On the other side, seeing Yuwen Guangxu behave himself, Ye Cangtian quickly got up and cupped his hands in a salute to Yuwen Sheng.
"Ye Cangtian pays his respects to Old Master Yuwen."
"This is a small token of my regard, I hope Old Master will accept it."
Ye Cangtian handed over a Qiankun bag. It didn't contain anything particularly valuable, just some small and medium-sized pills and a few rarer ores. It was merely going through the motions, a gesture of courtesy.
"You are too kind."
Yuwen Sheng smiled at Ye Cangtian and set the Qiankun bag aside. He continued, "Lord Ye, you truly put this old man to shame! You once acted as head of the Hidden Organization, and you've come with Elder Long. By rights, I should have visited you, but I was a step too slow. To accept these gifts now truly weighs on my conscience..."
Heh.
Listening to Yuwen Sheng's words, Ye Cangtian smiled slightly, but inwardly felt disdain. The other party clearly knew he and Elder Long were coming but hadn't paid his respects. Now he was preemptively stating it, which was truly hypocritical.
Though he thought this, Ye Cangtian smiled outwardly and said, "How can you say that, Old Master? My acting as head of the Hidden Organization was merely a case of the monkey ruling when the tiger is away. If you were here, my services would have been unnecessary."
"Haha, let's not dwell on this matter." Yuwen Sheng felt pleased by Ye Cangtian's flattery and waved his hand with a smile.
But the next moment, his expression turned grim. "Lord Ye, I heard that Yuwen Hao of the Yuwen family in the outside world died by your hand. Is this true?"
As his voice fell, Yuwen Chengji was instantly stunned, then his heart rejoiced. Old Master Yuwen was personally inquiring about this matter; it seemed he intended to stand up for Yuwen Hao. This was undoubtedly a good thing for him.
"It is!"
Ye Cangtian was unfazed. He glanced at Yuwen Sheng and asked calmly, "How does Old Master Yuwen intend to handle this?"
"Lord Ye misunderstands. This old man is not intending to stand up for Yuwen Hao."
"On the contrary, this old man believes it's better to resolve enmity than to create it. Let this matter pass!"
"After all, Yuwen Hao was no good fellow. I've heard about his misdeeds here..." Yuwen Sheng quickly added. He brought up the matter in person precisely to let Yuwen Chengji know that the Yuwen family would absolutely not look after someone who only brought shame to their name. He was also using these words to admonish Yuwen Chengji that it would be better to let go of this grudge.
On the other hand, Yuwen Sheng felt that if possible, he might be able to become friends with Ye Cangtian. Ye Cangtian's position in acting as head of the Hidden Organization was evident. If he could build a good relationship with Ye Cangtian, it would make many things much easier in the future.
"This..."
Yuwen Chengji looked deeply at Yuwen Sheng and fell silent. To be honest, Yuwen Chengji had long since let go of the idea of avenging his brother, Yuwen Hao. Firstly, it was truly because Yuwen Hao was incompetent. Secondly, when he had accompanied Ye Cangtian previously, Ye Cangtian had saved his life. One life for another, it was considered settled. His current displeasure with Ye Cangtian was entirely due to his desire to regain his honor and not be trampled under Ye Cangtian's foot his entire life. However, his attitude towards Ye Cangtian hadn't changed much from before. Therefore, many people still thought he harbored resentment towards Ye Cangtian because of Yuwen Hao's matter. He was too lazy to explain.
"It is most fortunate that Old Master is so understanding." Ye Cangtian had not expected Yuwen Sheng to act this way. In his view, Yuwen Sheng bringing up the matter again was meant to stand up for Yuwen Hao. However, since he did not, Ye Cangtian was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but wonder. If he didn't intend to intervene, why mention it at all? Was it simply to win him favor?
In fact, just as Ye Cangtian was thinking, Yuwen Sheng was showing his magnanimity and trying to curry favor with Ye Cangtian. This was considered a step towards establishing a good relationship between the two parties.
On the other side, Yuwen Sheng smiled slightly and directly changed the subject. "By the way, Lord Ye, have you and Elder Long come this time regarding Elder Long's injuries?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian nodded. "That's right. We heard earlier that the Medicine King Valley was in the Western Region, so Elder Long and I came to try and find it."
