“Chen Xiazi?” Lu Yin asked in an odd tone. “Can you not see?”
Chen Xiazi replied, “These eyes can see, but this heart cannot.”
Lu Yin rolled his eyes before putting on a stoic facade. “Be a bit more clear.”
“I failed to see that the Guan brothers were Redbacks. All of us here in Huaiyuan Gate are guilty,” Chen Xiazi said in a deep voice.
Lu Yin shook his head. “That had nothing to do with you. If Redbacks were so easy to recognize, then we would not need to hunt them down. Alright, let’s get to work.”
“Yes, this subordinate will hand over the authority of this gate now,” Chen Xiazi said.
The people of Huaiyuan Gate were not as difficult to deal with as Lu Yin had expected. Apparently, he had overthought the situation. No matter how upset they might be with the situation, they all kept their frustrations close to heart and were ready to perfectly execute all of Lu Yin’s orders.
This was in line with the accepted behavior of Humility’s Gate, and it could even be considered as part of the rules.
Water flowed through space, and light fell down from a sun high above. In other words, this place also experienced time normally.
The nights in Huaiyuan Gate were exceptionally beautiful. The dim light refracted through the flowing water before landing on the island within the river, which created a hazy and beautiful scenery.
During this time, Lu Yin observed everything in and around Huaiyuan Gate. He sighed emotionally at the realization that he was currently the acting Gate Master.
Huh? While checking Huaiyuan Gate’s intelligence network, Lu Yin discovered that there was a jade butterfly among their members.
Yu Chen had created and trained the jade butterflies to act as her moles and spies within various powers throughout the Perennial World. Coincidentally, Lu Yin had once Possessed the old man that was Yu Chen’s guardian, and during that time, Lu Yin had learned the identities and contact information of many jade butterflies. At this moment, he had just stumbled upon one of them.
Yu Chen was a vicious tactician, and she had actually even sent her jade butterflies to infiltrate Humility’s Gate. Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of the gate in the Yinshan District. If that place had not been filled with spoiled and lazy silkpants, then Yu Chen would have most likely sent her jade butterflies over there as well. Lu Yin had been lucky that he had been initially sent to that particular gate. Any other option would have most likely resulted in Yu Chen out maneuvering him long ago.
Cai Shu glanced over at Lu Yin from the distance, but then he closed his eyes and relaxed. Just as Qing Chen had told Lu Yin, Cai Shu would not interfere in any of Huaiyuan Gate’s affairs or any decision that Lu Yin made. The Envoy was nothing but a bodyguard at this time.
Or rather, he was an observer.
Lu Yin contemplated how he could lose his shadow, and just like that, a new, peaceful life for Lu Yin began.
Over the following days, Lu Yin wandered about the headquarters, becoming familiar with the place and his new subordinates. The truth was that Lu Yin was already very familiar with the headquarters itself. He had not accessed Guan Yun’s memories for nothing.
After several days, Lu Yin saw a group of people being taken away by Chen Xiazi. After being asked about it, Chen Xiazi said, “There are traitors within that group, but there’s no way to know who it might be. Thus, we have to interrogate them one by one.”
Lu Yin glanced at the people. “How are you so certain that there’s a traitor among them?”
“A nearby lord had a son with an exceptional innate gift that recently disappeared, and these are all the people who were in contact with the child. Unless rescued, the child will be either killed or taken away and raised as a traitor,” Chen Xiazi explained.
Lu Yin grew curious. “He has an impressive innate gift?”
“He has an innate gift of melting. He can melt anything that he touches.”
Lu Yin nodded and waved a hand, allowing the group to be taken away.
Humility’s Gate had their own interrogation methods, and Lu Yin saw no need to get personally involved in that process. He was nothing but a passerby, and he did not actually see himself as the Huaiyuan Gate Master. How could such an inexperienced person possibly be a Gate Master? Not to mention, he even had a guardian watching over him.
Lu Yin was nothing more than bait.
When Liu Tianmu arrived, her face was as expressionless as ever. She did not even smile when greeting Lu Yin, though Lu Yin was very happy to see her.
“I wonder, Tianmu, how old are you?” Lu Yin was bored, so he made some small talk with her while lazily leaning against a wall and watching the water flow by overhead.
