Chu Li frowned. "Ferric Demon Ridge…"
"Yes, it is said to be a small mountain on the Path of Jing Hai, it's not very well-known."
"Are they mad? They actually dared to waylay and rob the Public House?"
"It seems that they didn't know that it was our Public House's items."
Chu Li said thoughtfully, "Oh, it seems that it is indeed something important, delivering in secret and not revealing its identity. Ferric Demon Ridge has bad luck... being able to make Master Xiao Tieying lose his temper, it is definitely not an ordinary thing."
As the eldest young master of the Public House, Master Xiao Tieying lived an extravagant life since his youth. He was irreverent towards ordinary things, hence, to cause him to lose his temper, it must have been something very rare and valuable. Ferric Demon Ridge was in deep trouble.
"Mater Xiao Tieying has sent someone to investigate. The Ferric Demon Ridge are doomed this time!" said Xue Ling
Chu Li smiled. "What item was it? "
"A mere Ferric Demon Ridge was insignificant, we will soon chase them down," Xue Ling scoffed. "These guys should be damned! "
"Yeah, they will meet their end for committing evil all the time. They must have done this kind of things a lot of times. We should get rid of them if we can, and help the martial arts world wipeout these scourges," said Chu Li.
Xue Ling strongly agreed with Chu Li's view, she harbored deep hatred towards these bandits, imagine how many innocents were victimized.
"Master, this matter has nothing to do with us," Xue Ling said. "Master should think about how to build the Glory's Will Courtyard. How many people does Master intend to select?"
"I have not decided yet," Chu Li said.
Too many people would be troublesome and too few people would be inconvenient. Chu Li could not make up his mind at the moment. He needed to consider it carefully and see what would happen. If he chose them rashly, it would be troublesome to replace them in the future. Fortunately, Lady Xiao Qi did not urge him to do it quickly and gave him plenty of time.
"Should we set up the workplace in our courtyard?"
"What do you think?"
"Let's choose another place," Xue Ling quickly said.
She now viewed the small courtyard as her home and did not wish others to come and disturb it.
"Where should we choose?" asked Chu Li.
"Master, if you choose the Jade Island Guardian, the Scribe can only be a woman," Xue Ling said. "Lady Xiao Qi does not like men at her side. She thinks that they are an eyesore."
Chu Li let out a roar of laughter.
Xue Ling widened her eyes and said seriously, "It is true!"
Chu Li laughed. "The Protectors of the Jade Island Guardian are not men?"
Although there were female Protectors on the Jade Island Guardian, there were quite a lot of male Protectors too. However, Chu Li knew that Xiao Qi was obsessed with cleanliness, she did not like men to go near her.
"Male Protectors only guard the perimeter. Did you see any man inside the Jade Island Guardian?" said Xue Ling.
Chu Li nodded slightly, what Xue Ling had said was indeed true.
Xue Ling said, "In my opinion, it is better to build it outside the island."
Chu Li frowned and shook his head.
Xue Ling said surprisingly, "You really want to build it here?"
"It cannot be outside the Jade Island Guardian," said Chu Li.
Xue Ling looked at him perplexedly.
"Our courtyard is used to plant spirit herbs and they are all rare spirit herbs. It wouldn't be good to allow outsiders to find out about it. The purpose of the Glory's Will Courtyard's name is to mask it and if we really set up a courtyard outside the island, it would be meaningless," said Chu Li.
"Oh, the Glory's Will Courtyard is actually used as a cover, we do not have to care about it, right?" Xue Ling had a sudden realization.
Chu Li was smiling. "If somebody mentioned the Glory's Will Courtyard, they would not think of Spirit Herbs, then it is for the best. "
The function of the Glory's Will Courtyard was to identify any informants in the Public House, which was similar to the secret service. They would be successful if people trembled with fear when they heard this name, but if there was no such deterrence, this would prove his incompetence.
Xue Ling smiled. "If so, where should it be located? Surely not the Lady's Stargazing Tower!"
"The courtyard next door is empty, right?" asked Chu Li.
"Yes." Xue Ling nodded.
"Then let's set it up next door," Chu Li said, "it's convenient too."
"You can only find female Scribes and female Protectors." Xue Ling stared at him unblinkingly.
Chu Li smiled. "Depends on the situation."
Xue Ling curled her red lips.
Chu Li said, "We won't hire anyone temporarily, let us wait and see."
The Glory's Will Courtyard was responsible for finding informants but he did not have to hunt for them himself. Women would be more meticulous and patient. They would be able to tolerate those cumbersome affairs.
However, the management of these women would be troublesome. Chu Li did not want to command a group of women all day long. He would lose all authority and influence, and moreover, others would laugh at him.
"Trash! Trash!"
Xiao Tieying threw the teacup onto the floor with force and ceramic chips scattered everywhere.
