Chu Li suppressed his urge of killing the monk and returned to Chong Ming Town.
It was the late evening, and the lights around town were just beginning to light up. He returned to the residence and noticed the bright, warm atmosphere. Numerous gentle giggles could be heard, and it was soothing to his ears.
Chu Li smiled.
He was glad that he could hear them laugh like this. He hoped that they would find their way and live their own lives as soon as possible.
Just as he stepped into the outer edges of the residence, Lee Yue burst out and held onto him.
"Brother! You're back!"
Chu Li smiled.
"Is everything done?"
"Yes! They are!"
Lee Yue wiped the sweat from his forehead. He put up a bitter smile.
"If you had reached any later, I might have died of fatigue!"
Chu Li smiled.
"Was it that bad?"
"All of them..are they my great aunts!? It's actually impressive! Not even one of them is easy to deal with!"
Lee Yue waved his hands as if he were avoiding snakes.
"And they know martial arts too!"
Chu Li replied.
"They're way too mean!"
A thousand sorrows could be felt coming from Lee Yue's expression.
"They rip at me if I say even one thing wrong. All of them start going on and on and I actually become dizzy! I really have to go..brother! I can't leave the East Garden alone!"
Chu Li laughed.
"I wanted to get you a nice and easy job, with all those pretty ladies surrounding you! How much more beautiful could this job be?"
"My general quota for luck is incredibly low! I can't take this anymore! You do it! It's better that you did it!"
Lee Yue cowered as his hands and head were shaking in fear.
"Very well, you can return to the East Garden. I'll stay here for tonight."
Chu Li said.
Lee Yue gave him a strange look.
"You really want to stay here?"
"Mhmm."
Chu Li nodded.
"It's my own house, can I not stay here?"
"Can you handle all those ladies by yourself?"
"Get out of here, I'm not that filthy!"
Chu Li pushed him away.
"Hehe..."
Lee Yue found himself a chance and quickly left.
Zhao Ying walked in and whispered.
"How's it, Brother?"
Chu Li shook his head and he became gloomy.
"He ran away!"
"He ran away!?"
Zhao Ying' expression changed. She furrowed her brows.
"This isn't going to end well.."
The Temple of Tempest never failed in killing their targets, and now that they were in pursuit of Chu Li, his life was in danger.
Chu Li put up a smile.
"It's not that serious. As long as I stay in the Public House, no one can harm me!"
"You can't possibly stay in the Public House for the rest of your life, can you? The Temple of Tempest is very powerful, they will keep pursuing you!"
Zhao Ying was worried. She sighed.
"What do we do now?"
"It will soon the be the dead of night. Have you readied a horse?"
"Me—?"
Zhao Ying pointed at herself.
Chu Li smiled.
"I am a man after all. They'll feel inconvenienced. We'll have to make you do some work here. Making you travel back and forth all day is just a waste of time. Just find a house here and stay here every now and then!"
Zhao Ying hesitated.
But this was Chu Li's residence. She could not have just left the group of women alone, but having her live in Chu Li's residence sounded rather indecent for a girl.
Chu Li smiled.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid!"
Zhao Ying rolled her eyes.
"When they get used to it, okay? You can move out then."
As long as she moved in, it would have dawned on her that it was not indecent, and she would seriously have considered staying.
Chu Li had actually dedicated all his effort to get Zhao Ying aboard the plan.
Chu Li looked at Zhao Ying and, hesitatingly smiled.
"It's decided then, the west room is still empty, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Zhao Ying shook her head.
"They didn't settle in the main courtyard."
"You'll live in the west room then!"
"But…"
"Why are there so many 'buts'!"
Chu Li halted her from speaking any further.
"There's no way that you don't care about them, do you? Travelling around all day will just leave you with no time to cultivate! There's no need to worry, I'll be in the East Garden the entire time, I won't be back here!"
Zhao Ying was still hesitating, but she said no more.
Chu Li smiled.
"I need to meditate, I leave them in your hands."
"They can do anything, I can't compete with them."
Zhao Ying said.
Chu Li nodded:
"That's how it is in here, but it won't be the case anymore once we enter town. Also, pick a few of them out and have them clean the house."
"Hmm, alright."
Zhao Ying nodded. She could tell that Chu Li's complexion was not all that good.
"Okay now, Brother, go and get some rest."
Chu Li nodded.
He walked into the room to the east side of the main hall. He sat on the couch and began meditating.
He recalled all the moves made by his opponent, every single one. He analyzed the martial arts of the Temple and observed the operation of the monk's heart technique. He was trying to find a way to face him in the future.
