"It seems the battle with the patrollers from Mount Calming Sea has ended," said Huo Lingxiao as he chuckled.
It wasn’t hard to guess. From listening to the commotion, he could roughly discern what had happened. Huo Lingxiao looked at Miao Yi and asked, "Aren’t you going to go take a look? Aren’t you worried that your men might be at a disadvantage?"
Miao Yi silently snickered deep down. If Yan Xiu couldn’t win, he wouldn’t resort to force in the first place. With Yan Xiu’s overly cautious personality, he would be sure to ask for Miao Yi’s advice before doing something like that.
Naturally, Miao Yi would not utter such words in front of outsiders. He got up and cupped his fists, "Big Brother. Sister Meng. Please wait for a moment. I will go take a look."
He then brought Qian’Er and Xue’Er past the secondary courtyard, and left through the side gate.
Once he was outside the gate, he saw Yuan Fang and the rest of the mounts, with two men restrained at the foot of the steps. Their weapons had been confiscated; they were tied up and kneeling on the ground, with b.l.o.o.d.y wounds all over their bodies. Each of their mouths were gagged by a steel chain, through which they continued to mumble incessantly.
Miao Yi strode down the steps flanked by his two handmaidens, as Yan Xiu brought them over and said, "It’s these two."
Miao Yi nodded and walked over to the two men, who were glaring daggers at him while making illegible noises. He looked to his left, then to his right; before giving a slight nod to the person restraining them. The other party immediately loosened the steel chain gagging the two.
"Is East Arrival Cave trying to instigate a rebellion!? How dare you attack Mount Calming Sea’s patrollers!?"
"Release us immediately. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire!"
Watching the two of them continue to shout, Miao Yi tilted his head and said, "If they continue to make noise, cut off their tongues!"
To his side, Lai Yuhan immediately took out a small knife from his storage ring. He gripped one person’s mouth and readied the edge of the knife to pry his teeth open.
The residents of East Arrival Cave hated these bunch of patrollers for a long while, but Yan Xiu always acted cautiously. As a result, everyone had a lot of pent-up anger. However, this time Miao Yi had returned, and even personally stepped out. Everyone obviously felt thrilled.
Restrained on the ground as they were, the two of them became horrified. They immediately shut their mouths and shook their heads in an attempt to beg for mercy.
Miao Yi raised his hand. Lai Yuhan immediately tucked his knife away, and returned to his side.
Now that the scene was silent once more, Miao Yi looked down at the two men and blandly asked, "Do you know who I am?"
"We don’t!", the two men shook their heads, completely terrified. They also wanted to know who this person was.
"I am East Arrival Cave’s Horse Deputy—Miao Yi!" he said with an indifferent air. Then added, "You dare come over to my East Arrival Cave and cause trouble when you don’t even know who I am. You have guts."
The two of them finally understood, this was the rumored former Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, who had been demoted to Horse Deputy.
The two of them had long heard of his name before, the former Cave Master Miao’s deeds were often heard while they were in Mount Calming Sea. However, they didn’t know how fearsome he was, which was why they dared to come over hoping to sponge off him.
After seeing him today, they realized that he was no benevolent character. Yet, why did nothing happen to the people who had previously come here to sponge off of them? Why were they so unlucky? The two of them couldn’t understand it at all. Could it be because they looked easy to push around?
They weren’t to know that it was because Miao Yi had isolated himself, and couldn’t be bothered with the matter. Those that came before were considered lucky. Now, he had officially returned to the island, yet there were still people who dared to come knocking on his door time and time again. With the former Cave Master Miao’s personality, it was easy to imagine what the consequences of that would be.
Miao Yi shifted his gaze away from the two, and turned to ask Yan Xiu, "How much did they ask for?"
Yan Xiu stepped forward and answered, "One thousand Gold Crystals and four low-grade Orbs of Will."
Miao Yi raised his eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes at Yan Xiu and asked again, "How much does my East Arrival Cave make in a year?"
Yan Xiu awkwardly replied, "Twenty-four Orbs of Will, and two thousand Gold Crystals."
Of course, these were just the numbers on paper. Perhaps they didn’t have many Orbs of Will, but there were plenty of rich tyc.o.o.ns who wanted to kiss up to Immortals within the whole of East Arrival City. Every year, they would gift a hefty sum of Gold Crystals as tribute.