He was breathing hard and pacing around, his handsome face was livid.
Two people were standing in the main hall. It was Linquan and a middle-aged man, and their facial expressions were not any more pleasant.
Xiao Tieying paced back and forth over a dozen times. He suppressed his anger forcefully and said, "Elder Tie, you tell me, a small Ferric Demon Ridge can rob our Longevity Grass, do you believe it? If this news was spread outside, it would be enough to make a cat laugh!"
The middle-aged man was helpless. "Master, the people from Ferric Demon Ridge are really strong. We had wrongly estimated their strength, and even worse, there was a martial artist with top-notch Light-body Technique, he grabbed the Longevity Grass and ran. We tried our best but we could not catch up to him!"
"Who?!" Xiao Tieying asked coldly.
The middle-aged man shook his head. "He covered his face. We could not recognize him."
"You guys don't know how to verify?!" Xiao Tieying said petulantly, "You don't need me to teach you this, do you?"
"Master, we have interrogated the people from Ferric Demon Ridge but they didn't know too!" the middle-aged man said with resignation. "They were very angry as well, they believed that they had been cut off from their success by that guy and that all their efforts had ended up helping that guy instead!"
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind [1], humph!" Xiao Tieying sneered, "What a good scheme!"
"This person has a short and skinny stature. His Light-body Technique is top-notch and he is an Innate Master!" said the middle-aged man.
"A Grandmaster could not stop an Innate Master, heh!" Xiao Tieying curled his lips. "It seems that this guy's Light-body Technique is indeed magnificent, this wouldn't be too difficult to verify right?"
An Innate Master in the face of a Grandmaster was like a kid facing an adult, this was everyone's deep-rooted concept. If it wasn't for Chu Li who killed a Grandmaster the last time, Xiao Tieying would have never believed this.
An Innate Master who was able to escape from the hands of a Grandmaster would require a really powerful Light-body Technique, and people with this ability in the martial arts world could be counted with just one hand. After that, they could compare their statures and they would roughly be able to find out who it was.
The middle-aged man said, "My preliminary guess is: it might be the "Celestial Monkey"!"
"'Celestial Monkey' Jiang Kuai?" Xiao Tieying frowned. "Could it be that our information was leaked?"
"It's impossible!" the middle-aged man shook his head and said, "We used the most trustworthy people and it's impossible that our information is leaked!"
"Then how did Jiang Kuai know?"
"Maybe it is a coincidence."
"Humph, what a coincidence!" Xiao Tieying said coldly, "Because of this coincidence, we have lost the Longevity Grass, that Jiang Kuai might have already eaten it!"
"Master, most people don't recognize Longevity Grass," the middle-aged man said.
Xiao Tieying scoffed, "Do you know who Jiang Kuai is? How could he not recognize the Longevity Grass?!"
On one side, Linquan, who had white hair but a ruddy complexion, and who had not spoken during the entirety of the conversation, interrupted with one sentence this time, "Master, if it is Jiang Kuai, we can't blame Elder Huang."
Xiao Tieying nodded with a grim face.
Jiang Kuai's Light-body Technique was superb, and a Light-body Technique this good was rare in this world, even Grandmasters could not be compared to him.
"If it's Jiang Kuai, Master, I fear the Longevity Grass has been… " Linquan said with resignation. "We can only think of another way."
Even if Jiang Kuai did not eat the Longevity Grass, it would be impossible to recover it. Jiang Kuai's Light-body Technique was sublime, even if they sent several Grandmasters, they would still not be able to chase him down.
"Master, do you want to leak out the information?" the middle-aged man clenched his teeth and scoffed, "We couldn't get it back but we can't let Jiang Kuai reap all the benefits. Once people know that it is the Longevity Grass, they will fight to get their hands on it!"
"It's useless!" Xiao Tieying's handsome face become gloomier.
Not only was Jiang Kuai's Light-body Technique sublime, he was secretive in his conduct too. They would never be able to even touch his shadow.
"Damn!" Xiao Tieying hit the sandalwood coffee table and ground out the words between his clenched teeth. "Jiang Kuai—!"
He had gone through countless hardships and he had finally got this Longevity Grass. As long as Second Younger Sister ate it, her body would recover and she would no longer be sick or suffer from her illness, but it was all for naught at the last moment because of Jiang Kuai. Xiao Tieying itched to tear Jiang Kuai apart.
"Master, Third Lady is here," someone outside the hall reported.
Translator Notes
[1] A Chinese metaphor that illustrates someone's short-sightedness, thinking of plotting against others but has no idea that somebody else is scheming against him too, just like mantis who preys on the cicada but is ignorant of the bigger predator behind him—the oriole. In other words, it means coveting gains ahead without being aware of the danger behind.
