"This Ruffed Grouse... is truly delicious!"
As the group from the Big Mixed Courtyard left the Ice and Fire Cave, He the Venerable licked his lips, still savoring the taste.
"After that meal, we should hurry back to meditate and cultivate. It's probably worth twenty days of hard training!"
Widow Qin sneered.
"You're pathetic! You looked like you wanted to lick the plate clean!"
He the Venerable wasn't offended. Instead, he said:
"I've been on Red Flame Peak for over twenty years, and I've rarely had a meal this good! Spirit Rice and Spiritual Birds... absolutely delicious!"
Old Li and his wife were silent. They were carrying two lotus-leaf-wrapped bundles containing the carcass of the Flower-tailed Grouse, along with bits and pieces like the kidneys and gizzards.
They planned to take them back to the Big Mixed Courtyard to make a soup base to mix with their rice, hoping to gain a few extra wisps of Spiritual Qi nourishment.
Mortal Servants at the bottom were treated like cattle and horses; they had to be frugal to get by.
"Brother Yi hasn't forgotten his old friends! He still remembers us from the Big Mixed Courtyard!"
His mouth softened by the free meal, He the Venerable praised him enthusiastically.
"If you ask me, in another seven or eight years, Brother Yi might just reach the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer and take Old Yang's place."
Widow Qin rolled her eyes.
"Alright, alright, he's not even here! I can see you're just after Brother Yi's Inspector position, hoping to ride his coattails!"
His little scheme exposed, He the Venerable's face instantly turned red, and he argued,
"Sister Qin, why do you have to be so harsh? I just want to help Brother Yi with his burdens, save him some trouble..."
Widow Qin couldn't be bothered to argue with him. Her beautiful eyes blinked as she mused,
"Brother Yi didn't even finish his meal. Where was he rushing off to?"
He the Venerable chuckled slyly.
"To wait on Old Yang, of course. I never realized before how clever Brother Yi is."
Cold wind mixed with flurries of snow, blanketing the mountain path.
The few from the Big Mixed Courtyard had different thoughts. Some sighed with emotion, feeling that the Celestial Lord had finally opened his eyes and let Brother Yi make something of himself.
Others were envious, silently calculating how many more miserable days they had left to toil like cattle and horses.
And still others were considering how to latch onto this powerful connection, so they too could rise with him.
...
...
'Attitude is everything! A leader might not know who gave a gift, but they'll always remember who didn't!'
Jiang Yi walked up Red Flame Peak, carrying a food container.
Having been promoted and entrusted with important duties, he absolutely could not get cocky.
He had to constantly remember his "old leader's" kindness and make sure to show it.
That was why, after eating with his friends from the Big Mixed Courtyard and settling the bill, Jiang Yi immediately rushed to Yang Xun's residence without stopping.
A Marshal's residence was, naturally, a great deal better than a Mortal Servant's dormitory.
Located behind the workshops, they were all large manors with three courtyards, white walls, black tiles, flying eaves, and bracketed roofs—very impressive.
'I hear Inner Sect Disciples get to live in a Cultivator's Cave Mansion, nourished by Spiritual Energy...'
Arriving before the main gate of Yang Xun's large manor, Jiang Yi instead found himself wondering if he, one day, would be able to sit and cultivate in a high-grade Cave Mansion.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
He raised his hand and gently knocked the Beast-Mouth Copper Ring.
Before long, a Little Daoist Child with red lips and white teeth unlatched the door and poked his head out.
His eyes were full of doubt; someone was actually visiting this late.
His master wasn't a hospitable person, and the Mortal Servants who usually tried to curry favor and build connections could never even get past the gate.
"My apologies for the late disturbance. I was wondering if Marshal Yang has retired for the night?"
Jiang Yi asked in a pleasant voice.
"You must be Inspector Jiang from the Quenching Room, right?"
The Little Daoist Child was sharp. He recognized Jiang Yi and showed no neglect.
"The Master is currently meditating and will be done in about half a quarter-hour. Inspector Jiang, would you like to come in and wait?"
"No, thank you. I couldn't possibly enter without being summoned by the Marshal."
Jiang Yi was naturally happy to perform a 'Yang Family Snow Standing'.
The wind blew fiercely, and the snow fell heavily.
Even though winter hadn't officially arrived, the peak of Red Flame Peak was already bitingly, bone-chillingly cold.
But Jiang Yi was at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer. Having undergone Muscle and Bone Transformation, his body was strong and robust, so he wasn't afraid of the cold seeping into his bones.
Half a quarter-hour passed in a flash. The Little Daoist Child hurried to announce him and came jogging back a moment later.
"Inspector Jiang, the Master summons you."
The Little Daoist Child found it strange as he led the way.
Other than the Mistress and the Young Master, no outsider had ever set foot in this mansion.
Jiang Yi was led to the rear courtyard, just in time to see Yang Xun finishing his exercises.
A blazing aura of fire seemed to envelop the white-haired, white-bearded old man in the black robe. With every breath he took, strands of condensed True Qi slithered like tiny snakes all over his body.
After a moment, it finally subsided.
'The Breathing of a Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer expert is so immense.'
Just by getting a little closer to Yang Xun, who was seated cross-legged on a couch, Jiang Yi could feel a wave of scorching heat.
It was like standing next to one of the great furnaces in the Quenching Room; it felt like he could catch fire.
'Is this the change that comes from reaching the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer and opening the Primordial Inner Mansion?' he wondered silently.
"What are you doing here so late?"
Yang Xun let out a long breath, and a faint glimmer of fire flickered between his lips and nose.
A clear sign of profound Power and deep Cultivation!
"I had a meal with my friends from the Big Mixed Courtyard at the Ice and Fire Cave. Perhaps it was the few cups of wine, but I was so overjoyed I couldn't contain myself and just had to come pay my respects to you, Marshal."
Jiang Yi didn't say anything overtly fawning or sycophantic, merely putting on a look of sincere, good-natured earnestness.
"I specially brought some humble Spirit Rice dishes for you, Marshal. I hope you won't find them beneath you."
Yang Xun sneered.
"Do you think I'm lacking a meal from you?"
Jiang Yi just scratched his head and said nothing.
"Fine. You're already here."
Yang Xun grunted, feigning impatience, and had the Little Daoist Child take the food container to go heat up the meal.
"Have a seat. There are a few things I need to discuss with you."
Hearing that he had been "granted a seat," Jiang Yi swiftly brought over a small folding stool and sat like a well-behaved student waiting for his teacher's lesson.
Yang Xun sighed lightly. 'Why am I such a sucker for this kind of thing!'
It had only been a few days, but the more he saw of Jiang Yi, the more he liked him.
If this continued, he was afraid he wouldn't even be able to maintain his Marshal's stern demeanor around him.
"You've studied Daoism, so you have some foundation. How is your practice of the True Meridian Qi Flowing Technique coming along?"