"Do you have a backer or something? But I don't recall hearing about a Xiang Clan in the Cloud Margin City before," Gong Qinyin asked doubtfully.
"No such thing. I don't have any backers in the Cloud Margin City," Xiang Shaoyun said. He paused for a bit then said, "Are things looking bad for your Gong Clan currently?"
"What do you know about that?" Gong Qinyin frowned.
"I know nothing except for the fact that your Gong Clan is currently weaker than the Wen Clan. Is that right?" asked Xiang Shaoyun.
"Yes," Gong Qinyin gave an honest answer.
"If I can help your Gong Clan build some sort of relationship with a Cloud Margin Pavilion elder, would things be better?" Xiang Shaoyun probed.
Gong Qinyin was surprised. "Is that possible?"
Although the Gong Clan wasn't exactly a weak clan in Cloud Margin City, they never had any sort of deep relationship with the Cloud Margin Pavilion elders. Only their patriarch had some sort of personal friendship with some of them. If Xiang Shaoyun was able to help their clan establish a relationship with the elders, it would only benefit the Gong Clan.
"I won't lie to you. You see..." Xiang Shaoyun proceeded to tell Gong Qinyin his plan.
Gong Qinyin was overjoyed after hearing the entirety of the plan. "If we can really do that, the Wen Clan will hit a dead end with us, while the Gong Clan will benefit greatly from it."
"Um. Just follow my plan and things won't go wrong. After dealing with the Wen Clan, we can focus on the earthcore fire," Xiang Shaoyun said.
"Alright. I'll do it right away. Wait for me," Gong Qinyin said in excitement and started leaving. As she arrived at the exit, she suddenly turned and said, "Thank you, Xiang Shaoyun."
After leaving those words, she left. Xiang Shaoyun rubbed his nose and sniffed at the lingering fragrance in the air as he thought to himself, This girl is not as fierce as I thought after all.
Prior to this, he had an impression that Gong Qinyin was a fierce tigress. But after their latest interaction, his opinion of her had improved considerably.
...
The Wen Clan was located at the eastern part of the city. Once a prestigious clan, they still maintained their glory from before. Their main estate was extremely expansive and luxurious.
After the clan leader, Wen Dongyou, returned to the estate, he immediately sent some people to monitor Xiang Shaoyun and Mo Mo at all times. Orders had been given to immediately kidnap Xiang Shaoyun the moment he left the restaurant.
Although Wen Hong did not agree with what Wen Dongyou did, he couldn't say anything since the latter was the clan leader. At this time, Wen Jinnuo went to see his father and said, "Father, why don't you let me deal with that fellow?"
"Stop messing around. This is important for us. We can't mess it up," Wen Dongyou said seriously.
"Father, I'm already an adult. It is about time I shoulder some of your burdens. You can send someone to assist me if you are worried. How hard can dealing with two outsiders be?" Wen Jinnuo persuaded.
Wen Dongyou gave it a thought and relented. "Fine. I will let you deal with this. Don't mess it up. Or else, I won't spare you."
"Thank you, father. I won't disappoint you!" Wen Jinnuo was overjoyed. He added, "Father, what do you think about Qinyin? I am thinking of taking her as my wife."
Wen Dongyou thought about it and said, "Are you playing around or are you serious with her?"
Wen Jinnuo hesitated for a bit and said, "If she is obedient, I will take her as my wife. If she refuses to be obedient, I will only play with her for a bit."
"Ok, noted," Wen Dongyou said.
When Wen Jinnuo saw that his father was not giving a clear answer, he grew somewhat dispirited and left.
...
The Gong Clan was based in the south of the city and was a clan that had only risen to prominence in the past 100 years. Their patriarch was an old King Realm cultivator who had gone on to train a couple of new King Realm cultivators. This caused the Gong Clan to rise to prominence in Cloud Margin City.
Unfortunately, the patriarch was currently in a bad condition, putting the Gong Clan into panic. Being someone from such a clan, Gong Qinyin had a background far stronger than the likes of Martial Hall Palace. Why would she join the Martial Hall Palace, then?
The reason for that was simple. She was not the daughter of the main wife and was only the daughter of a concubine. Coupled with the absence of her mother since young, she felt extremely lonely staying in her own clan, and she wasn't particularly well-liked in the clan either.
If it wasn't for the fact that the patriarch had noticed her cultivation talent, she would have been used as a tool for political marriage long ago. As for her appearance at the Martial Hall Palace, that was her own decision so as to leave the politics of the clan and to try to accomplish something by relying on herself.
Although the Gong Clan wasn't an extremely powerful clan, there was still a lot of politics in the clan, and it only exacerbated with their patriarch's current condition. Gong Qinyin did not have a favorable impression of her own clan, but due to the love the patriarch had shown her and the sense of responsibility she felt due to the blood coursing in her veins, she had to do her part in helping the clan as well.
After returning to the clan estate, she went straight to her father, Gong Lianda. Gong Lianda was a strict and dignified middle-aged man. He was a third-stage King Realm cultivator, and one of the contenders to be the next patriarch.
"Why are you looking for me?" Gong Lianda asked indifferently.
The Gong Clan had always been a clan that valued males over females. Because of that prejudice, despite Gong Qinyin's talent, Gong Lianda still couldn't avoid feeling indifferent about her.
Gong Qinyin was already used to it. Using the same indifferent expression, she answered, "I have a way to establish a connection between you and the Cloud Margin Forging Pavilion's elder."
"Are you sure you're not kidding me?" Gong Lianda questioned doubtfully.
Gong Qinyin went straight to the point and told her father what Xiang Shaoyun told her to say.
"Your friend actually has some emperor-grade materials on hand? What a lucky fellow. No wonder he was able to attract the attention of a Cloud Margin Pavilion elder," said Gong Lianda with an astonished expression. He asked, "Are you sure he is willing to let us negotiate on behalf of him?"
Gong Qinyin nodded, "Our Gong Clan will only be negotiating on behalf of him, but he will still be the one keeping all the profit. He also intends to get the elder to help him with his conflict with the Wen Clan."
"He is trying to pit our Gong Clan against the Wen Clan!" Gong Lianda frowned.
"Well, it is your decision. Are you going to agree or not?" Gong Qinyin asked indifferently.
Gong Lianda paced around the room before finally making up his mind. "If we can establish a friendship with a Cloud Margin Pavilion elder, we will be able to put the Wen Clan in their place and might even be able to get some help for the patriarch. It is worth trying."
"So you agree?" Gong Qinyin asked.
"Although our Gong Clan is currently in a bad situation, it is during times like these that we need to do something. It will prove that we are still not a clan to be easily provoked," said Gong Lianda as he narrowed his eyes. He then added, "We should not delay. Let's go see your friend immediately. We will be escorting him to the Cloud Margin Forging Pavilion."
Thus, the two left for the Cloud Margin Restaurant with a group of people.