The Temple would not give up on him, for sure. Or else they would not be the Temple of Tempest. The monk would have found enough men to kill him.
He was an innate master all on his own and he was doing quite well in progress, but if he had met a grandmaster, he probably would not have stood a chance. The difference between the two boundaries was comparable to the sky and the earth.
The force of the Temple was hidden and deep. They definitely had grandmasters with them. If they decided to make a move, he would probably be dead. In that case, he needed to spend all his time cultivating. Once he reached the boundaries of grandmaster, he would be able to protect himself.
It was impossible to train as a grandmaster in the Public House. He needed to finest of conscious states.
These conscious states were mostly obtainable with the sects out in the world. Being an Scribe of the Public House, he could have probably gone to train in one of those sects, but not anyone could do it.
The number of people actually sent to train was minimal. If the special contribution was not made, the Public House certainly would not have granted an Scribe a spot.
He sighed.
He still had to contribute something, and that something needed to be important and special. It was good that Lady Siao was enlightening. She rewarded people and as long as he contributed, he would get his chance. But Lady Siao was not a grandmaster.
Chu Li returned to the Public House the next morning. He saw Lee Yue mowing the grass in the Moonlight Orchid parterre. The weeds around it grew incredibly quickly, befitting of Chu Li's spiritual energy channeling. Lee Yue needed to mow the weeds once every two days.
Lee Yue lifted his head and looked at him. He made a weird smile.
Chu Li stared at him.
"How does it feel to be around pretty ladies?"
Chu Li checked on the Moonlight Orchid and Dream of Pearls. They looked fine, there was no need for concern.
"Where did you get those women, Brother? Are you trying to start another New Moon Brothel?"
Lee Yue pulled his sleeves.
He was so curious to the point where he could not sleep well. All those ladies were beautiful in some way, and every move they made could make him fall for them. He felt that all those ladies were more beautiful than the ones from the New Moon Brothel.
The New Moon brothel was the best go-to restaurant for nobles. It was the in the highest class of brothels and gambling dens. All who visit the brothel were either rich, respectable, or both. Normal peasants could not even afford entry. Every visit costs at least two hundred silver, the price of a small house. It was indeed expensive.
Chu Li shook his head and explained their existence to Lee Yue.
Lee Yue smashed his fists as he finished.
"They're truly pitiful. I had never thought that Brother Chu accomplished such a good deed! Such a virtuous achievement!"
Chu Li bitterly smiled.
"I actually poked through a hornet's nest. The head of the Raging Zhao Zhang Zhang Zhang Feihuahuahuahu was a follower of from the Temple of Tempest. Even though he was just a traitor, I was in the wrong for killing him. The Temple of Tempest is coming after me."
"The Temple of Tempest —?"
Lee Yue widened his eyes.
Chu Li nodded.
Lee Yue's jaws dropped. He could not speak a word.
The Temple was a large force. They were stronger than the Public House. He was an Scribe under the Public House and was under its protection. Normal figures of the martial arts circle did not dare cause trouble there. But now that it was the Temple of Tempest, it had become something completely different.
Chu Li waved off his hand.
"I'll go and report this to the Chief."
"Sigh…"
Lee Yue sighed and nodded.
"Go quickly. Stay in the Public House from now on, and do not ever leave, it's far too dangerous."
Chu Li's martial arts was great, and he believed that he would not be able to avoid confrontation against the Temple of Tempest. There was news of masters in the Temple of Tempest far stronger than the ones in the Public House, and there were even rumors of enlightened masters hidden within them. That was the reason as to why the Temple was still standing, after all those years.
Chu Li reached the Island of the Guardian of Jade.
As soon as he stepped onto the island, Su Ru approached him. She looked at him with a smile that did not seem like one.
Chu Li wrapped his fists and bowed.
"Chief."
Su Ru waved off her delicate hand and smiled.
"I've heard that you bought a residence and hid a bunch of pretty ladies?"
Chu Li smiled and shook his head. He told her everything.
Su Ru's expression changed immediately, she waved her hands and brought him to the top of the Tower of Stargazing. Siao Qi was practicing her swordplay.
The flashes of the sword were like snow, bringing along feelings of frost. Chu Li took a step back, avoiding the cold atmosphere. The swordplay was amazing. He needed four stages of the Infinite Sea of Azure, or he would not win against this.
"Lady Siao."
Su Ru waited for Siao Qi to stop her swordplay and caught the sword she tossed to her. She sheathed her sword.
"Chu Li did something again!"
"Hmm--?" Siao Qi turned over and looked at him with her watery eyes.
Chu Li told her the story.
