Soaring the Heavens

Yan Xiu sighed, “You made Song Fu, a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, guard the mountain gates. Is this not going a bit overboard?”

“If I did not make him guard the mountain gates, should I send the three of you to do it? We are all brothers from Transient Light Cave, I will not do something so cold and ruthless.”

As he said this, Miao Yi felt that his words were a bit too shallow, and he chuckled, “I was raised in a town, I wouldn’t know of other grand logic, I only know that when dealing with those who don’t know their place, if you back away they will only grow conceited. Just wait and see, I will take care of whoever disobeys. If I can’t even handle them, then I might as well not be the Cave Master.”

The three of them looked at each other, not knowing what to say. They could not say that Miao Yi did not understand the gravity of the situation at all.

Yan Xiu could only remind him again, “Cave Master, I am only afraid that Song Fu may not guard the mountain gates willingly.”

The meaning behind his words was to ask Miao Yi what could he do if Song Fu really did not care for what he said, and did not go and guard the gates? What if Song Fu only guarded for a short while when he felt like it, or refused to go entirely? Yan Xiu only feared that the one embarrassed later on would be Miao Yi who gave the order.

“How could I not see that? If he’d truly guard the mountain gates of his own accord, I would not have needed to order him to.”

Miao Yi laughed coldly and twitched his eyebrows. He stayed silent for a while, and when he came to he realized the three of them were staring at him, wondering what he intended to do. He lightly coughed, and addressed the matter at hand, “During the time I was away, East Arrival Cave was alright?”

“Other than those bastards who were slightly frustrating, there was nothing else….” Yan Xiu reported the recent situation, and then took out the document sent over by the East Arrival City Lord from his sleeves, and handed it up with both hands.

Miao Yi held it in his hands and sat on his seat as he opened it up to take a look. The document began with some words of praise kissing up to him, followed by a record of the geographical information of East Arrival City, as well as its customs and traditions. Towards the end, there was an elaborate introduction regarding the number of followers, clearly understanding that this was the Cave Master’s main concern, as it affected the annual tribute of Orbs of Will.

Seeing the population had only grown compared to last year, along with the assurance from the City Lord that this year’s Orb of Will would definitely fulfill the tribute’s quota, Miao Yi heaved a sigh of relief and closed the document, tossing it back to Yan Xiu. “Make a few amendments, then copy it onto a jade archive, the Mountain Chieftain is waiting for this.”

This was what Qin Weiwei had especially entrusted to him before he came here, because she needed to know what was going on among those under her command. In turn, she would have to report the situation of Mount Calming Sea to Yang Qing. After that, Yang Qing also needed to explain the post-takeover situation to the Hall Master. A reassurance, as one could call it. One cannot just take over someone’s domain and just pretend like nothing happened; there was a need to reassure the Hall Master that there will not be any disruptions to his side of the profits.

“Acknowledged!” Yan Xiu cupped his hands and received his order, then switched to a more relaxed topic, “Cave Master, East Arrival City Lord prepared a few small gifts, and wishes to pay you a visit. He has also meticulously prepared two handmaidens, and I was the one that personally helped to pick them out, would you like to have them sent here so that you may take a look? If you do not find them to your liking, then it is better if we make a switch early on.”“Indeed, you have been thoughtful! But we have yet to settle our internal affairs, so now is not the time to indulge. Put them aside for now. Qiu Shaoqun, I have something I would like you to do.” Miao Yi waved his hands towards Qiu Shaoqun.

Qiu Shaoqun immediately proceeded to the side of Miao Yi’s seat to receive his order. Miao Yi did not intend to keep it a secret from the other two, and uttered a few words to Qiu Shaoqun in a low voice.

Everyone’s faces changed upon hearing it, and finally Qiu Shaoqun could not resist making an ‘ah’ sound. He had a bitter expression on his face and said, “Cave Master, doing something like this… I fear it won’t be very good?”

