After reaching the part where Miao Yi and the others successfully escaped from the Red Lotus cultivators’ pursuit, the contents of the archive ended. Yang Qing put down the jade archive and sighed. "What luck! What is this ‘list of remunerations" you speak of?"
Despite his calm exterior, Miao Yi was feeling cautious when he said, "I have a difficult time forgiving that incident when Mount Returning Loyalty a.s.saulted East Arrival Cave. Each year, I take the chance to have a copy of the list delivered to them, hoping that the other party will pay a portion of it. Surprisingly, they didn’t pay any of it. This time, however, I was able to use it for my mission."
Yang Qing laughed. "Xiong Xiao is your old enemy. This time, you were able to resolve your worries all at once."
"Still, it is fortunate. If it weren’t for the disloyalty of the respective Mountain Chieftains towards Xiong Xiao, and their disregard for his command, I fear that the one to end up being beheaded would have been me." Miao Yi didn’t dare admit how formidable he could be. Nothing good ever came from declaring to a Manor Head how easy it was to slay another Manor Head.
Yang Qing shot a glance at him and asked, "It seems that you have a good relationship with the School of Blue Jade. You were able to borrow twenty Blue Lotus cultivators from them with ease. Don’t you know of the enmity between the School of Blue Jade and me?"
There was a slight note of criticism in his words. Standing to the side, Qing Mei looked impa.s.sive when she heard this; Qing Ju had a worried look on her face.
"The Blue Lotus cultivators from the School of Blue Jade have experienced countless torments, and were nearly impaired because of it. These twenty cultivators are almost all of the remaining members in the School of Blue Jade." Miao Yi tried to show that the School of Blue Jade was no longer a threat to Yang Qing.
Yang Qing was naturally well-aware of the School of Blue Jade’s resources. He nodded and said, "How do you plan to settle things with these people?"
"Naturally, I am going to reward them based on their contribution. When I go back, I will give the position of Cave Master to them." Miao Yi was straightforward with his response.
Yang Qing couldn’t help himself from smiling as he asked, "At present, most of the Cave Masters in Mount Calming Sea are comprised of members from the three major schools. Aren’t you afraid that they will raise an objection?"
"I have no choice, either. When I wanted to kill Xiong Xiao, the men in Mount Calming Sea lacked the capability to help out. I could only ask the School of Blue Jade. And they couldn’t just lend me their men for nothing." Miao Yi forced a laugh, took out a piece of jade archive, and presented it with both hands.
Yang Qing examined the archive as soon as he received it. It was a list of names of all twenty cultivators from the School of Blue Jade who Miao Yi had intended to commit into the officials. On the other hand, there was one name inside that he had asked to have their Immortal Record removed. The front part of the archive had already explained that Luo Shuangfei had been slaughtered at the hands of that Red Lotus expert.
Yang Qing did not question it further, and approved of the archive on the spot. He then turned around and gave Miao Yi a reminder, "There’s still a few years before the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade. You have to make preparations as early as possible. When the time comes, all the major schools will send someone to partic.i.p.ate. It will be of great advantage to you if you can build a good relationship with them before going to the Sea of Constellations."
"I understand," Miao Yi responded.
"You have shown effort this time in slaying Xiong Xiao. I will give you a reward!" Yang Qing turned around and discreetly signaled to Qing Mei.
Qing Mei came forward and took out one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will from a storage ring, and gave them to Miao Yi as his reward. For a manor, the reward of hundreds of Orbs of Will was said to be a lofty one. He was able to receive this much only because of his great efforts in slaying that tyrant. Miao Yi received his reward, and expressed his grat.i.tude.
Both of them then continued to discuss other matters. Afterwards, Miao Yi dismissed himself and left.
Meanwhile, Yang Qing casually handed over to Qing Mei and Qing Ju the report that described Miao Yi"s execution of Xiong Xiao at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. He asked what their opinion was toward this matter.
Qing Ju sighed after reading the report. "Courageous and astute."
"Courageous and astute doesn"t bode well when colluding with the School of Blue Jade," Qing Mei calmly said.
Qing Ju was surprised. She turned around and asked, "Elder Sister, perhaps you suspect that Miao Yi will plan a rebellion?"
Yang Qing continued, "I have always admired that kid. At least he constantly gives his all in everything he does, and he’s never disappointed me before. I need this kind of subordinate. I don"t wish for him to walk down Xiong Xiao"s path. So this is why it’s time for the School of Blue Jade to be eradicated."