Chu Li frowned. "Ferric Demon Ridge…"
"Yes, it is said to be a small mountain on the Path of Jing Hai, it's not very well-known."
"Are they mad? They actually dared to waylay and rob the Public House?"
"It seems that they didn't know that it was our Public House's items."
Chu Li said thoughtfully, "Oh, it seems that it is indeed something important, delivering in secret and not revealing its identity. Ferric Demon Ridge has bad luck... being able to make Master Xiao Tieying lose his temper, it is definitely not an ordinary thing."
As the eldest young master of the Public House, Master Xiao Tieying lived an extravagant life since his youth. He was irreverent towards ordinary things, hence, to cause him to lose his temper, it must have been something very rare and valuable. Ferric Demon Ridge was in deep trouble.
"Mater Xiao Tieying has sent someone to investigate. The Ferric Demon Ridge are doomed this time!" said Xue Ling
Chu Li smiled. "What item was it? "
"A mere Ferric Demon Ridge was insignificant, we will soon chase them down," Xue Ling scoffed. "These guys should be damned! "
"Yeah, they will meet their end for committing evil all the time. They must have done this kind of things a lot of times. We should get rid of them if we can, and help the martial arts world wipeout these scourges," said Chu Li.
Xue Ling strongly agreed with Chu Li's view, she harbored deep hatred towards these bandits, imagine how many innocents were victimized.
"Master, this matter has nothing to do with us," Xue Ling said. "Master should think about how to build the Glory's Will Courtyard. How many people does Master intend to select?"
"I have not decided yet," Chu Li said.
Too many people would be troublesome and too few people would be inconvenient. Chu Li could not make up his mind at the moment. He needed to consider it carefully and see what would happen. If he chose them rashly, it would be troublesome to replace them in the future. Fortunately, Lady Xiao Qi did not urge him to do it quickly and gave him plenty of time.
"Should we set up the workplace in our courtyard?"
"What do you think?"
"Let's choose another place," Xue Ling quickly said.
She now viewed the small courtyard as her home and did not wish others to come and disturb it.
"Where should we choose?" asked Chu Li.
"Master, if you choose the Jade Island Guardian, the Scribe can only be a woman," Xue Ling said. "Lady Xiao Qi does not like men at her side. She thinks that they are an eyesore."
Chu Li let out a roar of laughter.
Xue Ling widened her eyes and said seriously, "It is true!"
Chu Li laughed. "The Protectors of the Jade Island Guardian are not men?"
Although there were female Protectors on the Jade Island Guardian, there were quite a lot of male Protectors too. However, Chu Li knew that Xiao Qi was obsessed with cleanliness, she did not like men to go near her.
"Male Protectors only guard the perimeter. Did you see any man inside the Jade Island Guardian?" said Xue Ling.
Chu Li nodded slightly, what Xue Ling had said was indeed true.
Xue Ling said, "In my opinion, it is better to build it outside the island."
Chu Li frowned and shook his head.
Xue Ling said surprisingly, "You really want to build it here?"
"It cannot be outside the Jade Island Guardian," said Chu Li.
Xue Ling looked at him perplexedly.
"Our courtyard is used to plant spirit herbs and they are all rare spirit herbs. It wouldn't be good to allow outsiders to find out about it. The purpose of the Glory's Will Courtyard's name is to mask it and if we really set up a courtyard outside the island, it would be meaningless," said Chu Li.
"Oh, the Glory's Will Courtyard is actually used as a cover, we do not have to care about it, right?" Xue Ling had a sudden realization.
Chu Li was smiling. "If somebody mentioned the Glory's Will Courtyard, they would not think of Spirit Herbs, then it is for the best. "
The function of the Glory's Will Courtyard was to identify any informants in the Public House, which was similar to the secret service. They would be successful if people trembled with fear when they heard this name, but if there was no such deterrence, this would prove his incompetence.
Xue Ling smiled. "If so, where should it be located? Surely not the Lady's Stargazing Tower!"
"The courtyard next door is empty, right?" asked Chu Li.
"Yes." Xue Ling nodded.
"Then let's set it up next door," Chu Li said, "it's convenient too."
"You can only find female Scribes and female Protectors." Xue Ling stared at him unblinkingly.
Chu Li smiled. "Depends on the situation."
Xue Ling curled her red lips.
Chu Li said, "We won't hire anyone temporarily, let us wait and see."
The Glory's Will Courtyard was responsible for finding informants but he did not have to hunt for them himself. Women would be more meticulous and patient. They would be able to tolerate those cumbersome affairs.
However, the management of these women would be troublesome. Chu Li did not want to command a group of women all day long. He would lose all authority and influence, and moreover, others would laugh at him.
"Trash! Trash!"
Xiao Tieying threw the teacup onto the floor with force and ceramic chips scattered everywhere.
