When Bai Luochu arrived at Remote Paddy inn, it was breakfast time and the place was very lively. When she saw that it was impossible to discuss her plans with all these eyes around, she called for the innkeeper and said, "Innkeeper, is Ying Lan around?"
That innkeeper immediately recognized Bai Luochu and quickly replied, "Of course he is. I shall inform him of your arrival. Young Lady just has to wait in Heaven"s Sign private room number 1."
Bai Luochu nodded and immediately went up to wait in the private room.
Before the pot of tea in front of her cooled, Ying Lan entered the room.
"Mistress, is there something urgent you need to discuss with this subordinate?" When Ying Lan saw that Bai Luochu was looking for him, he immediately became anxious. He was afraid that something happened to her.
"There is something urgent indeed. However, you don"t have to be nervous. I won"t be in danger anytime soon." Bai Luochu took a sip of tea and spoke in a leisurely manner.
When Ying Lan heard her response, he immediately let out a long sigh of relief. "That will be for the best. What is Mistress here for? Is there something this subordinate can do?"
"This is a long story and you better listen patiently. You should know that I wasn"t fortunate enough to survive the Battle of Thousand Brilliance. Instead, I died and was left as a lonely soul. It was through a coincidental opportunity that I was able to reincarnate into this body. When I reincarnated, I appeared inside the b.e.s.t.i.a.l Battle Arena and lost all my memories. I survived by battling beasts in a muddled state, until the day I was brought into the residence by the First Prince."
Since then, my suspicions started to grow. I wanted to know the true ident.i.ty of the body"s original owner. The First Prince"s att.i.tude towards me wasn"t the kind a slave from the b.e.s.t.i.a.l Battle Arena would get.
This suspicion had been lingering in my mind until a few days ago when I partic.i.p.ated in the prince"s gathering as Divine Physician Bai. During the banquet, the First Prince personally revealed my true ident.i.ty.
Back at the residence, I went to look for the First Prince and did a proper inquiry. I found out about my past from him and in order to prevent the First Prince from adding random details in the story to confuse me, I took a trip down to the former general"s residence. I met with an old housekeeper of the residence during my visit. After all the investigation, I finally confirmed my ident.i.ty."
"What is Mistress" current ident.i.ty?" After Ying Lan heard the ins and outs of the whole story, he was dying to know the truth.
Bai Luochu didn"t try to hide anything and said, "I am the former military general"s orphan child, the current Third Prince"s fiancée… Luo Chu."
"Is the matter of you being inside the b.e.s.t.i.a.l Battle Arena... related to the Phoenix King Valley?" Ying Lan looked at Bai Luochu and asked with a firm voice.
"This is my purpose for coming today. There are still many doubts about how I ended up inside the b.e.s.t.i.a.l Battle Arena. But no matter what, this body"s ident.i.ty is the former general"s orphaned child. A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse and no matter how dire the state of the general"s residence, it is absolutely impossible for her to become a slave in the b.e.s.t.i.a.l Battle Arena."
"After the original owner of this body left, Luo Chu"s uncle and his family sized the entire residence. I feel that there is a traitor in the general"s residence. That person colluded with the Phoenix King Valley to conspire against Luo Chu."
"The Phoenix King Valley might be one of the Three Great Immortal Sects who represents purity and honor. However, we know that they are merely keeping up a facade as they are rotten to the core. They use the name of a righteous and prestigious sect to carry out such despicable acts in the dark. Even people like us can no longer watch on..."
"Since I have occupied this body, I am definitely going to take revenge for the original owner and allow her to rest in peace."
"I am here for two things."
Ying Lan knew that it was time for the highlight of today"s discussion. He immediately perked up his ears to listen carefully.
"Firstly, I want you to find a servant girl for me. It will be for the best if she is clever and quick-witted. She has to know martial arts as well. She will be my personal attendant as all the staff in the general"s residence have been changed by my uncle and his family."
"Secondly, when I visited the general"s residence yesterday, I realized that they were located at the edge of the inner city. Now that the general and the madam pa.s.sed on, no one would visit the residence. Thus, I am thinking of using the place as a secret base of operations for the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence. What do you think?"
Ying Lan sank into contemplation after hearing what Bai Luochu said. He was thinking about whether her idea was feasible. In a flash, he made all the connections and he replied, "There is definitely someone suitable for the role of a maid. This subordinate will bring you to pick one out later. However, to make the general"s residence a secret base will require some detailed discussion."
"There is indeed a need to discuss the matter of turning the general"s residence into our headquarters." Bai Luochu nodded her head.
"Mistress won"t be the loudest voice in the general"s residence and we can"t make it too obvious that we are constructing a secret base in the general"s residence. Mistress can bring your personal attendant to scout out a rather concealed courtyard. You can then provide this subordinate with a map of the general"s residence. I will send someone to dig a tunnel secretly and this will be our first course of action. After Mistress has established your base of support, this subordinate will start the construction of the secret base. It will be much more convenient for us to gather and discuss matters. What do you think about my plan?"
"Will the digging of tunnels be too troublesome? Can it be hidden?" This was Bai Luochu"s only concern.
"Of course it will be hidden. There are already tunnels below the capital city. This subordinate came up with the idea of digging tunnels after investigating the soil below the capital city. The soil is loose and it won"t be difficult to send people down to dig the tunnels." Ying Lan obviously guessed that Bai Luochu would ask this question and had already investigated it beforehand. It was easy for him to explain everything to Bai Luochu.
"It"s great that you already have a plan in mind. I will have to trouble you to carry it out this time. In the near future, I will have to place priority on the matters within the general"s residence. I hope that you will be more careful regarding the plans for the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence." Bai Luochu reminded Ying Lan.
"Of course. Mistress can rest at ease. There is no time to lose... this subordinate will bring Mistress to pick your personal attendant." Ying Lan finished his statement and led Bai Luochu to the inner courtyard of the Remote Paddy Inn.
The Remote Paddy Inn also functioned as an inn for guests and in the inner courtyard, there was a row of rooms to house the servants responsible for cleaning the place.
When they reached the inner courtyard, Ying Lan called out all the servant girls asked them to form a line.
Ying Lan went close to Bai Luochu"s ear and whispered, "Mistress, these are all the orphans that I brought back. I did a detailed investigation on all of them. Mistress doesn"t need to worry about their background."
"Raise your heads. I am picking an attendant to a.s.sist me, there is no need to be afraid." When Bai Luochu saw that everyone had their heads lowered in fear, she rea.s.sured them.