However, Miao Yi made Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan a promise. Naturally, he wouldn’t disappoint his two subordinates so easily. He reckoned he was still rather trustworthy when it came to his own people.
That being said, he wasn’t so easy to sway. It wasn’t purely out of luck that he managed to survive for this long. Since he dared to come here alone, he clearly had his own plans, so he wouldn’t outright deny Tong Renmei.
"How could I trouble Elder Tong for something so trivial! Haha. I am slightly tired from the arduous journey these past two days…," Miao Yi smiled as he lifted the cup of tea to his lips and took a sip.
This was an indication for them to leave. Seated beside him, Zhan Lisong and Tang Yue’s expression darkened as they threw a cold glare at Miao Yi.
Tong Renmei narrowed his eyes at Miao Yi as well, but he didn’t press him too hard. It wasn’t polite to press the other person when he just arrived. He immediately stood up and smiled, "Milord must be tired from the long journey. Please rest for the time being. Once you have regained your strength, we shall hold a grand banquet for you! We shan’t disturb you any longer."
Miao Yi stood up and smiled, "Then, I won’t be sending you off!"
Both parties cupped their fists and bid their farewells. As Tong Renmei lead the other two Elders out the main hall, he shifted his glance towards two young boys who were ordered to stand beside the door and furrowed his brows slightly.
Once the three gained some distance from the guesthouse, Tong Renmei stopped in his tracks. He turned and asked Tang Yue, "Junior Brother. Why did you arrange for two young boys to wait on him?"
Tang Yue was startled, "Senior Brother. Isn’t this our usual arrangement when guests pay a visit?"
Zhan Lisong nodded, "That’s right. Guests normally liked to have their own privacy. That’s why they are most at ease when we arrange for a couple of young boys who don’t have much of a cultivation. They prefer this as well."
"Is he your average guest?" Tong Renmei asked. He waved his hand and said, "He is not. For someone of the administration like him, the treatment he received was different from the cultivators of a school like us. He would always have beautiful women by his side waiting on him. He might not like that we arranged for two young boys."
His two Junior Brothers were taken aback. In the School of Blue Jade, the only ones present besides their follow disciples, were their family members. They were a legitimate school, and not some immoral place. Where would they find beautiful women to wait on the other person? They couldn’t very well have someone rush out of the mountain on horseback to the nearest city, and have two hostesses come over right then, could they?
That was impossible. If they invited hostesses over to the school, it would sully the school’s reputation. The consequences would be severe if word of it got out. Not to mention, the other person already had a hundred, thousand followers under his control—he could probably obtain all manner of beautiful women with a single word. He might not even take a fancy to any of those hostesses. Why go through so much trouble for something that didn’t guarantee rewards?
Seeing that the other two still didn’t understand him, Tong Renmei commanded, "Go find two young and beautiful female disciples and bring them here."
"Ah! This…," Tang Yue burst out in cold sweat. This was making things difficult for him. He added, "Senior Brother. Is it appropriate to have our school’s female disciples ‘entertain the guest’? I’m afraid those female disciples won’t be willing to do something like that as well. If the Sect Master hears of this…"
"Do something like what?" Tong Renmei abruptly faced them and asked, "Did I say that we would have them do something unscrupulous and shameless?"
‘Isn’t this exactly what you mean?’ The two grumbled to themselves. However, on the surface, they still let out a fl.u.s.tered, "No."
Tong Renmei spoke earnestly, "We are having them represent the School of Blue Jade to fulfill our roles as the host and entertain the guest—not to have them do anything else. However, you have to make it clear to them that this is someone who could fill East Arrival Cave with twenty of the School of Blue Jade’s disciples in a single breath. Now that three have perished, it is probably a given that he will recruit another two more. Whomever is able to entertain the guest satisfactorily, may just be considered for recruitment into East Arrival Cave. When that happens, he only needs to say the word and our side naturally won’t hinder him."
The two Junior Brothers were sweating buckets. ‘You just went full circle but in the end, we’re still having our school’s female disciples do that kind of thing.’
