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Chapter 1308: Bad News
“Which sect?” Zu An asked, stunned. Why did Pei Mianman suddenly want to join a sect?
“Jadefall Palace, a hidden sect that’s on par with the White Jade Sect. Because the court has been too oppressive in recent years, they sealed up the entire sect and shunned the world. Recently, there’s been news that it’s opening up again and is about to take in a new group of students. The quota is limited, but I managed to get a slot through the Pei clan,” Pei Mianman explained.
“Jadefall Palace?” Zu An repeated. He thought to himself for a while, but he had no impression of that place at all. He reminded himself to look into it in the Embroidery House’s archives once he had a chance. He asked, “Why didn’t you go to the Royal Academy? No matter how great Jadefall Palace’s people are, they can’t compare to the libationer, right?”
“I wanted to go to the Royal Academy too, but the libationer already took in his final disciple many years ago, and then never took another. Being a third generation disciple seems meaningless,” Pei Mianman said with a pout, clearly feeling regretful.
Zu An remembered the little girl Qi Yaoguang. She was the libationer’s last disciple. Pei Mianman’s aptitude wasn’t any worse than Qi Yaoguang’s, but unfortunately, she just hadn’t gotten that opportunity. He asked, “Then this time, is Jadefall Sect not just taking in ordinary disciples?[1]”
“Jadefall Palace’s monarch is personally taking in a disciple, which is why there was such a huge commotion. There are countless people fighting for this opportunity,” Pei Mianman said, her voice full of pride. Proving herself among many outstanding candidates would be an indirect way of confirming her own ability.
Zu An jumped in fright, asking, “Is this monarch male or female?” If the sect master were a man and he ended up taking in such a lovely disciple, how could he stand it?
“Of course it’s a woman!” Pei Mianman replied. She had known him for so long that she naturally knew what he was thinking.
“How old is she? Is she pretty?” Zu An asked, sighing in relief. For some reason, Yan Xuehen’s bashful expression when she had been struggling to hold on appeared in his mind.
“Hmph, you always pay attention to the wrong things.” Pei Mianman harrumphed, but she still replied, “Either way, she’s definitely not young. As for whether she’s pretty or not, from what I know, her appearance isn’t her distinctive feature.”
“Oh…” Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. What in the world am I even thinking? Still, he felt a bit unwilling. He asked, “Can you not go to Jadefall Palace? I’ll just teach you what I know. It definitely won’t be any worse than what you can learn from those hidden sects!”
Pei Mianman shook her head and said, “I know you’re very strong, but I don’t want to become completely dependent on you.”
“We are one to begin with; what difference is there?” Zu An replied reassuringly.
Pei Mianman laughed, but she had a helpless expression as she said, “If it were just between the two of us, of course it wouldn’t matter. But… Forget it. Don’t try to convince me otherwise. I’ve already made my decision.”
“But once you go to Jadefall Palace, we’ll be completely apart! We might not be able to see each other again for many years…” Zu An protested. He still remembered how after Chu Chuyan had returned to the White Jade Sect, they had pretty much been completely separated. It had already been so long since he last saw her!
Pei Mianman looked at him quietly. Her peach blossom eyes were full of deep emotion as she said, “Ah Zu, when I first met you, you were still really weak. I was the one who taught you some skills. And yet now, even though not long has passed, you’ve already reached your current level. If I don’t try to catch up, I’ll only get further and further away from you. I can still look up to you now, but in the future, I might not even have the right to do that anymore. Besides, apart from that, I’m also a cultivator and I have my own pride. So, please don’t stop me.”
There was another reason she didn’t want to say out loud, which was that she didn’t want to lose to Chu Chuyan.
No matter how much confidence she had, though, Chuyan’s master Yan Xuehen was a world-renowned grandmaster. Chuyan had all of the White Jade Sect’s resources to help her cultivate, which had only made the difference between the two of them grow greater and greater. The next time they met, would she even have the confidence to talk about her relationship with Zu An in front of Chuyan?
Zu An wanted to point out that she had already broken through into the seventh rank recently, and that she was already extremely outstanding among her peers, but after thinking about it, he decided not to say anything in the end.
