Sage kept his head down and soon enough the group finished their farewells and were led out of the building by a humble servant. Sage could only shake his head, even that servant who was acting as a guide was a beautiful woman. It was no wonder this clan had risen to power, they sure knew how to use their looks to their advantage. A moment later another attendant came out of the still opened doors and politely invited Sage in to the room. It was quite similar to his first meeting with them. The room seemed simply decorated, but everything was of exceedingly high quality. In addition, Zhu Su and Zhu Yating were both present along with another pair of man and woman. Just like before it appeared like the woman was merely a subservient wife for the man, but Sage knew better. The woman was the real person in charge.

“This humble one greets the fine members of the Zhu Clan. It is this one’s great honor to be in the presence of such fine personages.”

Sage made sure to be as polite and humble as possible while adding a hint of flattery and praise. Just as before, he wasn’t sure of their character so he didn’t want to lay it on too thick or he might annoy them.

“Welcome, Lang Sheng.”

The man he hadn’t met yet made the first introduction, to which Sage nodded and bowed his head. Sage then looked towards the woman to his side, giving her a deeper bow. If he were somewhere else this gesture might cause a misunderstanding, thinking he was trying to improve relations with another man’s wife. Since he was in the Zhu clan, it was instead Sage’s way of letting them know he understood who the real boss in the room was. Fortunately, his gesture was not misunderstood and the woman he was looking at waved her hand and the man at her side stepped back and sat down.

She smiled, “I am Zhu Xiulan, the Third Elder of the Zhu Clan. Are you sincere in pursuing a betrothal arrangement with my clan?”

Sage felt a bit unwilling deep down, but he had made a promise. He nodded his head to Zhu Xiulan, “If it were up to me, I would not be here. Unfortunately, my clan was nearly entirely destroyed and it has fallen to me to rebuild it. As you’ve seen in the scroll, my Ancestor has sent me here to you, though I know not why.”

Zhu Xiulan laughed at his honest answer, “All is as I thought.”

Then the mirth disappeared from her face, instead a serious glare was fixed upon him. A cruel grimace crawled onto her face as she spoke again, “Did you think that you could just come in and then walk away with one of our women? You severely underestimate the value of a girl from the Zhu clan. Our clan members are trained from birth into the most desirable women in the entire kingdom!”

Sage was flabbergasted, he didn’t expect the kind and almost jovial woman to suddenly turn so harsh. Despite his inner turmoil his face stayed exactly the same as before. Smiling pleasantly at Zhu Xiulan and letting the harshness of her sentence sink in. A moment later he bowed his head to her before speaking, “This one is only following the commands of my Ancestor. This one is only being a filial offspring and begs the Third Elder to be merciful.”

His speech was extra humble once more, competing against Zhu Xiulan’s harshness. He kept his head bowed down, waiting in silence for her response. The time seemed to slowly drag onwards. Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath, so quiet it was. Sage kept control of himself, treating this as some sort of test of his calm and patience. Making sure his heart rate was steady, his breathing smooth, and his face serene. If he were to let his inner turmoil show, sweating and wringing his hands like he wanted to do, it would reflect badly upon him.

“Not bad, Little Mantis. You have kept your cool and held your temper admirably. Very good. Our two clans share some relation, so I shall give your Ancestor some face. If you still desire a betrothal with my Zhu clan then you shall have to prove your worth.

I am sure you have seen the state of Plum Lantern City. All these people aren’t just here to celebrate the Plum Lantern Festival. This year, the Plum Lantern Festival will signify the start of a great event. The Thunder Mountain Bridge is opening its gates and a great selection tournament will be held to choose those who will be allowed entrance.”

Sage nodded to her imposition of a test. It wasn’t too out of sorts for her to ask for such a thing. Perhaps they would use it to determine which of their women he was worthy of? Then he was suddenly confused, what did a tournament have to do with him?

“This one is only a humble craftsman, and unworthy of any grand tournaments…”

Before he could finish trying to talk himself out of what he thought she was putting him up to, Zhu Xiulan laughed at him. Holding up her hand to silence him so she could laugh without interruption. Finally putting her hand down and wiping her eyes, “Hah! Obviously! The tournament is only for geniuses! Only those with an age under twenty and below the fourth rank can enter Thunder Mountain Bridge. You can’t enter! Your task is not to enter the tournament, it is to convince one of the entrants to work for us.”

Sage lifted an eyebrow, conveying to the Third Elder his confusion.

“There is a special flower that grows only in the Thunder Mountain Bridge. It is called the Double Flowered Ice Camellia is very important to our clan, yet nearly useless to all others. The problem is that if we spread the news that it is important to us, then we will be taken advantage of by others. Instead, we will have a single competitor work on our behalf and gather a huge quantity of Double Flowered Ice Camellia for our use exclusively. You will be responsible for contacting and recruiting our agent.”

“This one will be happy to comply, but why is such an important task falling to me? Such an important duty should surely be performed by a powerful member of the Zhu Clan, should it not?”

He started polite, but added a bit of a bite to the end. Showing his displeasure for this ridiculous request. How was he going to know who would win the tournament? He didn’t know any of these geniuses and even if he did, how could he ensure their cooperation? Zhu Xiulan was quiet for a while. It seemed his words had struck a weak point and only after some time did she sigh and continue, “You are not wrong. The problem is that our chosen agent, Song Lu Tian, will not work with us. He has no interest in money … or women. None of our treasures were able to catch his eye, but you are from the Holy Flame Sect. Tell him you can get a treasure made for him.”

Sage wanted to talk back to her, but he had to admit she had somewhat of a point. He hadn’t come as a member of his Sect, but he still wore his uniform and it was obvious to those knowledgeable enough. Sage reached down and pulled back his outer layer of robes to expose his profession badges.

“As you can see, I am only a three-star Blacksmith. Surely, a genius of the third rank won’t be swayed by my skills that only reach the minimum for his use.”

“That’s quite an assortment of professions! Not bad! You don’t have to make a treasure. Just tell him you’ll introduce him to a master. The tournament lasts for one week after which there will be a whole month until the Thunder Mountain Bridge opens. Figure it out yourself. Just get us those Double Flowered Ice Camellia.”