Chapter 117: News
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
'Liao Qing Ye, could she be a Ye too?'
The skies were laden with dark clouds and the rain was getting bigger. The ox-cart had pulled to a stop outside the Fu Mansion. Pei Zi Yun got off the ox-cart and cradled the little miss in his embrace as they walked into the mansion. When the little girl had finished her porridge, she looked extremely tired. She then climbed up to Pei Zi Yun and fell asleep on his chest. She was in a deep sleep for most of the journey, and the old woman sat behind as she gazed at Pei Zi Yun, deep in thought.
The prophecy on the three Ye’s and two Guo’s were actually leaked by Xie Cheng Dong after he became dominant and had taken the entire world by storm. At his strongest, he was not afraid of leaking it for they could not have done much against him. However, as of now, this was a huge secret.
When the original owner had found out about it, he was imprisoned. At that point, he was aware about Ye Su’er and Ji Ai Guo, for he had met them face to face. As for the rest of them, he was completely clueless. Most of them had Dao names and not actual names, which made it hard to find.
This Liao Qing Ye gave him a very familiar feeling.
'If she’s one of them, it would be amazing. Among the three Ye’s and two Guo’s, I already know three of them. Could it be that heaven’s will was for all of them to be found in Ying Prefecture?'
'No no, my Plum Flower is now in Ying Prefecture, and something about my conjecture doesn't feel quite right.'
When they entered the yard, they were welcomed by a servant. Pei Zi Yun then said, "Give the granny a room near mine to rest. Prepare some hot water and fresh clothings for them as well."
"Yes, Young Master." Pei Zi Yun was not regarded as an outsider in Fu Mansion, and thus gave instructions freely. With money, a High Scholar title and reputation, who would regard him as someone living off another person?
At this point, the old granny servant and the little girl carried a foul smell on them.
After Pei Zi Yun was done with his instructions, he carried the little girl towards the inner courtyard. Yu Yun Jun was teaching Chu Xia, his Senior Sister how to paint. Chu Xia was concentrating hard and looked very serious as she painted. When she turned around, she saw Pei Zi Yun carrying a little girl and stood up, wanting to take a closer look.
"Master, an official accompanied me to the capital. His name was Liao Ge. Just before he died, he begged me to look after his daughter. When I went to Ge Mansion to find her, she had been bullied and nearly starved to death by his clansmen. They did all these just to inherit his small fortunes. Thankfully I arrived on time, if not she’d have starved to death." Pei Zi Yun sighed.
After listening to his explanation, Yu Yun Jun looked over at the little girl Pei Zi Yun was cradling. Her face was thin and hollow, and was extremely pale. She had a foul odor on her body as well. Yu Yun Jun then sighed, "You’ve done well. As for this little miss, what do you plan to do with her?"
Pei Zi Yun took a few steps forward, still carrying her in his arms, "She cannot go back to Liao Mansion. Even if his clansmen do have a change of heart, his family members might not. Even if there are officials there to ensure they do not mistreat her now, what might happen to her in ten years time? She might even be dead by then. Accidents happen all around the world. Doing a good deed here might see me rewarded in future. I am prepared to send her back to my own home, and let my mother look after her. She can even make good company for my mother. Since I cannot watch her and accompany her all the time, I hope that my mother and her will make good company with each other."
"Oh, that’s a filial idea as well." Yu Yun Jun laughed as she spoke. She then suddenly thought of something as she touched her lips gently, "Our Patriarchs have been conferred the title, which increased the strength of our sect. Hou Mansion and Holy Jail Sect would probably not make another attempt on your life. Although your sword mastery is of an elite standard, you still have to be careful."
"Yes, Master." Pei Zi Yun acknowledged.
"Junior brother, I want to go to your house and play too. I haven’t been to your new house yet!" Chu Xia, who had been painting previously spoke out after listening to their conversation.
"Chu Xia, be good and keep practicing, do not be naughty." Yu Yun Jun hardened her expression as she spoke. Chu Xia gave a look of sadness before replying, "No, Junior Brother is becoming more and more distant from me. I want to go too."
"Master, I shall take my leave first to handle some things." Pei Zi Yun blushed.
"Carry on."