Miao Yi simply said ‘oh’ and looked askance. He said indifferently, “If you do not want to do it, then fine, I will not force you. In the future I will not trouble you, and you can step down now. Even with the support of the Manor Head, I doubt that I’ll be able to take care of those bastards.”

“I….” Qiu Shaoqun felt a bit helpless; the Cave Master was implying that he only needed to stand aside from now on. Eventually, he gritted his teeth, and cupping his fists he declared his allegiance, “Cave Master, your subordinate did not mean that. I only felt that destroying our own mountain gates would be a bit unsuitable, but since Cave Master has already decided to do this, then your subordinate will naturally follow!”“That’s right, we are one family, so why question one another? Come come come, a single person can only plan for the short term, but three can plan for the long term, so let us discuss this again together!”

Miao Yi waved his hand once again, and beckoned Yan Xiu and Dan Biaoyi forward. They bumped their heads together as they muttered, and who knows what they were secretly planning.

When they finally reached a conclusion, Yan Xiu, Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun all looked at one another, as though they were anxious.

Especially Yan Xiu’s complicated gaze as he looked at Miao Yi, thinking no wonder he could make a name for himself, it was not without reason. His decisive way of handling problems was not something Yan Xiu could compare to.It was nighttime, and outside the East Arrival Grand Hall, Charcoal lay on the ground sleeping, waving its tail from time to time, and making slapping sounds on the ground.

Within the Grand Hall, candles danced about, each the size of a toddler’s limb.

A set of dishes were laid upon the short table, brimming with a fragrant scent. These were all handmade by Yan Xiu—for this former drunkard, cooking was his expertise.

The eclectic Cave Master displayed his friendliness to his subjects. He sat in his seat, and raised his cup to the other two as they drank together.

After a while, a distressed Qiu Shaoqun dashed inside. He lowered his head and whispered to Miao Yi, “No one is there.”

“He truly does not pay any heed to this Cave Master’s words. Did he think he could embarrass me like this?” Miao Yi snorted coldly, and tilted his head, “Do it!”

Under the gaze of Yan Xiu and Dan Biaoyi, Qiu Shaoqun found his resolve. He cupped his fists at Miao Yi in acknowledgement of his mission, and deciding to bite the bullet, he quickly dashed outside the hall.“Drink!” Miao Yi raised his cup and called to the other two.

Putting his cup down, Yan Xiu still felt a bit restless, and asked in a low voice, “What if he’s discovered?”Miao Yi said indifferently, “If he was discovered this time, then there is still the next time. If he had guarded the mountain gates obediently like I told him to, to the point where I cannot find any excuse to make my move, only then will I lay the matter to rest.”

As he finished saying this, outside in the direction of the mountain gates a loud crashing noise resounded.Yan Xiu and Dan Biaoyi stood up anxiously.Miao Yi used his chopsticks to grab the food and stuff it in his mouth, his face was devoid of expression.

In order to raise his own cultivation as soon as possible, in order to be strong enough to find his siblings one day and take care of them, he’d risked his life time and time again to finally sit in the position of East Arrival Cave Master. Thus, he would not tolerate anything that stood in his path.

The loud noise outside was just the beginning…

Yan Xiu and Dan Biaoyi looked at Miao Yi’s reaction, and saw that he was calm beyond belief. They felt cold in their hearts, and even Yan Xiu felt like he couldn’t recognize him at all, and his Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed his saliva.

Not long after the loud noises outside subsided, Qiu Shaoqun sneaked in quietly. He nodded to the others to show that the deed had already been done.

Miao Yi slammed his chopsticks onto the table. He stood up and walked outside in great strides.The three of them followed behind, forming a line outside the Grand Hall, with Miao Yi as the lead. They stopped just outside the entrance of the Grand Hall, facing the evanescent night sky.After a while, several figures appeared upon hearing the commotion, and stopped right outside the East Arrival Grand Hall. Each of them held their weapons—they were precisely the restless Song Fu and his group.

Without waiting for the others to speak, Miao Yi was already shouting with a cold expression, “What is going on outside?”