51 583 - An Zhengfeng Arrives

Miao Yi himself was indeed very busy. After finishing the business for the Water Palace, he hurried back to his territory.

It could be said he was so busy that he couldn't even have time to learn what his own territory looked like. As a Master of Suppressing First Hall, who had been appointed for so quite away, he still hadn't known the direction of the Hall main door. Now that the battle was imminent, he had to come back here to settle things.

The selection of the Manor Heads was a headache for him. Although his subordinates who had been following him were relatively trustworthy, their cultivation bases were low. They hadn't experienced any actual combat tests, so it was hard to be certain about their abilities.

As for the original people of Suppressing First Hall, Miao Yi already read through the list and contemplated it for a while. Based on their identities and cultivations, quite a few could handle the Manor Head position, but everybody knew the virtues of these people. It would be simply playing with the lives of everyone in the manors if they were appointed as Manor Heads and lead the troops into battle.

Inside a small hall in the inner courtyard of the palace, Miao Yi threw the jade slip on the table, didn't bother to continue. He couldn't find suitable candidates.

With the increase of power and status, Miao Yi acutely felt the lack of available manpower whom he could use, he thirsted for talents. With such a big territory, leading millions of believers, he couldn't manage to handle everything on his own. If he had to be busy like this everyday, he wouldn't need to cultivate anymore. Which Hall Master had to be dedicated and micromanaged everything like this?

He also realized that he had been growing too fast, and the people under his command didn't have enough time to improve. Those who had some abilities were already being used for other important matters.

The key was that in a place like the Water Palace, even if he wanted to give superb treatment to recruit talents, there was no one, and he didn't have much contact with people in other places. If there had to be a talented one whom he liked, it would definitely be his former superior, Yang Qing, the Head of South Edict Manor.

He had learned of Yang Qing's abilities time and time again, and Miao Yi had to lament that he is inferior. If not for Yang Qing's cultivation base being a bit low, Miao Yi believed that Huo Lingxio would never be able to control him, probably ten Huo Lingxiao added together could not even be Yang Qing's opponent. At least, Miao Yi had never seen someone as capable as Yang Qing since he joined the cultivation world.

If Yang Qing could be pulled over here, these headaches could be thrown to him to worry about, and that guy would definitely handle them easily.

But Miao Yi knew that this was not realistic at all. It wasn't that Miao Yi couldn't offer the conditions which could move Yang Qing. He wasn't worried about the other side not letting him go either, Yang Qing's superior was Huo Lingxiao, Miao Yi's sworn brother, he naturally had a way to make Huo Lingxiao let him go. The important thing was that with the current situation of the Water Palace, even if he let Yang Qing take over the Hall Master position, Yang Qing wouldn't come.

Helplessly, he could only appoint the original people of Suppressing First Hall, those who were somewhat capable and experienced, as temporary Manor Heads. He also arranged ten Mountain Chiefs whom he brought over to be the supervisors in the army. He had no other choice, there had to be a way to mobilize the troops when the time came, other things could wait until the war ended, he could decide based on their abilities and performances.

He was contemplating and considering things when someone roared from outside: "Where is Miao Yi?"

'This voice is so familiar!' Miao Yi suddenly opened his eyes, then smiled wryly, An Zhengfeng had arrived!

Qian'er quickly ran in: "My Lord, someone is looking for you outside."

"Go and bring him in!" Miao Yi waved his hand.

"No need!" Before seeing what was going on, An Zhengfeng's figure had already appeared in the small hall.

He uttered a roar to unsettle the people inside, then used his sense to probe the movements in the inner court. After figuring out Miao Yi's location, he already entered uninvited.

'This speed!' Qian'er was surprised, she had never seen anyone with such speed. Miao Yi raised his hand to calm her down and said:"It's okay, you can go out first."

After Qian'er retreated, Miao Yi quickly stood up and clasped his hands: "This humble official greet Manager An."

"I wouldn't dare!" An Zhengfeng ridiculed, he swept his gaze around the small hall carved with jade. This place was too luxury, the Chamber of Commerce in Flowing Cloud Dune Sea could not compare. Together with the majestic palace and the surrounding scenery, it was way better than his tattered branch of Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, this was the territory of those who lord over millions of believers, with just a sentence, he could call over all the skillful craftsmen. It was natural to enjoy the glory and wealth when one could sit in this position.

"Hall Master Maio, you really know how to enjoy life! You climbed really fast, now you arealy a Hall Master with millions of believers in your hands."

Miao Yi clasped his hands and smiled wryly: "Manager, please stop being sarcastic. This humble official was brought over to deal with the situation in a hurry. Soon, whether I can keep this little life or not is still a question. How can I have the mood to enjoy life. Manager, please sit down and talk!"

He turned around and called: "Bring tea!"

But An Zhengfeng didn't follow his lead to sit by the coffee table. Instead, he walked directly behind the desk, sat on the chair where Miao Yi had been sitting, and patted the exquisite armrests. It really felt much more comfortable than his shabby Chamber of Commerce. It wasn't that he couldn't afford it, but there was no need to do such a useless thing in a place where birds didn't want to shit, and it wouldn't fit either. He sneered:

"No wonder you ran away in a hurry, it is much more comfortable here than the Flowing Cloud Dune Sea."

