Chapter 561: Each with Their Own Plans

Yang Yao listened and smiled. “I was just about to report it to Hall Master. Here, take a look at this.”

As he spoke, he took the jade box from his robe and respectfully handed it over. Elder Zishen accepted it and casually opened it. A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes as he said: “What does Nie Shuai mean by this? The last few times I asked him for it, he always found excuses to put me off. Why is he voluntarily giving it to me this time? Heh heh, there must be something behind it!”

Yang Yao nodded and recounted the matter concerning Zhang Xiaohua and the forceful request. As he spoke, he carefully observed Elder Zishen’s expression. He saw that the elder listened from beginning to end without any change in expression, then casually tossed the jade box onto the table and sneered, “Yang Yao, you’re one of my trusted aides and have traveled to Spring Rebirth Valley for many years. How could you do something so foolish?”

The moment Yang Yao heard this, cold sweat broke out all over him. He quickly bowed and said: “Hall Master, please calm your anger. I only considered the many years of friendship between Spring Rebirth Valley and our Incense-Spreading Sect, and Nie Shuai is also very familiar with our Tuodan Hall. Every time he comes, he always shows us generous respect, and he has never asked for anything before…”

“That’s all? And you agreed just because of that?” Elder Zishen stared at him and asked.

“Well…” Yang Yao hesitated. “When I saw him bring out this Worryfree Grass, and remembered that Hall Master had requested it many times before, I thought there would be no harm in it, so I agreed.”

Elder Zishen glanced at the Worryfree Grass and said, “Although this herb is rare, it actually has little practical use. It is only used for pill refinement. Do you think Spring Rebirth Valley has the ability to refine it themselves? In the end, won’t they still have to send it to our Incense-Spreading Sect and ask us to refine it for them? I only mentioned it to remind him that he should send this herb over in the future. Heh heh, and what about your side?”

“I…” Yang Yao did not dare conceal anything and told Elder Zishen about Vice Hall Master Xu taking the short sword. Taking the opportunity, he added, “Hall Master, you know as well as I do that Chen Fengxiao has always made things difficult for Spring Rebirth Valley. Ordinary herb boys lose a layer of skin once they end up under him. Although Ren Xiaoyao knows some martial arts, he’s still no match for Chen Fengxiao, and Chen Fengxiao even has five or six Arhats under him. He is bound to suffer greatly. You must quickly transfer Ren Xiaoyao back to Baiyue Peak. If something happens to him, it will be difficult to explain things to Nie Shuai.”

Elder Zishen did not answer directly. He merely said: “I knew you wouldn’t do him a favor for nothing. You are a sentimental fellow. In all your years in the martial world, Nie Shuai is the only true friend you’ve made, and you’ll never see him again in the future. A moment of soft-heartedness is understandable…”

The moment Yang Yao heard this, he was overjoyed. “Many thanks for Hall Master’s understanding.”

“Heh heh, understanding is one thing, but disregarding sect rules and privately bringing an unqualified herb boy from Spring Rebirth Valley into the Incense-Spreading Sect is still a crime you must bear.”

Yang Yao’s face turned ashen as he said: “Yes. I ask Hall Master to punish me.”

“Originally, I intended to arrange a good position for you as compensation for your years of hard work. Since you’ve made a mistake, you can make up for it with future merits. As for that position, you need not go to it.”

Yang Yao was somewhat delighted. “Many thanks for the Hall Master’s benevolence. As expected, you are impartial in both rewards and punishments.”

Elder Zishen let out a snort through his nose. “Even Vice Hall Master Xu knows about this matter. If I were not impartial in rewards and punishments, how could I explain myself to the sect? Just be careful in your duties from now on and let your future performance speak for itself.”

Yang Yao was overjoyed and said: “I would never dare be so muddleheaded again. Alas, at the time, seeing how Nie Shuai was worrying himself sick over his daughter, I felt sympathy as a parent and agreed too readily.”

