In the end, Chu Li suppressed his urge to kill the monk and returned to Chong Ming Town.
It was late in the evening, and the lights around town were just starting to light up. He returned to the residence and noticed the bright, warm atmosphere. There, he could hear numerous gentle giggles and it was quite soothing to his ears.
Chu Li smiled as he was glad that he could hear them laugh like this. He had hoped that they would find their way out of the shadows and start to live their own lives as soon as possible.
Then, just as he stepped into the outer edges of the residence, Li Yue burst out and held onto him. "Brother, you're back!"
Chu Li smiled and asked, "Is everything done?"
"Yes, they are!" Li Yue wiped the sweat off his forehead and put up a bitter smile. "If you had arrived any later, I might have died of fatigue!"
Chu Li smiled and asked, "Was it that bad?"
"All these ladies are actually quite impressive! None of them is easy to deal with!" Li Yue flung his hands around as if he was avoiding snakes.
"And they know martial arts too!" Chu Li replied.
"They're way too mean!" A thousand sorrows could be felt coming from Li Yue's expression as he shook his head. "They'll rip me apart if I say one thing wrong. Then, all of them will start going on and on, to the point that it actually makes me dizzy! Brother, I really have to go but we can't leave the East Garden alone!"
Chu Li laughed and replied, "I wanted to get you a nice and easy job. With all those pretty ladies surrounding you, how much more perfect can this job be?"
"My general quota for luck is incredibly low! I can't take this anymore! It's better if you do it yourself!" Li Yue cowered as his hands and head shook in fear.
"Very well, you can return to the East Garden. I'll stay here tonight," replied Chu Li.
Li Yue gave him a puzzled look and asked, "You really want to stay here?"
"Mhmm." Chu Li nodded. "It's my own house, can't I stay here?"
"Can you handle all those ladies by yourself?"
"Get out of here. I'm not that filthy!" Chu Li said as he pushed him away. Grasping on the right opportunity, Li Yue giggled as he quickly left the residence.
Not long after, Zhao Ying walked in and whispered, "How did it go, Brother?"
Chu Li shook his head as his face turned gloomy. "He escaped!"
"He escaped?" Zhao Ying's expression changed as she furrowed her brows. "This isn't going to end well..." The Tempest Temple had never failed in killing their targets. Now that they were in pursuit of Chu Li, his life was in danger.
However, Chu Li put up a smile. "It's not that serious. As long as I stay in the Public House, no one can harm me!"
"You can't possibly stay in the Public House for the rest of your life, can you? The Tempest Temple is very powerful, they will hunt you down until they get you!" Zhao Ying was so worried, she sighed. "What do we do now?"
Chu Li replied, "There's always a way out. Have you found a room here to live in?"
"Me?" Zhao Ying pointed at herself.
Chu Li smiled. "I'm a man; they definitely won't feel comfortable with me around, so I'll have to trouble you to help out here. Making you travel back and forth all day is just a waste of time. Why not just find a room, then you can stay here every now and then?"
Zhao Ying hesitated.
After all, this was Chu Li's residence and he did make perfect sense. She could not just leave the group of women alone, nor could she live in Chu Li's residence as it would sound rather indecent for a girl.
Chu Li smiled. "Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid!"
Zhao Ying rolled her eyes.
Despite that, Chu Li reassured her again. "You can move out after a while when they've gotten used to it here. Is that alright?"
As long as she moved in, it would eventually dawn on her that it was not indecent, and she would seriously have to consider staying here in the long term.
All because of Zhao Ying, Chu Li had actually dedicated all his effort to get her on board with the plan.
Chu Li looked at Zhao Ying and smiled hesitantly. "It's decided then. The west room is still empty, isn't it?"
"Yes." Zhao Ying shook her head. "They didn't settle down in the main courtyard."
"You'll live in the west room then!"
"But…"
"Why are there so many 'buts'!" Chu Li stopped her from speaking any further. "There's no way you don't care about them, right? Traveling around all day will just leave you without any time to cultivate! There's no need to worry, I'll be in the East Garden the entire time. I won't be back here!"
Zhao Ying still hesitated but she held her tongue. Chu Li smiled as he said, "I need to meditate, so I'll leave them in your capable hands."