"Elder Long's injuries are a major concern for the Hidden Organization," Yuwen Sheng's expression turned serious. "Therefore, our Yuwen family is willing to lend you a hand. Lord Ye, please state any arrangements you have!"
Yuwen Sheng also had his own agenda. Ye Cangtian's status in the Hidden Organization was already not low. Although Elder Long's strength had declined due to his injuries, his position in the Hidden Organization was definitely above Ye Cangtian's. If he could earn the gratitude of both of them, it would be a tremendous boon for the Yuwen family.
"Old Master, I appreciate your kind intentions."
"The Western Region is vast and fraught with countless dangers. It would be best for the Yuwen family not to get involved, lest you suffer losses."
"Moreover, the Yuwen family must guard Jinling City, and the burden on your shoulders is not light..." Ye Cangtian politely refused. Firstly, he and Elder Long already knew the general location of the Medicine King Valley and did not need the Yuwen family to send more people to assist in the search. Secondly, Ye Cangtian did not want to owe the Yuwen family a favor. There was no such thing as unearned favor in the world. Yuwen Sheng had first, with a wide grin, brushed aside the matter of Yuwen Hao, and now he was risking helping them. In Ye Cangtian's view, Yuwen Sheng had an ulterior motive. Therefore, he refused, also preventing Yuwen Sheng from making further offers.
"Very well, since Lord Ye insists, I shall not force the matter." Yuwen Sheng smiled slightly. Some things, if forced, might have the opposite effect even if they helped the other party. Moreover, he was genuinely concerned about the Yuwen family's potential casualties. After all, the Yuwen family had taken decades to reach its current scale. He could not risk the Yuwen family's favorable situation for the sake of helping them find the Medicine King Valley. Therefore, he chose to stop at this point, letting the other party know that he was willing to help.
Heh, this old fellow is quite the slick operator! In this brief encounter, Ye Cangtian had seen through Yuwen Sheng's attitude. To put it simply, the other party was merely offering platitudes without any intention of taking action. Thinking this, Ye Cangtian continued to make polite conversation. Since the other party lacked sincerity, he would treat it as a formality.
The two exchanged pleasantries back and forth, chatting quite amiably. However, it was difficult for Yuwen Guangxu and Yuwen Chengji, who were beside them. They were still eager to compete with Ye Cangtian but couldn't interrupt the conversation between him and Yuwen Sheng, so they could only listen expectantly from the side.
A morning passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Cangtian glanced at the time, then stood up and cupped his hands in a salute to Yuwen Sheng. "Old Master, we shall conclude here for today. We can catch up properly when we return."
"Don't be in such a hurry!"
"I'll arrange a banquet. We met too late; we should have a good drink." Yuwen Sheng quickly said.
Ye Cangtian smiled slightly. He knew perfectly well that the other party was merely being polite, otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until now. Thinking this, he smiled and waved his hand, "Old Master, I appreciate your kind offer, but I am on the verge of departure and still have many preparations to make. I can only apologize."
"Then, all right, I won't keep you." Yuwen Sheng said with feigned difficulty.
On the other side, seeing Ye Cangtian about to leave, Yuwen Guangxu quickly stepped forward. "Great-Grandfather, I wish to spar with Lord Ye and have him offer some guidance. Would that be possible?" There was no other way; since Yuwen Sheng addressed Ye Cangtian as Lord Ye, Yuwen Guangxu could only do the same in front of Yuwen Sheng, and his attitude had to appear humble.
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Sheng frowned slightly. Truthfully, he knew Yuwen Guangxu's intentions, but since Yuwen Guangxu had put it this way, it would be difficult for him to refuse. Moreover, even if he deterred Yuwen Guangxu now, Yuwen Guangxu might still seek out Ye Cangtian at another time. After a moment of silence, Yuwen Sheng's gaze fell on Ye Cangtian. "Lord Ye, what do you think?"
"All right, it won't take up too much time anyway." Ye Cangtian nodded.
Listening to Ye Cangtian's words, Yuwen Sheng frowned. Although he knew in his heart that this junior was very powerful, his words clearly showed a lack of regard for the Yuwen family, which he found somewhat difficult to accept. However, given the other party's status, he didn't say much more.