Morning dawned in the mountains as the morning fog floated about.
Inside the silent quarters, a naked, well-built figure broke through the water’s surface with a splash. Miao Yi sat inside the pool with his unkempt hair hanging over his shoulders. Amongst all cultivators, there weren’t many who had a build like Miao Yi’s; he had slabs of dense muscles on his body.
Two fair-skinned bodies leaned closer to him and scooped water up to wash his body.
Qian’Er and Xue’Er were both stark-naked as well. A night of pleasure had finally convinced them to take off their last piece of loincloth. However, the blush of embarrassment was still visible on their faces. Yet under their embarrassment, there was a hint of delight as well.
In that one night, this muscular man was no longer only their master, but he had also become their man. They gazed sweetly at Miao Yi with gazes radiating love and tenderness for him. They had truly devoted their hearts to Miao Yi.
When their delicate fingers touches his skin, it felt different yet special.
Miao Yi stared at the ripples in the pool, seeing the shadows of the two ladies being pleasured last night in them. Miao Yi had no idea what came over him as he suddenly recalled the scene of him killed two of Xiong Xiao’s personal handmaidens. He figured Xiong Xiao must have had this moment with his own handmaidens as well. He couldn’t help but slowly closed his eyes and abruptly muttered, "Did Qin Weiwei also take her bath in here before?"
"..." The two girls shared a glance without saying a word. Mentioning such things at this moment, they figured they knew what he was thinking about. Xue’Er replied with, "Mmmm. Maybe."
Meanwhile, Qian’Er had turned to retrieve a comb from the poolside and held it in her lips. She went behind Miao Yi and knelt down, causing her voluptuous breasts to peek out from the water. With water still dripping from her body, she neatly gathered Miao Yi’s hair with both her hands and, taking the comb from her lip, began attentively combing part by part.
Miao Yi kept his eyes closed as he quietly sat in the waters, allowing the two girls to do whatever they wanted with his body. He then calmly asked, "What kind of person am I to you both?"
The two ladies exchanged glances with one another once more. They didn’t know how to reply to his question for a moment. After a moment of silence, Qian’Er responded, "You are our master. A capable person."
"A capable person?" Miao Yi smiled. Still keeping his eyes closed, he asked, "Both of you were scared and kept silent yesterday. Do you call this ‘capable’ as well?"
"..." They didn’t how to answer that.
Miao Yi grinned again and said, "You might not know about this, but I was mocked even when I was still an ordinary mortal. I even went to ask permission for a marriage proposal after I took a fancy to a neighbor’s daughter, but in the end, my betrothal gifts were tossed out. You wouldn’t know this, but I even went to South Edict Manor to discuss a marriage proposal with Manor Head…"
Both of the ladies were shocked. "You discussed a marriage proposal with Manor Head?"
"Yeah... Qin Weiwei wanted me to marry her. In the end, Manor Head declined the proposal and refused to say anything further. I was even forced to suffer through a distant raid to slaughter Xiong Xiao and nearly lost my life for it. Luckily, I was able to survive and come back in one piece. Of course, in return for that, I was promoted to Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. I gained this position in exchange for my life." Miao Yi suddenly grinned with opened eyes before saying, "The worst part comes after. The candidate list for the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade coming up in few years has my name on it."
The two ladies were aghast and cried out, "Master is going to the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade?"
These two were no longer the ignorant girls they used to be. Naturally, they knew what the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade would entail. Xue’Er added, "Can you not go?"
Miao Yi shook his head gently and said, "This is beyond my control. I must go, unless I flee like Xiong Xiao did."
Qian’Er clutched his hair and grit her teeth, "Fleeing isn’t bad. Wherever master goes, we will follow."
"Xiong Xiao’s fate is an example of that. If I really do run away, these people here will never forgive me. They will send a second or third person like myself to kill me. They will stop at nothing until I am dead!"
Xue’Er knelt in front of him and said in a trembling voice, "Do you have to go? We can run away a bit further to somewhere they will never find us."