"They can do anything, and I'm not them," Zhao Ying said.
Chu Li nodded before he replied, "That's how it is in here, but it won't be the case once we enter the town. Also, pick a few of them and have them clean the house."
"Hmm, alright." Zhao Ying nodded. She could tell that Chu Li's complexion was not that good, so she quickly added. "Okay now, Brother. Go and get some rest."
Chu Li nodded and walked into the room that was on the east side of the main hall. Then, he sat on the couch and began meditating.
He recalled all the moves made by his opponent, every single one of them. He analyzed the martial arts of the Tempest Temple and observed the operation of the monk's heart technique — he was trying to find a way to go against him in the future.
The Tempest Temple would surely not give up on him, else they would not be known as the Tempest Temple. Moreover, the monk would definitely find a group of men to assassinate him.
Chu Lim himself was an Innate Master and he had been progressing fairly well. However, if he had met a Grandmaster, he probably would not have stood a chance as the difference between the two was said to be like heaven and earth.
The forces of the Tempest Temple were deep and well hidden, so they definitely would have quite a few Grandmasters in the temple. Though he would probably be dead if they decided to make a move on him. In that case, he needed to spend all his time cultivating and once he had reached the boundaries of a Grandmaster, he would then be able to protect himself.
However, it was impossible to train as a Grandmaster in the Public House as he needed to be in his finest state of mind.
Having a state of mind like this was only possible with the various other sects in the world. As a Scribe of the Public House, he probably could have gone to train with one of those sects but not just anyone could do it.
This type of training was rare, and only a handful of people had been sent to train with the other sects. If a special contribution was not made, the Public House certainly would not have granted the spot to a Scribe.
He sighed. It would only be possible for him to train with other sects if he had to contribute something — something important and unique. Luckily, Lady Xiao was quite liberal as she would reward people according to their contributions to the Public House. So as long as he contributed, he would get his chance but unfortunately, Lady Xiao was not a Grandmaster.
...
Chu Li returned to the Public House the next morning. When he arrived, he saw Li Yue mowing the grass in the Moonlight Orchid Parterre. The weeds around it had grown incredibly quickly, in which it had benefited from Chu Li's spiritual force. Due to this, Li Yue had to mow the weeds once every two days.
As Li Yue lifted his head and saw Chu Li, he gave out a weird giggle while he looked at him up and down.
Chu Li stared at him in return.
Li Yue replied with a smile, "How does it feel to be around a bunch of pretty ladies?"
Chu Li glared at him before he checked on the Moonlight Orchid and Nightmare Flower. They looked fine and there was no need for concern.
"Where did you get all those women, Brother? Are you trying to start another New Moon Brothel?" Li Yue pulled his sleeves up and said.
He was so curious that he did not sleep well the night before. All the ladies were beautiful in their own way, and every move they made was enticing enough to make him fall for them. He felt as if all those ladies were more beautiful than the ones from the New Moon Brothel.
The New Moon Brothel was the best go-to restaurant for nobles; it was among the upper-class brothels and gambling dens. Everyone who had visited the brothel was either rich, respectable, or a combination of the two. Normal peasants could not even afford to go in. Every visit would cost at least two hundred silvers, which was also the price of a small house. It was indeed expensive.
Chu Li shook his head and explained their background to Li Yue.
After Li Yue heard the explanation, he smashed his fists and sighed. "Poor them! I would've never thought that Brother Chu Li would accomplish such a good deed — this is such a virtuous achievement!"
Chu Li bitterly smiled. "I actually poked through the hornet's nest and got myself into trouble. The head of the Raging Tiger Troupe was a follower of the Tempest Temple. Although he was a traitor, I was in the wrong for killing him. Now, the Tempest Temple will be coming after me."
"The Tempest Temple?" Li Yue widened his eyes.
Chu Li nodded.
Li Yue's jaws dropped; he was speechless.
The Tempest Temple was a large force and they were stronger than the Public House. Though as a Scribe of the Public House, he was under its protection and since it's the Public House, ordinary people in the martial arts circle would not dare cause any trouble there. However, now that it was the Tempest Temple, it would not be the same.