"The monk…" Siao Qi muttered as she nodded.
"He's probably the follower of the Fellowship Commandment by the Temple of Tempest, they are responsible for arresting the followers that break the rules. You must be quite excellent if you could win him. Not bad!"
Chu Li shook his head.
"The monk didn't look very high ranked."
"Hmm, the followers of the Fellowship Commandment are normal. If they really wanted to kill you, they would use the followers from the Exorcist."
Siao Qi slightly shook her head.
"These guys don't care when they kill. Their martial art is tough and strong, you cannot be careless."
"So what should we do, Lady Siao, ?"
Su Ru furrowed her brows.
"Could we meet up with the Temple of Tempest and have a discussion?"
"It's useless."
"They're a proud and arrogant bunch. They couldn't care less about the Public House."
"Are we just going to let Chu Li be caught and slaughtered?"
"We'll just hide for now."
"Ha...such a grievance…"
"They're far stronger than us. They would definitely kill him if he went out. There's nothing we could do. Would we be brave enough to pick a fight against the Temple?"
Su Ru angrily remarked.
"Then we'll threaten them! If they dare kill Chu Li, we'll kill all their followers, all of those in our territory, every single one of them!"
Siao Qi glared at her.
Su Ru pouted.
"Who do they think they are to bully us like this? It pisses me off!"
"Chief, the Temple of Tempest is different."
Chu Li said.
"Who cares which temple!? They have to pay if they caused the Public House so much trouble!"
"Su Ru, you..you really never use your brain."
Siao Qi shook her head
"If the Public House stood out like this, we'd probably be wiped out."
Chu Li nodded.
If they stood out this much, they would not be putting the Imperial Palace in the picture. The Public House was fundamentally different from the Temple of Tempest. They live in the name of Imperial Power.
"Very well. I shall not leave the Public House for now."
Chu Li said.
"That's the best course of action."
Siao Qi nodded.
"You'll work with the spirit land now. The preparations are ready, are you going to do it on the Island of Guardian of Jade?"
"Yes."
Chu Li nodded.
"Hmm, we will do it here then."
Siao Qi said.
"Su Ru, both of you, pick a location. Try to be as hidden as possible and help Chu Li as much as you can!"
Su Ru looked as if she felt nothing. She replied:
"Yes, Lady Siao."
Chu Li suppressed his urge of killing the monk and returned to Chong Ming Town.
It was the late evening, and the lights around town were just beginning to light up. He returned to the residence and noticed the bright, warm atmosphere. Numerous gentle giggles could be heard, and it was soothing to his ears.
Chu Li smiled.
He was glad that he could hear them laugh like this. He hoped that they would find their way and live their own lives as soon as possible.
Just as he stepped into the outer edges of the residence, Lee Yue burst out and held onto him.
"Brother! You're back!"
Chu Li smiled.
"Is everything done?"
"Yes! They are!"
Lee Yue wiped the sweat from his forehead. He put up a bitter smile.
"If you had reached any later, I might have died of fatigue!"
Chu Li smiled.
"Was it that bad?"
"All of them..are they my great aunts!? It's actually impressive! Not even one of them is easy to deal with!"
Lee Yue waved his hands as if he were avoiding snakes.
"And they know martial arts too!"
Chu Li replied.
"They're way too mean!"
A thousand sorrows could be felt coming from Lee Yue's expression.
"They rip at me if I say even one thing wrong. All of them start going on and on and I actually become dizzy! I really have to go..brother! I can't leave the East Garden alone!"
Chu Li laughed.
"I wanted to get you a nice and easy job, with all those pretty ladies surrounding you! How much more beautiful could this job be?"
"My general quota for luck is incredibly low! I can't take this anymore! You do it! It's better that you did it!"
Lee Yue cowered as his hands and head were shaking in fear.
"Very well, you can return to the East Garden. I'll stay here for tonight."
Chu Li said.
Lee Yue gave him a strange look.
"You really want to stay here?"
"Mhmm."
Chu Li nodded.
"It's my own house, can I not stay here?"
"Can you handle all those ladies by yourself?"
"Get out of here, I'm not that filthy!"
Chu Li pushed him away.
"Hehe..."
Lee Yue found himself a chance and quickly left.
Zhao Ying walked in and whispered.
"How's it, Brother?"
Chu Li shook his head and he became gloomy.
"He ran away!"
"He ran away!?"
Zhao Ying' expression changed. She furrowed her brows.
"This isn't going to end well.."
The Temple of Tempest never failed in killing their targets, and now that they were in pursuit of Chu Li, his life was in danger.