Miao Yi reached out and gently stroke her face, "Even though the world is vast, there is no place for the likes of us. Without power, we will end up with the same fate no matter where we run. We will still be fooled by others. At least I have some foundation here. If I want to stand out, running away will not help. The only way to achieve that is to face it head on. Back when I first began and decided to head down the path of cultivation, a person told me that this was a path of no-return. He asked me if I really want this path… I didn’t understand it at first, but now I do. Once I take on this path, I will have no control over it. Right now, this is the only path I can walk on. I will not run away even if this path is full of thorns, bumps, and endless corpses. I saw a saying once when I was at the Boundless Secular World—‘A boat made of white bones sails the boundless sea of blood!’—I don’t even know which senior wrote it, but the road to cultivation is indeed filled with endless hardship and bitterness."
He scooped up Xue’Er’s white-skinned body and placed her on his thigh. His hands caressing her busty bosoms as he said, "At least the rules of the game provide me a way out. Even if the game wants my life, it still gives me the chance to foster my strength—why then, should I flee? That being said, both of you should not be afraid. There is no need to panic. I will strive for the best and never give up, and I hope you two will not either. If something happens to me, I want both of you to live on. If you live, there is hope."
The two ladies bit their lips and remained silent. It felt as if their master was trying to leave his will to them.
"Both of you are my most trusted confidants. Don’t tell anyone else about me going to the Sea of Constellations for now. But on your way back, you can tell Yao Ruoxian about it."
Qian’Er was still kneeling behind, combing his hair as she asked, "Do you want to ask Master to accompany you?"
"There is no need to do that. Just inform him about it. When I come back from South Edict Manor later, I have to find him to discuss some other matters as well."
"Understood."
After he was done bathing, Miao Yi went out of the pool in the nude and invoke his arts to dispel the moisture from the surface of his body. The ladies, with exquisite figures that would make anyone’s heart race and their blood pumping, did not hurry to dress. Instead, they stood on either side of Miao Yi and assisted him in dressing.
After the three of them were dressed, they went outside and saw Yan Xiu waiting for them in the courtyard. Tian Qingfeng and the others were there as well; their vital energy was already recovered.
Miao Yi stood on the platform and swept his gaze over everyone. Qian’Er and Xue’Er stood behind on either side of him.
Everyone cupped their fists together and said, "We have come to pay respects to Mountain Chieftain. Greetings Elder Auntie and Little Auntie."
All of them noticed that both Elder Auntie and Little Auntie looked quite well today. Their complexions seemed unusually radiant.
However, the disciples of the School of Blue Jade were mainly focusing their anticipation on Miao Yi. They only came because Miao Yi had offered the School of Blue Jade disciples benefits.
"Tian Qingfeng. Ou Yulin. Niu Sheng. Yang Liqun." Miao Yi looked towards them as he called out their names.
"Present!" They stepped forward alongside each other and clasped their fists together.
"The four of you will follow me to South Edict Manor to give a report!"
"Understood!" A Blue Lotus Fourth Grade cultivator and three Blue Lotus Third Grade cultivators acknowledged the order.
It was clear that Miao Yi wasn’t negligent about his own safety. He would definitely bring experts to protect him on his journey if given the chance.
Miao Yi then directed his gaze at Yan Xiu and said, "When I return from South Edict Manor, I want to see every Cave Master in Mount Calming Sea awaiting my orders. Go and convey this message to them."
"Understood!" Yan Xiu acknowledged.
"In my absence, I want you all to heed Yan Xiu’s command," said Miao Yi. Then he turned to Yan Xiu and continued saying, "If someone harbors ill intent—I don’t care if they are from the three major schools or whoever’s trusted subordinates—kill them! If anything happens, I will bear the responsibility!"
The incident at Xiong Xiao’s Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was a lesson he had learnt from experience. He would never allow this situation to happen on his own territory. With so many Blue Lotus experts at his disposal, he wanted to see who would dare make such a scene in his domain.
"Understood!" Everyone acknowledged once again.
Charcoal had been lying down under the entrance of the loft. Miao Yi suddenly kicked at him to get up.
Yan Xiu fetched four dragon steeds for Tian Qingfeng and the others. Not long after, five of them mounted their steeds and dashed out of Mount Calming Sea with a rumble...
