White-Robed Chief

Xiao Qi walked into the main hall with light footsteps, the hall seemed to brighten as she entered.

Her cool eyes glanced at the broken pieces of the teacup and the handprint on the sandalwood coffee table. Finally, she looked at Xiao Tieying’s gloomy face and said plainly, “Big Brother, what is the matter?”

Xiao Tieying clenched his teeth and scoffed, “The Longevity Grass got snatched!”

Xiao Qi’s eyebrows knitted together, her lustrous eyes swept across the middle-aged man. “Uncle Song, what’s wrong?”

The middle-aged man said awkwardly, “Third Lady, we got ambushed by the Ferric Demon Ridge on the way. It’s probably “Celestial Monkey” who took the opportunity and stole the Longevity Grass.”

“It’s probably ‘Celestial Monkey’?!” Xiao Qi’s face turned grim.

“To be able to rob it right before Elder Huang’s eyes, he used a strangely fast body movement technique. Moreover, due to his scrawny stature, even if he had his face covered, there is an 80% chance that he is the ‘Celestial Monkey’!”

Xiao Qi said coldly, “He’s got some nerve!”

She turned to Xiao Tieying, her bright eyes flashed, but she did not say anything more than that.

A failure was still a failure even though it was extremely close to a success. This oppressed feeling must have almost tortured Big Brother close to madness. It would be useless to complain about his carelessness, now, it was imperative to get back the Longevity Grass. This was the only opportunity to let Second Eldest Sister recover.

Xiao Tieying took a deep breath, suppressed his gloominess and said, “Third Youngest Sister, what’s the matter?”

“I would like to let Chu Li govern a courtyard,” Xiao Qi said. “Let him be the chief of a newly built Glory’s Will Courtyard.”

“Nonsense!” Xiao Tieying said petulantly, “How old is he? How long has he been in the Public House? Is the position of chief something you can get whenever you want?!”

Xiao Qi said plainly, “He is now rank 5. He sacrificed his life to save Second Eldest Sister so his faithfulness is unmistakable, and he is indeed very capable. I plan to let him share some of my burdens and be responsible for disposing of any informants in the Public House.”

Xiao Tieying frowned. “Will he be able to undertake it? Nobody can be as capable as you!”

He knew Third Younger Sister’s unique ability to see through people’s minds, so she was good at uncovering informants. Others did not have such an ability and would never be as good as her in this regard.

“Chu Li has cultivated his dharmic base since young and his cultivation of it was very deep, thus he has deep insights into the minds of others. Even though he couldn’t be as good as me, it is enough to find out who are the informants,” replied Xiao Qi.

Xiao Tieying frowned without saying a word.

He still felt that Chu Li was too young and the period that he joined the Public House for was too short. His feelings towards the Public House were not as deep as those who had lived in the Public House since their youth, thus he was not too assured to use him. As for when Chu Li saved Second Younger Sister, it was likely to be the impulse of a man in the face of an exceedingly beautiful woman, this cannot be attributed to faithfulness.

Xiao Qi glanced at him plainly. “Big Brother, you doubt my ability to choose people?”

“… Oh yeah.” It dawned on Xiao Tieying that his third youngest sister could see through the minds of people, he did not need to worry about Chu Li’s faithfulness.

“As for the Glory’s Will Courtyard, I plan to give 10,000 taels silver per month,” said Xiao Qi.

“10,000 taels is not a big amount too… ” Xiao Tieying nodded and sighed. “Can he really carry out his tasks well?”

“The Longevity Grass was snatched by ‘Celestial Monkey’, most likely we won’t be able to get it back anymore.” Xiao Qi frowned. “The information must have been leaked.”

“It’s impossible.” Xiao Tieying shook his head and said, “All of them are our most trustworthy people!”

“There can’t be such a coincidence!” Xiao Qi murmured, “Let’s do it this way — let Chu Li investigate.”

Xiao Tieying shook his head. “His rank is not high enough!”

This time, all of those who were responsible for the delivery of the Longevity Grass were his confidants, they were faithful and reliable. If it was Xiao Qi who carried out the investigation, she might be able to overpower them, but if it was Chu Li, they would definitely feel dissatisfied, and by that time the one who would have a headache would be Xiao Tieying.

“If so, increase Chu Li’s rank,” said Xiao Qi.

“Increase his rank again?” Xiao Tieying burst out laughing. “He is already advancing in his rank sufficiently fast!”

“With his credit for saving Second Eldest Sister’s life, could he not be promoted one rank higher?” Xiao Qi said plainly, “If it wasn’t for Sir Guo Mulin’s medicine, he would surely have died at that time! If a merit deed like sacrificing oneself to save Second Eldest Sister is not enough to get promoted, this would be too disappointing!”

At the mention of Xiao Shi, Xiao Tieying’s attitude immediately softened, and he pondered what Xiao Qi said without saying a word.

