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Chapter 98 - Those Mentally Unbalanced Sectmates
Chen Jinlong’s disdainful jeers triggered a round of uproarious laughter.
Only Li Moyun couldn’t laugh. How could someone Yuan Luoxi honored as a distinguished guest fail to even get through the House of Prosperity’s doors?
But then, he couldn’t be bothered to explain. When he received his father’s letter, he understood something.
The Blueriver Sword Manor inner sect elder, Zhou Huaiqiu, as well as inner sect disciples Ni Hao and Nan Ying, had already left Guangling City. However, they'd yet to return to the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital.
Nor had news of Su Yi’s recovery and victory at the Dragon’s Gate Banquet made it back to the sect.
Even now, no one in Blueriver Sword Manor knew that Su Yi was no longer the cultivation-less waste he’d once been!
If it were me, I wouldn’t spread the news either. The disciple the sect heartlessly abandoned recovered just a year later? How would the sect’s higher-ups feel if they knew?
Once water spills, it’s hard to gather back up!
And Ni Hao and Nan Ying naturally wouldn’t do anything to build Su Yi up at the cost of their own ambitions.
It was then that Nian Yunqiao’s long, narrow face sneered cruelly, and he snorted, “It seems Feng Xiaofeng still hasn’t learned his lesson. He ought to be grateful that he didn’t bump into me instead, or else I would’ve taken his arms, too!”
“Senior Apprentice Brother Nian, he’s nothing but a cripple. Why bother with him?” said Yu Qian softly, a complicated expression on her face. “Let’s not discuss him any further; it’ll only sour the mood.”
A youth suddenly spoke up. “One of my friends is from Guangling City, and a little while ago, he said that Su Yi seemed to have recovered his cultivation and that he took first place in Guangling City’s biggest martial arts competition, the Dragon’s Gate Banquet. Do you think that’s true?”
Everyone froze. Then, all of them glanced at Li Moyun; all of them knew he was from Guangling City too.
“That…” Li Moyun’s eyelids twitched, and he shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t been in contact with my family lately, so I don’t know what’s been happening in Guangling City recently.”
He wasn’t willing to discuss it. If he did, it would be like admitting how incredible Su Yi was.
“Forget it. Never mind that waste. Let’s continue our feast,” said Chen Jinlong with a wave of his hand.
But almost immediately afterward, a youth in silver robes pushed open the door and entered. He was carrying a jug of wine.
Sun Qu.
He was an outer sect disciple of Blueriver Sword Manor, and as soon as he entered the room, he said with an air of mysteriousness, “When I went to grab some wine just now, I heard something interesting. Want to know what it was?”
“Oh? What is it?” asked Chen Jinlong.
“Just now, Madam Cuiyun made a personal appearance,” said Sun Qu. She led all eight managers of the House of Prosperity to the gates to greet a group of guests.
Chen Jinlong explained, “Who could possibly be so illustrious as to make Madam Cuiyun lead all her managers to greet him?”
The others looked curious too.
“They say it was a group of strange youths,” said Sun Qu. “Their leader was a youth in blue robes. He looked seventeen, give or take. But it’s his companions who were really strange.”
“How so?” Chen Jinlong was starting to lose patience. “Quit beating around the bush and get the point!”
Sun Qu laughed. “One of them was a cripple in a wheelchair. One was a boy in straw sandals and dirt-smeared pants, while another was a little girl in coarse clothes. Doesn’t that sound strange to you?”
The group couldn’t help but nod; such a line-up was indeed strange.
This was the House of Prosperity! A place the poor couldn’t even enter!
Yet they hadn’t just gotten in; Madam Cuiyun herself had rallied all eight managers to personally greet them at the door. That was far too out of the ordinary!
Only Yan Chengrong’s expression changed dramatically. He seemed to have realized something, but at the same time, he seemed not to quite believe it.
“Brother Yan, what’s going on with you?” Li Moyun suddenly picked up on Yan Chengrong’s unusual state.