Pei Zi Yun then carried the little girl as he turned around and walked towards his room. When he reached his room, he could smell the delicious aroma of porridge in his room. It was exactly as he instructed the servants. The little girl in his arms started waking up, as she gazed at the huge bowl of porridge in front of her.
"You’ve woken up?" Pei Zi Yun asked gently. The little girl was somewhat shy, as she looked at Pei Zi Yun bashfully.
"Come, let me feed you." Pei Zi Yun retrieved a mouthful of porridge and blew on it gently before feeding her. The little’s stomach had started to rumble in hunger. Seeing the bowl of porridge before her, she opened her mouth and started taking huge mouthfuls of porridge.
The little girl’s granny had been led by a servant into the room. She had taken a bath and was clean and fresh. When she looked at the little girl devouring her porridge, her eyes were filled with love and concern.
"Sit down and eat together with us." Pei ZI Yun said, "You’ve been starving for a long time and can only have soft meat porridge for now. Even tomorrow you still must not eat solid food. Maybe a diet of half solid half porridge can do. The day after tomorrow should be fine to resume normal food."
After a long time of not eating proper food, the stomach would not be able to handle solid foods. Hence the best way was to drink some water before having some porridge and then some soft boiled meat. This would allow the stomach time to get used to the food. If not, the stomach could be damaged.
"Many thanks, Young Master. I understand." The granny then sat down.
The rain outside was getting heavier, as the sound of rain crashing against the ground became increasingly loud. Pei Zi Yun sighed. Liao Ge had died because of himself, and he could not bear to leave the girl uncared for. However, he was under immense pressure now, especially because of the latest warning.
'Since I’ve completed the previous mission, I managed to obtain the memories of the original owner and knew the various locations for Dao Legacies. However, the Dao Legacies were originating from other Rogue Cultivators or from other sects.'
'Ever since I’ve accomplished the great contribution to the sect, I’ve won the admiration of many. However, there were several people who were unhappy as well. I have to be careful not to corrupt my Dao Arts and make them impure. When that happens, I will be in trouble.'
'The Legacy that I’ve obtained in the capital city was a sword technique and not a Dao Art, hence it was still fine. However, I should not ruin my future just by taking a short cut.' Pei Zi Yun thought to himself as he fed the little girl still in his arms.
'Besides, if my Dao arts were impure, it would be difficult to become Yin Master. There could be some legacies within the sect left behind by sect Elders. The most important thing was to ensure that the owner of the Dao Legacy was already in Paradise. This was because if I were to use a Legacy belonging to someone still in the secular world, they would be alerted to it. When that happens, the chances of my Plum Flower being exposed is very high.'
"Big brother, I am full already. You don’t have to feed me anymore." The little girl in his arms spoke out suddenly, as Pei Zi Yun snapped out from his thoughts. He looked at the bowl he had been feeding her from and realized that there was only a little porridge left. The little girl’s stomach bulged out slightly from being full. Her little hand stretched out to block the spoon. Pei Zi Yun realized that her energy was gradually returning to her.
"Young Master, I can take over from here. I shall bring her for a bath. The clothes from the other little miss has arrived. Besides, you’ve been carrying her some quite some time, you must be feeling uncomfortable." The granny had long finished her own bowl of porridge.
"Later on, I shall take you to the village."
"Apart from food, your little miss shall get a wage of one tael of silver, and you shall get seven hundred coins."
From the book, the old madam was paid twenty taels of silver a month, the inheriting son was paid ten taels, and the other Young Masters and little miss were paid two taels of silver each. However, this was written in the previous dynasty, and the cost of living had decreased greatly.
This was an extremely fair remuneration. One silver tael was not a small amount. The granny was smart and understood this. When she heard the proposal, her eyes lit up and knew that this Young Master was sincere about treating them well. She knew that most Young Masters from big houses were despicable and vile. Being given money in wages meant that they would have to do their part for the household, even if their tasks were very simple. She hurriedly took hold of the little girl as they knelt down before him, "Thank you, Young Master."
Following that, they made their exit to bathe the little girl.
Seeing the level-headed granny understanding made Pei Zi Yun happy. Many people always thought that as long as people under a big household were paid their wages, it would be by food and shelter. However Pei Zi Yun truly cared for the pair, and thus provided them with money and food.
This was a very genuine and sincere treatment of the little girl.
