Chapter 0779: Who’s Scheming Against Whom
Ai Di cupped his fists and spoke with an expressionless face, “I will take Sect Master Ning’s works back. Goodbye.”
After saying that, Ai Di turned around and left. Suo Zihui also quickly saluted Ning Cheng before cupping her fists and going with Ai Di.
“Many thanks, Sect Master Ning.” After Ai Di left, Aunt Xu approached Ning Cheng and thanked him with a deep bow. If it weren’t for Ning Cheng, it wouldn’t have mattered much if people bossed her around. The important thing was that someone would have taken over Striking Order Emperor Mountain. No matter if Striking Order Heavenly Emperor could return or not, once such a thing happened, she would truly feel sorry for Striking Order Heavenly Emperor.
Ning Cheng smiled slightly, “Brother Striking Order and I are already friends, so his problems are my problems too. Go ahead and do what you have to do; I have a few matters to discuss with Brother Duan.”
That said, Ning Cheng then looked at Duan Gantai with a smile. “Brother Duan, I haven’t seen you in a long time. Let’s sit down and have a hearty discussion.”
Duan Gantai, who just a few moments ago wanted to force a ‘talk’ with Ning Cheng, suddenly changed his tone. He instantly put himself on a lower pedestal to Ning Cheng and said, “Of course, Brother Ning, please take the lead. This little brother will follow you.”
Aunt Xu also retired from the scene. With Ning Cheng chasing away the people from Yue Clan, she had a lot of things to do. Moreover, with Ning Cheng’s words today, no one would dare covet Striking Order Starry Sky for now. But since Striking Order Heavenly Emperor hadn’t returned, she had to take up the task of stabilising the Striking Order Starry Sky. No matter how bad the situation elsewhere, she knew that she had to start from securing the Striking Order Starland.
However, before leaving Striking Celestial Rest Stop, she specifically instructed others to take care of Ning Cheng.
But even without Aunt Xu’s reminder, Striking Celestial Rest Stop wouldn’t dare to neglect Ning Cheng. For this reason, the rest stop’s master personally opened Striking Celestial Rest Stop’s best booth for the two people.
……
“I don’t know why Brother Duan came looking for me? Brother Duan arrived right after I came to Lucky Heaven City. What a coincidence, ah.” Ning Cheng said as he sat down with a smile.
Duan Gantai despised Ning Cheng in his heart. If you didn’t want me to find you, would I have found you? However, he just gave a simple smile. “I’ve been living in seclusion lately, and as soon as I got out, I sensed Brother Ning’s position. It’s been a long time since I saw Brother Ning, so I immediately decided to visit Brother Ning and pick up my Perpetual Moon Time Key.”
Ning Cheng frowned and asked in doubt, “Brother Duan, did you lose your Perpetual Moon Time Key in Lucky Heaven City?”
Duan Gantai laughed hard before replying. “Brother Ning, you sure know how to make a joke. I gave my Perpetual Moon Time Key to Brother Ning for safekeeping last time we met. Don’t you remember, Brother Ning?”
“Oh, so Brother Duan is talking about this thing. I naturally remember it. But Brother Duan, I think you said something incorrect just now. You exchanged the white Perpetual Moon Time Key for the top-quality None-to-depend-on Wine, so how could Brother Duan say that it’s yours?”
Duan Gantai naturally wouldn’t let Ning Cheng corner him with words. He slapped his head and said, “Oh my goodness, I should have made it clear from the beginning. Thankfully, I recorded our conversation in a crystal ball.”
While taking, Duan Gantai quickly took out a crystal ball. He then activated the crystal ball, which amplified his words. “….. To make Brother Ning believe me, I will give Brother Ning the third key for the Temple of Time for safekeeping….”
After hearing the words recorded on the crystal ball, Duan Gantai chuckled. “Brother Ning, as I said, I only placed the key in Brother Ning’s care. I did not ‘give’ it to Brother Ning. Perhaps Brother Ning misremembered things just like I did in the past.”
Ning Cheng replied without missing a beat, “Brother Duan, why does the crystal ball not show what transpired before? It seems as if something is missing. I remember giving the real None-to-depend-on Wine to Brother Duan. Or is it that Brother Duan wants to deny it?”