"Quite the appet.i.te! Day after day, someone comes asking for stuff. If this goes on, my East Arrival Cave would have to survive on an empty stomach." Miao Yi glared at the two men on the ground, and said, "What is your cultivation?"
The two men ground their teeth in hatred. Alas, they had fallen into the enemy’s hands and were up against a ruthless character. They could only hold firm to the belief that it was never too late to take one’s revenge. Once they escaped their predicament, they would return to East Arrival Cave and seek it. Thus, they obediently replied, "White Lotus Third Grade!"
Miao Yi was relieved after hearing this. These two hadn’t even bothered understanding the strength of East Arrival Cave. Anyone here could easily end them in an instant. There really were fearless fools out there. A mere White Lotus Third Grade dared to come knocking here?
He then asked, "Do you have the necessary doc.u.ments sanctioning your patrol from Mount Calming Sea?"
The two of them slowly drooped their heads, "We do not."
Miao Yi raised his eyebrow, "That means you two are trying to trick us then?"
The two of them hurriedly explained, "We really are Mount Calming Sea’s men. Cave Master Yan can be our witness."
"It doesn’t matter who is your witness. Even if the Mountain Chieftain was your witness, it is useless. If I say you two are guilty, then you two are guilty. If I say you are innocent, then there is no chance for you to be guilty." Miao Yi swept his gaze over everyone, and blatantly declared on the spot, "Listen up! In East Arrival Cave, this Horse Deputy’s word is law!"
It seemed like these words were for the two kneeling on the ground, yet at the same time, it seemed like he was trying to remind everyone else as well.
As he said these words, from behind his back, Qian’Er and Xue’Er couldn’t help but straighten their backs.
There were more handmaidens in East Arrival Cave now than before. The two girls were no longer the official Elder Auntie and Little Auntie, and thus no longer had as much courage to order the other handmaidens around as they did before. Now that their Master had stepped out and declared it, they immediately regained their courage.
Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan shared a look and smiled. The other disciples from the School of Blue Jade were grinning as well. As always, things were different when the former Cave Master stepped out. His every word was so imposing, it gave them a sense of relief just listening to it. They didn’t know where the former Cave Master had gone into isolation, but he should have returned long ago, otherwise, they wouldn’t have had so much pent-up frustration.
As fellow disciples of the School of Blue Jade in the two Manors, they occasionally kept in contact with one another. They found that the School of Blue Jade disciples in the other Caves were also having a rough time, because of the disciples from the three major schools. They thought that the days when the School of Blue Jade could push South Edict Manor around without repercussions would never return; fortunately, there was still someone here who could stand up for them.
Yan Xiu smiled bitterly. This man did not even hold the Mountain Chieftain with any regard, he should not hold any misguided thoughts.
The two kneeling on the ground were taken aback. They had long ago heard about this Horse Deputy’s name, but only today did they come to realize how truly arrogant he was. He still dared to say such things even with the East Arrival Cave Master right beside him—he didn’t give him any face at all!
Seeing no one disagree, Miao Yi coolly called out, "Qian’Er. Xue’Er."
The two girls immediately stepped forward from behind his back, then faced him and bowed. "We are here."
Miao Yi jerked his head at the two prisoners kneeling on the ground, and ordered, "One for each of you. Go and chop both their heads off."
It was pointless to only have a good set of spear skills. The two girls had never even killed a chicken before. He believed there was a need for them to stain themselves with a little blood; otherwise, how could he rely on them to handle tasks for him in this cultivation realm, where survival of the fittest reigned supreme? He would not have two mere flower vases by his side.
The girls’ faces instantly paled as they exchanged glances. They were extremely apprehensive, and didn’t dare accept the order at once. They had never killed a chicken before, much less a person.
The two people kneeling on the ground were afraid now. They never thought that this person would not even ask for their names before desiring to kill them. They immediately struggled and shouted, "Miao Yi, you dare! We are Mount Calming Sea’s men, and Sword Deviate Sect’s disciples. You dare harm us!"
Miao Yi shot a look over, and the two men were immediately gagged with the steel chain once more. Completely restrained, they kept making m.u.f.fled screams with their bloodshot eyes widened in a frenzy.
At that moment, Yan Xiu stepped forward with cupped fists and said, "Horse Deputy. They are still Mount Calming Sea’s men. It doesn’t seem appropriate to do this!"