Tang Yue was in charge of handling this matter, and this put him on the spot a little, so he said, "Senior Brother. I feel that the cultivation of those young female disciples isn’t sufficient to join East Arrival Cave, isn’t it? Those who are, will be a little too old. I don’t think that’s suitable either."
"That will depend on their capabilities. Under normal circ.u.mstances, they would never get the chance to show themselves. Such an opportunity is difficult to come by. At their young age, they would be able to enter East Arrival Cave, and have a share in the bountiful power of will of the realm. Their cultivations would rise by leaps and bounds with it. This is something that many could only dream of achieving. It is their good fortune to come across it. Whether they can grasp this opportunity or not is up to them."
"....Understood!"
"Remember. Find two dependable ones. It would be best if they could serve as our spies, should they succeed in entering East Arrival Cave. Currently, East Arrival Cave is filled with only Hong Changhai’s men. His every word is taken as the law on keeping abreast of the situation, whilst we remain completely in the dark. Additionally, have them keep an eye on Miao Yi during his stay here."
"Understood!" Tang Yue could only grit his teeth and accept it, whilst thinking to himself—‘You won’t even say a single ‘unclean’ word, yet you’re having me do something so unscrupulous. How would an honourable Elder like myself ask this of those female disciples later on!? This is like forcing young girls from respectable families to prost.i.tute themselves!’
Thus, two of the School of Blue Jade’s female disciples who were a cut above the rest in both body figure and beauty came to the guesthouse in the end. They intended to replace the two young boys who were waiting on their esteemed guest.
However, they were stopped by the two guardsmen at the gate of the courtyard—Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan.
Even though the two of them were the School of Blue Jade’s disciples, they were currently East Arrival Cave’s men as well. It was their duty to ensure Miao Yi’s safety. How could they allow someone to enter so easily and disturb Miao Yi?
After the two female disciples respectfully greeted their two fellow seniors, they awkwardly stated the reason for their coming here.
Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan still remembered the School of Blue Jade’s rules clearly. When guests paid them a visit, they were always waited on by intelligent and capable young boys. Why would they change to female disciples?
The two of them were a little suspicion as they verified the two girls’ ident.i.ties. Then, one of them brought them in to switch with the two young boys.
The two young boys had been in the midst of boiling water to prepare for the guest’s bath. Not everyone had a hot spring after all.
As he went to bathe, Miao Yi wasn’t aware of how the School of Blue Jade usually entertained their guests, so he didn’t feel it was odd when he saw two girls coming in to attend to him. He had already gotten accustomed to having Qian’Er and Xue’Er wait on him.
He very naturally extended his arms and allowed the two female disciples to undress him.
However, he felt something was off. These two female disciples behaved like novices. Their movements were clumsy as they tried to undress him, and were even trembling somewhat.
After Miao Yi dipped down into the water, the two fidgety girls grit their teeth and took their own clothes off in the end. For someone who could accept Tang Yue’s conditions and perform such an act, they had surely already surrendered everything for the sake of their future.
They revealed their graceful figures and snow-white skin. With only their body huggers on, they trembled as they got into the waters. They stood on either side of Miao Yi and started washing him with their shaky hands. They were clearly unaccustomed to coming into contact with a man’s skin. They completely couldn’t compare to Qian’Er and Xue’Er, who had gone through rigorous training before being sent to East Arrival Cave to serve Miao Yi.
Miao Yi looked at flushed faces of the two girls beside him and shook his head. ‘These two don’t even know how to attend to someone at all. Why were they sent here?’
In the end, Miao Yi took it upon himself and casually washed himself. Then, he got out of the bath, put on his clothes and walked away. He didn’t do anything to the two girls, and didn’t say a single word to either of them either; he left the two female disciples feeling baffled and stuck in the water.
It seemed they failed to win the esteemed guest’s fancy!
The two female disciples ground their teeth. Since the situation had come to this even after taking all their clothes off…, the two of them were prepared to pull out all the stops tonight. For the sake of their futures, they would have to disappoint a certain Senior Brother of theirs!
