Chapter 254: Jade Capital Peak
Translator: Kelaude Editor: TomYummy
It was truly remarkable how that question shot straight to the heart. Truly remarkable. One normally wouldn’t ask such questions in the presence of others. Acting like a flock of startled birds, the eyes of the men quickly darted from the middle-aged woman’s bare bosoms to Miao Yi.
"Eh…" Miao Yi was put in an awkward position after being singled out from the group.
There wasn't actually anything wrong with taking a glance or two. He wasn’t intentionally looking, or desiring to look at her chest. He wasn’t having lewd thoughts either. It was the other party who had exposed more of her chest. It would be hard to avoid noticing it at that point.
Not to mention, he was already used to looking at Qian’Er and Xue’Er’s breasts, so he didn’t think there was anything wrong with a glance or two. Of course, theirs weren’t as magnificent.
He was in that position mostly because of the middle-aged woman in front of him, and that extremely disrespectful subordinate of his. Miao Yi never dreamed that Luo Shuangfei would abruptly blurt out words like.
The woman in question had a hard time stopping herself from smiling, and somehow managed to hold it off in the end. Moreover, when she heard Luo Shuangfei addressing Miao Yi as ‘Liege’, she knew in a flash that Miao Yi was indeed a person of authority. It was the first time she had seen an official wearing six storage rings at once. Her heart sped up when she realized that he must be someone with an extraordinary status.
Miao Yi pretended that he hadn’t heard anything and turned his head away to ask a question, "Tian Qingfeng. Are you familiar with this city?"
"I’ve been here quite a few times, but this city is quite big so I can’t say I’m actually familiar," replied Tian Qingfeng.
Miao Yi then asked the others, "Are you all familiar with this place?"
With that, everyone got the hint without needing to guess. The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up at this point, filled with anticipation for what was to come.
Everyone shook their heads. Just then, Luo Shuangfei drew out his long spear. Leveled it at the middle-aged woman, he coldly said, "Scram! Don’t make me kill you if you don’t step aside!"
"Shut up," scoffed Miao Yi.
Luo Shuangfei lips twitched. He gave Miao Yi a deadly stare before reluctantly putting away his spear.
Miao Yi raised his head to watch the middle-aged woman jumping down from caverns, and asked, "What's your name?"
She quickly replied, "I'm Lin Pingping." After she finished, she didn’t forget to add, "The Loose Cultivators living here have all been checked and vetted by the authorities. Our backgrounds are clean. I'm definitely not someone with a criminal background."
"I can't tell the difference." Luo Shuangfei said in mockery.
Miao Yi shot him a cold glare as a warning, before he turning to the woman and said, "Then I will have to trouble you to guide us in the city."
On his first visit to the city, he obviously wanted to have someone familiar with the city to be their guide. Of course, after listening to what Tian Qingfeng said, he knew that these Loose Cultivators had a difficult life. This woman had decent charm and qualities; she was determined to let go of her ego and endure whatever mockery Luo Shuangfei threw at her just for an opportunity to thrive through her difficult life.
Even though she said she would guide them for free and he never mentioned offering to pay for her service, Miao Yi already decided that he would compensate her for her efforts if she did a good job. He was born in a small town, so he could understand the pain and difficulties she was in.
"No trouble, no trouble. Please wait for a moment, sir."
Lin Pingping was elated. She knew that people like him would not waste her efforts once they agreed, so she quickly went off to perform her task right away.
"And here I wondered why he was acting chivalrous. It seems he likes women with big breasts. Yet taking a fancy to someone that old, you certainly have strong preferences," muttered Luo Shuangfei, tilting his head to the side as he said so.
"Luo Shuangfei. Why does your mind always go that way?" Miao Yi couldn't help but giving him a little advice. "Try not to think nonsense in the future."
He assumed Luo Shuangfei easily jumped to such conclusions because he was always in such risque places.
"My Liege. I serve under you, but that does not mean cultivators can't go to those places, isn't it?" scoffed Luo Shuangfei.