"I have not seen anyone from Mount Calming Sea. All I see are two conmen trying to trick us." Miao Yi cast his glance around at everyone else, and asked, "Have you all seen anyone from Mount Calming Sea?"
Yuan Fang and the rest exchanged glances, then answered, "WE HAVE NOT!"
It was instantly clear and understandable who it was that held the authority here in East Arrival Cave. This was what you called prestige!
Yan Xiu was instantly lost for words.
The two men who were being restrained completely lost it. They were fearful and angry, and tried their hardest to break free.
Miao Yi looked at Qian’Er and Xue’Er again, "It seems like my words no longer carry any weight with you two."
The two girls were terrified, and hastily bowed, "We acknowledge the order!"
The two handmaidens drew out the Inversed-Scales Spear from within their storage rings, and gripped them tightly in their hands as they turned to face the two men kneeling on the ground.
Through the m.u.f.fled screams and the desperate struggling of the two Sword Deviate Sect’s disciples, the two girls grit their teeth and struck out with their spears. A cold glint flashed, and two flopping sounds were heard. Two perfectly fine heads sailed through the air and landed on the ground; fresh blood spurting out from their severed necks.
The two girls didn’t dare continue watching. They quickly turned their heads away and cupped their fists, reporting that their task had been completed. Their hands shook heavily, and their voices clearly trembling.
Yan Xiu watched the two corpses twitching on the ground. Then, shook his head and gave a bitter smile, before stepping forward again and cupping his fists to say, "How should we handle this?"
"Just toss them in the mountains. The beasts inside will take care of it naturally. What are you worried about? Don’t tell me that you still want to hold a funeral for these two conmen, who dared come to East Arrival Cave to trick us?"
"No. Your subordinate is asking how we should explain this to Mount Calming Sea? After all, we just killed two of their men!"
"Explain to Mount Calming Sea? Why should we explain anything to Mount Calming Sea? Yan Xiu, as East Arrival Cave’s Cave Master, why do you always create trouble for East Arrival Cave? Mount Calming Sea never sent anyone over to patrol East Arrival Cave, so why should we have to explain anything?" Miao Yi turned to everyone else and asked, "Have we killed any of Mount Calming Sea’s men?"
Everyone was taken aback, but soon smiled and replied, "WE HAVE NOT!"
Miao Yi added, "I have not seen any of Mount Calming Sea’s men pa.s.sing by these parts. Have you?"
Everyone’s conviction was absolute as they all cupped their fists and answered, "REPORTING TO THE HORSE DEPUTY, WE HAVE NOT SEEN THEM. WE DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING AT ALL."
"Do you see now?" said Miao Yi, as he turned to face Yan Xiu. "Some problems are actually easily solved, but you are just over-thinking them. There is no need to be so wary of every move you make, and let yourself suffer such humiliation. It’s all a matter of decisiveness. If you lack the courage to pull through with your choices, then trouble will creep its way up to you. But if you have the decisiveness to eliminate the problem, then there will evidently be less trouble."
He turned to the crowd and declared, "From this day forth, all that dare come to my East Arrival Cave to pull these tricks will be punished accordingly. Kill all that come. You don’t have to worry about burying them. It is our duty as subordinates to help the Manor Head eliminate a few bad apples that are spoiling the bunch! It goes without saying, but make sure the cleanup is done nicely. Don’t leave any evidence that can be used against us. All of you are men that have fought against the jaws of death by my side and come out victorious. Do not screw up such an easy task."
Everyone cupped their fists and replied, "UNDERSTOOD!"
"Oh right, and from now on, just leave the executions to Qian’Er and Xue’Er," said Miao Yi as he turned to leave. He still had guests inside, and it would not do to make them wait for too long.
Shortly after murdering someone, Qian’Er and Xue’Er had yet to regain their mental strength when they heard this command. Their bodies trembled as they thought about doing it again...
Yan Xiu was speechless as he watched Miao Yi’s departing figure. He found being a Cave Master inexplicably tiring, whereas the other party did it in such a relaxed manner. This was the difference between the two of them!
Even though Yan Xiu was no longer the same person he was before, this difference had nothing to do with a fear of death. Some things deeply inscribed within one’s bones, and difficult to change. He had been cautious and careful all his life after all.
Yan Xiu turned back to see that the School of Blue Jade disciples behind him were already dragging the corpses away, and there was someone quickly cleaning up the bloodstains on the ground…..