Volume 1, Chapter 34: Undercurrents
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Ye Qinghan stood before the counter, which looked rather like that of a pawnshop, rubbing her little hands together as she waited to collect the money.
For some reason, she felt that she had grown rather fond of money lately.
Perhaps it was because having money would make her Master happy, and if her Master was happy, then she would be happy too. So, naturally, having money made her happy?
Who could have known that the woman behind the counter would refuse to pay her?
“What did you say? Say that again!”
With the vicious look on her face, Ye Qinghan hardly resembled someone there to collect a subsidy. She looked more like someone who had come to rob the place.
“I said that Immortal Ascension Hall does not meet the requirements for receiving a sect subsidy.” The Spirit Mountain official across from her was not about to indulge Ye Qinghan either.
“Why?”
“Because Frostveil Hall has only two members, which does not meet the requirements.”
“So you mean that because Frostveil Hall only has two people, it is easy to bully?”
As she spoke, Ye Qinghan began rolling up her sleeves. Damn it, she had always been the one bullying others!
This was the first time she had encountered someone tough enough to stand up to her. And now they were openly bullying Immortal Ascension Hall simply because it had so few people?
“Qinghan, let her finish.” Su Cheng hurried over and grabbed his own vixen of a disciple. Otherwise, there was no telling whether Ye Qinghan would slaughter everyone in the place.
“Master, I understand now! This woman is bullying us!”
“That is not the case, Miss Qinghan. According to Spirit Mountain’s subsidy regulations, only sects with at least six members are eligible to receive the sect subsidy.”
Ye Qinghan was instantly a little disappointed. It was not as if she lacked those two hundred taels, but her Master would certainly be unhappy!
And if her Master was unhappy, then she would be unhappy too!
“Master, could I speak with her alone?”
“Hmm? Do not cause trouble for me. This is Spirit Mountain.”
“Master, rest assured. Qinghan is a very reasonable person.”
Su Cheng looked at her suspiciously. Standing by the courtyard gate, he watched from a distance as Ye Qinghan leaned over the counter, apparently reasoning with the woman.
And she truly was trying to reason with her.
“My Master really needs these two hundred taels. Do you understand?”
“Everyone who comes here needs these two hundred taels. If they did not, they would not have come!”
“Then how about this? I do not need these two hundred taels. I will pay them myself. Do you understand what I mean?”
The young woman behind the counter was somewhat bewildered, though despite having no cultivation, she was not afraid in the least.
“If you have something to say, Miss, please say it plainly.”
“I mean that I will pay the two hundred taels, but when my Master comes to collect them, you must tell him that they are the sect subsidy. Understand?”
Ye Qinghan was not short of money at all these days. After all, she had practically robbed everyone in the entire secret realm.
“Oh, oh, I understand. You want your Master to think that this is the sect subsidy, so that he will be happy, is that it?”
“Yes. My Master has always been frugal, and I do not want him to know about this. Can you help me?”
“Of course.”
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Thus, when Su Cheng went back inside, the young woman behind the counter seemed to have become an entirely different person. He obtained the sect subsidy without the slightest difficulty.
“Master Su, this is your sect subsidy. Please count it carefully.” The young woman presented the money pouch with both hands, her courteous attitude almost unbelievable.
Su Cheng was instantly delighted, his face glowing with a blissful smile.
“Heh heh, Master, now that we have money, what about that meal at a restaurant you promised Qinghan?”
At that moment, Su Cheng had completely forgotten about the proper distance between master and disciple. He grabbed Ye Qinghan by the hand.
“Come, come! I will take you there right now!”
Seeing how happy her Master was, Ye Qinghan was happy as well.
As her Master pulled her along, she looked down at their joined hands. His warmth rested in her palm, and her heart pounded like a startled deer. Deep down, she felt that these three hundred taels had been exceptionally well spent.
Far too well spent!
A mere three hundred taels, and she had gotten to hold hands with her Master!
Qinghan would pay three thousand taels! Could she kiss him too?
“Master, you are the best!”
Heavenly Dao Pavilion.
A week passed, and Dongfang Jue was finally able to get out of bed. Cheng Liang had spent several days attending to her with great diligence, and Dongfang Jue’s attitude toward him had improved considerably.
