Chapter 59: Chapter 59
What exactly was happening?
This was all Qiuyue could think as she looked at Bai and Mei, who viewed her as an idiot.
Since when had she been anything other than Qiuyue, who was talented at formations? Had anyone ever looked at her with pity?
Hei could see Qiuyue wasn't taking Bai's and Mei's words very well, but he decided to move on with his plans.
He turned to Bai.
"It's good that we're here like this."
Then he turned to Qiuyue.
"The reason I wanted to speak with you, is because I hope you will be my little sister's friend."
"Hm?"
"After hearing the story of the sect from you, I thought you and Little Bai would get along well."
"So?"
"I would like for you to be her friend."
Qiuyue felt that Hei's delivery was incredibly strange. Just because he thought she would be a good friend for his sister, he asked so openly.
She didn't have any particular reason to refuse, but there was something that had to be settled.
"What's in it for me?"
This was her primary concern. No matter how nice Bai was, or how talented the Sisters Shao were, she would need an incentive to spend her time on them.
Hearing Qiuyue's words, Hei smiled and turned to Bai.
"You see, Little Bai? This is what I told you about. Instead of agreeing out of the kindness of her heart, Senior Sister Qiuyue first sought benefits. Personal gain. Obviously, she also knows that being a hero is needless trouble."
"Hm."
Bai could see where Hei was coming from.
He had been telling her for a while now that extending a helping hand should only come after ascertaining the benefits.
But she was inclined to help those in need, as her brother had immediately helped her when she was in need. What did he have to personally gain when he bravely confronted their half-siblings and was beaten badly so he could retrieve her doll?
Qiuyue was impacted by Hei's words.
Every time she spoke to him, she could see how she was more and more similar to the portrayal of men that the sect had given.
She was emotionally detached when telling the story of the Radiant Jade Sect. She had taken advantage of an opportunity, even at the expense of her acquaintance, who she never had any problems with. And she even charged a fee for simply becoming a new disciple's friend.
"What do you know? I will be her friend without expecting anything in return."
Hearing this, Hei's smile faded.
He turned to Qiuyue.
"Eh? What happened?"
"Nothing happened. I just decided that it would be interesting to be friends with one of the Sisters Shao."
Hei had a slight frown. Was Qiuyue fickle? He hadn't known this about her.
But before he could say anything, Bai had already nodded her head.
She wanted to know more about this person her brother had said would be a good friend for her.
Mei was just wondering where her friend was. How come only Bai had been the object of Hei's thoughts?
She pulled at Hei's sleeve.
"Darling."
"It's Hei."
"… Anyway, where is my friend? Did you only choose one for Sister Bai?"
"I didn't find any friends for you."
Hei had answered her question without turning to look at her, but when he did and saw the look on her face, his emotions fluctuated.
To resolve the situation, he came up with an excuse.
"Instead, I thought you could practice your baking with Jingfei. As my maid, she's going to have to be good at baking."
"Okay…"
Mei didn't seem to be fully satisfied, but her expression returned to normal.
Hei turned back to Qiuyue.
"So, it's settled then?"
"It's settled."
Having achieved his goal, kind of, Hei turned to Bai.
"Do you want to see the residence I have built for us? It is the foundation of the Shao Clan."
"Mm."
Bai's eyes sparkled. She had wondered how her brother was living in this sect that seemed to reject his presence.
Hei felt a tugging at his other sleeve.
"I also want to see it."
Hei turned to her and smiled.
"Then, let's go."
He then turned to Qiuyue.
"Will you be coming along, Senior Sister Qiuyue?"
"Mm."
Qiuyue wanted to see if Hei had done anything special with Bai's and Mei's rooms.
If his maids' rooms were so nice, then surely, he would go a step further for his sisters.
Hei also checked with Fang Ren, who decided to tag along.
The six started walking to the Man Peak.
Along the way, Bai remembered something.
"That's right, Brother. The other day, I saw someone who reminded me of you."
Hearing this, Hei's eyes narrowed.
"Was it a little punk?"
He turned to Qiuyue.