They hurried toward their destination without stopping. They did not meet with any danger during their journey and so were finally able to make it to South Edict Manor without any incidents.
Five of them dismounted their dragon steeds, and Miao Yi then went up all by himself.
After Miao Yi announced his arrival, he was led to the pavilion behind the mountain. Once again, he was met with a stern-looking Yang Qing sitting inside the pavilion.
Qing Mei and Qing Ju weren’t the only ones looking at him with a complicated expression, Yang Qing was a little flurried as well. If he had relented back then, this guy would already have become his son-in-law!
Qing Ju silently sighed. To be honest, Qin Weiwei and Miao Yi seemed quite compatible for each other to her. However, she didn’t have the final say in that matter.
"I come to pay my respects to Manor Head," greeted Miao Yi.
Yang Qing gestured him to stand up, motioning to Miao Yi to forego all formalities. Then smiled and said, "Coming back to see me so soon? Did you come across any trouble in Mount Calming Sea?"
Miao Yi took out a casket from his storage ring and presented it with both of his hands, "Your subordinate had the good fortune to accomplish his mission. The tyrant has been punished!"
Yang Qing was caught quite by surprise. ‘Could it be…’ He gave a nod to Qing Ju, who quickly went over to receive the casket.
She couldn’t just deliver anything that was meant for Yang Qing to him. Naturally, she had to check the contents of the casket first. What would she do if something dangerous was hidden inside?
Qing Ju opened the casket and as expected, it contained a head inside. There was no questioning the identity of the head’s owner, as she could easily recognize it. Anything stored inside the storage ring would not rot easily.
Qing Ju invoke a little of her arts and made the head inside the casket float in the air to face Yang Qing. Who could the head belong to if not Xiong Xiao? Everyone at the scene was quite familiar with this person.
Yang Qing slowly stood up and narrowed his eyes at the head for a while. After confirming that this was without a doubt Xiong Xiao’s head, he then scrunched his eyes shut and nodded. After that, Qing Ju put back the head into the box.
"If you had known it would come to this, then why did you do it in the first place!" Yang Qing sighed. It wasn’t quite clear who those words were directed at, but there was a hint of helplessness in his voice. It sounded quite genuine. Xiong Xiao had followed him for so many years after all. It would be impossible for Yang Qing not to have any sentimental feelings for Xiong Xiao.
He opened his eyes and gazed at Miao Yi. There was a hint of wonder in his eye. He figured that Miao Yi would have still been busy re-organizing Mount Calming Sea. Regardless of whom it was, the first thing anyone would do after being promoted would be to re-organize their respective station. He didn’t expect that Miao Yi could pluck Xiong Xiao’s head in a matter of days. This speed was… Yang Qing had to ask, "How did you manage to do it so easily?"
"It was not that simple. I nearly lost my life because of it. This is purely luck." Miao Yi forced a smile before he presented a jade archive to Yang Qing.
Yang Qing personally took the archive and looked at it. He only read the contents describing what had happened during Miao Yi’s mission. From the moment Miao Yi received the order, he immediately contacted the School of Blue Jade and made known his interest to hire twenty members of the Blue Jade cultivators to borrow their help. Together, they quickly rushed towards Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. The dangers he had encountered during the mission were reported in the archive as well.
Yang Qing would at times give Miao Yi side glances as he examined the contents of the archive. He was particularly impressed with the clever use of the list of remuneration. It was bold of him to lead a few men to find Xiong Xiao directly and lure him into a trap. If there were any slight miscalculations on his part, he would definitely have lost his life. Yang Qing was secretly amazed by his courage.
Especially the part where he was surrounded by a large number of Xiong Xiao’s troop, Yang Qing shuddered when he read it. In his heart, he thought to himself, ‘Luckily I didn’t give my consent for this kid to marry Weiwei. Otherwise, I might have to constantly be worried and anxious all the time.’
However, going back to the point, if it wasn’t for this risk, Xiong Xiao’s head might never have appeared in this place. If they had dragged this matter further, it would be much more difficult to attempt the same thing in future.