novelraw Chapter 87: Visit
Chapter 87: Visit
With a flick of his wrist, a storage pouch materialized in Wuyi's hand. He tossed it to Meiying. "If you need more gold, ask me. But ensure that your sources are reliable. You may go."
He thought of something and then spoke, "Send Tumu back to Huanghou; let one of the siblings manage the inn until they can train someone to take care of things, then send them back to Huanghou too to manage our interests. And before our upcoming visitors arrive, send away the merchants that came with us."
Startled, Meiying and the Warriors nodded, exiting the room. They were surprised by nothing else but that Wuyi had directly given the storage pouch to Meiying; the storage pouch was too precious, more precious than the gold inside it, but Wuyi gave it without a second thought.
As they closed the door behind them, they encountered Tumu and Zhen, who were returning from their meal. Meiying shook her head disapprovingly, eliciting a curious glance from Zhen.
"Where are you all going?" Tumu inquired. "You were supposed to meet with the young master for guidance."
Meiying retorted, "That's already been done. While you were busy drinking, we received our orders."
Tumu, who considered himself second in command, was caught off guard and stammered, "Ah, yes, I knew that. Zhen and I were...occupied with other important tasks for the young master."
Zhen sighed internally, casting a pleading look at Meiying. The young master rarely gave missions; when he did, they were always very important. He yearned to be part of the mission, to break free from the monotony of guard duty. He wanted to show the young master how valuable he could be. Even after being assigned as a personal guard, the young master rarely spoke with him.
Meiying, however, was unyielding. "This is why you shouldn't drink on duty. If you continue this way, you'll miss out on important missions."
Tumu and Zhen noticed the storage pouch in Meiying's hands, but before they could ask anything, Meiying spoke, "Master Tumu, you will be going back to the Young Master's mansion in Huanghou. You will watch over all the clan matters, and Zhen, from now on, you will be an attendant to the Young Master while the siblings will manage the inn."
The two men were wide-eyed for a while then frowned. Tumu believed himself superior to anyone in their group because he was the first one Wuyi had found, while Zhen considered himself Meiying's first subordinate. But now, she was taking the other five guards, leaving him to be an attendant. And she had the storage pouch in her hands; the mission must be very important to the young master.
They all wanted to impress him.
But Tumu and Zhen both were away and did not know what instructions the young master had. Resigned, Zhen nodded and took his position outside Wuyi's door.
Tumu was not ready to listen; he was about to enter when Jia, one of Wuyi's attendants, intercepted him. "The young master is cultivating. He should only be disturbed if the mission is complete. If you need more gold, consult Lin. We will change duties from tomorrow."
With that, Jia retreated to the side room connected to Wuyi's chamber.
Tumu sighed, decided to go back down, and drink some more wine while Zhen stood boredly finishing his guard duty.
* * * * *
A month flew by with Wuyi spending every day meditating in his room, waiting for his team to wrap up their mission. He even skipped going down for meals, using every single minute to feed the statues and push them past their current level so they could start helping him with his cultivation.
He was still a Qi adept, but now he might have to go up against clans that have Qi masters. He knew he had to get ready and heal completely.
Today, for the first time, Wuyi left the inn; he was inside Yuzhao fortress to finish what he started. Even though the fortress was built above the city, most of it was actually underground rather than above. They should have called it "Deep Fortress" because that would have been more accurate.
After Wuyi received all the information he needed from his subordinate, he decided to visit the fortress alone. He brought Xuebi with him, a guide he had paid handsomely to assist in sneaking him into the dungeons of the fortress. Together, Wuyi and Xuebi ventured deeper into the fortress, with the air growing colder and heavier the further they went
Xuebi, a scholar responsible for overseeing governmental activities within the fortress, hesitated before the iron door of the dungeon. When a sickly young master, who relied on a stick for support, approached him with a substantial amount of gold taels and requested a tour, Xuebi immediately agreed.
However, he soon realized that the young master's interest lay primarily in the dungeon rather than the rest of the fortress.
"This visit is, perhaps, a bad idea," Xuebi cautioned, his face etched with concern.
'It's my idea," Wuyi retorted. "You've been paid enough. I want to see the dungeon; it interests me."
Just then, a guttural scream pierced the air, echoing off the stone walls.
"We have to hurry and not spend much time in the dungeon,"' Xuebi urged, his lips pressed into a tight line.
"You talk too much," Wuyi said, brushing past him. He knocked on the door with the stick he was holding. 'Open up."
The door creaked open on well-oiled hinges, revealing a warty old man in a dungeon guard uniform. Before the guard could speak or tell them to go away, Wuyi pointed the tip of his stick toward him. "Don't."
Seeing the luxurious clothes of Wuyi and Xuebi in official robes, the guard assumed Wuyi was from Huo Lan.
Wuyi moved his hand, revealing two gold liangs. The guard's eyes widened in surprise before he nodded, quietly taking the gold. Wuyi then proceeded to enter the fort's prison, ignoring the guard who was preoccupied with examining the gold liangs. Reluctantly, Xuebi followed Wuyi inside.