Chapter 226: The Grand Elder’s Special Instructions

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: The Grand Elder’s Special Instructions

"Senior Brother Yang, what happened to you?"

Liu Chen instinctively took a step back. Senior Brother Yang looked even worse now than when Liu Chen had practiced magic without rest in Fire Dragon Valley. It made him wonder if something terrible had happened.

"These are the Indenture Contracts from Senior Brother Xie. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I was up until dawn just helping Master organize the Purple Bamboo Peak disciple roster."

Yang Haichen first took out four Spirit Contract Jade Tokens before explaining his current condition. He had received the Jade Tokens from Xie Xichen very late yesterday and thought he could finally get a good night’s sleep. But as soon as he went to see his master, he was handed a huge stack of disciple lists.

"Let me handle this. You should go get some sleep."

Liu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. If this was all that was wrong with Senior Brother Yang, then he could relax. If something had actually happened to the Yang Family, the matter with the auction house might have run into trouble.

’Even if the three senior brothers’ families are affected,’ Liu Chen thought, ’it would be best if it happens after the handover with Steward Lin is complete. That way, at least the two junior sisters’ parents will be safe and sound.’

As for his three senior brothers’ families... it was a cruel thought, but Liu Chen didn’t care about them, nor did he feel any need to. His friendship was with his senior brothers, not with their families.

If his two junior sisters had asked him to arrange for the entire Ye Family and the Great Xia Royal Family, he wouldn’t have even returned to Purple Cloud Valley. He would have just slipped away back in the Great Xia Imperial City.

Thankfully, things hadn’t developed that way. In Liu Chen’s eyes, his two junior sisters were still quite likable.

"Oh, right. One more thing. The Ye Family was attacked by Loose Cultivators last night."

Yang Haichen waved his hand and started to walk away. He stopped after a few steps, finished what he had to say, and then continued on his way.

"That doesn’t seem to have anything to do with me."

Liu Chen shrugged. ’As far as the Ye Family is concerned, Junior Sister Linglong only cares about her parents, and they’re here in the Purple Cloud Valley Marketplace. Under these circumstances, even if the Ye Family were completely wiped out, let alone just attacked, I would at most watch coldly from the sidelines.’

After signing the Spirit Contracts within the four Spirit Contract Jade Tokens, Liu Chen headed straight for the Hundred Affairs Hall. The auction house deed and the remaining Indenture Contracts were all ready. It was time to complete the deal with Steward Lin.

The Hundred Affairs Hall was in the same familiar location. Liu Chen sat across from Steward Lin, placed the auction house deed and sixteen Spirit Contract Jade Tokens on the table, and watched quietly as the steward busied himself.

"The Grand Elder gave special instructions. If you need to withdraw resources, he said we could give you a bit more, circumstances permitting."

Steward Lin accepted the sixteen Jade Tokens with a smile. He had likely heard the news from Yang Haichen, as the Grand Elder himself had come to the Hundred Affairs Hall this morning to give instructions.

This allowed Steward Lin to breathe a sigh of relief. ’The Grand Elder is set to inherit the position of Peak Master of Purple Bamboo Peak. Now that the future Peak Master has spoken, the nature of this whole affair has changed.’ However, his own claim on four of the spots now seemed a bit awkward, as the deal could have been completed even without his involvement.

Still, Steward Lin wasn’t disappointed. He figured he could still secure one or two of those four spots, and now he wouldn’t have to worry about being accused of abusing his authority. On top of that, it was a good opportunity to get on the good side of the current Grand Elder of Purple Bamboo Peak—the future Peak Master.

"I will go thank the Grand Elder in person."

Liu Chen nodded. ’It’s not entirely unexpected,’ he thought. ’From a certain angle, it was because of the Grand Elder that Senior Brother Yang had an edge over Senior Brother Xie and Senior Brother Ren, making him the only viable choice after the initial plan failed.’

The only thing Liu Chen hadn’t anticipated was that all the seniors from Purple Bamboo Peak he had thought might help had decided to intervene. Both Steward Lin and the Grand Elder had stepped in. His original plan had estimated that the matter could be resolved smoothly if just one of them helped, but in the end, both had taken action.

’Steward Lin, at least, stood to gain from this. But the Grand Elder’s help was essentially free of charge. The deal struck with Senior Brother Yang was a private arrangement between the two of them; it had nothing to do with the Grand Elder.’

But since the Grand Elder had given a direct order, Liu Chen knew he would definitely have to pay him a visit. Before that, however, he would need to prepare some Third Grade Spiritual Cuisine, some Spirit Tea, and ideally, a copy of his cultivation insights on the Cyan Lotus Demon-Slaying Sword Upper Chapter.

"Alright, the corresponding Spirit Contract is drafted. Once you sign it, I can head to the Marketplace and begin the takeover."

Steward Lin didn’t say much else. After finishing the rather complex comprehensive Spirit Contract, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He still had to report this to the Grand Elder later, so it was best to handle it cleanly.

"Thank you, Steward Lin."

After confirming there were no issues with the core clauses, Liu Chen signed the Spirit Contract. As long as his two junior sisters’ parents could openly and legitimately become members of the Purple Bamboo Peak’s Hundred Affairs Hall, then he had done everything he could.

Whether these four elders could gain permanent status in twenty years was not something Liu Chen could predict. However, he suspected that Purple Cloud Valley had a connection with the Mo Family.

’If that’s true,’ he thought, ’it won’t even take twenty years. With any legitimate excuse, these four will be granted permanent status. They might even get promoted again and again, possibly ending up directly within the Mo Family’s sphere of influence.’

But none of that had anything to do with him anymore. Liu Chen put away the 400,000 Spirit Stones he received and left the Hundred Affairs Hall without a second glance.

"SIGH... and here I thought I might get a free meal of Spiritual Cuisine out of this."

Steward Lin couldn’t help but shake his head as he watched Liu Chen’s retreating figure. A Third Grade Spiritual Cuisine could help raise his cultivation, but unfortunately, the deal had already been finalized last time, so Liu Chen hadn’t brought any with him today.

’Time to get down to business,’ Steward Lin thought. ’Peak Master Mo is leaving soon. I should handle these four people Liu Chen is concerned about first.’

Steward Lin wasn’t particularly angry about it. He simply picked up the four most prominent Spirit Contract Jade Tokens and headed straight for the Marketplace. After finishing this task, he planned to pay the Grand Elder a visit to see what his thoughts were.

’Even if I’ll be working under the Grand Elder from now on, I still have to repay this favor as best I can.’ After all, this wasn’t a simple matter of withdrawing Spirit Stones; it was tantamount to selling an entire business and its cultivators to the Hundred Affairs Hall.

If the Grand Elder were to disagree, well, the Spirit Contracts were already signed, so they couldn’t just be voided. But he felt the chances of the Grand Elder refusing were low. After all, most of the people at the auction house were members of the Yang Family.

And Yang Haichen was the Grand Elder’s disciple. If he were to refuse to purchase the auction house, the Yang Family would be the one to suffer the greatest loss.

Inside an ordinary inn in the Marketplace, Steward Lin met with the couple who had once been the Carefree King of the Great Xia Royal Family and his wife, as well as the couple from the Ye Family.

The entire exchange between them took no more than the time for an incense stick to burn. All the formalities were completed. The Indenture Contracts the four of them had signed were transferred, changing their servitude from Liu Chen to the Purple Bamboo Peak’s Hundred Affairs Hall for a term of twenty years.