“That Qiang fellow is fine enough. He’s no different from the usual herb boys. Just have someone keep a slight eye on him. But this Xiaoyao fellow is not so easy to conceal. From your description, it’s obvious at a glance that he’s no genuine herb boy. Although Vice Hall Master Xu’s intentions were less than noble, it happens to suit my wishes perfectly. Throwing him far away to Tianmu Peak, who would know he was a herb boy sent by Spring Rebirth Valley? Even if someone did find out, the information would only make its way back to Baiyue Peak and would not become known to others. After another two years pass and we bring him back, wouldn’t everything seem completely natural?”

“But… isn’t Chen Fengxiao still at Tianmu Peak?”

Elder Zishen waved a hand. “Didn’t you say Nie Shuai also wanted him to break into the Outer Sect and leave the Incense-Spreading Sect? Then it’s just right for him to receive some proper tempering under Chen Fengxiao. It can even help his growth. Besides, Vice Hall Master Xu has only just exiled him to Tianmu Peak. And now you want me to bring him back to Baiyue Peak immediately? Do you think that would be appropriate?”

“Hall Master is wise. I am dull-witted and had not considered any of this!”

“Alright, you may leave now. Let’s consider the matter of the Spring Rebirth Valley settled. Since Vice Hall Master Xu knows about it and still did not expose it directly, he presumably will not bring it up again in the future. After half a year or a year has passed, the disciples will have grown taller, nobody will know anything, and the matter will naturally fade away. Mm, still, the same old saying: caution is the boat that sails for ten thousand years. You must send people to keep an eye on them for me. Don’t let any real mistakes slip through. If anything unusual happens, report it to me immediately.”

“Yes, sir. I will certainly pay attention. Elder, you should get some rest early.”

“Sigh, rest my… I still have other matters to attend to. Go out and pass along my instructions—unless it is something important, no one is to come in and disturb me.”

“Yes, sir. This subordinate takes his leave.” Yang Yao bowed respectfully and slowly backed out.

Outside the door stood a disciple in a hurry. Seeing Yang Yao come out, he immediately wanted to go in. Yang Yao stopped him with one hand and said: “The Hall Master has instructed that unless it is something important, no one is to disturb him. Is your matter very important?”

“Well…” The disciple hesitated for a moment and said, “It’s nothing particularly important, just some developments among the disciples outside.”

“Mm, then you can decide for yourself whether to go in or not.” With that, Yang Yao turned and left. Only now did he truly feel at ease. The matter of Spring Rebirth Valley was finally settled. Alas, the divine weapon he had gotten his hands on was gone, but perhaps that was for the best. If the Hall Master had believed he had truly profited from the affair, punishment would probably have already come down upon him. As for that good position, there would still be opportunities in the future. As long as he held tightly to the Hall Master’s coattails, there should be no problem.

Yang Yao departed contentedly, still thinking about the Hundred Flowers Brew in the room.

The disciple standing before the Hundred Herbs Hall hesitated for a while before finally turning around and returning to rest. It had only been some trivial matter to begin with, merely a few miscellaneous issues concerning the gambling matches at Tianmu Peak. They could hardly be considered important.

Meanwhile, in an exquisitely furnished room, Vice Hall Master Xu was leisurely sipping tea. A disciple stood respectfully at his side, occasionally wiping the sweat from his forehead as he reported something. Suddenly, Vice Hall Master Xu froze and interrupted him. “What? You said there were gold leaves in Ren Xiaoyao’s bundle? How many?”

“This subordinate isn’t very sure. Senior Brother Cheng grabbed a handful, and he said it was worth fifty taels. I would guess there must have been at least five hundred taels inside.”

“Good. This Ren Xiaoyao really does have some substance to him. Mm, continue.”