"Didn't you say I was the only male disciple?"
Qiuyue was surprised by Hei's sudden seriousness.
Before she could answer, Bai spoke.
"I don't think it was a disciple, Brother. Besides, I don't know if they were male or female."
Hei turned back to Bai with a raised brow.
"Hm? Then how did they remind you of me?"
"Innate Shadow Physique."
Hearing this, Hei became even more serious.
He grabbed Onyx's hilt and brought him in front of him.
"It was that fellow you were with. What does he want with Little Bai?"
The others were surprised to see Hei speaking to a sword.
But he couldn't be bothered by something like that now.
He could tell that that person was too strong.
The fact that he had said 'no use in angering that bird' was a big signal. Hei was sure that this was referring to the eastern guardian, and those who had reason to avoid the eastern guardian were powerful experts from outside of the lower continent.
Onyx responded.
[There's no need to worry about him. He is annoyingly passive in everything he does. He usually doesn't even show himself in front of others. The only thing I've seen him do is search for whatever he lost.]
"Then why Little Bai?"
The others watched as Hei seemingly responded to something the sword had said.
[I don't know. Maybe she reminded him of something. Why don't you ask her what happened?]
Hei turned to Bai.
"Tell me everything that happened from the moment you saw that fellow until you parted ways."
Bai was surprised that Hei was so serious about this. She just saw it as an interesting coincidence.
"Nothing much happened, Brother. Sister Mei and I were coming from one of the challenges and I saw that person walking down the road. He turned to me and stared for a while before disappearing. I haven't seen him since."
"Did he say anything?"
"No."
Hei then turned to Mei.
"Did you see him as well?"
Mei shook her head in response.
"Then it has nothing to do with the envoys…"
Hei placed his hand on his chin in thought.
Onyx spoke.
[It was likely he was surprised that she noticed him. Most people can't see him when he's hiding.]
"… If that's the case."
[Just forget about it. I've known that fellow for a thousand years. If he left, then he won't come back. He'll continue wandering aimlessly, searching for something he'll never find. That pitiful fellow.]
"I see."
Hei was prepared to go into the wilderness and cultivate seriously so that he could take care of that individual at next sight, but Onyx's information seemed reliable.
He would rather avoid divination techniques and the like, so being low key was best, but certain measures had to be taken.
He turned to Bai.
"If you see that fellow again, let me know. I won't let him harm a hair on your head."
Bai smiled.
"But I don't think he would do that, Brother."
"Oh? What makes you think so?"
"I don't know."
Hei's eyes opened wide.
"It's not possible, right? You didn't feel a connection with that fellow, did you? Do you think he was your soul mate?"
Hei didn't want this to be the case. Bai was too young for things like this. Besides, that fellow was over a thousand years old.
Bai giggled.
"No, Brother. If you have seen him as well, then you know that he lacks the white aura."
"Ah! Right."
Hei was so flustered that he forgot about this detail.
At this point, they had arrived at the Man Peak.
Hei decided to forget about that fellow for the time being. Both Bai and Onyx were basically saying he wasn't an issue.
As they approached the mountain, Hei deactivated the defence so that they could all enter.
Bai, Mei and Fang Ren were impressed by the residence.
"I made the walls white because of Little Bai's hair, and the roofs and floor are red for Mei's eyes. What do you think?"
Mei puffed out her chest.
"I see. The red is above the white. I like it."
Bai added on.
"I like that red is below my feet."
"That makes red the foundation."
"The foundation is useless without the white structures."
Hei could tell that they weren't appreciating his design properly.
"… Alright. Why don't I show you your rooms?"
Hei pulled them along without waiting for a response.
They would surely be amazed by the rooms he had created.
He led everyone to the two rooms which were opposite each other.
When he disengaged the formations that made up the walls, the rooms were revealed.
Hei looked around and saw Qiuyue, Jingfei and Fang Ren staring with wide eyes, as they turned their heads between the rooms.
Excited, Hei turned to his sisters.
"Ay? Ay? They're amazing, right?"
He was nudging them with his elbows as he spoke, but his excitement was wiped away when he saw the neutral expressions on both of their faces.