“Big Brother, do you have something against Chu Li?” Xiao Qi said bluntly.

“I feel that he is too young and lacks composure,” answered Xiao Tieying.

“Chu Li is tactful and level-headed in his conduct, he is very composed,” Xiao Qi scoffed. “Just because he is young, you downplay his merits and do not let him advance a rank?”

“Fine. Fine,” Xiao Tieying said in resignation, “Anyhow, I can never win against you in an argument. Since you insist, I’ll let him advance a rank!”

Xiao Qi looked with askance at him.

Xiao Tieying said, “Of course, he saved Second Younger Sister, he should indeed be promoted.”

Xiao Qi took her eyes off him in satisfaction and said plainly, “As for the Longevity Grass, fortunately, we did not let Second Eldest Sister know, or else, she will fall ill… I think that there is something wrong. This time it’s the Longevity Grass, what about next time? … How can we lose the Longevity Grass for nothing?”

Longevity Grass was very rare, even with the influence of the Public House, they wasted several years in the search for this herb, and when they finally found one, it was snatched by someone else.

Aside from the feeling of frustration, this would bring great harm to Second Eldest Sister, originally, she was able to recover, but now she had lost the opportunity.

Xiao Tieying gritted his teeth and said coldly, “We must kill Jiang Kuai!”

Xiao Qi said, “His Light-body Technique is exceptional in this world, who can kill him?”

Xiao Tieying was speechless. His face turned increasingly grim.

Xiao Qi’s words hit him where it hurts. Even if the Public House had a big influence, they could not do anything. As long as the “Celestial Monkey” went to any of the rest of the 11 Paths, or even left the Great Ji, he would be free from them.

“If we could not kill him, but instead trigger his killing intent, as soon as Second Eldest Sister leaves the Public House, what are we going to do if he launched a surprise attack?” said Xiao Qi.

Xiao Tieying’s face turned increasingly gloomy.

“If Chu Li advanced a rank, it would be enough for him to investigate the Protectors this time,” continued Xiao Qi.

“Third youngest sister, do you really think that they have a problem?”

“Big Brother, do you really believe that this is a coincidence?”

“… Maybe it really is a coincidence,” Xiao Tieying said hesitantly.

Xiao Qi said, “I do not believe in coincidence. Even if it was, there is nothing wrong with investigating once, at least it will not be to the extent of doing them wrong! … Let Chu Li handle this matter!”

“Humph, you are trying to help him establish his authority!” Xiao Tieying said gruffly, “That’s some painstaking patronage! Very well, I promise you, but I have one condition!”

“Say it.”

“You have to investigate too!” Xiao Tieying said, “Don’t let him know, and see if his result was similar to yours. You are not allowed to tell him beforehand!”

Xiao Qi nodded slightly. “No problem!”

She had confidence in Chu Li. If there was a problem, he would certainly find out.

Her eyes flashed and she exposed the slightest smile. “If he successfully identified the traitors?”

“If he can really identify the traitors, he can have his way in the future, and the responsibility to uproot the informants in the Public House will be delegated to him! … But the Public House has already been combed by Third Younger Sister once, there should be no problem!” answered Xiao Tieying.

Xiao Qi gently shook her head and said, “A human’s heart is volatile. One moment they are faithful, the next, not necessarily. Therefore, we need the Glory’s Will Courtyard.”

“… That’s true too.” Xiao Tieying sighed.

He lowered his head, his brows locked together, it was hard to eradicate his gloominess.

Xiao Qi said, “Big Brother since the matter has reached this point, it is useless to give it any more thought. You should just pretend that you have never found the Longevity Grass!”

“That damned Jiang Kuai!” Xiao Tieying gritted his teeth.

“We may not be able to get back the Longevity Grass, but killing the Jiang Kuai may not be impossible,” Xiao Qi said.

Xiao Tieying’s spirit lifted. He looked up and said, “Who can kill him?”

“Chu Li,” replied Xiao Qi.

“Him—?” Xiao Tieying shook his head and burst out laughing. “Third youngest sister, you think too highly of Chu Li. Not even Grandmasters can handle Jiang Kuai, and you think Chu Li can handle him?”

Xiao Qi said, “Big Brother, do you think that I will deceive you?”

Xiao Tieying was stunned for a short while and later frowned. “Could he really kill Jiang Kuai?”

“After this matter, let him try it,” Xiao Qi said.

“No, kill Jiang Kuai first!” Xiao Tieying quickly waved his hand. “Letting Jiang Kuai live a day longer, I will not be able to take it! Moreover, what if the Longevity Grass is still in the hands of Jiang Kuai?”

Xiao Qi considered.

Xiao Tieying said, “If Chu Li is able to track down Jiang Kuai and Jiang Kuai is willing to hand over the Longevity Grass, I can pretend that nothing happened!”