Tian Qingfeng and the others were quite speechless. They had no idea why Miao Yi would want to recruit such an irresponsible as Luo Shuangfei, and Miao Yi was even being so patient with him.
To be honest, Tian Qingfeng and the others were envious of Luo Shuangfei. It was clear that Miao Yi intended to give Luo Shuangfei a position of authority. For a plundering Loose Cultivator to gain such a promotion was an envious sight for them. After following Miao Yi everywhere and taking orders from him for a long time, they never received such treatment from Miao Yi before.
Everyone was bitched in their hearts. ‘What was the use of having such a rebellious underling like Luo Shuangfei?’
They had no idea that some people were capable and useful in their own way.
For Luo Shuangfei to have a Ninth Grade White Lotus cultivation this young, it clearly meant that his cultivation method was exceptional and there was plenty of room for improvement. While, Tian Qingfeng and the others were already old men.
Luo Shuangfei’s skill was extraordinary. His fierce and cunning spear art couldn’t even be matched by the School of Blue Jade disciples. Moreover, with his precious defensive armor on, he could easily gain the upper hand even in a battle against a larger group. He was the best choice to charge into a battlefield under Miao Yi’s banner.
Also, Luo Shuangfei could poison twenty of them by himself. Up till now, no one knew how he managed to do it. With that capability alone, he was far stronger than Tian Qingfeng and the others in Miao Yi's opinion. He would definitely be useful in the future.
Luo Shuangfei could even control that marten to cure poison, which led Miao Yi to value him even more.
If Tian Qingfeng and the other men had similar capabilities to Luo Shuangfei, Miao Yi would definitely treat them better; just like how Yang Qing treated him in the past.
A dragon steed suddenly charged out from a nearby ravine. The rider was none other than Lin Pingping. She came up to Miao Yi and said, "My Liege. Do you want to rest somewhere first?"
Miao Yi motioned with his finger at the mountain peak with the dense mass of clouds. Now Lin Pingping was sure that he was indeed an extraordinary person. That was a place that ordinary cultivators would not normally live. She quickly nodded and said, "My Liege. Please come with me."
Luo Shuangfei was furious when he saw her. Seeing her pale bosoms bouncing up and down distractingly as she rode her dragon steed. He quickly used his spear to jab at her and shouted, "Cover your fat bouncing boobs immediately. Otherwise, don't blame me for killing you in a single strike when I grow tired of looking at you."
Everyone speechlessly stared at this weird man. Miao Yi didn't know what to say either. He couldn’t allow Lin Pingping to expose her bosoms like that either. Others might think Miao Yi had other intentions if he allowed her to be as she was.
This time, Lin Pingping was the one embarrassed. She quickly pulled back her collar and buttoned up her clothes; completely covering her perky bosoms. Only after that was done, did she asked them all to follow her.
Luo Shuangfei rode beside Miao Yi, hogging that space without allowing anyone to overtake his position. Tian Qingfeng could only fall back, allowing Lin Pingping to accompany Miao Yi and introduce the surrounding area. She was indeed more familiar with the city than him, because she was able to tell which street was which.
By the time everyone arrived at the ‘Jade Capital Peak’, where the Overlord of the Firth Earthly Branch stayed, they more or less had an understanding of the city's customs and practices after being briefed by Lin Pingping.
Tian Qingfeng and the other men never stayed at Jade Capital Peak before, which made it even more apparent that Lin Pingping was more familiar with the city than them. She quickly led them to the registration counter once they arrived at Jade Capital Peak.
Lin Pingping already briefed them earlier about the current location. The place where the cultivators were permitted to stay in Jade Capital Peak was categorized into four classes. Naturally, it wasn’t anything like the dugout caverns the loose cultivators stayed in, and it wasn’t anything like an ordinary inn either. They were all isolated large and small residences.