The disciple then recounted in complete detail everything that had happened after Zhang Xiaohua arrived at Tianmu Peak. As Vice Hall Master Xu listened, he nodded and said, “This Ren Xiaoyao really does have a straightforward temperament. He even dares to contradict senior brothers. Still, his luck is not bad. He just happened to run into Chen Fengxiao plotting against Wu Zhouxu. Otherwise, he would have long since been dealt with by the others.”

“Hall Master Xu, this Ren Xiaoyao even defeated Zou Shuming. He’s the most skilled disciple in martial arts in our Pill Division.”

“What martial skills does Zou Shuming have that I wouldn’t know about?” Vice Hall Master Xu replied. “Didn’t you just say they only competed in Qinggong? With Zou Shuming’s Qinggong, he can only show off a little on Tianmu Peak. For Ren Xiaoyao to beat him by some distance is nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Still, what is he trying to do by trading pills for herbs? No matter how Dalang thinks about it, he can’t understand it. Unless he really intends to refine pills, then it must be the explanation he himself gave—he simply let something slip and had no way to take it back.”

“Refine pills?” Vice Hall Master Xu let out a cold laugh. “He’s nothing more than a herb boy from Spring Rebirth Valley. Do you not know what sort of place Spring Rebirth Valley is? It’s merely a place that supplies herb boys to us. Every time they come, they bring some medicinal herbs and ask for the Elders of our Pill Division to help refine them. How could a mere herb boy from Spring Rebirth Valley know how to refine pills? He simply arrived at Tianmu Peak without understanding the value of pills and wanted to use them to win people over. Heh heh, now that all the pills have been exchanged for a pile of useless herbs, let’s see how he intends to win anyone over!”

“Hall Master is wise. Dalang seemed to think the same way, though he wasn’t entirely certain.”

“Mm, naturally he wasn’t certain. He only just learned Ren Xiaoyao’s background. By the way, have Wu Zhouxu keep a close watch on Ren Xiaoyao as well. Those five hundred taels’ worth of gold leaves are a very fine thing indeed. It has been quite some time since I’ve seen such tempting yellow-and-white treasures!”

“That was exactly Dalang’s plan. He wanted to win those gold leaves and present them to you as a token of respect, Hall Master. But who could have known…”

“No matter. I appreciate Wu Zhouxu’s intentions. Still, he’s quite foolish. How did he end up being schemed against by Chen Fengxiao? In the past, wasn’t he always the one scheming against Chen Fengxiao?”

“Dalang was careless for a moment, perhaps. On Tianmu Peak, he has always held the upper hand over Chen Fengxiao.”

“Very well. What’s lost is already lost. He can always recover it later. Tell him to keep a close eye on the matter and find an opportunity to get his hands on that bundle.”

“Yes, this subordinate will certainly pass the message on to Wu Dalang. Also, this subordinate was thinking that if Hall Master were to casually hint at something to Ren Xiaoyao, wouldn’t he eagerly bring those gold leaves right to your doorstep?”

“Bullshit!” Vice Hall Master Xu cursed. “What do you know? If it were that simple, why would I be giving you these instructions? Just pass my words on to Wu Zhouxu.”

“Yes, sir. This subordinate understands. This subordinate wouldn’t dare.” The disciple hurriedly apologized in fright.

“Oh, right. When you came to Baiyue Peak, was our Baiyue Peak messenger ahead of you or behind you?”

“Ahead of me. This subordinate was afraid of attracting his attention, so I deliberately slowed down. By now, he has probably already reported everything to the Hall Master.”

Vice Hall Master Xu nodded, and the disciple seemed to ponder something as well.

After a while, the disciple spoke again. “Dalang also said before I left that the Youlan Twilight Trial is about to begin. He wondered what plans Hall Master might have.”

At these words, a gleam flashed through Vice Hall Master Xu’s eyes. He then waved his hand and said, “There are still several months before that begins. What’s the rush? Besides, disciples of the Pill Division cannot enter it. Does he have some idea in mind?”