The two Hall Masters had settled the matters accordingly, which had resulted in ending all wars. The troops from both South Edict Manor and Ever Peace Manor promptly left East Arrival Cave and returned to their bases.
Qin Weiwei personally commanded the Mount Calming Sea Troops and escorted Yang Qing from East Arrival Cave.
She wasn’t in a hurry to leave just yet since East Arrival Cave was still part of her jurisdiction.
After escorting Yang Qing away, she turned around and gave orders to the Cave Masters to return to their respective caves at once.
She made her troops stay behind because she still had to settle the personal affairs of East Arrival Cave. The position of Cave Master of East Arrival Cave couldn’t remain vacant forever.
East Arrival Cave consisted of nineteen cultivators, including Miao Yi. They followed Qin Weiwei into the Cave Master’s shack, which had been set up as a temporary meeting room.
Since Miao Yi had been relieved of his position as Cave Master, Qian’Er and Xue’Er had lost their rights to enter the residence with them.
Qin Weiwei sat on the Cave Master’s throne and surveyed the two columns of East Arrival Caves’ forces in front of her, before finally moving her attention to Miao Yi.
Cave Master Miao Yi hid among the last row of the forces, seemingly ashamed to face anyone. He was actually protesting silently in his heart for what had happened to him.
Everyone knew what would come next. Perhaps it was time to announce a new Cave Master for East Arrival Cave.
Initially, Qin Weiwei had wanted to say a few words, but as she glanced at Miao Yi who was concealing himself from the eyes of the troops, she held back her words in the end. She then proceeded to take out a piece of a jade archive and swiftly invoked her art to write down her orders, before sealing it with her insignia. She held the jade archive in her hand and swept a glance across the faces of the troops.
Everyone’s attention was focused on that piece of jade archive, knowing that the name of the next Cave Master was written down somewhere amidst her orders.
"Yan Xiu! You are now Cave Master of Mount Calming Sea’s East Arrival Cave!"
The troops did not blink, so focused were they with every word she spoke. Qin Weiwei announced her final decision, stating one word at a time without haste.
When she had finally revealed her orders, everyone was stunned. Miao Yi, who was hiding behind the troops, quickly whipped his head up with a surprised expression, thinking that he might have heard her wrong. His eyeb.a.l.l.s darted rapidly, looking across the room.
Everyone thought they’d mistakenly heard her orders. Their attention turned to Yan Xiu in an instant.
The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave was now Yan Xiu? How could this be?
No one had Yan Xiu in mind when it came down to the appointment of the next Cave Master. Most of them had thought that after Miao Yi’s termination, the next Cave Master would be someone else from the other division. Even if the position were to be selected from the East Arrival Cave forces, no one would think of Yan Xiu as the next possible Cave Master.
She hadn’t even taken into consideration the capabilities of everyone at East Arrival Cave before making her decision. These men were the ones who had dared to attack a Mountain Chieftain. Most of them possessed a cultivation base of White Lotus Five Grade and above. Even the former Cave Master had a cultivation base of Blue Lotus and below, and he’d dared to charge into battle like the brute that he was.
What virtues or abilities did Yan Xiu possess? How could he even control anyone?!
Yan Xiu was a bit dumbfounded too. ‘I am the Cave Master?’
Suddenly, he felt as if his back had been stabbed with a needle, and not just one at that. He meekly turned around to look at the troops and realized that all of them were staring at him with a strange expression. At that moment, he felt a huge feeling of pressure pressing down on him.
"What are you still waiting for, come take your orders!" Qin Weiwei snapped, still holding the jade archive in her hands.
Yan Xiu quickly cupped his fists and rejected her orders, his words filled with profound respect and humility, "Mountain Chieftain, Yan Xiu cannot take on the position to be the current Cave Master. I’m afraid that I cannot live up to your expectations. I earnestly request that the Mountain Chieftain choose someone more capable than myself!"
His tone of rejection was strongly adamant. He spoke as if he had touched a piping hot sweet potato—he had to let go of it swiftly.
A great opportunity had been bestowed on him, yet he wasn’t happy in the slightest. This opportunity was just too much for him.
It wouldn’t have mattered if those from outside the cave knew nothing of his situation. He could still remember quite vividly the lecture that the former Cave Master had given during that recent meeting below the mountain. He had been amongst the men being lectured.
All members of East Arrival Cave had agreed that they would go against the new Cave Master!