‘This will cut off Miao Yi’s foreign aid!’ Qing Ju once again exclaimed in shock, "The School of Blue Jade has two Red Lotus experts!"
Yang Qing walked over to the railing, and gazed at the distant mountain. With his back facing the two ladies, he said, "What is the name of Elder Wu’s slaughtered grandson, the one who he inquired about in Long Viridescent Cave?"
"Wu Liu," Qing Mei replied as she approached Yang Qing.
Yang Qing nodded. "That’s right! Elder Wu doesn’t want his disciples to think that he abuses his power for personal interests, so he placed his grandson at Long Viridescent Cave to serve the troops. He notified me secretly in the beginning, hoping that I could give special attention to his grandson. Before I could get the chance to, Miao Yi had already killed him. Based on Elder Wu’s inquiry, I can see how furious he is. It’s time to give him an explanation."
Qing Ju frowned, "Perhaps Elder Wu will dare to make a move against Miao Yi?"
"Miao Yi is one of the officials after all, so he wouldn’t be rash and act blindly. However, the School of Blue Jade is another story." Yang Qing turned around and calmly said, "Didn’t Miao Yi want to give the position of Cave Master at Mount Calming Sea to the disciples of the School of Blue Jade? This kid isn’t the least bit worried that he’ll be monopolized by his subordinates. I will help solve this immaterial problem for him. If Miao Yi were to give them those positions, the disciples of the three major schools will definitely have an opinion about that. When that time comes, I will find the chance to explain to Elder Wu that the members of the School of Blue Jade are the ones playing tricks behind the scenes. There are no ill feelings between Miao Yi and that grandson, and Wu Liu was nothing but a victim to the power struggle led by the School of Blue Jade. I think Elder Wu will seek out the School of Blue Jade for our benefit."
Qing Mei and Qing Ju quietly nodded. ‘This is just to give Elder Wu an excuse for him to avenge his grandson.’ The School of Blue Jade and the School of Imperial Beasts were not of the same level anymore. Once the School of Imperial Beasts made their move, the School of Blue Jade was certain to meet their doom…
After leaving South Edict Manor together, Miao Yi did not immediately go back to Mount Calming Sea. Instead, he went to South Edict City, which was a city directly under the jurisdiction of South Edict Manor.
Miao Yi did not want to attract too much attention, so he ordered Tian Qingfeng and the others to wait outside the city, while he abandoned his mount and walked into the city by himself.
Walking on foot inside South Edict City where it bustled with activity, normal people would not be able to perceive his ident.i.ty as a cultivator. Only a cultivator would be able to discern his true ident.i.ty on sight from the storage rings on his hand.
Through an inquiry, Miao Yi was able to find the highest place in the city. It was a mountain lodge on top of a hill, which also served as a branch of the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce at South Edict Manor.
The guards did not question him when they saw the storage rings in his hand, and immediately allowed him inside the building.
As he entered the premises and took a look around, he noted that the ambience was quite pleasant. The courtyard was quiet, but too vacant. Clearly, they didn’t have many business dealings in a small place like the South Edict Manor.
Since customers rarely came by, three of the employees rushed out at the same time to solicit the potential client, all tasked to deal with business transactions.
"What would the esteemed client like to buy or sell?"
They surrounded Miao Yi, each behaving with the utmost courtesy. Every successful transaction would yield them a commission. No matter how small, a client was still a client. It was always better than having none. Besides, Miao Yi was wearing three sets of storage rings in his hand. It would be impossible for those dealing with transactions to fail in perceiving them.
Miao Yi was quite bothered by their chatter. He swept his gaze across the three of them, with two of them being male, and one being female. The female was quite beautiful in appearance. She was wearing a pink dress, which, coupled with her fair skin, made her quite pleasant to look at. With that, Miao Yi picked the lady with a point of his finger.
This lady quickly gave him a captivating smile, and proceeded to cup her fists at the other two employees, saying, "Please excuse us, you two. This is my client."
The other two were immediately disappointed, and left. Those specializing in sales who had an attractive appearance would always gain the upper advantage.
The lady dressed in pink quickly and respectfully brought Miao Yi to her own guest room, and quickly poured a cup of tea for him.
Miao Yi swiftly waved his hand without even sitting down and said, "No need to trouble yourself." He took out the name card given to him by Luo Ping from the capital city’s Chamber of Commerce, and placed it on the table.