"This… You don't like them?"
He had really pulled out all the stops this time. He even created custom formations just for them, yet they looked at his masterpieces without emotion.
Bai turned to Hei.
"Can I see your room, Brother?"
Mei also spoke.
"I also want to see it."
Hei was speechless, and so were the others.
"You… you want to see my room? It's nothing compared to these."
Both nodded their heads, and Hei led them to his room with a blank expression. What had he put all of that effort in for? Would Tianlan, Xiulan and Shao Chen react the same way to their rooms?
When he opened the door, Ban and Mei walked in.
Jingfei had already seen Hei's room, so she wasn't surprised, but Qiuyue and Fang Ren were drawn into its atmosphere.
Hei looked on as his sisters examined every inch of the room.
They both turned to Hei and spoke at the same time.
"I like this one better."
"…"
They continued.
"But it needs some work."
Hei was speechless. Not only had they taken his room, but they were also going to change it. What about his hand-scraped hardwood floors? The simple table? The atmosphere?
It would all be lost.
"Then, I'll take one of the other rooms."
Hei was sad to leave his room, but this time he had created a model of it in his mind, so he would be able to reproduce it.
Both girls spoke at the same time.
"No!"
Bai continued.
"I wanted to keep sharing a room with you like always."
Mei added on.
"That's right. It's better if we share."
Hei was confused.
"But we have more room now. We don't need to-"
His words were stopped by Jingfei and Qiuyue, who had seen things like this before.
They told Hei their experience and Hei began to understand.
In his original life, he was an only child and never had to share a room, so when he was able to have his own, he naturally defaulted to that, but Bai and Mei both had reason to prefer sharing a room.
Bai had known nothing else, and Mei had been utterly alone until she joined the Shao Clan, where she shared a room with all five other members.
It wouldn't be for a while that they would start to want their privacy.
And so, Hei let Bai and Mei have their way.
"Okay, we can share this room, but you can only stay here once a week. Other than that, you will live in the sect's accommodation."
Hei wanted his sisters to get involved in the activities and make friends. He would be there during the education to see what the young ladies were being taught, but other than that, Hei wanted Bai and Mei to have normal social lives.
Bai and Mei weren't too happy about the once-a-week rule, but Hei was inflexible on it.
It didn't take long for Bai and Mei to begin their redecorations.
Hei had nothing to do, so he turned to leave.
"Jingfei, come with me."
Jingfei wanted to participate in the redecoration, but she could tell that Hei wasn't making a suggestion.
"Yes, Young Master Hei."
Hei led the way, Jingfei following behind until they reached the reception room.
"Take a seat, Jingfei."
Hei pointed to a couch, and Jingfei did as he said.
Hei then walked over to an empty spot in the room, opposite Jingfei, turned around and took a seat.
Well, he bent his knees, and as he did, a chair appeared behind him, which he proceeded to sit on.
He then raised his arms in front of his chest, as if he were going to cup his fist to Jingfei, but he interlaced his fingers instead.
As he leaned forward, a desk appeared in the empty space in front of him.
Having rested his chin on his thumbs, he released a slight suppressive aura and spoke.
"So, Jingfei. Why exactly did you invite me to the Radiant Jade Sect?"
Chapter 60: Chapter 60
Jingfei was surprised by Hei's serious atmosphere.
But she decided to answer anyway.
"I have a marriage that I would like to get out of."
'Exactly as I had foreseen.'
Hei had expected something like this from the moment he heard Jingfei's request. It was the typical damsel in distress scenario.
In most of the stories he had read, there would be a young lady who was being forced into some kind of marriage that she didn't want to be part of.
After the main character came, he would rescue her from the situation, but it would leave a strange atmosphere between the two.
Hei wouldn't be letting that happen this time.
"And how does my being here help you."
Hearing Hei's words, Jingfei was unable to respond for a short while.
When she finally did, her words were not what Hei was expecting.
"I was thinking of declaring you as my fiancé."
Hei raised a brow as he leaned back into his chair.
"Oh?"
