White-Robed Chief

Chu Li raised his head and glanced at him, he smiled at him. “Elder Zhu, please do not worry, nothing will happen to you.”

Chief Zhu quickly put up a friendly smile. “Thank you, Head Chief.”

Chu Li said, “If you are friendly to everyone, his Royal Highness can do nothing. Also, you’re doing well as the treasurer of the Imperial Residence, there is no need to be worried and scared. As long as you keep your attitude of treading on thin ice, your position as the treasurer will be stable.

“Yes, thank you for your advice, Head Chief!” said Chief Zhu with haste.

Chu Li nodded and walked in. He was wondering where King An was and saw King An haughtily walking into the study room.

The study room was empty on most days, there were traces of dust. Suddenly, King An went into a rage and called in two maids. He immediately hit them with a board until the two maids’ flesh was lacerated. They wailed in pain, constantly begging for forgiveness.

King An was standing on the steps. He posed a handsome figure with his yellow robes, but his gaze was as cold as ice.

He stared at the two maids that were whimpering on the ground and looked at the Scribes who were mute with fear. He said in a low voice, “In the few days that I was in Isolated Cultivation, it seems that you’ve been living well, you’ve even grown fatter!”

Everyone hastily lowered their heads.

King An had a positive reputation, but he was a petty person despite his generous appearance. There were many rules in the Imperial Residence and the conduct was strict as well. His orders were not too tiring, but they were nerve-wracking. Everyone was afraid of making a mistake, so they could not get fatter.

In the days when King An was not present, they were still doing those tasks. However, without the presence of King An, they were free from pressure. They started to loosen up and naturally slacked when performing their tasks. They were all uneasy now.

King An lightly said, “From today onwards, everything will return to normal. I hope that you will value yourselves and refrain from angering me, or you shall suffer the consequences of your own actions.”

“Yes.” Everyone respectfully replied.

Satisfied, King An nodded and waved his hand, indicating the others to withdraw.

The two maids reluctantly thanked King An and were carried out. They needed to rest on their beds for at least ten days.

Chu Li walked towards Tianshu Courtyard. He was slowly strolling, witnessing everything in his mind.

He sighed to himself. Sure enough, he was behaving outrageously after achieving success. After King An suffered this setback, his temperament had become more impetuous, he had become even more dangerous.

Before he was close to the Tianshu Courtyard, he could hear the sounds of a guzheng being played. Xiao Shi was playing the guzheng.

She was in a good mood as the sound coming from the guzheng was calm and pleasant.

A normal person would think that spending the days holed up in the courtyard, occasionally visiting the Imperial Residence’s backyard to take a stroll, would be a bore. Yet to Xiao Shi, it was a comfortable and peaceful life, similar to when she was at the Public House.

She thought it was not bad. It was silent and peaceful, and there was nothing for her to fret over. Occasionally listening to Chu Li of his tales from the outside world, and following him around places for a walk, taking in the view of different sceneries, as well as going to Spirit Cranes Peak to play with Xiao He for a while, the days were wonderful as well.

As he entered the courtyard, the sounds of the guzheng abruptly stopped.

Xiao Shi’s white hand left the guzheng and waved at him.

Chu Li walked over and sat across her. In the midst of a gentle aroma, her face was white as jade; her beauty was unparalleled. Her deep and bright gaze seemed as if it was going to suck one’s spirit away. Even if one saw her every day, one might not be able to handle facing her gaze.

“Has King An recovered his martial arts?” Xiao Shi asked lightly.

Chu Li was startled, he smiled. “When did you find out?”

“In the residence, I am more well informed than you are!” Xiao Shi smiled. “I didn’t expect this incident to provoke his martial arts again!”

Chu Li nodded. “I just witnessed it.”

“Has he changed again?” Xiao Shi scoffed. “Is he more honest now?”

Chu Li shook his head. “On the contrary, he’s become worse than before. Lady, please be more careful. If things go wrong, you’ll have to use the sarira prayer beads!”

“Yes, I know.” Xiao Shi nodded and scoffed. “He should just be crippled!”

Chu Li thought as he furrowed his brows and shook his head. “It’s okay if it happens once, but it seems a bit too over the top if it happens again. Let’s continue observing.”

