After a moment, Jun Wu Xie acted like she had forgotten what the Lord of the Spirit Jade Palace had just asked her and she instead went on to say: "As a show of sincerity towards our cooperation, I will need you to give me one thing."
The Spirit Jade Palace Lord arched up an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Jun Wu Xie replied: "Something that will represent that I have been selected by the Spirit Jade Palace."
"What?" The Lord of the Spirit Jade Palace had really been startled by Jun Wu Xie's words. "Kid, could you really be just pulling my leg all this while? You want to be accepted into this Spirit Jade Palace of mine? Don't you know what the current circumstances is like for members of the Spirit Jade Palace out there?"
Jun Wu Xie however answered: "I am aware. But I need a reason that will allow me to gain entry into the Cloud Brook Academy. Since it cannot be from the Twelve Palaces, then it can only come from you."
The Lord of the Spirit Jade Palace could really take his hat off to this little kid. [He had not merely come here to negotiate for cooperation but had even made plans for the events that were to happen after! ?]
"Aren't you afraid that once you pull that thing out, people from the Twelve Palaces will then attempt to find an excuse to silence you?" The Spirit Jade Palace Lord asked with a laugh.
Jun Wu Xie replied highly calmly: "If I am to present myself to already be a member of the Spirit Jade Palace at that time, they really might do that. But if I am just a participant who has only just showed outstanding results in the Battle of Deities Grand Meet and had never been to the Spirit Jade Palace before, they will naturally continue to try to win me over in whichever way they can. And if they find out at that time that it really cannot be worked out, wouldn't it still be the same for them to kill me then?"
She only needed an excuse. It was very simple. She would be just an innocent candidate that had been chosen. How could she possibly know the reason why the Spirit Jade Palace had picked her? Isn't that right?
The Lord of the Spirit Jade Palace immediately understood what Jun Wu Xie meant. [Although the Spirit Jade Palace had fallen into decline, but the Battle of Deities Grand Meet had existed from a very long time ago. The Spirit Jade Palace had been part of the Thirteen Palaces then and they had naturally possessed the right to select a talented candidate. The Battle of Deities and the Cloud Brook Academy were not exclusively controlled by the Twelve Palaces but authority over them was delicately shared together with the Nine Temples. Although the Twelve Palaces were most unwilling to mention anything about the Spirit Jade Academy, the Nine Temples would only be too glad to cause any additional trouble for the Twelve Palaces.]
[This year's Battle of Deities Grand Meet was a unilateral decision by the Twelve Palaces and when the time came when this kid would then strangely proclaim that he had been picked by the Spirit Jade Palace, it would definitely attract a lot of attention. Anything that the Twelve Palaces knew, would also surely be known by the Nine Temples, as Mount Fu Yao was not a place that the Twelve Palaces held complete sway.]
[Moreover, if this kid possessed any outstanding skill, or if he presented the significant spirit power he possessed before everyone, the people from the Twelve Palaces would be scrambling and fighting, seeking to rope him into their own respective palace.]
His completely unaffliliated identity, coupled with the Nine Temples' unintentional assistance, added to that Jun Wu Xie's quick and nimble mind, this might very well stand a chance of succeeding!
Even if it did not succeed, before Jun Wu Xie departed from the Cloud Brook Academy, before she set foot outside Mount Fu Yao, the Twelve Palaces would definitely not dare to make an attempt on her life inside Mount Fu Yao.
But *a spear thrust straight at one can be easily dodged while a hidden dart throw was hard to defend against….. [Chinese idiom, self explanatory I guess]
"You're being really bold and gutsy." The Spirit Jade Palace Lord said with a laugh as he pulled a piece of blood jade out from his hip, and tossed it to Jun Wu Xie.
"Take it as a show of sincerity from me towards our cooperation. Once you pull that out, the people from the Twelve Palaces will definitely recognize its origins. But, if they come seeking to find trouble with you at that time, you'd better not come running here to cry and sob before me."
Jun Wu Xie clasped her hand over the piece of blood jade that had its surface filled with carvings of plum blossoms and she slipped it easily into her sleeve.
"I'll return it later." Jun Wu Xie said in a cold voice.
However, the Spirit Jade Palace Lord instead lazily laid on his side upon the cushy couch, the corners of his mouth lifted faintly to reveal a faint languid smile.
"You don't have to. Take it as a gift to you. Things that have been touched by any male, I don't want."
"….." Jun Wu Xie was speechless.
"Forgive me for not seeing you out. Please." The Lord of the Spirit Jade Palace rested his head upon one hand, his other extended towards the exit, the meaning clear in his pose.
Jun Wu Xie nodded her head slightly, and turned around to leave.