Miao Yi was indeed very busy himself. After he was done with Traversing Water Palace, he hurried back to his own place.
During this period of time, he had been so busy that he didn't even know what his own territory looked like. He had been the Hall Master of Suppressing First Hall for such a long time, yet he didn't even know which direction the main gates of Suppressing First Hall were facing. With a great battle at hand, it was impossible for him not to return to his side to make sure everything was in order.
The selection of the Manor Head was a matter that gave him a headache. Although the old subordinates that he had brought with him were more reliable, their cultivations were on the low side and they had not been tested in actual combat. No one knew how strong they were.
Miao Yi studied the name list for a long time. In terms of experience and cultivation, there were quite a few people who were qualified to become Manor Heads. However, everyone knew what kind of people the Suppressing First Hall's forces were. To push such a person to the position of Manor Head and lead the entire Manor to the battlefield was practically a joke with the lives of the Manor Heads.
Inside the lofty palace, inside a small chamber of the imperial harem made out of jade, Miao Yi casually tossed the jade archive onto the long table. He stopped looking at it, as he couldn't find a suitable candidate.
As his status and authority grew, Miao Yi began to feel the lack of manpower he could use. Right now, he felt like he was in desperate need of talents. With such a vast territory and over a hundred million followers under his command, he wouldn't be able to manage everything on his own. If he were to work all day, he wouldn't be able to cultivate anymore in the future. Had he ever seen a Hall Master always worrying about their subordinates?
He also realized that he was growing too fast. The people under him didn't even have the chance to grow. Those who had the slightest bit of ability were already being used as an exception.
Most importantly, in a place like Traversing Water Palace, no one would be able to poach him even if they offered him a generous salary. He didn't have much contact with people from other places either. If he had to pick a talent that caught his eye, the first choice would be his former superior, the Manor Head of South Edict Manor, Yang Qing.
He had experienced Yang Qing's abilities time and time again. Even he, Miao Yi, had to admit that he was no match for him. If it weren't for the fact that his cultivation was slightly lower, Miao Yi had every reason to believe that Huo Lingxiao would not be able to suppress Yang Qing at all. Perhaps even ten Huo Lingxiao combined might not be a match for Yang Qing. At the very least, ever since Miao Yi joined the cultivation world, he had never seen anyone as strong as Yang Qing.
If he could poach Yang Qing over. In that case, these headaches could be thrown to Yang Qing to worry about. That guy would definitely be able to handle it better than him.
However, Miao Yi knew that this was completely unrealistic. It wasn't that he couldn't come up with an offer that could tempt Yang Qing, and he didn't have to worry that the other side wouldn't let him go. Yang Qing's superior, Huo Lingxiao, was his sworn brother. Naturally, he had a way to make Huo Lingxiao release him.
More importantly, Traversing Water Palace was in a dire situation right now. Even if you made Yang Qing the Hall Master, he wouldn't come.
Left with no other choice, he could only appoint an old man from the Suppressing First Hall who had enough experience to convince the masses to act as the temporary Manor Head, and appoint the ten Mountain Chieftains he had brought with him as military supervisors. This was something that couldn't be helped. They couldn't be unable to mobilize their troops in the face of trouble. As for the rest, they could only wait until the end of the battle and decide based on their individual abilities.
Just as he was deep in thought, a deep voice suddenly came from outside. "Where is Miao Yi?"
This voice was so familiar! Miao Yi, who had been leaning against the chair with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and smiled bitterly. An Zhengfeng was here!
Qian'Er quickly ran in from outside. "My lord, someone is looking for you outside."
"Bring him in!" Miao Yi waved his hand.
"No need!" Before he could see what was going on, An Zhengfeng's figure had already appeared in the small hall.
His shout had alerted Miao Yi. He had invoked his arts to scout out the palace, and by the time he found Miao Yi's location, he had already arrived without being invited.
'This speed!' Qian'Er was shocked. She had never seen someone so fast before. Miao Yi raised his hand to steady himself. "It's fine. You may leave first."
After Qian'Er left, Miao Yi quickly stood up and walked around the long table. He cupped his fists and said, "Your humble servant greets Shopkeeper."
"I wouldn't dare!" An Zhengfeng mocked himself, then coldly swept his gaze across the intricately carved jade hall. This was truly extravagant. The Chamber of Commerce in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea couldn't even compare. In terms of the surrounding environment and the grandeur of the palace, it was a far cry from his shabby Chamber of Commerce.
It couldn't be helped. Regardless of its size, this place was still the territory of a Marquis. With hundreds of millions of followers under their command, any skilled craftsman they wanted could be produced with a single word. Naturally, being in charge of a place like this would allow them to enjoy all the riches they could muster.
"Hall Master Miao, you sure know how to enjoy life! You've climbed up quite fast. You're already a Hall Master with hundreds of millions of followers under your command. "
Miao Yi cupped his fists and smiled bitterly. "Shopkeeper, please don't be sarcastic. Your humble servant was only brought here in a hurry. It's a question of whether I'll still be alive in the next few days. How could I possibly be in the mood to enjoy life? Shopkeeper, please take a seat! "He then turned around and shouted," Serve the tea! "
However, An Zhengfeng didn't follow the shopkeeper's lead and sit down at the tea table. Instead, he walked straight to the back of the long jade table and sat down on the chair Miao Yi was sitting on earlier. He patted the intricately carved armrests. This place did feel much better than his shabby Chamber of Commerce. It wasn't that he couldn't afford it, but there was no need to go through so much trouble in such a desolate place. He scoffed and said, "No wonder you were in such a hurry to leave. This place is much more comfortable than Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."
