Chapter 98: Junior sister likes to play house
The young girl wrapped the rice cake in her mouth and chewed it twice. Her throat moved, and she swallowed it with a gulp. After licking the corner of her mouth, she looked at the bean paste cake on Ye Anping’s table and was about to take it. However, as soon as she took a step forward, Liang Zhu grabbed her shoulder forcefully.
Liang Zhu glared at her and scolded, “Ahting!”
“Ah…”
The young girl was frightened by his voice. She immediately shrank her neck and quickly lowered her head. Just when Liang Zhu wanted to continue scolding her, Ye Anping promptly said, “Brother Liang, just let her eat some. Is it possible that I will poison the pastry?”
“It’s hard to say.” Liang Zhu glanced at him.
Ye Anping was speechless, sighed, and decided to set an example. He picked up a piece of rice cake, put it into his mouth, chewed it, and then continued, “Brother Liang, if you want to leave, I won’t stop you. But there’s no need to be in such a hurry. I don’t know how to eat people.”
Seeing that he himself had eaten a piece of rice cake, Liang Zhu felt a little relieved. But just a little bit…
He ignored Ye Anping and said to the young girl, “Ahting, we will leave in a moment and won’t stay here anymore.”
“Huh?” The young girl was stunned, raised her head, and looked at Liang Zhu, asking again as if she was reluctant, “Father, are we leaving again?”
“Um…”
“But, didn’t you say before that we could stay in this city for a long time? We have only stayed for more than ten days… Ahting doesn’t want to rush. There is no food on the way, and she can’t sleep…”
“…”
Liang Zhu’s face showed helplessness, and he didn’t know what to say for a moment. When Ye Anping heard the young girl’s words, he immediately understood that the father and daughter had probably been living a life of running for their lives in recent days.
It was true to say that the Xuanxing Sect had surrendered the chief helmsman of the Seven Killing Sect, and the list of all disciples had been exposed. The major sects in the Western Region must still be arresting the absconding cultivators of the Seven Killing Sect. Liang Zhu had probably been on tenterhooks in the past few months and didn’t dare to stay in one place for more than two days. Now that he was here at Chilong Mansion, he originally thought he would be safe, but he didn’t expect to run into him again.
“Hey -” Ye Anping sighed and said, “Brother Liang, how about staying? You don’t care, she is not old, and following you around like this will not only make it impossible to practice, but she will not even be able to rest well on weekdays.”
Of course, Liang Zhu knew this. He thought about it for a while, looked at Liang Ahting, who was looking at him pitifully, and finally shook his head helplessly and led her back to the pavilion.
“Ahting, eat slowly.”
“Um.”
The young girl nodded her head, then looked at Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue eagerly. After seeing Ye Anping nod, she reached out to take the cake from the table.
Liang Zhu looked at Ye Anping. “Can we talk for a moment?”
“Sure.”
Ye Anping nodded, leaving Pei Lianxue with the little girl and walking with him to the edge of the pond.
Once they were out of earshot in the pavilion, Liang Zhu stopped and turned around.
“Do you want to hire me?”
“Yeah, but it’s not a requirement.”
“I can agree.” Liang Zhu paused and raised a finger seriously. “I have one condition—whatever you’re planning, it must not involve Ahting.”
“Is that her name?”
“Full name is Liang Ahting. She’s been with me for ten years.”
Ye Anping glanced at Liang Ahting, who was nibbling on cakes, frowned slightly, and asked, “You used to work in the Seven Killing Sect, and you still dare to adopt a girl?”
“She has nothing to do with the Seven Killing Sect, and she doesn’t know I am a cultivator from there. Don’t tell her about my past.”
“That’s interesting…”
Liang Zhu sighed, changed the subject, and said, “Let’s get to the point. What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to handle the miscellaneous tasks for the Dragon Slaying Club.”
“Miscellaneous tasks! Like what?”
“The day-to-day operations, overseeing the accounts. Any discrepancies, you discuss with the hall masters. Essentially, you’ll be acting as a proxy for the young master.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s it.” Ye Anping nodded. “As for compensation, how much was Hua Qinyu paying you before? I’ll give you double, including room and board.”