He was breathing hard and pacing around, his handsome face was livid.
Two people were standing in the main hall. It was Linquan and a middle-aged man, and their facial expressions were not any more pleasant.
Xiao Tieying paced back and forth over a dozen times. He suppressed his anger forcefully and said, "Elder Tie, you tell me, a small Ferric Demon Ridge can rob our Longevity Grass, do you believe it? If this news was spread outside, it would be enough to make a cat laugh!"
The middle-aged man was helpless. "Master, the people from Ferric Demon Ridge are really strong. We had wrongly estimated their strength, and even worse, there was a martial artist with top-notch Light-body Technique, he grabbed the Longevity Grass and ran. We tried our best but we could not catch up to him!"
"Who?!" Xiao Tieying asked coldly.
The middle-aged man shook his head. "He covered his face. We could not recognize him."
"You guys don't know how to verify?!" Xiao Tieying said petulantly, "You don't need me to teach you this, do you?"
"Master, we have interrogated the people from Ferric Demon Ridge but they didn't know too!" the middle-aged man said with resignation. "They were very angry as well, they believed that they had been cut off from their success by that guy and that all their efforts had ended up helping that guy instead!"
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind [1], humph!" Xiao Tieying sneered, "What a good scheme!"
"This person has a short and skinny stature. His Light-body Technique is top-notch and he is an Innate Master!" said the middle-aged man.
"A Grandmaster could not stop an Innate Master, heh!" Xiao Tieying curled his lips. "It seems that this guy's Light-body Technique is indeed magnificent, this wouldn't be too difficult to verify right?"
An Innate Master in the face of a Grandmaster was like a kid facing an adult, this was everyone's deep-rooted concept. If it wasn't for Chu Li who killed a Grandmaster the last time, Xiao Tieying would have never believed this.
An Innate Master who was able to escape from the hands of a Grandmaster would require a really powerful Light-body Technique, and people with this ability in the martial arts world could be counted with just one hand. After that, they could compare their statures and they would roughly be able to find out who it was.
The middle-aged man said, "My preliminary guess is: it might be the "Celestial Monkey"!"
"'Celestial Monkey' Jiang Kuai?" Xiao Tieying frowned. "Could it be that our information was leaked?"
"It's impossible!" the middle-aged man shook his head and said, "We used the most trustworthy people and it's impossible that our information is leaked!"
"Then how did Jiang Kuai know?"
"Maybe it is a coincidence."
"Humph, what a coincidence!" Xiao Tieying said coldly, "Because of this coincidence, we have lost the Longevity Grass, that Jiang Kuai might have already eaten it!"
"Master, most people don't recognize Longevity Grass," the middle-aged man said.
Xiao Tieying scoffed, "Do you know who Jiang Kuai is? How could he not recognize the Longevity Grass?!"
On one side, Linquan, who had white hair but a ruddy complexion, and who had not spoken during the entirety of the conversation, interrupted with one sentence this time, "Master, if it is Jiang Kuai, we can't blame Elder Huang."
Xiao Tieying nodded with a grim face.
Jiang Kuai's Light-body Technique was superb, and a Light-body Technique this good was rare in this world, even Grandmasters could not be compared to him.
"If it's Jiang Kuai, Master, I fear the Longevity Grass has been… " Linquan said with resignation. "We can only think of another way."
Even if Jiang Kuai did not eat the Longevity Grass, it would be impossible to recover it. Jiang Kuai's Light-body Technique was sublime, even if they sent several Grandmasters, they would still not be able to chase him down.
"Master, do you want to leak out the information?" the middle-aged man clenched his teeth and scoffed, "We couldn't get it back but we can't let Jiang Kuai reap all the benefits. Once people know that it is the Longevity Grass, they will fight to get their hands on it!"
"It's useless!" Xiao Tieying's handsome face become gloomier.
Not only was Jiang Kuai's Light-body Technique sublime, he was secretive in his conduct too. They would never be able to even touch his shadow.
"Damn!" Xiao Tieying hit the sandalwood coffee table and ground out the words between his clenched teeth. "Jiang Kuai—!"
He had gone through countless hardships and he had finally got this Longevity Grass. As long as Second Younger Sister ate it, her body would recover and she would no longer be sick or suffer from her illness, but it was all for naught at the last moment because of Jiang Kuai. Xiao Tieying itched to tear Jiang Kuai apart.
"Master, Third Lady is here," someone outside the hall reported.
Translator Notes
[1] A Chinese metaphor that illustrates someone's short-sightedness, thinking of plotting against others but has no idea that somebody else is scheming against him too, just like mantis who preys on the cicada but is ignorant of the bigger predator behind him—the oriole. In other words, it means coveting gains ahead without being aware of the danger behind.
