdom," Long Ming narrated his story. He hadn't lied about anything, but there were also so many details missing that it was difficult to learn anything about him.

After that, they asked a few more questions, mainly about his experiences, adventures, fights, and so on. After many minutes, they were satisfied with his story and found no inconsistency or ulterior motive behind his visit, so they dismissed him from the meeting room, allowing him to stay in that place for the time being.