Chu Li put up a smile.
"It's not that serious. As long as I stay in the Public House, no one can harm me!"
"You can't possibly stay in the Public House for the rest of your life, can you? The Temple of Tempest is very powerful, they will keep pursuing you!"
Zhao Ying was worried. She sighed.
"What do we do now?"
"It will soon the be the dead of night. Have you readied a horse?"
"Me—?"
Zhao Ying pointed at herself.
Chu Li smiled.
"I am a man after all. They'll feel inconvenienced. We'll have to make you do some work here. Making you travel back and forth all day is just a waste of time. Just find a house here and stay here every now and then!"
Zhao Ying hesitated.
But this was Chu Li's residence. She could not have just left the group of women alone, but having her live in Chu Li's residence sounded rather indecent for a girl.
Chu Li smiled.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid!"
Zhao Ying rolled her eyes.
"When they get used to it, okay? You can move out then."
As long as she moved in, it would have dawned on her that it was not indecent, and she would seriously have considered staying.
Chu Li had actually dedicated all his effort to get Zhao Ying aboard the plan.
Chu Li looked at Zhao Ying and, hesitatingly smiled.
"It's decided then, the west room is still empty, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Zhao Ying shook her head.
"They didn't settle in the main courtyard."
"You'll live in the west room then!"
"But…"
"Why are there so many 'buts'!"
Chu Li halted her from speaking any further.
"There's no way that you don't care about them, do you? Travelling around all day will just leave you with no time to cultivate! There's no need to worry, I'll be in the East Garden the entire time, I won't be back here!"
Zhao Ying was still hesitating, but she said no more.
Chu Li smiled.
"I need to meditate, I leave them in your hands."
"They can do anything, I can't compete with them."
Zhao Ying said.
Chu Li nodded:
"That's how it is in here, but it won't be the case anymore once we enter town. Also, pick a few of them out and have them clean the house."
"Hmm, alright."
Zhao Ying nodded. She could tell that Chu Li's complexion was not all that good.
"Okay now, Brother, go and get some rest."
Chu Li nodded.
He walked into the room to the east side of the main hall. He sat on the couch and began meditating.
He recalled all the moves made by his opponent, every single one. He analyzed the martial arts of the Temple and observed the operation of the monk's heart technique. He was trying to find a way to face him in the future.
The Temple would not give up on him, for sure. Or else they would not be the Temple of Tempest. The monk would have found enough men to kill him.
He was an innate master all on his own and he was doing quite well in progress, but if he had met a grandmaster, he probably would not have stood a chance. The difference between the two boundaries was comparable to the sky and the earth.
The force of the Temple was hidden and deep. They definitely had grandmasters with them. If they decided to make a move, he would probably be dead. In that case, he needed to spend all his time cultivating. Once he reached the boundaries of grandmaster, he would be able to protect himself.
It was impossible to train as a grandmaster in the Public House. He needed to finest of conscious states.
These conscious states were mostly obtainable with the sects out in the world. Being an Scribe of the Public House, he could have probably gone to train in one of those sects, but not anyone could do it.
The number of people actually sent to train was minimal. If the special contribution was not made, the Public House certainly would not have granted an Scribe a spot.
He sighed.
He still had to contribute something, and that something needed to be important and special. It was good that Lady Siao was enlightening. She rewarded people and as long as he contributed, he would get his chance. But Lady Siao was not a grandmaster.
Chu Li returned to the Public House the next morning. He saw Lee Yue mowing the grass in the Moonlight Orchid parterre. The weeds around it grew incredibly quickly, befitting of Chu Li's spiritual energy channeling. Lee Yue needed to mow the weeds once every two days.
Lee Yue lifted his head and looked at him. He made a weird smile.
Chu Li stared at him.
"How does it feel to be around pretty ladies?"
Chu Li checked on the Moonlight Orchid and Dream of Pearls. They looked fine, there was no need for concern.
"Where did you get those women, Brother? Are you trying to start another New Moon Brothel?"
Lee Yue pulled his sleeves.
He was so curious to the point where he could not sleep well. All those ladies were beautiful in some way, and every move they made could make him fall for them. He felt that all those ladies were more beautiful than the ones from the New Moon Brothel.
The New Moon brothel was the best go-to restaurant for nobles. It was the in the highest class of brothels and gambling dens. All who visit the brothel were either rich, respectable, or both. Normal peasants could not even afford entry. Every visit costs at least two hundred silver, the price of a small house. It was indeed expensive.
Chu Li shook his head and explained their existence to Lee Yue.
Lee Yue smashed his fists as he finished.