Chu Li waved it off with his hand. "I'll go and report this to the Chief."
Li Yue sighed and nodded. "Go quickly. From now on, stay in the Public House and do not ever leave. It's far too dangerous."
Although Chu Li's martial arts was amazing, Li Yue believed that he would not be able to avoid the confrontation with the Tempest Temple. There were rumors about masters in the Tempest Temple that were far stronger than the ones in the Public House; there were even rumors of enlightened masters hidden within them. That was the reason why the Tempest Temple was still standing strong after all those years.
Then, Chu Li arrived at the Jade Guardian Island.
As soon as he stepped onto the island, Su Ru approached him with her almond-colored gown as it fluttered in the wind. She looked at him with a smile that did not seem like one.
Chu Li gave a fist salute and bowed. "Chief."
Su Ru waved her delicate hand and smiled. "I heard that you've bought a residence and hidden a bunch of pretty ladies in it?"
Chu Li smiled bitterly and shook his head before he explained everything to her.
Immediately after, Su Ru's expression changed. With a wave of her hands, she had brought him to the top of the Stargazing Tower where Xiao Qi was practicing her swordplay.
The flashes of her sword were like snow, emitting a feeling that resembled a chilly frost, and Chu Li took a step back to avoid the cold atmosphere. The swordplay was amazing, but he needed the four stages of the Infinite Azure Sea, or he would not win this fight.
"Lady Xiao." Su Ru waited for Xiao Qi to stop her swordplay. Xiao Qi then tossed the sword over to her and she sheathed it before she exclaimed, "Chu Li did something again!"
"Hmm?" Xiao Qi turned around and looked at him with her watery eyes.
Once more, Chu Li explained the story.
"The monk…" Xiao Qi muttered as she nodded her head
"He's probably the follower of the Fellowship Commandment by the Tempest Temple. They're responsible for arresting followers that break the rules. You must be quite an excellent one if you managed to win against him. Not bad!"
Chu Li shook his head. "The monk didn't look very high ranked."
"Hmm, the followers of the Fellowship Commandment are nothing out of the ordinary. If they really wanted to kill you, they would've taken the followers from the Exorcists." Xiao Qi shook her head slightly. "These guys can kill without flinching. Their martial art is tough and strong, which means you cannot afford to be careless."
"So what should we do, Lady Xiao?" Su Ru furrowed her brows. "Can we meet up with the Tempest Temple and have a discussion?"
"It's useless," Xiao Qi said plainly. "They're a proud and arrogant bunch. They couldn't care less about the Public House."
"Are we going to sit here and watch as Chu Li gets himself caught and slaughtered?"
"He'll have to hide for now."
"Ha… Such a grievance, isn't it?"
"They're far stronger than us. They would definitely kill him if he went out, and there's nothing we can do. Are we be brave enough to pick a fight against the Tempest Temple?"
Su Ru angrily remarked, "Then we'll threaten them! If they dare kill Chu Li, we'll kill all of their followers! All of those in our territory, every single one of them!"
Xiao Qi glared at her.
Su Ru pouted and gave out a snort. "Who do they think they are for them bully us like this? It pisses me off!"
"Chief, the Tempest Temple is different," Chu Li said.
"Who cares which temple they're from? They'll have to pay if they aggravate the Public House!"
"Su Ru... Do you ever use your brain?" Xiao Qi shook her head. "If the Public House is so proud of ourselves, we're not that far off from being wiped out."
Chu Li nodded.
If they were so arrogant, then what would the Imperial Palace be in the grand scheme of things? The Public House was fundamentally different from the Tempest Temple such that they lived in the name of Imperial Power.
"Very well. I will not leave the Public House from now on," Chu Li said.
"That's the best course of action." Xiao Qi nodded.
"For now, you'll work with the blessed farmland, and the preparations are ready. Are you going to do it on the Jade Guardian Island?"
"Yes." Chu Li nodded.
"Hmm, we'll do it here then," Xiao Qi replied. "Su Ru! Both of you, try to pick a location that is as hidden as possible and help Chu Li as much as you can!"
Su Ru looked indifferent but she quickly replied, "Yes, Lady Xiao."
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