Chapter 41: A Small Favor
He was no stranger to temples. Every city had one as it was a place used to gather the power of will from the followers.
Arriving near the temple, in one glance he saw a residence with a courtyard, with an unbroken chain of roofs and towering fences. On the main gate was a suspended horizontal board inscribed with the words ‘Manor of Sincere Hope’. The main gate was tightly shut, and lanterns were already hung in the doorway. Guards holding onto their blades stood to both sides of the main gate.
Charcoal carried Miao Yi straight ahead, who was disinclined to engage in further inanity.
Because he knew what kind of place the Manor of Sincere Hope was, the people who were just sent in were very likely to suffer. Not to mention, Ji Xiufang was a young married woman with good looks, so god knows what the guards would do to her inside those walls. The longer she stayed, he dreaded the more dangerous it would become.
With a rumbling sound, Charcoal came charging and collided head first onto the main gate, breaking it into pieces.
And not just the main gate, Charcoal was capable of even collapsing a city wall. Carrying Miao Yi on its back, it charged into the courtyard inside, alarming the guards by the doorway to flee ignominiously.
Meanwhile, two cultivators, both with a three-petaled White Lotus glowing faintly between their brows, gripped spears as they went rushing out, pointing their weapons directly at Miao Yi.
These two men were two of Qin Weiwei’s subordinates, and had also previously fought Miao Yi hand to hand without a victor being declared.
Glancing at the main gate which was now in pieces, one of them frowned and said, “Miao Yi? It’s you! What are you doing here?”
Miao Yi cupped his fists and replied, “Can I trouble both of you to grant me a favor, let me take a few people away!”
“Not a problem.” The man extended his hand, saying, “Do you have the Mountain Chieftain’s or the Cave Master’s law edict?”
“No!” Miao Yi shook his head. “Which is why I asked both of you to grant me a favour!”
The man refused. “Usually we would not mind to give you this face, but today is out of the question. As to why we’re keeping watch here, I’m sure you know very well yourself.”
Miao Yi said, “I came in haste so I didn’t think of it at the time. Hand them over to me first. I’ll report back to Cave Master Qin after this. If anything happens, I will bear the responsibility on my own!”
The other man shook his head and uttered, “I’m afraid that won’t do!”
Miao Yi asked, “Can you let me have a look at them first?”
The man again shook his head. “Bring us the law edict, then we’ll talk.”
They wouldn’t even allow him to see them. Miao Yi felt that the man, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, was deliberately making things difficult for him. His face sank, and before their eyes, a glowing lotus flower appeared between his brow. With deliberation, he pointed the spear he held in his hand at the two men as he coldly spoke, “You’re certain you won’t give me this face?”
Agitated, the other man raged on at once, “You seriously think we’re afraid of you?!”
Back then, when a lot of people acted together to fight Miao Yi, they were unable to take him down for a long duration of time. This already made them seethe with rage. If not for the fact that Miao Yi had received high recognition from Yang Qing, both of them would never be this courteous to Miao Yi. Now Miao Yi was making trouble for no reason, so to them, it was tantamount to seizing the opportunity.
Charcoal’s four hooves were restless, as it felt Miao Yi’s fury.
When it seemed that they were about to be on the verge of battling it out, Qin Weiwei’s voice came through from outside the courtyard walls, “STOP!”
Startled, both of them quickly vanished the glowing lotus flowers between their brows, only to hear Qin Weiwei’s voice call out once more, “Hand them over to him.”
The two cultivators quickly shared a glance, and together they faced the direction of the voice coming from outside the courtyard walls, cupped their hands and replied, “Understood!”
One of them turned to ask Miao Yi, “Who do you want?”
Miao Yi enunciated, “Ji Xiufang! The person who was just sent here!”
The man looked towards the official, who was hiding under the roof trembling with fear, “Bring the person here.”
The official promptly nodded his head and bowed before leaving. Not long after, he brought Ji Xiufang over, who had been weeping til her eyes were red and swollen.
Judging by the look of Ji Xiufang, she didn’t appear to have endured any suffering.
Originally it wasn’t supposed to be this fortunate. It was only because two Immortals suddenly came to stand guard at the Manor of Sincere Hope. The guards inside didn’t understand what was going on so they didn’t dare to act recklessly. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be this fortunate indeed.
At first, Ji Xiufang was stunned the moment she laid eyes on Miao Yi. She soon broke into a run and plopped down kneeling in front of Charcoal, looking a complete mess as she cried, “Sir Miao, please save my son! Please, on my uncle’s account, save my son! I’m begging you...”