“No problem. I’m just going to step out for a moment.” Yan Chengrong forced a smile, then rose and left the room.
Before long, he found a servant and asked in hushed whispers about the group of guests Madam Cuiyun had just welcomed to the restaurant.
When he finished, he returned to their private dining room in a daze, as if his soul had left his body.
This was so out of character that even Chen Jinlong couldn’t help but frown in displeasure. “Junior Apprentice Brother Yan, what’s going on with you? If you’re not feeling well, go home. Don’t sour everyone’s mood!”
The others noticed it too. Yan Chenrong’s behavior was strange and out of place.
Yan Chengrong shuddered, as if coming back to his senses. He swept his gaze across the room, then said bitterly, “Young Master Chen, it’s not that I’m not feeling well. It’s that earlier, I confirmed something, and it…. Well, I just don’t get it.”
Before they could ask, he said, considering each word, “If I’m not mistaken, the guests Madam Cuiyun just went out to greet were almost certainly Su Yi, Feng Xiaofeng, and their companions!”
The room instantly fell so silent that you could hear a pin drop.
Astonishment was written all over their faces.
Except for Li Moyun’s. His heart shook, and he sucked in a breath of cold air.
Su Yi really did manage to sink his filthy claws into Yuan Luoxi!
But no; if all he did was win Yuan Luoxi’s backing, that wouldn’t be enough for Madam Cuiyun to lead such a grand procession to greet him. Is there some other mystery behind this?
The more he thought, the more stifled and heavy Li Moyun’s heart. He was so upset, he wanted to cough up blood.
Chen Jinlong couldn’t take it anymore. He frowned and asked, “How could the likes of Su Yi and Feng Xiaofeng be worthy of Madam Cuiyun coming down to greet them personally?”
He’d only just mocked Su Yi and his companions, saying that they wouldn’t even make it through the House of Prosperity’s front door.
Who’d have thought that, just a few minutes later, Yan Chengrong would say something so outrageous? It was a blatant slap in the face.
Yan Chengrong hurriedly explained, “It was precisely because this doesn’t make any sense that I was so out of sorts. Still, I’m almost completely certain that it was in fact Su Yi and company. “Feng Xiaofeng’s legs are crippled, so he’s stuck in a wheelchair. I saw him clearly just now. There’s no mistaking it!”
The atmosphere instantly grew more stifled. Everyone was confused and uncertain.
“If we go take a look, we’ll know if it’s true or not, now won’t we? If it really is Su Yi and his cohort, well, we were once his sectmates. There’s no reason we can’t go greet him, is there?” Nian Yunqiao’s expression was unsightly, his eyes cold and sinister.
“Where are they now?” Chen Jinlong’s eyes flashed.
“The ninth floor, the Mountain and River Palace,” said Yan Chengrong immediately.
When he said this, the group in attendance only became more unsettled.
Despite Chen Jinlong’s status, he could at most arrange a banquet on the sixth floor!
And that was special treatment he got by relying on his father’s prestige.
But Su Yi, someone all of them looked down on, had ascended to the ninth floor in a single bound. He could stand at the pinnacle of the House of Prosperity and gaze down upon the sea of lanterns. Furthermore, he could enjoy the highest-level feast and highest-level hospitality the restaurant had to offer!
When they compared themselves to him, it was hard to remain mentally stable.
“Come on! We’re going to the Mountain and Sea Palace!” Chen Jinlong could no longer repress his displeasure. He got up and headed out the door.
When the others saw this, they got up and followed him, one by one.
Only Li Moyun remained behind.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Li, aren’t you going to check it out?”
“Here’s a word of advice: this is the House of Prosperity. If Su Yi made it to the ninth floor, there’s inevitably a good reason for it, so you’d be better off staying here,” said Li Moyun expressionlessly.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Li, we’re just going to visit a former sectmate, not to cause trouble. If you don’t want to go, fine. We’ll go without you.” Chen Jinlong snorted, then led the others away.
“Foolish!” Li Moyun laughed coldly.