"They're truly pitiful. I had never thought that Brother Chu accomplished such a good deed! Such a virtuous achievement!"
Chu Li bitterly smiled.
"I actually poked through a hornet's nest. The head of the Raging Zhao Zhang Zhang Zhang Feihuahuahuahu was a follower of from the Temple of Tempest. Even though he was just a traitor, I was in the wrong for killing him. The Temple of Tempest is coming after me."
"The Temple of Tempest —?"
Lee Yue widened his eyes.
Chu Li nodded.
Lee Yue's jaws dropped. He could not speak a word.
The Temple was a large force. They were stronger than the Public House. He was an Scribe under the Public House and was under its protection. Normal figures of the martial arts circle did not dare cause trouble there. But now that it was the Temple of Tempest, it had become something completely different.
Chu Li waved off his hand.
"I'll go and report this to the Chief."
"Sigh…"
Lee Yue sighed and nodded.
"Go quickly. Stay in the Public House from now on, and do not ever leave, it's far too dangerous."
Chu Li's martial arts was great, and he believed that he would not be able to avoid confrontation against the Temple of Tempest. There was news of masters in the Temple of Tempest far stronger than the ones in the Public House, and there were even rumors of enlightened masters hidden within them. That was the reason as to why the Temple was still standing, after all those years.
Chu Li reached the Island of the Guardian of Jade.
As soon as he stepped onto the island, Su Ru approached him. She looked at him with a smile that did not seem like one.
Chu Li wrapped his fists and bowed.
"Chief."
Su Ru waved off her delicate hand and smiled.
"I've heard that you bought a residence and hid a bunch of pretty ladies?"
Chu Li smiled and shook his head. He told her everything.
Su Ru's expression changed immediately, she waved her hands and brought him to the top of the Tower of Stargazing. Siao Qi was practicing her swordplay.
The flashes of the sword were like snow, bringing along feelings of frost. Chu Li took a step back, avoiding the cold atmosphere. The swordplay was amazing. He needed four stages of the Infinite Sea of Azure, or he would not win against this.
"Lady Siao."
Su Ru waited for Siao Qi to stop her swordplay and caught the sword she tossed to her. She sheathed her sword.
"Chu Li did something again!"
"Hmm--?" Siao Qi turned over and looked at him with her watery eyes.
Chu Li told her the story.
"The monk…" Siao Qi muttered as she nodded.
"He's probably the follower of the Fellowship Commandment by the Temple of Tempest, they are responsible for arresting the followers that break the rules. You must be quite excellent if you could win him. Not bad!"
Chu Li shook his head.
"The monk didn't look very high ranked."
"Hmm, the followers of the Fellowship Commandment are normal. If they really wanted to kill you, they would use the followers from the Exorcist."
Siao Qi slightly shook her head.
"These guys don't care when they kill. Their martial art is tough and strong, you cannot be careless."
"So what should we do, Lady Siao, ?"
Su Ru furrowed her brows.
"Could we meet up with the Temple of Tempest and have a discussion?"
"It's useless."
"They're a proud and arrogant bunch. They couldn't care less about the Public House."
"Are we just going to let Chu Li be caught and slaughtered?"
"We'll just hide for now."
"Ha...such a grievance…"
"They're far stronger than us. They would definitely kill him if he went out. There's nothing we could do. Would we be brave enough to pick a fight against the Temple?"
Su Ru angrily remarked.
"Then we'll threaten them! If they dare kill Chu Li, we'll kill all their followers, all of those in our territory, every single one of them!"
Siao Qi glared at her.
Su Ru pouted.
"Who do they think they are to bully us like this? It pisses me off!"
"Chief, the Temple of Tempest is different."
Chu Li said.
"Who cares which temple!? They have to pay if they caused the Public House so much trouble!"
"Su Ru, you..you really never use your brain."
Siao Qi shook her head
"If the Public House stood out like this, we'd probably be wiped out."
Chu Li nodded.
If they stood out this much, they would not be putting the Imperial Palace in the picture. The Public House was fundamentally different from the Temple of Tempest. They live in the name of Imperial Power.
"Very well. I shall not leave the Public House for now."
Chu Li said.
"That's the best course of action."
Siao Qi nodded.
"You'll work with the spirit land now. The preparations are ready, are you going to do it on the Island of Guardian of Jade?"
"Yes."
Chu Li nodded.
"Hmm, we will do it here then."
Siao Qi said.
"Su Ru, both of you, pick a location. Try to be as hidden as possible and help Chu Li as much as you can!"
Su Ru looked as if she felt nothing. She replied:
"Yes, Lady Siao."
