Chapter 48: Light and Shadow

Chapter 48: Light and Shadow

Eileen sat on the second floor of the Mountain Villa, complaining about Bran’s cunning, stinginess, and so on, for not telling her the rules to follow when searching for the Phoenix.

Bran responded boldly to Eileen, asking in return, “If you were me, would you?”

Seeing Eileen speechless, Bran added another jab, “I originally wanted to treat you as a friend and tell you a secret of the Northlands, but you didn’t believe me. At that time, I personally demonstrated it right in front of everyone, digging a big pit, but nobody paid attention. Now who can you blame?”

Eileen batted her big eyes a couple of times, which gave Bran goosebumps. He quickly advised, “You really can’t do this act. You’re better off just cutting me with your sword. That way, I can at least die quickly.”

The surrounding youths laughed heartily. Since the pit-digging incident, young people had started visiting the Mountain Villa in groups. Bran didn’t refuse them. He spoke a few words when he felt like talking and listened quietly when he didn’t. From these youths’ conversations, he always learned some information about the outside world. Watching his sister and younger sister sitting among a group of girls, chatting and laughing, he felt that this was the life they should be leading, not spending all day with swords.

Eileen retorted angrily, “You Northlands woman!”

Bran laughed and retorted with an attitude of “I’m a woman and I’m happy about it,” asking, “Haven’t you noticed? All your actions are too manly.”

Just as Eileen was about to lash out, he quickly changed the subject: “We girlfriends shouldn’t talk about such disappointing things. Let me tell you another secret.”

So the surrounding youths quieted down and listened intently.

“See that grass at the feet of the shadow-wall Phoenix?” Bran gestured for the youths to look closely. “That grass represents luck. That is the true blessing left by the Phoenix.”

“Have you never noticed the scattered little grasses under your feet on the River Beach that you occasionally cleared away?” Then he looked at Zoya and Eileen and shook his head. “Others might have an excuse for not seeing this painting before, but you two…”

Then Bran rocked in his chair, listening to the youths’ discussions.

“Have you seen it?”

“I think I have, but I didn’t pay attention.”

When this group of youths left, Bran gave each of them a Ring. The pattern on it was the grass leaf he mentioned, representing luck, but each grass leaf’s shape and angle were different.

…

Sister smiled at Bran: “You’re so bad, tricking people again.”

Bran shamelessly replied, “I’m a good person. I’m just giving them hope.”

Then the siblings put their arms around each other’s shoulders and shared a happy, mischievous laugh. In the midst of the laughter, Bran continued, “They’ll develop a habit of walking by the river from now on. Let’s hope they don’t fall into the pits they dug themselves.”

“You didn’t just create this Crystal Ball to mess with them, did you?”

“No, I plan to put a fist-sized Crystal Ball on the market and see what happens.”

…

The center of the market was now crowded with people. Gazi stood by the Crystal Ball with a distracted look—the so-called light and shadow of the Phoenix.

People in the crowd murmured among themselves, but no one stepped forward. It wasn’t that these merchants didn’t want to buy it; they knew they didn’t have enough to offer in exchange. So, it had become a spectacle for gaining knowledge and broadening horizons.

Bran didn’t expect this Crystal Ball to be sold. It was just a starting point. He hoped that when the Caravans came again, they wouldn’t always bring a pile of junk to trick people for food and drink. Since he was waiting for the Caravans to come to him, he could take out a few so-called treasures to balance the status between buyer and seller and give the Caravans more incentive to invest.

Those gathered around were not only merchants but also idle Nobles, Knights, and some figures from the Delegations who had already gotten the news.

These idle Nobles, who had brought their children, were quite helpless. Every youth who visited Bran Manor received one or two small accessories as gifts—either a Ring or a hair ornament—with patterns of common Northlands flowers and plants. Some particularly beautiful girls even received more gifts from Bran, that little pervert. Girls like Zoya and Eileen received everything from head ornaments, necklaces, brooches, bracelets, Rings, and even an ankle chain, which Bran personally put on Zoya.

As Nobles, they should have given gifts in return according to proper etiquette. In fact, when their children first entered Bran Manor, they should have brought a gift. But influenced by years of prejudice and their impression of Northlanders—or perhaps even Northlanders themselves didn’t think they had anything to do with the title of Noble—a group of youths visiting for the first time arrived empty-handed. No one reminded them, no one thought of it, and so they naturally entered the Manor. Then Bran appropriately gave everyone a hint—a very friendly hint that made these Nobles blush with embarrassment.

Now, returning the gifts was not easy. If it were their first visit, they would only need to follow etiquette with a modest gesture—a flower, a box of snacks. The host’s return gift would depend entirely on their mood at the time; regardless of value, the exchange itself was the courtesy. But these brats came empty-handed. According to etiquette, they should have expressed thanks for the return gifts and politely declined.

But these brats didn’t. When the children showed them the accessories they brought back, they understood why the children couldn’t refuse. Even they themselves couldn’t refuse. These accessories felt alive to them. A Ring with floral patterns, when worn, would give the feeling of grass leaves lightly brushing past the fingertips now and then.

Now these Nobles faced a considerable problem: how could they return the gifts gracefully? Accessories like these could be said to be worthless, but also priceless. Everything fears comparison. These idle Nobles were mostly wealthy and well-traveled, with some knowledge, and they owned some accessories and jewelry themselves. But after comparison, they couldn’t bring themselves to offer theirs. In terms of material, their accessories might be rarer, but compared to what Bran gave, they felt like nouveau riche showing off raw ore. So much so that recently, when these Nobles went out, they would remove all their accessories. They now understood why Northlanders men were used to going bare-chested, just carrying a blade and wandering around. Natural simplicity itself was a kind of beauty…

Most of these Nobles had come to the Northlands to trick foolish young men, and some were just there for the excitement, but none had come to lose face. So, they had to come up with a gift that wasn’t too embarrassing. They had considered themselves civilized and laughed at the barbarity of the Northlands. They had been proud of their splendor, but now they didn’t even dare to wear the accessories they once considered splendid. This was a disgrace.

Luckily, they had money—they were wealthy and powerful. But this was definitely not what they wanted to admit. To put it more euphemistically, it was about heritage.

…

As Bran hoped, he finally received his first real return gift. Zoya brought a gift box and led two ponies. The gift box contained valuables—the equivalent in the return gift. The ponies represented face and local specialties. After all, Nobles were Nobles; talking about money directly was too vulgar. So, they brought some local specialties and, by the way, gave you some little trinkets to play with. Are you satisfied?

Inside the gift box were two large gemstones. From Bran’s perspective, they were cut rather crudely. But the young girl Zoya said these two were raw stones, processed slightly for ease of carrying. But that wasn’t important. What mattered was that these two natural gemstones held the secrets of this world within. So Bran was very satisfied, very happy. His abilities required continuous learning and contact with such things. His expression betrayed his feelings, so Zoya opposite him let out a slight sigh of relief.