“I wonder who works for who. How did I become your personal shopper?”
“You didn’t,” William said dryly, “I’m pretty sure he did.”
“Hey!” Wang Xiaoling slapped the back of William’s head, “Don’t be rude! Call him Brother Li, brat!”
William rubbed the back of his head and glanced at the amused Li Jie. “Sorry, Brother Li. I didn’t mean to have you buy me clothes.”
“It was no problem,” Li Jie smiled, “Besides, I needed to buy some things myself.”
William looked at Li Jie’s empty hands and raised an eyebrow at him, getting an embarrassed smile in return. He shrugged and let the white lie go. William wasn’t one to be a cockblock without an extremely good reason.
At the very least, he understood why Li Jie liked the crazy woman. While Wang Xiaoling didn’t match the beauty of the monstrous girl in the Jade Healing Clinic, she came surprisingly close.
“I’m going to take the cost of the clothes out of your next payment,” Wang Xiaoling helpfully added, “No need to thank me.”
William narrowed his eyes, wondering if she was trying to fleece him. “How much did they cost?”
“Li Jie found it for a bargain. Only 6 Copper! Silk of this quality is usually priced in Silver. I wish I had the luck Li Jie has with finding the good stuff.”
William gave another knowing look to the blushing guard and wondered what his background was. It surely wasn’t simple. Even if he hadn’t known that Li Jie would buy expensive gifts for Wang Xiaoling and claim he had got them for a bargain, having a token to get treated in the Jade Healing Clinic needed a good background. At least, that’s what William assumed from the exclusivity Huang Jingyi mentioned.
William wondered if Li Jie was a hidden boss experiencing life as a mortal but immediately threw that out of his mind. If that was true, there was no reason to go to this length to get Wang Xiaoling’s affection.
“That does sound like a good deal,” William agreed, adding, “Maybe you should go with Brother Li and see if you get lucky.”
Wang Xiaoling stared intently at Li Jie before smiling widely. “Good idea, Wei Liang! Let’s go!”
“Ah, wait! Wang Xiaoling, does eating a Dragonfruit do something to you? I feel a little stronger than before.”
“You don’t know?” Wang Xiaoling muttered before slapping her forehead, “I forgot you were a country bumpkin. The fruits I sell are the rejected harvest for a minor sect. Even if it’s trash for them, it’s good for people like us!”
“Oh,” William wondered how she had got into business with a sect. And didn’t she tell him that an honest merchant like her would never meet experts? “So, is that how you got so strong?”
“What was that?” Wang Xiaoling growled, “Did you say I’m manly?”
William shook his head rapidly as she threatened him with a closed fist. He forgot he had to watch his words with her short temper.
Wang Xiaoling sniffed and said, “That’s what I thought. Besides, eating a Dragonfruit only works a few times. After that, it’s just something delicious.”
“Anyway, let’s go, Li Jie! You too, Wei Liang. You can help with holding the things I’ll buy.”
“Right,” William stepped back, “As much as I would love to go with you, I have to go back to the Jade Healing Clinic.”
“You do?” Li Jie interjected with a furrowed brow, “Did they not heal you yesterday?”
“They did, but Elder Huang wanted me to come again. I’m not sure why.”
Li Jie gained a sharp look in his eyes that William might have missed if it didn’t feel like cold water had been dumped on his head. He shivered involuntarily and tried to seem unaffected, though when Li Jie looked at him sheepishly, it probably didn’t work.
“You’re being given a rare opportunity,” Li Jie said earnestly, “Be sure to grasp it with both hands. And always be sure to be respectful in the clinic. It is something that could decide your life.”
“Li Jie, stop scaring the brat! Let’s get Annoying Xu! We can take him along instead of Wei Liang to be my pack mule!”
William watched the annoyance wash over Li Jie’s face before a comforting smile replaced it. The image of Fatty Xu would be something that could occupy William’s mind if not for how casual Wang Xiaoling seemed to be with what was being discussed.
Perhaps he was the naive one to believe that she was nothing more than what she had revealed so far. She was somehow a merchant that sold the rejected harvest from a sect, she knew someone like Li Jie, who had secrets of his own, and she didn’t blink an eye at what Li Jie said about the Jade Healing Clinic.
Those were all the traits of a hidden bigshot, right? It might be a stretch, but there was a chance. William knew there must be a reason Daoist Chen dropped him in front of Xiaoling’s wagon. Her skill in making money might not be the most significant factor. He resolved to stick to her like glue to get all the benefits he could.
Of course, if necessary, William would sometimes separate from the suspected hidden bigshot Wang Xiaoling. He needed to visit the Jade Healing Clinic, where blatantly visible bigshots worked.
William observed Li Jie suck up to Wang Xiaoling in his own particular way and decided it wouldn’t hurt to do the same. He figured the easiest way to do that was to change how he addressed her. He could call her Sister Wang, but that would lump him together with Fatty Xu, so that was thrown out. That left only one other option.
“Sister Xiaoling, could you drop me off at the clinic?”
William tried to make himself look as innocent as possible when Wang Xiaoling stared at him suspiciously. He had to stop his instinctual reaction to step back when she moved closer to him.
“Did soaking in the tub get you sick?” Wang Xiaoling asked as she pressed a hand to William’s forehead.
“I’m not sick, but thank you for caring about my well-being, Sister Xiaoling,” William continued with his new way of addressing her.
“Li Jie, Let’s drop the brat off at the clinic. He’s talking weirdly all of a sudden. Maybe they can fix him.”
William didn’t even know he was tense until Wang Xiaoling stormed away. He guessed the trauma of her kick still lingered for longer than he expected.
Li Jie chuckled as he slapped William’s back lightly, “Little Brother Wei Liang, you’re smarter than I guessed, but don’t go too far.”
William wondered if that was a threat since it certainly sounded like it was. However, he would give Li Jie a pass and assume it was a misunderstanding due to how friendly he had been so far. Because if it wasn’t, William’s liking of the man would drop tremendously for threatening a thirteen-year-old. That would reek of insecurity.
“Wei Liang!” Wang Xiaoling yelled from the wagon, “Hurry up! I don’t want to waste any time!
“Let go, Brother Li. You don’t want to waste the chance I gave you with Sister Xiaoling, do you?”
The short ride to the Jade Healing Clinic let William see some interesting shops he wanted to look at. But given his current weakness, he was prime material for another abduction.
“Sister Xiaoling, is it safe for me to walk back to the hotel?”
Wang Xiaoling gave William another confused look, still not used to the familiar way he addressed her. “You should be fine as long as it’s not late.”
“Then I’ll come back on my own. You don’t need to pick me up. Thanks for dropping me off, Sister Xiaoling.” William hopped down from the wagon and waved at her.
“Wei Liang, I’m not sure what’s wrong with you, but you better go back to normal when I see you later.” Wang Xiaoling huffed and made the horses tap their hooves to kick up some dirt before leaving William behind.
He coughed as he waved his hand ineffectively to try and clear the air. He wasn’t sure if Wang Xiaoling really was a bigshot or not, but even if it was the latter, his near future depended on her grace.
William wanted Wang Xiaoling... no. He wanted Sister Xiaoling to see him as something more than cheap help, even if it was only upgraded to extremely precious cheap help that couldn’t be replaced.
He patted his new silk clothes to get the dust off them before taking a deep breath and prepared himself to greet Li Xinyue. Three keywords were repeating in his mind.
Respect, Sincerity, and Agreeability.
If he showed all three, the temperamental cultivator wouldn’t threaten to kill him… probably.