That night, Tong Renmei held a banquet for Miao Yi at the guesthouse. He acted like he didn’t notice that the two young boys previously serving Miao Yi had been replaced by two female disciples, and carried on as if he had absolutely nothing to do with it.
The banquet came to an end. After a few people bid their farewells, Hong Changhai finally managed to sneak over, and asked his two disciples in a low voice, "Have Tong Renmei and his lot left?"
Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan nodded. After looking around, they allowed their Master to enter.
When he entered the main hall, Hong Changhai suddenly caught sight of the two female disciples serving there. After being stunned for a moment, he sternly questioned them, "What are the two of you doing here?"
The female disciples nervously replied , "We are here to serve the Lord."
"Serve him?" Hong Changhai suspiciously said.
He didn’t think anything of it, and simply a.s.sumed that Miao Yi was used to being waited on by women. After rebuking the two girls, he had them withdraw before entering the main hall and went to stand beside Miao Yi.
"Elder Hong. Is something wrong?" asked Miao Yi, gesturing to the two female disciples who were departing out the door with his lips.
"Haha! It’s nothing." Hong Changhai waved his hand. Since the guest liked to be waited on by women, he wouldn’t spoil his fun.
Miao Yi was suddenly shouldering a crime he did not commit. He didn’t ask to be waited on by any beautiful women.
He wasn’t some l.u.s.tful beast that wanted to mount every woman he saw. If he were, not only would Qian’Er and Xue’Er have long lost their purity—what manner of beautiful women in East Arrival City could he not obtain? It would only take a single word, and someone would instantly find some way to accommodate him.
When the two sat down, Hong Changhai laughed, "Milord. Did you have a good discussion with Elder Tong?"
Miao Yi knew what he was worried about. He smiled and said, "Fret not, Elder Hong. Your beloved disciples are working under my command. How could I act in a manner that would chill the hearts of my subordinates?"
Hong Changhai was instantly relieved. He relaxed his brows and said, "Earlier today in the grand hall, Milord told the Sect Master that you had a personal matter to consult with this old man. This old man has come here precisely to hear Milord out."
He had secretly asked Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan once about what Miao Yi had come here to do. However, the two of them didn’t know anything either. They only knew that Miao Yi had suddenly decided to come here. There weren"t any forewarning or clues beforehand whatsoever. They couldn’t make a good guess even if they wanted to.
"Actually, it’s nothing major. I simply wanted to ask whether Elder Hong still remembers the last time the Boundless Secular World opened?"
"I naturally wouldn’t forget an incident as significant as that. It was something that happened over tens of years ago."
"Yuan Fang and the rest told me that the School of Blue Jade didn’t take part in this incident at the time."
Hong Changhai revealed a bitter smile, "How could any school take part in something like this? The Glorious Star Immortal Herb is something desired by all sects and schools. The ones that took part in this incident were the major schools within the twelve Overlord’s domains. My School of Blue Jade was forced to stand aside by them. Why is Milord asking about this?"
"There is a city within South Edict Manor’s territory called Changfeng City. When the Boundless Secular World opened that year, there were a few schools that were in the vicinity," recounted Miao Yi, before asking, "Can Elder Hong help me inquire around about the schools that were sent to Changfeng City at the time?"
Hong Changhai wasn’t sure what Miao Yi intended with his line of questioning, and simply replied, "The ones that were able to take part in that incident were those schools alone, so it shouldn’t be hard to discover. It should be clear after simply asking around the schools that took part in the incident that year."
Miao Yi’s expression abruptly tensed, "Does Elder Hong know of any familiar schools to ask?"
Hong Changhai laughed, "Even though the School of Blue Jade isn’t some major school, but this old man has been around the cultivation realm for many years. I still know a few familiar faces within some schools. This shouldn’t be too difficult."
"Then can I entrust Elder Hong to handle this matter?"
"Milord is exaggerating. Such a small matter is no trouble at all, so why go to the extent of asking if you can trust me with it or not? This old man will simply try his best," said Hong Changhai as he indulgently waved his hand. However, he still carried a slight suspicion and asked, "Did Milord come here simply to ask about these schools?"