Jingfei nodded her head in response.
Hei didn't quite expect this kind of situation. He had initially thought she would ask him to defeat her husband-to-be, but instead she was asking him to replace him.
"Before we agree on anything, tell me how this situation came about."
He felt that this entire situation was odd. Especially given what he knew about the sect, and the fear Jingfei seemed to have of men.
He would ask about it later, but right now, he wanted to see what he was working with.
If it was too sticky, he would just let it go. But if it was something manageable then he would come up with an appropriate fee to charge.
Jingfei paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. After having decided what she wanted to say she began.
"If you want the full story then I have to go back to around two years ago."
She checked to make sure Hei was still interested and after he nodded his head, she continued.
"Actually, it began a while before that. Ever since the incident which sparked the creation of the Radiant Jade Sect, every now and then, a disciple would go missing."
Hei nodded his head.
"At first it was seen to be just a series of unfortunate isolated events, but as the years went by it became clear that something sinister was happening."
"Mm."
"And the last straw was around two years ago. A group of elders who had gone out on a mission failed to report back to the sect."
Jingfei seemed to have trouble saying the next part.
"After waiting for a long time, the sect leader took a few elders to search for them as well as the missing disciples. However, at some point, even the sect leader and the elders failed to report back to the sect."
At this point, Hei had a question. He thought there was something Jingfei was withholding.
"Are you related to any of the missing elders?"
Jingfei looked at the ground before nodding her head.
"The sect leader?"
This was Hei's assumption.
It would be strange if she weren't related to one of the bigger elders in the sect at this point.
She was even the peak leader of the man peak.
While it may not be the most prestigious of positions, it was still a high position within the sect.
Jingfei seemed to be surprised by Hei's guess.
After a moment, she nodded her head.
"What is the relation?"
"She is my mother."
'Sounds about right.'
This was also what Hei was assuming. There was nothing strange about this situation at all, it was perfectly in line with his predictions.
"So how does this connect to the marriage?"
"A few months ago, a boy appeared with a marriage contract which was apparently signed by my mother. After the contract was confirmed to be genuine, the vice sect leader agreed to the marriage."
"Vice sect leader?"
"Mm. Since the sect leader is currently missing the vice sect leader has taken over as the acting sect leader, for the time being, she is the one in charge. That will be the case until my mother returns, or a new sect leader is chosen."
Hearing this, Hei grew suspicious. Second-in-command always had a motive to get rid of the leader.
But he also had a question.
"Why does the vice sect leader have any sway on your marriage? Can't you just reject it?"
Hei needed to know why Jingfei couldn't get out of the situation by herself.
"Well, the vice sect leader doesn't have any sway per se. But it becomes complicated because my mother's signature is on the marriage contract."
"Again, why does that matter? Why can't you just refuse the marriage?"
Jingfei raised a brow in response to Hei's question. What was he failing to understand about the situation? Obviously, if her mother's signature was on the contract, the marriage was to occur.
"If I were to refuse the marriage, it would bring great shame to my family. How could I do that to my mother has raised me lovingly for all these years? Would you do that if you were in my position?"
"So, you are bound by social constraints?"
"Yes…"
Jingfei was still confused. Wasn't this basic knowledge?
Even more than Jingfei, Hei was confused. If she was bound to this marriage, then how was she able to seek another fiancé? Wouldn't that be the same thing as rejecting the marriage?
Hei was unfamiliar with the customs of this world. Xiulan had not been a very good guide for these kinds of things, and the books did not mention much about social conventions.
He decided to just ask.
"So, you are allowed to seek another fiancé while in a marriage agreement, but you are unable to reject the original marriage? How does that make any sense?"
Hei's words only worked to further Jingfei's confusion.
She raised a brow as she responded.
"Obviously, if I choose a new fiancé, then the families of both fiancés will compete among themselves for my hand."
"Eh? But you told me that rejecting the marriage would mean shame for your family. How is it that finding another fiancé doesn't bring shame?"
"Rejecting the marriage brings shame because it means that I do not trust my mother's judgement."