While they claimed they would do so, if the new Cave Master weren’t a cultivator at Blue Lotus or above, he or she wouldn’t be able to control the entire East Arrival Cave by themselves.
If he really took on the position as a Cave Master, the only thing he would be courting was death. The position was akin to a pit, to accept would be like knowingly jumping in. Should the troops decide to take care of him, it would be nothing less than a death sentence. He had seen what the former Cave Master was capable of. The former Cave Master was always ruthless and daring, and he was not.
Before the announcement had been made, he’d been trying to figure out which unfortunate fool would become the next Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected to be that unfortunate fool. How could he take up the position now?
He was well aware of his own capabilities. If he picked a random person to fight amongst the troops of East Arrival Cave, he would never be able to defeat them. Not everyone would be able to control these men like Miao Yi could.
If he had the highest cultivation base in East Arrival Cave or Miao Yi was transferred to another division, he would perhaps be bold enough to take this opportunity to become the next Cave Master.
Having Miao Yi remain in East Arrival Cave would be like an act of defiance against his father! Obviously, these men would only listen to Miao Yi’s orders.
He turned around to look at everyone. As expected, they wore expressions that said, ‘Good thing you know what to do.’
Qin Weiwei’s expression turned cold as she asked, "You dare defy my orders?"
Yan Xiu went pale and replied, "...Yan Xiu wouldn’t dare to!"
Helpless, he was forced to go forward and receive the jade archive from Qin Weiwei’s hands. Yan Xiu slowly retreated to his position without saying any respectful words of thanks to the Mountain Chieftain.
"Miao Yi!" Qin Weiwei spoke up and looked at the former Cave Master, who was rubbing his chin while glancing at Yan Xiu.
"I’m here!" Miao Yi stepped forward and cupped his fists.
Qin Weiwei said nonchalantly, "Give the Cave Master’s storage ring to Yan Xiu."
Miao Yi chuckled, sticking out his lips as he stared at Yan Xiu and said, "I was aware that I wouldn’t be the Cave Master for long, so I’ve already pa.s.sed the storage rings to Cave Master Yan. See, I was the one who gave him the storage ring in his hand."
Miao Yi’s words sent Yan Xiu shivering. The words ‘Cave Master Yan’ had his hairs standing on end.
The former Cave Master had spoken. Following this statement, Yan Xiu quickly showed the storage ring on his finger to Qin Weiwei and confirmed, "It is indeed as he said."
Qin Weiwei caught Yuan Fang and the others making teasing looks at Yan Xiu. This made her understand that a certain someone was still in charge of East Arrival Cave after all.
She was impressed at that person for being able to manage East Arrival Cave so solidly, as if he was born to be the School of Blue Jade’s nemesis. Starting from when he’d killed off the School of Blue Jade’s disciple Song Fu, he would always be able to take care of the School of Blue Jade’s men splendidly.
Despite this situation being within her expectations, she still needed to help Yan Xiu make a good impression. She then said, "Everyone in East Arrival Cave is required to obey Cave Master Yan Xiu’s orders. Everyone has to be united. If someone intends to make a ruckus, don’t blame me for being harsh with you. If you slip up the handover of the Orbs of Will before the year ends, all members will be punished together!"
"We will respectfully follow the Cave Master’s orders!" Miao Yi took the lead and shouted from the top of his lungs. It was obvious that he was the leader when the others quickly followed him as well.
On the surface, he seemed sincere. However, no one really knew what he was thinking deep inside his heart.
"Yan Xiu, stay behind. The others may leave!"
The Mountain Chieftain had given her orders. The others left, and Yan Xiu was left alone with a feeling of immense pressure on his back.
It was necessary for a Mountain Chieftain to brief the new Cave Master on their position. At the end of her briefing, Qin Weiwei suddenly said, "The reason that East Arrival Cave was able to turn the tide even after two a.s.saults is all due to Miao Yi’s contribution. Should you encounter any difficulties, you might want to listen to Miao Yi’s opinions and suggestions."
"..." Yan Xiu raised his head and looked at her with a stunned expression.
Qin Weiwei did not explain further and waved her hand. "You may leave. Tell Miao Yi to see me."
"Understood!" Yan Xiu retreated, his mind filled with suspicion.
Not long after, Miao Yi came and greeted the Mountain Chieftain with respect, acting like he was listening to orders while looking self-a.s.sured.
‘There’s no need to be pretentious. Do you think I still don’t know what kind of person you are?’ Qin Weiwei thought as she gnashed her teeth with hatred.