The lady in pink picked up the card and took a good look at it. In that moment, a glint of disappointment flashed before her eyes. It turned out he was a client of an employee based in the capital city. Clearly, Miao Yi wanted to summon this person to serve him, so there was no need for her services. It should be noted that those who were able to obtain this kind of name card to call on the employee’s services were all big clients. The commission rate would definitely be huge.
She then asked with a subtle hint of envy, "Where would our esteemed guest like Mr. Luo to contact you?"
"Mount Calming Sea. Miao Yi. Ask Luo Ping to come see me as soon as possible," Miao Yi said nonchalantly.
The lady tried to probe, "Are you Mountain Chieftain Miao Yi of Mount Calming Sea?"
Miao Yi was shocked. He examined this person closely and asked in a curious tone, "You know me?"
She didn’t really know Miao Yi, but he did specify the location as Mount Calming Sea, and he had the ability to summon an employee from the Chamber of Commerce in the capital city to serve him. Naturally, she would guess that he was someone of high status in Mount Calming Sea. Surprisingly, she had guessed it correctly.
Instantly, her spirits lifted. As they say: ‘first come, first serve’, so she still had a chance to fight for this opportunity. If he really was a big client, then it would be great if she could rake in some business through him in the future.
"Mountain Chieftain Miao is well-known in Mount Calming Sea. I have admired you for quite some time." Regardless of whether she knew Miao Yi or not, she decided to serve him a platter of flattery first. She then quickly poured a cup of tea for Miao Yi, and took the opportunity to hand her name card to him. "I am Wen Fang. In fact, if Mountain Chieftain Miao wishes to make a transaction, there is no need to go as far as troubling Mr. Luo to come all the way from the capital city to meet you. Wen Fang can a.s.sist you in making the proper arrangements too. This is no different than calling Mr. Luo to serve you, and I can make transfers throughout the entire country for anything related to transactions."
Miao Yi let out a chuckle. He had been born in a marketplace, so it would be impossible for him not to notice this lady trying to sabotage someone else’s business. He took the name card, examined it, and nodded, "We will talk about it next time. Remember, ask Luo Ping to find me as soon as he can."
The reason he had come to the Chamber of Commerce this time was to prepare for his journey to the Sea of Constellations. No matter how many possessions he currently had at hand, they were not as important as his own life, which was why he intended to get himself a better set of equipment even if he needed to spend his entire fortune on them. Because of that, the transaction amount this time would be larger than ever before. Miao Yi felt a bit uneasy with the capability of this branch and this lady, and he still felt that Luo Ping from the capital city was more reliable. After all, he had gone through dealings with him before in the past.
Wen Fang was disappointed. Miao Yi was clearly looking down on her insignificant branch. But in all seriousness, this had proven that Miao Yi was definitely attempting to make a large transaction, otherwise he could have just made a transaction here in the first place.
Mount Calming Sea was just nearby. She wasn’t afraid that there wouldn’t be a second chance in the future. Whether she could grasp the opportunity would have to depend on her capability.
And so, she resumed her smiles and said with a.s.surance, "Don’t worry, Mountain Chieftain Miao. I will definitely help you inform him as soon as possible."
Miao Yi nodded. He took back two of her name cards and excused himself.
Wen Fang sent him off, all the while retaining a smile on her face. When they reached the door, Miao Yi asked her to go back, but she wouldn’t budge and insisted on accompanying him further. While walking to the exit, their conversation was mostly about asking Miao Yi to look for her in regards to any future transactions. She was willing to run any type of errand for him in South Edict City.
Miao Yi was especially muddled when Wen Fang called herself his ‘Little Sister’ and Miao Yi the ‘Elder Brother’ after a brief acquaintance. It was quite intimate, too. She even told him that Little Sister would go and visit Elder Brother when she was free, hoping that Elder Brother would not close the door on her upon her visit.
Suddenly, he had another Little Sister for no reason at all. Miao Yi was very speechless. She was quite enthusiastic about it, and it wouldn’t be nice to tell her that she was unwelcome at Mount Calming Sea. With that, he politely told her she would indeed be welcome, wishing that this woman would not take it seriously. He wouldn’t have the time to deal with her, or anyone else who wished to see him.
Wen Fang sent Miao Yi off until they reached the foot of the mountain, where she stopped and waved goodbye. If Miao Yi hadn’t urged her to contact Luo Ping as soon as she could, he probably wouldn’t be able to stop her from following him. She had managed to send him off to the outskirts of the city, but if Miao Yi had allowed it, this lady might have even sent him all the way back to Mount Calming Sea.