“You can’t be kind while dealing with someone like him. He needs to be shut down the moment he moves a muscle, or things will be thrown into chaos. Just you wait and see!” Xiao Shi scoffed. “I feel bothered when I see him, I don’t want to meet him!”

“Then you shall not meet,” Chu Li said, “He promised that he would never come to Tianshu Courtyard.”

“I won’t feel bothered if I don’t see him!” Xiao Shi said.

As the two were talking, Zheng Lide’s voice could be heard from the outside. “Head Chief, Royal Highness wants to meet you, he is at the Precious Light Courtyard.”

Chu Li nodded and said, “Okay.”

“What is he planning to do again?” Xiao Shi furrowed her brows.

Chu Li said, “I guess that he can’t wait to remove me from my position of Head Chief.”

“Again?” Xiao Shi scoffed. “He’s really annoying, it’s as if the position of Head Chief is a treasured position!”

Chu Li smiled. “That’s true, for an average person.”

“You want the position too?” Xiao Shi rolled her eyes at him.

Chu Li said, “It doesn’t matter if I don’t have the position.”

“Then you might as well not go!” Xiao Shi said, “Say that you don’t have extra energy to care about him!”

Chu Li started laughing.

Xiao Shi said, “If he doesn’t want his own face, you don’t have to give him face as well.”

Chu Li smiled. “Let’s see what he’s going to do, it’s actually pretty interesting.”

Xiao Shi rolled her eyes at him.

When Chu Li arrived at the Precious Light Courtyard, Song Liuying and Xue Ling Ningyu were present. Leng Qing and Leng Qiu were sitting on one side too.

King An was seated in the main seat of the living room, Xu Ning was sitting on his right, while the left seat was reserved for him. Song Liuying and Xue Ling Ningyu were seated far away.

Chu Li made a closed-fist salute, greeted every one of them and sat across Xu Ning. He looked at King An. “Is there anything, Your Royal Highness?”

“It’s about your position,” King An said resolutely, “Now that I’ve recovered my martial arts, I can manage the affairs inside the residence again. Chu Li, you’re the Centurion of the Secret Guardians Hall. It is an important position that requires you to concentrate on matters. You have limited energy, you should just drop the affairs in the Imperial Residence, I’ll deal with them.”

Chu Li smiled as he made a closed-fist salute. “I’m very grateful for King An’s compassion.”

“Then from today onwards, you are the Chief of the Tianshu Courtyard, rid of your position as the Head Chief.” King An nodded satisfyingly, though he felt very dejected.

What he wanted to see was Chu Li’s gloomy expression, but in the end, it seemed as if he was rid of a heavy burden; he was relaxed and pleasant. This made him feel a sense of melancholy that was hard to swallow.

Chu Li said, “It’s great this way, I have no responsibilities. Managing the vast Imperial Residence really isn’t an easy task, I feel that I don’t have enough energy for that.”

“Very well, indeed.” King An felt disheartened, but a satisfied expression hung on his face. He nodded. “Thank you for the work for all this while, I want to properly reward you. You don’t have any maids yet, right?”

Chu Li waved his hand and said, “Thank you for your kind intention, Your Royal Highness. I am waiting for Xue Ling to return to be my maid.”

“Xue Ling has not returned yet,” King An said, “I shall find a gorgeous maid, you will definitely be satisfied, rest assured!”

Chu Li smiled and shook his head. “I dare not.”

King An’s face dimmed, he coldly said, “Chief Chu, are you rejecting my kind offer? Are you looking down on me?”

Chu Li said, “Your Royal Highness, what I’m most curious about is how you recovered your martial arts.”

“The maid will be at your courtyard tomorrow.” King An coldly scoffed. “The recovery of my martial arts is merely a coincidence. Being able to suddenly comprehend the Golden Lohan’s Power, it reverted overnight and even improved upon it, it’s truly mystical!”

Chu Li let out a small laugh.

Although he put it off for the Cloud Slashing Power and the Heavenly Demonic Power, Chu Li had cultivated the Golden Lohan’s Power as well. However, he still spent some time every day to train a little, it helped a lot for the Sentient Menace, it was about to break the boundary.

Still, the Golden Lohan’s Power was not so mystical, to able to recover one’s martial arts in one night and even improve upon it, he must have used another method.