"But doesn't finding another fiancé also mean you do not trust your mother's judgement?"
This was where Hei's confusion lay.
He had already assumed it was something like this. If the daughter decided to reject a marriage proposal that her parents had already agreed to, then it would look like her parents were unable to choose an appropriate partner for her.
He wanted to know how it was any different when the daughter went out and chose another fiancé when she already had one.
Jingfei looked at Hei as if he were someone from another planet.
"It's not that difficult to understand, Young Master Hei. Finding another fiancé does not mean I do not trust my mother's judgement, it simply means that I've seen another alternative. Not only that but the competition between the families means that I am desirable, bringing honour to my family."
"Eh? That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard."
"…"
Both Jingfei and Hei were unable to understand each other.
To Jingfei, this was normal everyday stuff. There was no need to even ask these questions. Everyone knew the answers.
But to Hei, these were very foreign concepts. In his original life, it would have been quite strange for a fiancé to find a new partner.
But then again, he had little experience with arranged marriage. Most of the marriages he had heard about were decided upon by the two in question.
Hei decided it was time to move on.
"So, your intention is to have me compete with your fiancé's family in order to obtain your hand in marriage?"
"Mm."
Hei covered his face with his hand. This was nothing like what he had expected.
"Okay, that isn't going to happen. I already have one fiancée and I don't need another one."
"Then…"
"You're not looking deep enough, Jingfei. There are much bigger things going on right now. If I'm not mistaken your mother has been captured by the same people who have been abducting the juniors and elders."
Hearing these words, Jingfei is expression dimmed. She had also been having these thoughts, but she tried to remove them from her mind.
Hei continued.
"I wonder. How much do you know about this vice sect leader?"
Jingfei's eyes opened wide.
"The vice sect leader? Are you saying she has something to do with this?"
Hei nodded his head in response.
"You shouldn't say such things, Young Master Hei. The vice sect leader's own sister was one of the elders that had gone with my mother. She is also missing."
"Oh? You think just because her sister was among the missing elders, she can't be involved in this?"
Jingfei seemed to be angered by Hei's words.
"You're only saying this because you don't know her story. She was just like the founders. She and her sister, and a few other elders joined the sect as victims of abuse. Ever since they joined, they have taken an active role in guiding the juniors. There is no way they would do something like that."
Jingfei took this personally. She had always viewed the vice sect leader as an aunt, so when Hei accused her of treachery, she had to defend.
Hei just leaned back comfortably in his chair. He wasn't particularly interested in what Jingfei had to say, because he had already decided what kind of situation this was in his mind.
After Jingfei had said her piece, Hei continued.
"You know, the ones who we think could never harm us, have the greatest potential to do just that."
"This…"
"Let me ask you, is there something in your possession that the vice sect leader covets? Any item, any symbol of authority or any treasure. Anything that she has asked for, that you have not given her."
This was a nice little indicator for treacherous allies.
Whenever there was something the ally wanted but could not obtain, treachery was a common outcome. Such was the way of the world.
At first, Jingfei wanted to deny it. But then she recalled something.
"Before my mother left, she gave me half of the sect leader's token. And after finding out that my mother had gone missing, the vice sect leader asked for it. But that makes perfects sense because, without the sect leader's token, the formations within the sect cannot be manipulated."
"Sect leader's token, is it? So, if it's a reasonable request why did you refuse it?"
"… Before she left, my mother warned me that she felt something was strange. When she gave me the token, she told me to keep it safe and to stay safe myself."
Jingfei seemed to be thinking about this seriously. She had never had the slightest doubt in the vice sect leader, but she was still unwilling to hand over the sect leaders token.
Hei decided to move on.
"If you ask me, a strong possibility, and a very strong one at that, is that the vice sect leader's sister lured your mother and the others into a trap."
"But why?"
"Well, I would assume it's because of the sect leader's token. They probably tried to acquire it from her but failed. After failing, they came to you."
"What?"
Jingfei was shocked by Hei's wild accusations. It would be one thing to be suspicious of the vice sect leader and her sister, but it was another thing entirely to weave a tale.