First class was located at the foot of the mountain, and was the cheapest among all classes; the second class was located at a higher altitude, where guests would be able to see more of the city's scenery. Naturally, the second class would be a bit expensive than the first class. Third class had better ambience, and of course, it would be more expensive than the second class. Fourth class was obviously the best of them all. All the Palace Lord would choose to book the fourth class every year they came because it was convenient whenever they came to visit the Overlord. The Palace Lords could afford to book the fourth class, so they didn't mind spending a huge amount money for that place.
Before the counter, the manager grinned and asked, "Which class would our esteemed guest like to stay at?"
Miao Yi replied, "Third class."
The manager then looked at the group behind him and asked, "How many will be staying?"
Miao Yi turned to Lin Pingping beside him and asked, "Why don't you stay with us?"
This was an offer too great for Lin Pingping to handle. She quickly waved her hands and said, "You don't have to, My Liege. If you have any request, please quickly let me know. I will wait for your summons below the mountain."
"Why trouble yourself so much by going up and down? You live quite far from here. If it's convenient, we can stay together. In case we have an emergency, it will be easier to find you too."
"In that case, I will accept your decision." Embarrassed, Lin Pingping agreed. She quietly shot a look at Luo Shuangfei.
As expected, Luo Shuangfei scoffed with a grumpy mood.
Miao Yi quickly informed the manager, "Twenty-three people."
The manager smiled, "If it's third class, according to the head count, each person will have to pay fifty Gold Crystals everyday. For twenty-three people, that will be 1,150 Gold Crystals."
This price was staggering. Fifty Gold Crystals per day would be equal to half a million White Crystals per day. If Lin Pingping hadn't informed him earlier, Miao Yi would have been shocked by the amount he had to pay now.
However, he could still afford to fork out this amount of funds without a problem. He was interested in going through this experience, so the money didn't account for much.
During the payment process, Miao Yi took out his Cave Master jade archive to prove his identity to the manager.
As Lin Pingping mentioned to him before there would be discounts if he had an official status as well.
And as a result, he was able to enjoy getting special treatment once more after showing proof of his identity as an official. The charge for each person was discounted by ten Gold Crystal per day, which meant forty Gold Crystals per day. In total, that would be nine hundred and twenty Gold Crystals per day for this group..
Lin Pingping gazed at Miao Yi with a gleam in her eyes. As expected, he was indeed someone with authority.
However, to Luo Shuangfei’s eyes, her expression was instead instantly laced with ill-intentions.
The manager handed twenty-three check-in passes to Miao Yi, and proceeded to call someone to escort the guests up the mountain.
Miao Yi and the others were quite a large group, and with Luo Shuangfei insisting on staying together without separating the group, the manager decided to arrange a bigger residence for them instead.
Their residence was located about halfway up the mountain. It was peaceful and quiet with a hint of classical influence in the scenery. The trees on the edge of the forest swayed as the wind whistled through the pines. A few trees towered into the sky, whist scattered leaves were painted with wildflowers on the sidewalks. The fragrance of the wildflowers was subtle. Turning to gaze at the cityscape with its curved rivers, Miao Yi found it quite pleasing to his eyes. The view below was that of a flourishing mortal world, whilst the mountain seemed extraordinarily ethereal. He felt lofty and powerful at this height. The scenery just then was like a painting.
Someone already led their dragon steeds to their settle down within the residence. The number of servants coming forth to greet them in advance were enough to cater to their needs.
These servants were all young people below the level of Loose Cultivators. Those with normal status or stable incomes would never come here to become servants. Employing ordinary civilians was also out of the question because they would not cope with dragon steeds. Loose Cultivators were the best option for this position as they would be obedient and not dare to cause problems.
Lin Pingping mentioned she had worked in the mountains when she was younger. The Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce relieved her of her duty because she was getting older and losing her youth. They feared that guests would be unhappy looking at her. The Loose Cultivators working here earned their living with their youth. However, most Loose Cultivators did not have the power of the Orbs of Will, so their cultivation would progress slowly and they would age faster. They wouldn’t be able to depend on their youth to keep living a stable life for long.