But then, even now, he still couldn’t fully accept the reality that Su Yi had grown strong. A part of him still felt as if this were just a bad dream and that he’d wake up any minute now.
It’s actually only reasonable they’d act like this. Chen Jinlong and the others still don’t know that Su Yi regained his cultivation, and there’s no way they’d ever guess that he’s now the distinguished guest of the Yuan Family.
In their eyes, Su Yi is still nothing but a pitiful, ridiculous waste….. Li Moyun sighed to himself.
The ninth floor.
As soon as Chen Jinlong and his group arrived, the manager standing outside the Mountain and River Palace stopped them. “Dear guests, might I ask what you’re doing?”
The manager was an overweight middle-aged man in brocade robes, and he had keen eyes.
He swept his gaze across the group, and he immediately recognized Chen Jinlong and the other young masters. As such, his tone was extremely polite.
“We….” Chen Jinlong wasn’t at all happy. A manager is standing outside the door awaiting further orders? Not even my father can enjoy such treatment!
He took a deep breath, then forced a smile. “We’re here to visit our sectmates.”
“Sectmates?” The man in brocade robes was stunned.
Chen Jinlong repressed his dejected, stifled feeling and said, “That’s right. We just learned that our sectmates, Su Yi and Feng Xiaofeng, are currently dining in the Mountain and River Palace, so we decided to stop in and say hello.”
“Please wait a moment,” said the middle-aged manager. “Allow me to ask our distinguished guests first. I can only allow you inside if they give their approval first.”
He then turned, paused in the doorway, and tidied his clothes. He bowed slightly at the waist, and a natural, warm, respectful smile spread across his face as he gingerly opened the doors and stepped inside.
He was one of eight managers of the House of Prosperity. This was a lofty position, and he rarely humbled himself, not even before most major figures. This was a man who knew when to give and when to take.
Yet now, he was being so polite and so careful!
Chen Jinlong and company noticed this, and tidal waves of shock coursed through their hearts. They were jealous, but they also found it hard to believe.
Meanwhile, within the Mountain and Sea Palace.
As Su Yi drank, he turned to Huang Qianjun and ordered, “After we eat, go arrange for a courtyard-style residence. I have only one requirement: it has to be quiet.”
Huang Qianjun nodded repeatedly and pounded his chest. “Brother Su, leave a trivial matter like that up to me. I promise I won’t let you down.”
“Here’s a hundred-thousand-tael note. Take it.” Su Yi took the banknote from his black jade pendant and passed it over.
“Okay!” Huang Qianjun knew better than to refuse, and he knew that this wasn’t his money; he was just managing it on Su Yi’s behalf….
Feng Xiaofeng’s eyes widened. “Senior Apprentice Brother Su, when did you get so rich?”
Feng Xiaoran and A-Fei were dumbfounded too. A hundred thousand taels of silver?
To them, that was an unimaginable number.
“Material wealth is no longer important to me,” laughed Su Yi, but he didn’t explain. “But if I run into problems I can solve with money, I have no lack of funds.”
He suddenly recalled something Yuan Luoxi once said: “You threw money at the problem? I can do that too.”
It was then that a middle-aged man in brocade robes walked into the room, his face nothing but smiles.
First, he closed the door. Then, he turned and greeted Su Yi respectfully. “My sincerest apologies for disturbing you, but Young Master Chen Jinlong and his companions have come. They say they’re your sectmates, and they request an audience. If you’re unwilling to see them, I’ll turn them away immediately.”
Chen Jinlong!
Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up.
Feng Xiaofeng said in a low voice, “Junior Apprentice Brother Su Yi, back at Blueriver Sword Manor, Nian Yunqiao and Yan Chengrong were tight with this guy. In short, they’re a clique, and Chen Jinlong is their leader.”
Su Yi nodded, then suddenly, he laughed. “I was actually planning to go pay them a visit. Who’d have thought they’d come knocking on my door of their own volition?”
He then turned to the middle-aged man in brocade robes. “Go ahead and let them in.”