Chapter 88 - Consequences (Part II) (Patreon)

Grandmaster Miao was immersed in cultivation inside his chambers when he felt a wave of Qi near the mansion’s garden. Used to the nearby spies, he only woke from his trance when the fluctuation was strong enough to demand his attention. First, he attempted to create a Qi line to the intruder and communicate, but his Qi rebounded, and a message reached him.

“Please, let me in.”

Frowning, Grandmaster Miao ordered the servants to receive the uninvited guest and sent someone to wake Chairman Bo Qing. He could do so with his Qi line, but it was very rude. He headed to the dining room, looking at the rising sun through the window, while the day servants began their duties and prepared breakfast.

Grandmaster Miao ordered the servants to bring the guest to the room while opening a Qi line to Bo Qing, who had just woken up.

“Come down here,” he said through the line. “An envoy from the Feathered Serpent Castle has arrived.”

While Bo Qing hurried to dress with the help of the two female servants he slept with, Grandmaster Miao received the cultivator. He was standing, with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes focused on the room's door.

Soon, the door slid open, and a man entered. He wore common cultivator robes and had an unremarkable middle-aged face. If Lucian were here, he would recognize the man as one of the Foundation Establishment experts playing cards and drinking near the city gate when he arrived.

Grandmaster Miao nodded to the cultivator and gestured toward the mattress and low table. He sat down first, watching the servants serve the tea and food.

“Do you accept tea?” he asked, his eyes cold despite the courtesy.

The cultivator nodded, sat on his knees, and picked up a freshly served cup. Taking a sip, he said, “Good tea,” then placed the cup back down. Next, clearing his throat, he glanced from left to right, checking the room, before bowing slightly to Grandmaster Miao.

“My name is Wei Zhang,” he said. “I’m here for particular reasons.”

“What does Silent Mountain Wei want with the West Bo Merchant Chamber?” Grandmaster Miao asked, blowing the steam from his tea before taking a sip.

“I am looking for a mutual friend,” Wei Zhang answered with a wry smile. “Could Fellow Daoist help me find him?”

Grandmaster Miao returned a faint smile. “Of course. How can this lowly citizen be of help?”

“There is no need to lower yourself, Grandmaster Miao,” Wei Zhang said with a sigh. “I am requesting your assistance, and this is my show of sincerity.”

As he finished speaking, Wei Zhang slipped his right hand into his left sleeve and removed a small greenish box. Without creating suspense, he placed it on the table and opened it.

Grandmaster Miao’s eyes widened at the sight of the blue feather inside, radiating dense Qi as clouds formed across it.

“I found it in the Azure Magpie Forest during one of my travels,” Wei Zhang said, closing the box and guiding it with Qi toward Grandmaster Miao.

Caressing the wooden lid with one finger, Grandmaster Miao shook his head. “That friend must be a very interesting person, Fellow Daoist.”

With a helpless smile, Wei Zhang replied, “You know he is.”

“Do I?” Grandmaster Miao asked, giving Wei Zhang a curious look.

Sighing, Wei Zhang slipped his left hand into his right sleeve and produced a slightly open, well-crafted box with a wooden brush.

Grandmaster Miao adjusted his posture on the mattress, studying the object with great interest.

“This is—” Wei Zhang began speaking.

“One of the replicas of Lao Tsu’s brush,” Grandmaster Miao interrupted, his eyes shining with cyan light as he examined the item from afar through investigative techniques.

Wei Zhang noticed the approaching waves of Qi but did not move, allowing them to wash over the brush for inspection.

Verifying the etchings and markings carved along the wooden shaft, as well as the impossibly clean green bristles that emitted faint Qi pressure, Grandmaster Miao chuckled softly.

“I am beginning to feel regretful,” he said, using Qi to return the wooden box containing the Azure Feather to Wei Zhang. “Because I truly do not know where Bo Xian is. That's the friend we are speaking about, correct?”

Frowning, Wei Zhang held the brush but made no move to touch the box with the feather. Then, he asked, “Bo Xian, as in a member of the Bo Merchant Chamber?”

Grandmaster Miao nodded while turning toward the window. “You are correct.”

“I apologize for being blunt, but we investigated the rumors regarding Chairman Bo Qing having a son,” Wei Zhang quickly said, still frowning. “They are complete nonsense.”

“You are correct. Again.” Grandmaster Miao chuckled. 

Wei Zhang took another sip of tea before lowering his head and scratching it awkwardly.

Grandmaster Miao continued staring outside for a moment before speaking again. “Did he sever ties with the Feathered Serpent Castle?”

“I came here representing only myself—What did you just say?” Wei Zhang answered automatically before finally grasping the meaning behind the question. “Sever ties? What ties?”

Grandmaster Miao shot him a knowing look and was about to tease him further when he noticed the genuine shock on Wei Zhang’s face.

His heart skipped a beat.

“You are telling me,” Grandmaster Miao said slowly, “that the cultivator your spies followed throughout the city, the one your people allowed to freely cause chaos everywhere, has no connection to the Feathered Serpent Castle?”

“Fellow Daoist, stop joking around,” Wei Zhang replied. “Why would the Feathered Serpent Castle ever allow someone to create chaos inside its own territory?”

Grandmaster Miao frowned.

“What are you trying to accomplish with this act?” he asked coldly. “We both know the City Lord would never permit a possible Core Formation expert to enter the city without a leash. Whatever that man did, he acted under orders.”

Wei Zhang’s eyes widened.