Miao Yi jumped down from the dragon steed and helped her up with both hands, asking, “Did they make things hard for you?”
As he said that, the guards inside the courtyard were scared to the point they were shivering. They feared that Ji Xiufang would say things that would be unpleasant to hear.
Ji Xiufang wept endlessly, shaking her head as she cried, “Sir Miao, please save my son! He’s still young!”
Miao Yi immediately turned around and ordered, “Bring all the people you took from her home out right now!”
Needless to say, people young and old were brought out with haste, including the steward that Miao Yi was acquainted with.
Ji Xiufang threw her arms around her son on the spot, sobbing with abandon, then knelt down in front of Miao Yi and immediately kowtowed.
Miao Yi helped her up. “Go. Everything is okay now. Go home!”
Under the public eyes of many, he personally escorted the large crowd back to the grand manor’s gate formerly belonging to Ji Xiufang. When he saw the seal on the main gate, he spun around and shouted, “Call the City Lord over!”
Meanwhile, Yan Xiu was currently hiding at a certain dark corner in the street, watching the scene unfolding in front of his eyes with Qin Weiwei by his side.
He didn’t need to wait long. Soon, a fat and bulky official, accompanied by a number of his subordinates hurried over urgently on their horses.
Miao Yi refused to listen to a word of their nonsense, each sentence filled with fear and trepidation. He pointed at the main gate. “Dear City Lord, if any mishaps were to happen to this family in the future, you’ll be the first person I’ll take care of. Tear off the seal and open the gates!”
It was impossible for him to always be at Ji Xiufang’s side looking over her. The fate of Chen Fei was also uncertain as to whether he was dead or alive. But if it weren’t for Chen Fei’s referral back then, he wasn’t sure where he’d be wandering now. This was all done to repay back his debt of gratitude. The reason why he had gone rampant was to make his attitude known that he would protect their entire family, so as to prevent others from targeting them for being without support and protection.
“Hmph! What a high imposing manner!” Qin Weiwei curled her lips as she coldly scoffed.
At the side, Yan Xiu forcefully laughed for a while, his eyes trailing Miao Yi as he sent Ji Xiufang and her family back into the manor.
By the time Miao Yi came out, he again saw Miao Yi speak to the City Lord who was nodding his head and bowing. “Immediately return anything that’s missing from the residence. I want your life if they’re missing even one chopstick!”
“Yes yes yes!” The City Lord complied at once, while wiping away the sweat breaking out from his face. He ordered his subordinates to do as he commanded without delay.
In another corner, Chen Fei, who was dressed up in disguise witnessed the scene with his own eyes. He let out a soft sigh of relief and murmured, “Brother Miao, I, Chen Fei, will remember this great kindness you bestowed on my family. I’ll repay it once there’s a chance in the future!”
Since Miao Yi had stepped forth to take responsibility, he could now leave feeling at ease. He quietly turned around towards the streets, before disappearing into the darkness.
Miao Yi rode Charcoal in a swift gallop out the city, but then ran into both Qin Weiwei and Yan Xiu who were waiting outside. He quickly came to a halt, cupped his hands and said, “Thank you, Cave Master, for helping me!”
Qin Weiwei had not specially come over to help out of good intentions. It was because Yang Qing, after he came out from recuperating his transcendence energy, had met Yan Xiu by chance and asked about Miao Yi. After he found out the reason, Yang Qing greatly praised Miao Yi, remarking that Miao Yi was a loyal and righteous man who, having received a small favor by others in times of need, he repaid it back with great deeds. Therefore, he had sent Qin Weiwei to personally come here, to avoid any potential mishaps from happening.
All he saw was Qin Weiwei revealing a look of ridicule on her face. “That little wife is quite a looker. I thought you’d spend the night over at her place. ”
“She’s not as pretty as you…”
Miao Yi immediately complimented. After knowing this woman was Yang Qing’s adopted daughter, his attitude had become more courteous towards her. But when the words came out of his mouth, he immediately realized they sounded wrong, as though what he said was filled with innuendoes.
Yan Xiu’s cheeks immediately swelled, as he tried hard to stifle his laughter. He noticed that Miao Yi’s response was too superb. No matter how he listened to it, it still sounded like, ‘She’s not as pretty as you, so if I wanted to sleep, I’d rather sleep with you.’
At the same time, he was also scared and couldn’t help but be on the edge for Miao Yi. Miao Yi himself was also feeling nervous, and wanted to slap himself for that remark.