Duan Gantai then looked at the crystal ball before exclaiming in surprise. “Hey, that’s true. Alas, it looks like my cultivation is slipping with each passing day. Can’t even properly record a crystal ball.”
With that said, Duan Gantai knocked on the crystal ball a few times, as if the crystal ball had a broken circuit or something. But after Duan Gantai hit the crystal ball a few times, another set of words appeared on it. “…. three pots of None-to-depend-on Wine is better than nothing. Many thanks, Brother Ning, for giving it to me for free.” Then Ning Cheng replied, “It’s okay; it’s okay; it’s just a small matter.”
After the words ended, Duan Gantai then put away the crystal ball. He then patted his head and said, “Oh no, looks like Brother Ning gave me the None-to-depend-on Wine for free. But don’t worry, I will never forget this generous gesture. Of course, if Brother Ning feels that it’s incorrect, I will follow Brother Ning’s advice and try to get that None-to-depend-on Wine back to Brother Ning.”
Ning Cheng sneered internally. Those two sentences weren’t the full contents of the transaction. But even he had to admit, Duan Gantai had quite an insidious mind. He now felt sure about Duan Gantai secretly recording this conversation. If he gave in, Duan Gantai would most likely disseminate this crystal ball through countless channels. Even if he didn’t fear it, it would sink whatever reputation he had right now.
“Oh, so you’re saying that I gave None-to-depend-on Wine to Brother Duan for free?” Ning Cheng said in surprise.
Duan Gantai gave a careful nod. “Yes, I’m grateful to Brother Ning for that gift. I’m grateful for it.”
“Since Brother Duan feels so grateful for it, then the None-to-depend-on Wine I gave to Brother Duan must have served an important purpose. Was it the real wine?” Ning Cheng asked with a smile.
Duan Gantai felt that this sentence was a bit inappropriate. But since he already thanked Ning Cheng for it a few moments ago, he could only say, “Yes, Brother Ning. The None-to-depend-on Wine you gave me was the real deal. It was the real stuff.”
Ning Cheng chuckled and said, “Looks like Brother Duan can’t properly record words using crystal balls. Fortunately, I also have a crystal ball. Brother Duan, please do have a look.”
After he finished talking, Ning Cheng raised his hand and brought out a crystal ball, which recorded every word spoken by Duan Gantai. “…. Brother Ning, if you have the real None-to-depend-on Wine, please give me just one jar. Whatever I have on my body, Brother Ning can freely select…. Brother Ning, I will give you a Starry Sky Essence Qi Spiritual Vein. Although I don’t have one right now, I can get the Starry Sky Essence Qi Spiritual Vein after I give the None-to-depend-on Wine to my friend…”
This crystal ball also had missing gaps, but it recorded all the promises Duan Gantai had made back then. Since he took Ning Cheng’s None-to-depend-on Wine, he would have to honour those promises.
After watching Ning Cheng’s crystal ball, Duan Gantai patted his head again and said, “Wow, I had a feeling that my recording still had a few missing parts. I guess that was what’s missing. Don’t worry, Brother Ning, I will give you half a Starry Sky Essence Qi Spirit Vein. How can my let my dear Brother Ning suffer like this.”
Ning Cheng immediately stopped Duan Gantai from making any moves. “Brother Duan, what do you mean by half a Starry Sky Essence Qi Spirit Vein, I don’t seem to have agreed to it.”
Duan Gantai secretly hated himself right now. To get some real None-to-depend-on Wine, he hadn’t given a second thought to the conditions he had agreed on previously. He also knew that it wouldn’t make any sense to take out the crystal ball anymore. Since he could take it out, so could Ning Cheng. As Ning Cheng said, the half a Starry Sky Essence Qi Spirit Vein was something he had proposed back then, but Ning Cheng had never agreed to it. This bastard deliberately planned everything, knowing that he would come back to ask him.