Miao Yi, who was pretending to be well-behaved, thought that Qin Weiwei was going to warn him not to cause mischief for Cave Master Yan Xiu.
However, it seemed that Qin Weiwei had no intention of staying. As she swept past him in her white dress, she halted momentarily. She then turned her head towards him slightly and said, "It’s not exactly a bad thing to relieve you as Cave Master. The Manor Head wants me to pa.s.s this message to you: Xiong Xiao will not come for you for now. You should take this time to improve your cultivation base with some peace of mind. Don’t go around causing trouble."
Yang Qing had actually never said those words. He wanted to take this opportunity to knock some sense into Miao Yi’s head, so there was no reason for him to say this to Miao Yi.
However, Mountain Chieftain Qin did not want the former Cave Master to harbor ill intentions towards Yang Qing, which was why she’d used Yang Qing’s name to impart Miao Yi with some advice.
Moreover, Yang Qing would never have expected Qin Weiwei to appoint Yan Xiu as Cave Master. It would be impossible for Yang Qing to not know about Yan Xiu’s character. How could Yan Xiu control the unruly troops of East Arrival Cave? If she appointed Yan Xiu as the Cave Master, how was that knocking some sense into Miao Yi? This would only fuel Miao Yi’s arrogance and insolence. He would definitely cause trouble of some sort to everyone!
If Yang Qing knew Qin Weiwei had made such a decision without his knowledge, he would be at a loss for words. All his efforts to become the bad guy would certainly be wasted!
Miao Yi was immediately stunned. Qin Weiwei had no obligation to be direct with him, and she hadn’t fully explained Yang Qing’s intentions, but Miao Yi was certainly no fool. He’d been reprimanded to the point of realizing the truth. Perhaps Yang Qing was taking this opportunity to protect him?
The hatred he’d harbored for Yang Qing vanished instantly in a puff of smoke. What did he have to say now that a Manor Head was considering the situation just for him?
When he’d returned to his senses, Qin Weiwei’s beautiful figure had already drifted away. The subtle scent of a natural body fragrance was the only thing that lingered...
Miao Yi wasn’t able to escort the Mountain Chieftain in the end. By the time he managed to reach the foot of the mountain, Yan Xiu had already brought a few men to escort Qin Weiwei from East Arrival Cave.
When everyone turned around and saw Miao Yi approaching, each had a strange expression on their faces. Yan Xiu felt extremely awkward; he didn’t know what to say to Miao Yi when facing him like this.
Miao Yi watched the troops fading into the distance, wearing an expression as if in deep thought. After that, he became aware of his surroundings and settled his gaze towards Yan Xiu. He quickly adjusted his clothes, glared at the others and said, "What are you all so dazed for? Now join me in paying respect to the Cave Master!"
The group of men was caught by surprise but promptly went behind Miao Yi with smiles on their faces. They followed Miao Yi by cupping their fists and greeted, "Cave Master!"
Standing nearby, Qian’Er and Xue’Er were also looking at Yan Xiu in a well-behaved manner. Both of them were conflicted, however. They would feel extremely awkward and would be forced into a difficult position should their owner and master cross blades with each other.
Yan Xiu didn’t know whether he should cry or laugh. He thought, ‘Everyone stood by you when you called to them. What’s the use of having me as the Cave Master?’
Qin Weiwei’s words from before had banished the shroud of confusion in his head. He finally understood why she had chosen him as Cave Master. Yan Xiu didn’t dare act contemptuously as he quickly moved forward to hold Miao Yi and said, "Cave Master, please don’t tease Yan Xiu anymore. I can’t bear it."
"How can you not! You are the Cave Master of East Arrival Hall, who was officially conferred by the Mountain Chieftain in front of everyone. Aren’t you making fun of me by calling me ‘Cave Master’!" Miao Yi let out a bellow of laughter.
There was no need for Yan Xiu to continue holding him, so Miao Yi quickly pushed him away. Miao Yi turned to face everyone and gave a thumbs up before pointing at Yan Xiu and said, "Everyone, from now on, I won’t be in charge of your affairs anymore. You must look for Cave Master Yan next time. I’m only in charge of your steeds now. I will guarantee that your mounts will be plump and st.u.r.dy, like the steed I have now."
Everyone laughed and jeered brazenly in response. If Miao Yi wasn’t here to support Yan Xiu, who’d even fear this Cave Master in future?
The Mountain Chieftain had just left this territory, yet they’d already begun to make a ruckus. Yan Xiu was left feeling the extreme helplessness of the situation.