“Core Formation expert?” he repeated, his mouth opening and closing. “Who is at the Core Formation realm?”

Waving his hand dismissively, Grandmaster Miao’s voice turned irritated.

“If you refuse to speak honestly, then leave.”

Wei Zhang suddenly slammed the table and stood up.

“Are you saying that cultivator Lu Xian is a Core Formation expert?” he shouted. “Impossible!”

Grandmaster Miao raised an eyebrow in surprise at the outburst.

“Otherwise, why would you follow him?” he asked

“Because of his Qi deviation!” Wei Zhang blurted out, sweating nervously. “We noticed his Qi Deviation! This... His condition attracted the attention of the Verdant Creek Vice Lord.”

“The Third Concubine?!” Grandmaster Miao said in disbelief. Then, he shook his head in denial, his tone growing colder. “Enough. You may either leave or tell the truth.”

His quasi-domain spread outward instantly, locking onto Wei Zhang.

Feeling the crushing threat of death, Wei Zhang immediately bowed with cupped fists. He was slightly angered about how Grandmaster Miao called his Lady a concubine, but there was nothing he could do about it for now.

“I swear it, Fellow Daoist,” he said hurriedly. “I cannot explain the reasons, but the Vice Lord Verdant Creek ordered us to keep watch on that cultivator. If not for that, would I truly dare to come visit you alone merely to ask about his whereabouts?”

What Wei Zhang heard in response was booming laughter. Grandmaster Miao laughed so hard that tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Stupefied, Wei Zhang stared at him cautiously, preparing a movement technique in case the infamous cultivator had succumbed to a Heart Demon.

After a long moment, Grandmaster Miao finally wiped his eyes and spoke while chuckling.

“My apologies, Fellow Daoist Wei. It is difficult to believe, and admittedly somewhat infuriating, to hear what you just said.”

Wei Zhang watched Grandmaster Miao shake his head silently, as though recalling something unpleasant. Still, knowing he had a job to do, he pushed the wooden box containing the Azure Magpie's feather across the table and said, “I hope Fellow Daoist can understand my sincerity and assist in tracking down that... Bo Xian."

Keeping the box and inwardly reassessing his understanding of Lucian, Grandmaster Miao asked, “You must have tracked his three known associates if you are so interested in his whereabouts. What did you discover?”

“Nothing that Fellow Daoist doesn’t know,” Wei Zhang answered. “Each one continues their routine. One is conducting business under the West Bo Merchant Chamber, another works at the Sailor School, and the last smuggles goods and war prisoners.”

Grandmaster Miao’s eyes briefly gleamed at the mention of prisoners, though otherwise his expression remained unchanged.

“I truly do not know where Bo Xian is,” he said, emphasizing the surname. “But eventually, he will return home. And when he does, it’ll be impossible to keep it a secret.”

Wei Zhang studied him carefully. “You are certain?”

“Yes,” Grandmaster Miao nodded. “I must also thank you for your visit.”

Wei Zhang bowed slightly. “Then I should kindly ask Fellow Daoist to handle your servants carefully. I cannot allow word of this conversation to spread.”

“They heard nothing,” Grandmaster Miao said with a casual wave of his hand. “There is no need to worry. Why not stay and have breakfast with us?”

Shaking his head, Wei Zhang sighed regretfully.

“I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately, I still have duties to attend near the docks.”

Hearing that he wouldn’t stay, Grandmaster Miao dismissed the pseudo-domain and smiled amicably. He had maintained the pressure until now, as a way to kindly tell Wei Zhang to scram.

“Then I wish Fellow Daoist Wei good fortune in your tasks.”

Wei Zhang bowed once more before his figure distorted and vanished from the mansion, disappearing entirely from Grandmaster Miao’s senses moments later.

Not long afterward, Bo Qing entered the dining room. His body had grown sturdier, his complexion healthier, and his movements carried more vigor than before.

“What did I miss?” he asked while looking toward Grandmaster Miao.

“Brother Bo, you are late,” Grandmaster Miao chuckled darkly. “Well, we were deceived by that old hag.”

Bo Qing narrowed his eyes. Usually, when they talked about an old hag, they meant Madame Ching!

“The rumors regarding the Shadow Alliance and the Tidal Church sacrifices near the docks were not misdirection at all,” Grandmaster Miao said. “That Lu Xian most likely used the Shadow Alliance’s help to lure and slaughter those cultivators. We can interrogate the deceased’s families to learn more.”

Ever since learning that Lucian had completed the massacre days ago, and after gathering reports describing how chaotic the aftermath was, both Grandmaster Miao and Bo Qing had spent long hours discussing the possible goals of the City Lord and Madame Ching, as well as how they should proceed.

Now, however, Madame Ching appeared to be the one making those bold moves, and without the City Lord's direct involvement, they were much more willing to act.

As they ate breakfast together, the two continued discussing the change in their plans. Neither of them intended to openly clash with Lucian nor publicly deny that he was Bo Xian, the son of Bo Qing. After all, they still had not uncovered the secret behind the technique that cured Bo Qing’s condition.

Because of that, they chose to continue playing along with the schemes unfolding around them.

No matter how the major forces maneuvered against one another, Grandmaster Miao and Bo Qing intended to ensure they would never become sacrificial pawns or blind horses led by someone else’s reins.

They would remain active players seated at the table. The cunning West Bo's Chairman and the ruthless Grandmaster were both feared more than respected. And it wasn't without reason.