After the little girl had been taken away, Pei Zi Yun paced several steps in his room and walked toward the window before pushing it open. A cold gust of wind entered, taking along some small raindrops, pelting them at his face, 'Last year, this little girl was four years old. Which means she’s only five years old this year. Even if she’s one of the three Ye’s and two Guo’s, there is still some time before I should act on it.'
'As of now, the most important thing is the danger before me. Since I need my Dao arts to be pure, and yet I need to quickly break past the gates of heaven, how should I do that?' Pei Zi Yun paced about as he thought.
'I should try and find someone from within the sect who owns a Legacy. That way, it will be in accordance with my requirements.'
'And to fit the bill, I have to search for someone who had deserted the sect.'
'Yes, there are members who deserted the sect. Clearly, there’s almost no way to guarantee the loyalty of someone to the sect. Most of the deserters had already been killed. Furthermore of those deserters, I need to find someone who has attained Yin Master before deserting. The number of people who fit this requirement is indeed very little.'
'The original owner was just an outer sect member, and didn’t even have a chance to enter the inner sect. Naturally, he wouldn’t know of any such details. If I were to find out more, I would need to ask around. As of now, my Master is one of the Core Disciples in the inner sect, and thus should know about such matters.'
As he remained deep in thought, he left his room. The sky still looked dark, and the rain had somewhat subsided. The stars were flickering brightly in the gloomy sky. Pei Zi Yun was almost halfway through the door when he recalled the look of sadness etched on the face of Chu Xia and turned around, back into the kitchen.
"Young Master?" The kitchen maid asked in surprise.
"Prepare something light for me this time." Pei Zi Yun instructed. Since the kitchen was well provisioned, before long a simple treat was being stirred out of flour, eggs and honey into dough. Pei Zi Yun then used his fingers to shape them into rabbits, roosters, ducks and several other animals. He then drizzled some dried fruits over it.
After he was done, he gave the batter back to the kitchen maid who baked it in a stone oven. Before long, the delicious smell of baked pastries wafted through the entire kitchen. Pei Zi Yun retrieved it and brought it outside.
Chu Xia had just finished her painting and was looking out of the window in a daze. Seeing Pei Zi Yun walking over, she sprang up to her feet and made a face at him.
"Senior Sister is magnanimous. Come, have some of this." Pei Zi Yun said enticingly.
"Oh, seeing how sincere you are, I shall forgive you." Chu Xia then stretched out a tiny hand and picked up a pastry. She bit into it and enjoyed the taste of it very much. She then stretched out a hand to grab onto Pei Zi Yun’s sleeve, "Do not ignore me again."
"Yes, yes!" Pei Zi Yun hurriedly replied.
Before long, Yu Yun Jun and Pei Zi Yun walked out together. The both of them stood along the corridors as they gazed out into the small pond outside. She stopped walking and sighed, "The child has been disturbing you…."
"That's okay, Senior Sister is still young. I should give in to her."
"Still young?" Yu Yun Jun paused and didn't continue on that topic. She then asked, "Why are you looking for me?"
"Oh, I realized that you're familiar with matters regarding the inner circle and I wished to ask, in the past ten years, has there been anyone who deserted the sect or have left? Especially someone who's become a Yin Master?"
"Ooh?" Yu Yun Jun paused before laughing, "Why would you suddenly ask me about this?"
Even before waiting for Pei Zi Yun to reply, she continued, "There will always be deserters. But most of them do not live long after. As for those deserters who've managed to become Yin Master in the last ten years… I think there's only one."
At this point Yu Yun Jun sighed, "A man named Zhang, a senior uncle. Or maybe you should refer to him as Senior Uncle Patriarch. He was competing for the Sect Leader spot two generations ago. When he didn't make it, he left in anger towards the Southern District."
"This man was a genius within the Sect. According to the rumors there was a reason why he didn't manage to become Sect Leader and thus left. However, he was not killed after deserting. Some time later he got into some trouble, and then there weren't anymore news about him."
Pei Zi Yun stopped walking, thinking, ‘This person fits the requirements I have.’ Yu Yun Jun looked at him. She saw a gallant, young hero of a disciple, with his sleeves flying in the wind. His footsteps were firm and assured, and his confidence was unmatched. No wonder…. At this point, she sighed and looked out at the dark gloomy sky and didn't say a word.