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Chapter 130: Simple Interview

“Frankly, I don’t really care how your meeting goes.” She rose from the hot spring as she spoke, the water running down her body with a splash. Gao Yang quickly looked away.

As if she wasn’t bothered by his presence at all, she sauntered out of the hot spring to the cherry blossom tree, picking up a luxurious silk bathrobe from the wooden stand below it and putting it on.

With her knees pressed together, she knelt beside a tea set and started making tea.

“But the other party did request me to arrange a meeting. Failing to make it happen would hurt my reputation. Thank you for doing me the favor.”

“Well, remember to give me a discount next time.” Gao Yang was only half joking.

“Haha, you’re a practical one.” Liu Qingying made two cups of light tea, and placing them on two wooden trays, she sent them away on the water.

The trays parted and moved in two different directions. One reached Gao Yang, while the other floated to the other side of the hot spring.

With a wave of her hand, Liu Qingying conjured a quaint folding screen with the drawing of a peacock in full bloom, dividing the hot spring in half.

“Are you ready?” asked Liu Qingying.

“I am.” Gao Yang took a deep breath to clear his head.

Liu Qingying snapped her fingers.

The steam rising from the hot spring thickened at once, and soon, a figure emerged on the other side of the screen.

“Talent: Sweet Dream. It lives up to its reputation.”

The voice had been modulated to sound like the average man. Nothing about it stood out.

“You’re too kind,” Liu Qingying said. Her voice was as soft and captivating as ever, but there was a hint of reservation and deference to it.

It seems the guy is quite the big deal

, Gao Yang thought.

And judging from his remark, this seemed to be the first time the man had ever dealt with Liu Qingying. Of course, there was the possibility that he was putting up an act.

His headhunter seemed to be the straightforward type. Stretching his shoulders a little, the figure behind the screen said, “I’m Black Tortoise, one of the four Elders of the Qilin Guild. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Dark Horse of the Twelve Zodiac Signs,” Gao Yang said, compelled to match the man in projecting importance. “The pleasure is all mine.”

The four Elders of the Qilin Guild were, respectively, the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise.

Gao Yang had heard from Wu Dahai that all four of them had Talents among the top ten on the list. They rarely made an appearance and led the Qilin Guild as core members. Basically, they held positions similar to that of War Tiger in the Twelve Zodiac Signs.

“Has Miss Liu explained the purpose of this meeting?” asked Black Tortoise.

“She has.”

“And your answer?”

“I’m still considering it.” Gao Yang couldn’t reject the man outright. Otherwise, him accepting the meeting would be no different from toying with him.

After a moment of silence, Black Tortoise said, “To my knowledge, you have only joined the Twelve Zodiac Signs for less than a month.”

“That is true.”

“So you can’t be loyal to the organization already.”

“I won’t say I’m loyal to them,” Gao Yang said while choosing his words carefully, aiming to make himself sound dignified. “It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.”

“You’re young,” Black Tortoise said approvingly, “But you’re more mature than I expected.”

Gao Yang didn’t say anything to that.

The man continued, “A clever bird chooses the right tree as home, and a wise official chooses the right master to follow. The Qilin Guild will be the better choice for you.”

He sure was confident. As expected of a member of a major organization. They had the power to back the confidence up.

“I don’t know your organization at all.”

“Knowing is a two-way effort.”

“What title are you offering?” Gao Yang pretended to be interested.

“Protector.”

Gao Yang knew a thing or two about the ranks in the Qilin Guild. From the top of the pyramid to the bottom were Guildmaster, Elders, Protectors, Elites, and Members.

The Guildmaster was naturally Qilin.

The four Elders were Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.

There were usually about six Protectors. They were essentially the first officers of the Elders, each leading an independent operations team.

There were about ten Elites, and the rest were Members. The Elites and Members were split between the different operations teams.

If Gao Yang was to jump ship, his supervisor would be Elder Black Tortoise, making him a mid-ranking manager.

“I’d like to know who recommended me,” said Gao Yang.

“You’ll know once you join officially and gain the approval of the higher-ups.”

Gao Yang fell silent. It seemed that he couldn’t get more information out of the man.

“I heard that,” Liu Qingying said after listening to the conversation quietly, “The Qilin Guild imposes a trial period.”

“Yes.” On the other side of the screen, Black Tortoise picked up his teacup and took a sip. “The trial period is one month, but that’s for open recruitment. Those who enter through recommendations aren\'t required to go through a trial period.”

Gao Yang picked up his cup and made a show of savoring the tea as well.

Liu Qingying smiled. “Perhaps Dark Horse can join through open recruitment.”

Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in how the conversation went, Miss Liu? It seems you’re actually very invested.

Still, it made sense. If Gao Yang joined the Qilin Guild, he would be able to provide her with even more information.

“Recruitment done under the table may be efficient, but it’ll put Dark Horse in a difficult place.” Liu Qingying smiled. “He joined the Twelve Zodiac Signs only a little while ago. It’d hurt his reputation if news got out that he jumped ship to the Guild without warning.”

Black Tortoise didn’t say anything.

Gao Yang chewed on her words.

“Open recruitment is another story. You may send an official invitation to Dark Horse of the Twelve Zodiac Signs and hold the negotiation through the official channel.”

Liu Qingying chuckled. “That way, Dark Horse may prove his loyalty to the organization if he chooses to reject the offer, and if he decides to join the Guild, it’ll be done in an honest, open way without the risk of tarnishing his reputation.”

Gao Yang paused. That was a good middle ground.

There was a problem, of course, which was the attention he would be attracting. After all, he would become the one person the two major organizations were vying for. That would give anyone cause to find out more.

After some thinking, Black Tortoise said, “That works for me.”

“Would you mind the Qilin Guild sending you an invitation, Dark Horse?” asked Liu Qingying.

Gao Yang was hesitant. He did mind. He didn’t want to stand out. But then he suddenly remembered the secret mission Dragon entrusted to him.

Had the man guessed how things would pan out? Was this related to his mission?

Then perhaps he should let it run its course.

“I don’t mind,” Gao Yang said slowly. “However, I’ve yet to come to a decision and make no promises.”

“That’s reasonable,” said Black Tortoise.

“Then I’d say the two of you have reached a tentative agreement. This marks the end of the conversation.”

Both Gao Yang and Black Tortoise fell silent.

“Now, I’ll separate the two of you.” Liu Qingying curled up her lips. “Allow me to remind you that this meeting shall be kept secret. Should either of you reveal the information, I will deny everything, and I will reject any collaboration with the violator in the future.”

Gao Yang and Black Tortoise nodded.

Soon, the steam rose and spread. Both the screen and the man on the other side vanished.

Liu Qingying knelt down under the cherry blossom tree beside the hot spring.

“You should stay with him,” said Gao Yang. “I want some time on my own.”

“Ha, Black Tortoise said the same.” Liu Qingying put on a look of disappointment. There was no telling if it was her honest feeling. “Neither of you are the romantic type, it seems.”

Gao Yang was just about to access the system when the hot spring started rippling all over. The cherry blossoms started wilting and falling at an accelerated speed as well. The world was shaking and quickly crumbling.

“You’re waking up already?” Liu Qingying was a little surprised.

“Yes.” Gao Yang kept up a front to hide his nervousness.

Not knowing how long the trade would last, he hadn’t set an alarm. This late, he shouldn’t be waking up unless someone disturbed him or got too close to him.

Who’s in my room?!