Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Chapter 356: Chapter 271: The Qin Family’s Plot

For the next few days, however, Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue kept to themselves. It looked like they were hiding from the Zhao Family’s retaliation, but in reality, the two simply didn’t want to go out and be the subject of gossip.

From the highest deck of the great ship, they could see a bustling scene outside the docks in the distance, with hundreds of horse-drawn carriages speeding away one after another.

Qin Feng stood there with a few of his men, his sharp gaze locked onto Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue’s carriage. By now, the man with triangular eyes, Qin Peng, had already learned that the beautiful woman was actually Qin Feng’s fiancée. To see her now appearing in public with another man filled him with a strange sense of glee, but he couldn’t help but feel secretly alarmed. ’That kid and the Sea Domain Song Family are both way too arrogant, aren’t they? To show such blatant disregard for the Qin Family! When you think about it, this incident isn’t just a loss of face for Qin Feng alone!’

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Qin Peng glanced at the grim-faced Qin Feng but said nothing. He knew full well that if he were in the same situation, he would have probably tried to kill that kid long ago. It was truly a testament to Qin Feng’s temperament that he could endure it for so long... ’Such a good disposition... to do nothing while his wife is being slept with by another man!’

The Qin Family was indeed extravagant; the guest rooms they arranged were all incredibly luxurious. Since many attendees had come as couples, the Qin Family disciple assigning rooms wasn’t surprised when Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue requested a single room. When registering, Ling Xiao didn’t use the name of Song Mingyue’s Sea Domain Song Family. Instead, on the registration ledger, he wrote a single word that others wouldn’t understand—Shushan!

"A Shushan Family?" the disciple muttered, finding it odd. He’d never heard of it, and the name was quite a mouthful. ’Looks like another unknown, third-rate little sect,’ he thought. At this, the Qin Family disciple curled his lip slightly and complained internally: ’Honestly, the Young Master... letting all these small-fry sects on the last ship. What was he thinking!’

Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue looked over the furnishings in the room. Ling Xiao, however, did a thorough check of the entire place. The Qin Family’s wealth was evident from the guest rooms alone. Even though they had registered as a minor sect, they were still assigned a suite with two rooms—an outer parlor and an inner room with a luxurious big bed. The bedding was brand new, giving off a fresh scent. It seemed the entire Qin Family had truly gone to great lengths for this grand event.

Unlike the other guests, however, Song Mingyue and Ling Xiao felt not an ounce of gratitude for the Qin Family’s hospitality. For the Qin Family to be so lavish, their intentions were likely not as benevolent as they seemed.

"Ming Yue, do you think anyone will come looking for trouble with me?" Ling Xiao asked with a smile after he had inspected both rooms and found nothing out of the ordinary.

Song Mingyue thought for a moment, then chuckled softly. "I don’t think so, at least not right now. This matter isn’t exactly a glorious one for the Qin Family. I suspect the Qin Family’s Patriarch will summon me first. He’ll want to understand what’s going on."

Ling Xiao nodded. "Why does it feel like we’re the ones in the wrong?"

Song Mingyue made a soft "pfft" sound, her face blushing as she said, "Well, that’s your problem!"

The island’s terrain was flat. In fact, anyone who stumbled upon this place without knowing it was Qin Family territory would surely think they had arrived in a small island nation.

There were no city walls, but the tall buildings, wide and straight bluestone roads, and various vendors weaving through the crowds with their calls echoing one after another made the streets bustle with people. One would never guess this was the base of a large, hidden family with a heritage spanning several thousand years.

It was almost no different from any other city.

The island was vast. The Qin Family’s population of over a hundred thousand people occupied only a tiny fraction of it. There were still large swaths of undeveloped wilderness and forests. All in all, it was much larger than the home of the Sea Domain Song Family.

With the arrival of the last boatload of people, the grand exchange event was set to officially begin tomorrow.

The grand exchange event was divided into several parts. The first was the Item Trading Assembly! This would take place throughout the entire event in a huge plaza on the island. Uniform stalls had already been set up in the plaza, and many members of the families and sects who had arrived early had already claimed their spots. In truth, the so-called Item Trading Assembly was simply a place for the hidden families and sects to do business with one another.

It wasn’t much different from the merchants doing business in the Mortal World. The only differences, perhaps, were the items they traded and their methods of transaction.

The second part of the grand exchange event was mutual exchange, which was really just about signing offensive and defensive alliances. It was an opportunity for those who got along to make friends. The young people attending this event would, to a large extent, determine the direction of the hidden families and sects for many years to come.

That was why so many minor families and sects were practically breaking their heads trying to get in. If they could befriend a Core Disciple from a major sect, the benefits would be endless.

The third part, however, was an opportunity for those with mutual grievances to settle their scores, all under the witness of the many assembled sects and families.

This was always the most eye-catching event of every grand exchange. Almost everyone was interested in this part. For families and sects that centered their development on Swordsmanship, nothing was more exciting than a martial duel.

Moreover, there was one major benefit to settling grudges here: the grievances between the two parties would be laid bare and then resolved once and for all. Regardless of who won or lost, once the grand exchange event was over, no one was permitted to commit acts like secretly annihilating the other’s entire family.

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