Liu Tianmu was standing next to him and indifferently replied, “Older than you.”
“You shouldn’t be a part of the younger generation anymore,” Lu Yin continued.
Liu Tianmu denied nothing.
Almost none of the youths who had entered the Perennial World were still considered a part of the younger generation in the Fifth Mainland.
“When are you going to get married? You’re not too young for that anymore,” Lu Yin asked. His boredom was only growing.
Liu Tianmu frowned. “That has nothing to do with you.”
“That’s why I asked.” Lu Yin rolled his eyes.
Liu Tianmu simply stopped speaking.
Lu Yin pursed his lips. He was not actually asking these questions randomly. Rather, he was trying to lower Cai Shu’s vigilance. After all, the more the powerhouse relaxed, the less attention he would pay to the youths. Negligence would give them the opportunity to slip away. Unfortunately, Liu Tianmu would not cooperate. The woman really was too stiff.
“Smile once in a while, or else you’ll never get married,” Lu Yin said.
Liu Tianmu stayed silent. She was too lazy to even pay any attention to Lu Yin.
Soon, a second person arrived: Shang Qing.
Lu Yin grew much more comfortable once he saw Shang Qing. Just as in the past, every time Lu Yin saw Shang Qing, he had three streams of ancestral qi swirling about him.
“Yu Chen asked me a lot of questions before I left. She clearly doesn’t trust me.” These were the first words out of Shang Qing’s mouth when he saw Lu Yin.
Lu Yin shrugged. “Of course. I asked for someone who has close connections to the Celestial Frost Sect to come. Of course she won’t trust you.”
“And yet you still asked for me. You’re not afraid of them looking into things?” Shang Qing grew increasingly confused.
Lu Yin said, “I have a plan. Yu Chen will definitely contact you, so just make a normal report to her. It won’t matter.”
Shang Qing nodded. He then proceeded to silently stand in place, just like Liu Tianmu. The situation once again returned to a very boring atmosphere.
This situation did not improve in any way until Wang Dashuai arrived.
“Bro- Bro- My bro-” Wang Dashuai was almost moved to tears the moment he saw Lu Yin. He acted like Lu Yin was his long-lost brother, completely forgetting about how he had cursed Lu Yin during his punishment on the Junior Progenitor Planet.
Lu Yin watched the pale-faced fatty rush towards him and wanted to evade as he was embarrassed by the entire situation. But this moment of hesitation allowed the fatty to embrace Lu Yin. “Bro! You don’t know how your brother’s suffered recently! The elders were upset, and they even tortured me! They left me hanging under the bridge so that everyone would laugh at me! I’ve lost all respect, and I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to show my face in public again. Bro, you’re still loyal enough to ask me to come over here. Without you, I’d be done for…”
Wang Dashuai was truly weeping and venting as he clung to Lu Yin. All of the fatty’s emotions had erupted after seeing Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was rendered speechless. While he had already known that the fatty would suffer after introducing two trespassers to his Junior Progenitor, Lu Yin had also played a part in Wang Dashuai’s previous situation. “Okay, Brother Wang, it’s all over now. You can find some peace here at Huaiyuan Gate. Your brother will take care of you,” Lu Yin comforted.
The fatty felt overwhelmed when he heard Lu Yin’s words, and he squeezed Lu Yin even harder. “Bro, you’re the loyalest! I really read you right! Bro, you’re the best!”
Lu Yin rolled his eyes, though he actually felt even more guilty. He did not have any intentions of saving Wang Dashuai by requesting him be transferred over to Huaiyuan Gate, as the fatty was merely a red herring for Qing Chen and the others. Lu Yin’s goal was actually to slip away from Cai Shu.
Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin let out a cough, and he sympathetically patted the fatty on the back.
“Bro, no matter where you go in the future, your brother will go with you! We’ll share the same blessings and tribulations!” Wang Dashuai loudly declared. His words and behavior made some of the people passing by momentarily stunned.
Liu Tianmu was nearby, and she glanced at Wang Dashuai. There was a hint of unspoken empathy in the depths of her eyes. She rarely sympathized with anyone, but Wang Dashuai’s situation resonated with her. This fatty had been truly unfortunate to encounter Lu Yin.