Miao Yi chuckled and said, "Then Shopkeeper, please stay here for a while longer. Your humble servant will definitely treat you with the best food and drinks. Just tell me what kind of beautiful women you want to serve you. I might not be able to gather a thousand in a short period of time, but I can still send you ten or twenty at any time. This humble servant still has that much authority in this territory."
Xue Er quickly came in with the tea. Miao Yi took it from her and gestured for her to leave with a tilt of his head. It wasn't good to let others know about the Chamber of Commerce's affairs in front of An Zhengfeng, so he personally placed the teacup in front of An Zhengfeng.
An Zhengfeng took a sip of the tea, then swept a cold glance at Miao Yi. "Did you find out that Granny Tao had passed away, and that something might have happened to Traversing Water Palace? Is that why you exposed your identity and escaped?"
Miao Yi was taken aback. "Why would Shopkeeper say that? I only found out about the trouble Traversing Water Palace was about to face after I escaped. Based on Shopkeeper's intelligence network, it shouldn't be hard for you to guess what kind of consequences Traversing Water Palace would face. I'm already regretting my decision to escape. What I did was no different from throwing my life away! Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that right after I escaped from that tiger's den in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, I would fall into the evil clutches of Traversing Water Palace. Shopkeeper, the position of Hall Master is like sitting on a bed of needles! "
Smack! An Zhengfeng suddenly tore off the mask on his face, slammed the table, and stood up. With a wave of his hand, he smashed the mask onto Miao Yi's body and bellowed, "You were doing fine in Tempest Tavern. How did you end up exposing your identity?"
"Shopkeeper, do you think I wanted to?! I almost lost my life! If I hadn't sensed that something was amiss in time and arranged for someone to come to my aid, I'm afraid I would have lost my life by now. "
"Just what in the world happened?"
"Shopkeeper, I'm getting angry just thinking about it. To put it bluntly, the Chamber of Commerce asked me to hide in Tempest Tavern. Why didn't you guys notice the obvious danger around me? My enemy was right beside me, so why didn't you guys react at all? Why did you have to wait for them to see through my identity and try to kill me? "
"Enemy?" An Zhengfeng's expression darkened. "What enemy?"
Miao Yi was speechless. He asked in return, "Shopkeeper, do you really not know, or are you just pretending? Don't tell me you still don't know who's trying to kill me? Or are you trying to push the blame onto me? "
An Zhengfeng frowned. "Could it be an enemy that I should know about?"
Miao Yi shook his head angrily. "Shopkeeper, you're well-informed. Don't tell me you don't know that there's someone in the Chamber of Commerce who has a grudge against me?"
"There's someone in the Chamber of Commerce who has a grudge against you?" An Zhengfeng suddenly recalled how Miao Yi had been ambushed when he first arrived at Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. He asked in shock, "Who is it?"
This was his territory, and it was also the territory of the local forces. Miao Yi wasn't afraid of what An Zhengfeng could do to him. He angrily replied, "Back when I returned from the Sea of Constellations, I once offended a despicable person called Ren Xuanming in the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch. This person colluded with the descendant of the Venerable Sage's first disciple, Huyan Taibao, and trapped me in the capital city's imperial prison. I almost lost my life there. After that, I tried to clear my name and settle the score with that Ren Xuanming. In the end, an expert from the Chamber of Commerce saved him. After so many years, I thought the matter was over. Who would've thought that on the day my identity was exposed, I found out that this Ren Xuanming had been hiding in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea all this time, working under the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea's Twin Immortals, Huang Qingtian. When I found out that he was meeting up with the Lady Boss, I immediately realized that something was wrong. Fortunately, I managed to stay alert after so many years of escaping death, and managed to ask a friend for help in time. That's how I managed to escape with my life! Speaking of which, I still have to thank Shopkeeper for giving me the Glorious Star immortal herb back then. It saved my life just in time. Otherwise, I'm afraid Shopkeeper wouldn't have the chance to speak with me face to face again. "
An Zhengfeng narrowed his eyes and slowly said, "You're saying that the person who exposed your identity is colluding with the Venerable Sage's first disciple, the Huyan family?"
Miao Yi scoffed, "Shopkeeper, a wise man shouldn't lie. Don't tell me you don't know that I caused such a huge commotion with the Huyan family in the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch? Why bother asking when you already know the answer to something that can be easily found out?! "
An Zhengfeng closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want to talk to Miao Yi about the Huyan family anymore. He had no way of explaining this matter to his superiors, and Miao Yi didn't have the right to be the scapegoat either. Now, however, he had managed to pull out someone who was worthy of being the scapegoat.
Slowly opening his eyes, he asked, "Then why did you run all the way back here? Wouldn't it be safer if you ran back to the Chamber of Commerce?"
Miao Yi retorted, "Would I still dare to stay in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea? The Tempest Tavern couldn't accommodate me, and they almost killed me. Ren Xuanming also has the Twin Desert Realgar Mounts as his backing. Wouldn't I be courting death if I continued to stay in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea? As for the Chamber of Commerce, I really don't dare to return. Who knows what's going on between the Chamber of Commerce and Ren Xuanming? Ren Xuanming's appearance has made me suspect that the Chamber of Commerce was the one who leaked the news that I was ambushed back then. The only reason I'm still alive is because I'm lucky! Aside from running back to my own territory, I really don't know where else to go. I don't know if it's because I've had a tough life, but I've come all the way back here, and Traversing Water Palace is in danger. I'm really tired of living! "
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