The manager used both hands and raised the jade cup towards Li Qiye and said: “This is a little token of our goodwill, please accept it, sir.”
This course of event astounded Shi Sou's group even more and robbed them of their words.
Even before mentioning the manager's respectful attitude, the guy was actually giving this pricey jade cup to Li Qiye. How unbelievable was this?
Even selling all of Sago Palm wasn't enough to buy this cup but now, the manager was handing it over without any condition. Such an extravagant play was something beyond their imagination.
Li Qiye accepted the cup for a look before loosening his grip. “Bang!” The cup shattered on the ground with pieces scattering everywhere.
Today had too many surprises so everyone was stunned and couldn't regain their wits, especially Shen Xiaoshan's group.
In their eyes, this pricey cup could be their hereditary treasure if they were to ever get it. But now, Li Qiye casually dropped it down. This was simply treating money like trash.
Li Qiye shook his head and told the manager: “It's not a bad cup, just not Old Ku's best work though.”
In fact, when Li Qiye was looking at it, he thought about someone who was quite weird with his works. When this person focused during the crafting process, something amazing would happen. If he wasn't, then the result would only be an ordinary piece.
Because of this, Li Qiye smashed the cup since there was nothing special about it so he lost interest.
Heavenly Phoenix Crown Prince became aggravated again and clenched his teeth. He wanted to spend a large amount of money to buy this cup for his older sister. But now, Li Qiye broke it in front of him. This was the same as smashing his face with the cup. How could he endure such a blatant provocation?
Of course, Li Qiye treated the prince as air and didn't bother to look at him.
"Sir, would you like to go to the back?" The manager asked Li Qiye while letting his workers talk to the prince.
Of course, offending this prince didn't matter to him. Even the prince's father, Heavenly Phoenix Royal Lord, was only his junior.
Li Qiye nodded in response: "Fine, for a bit then."
The manager led the way for Li Qiye. This was a reception unavailable to even the kings and sect masters.
Inside the back room, he personally made some tea for Li Qiye with great enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Li Qiye was pretty nonchalant while sipping his tea. He acted as if this was his house and he could do as he pleases.
The other three were still in a daze. Everything happened so fast and they couldn't digest it all.
"May I have your name, Sir?" The manager respectfully started a conversation.
Even though Li Qiye was a mortal, the manager knew right away that this guy was extraordinary after the previous scene. More importantly, he wanted to ask Li Qiye for a favor.
"Li Qiye, but you don't know anyway." Li Qiye chuckled.
The manager naturally had never heard of this name before but being the experienced fox that he is, he smiled and said: "Sir, you are a true dragon soaring deep in the clouds among the horizon, a hidden master. Of course, ordinary people like us wouldn't know your name. It is due to our ignorance."
Shi Sou and He Chen glanced at each other. They couldn't describe their emotion at this moment. The manager was an unfathomable character in their eyes. If he were to visit Sago Palm, perhaps the entire sect would prostrate to greet him with a grand ceremony.
But now, such a big shot was so humble before Li Qiye and called himself an ordinary person. This was quite a shocking debacle.
Li Qiye sat there comfortably without answering so the manager continued to wait on him.
"I'm actually a bit curious. Why did this zither come out of the Jilin Clan?" Li Qiye asked directly.
The three were quite shaken since they didn't expect this zither to be from the clan itself.
"Sir, the truth is that our ancestors belonged to a branch in the imperial clan. Due to their contribution, the clan bestowed the zither to them." The manager replied.
"You do not have the phoenix melody." Li Qiye smiled and said.
The manager coughed in response and became a bit awkward: "We, the descendants, are useless and couldn't inherit the melody. Same with the imperial clan itself without the actual zither."
"But you believe that someone in this world will know the melody of the phoenix because this zither was brought into the clan in the past. That's why you display the zither here as a bait of sorts." Li Qiye revealed.
"Sir, the zither is useless without the melody. We do hope that this zither can find the fated one for it." The manager hurriedly said.
"I know the melody." Li Qiye chuckled. How could he not? The zither was his before it came to the Jilin Clan!
The group was shocked again. They didn't expect Li Qiye to know the phoenix melody of the Jilin Clan.
"Sir, you are the fated one. Of course, if you really want this zither, we are willing to sell it to you." The manager said.
"No, I do not need this zither. Plus, I don't want to take your heirloom." Li Qiye spoke.
"Sir, you are willing to pass down the melody?" The manager became ecstatic and added: "In that case, you will be our benefactor. Just say the words if you need anything."
"I want that wooden box." Li Qiye responded.
"The wooden box?" The manager was a bit surprised. Of course, he knew which box Li Qiye was talking about.
"That's not our item, a friend is asking us to sell it." He said.
Li Qiye nodded: "I know. I'm trading the phoenix melody for an Immortal Monarch's defensive art, you think this is a bad deal on your end?"
"Well, of course not. But we need to ask the clan because it is an imperial law." The manager replied.
"That's your business. To be frank, you're greatly benefiting from this trade. Must I say more about the power of this zither with its melody? Otherwise, it is as useful as firewood." Li Qiye leisurely added.
"Indeed." The manager didn't try to hide it since there was no point. The guy was knowledgeable enough.
He hesitated for a moment before making up his mind: "Then I shall be bold enough to take charge of this matter and accept your request, Sir."
"Since you're so decisive, I will be too. Bring me something to write on." Li Qiye chuckled.
Of course, he wasn't worried about writing the melody down first. He knew that the manager wouldn't change his mind or tried to trick him. The guy didn't know his identity. A mortal acting so bold before him? This person would either be a madman or completely confident in his skill.
However, Li Qiye was no madman. A mortal not caring about cultivators? This was quite frightening so the manager didn't have any ideas about tricking Li Qiye.
After the manager brought a brush and paper here, Li Qiye wrote down the melody. After he finished, the manager carefully picked up the paper with both hands and carefully read it.
Despite losing the melody long ago, a being of his level could definitely tell if it was fake. After confirming that it was real, he bowed towards Li Qiye and said: "Sir, thank you for bestowing us our inheritance again."
Anyone else was likely to hold on to the melody because the combination of the zither and the melody was quite devastating and precious.
The manager personally went to pick up the wooden box and respectfully handed it over to Li Qiye: "The box is yours now, Sir."
Li Qiye accepted it for a quick glance before putting it away.
"Sir, may I ask you a question?" The manager spoke with a prudent tone.
Li Qiye smiled and said: "Go for it."
"What is in the box?" He was very curious. In fact, when the box was brought here, he personally appraised it but he couldn't tell what was inside. If he didn't know its owner, he wouldn't have agreed.