Hei continued.
"The only question is, why haven't they forcefully taken it from you? Is there something preventing them from doing so?"
This was the thing Hei found interesting about the situation. If his deductions were correct so far, then Jingfei shouldn't have been able to move freely in the sect like this.
The only explanation he could think of was that the enemy was unable to take the sect leader's token from Jingfei by force.
Jingfei responded.
"Well, the token itself has been fused with my body using a technique, meaning that it can't be taken from me without my permission."
"Oh?"
"This was a safety measure the founders included in the sect leader's token, and also why it is able to be split in half in the first place. If the sect leader feels she is in danger, she can split the token in half so that at least part of it can remain."
Hearing this, Hei understood the situation a little better. If it was like this, then Jingfei's still being okay was understandable.
But these situations never lasted forever.
"That's where you're wrong, Jingfei. They have probably already found a way to extract it from you forcefully. That is what I would assume this whole marriage thing is."
"But…"
"Think about it. All of a sudden, somebody came with a marriage contract, which was signed by your mother, who is currently missing. If your mother was out there searching for the missing disciples and elders, where would she find the time to find you a husband?"
"I also found it strange, but…"
Jingfei couldn't really continue her sentence. This was always a strange thing to her, but things like this had happened previously as well. It wasn't the first case of such an incident.
Hei decided to tell Jingfei his interpretation of the entire situation.
"Listen, Jingfei. I believe your mother's life is hanging by a thread, and that thread is called Jingfei. That is, if these people managed to obtain the half of the sect leader's token from you, your mother will die shortly afterwards. And vice versa, if they are able to extract the sect leader's token from your mother, you will die shortly after."
"What?"
Jingfei was shocked by Hei's interpretation of the events.
Hei leaned forward again. He rested his chin on his thumbs and continued.
"You originally invited me here to help you out of your marriage, but as you can see, this thing is much bigger than you thought. Well, that's if my deductions are correct."
Hei waited for a response, but Jingfei remained silent.
"As such, the price of my assistance is quite steep. Here is my offer. Not only will I help you out of your marriage, but I will also rescue your mother from her captivity, and free the sect from the influence of the vice sect leader."
Again, Hei waited for a response, but there was none.
"The price for this is your body mind and soul. That is, you will become my maid for life until I choose to free you."
He felt that he was being a bit too direct here, but he rolled with it. He increased the suppressive aura he was releasing and spoke in a calm, emotionless voice.
"Here are your options. You can wait for the marriage, giving your enemy what they want, ending the lives of both you and your mother. You could also willingly hand over the sect leader's token, also ending the lives of you and your mother. Or, you could try to escape the entire situation, leaving your mother in captivity, forever remaining unaware of her situation."
Hei withdrew his suppressive aura before he continued.
"Or you could become my maid, and all of your problems will be solved."
Hei waited for a moment, and Jingfei seemed to be in thought.
"Let me make it a little easier for you. I'm quite fair you know? If we come to find out that what I've said is wildly inaccurate, then you're free to go and I'll come up with some other payment."
Jingfei thought for a long while before she responded.
"So, you're basically saying that you will help me to escape the marriage, as well as find out what happened to my mother. And in exchange, I am to become your maid for life?"
"Precisely."
"And if you're wrong about my mother, then I won't have to become your maid, but will have to pay another price instead?"
"That is the gist of it."
"What will the price be?"
"The price? I don't really know. Do you have anything of value?"
"Well, you would have won my hand in marriage at the very least."
Jingfei said this very seriously. It clearly wasn't a joke, or something said to lighten the atmosphere.
"Uh… No thanks."
Hei struggled to come up with another payment, but he really couldn't imagine anything material that he would want or need.
"You know what? If I'm wrong, there won't be any price. I can't think of a single thing that would be valuable to me that you own or could acquire. I'll just take it as my loss this time."
Of course, Hei was fully confident in his deductions. He couldn't see too much possibility for variance here, given his experience.
"Then I will agree. If my mother really has been captured and you are able to rescue her, then I will become your maid."
Hei smiled brightly.
"Excellent."
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