Miao Yi laughed and said: "Then Manager An can stay for a while, this humble official will definitely treat you well with delicious dining and beauties. You just need to say what kind of beauties you want. It might be difficult to get a hundred, but ten or twenty will not be a problem, they can be delivered to you anytime. In this place, this humble official still can manage to do that."

Xue'er quickly brought the tea over, Miao Yi took it and tilted his head, signalling her to retreat. It wouldn't be good to let others know about the business of the Chamber of Commerce in front of An Zhengfeng. He turned around and personally poured a cup of tea in front of An Zhengfeng.

An Zhengfeng picked up the cup and took a sip, then coldly looked at him: "You knew that Granny Tao had passed away, and the Water Palace would be in a crisis, so you revealed your identity as an excuse to escape and return?"

Hearing this, Miao Yi was startled, and said with anxiety: "Why does Manager An say so? I only knew of the problem of the Water Palace after returning. With your information network, it shouldn't be difficult for you to guess what the Water Palace has to face next. I regretted to death after returning, it was no different than courting death myself. Even in my dream I never expected that after escaping from Flowing Cloud Dune Sea, I would fall into the claws of the Water Palace. It was really miserable, Manager, sitting in this Hall Master position is like sitting on pins and needles!"

'Boom!' Suddenly, An Zhengfeng tore off the mask on his face, slammed on the desk and stood up. He threw the mask at Miao Yi and roared:

"You was hiding well in the Tempest tavern, why was your identity revealed?"

"Manager, you think I wanted to? I almost lost my life there. If I hadn't noticed that something was wrong in time and arranged some backup plan, I'm afraid this life would be gone…"

"In the end, what happened?"

"Manager, speaking of this, I'm very angry. I'm not going to mince words, the Chamber of Commerce planted me in the Tempest tavern, but why didn't you notice the obvious danger beside me? My enemy was right by my side, why was there no reaction from you at all? You want others to see through my identity and corner me?"

"Enemy?" An Zhengfeng's face sank: "Which enemy?"

With a speechless expression on his face, Miao Yi asked in return: "Manager, are you really ignorant or are you pretending to be confused? Until now you still don't even know who wanted to kill me? Or, are you planning to put the blame on me?"

An Zhengfeng frowned: "Could it be someone whom I should know of?"

Miao Yi shook his head in grief and said: "Manager is well informed, don't you know who has hatred against me in the Chamber of Commerce?"

"You enemy is in the CHamber of Commerce?" An Zhengfeng suddenly recalled the fact that Miao Yi encountered ambushes and interceptions continuously when he had just arrived in Flowing Cloud Dune Sea. He asked in horror: "Who?"

Within his own territory, Miao Yi wasn't afraid of what An Zhengfeng could do to him. He said angrily:

"That year when I returned from the Constellation Sea, I had a conflict with a man named Ren Xuanming in the Jade Capital Peak. This man colluded with the descendants of Huyan Taibo, disciple of the Celestial sage. They framed me and put me in jail, I almost lost my life. Later on, after my charge was cleared, I wanted to find Ren Xuanming to settle the account, but an expert of the Chamber of Commerce brought him away. This matter happened many years ago, I thought it was over. Who knows that the day when my identity was exposed, I realized that Ren Xuanming has been hiding in Flowing Cloud Dune Sea, being a lackey of Huang Qingtian. When I found out that he was meeting with the Lady Boss, I immediately realized something was wrong. Luckily, thanks to my vigilance after many years living between life and death, I asked a friend for help just in time and managed to escape with heavy injuries! Speaking of this, I have to thank Manager for the Quintessence Immortal Herb, which saved my life, otherwise I'm afraid we wouldn't have a chance to talk face to face with you anymore."

An Zhengfeng's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he slowly uttered: "Are you saying that this person who exposed your identity is in collusion with the Huyan family, the family of the Celestial sage's head disciple?"

Miao Yi sneered: "Manager, there's no point talking nonsense in front of a smart person. Huyan family and I caused such a big ruckus in Jade Capital Peak, don't you know? Everything will be clear after you investigate, why ask when you already know?"

An Zhengfeng closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, he didn't want to say anything related to the Huyan family to Miao Yi. He had no way to report to the top, and was thinking about using Miao Yi as a scapegoat, but now he finally found someone to shoulder the punishment.

Then he slowly opened his eyes and asked:"Then why did you have to run all the way back here? Wouldn't it be safer to hide in the Chamber of Commerce and let me protect you?��

Miao Yi asked: "Do you think I still dare to stay in Flowing Cloud Dune Sea? The Tempest tavern almost killed me, Ren Xuanming is backed by Huang Qingtian, one of Flowing Cloud Dune Sea's two lords. Wasn't it courting death if I dared to stay? I was even more scared of the Chamber of Commerce, only ghosts know if there's anything between Ren Xuanming and the people of the Chamber of Commerce. Actually his appearance made me suspect that all the ambushes and interceptions I encountered were due to the information leaked by the Chamber of Commerce. I can only live up until now thanks to my good fate! Apart from fleeing back to my own turf, I really didn't know where to go. I also don't know if this I'm destined to suffer or not, right after I returned, the Water Palace faced a deadly crisis. I'm really tired!"

"Since the Water Palace is not safe, then resign from this official post. As long as you are willing, I will help you solve this matter. Come and work for me!"