Ning Cheng knew back then that Duan Gantai would return and ask for it. Duan Gantai had decisively left the Perpetual Moon Time Key with him in exchange for the None-to-depend-on Wine. It meant that Duan Gantai obtained something at least equally tempting as the Temple of Time. Otherwise, with Duan Gantai’s personality, why would he ever even consider such a loss?
Because of this reason, Ning Cheng hadn’t agreed to any offer back then. In any case, he wasn’t afraid of Duan Gantai’s regret. But what he didn’t expect that Duan Gantai, like him, would also use a recording crystal ball. Moreover, Duan Gantai used an even more insidious method than him. He even mixed up the transactions on purpose and falsified them.
“Brother Ning, let’s hit the open air to speak in full confidence. Do you want a whole Starry Sky Essence Qi Spirit Vein?” Duan Gantai understood that he couldn’t fight against Ning Cheng right now. So, he chose the most direct method. Moreover, he wanted to reach the Devil Domain Grand Starry Sky as soon as possible to buy the Starry Sky Radish Grass.
“One? Haha, Brother Duan, it’s not that I don’t have full confidence in you, but I don’t lack any thinking capacity. As I pondered over it, I did feel something wrong with a few things. When Brother Duan asked me to go to the Temple of Time, I quite excited. But later, when Brother Duan took my None-to-depend-on Wine, I realised that Brother Duan just wanted to have fun with me at my expense. I guess there is nothing more between Brother Duan and me, and today’s the day we’re finally starting to split.” After talking, Ning Cheng stood up directly.
Duan Gantai quickly spoke up with a smile, “Brother Ning, I’ve always been a true friend of Brother Ning. How could I make fun of Brother Ning? Brother Ning misunderstood, misunderstood.”
How could he split with Ning Cheng right now? With Ning Cheng gone, what would he do about the Temple of Time? He had obtained quite a few things from within the Ancient Shadow Temple, so the contents in the Temple of Time definitely would be no less than the Ancient Shadow Temple. If this opportunity went to Ning Cheng, and he missed it, he would never forgive himself.
Ning Cheng snorted, “Well, in that case, let me tell you something. You told me to come to the Temple of Time, but you never told me that the Temple of Time hadn’t opened yet? I didn’t care about it back then because I believed in you too much. But now that I think about it, something wasn’t right about it since the start.”
Duan Gantai cursed in his heart; you trusted me this much? You just wanted the third Perpetual Moon Time Key for yourself, or did you forget?
He didn’t dare to say this; instead, he spoke with a smile, “Brother Ning, please sit down, please forgive me for confusing you. I have a way to enter the Temple of Time before it opens. That’s why I made that decision. Brother Ning, rest assured, the Perpetual Moon Time Keys are for both of us, and I will share the way to enter the Temple of Time.”
Ning Cheng felt ecstatic; he didn’t expect that Duan Gantai had a way to enter the Time Wilderness. What he had said before was purely on impulse; he didn’t think it would work.
Ning Cheng sat down and said, “Brother Duan, you said something wrong. You should have said that you have a way to enter the Temple of Time, but the Permanent Moon Time Keys aren’t with the two of us, but just me. Besides, I heard that Striking Order Heavenly Emperor has a way to enter the Temple of Time. So, I came here this time specifically to check whether Striking Order returned or not.”
Hearing Ning Cheng’s words, Duan Gantai immediately turned anxious. His greatest fear was that Ning Cheng would eventually get his hands on one of the Teleportation Jade Talismans to enter the Time Wilderness. Ning Cheng already had the three Temple of Time keys. If he also obtained a teleportation jade talisman, he wouldn’t even get to drink any soup.
“Brother Ning, if you don’t believe me, I’m willing to give you the jade talisman for the Temple of Time. Of course, you will have to give me one of the Perpetual Moon Time Key.” Duan Gantai spoke with a positive tone.
Before, due to the anxiety of entering the Guardian Temple, he had no choice but to give the Perpetual Moon Time Key to Ning Cheng. Now that he already had 90% of the things within the Guardian Temple, he naturally had to find a way to recover the Perpetual Moon Time Keys. He didn’t think that such a thing would happen. But if even one out of a ten thousand chance existed of Striking Order Heavenly Emperor returning, what would he do?