Shang Qing had the same reaction, and the longer he observed the fatty, the more Shang Qing empathized with the man.
Wang Dashuai’s arrival at Huaiyuan Gate stirred up a lot of excitement for Lu Yin. The fatty applied all of his skills, and within a mere two days, he had already become acquainted with most of the people in Huaiyuan Gate. While many people resented Lu Yin’s presence, they had nothing against the fatty. His enthusiasm and excitement to get to know people caused them to let their guard down, and Captain Wang quickly reported to Lu Yin on the current situation within the gate through his interactions with all the members.
“Bro, the Cloud Shuttle is the most important thing here. It connects the Middle Realm to the Higher Realm. Anyone in the Middle Realm who wants to visit the Higher Realm needs to use the Cloud Shuttle, as the Bifrost is really too far away, you know? Every year, the Smokecloud Sect has to contribute a great deal of resources to Huaiyuan Gate,” the fatty whispered in a report to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin grew curious. “Contribute resources? Why?”
Wang Dashuai glanced around, but only Liu Tianmu and Shang Qing were nearby. The fatty sneakily answered, “I don’t know about all the details, but I’ve heard that there are some things that can’t be revealed in the Middle Realm that have to be taken up to the Higher Realm along the Cloud Shuttle. Since Huaiyuan Gate has the right to inspect everything that passes through, it seems that the Smokecloud Sect is naturally concerned that Huaiyuan Gate will cause trouble for them, which is why they make such impressive contributions each year.”
“How much?” Lu Yin had grown interested.
The fatty shook his head. “I don’t know, but according to my estimates, it shouldn’t be any less than hundreds of millions of star essence.”
Lu Yin was surprised. That much? Hundreds of millions of star essence every year? That was insane! And this was only for Huaiyuan Gate, which meant the majority of the Smokecloud Sect’s resources went to themselves and the four ruling powers. This indicated that the Smokecloud Sect received an annual income of billions of star essence from the transports that they delivered up the Cloud Shuttle.
“Also, that’s just star essence. That stuff’s useless for Envoys, and curios were also donated for the Guan brothers to use each year. Because of this, Huaiyuan Gate rarely inspects anything going up the Cloud Shuttle, ” the fatty eagerly finished his explanation.
Curios? Lu Yin knew that Envoys cultivated differently from those lower realm cultivators. Weaker cultivators needed to absorb star energy and circulate it through their bodies while Envoys used stellular energy, which could only be absorbed from the true universe. However, just like during a stellular tribulation, anyone trying to cultivate stellular energy in the true universe would be attacked by the true universe, which meant that Envoys had to employ extreme caution while cultivating. This risk meant that they could easily suffer backlashes.
Many Envoys would use various methods to hide their energy, speed up their rate of absorbing stellular energy, or use certain means to resist the true universe’s retaliation. Anything that Envoys could use to assist their cultivation was collectively referred to as curios.
Also, there were certain power vessels that Envoys could use to help them resist the backlash from the true universe, which meant that some power vessels could also be referred to as curios. It was not a term for a specific type of item, but rather a broad category of things that Envoys used to assist themselves in increasing their strength.
“Bro, you’re the newly appointed acting Gate Master, and it’s also about time for the Smokecloud Sect to visit and negotiate their donations for the year.” The fatty looked excited.
Lu Yin felt frustrated. The Smokecloud Sect was a powerful force in the Middle Realm. They were not as powerful as the Liu family or Seed Garden’s Nong family, but the Smokecloud Sect was certainly not weak either. Yun Tingting, who had helped Bai Shaohong, had come from the Smokecloud Sect.
“Are we supposed to just go talk to them like this? That’s not a good idea,” Lu Yin murmured.
The fatty suggested, “Why don’t we go see the Cloud Shuttle first then?”
That sounded reasonable, and Lu Yin shot an admiring glance towards Wang Dashuai. The fatty had a quick mind. Although he was saying that they should go see the Cloud Shuttle, Wang Dashuai was actually suggesting that they look for some trouble, though he knew better than to say such a thing out loud.
