Luocha did not immediately answer Fu Zhu, but instead turned his head to look at Jingliu, seeking her opinion.
However, judging by the demand Fu Zhu had made, they had neither the right nor the ability to refuse.
From start to finish, Luocha and Jingliu had only one goal: to meet the Marshal of the Xianzhou Alliance. It didn't matter what method they used, as long as they could achieve this objective.
After hearing Fu Zhu's demand, Jingliu agreed with a nod, showing not a hint of hesitation.
"No problem. But the prerequisite is... Jing Yuan, do you agree?"
Jing Yuan sighed, put away his Formation Blade, and crossed his arms again. "Since young friend Fu Zhu has said so, I naturally have no reason to disagree. However, even though I consent to the deal between you two and my young friend, you must still be escorted to the Xianzhou Alliance headquarters under the status of criminals."
No matter the outcome, Luocha and Jingliu had still attempted to harm a benefactor of the Luofu. This point could not be erased, no matter what. Furthermore, Jingliu's identity was extremely sensitive.
Jingliu and Luocha naturally had no objections to this arrangement; they had been prepared to be treated as criminals from the start.
Once everything was settled, Jing Yuan was about to summon the Cloud Knights to escort the two away, but Fu Zhu suddenly spoke up again.
"Now that this matter is temporarily concluded, it's time to discuss the consultation fee."
Fu Zhu grinned, rubbing his fingers together in front of Jingliu, all but a hair's breadth away from having golden coin symbols pop up in his eyes.
Jingliu naturally knew what kind of "fee" Fu Zhu wanted to collect. Although curing the Mara on her was Fu Zhu's own initiative, given their current position, they had no right to refuse. Besides, she had nothing to her name, so what could Fu Zhu possibly demand?
"Oh? Little brother, tell me, what is it you want? I am all alone, and worldly treasures like gold and silver are useless to me. If it is wealth you desire, I cannot satisfy you."
"Don't worry, such vulgar things are of no use to me either."
What Fu Zhu wanted was not some commonplace gold or silver. To him, the only thing on Jingliu that held any attraction, aside from her as a person, was her sword techniques.
The SlashBlade mod, while rich in variety and high in aesthetic value, had only a handful of actual sword skills.
Yanqing's previous discovery that Proud Soul Fragments could transmit martial arts to others had sparked quite a few ideas in Fu Zhu's mind. Could Proud Soul Fragments copy the sword skills of others and then be imprinted onto a SlashBlade for his own use?
That was why Fu Zhu now had his eyes on Jingliu's sword techniques.
If this test succeeded, it meant that Fu Zhu could seek out various sword masters in the future and use this BUG to replicate their sword skills, indirectly strengthening himself.
Most importantly, this method was free! It didn't cost any Achievement Points like buying a mod. Getting things for free was the ultimate principle!
And so, Fu Zhu declared to Jingliu, "I want your sword techniques."
"Fine."
Jingliu agreed without a second thought. She answered so quickly that everyone around, except for Jing Yuan, was a little stunned.
Welt and March 7th didn't know the exact extent of Jingliu's skill, but as Jing Yuan's master and the former Sword Champion of the Luofu, her techniques had to surpass those of 99% of the entire Xianzhou Alliance. And yet, she had agreed to part with such sword skills so casually?
Welt couldn't help but suspect there was a catch.
Fu Zhu was also a bit surprised. He glanced at Jingliu and couldn't help but mutter, "You agreed so readily? Did I ask for too little? How about you call me 'Master' as well? I really don't want to be a whole generation lower than someone for no reason."
This additional demand from Fu Zhu made even Jingliu, with her icy demeanor, shoot him a sideways glance. He was the one who wanted her to teach him swordsmanship, so how was it that she had to call him master in return?
The sheer audacity of you!
Jingliu pretended not to have heard Fu Zhu's additional request and addressed his earlier suspicion.
"My sword techniques have always been available to whoever wishes to learn them. You need not suspect any trickery. Just ask Jing Yuan."
Jing Yuan immediately nodded. "Indeed, she has always been like this. However, young friend Fu Zhu, learning sword skills is not something that can be achieved overnight. Not to mention, I need to have people escort Jingliu and Luocha to the Alliance headquarters. I'm afraid the Astral Express cannot stay on the Luofu for that long, can it?"
For anyone else, time might be a problem, but for Fu Zhu, it wasn't an issue at all.
Fu Zhu took out a spare Unnamed Sword [Kugutsu] from his inventory and held it up for everyone to see.
"Don't worry. With this sword, it won't take too long. A single system hour would be considered a long time!"
Everyone looked with confusion at the [Kugutsu] in Fu Zhu's hand. No matter how they looked at it, the sword seemed completely ordinary, showing no signs of being able to accelerate the learning of sword techniques.
The moment March 7th saw Fu Zhu take out the [Kugutsu], she immediately recalled the Proud Soul Fragment he had given to Yanqing at the Training Grounds. She clapped her hands and exclaimed.
"Fu Zhu, don't tell me you're planning to use a Proud Soul Fragment to learn sword skills?"
"Pretty much." Fu Zhu snapped his fingers and gave March 7th an appreciative look before turning back to Jingliu. "Want to give it a try?"
"Interesting. Are you certain that with just that wooden sword in your hand, you can learn all of my techniques within a single system hour?"
"We'll know once we try."
Seeing Fu Zhu's confidence, Jingliu didn't say anything more. In any case, if he failed to learn, it would be his own problem and had nothing to do with her.
"Then I shall have someone prepare the Training Grounds."
Seeing that Fu Zhu had made up his mind, Jing Yuan immediately summoned a Cloud Knight to inform the Training Grounds to make preparations. He himself planned to go and watch the spectacle, to witness how Fu Zhu would master all of Jingliu's techniques in a single system hour.
One must know, back in the day, he had spent dozens of years learning under Jingliu.
The others were just as curious as Jing Yuan and planned to tag along to see what would happen.
Just as Luocha was about to follow, Welt stepped in front of him with his cane and pushed up his glasses with a cold expression.
"There's no need for you to come, is there? Mr. Luocha."
Luocha looked baffled. Just then, two Cloud Knights walked up, patted him on the shoulder, and made a "come with us" gesture.
Luocha could only be escorted away helplessly by the Cloud Knights.
Watching Luocha being taken away, Welt finally let out a sigh of relief. Having that face hovering around him was making it impossible for him to relax, always feeling as if the man was plotting something wicked.