“Master Cheng, you have gone to a great deal of trouble.”
Dongfang Jue was sincerely grateful for Cheng Liang’s care. After all, she had lain helpless on the ground for so long, and he alone had been willing to save her.
His care over the past several days had been meticulous, leaving no fault to find.
By contrast, Dongfang Jue had cursed him harshly at first, believing that he had intended to take advantage of her condition and defile her.
It seemed that she had judged a gentleman with a petty mind.
“I have known your father for many years. We are practically family, so there is no need to speak of trouble.”
“Is that so?”
Cheng Liang had naturally taken a liking to Dongfang Jue. She was one of the few prodigies capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Ye Qinghan. The Saintess was extraordinarily talented as well, but after all, her intelligence was only that of a nine-year-old.
Dongfang Jue sat at the head of the bed, listening as Cheng Liang recounted stories from her childhood. As it turned out, the two of them had met long ago.
“You have always been this lively, ever since you were little. You loved practicing with swords and weapons.”
“Hehe, my mother always said that I was far too mischievous, almost like a boy!”
After chatting for a while, Cheng Liang left. Dongfang Jue walked alone into the courtyard of Heavenly Dao Pavilion and sat down, summoning the system to inspect it.
Over the past few days, Dongfang Jue had nearly worn out the system records concerning Ye Qinghan and her Master. The more she looked, the more mysteries she found.
Every piece of information about Su Cheng was marked as inaccessible. No matter how she tried to view it, the result was always the same—nothing but restricted data. Such a situation had never appeared before.
Aside from half a name and a cultivation level of the first layer of Qi Condensation, she knew almost nothing about him.
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Ye Qinghan’s information was slightly more accessible, but everything concerning the period after she became his disciple had also turned exceedingly mysterious. The system could reveal very little.
It was obvious that Su Cheng had given her enormous benefits. That had to be why she had sworn herself wholeheartedly to him as his disciple.
But why?
Why was Su Cheng so good to Ye Qinghan?
Even if Ye Qinghan was beautiful, surely she was not worth so many immortal-grade treasures?
Not to mention the two primordial treasures!
With so many treasures, what kind of woman could Su Cheng possibly fail to obtain?
If he wished, women eager to share his bed could probably line up all the way from the Southern Region to the Northern Region! What was so special about Ye Qinghan?
Dongfang Jue shook her head. After being beaten up by Ye Qinghan, she was no longer quite as angry. If one’s skills were inferior, one could only accept the result.
But she was still unwilling to concede!
Why was it that, with equal talent, Ye Qinghan could beat her so easily?
Ye Qinghan was beautiful—but what did she lack?
Ye Qinghan had a fine figure—but she...
“Miss Dongfang, are you feeling better?”
Just as Dongfang Jue was at her wit’s end, a gentle female voice came from beside her.
Graceful, poised, and gentle, the woman’s elegant figure was wrapped in a dark cheongsam, outlining an already alluring figure in an even more devastating manner.
Shangguan Rou approached with measured steps. Her usually bound dark hair now fell over her shoulders, and the bearing of a foremost disciple from a great sect was fully displayed. There was a touch more tenderness about her, like that of a married woman, making her seem entirely different from the person who appeared whenever she met Ye Qinghan.
“Thank you for your concern, Sister Shangguan. I am no longer seriously injured.”
Shangguan Rou smiled lightly. With a single glance, she saw through the source of Dongfang Jue’s distress.
“You are thinking about Ye Qinghan?”
Dongfang Jue smiled. As expected, this woman had not come merely to make idle conversation.
“Have you come to mock me, Sister?”
“How could I? Before you, that girl nearly killed me.”
Shangguan Rou gave a bitter smile, appearing utterly helpless.
“You are a Golden Core cultivator. You were not her match either?”
But the moment she finished speaking, Dongfang Jue understood.
With so many treasures in Ye Qinghan’s hands, it would have been strange if she could not win!
That immortal sword alone was enough to give anyone a nightmare, to say nothing of the many mysterious treasures whose functions remained unknown.
“Even the Second Elder at the Nascent Soul stage was no match for her. I nearly let her beat me to death. The only reason I survived was that she still wanted to humiliate me.”
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