When he first met her, Pei Mianman had been a publicly acknowledged genius in Brightmoon Academy. There had been so many people praising her. But now, someone who had been weaker than her ended up surpassing her by so much. Even though Zu An was a man, that kind of thing was hard to accept for her. After all, she had the pride of a genius, and all cultivators sought strength.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t be stopping you,” Zu An said, taking her into his arms. “With your talent and aptitude, you’ll definitely be chosen as Jadefall Empress’ direct disciple. Your cultivation will surely advance by leaps and bounds.”
Pei Mianman’s talent wasn’t inferior to anyone else’s. Furthermore, she had received the Heaven’s Wisdom Jade from Yinxu, making her cultivation speed even greater. If she received the guidance of a master, her future achievements would be limitless.
“Ah Zu…” Pei Mianman said reluctantly. The two of them embraced each other closely.
“Ahem, did you forget that there was still someone else here?!” Pei Shao exclaimed furiously as his eyebrows continued twitching.
You have successfully trolled Pei Shao for +666 +666 +666…
Pei Mianman jumped in fright, jumping away as if she had been burned by Zu An. She stuck out her tongue secretly and said, “I’m leaving. I won’t lose to you the next time we meet again.”
Zu An chuckled and replied, “That might be a bit difficult.”
Pei Mianman smiled sweetly, radiant as a flower in full bloom. She waved at Zu An and left with steady steps. When he saw her departing, Zu An couldn't help but feel a bit dejected. He wasn’t in the mood to stay in Cloudcenter City any longer.
Soon afterward, a letter from the Zhenyuan Merchant Group arrived. Zu An opened it and saw graceful writing within. It turned out to have been sent by Tang Tian’er, telling him that she had already secured many channels, successfully procuring the Blue Earthflowers he was looking for from the fiend races. They would be there by next spring, so he could feel at ease in that regard.
At the same time, she told him that she had been worried about him during the crisis, wondering where exactly he was. Tang Tian’er had tried to find him in the nearby commanderies, but she hadn’t found anything out.
She then talked about how she had important affairs to deal with that would take her out of Cloudcenter Commandery, so she could only leave a letter with a subordinate to pass onto him whenever he returned.
…
Zu An thought with a strange expression, Why does this seem to be describing the batch from the Fox Merchant Group in Bluefield Country that was already pre-ordered?
However, he felt warm inside when he felt the implied concern. His relationship with Tang Tian’er had gotten off to a rocky start, but now they were good friends. He wondered what had made her leave in such a hurry. It must have been quite a thorny problem.
He wrote his reply and gave it to the one who had delivered the letter. The merchant group had their way of getting the letter to Tang Tian’er. At the same time, he took out a set of the makeup products he had purchased from Rouge Spice and had it sent over as well. He had bought ten sets of them, and yet he hadn't even been able to give away a single set. It really was a bit embarrassing.
The messenger had a strange expression, but he still wrapped up the items. Zu An knew what he was thinking, though. Even though Rouge Spice’s cosmetics were precious, with Tang Tian’er’s identity, she definitely didn’t lack them.
But are the products that are purchased with money the same as the ones from me?
As long as a girl had a favorable impression of a person, she would be happy even if that person gave them something really ordinary. On the contrary, no matter how precious the item was, if she didn’t like the person, she wouldn’t care about it at all.
…
After seeing the Zhenyuan Merchant Group’s messenger out, Zu An visited Sang Hong to talk about what had happened after he left.
When he heard that Zu An was going to return to the fiend race’s side, Sang Hong frowned. He said, “We’ve finally calmed this recent disturbance. What if something unexpected happens again once you leave?”
“I have a reason for having to go back. Once I finish, I’ll immediately hurry back,” Zu An said. “As for everything else, after today’s morning court session and Sect Master Yan testifying for me, no one will try to start anything for some time.”
Sang Hong knew that Zu An had already made his decision. He could only sigh and say, “There might be people waiting for you over on that side, but don’t forget that there are people waiting for you in the capital too.”
Zu An knew he was talking about Zheng Dan and Sang Qien. His face heated up as he replied, “Of course I won’t forget about the people back at the capital.”
The two of them were both intelligent, so they left that subject behind. Then, Sang Hong began to fill Zu An in on several other events. With their experience, things became much easier.
As soon as they finished, a guard came to report, “Bad news! Something has happened over in the Duke Manor!”
1. This refers to the sect taking in disciples who study under the regular experts, as opposed to being personal disciples of the sect master. ☜