“If that’s it…” Liang Zhu hesitated and nodded. “Well, it’s a good job…”
“Oh, by the way, I have something to trouble you with, Brother Liang.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“In the neighbouring villages or towns, find five or six people, around sixteen or seventeen, with a somewhat unkempt appearance. Have them pretend to be Jiang Yu. Send one to Jiang’s residence every few days, claiming that Jiang Yu encountered a robbery on his way back. The imposter will say that the previous young master from the Dragon Slaying Club was fake and they are the real Jiang Yu.”
“Wait, why?”
“A negative makes a positive.” Ye Anping explained, “I am the fake young master, and with another fake young master, I become the real one.”
Liang Zhu pondered for a moment, then asked, “So, you robbed the real young master of the Dragon Slaying Club but didn’t silence him?”
“Yes. That young master is a disciple of Master Yun Shi. Silencing him would lead to trouble with the old man. Leave a thin line for the future.”
“Got it.”
“And the second thing, Brother Liang, you should have connections in Duchun City’s black market. Use the Dragon Slaying Club’s name to purchase as many Shocking Pills as possible. After the Chilong Conference opens, have the club members sell them at stalls.”
“Shocking Pills!”
Liang Zhu frowned deeply, looking puzzled. Shocking Pills were not something commonly kept at home. They were used to block mental intrusion.
Cultivators who often faced miasma would typically carry some on their person. Due to the Shocking Pill’s shorter shelf life compared to the Spirit-Gathering Pill, it would lose its effectiveness if left in a storage bag for more than a month. Moreover, the Western Region, unlike the Eastern Region, lacked demonic cultivators and areas with demonic miasma.
From a business standpoint, selling Shocking Pills at the Chilong Conference would undoubtedly result in significant losses.
However, this was Ye Anping’s idea, so Liang Zhu dared not stop speculating. And when he considered the purpose of Shocking Pills, his eyes widened suddenly. He looked at Ye Anping with disbelief and questioned, “Could it be!! Has a demonic cultivator infiltrated?”
“I didn’t say that.” Ye Anping raised an eyebrow, smiling as he countered, “Where would a demonic cultivator come from in the Western Region?”
“…”
Liang Zhu felt embarrassed. While it was indeed unlikely for a demonic cultivator to appear in the Western Region, a Grand Master of the Gu Poison Sect had died not long ago.
If a demonic cultivator from the Eastern Region had reached Chilong Mansion, it would be extremely dangerous wherever he went with Ahting.
Following his sixth brother would actually be safer. After all, he could benefit from the protection provided by the influential figure behind his sixth brother.
After contemplating for a while, Liang Zhu looked at Liang Ahting in the pavilion. Seeing her happily playing with Pei Lianxue, he said, “I understand. I’ll handle it right away.”
“Huh!” Ye Anping was slightly shocked. “Now, there’s no need to rush these two things.
“The sooner I finish, the sooner it’s done. Take care of Ahting for me.”
“Fine…”
Without waiting for Ye Anping’s response, Liang Zhu turned and walked towards the gate of Jiang Mansion.
Ye Anping was stunned for a while before realising what he meant—after Si Xuanji entrusted Xiao Yunluo to him, someone else charged him with a little girl.
“Sigh…”
After sighing, Ye Anping walked back to the pavilion.
Liang Ahting saw her adoptive father leaving at this time. She looked at the pastries on the table, then at her adoptive father walking away. After hesitating for a while, she chose the pastries. Instead of following him, she asked, “Uncle… where is my adoptive father going?”
“He went out to help his uncle with something and will be back later.”
“Oh…” Liang Ahting nodded, then looked at Pei Lianxue beside her and asked weakly, “Uncle, what should I call this sister?”
Ye Anping was momentarily stunned and introduced, “This sister’s surname is Pei. You can call her Sister Pei…”
Before he could finish, Pei Lianxue quickly interrupted, “Call me aunt.”
“Aunt!” Liang Ahting paused and quickly said, “Aunt is so beautiful.”
“Hmm…” Pei Lianxue pursed her lips and smiled, feeding her cakes. “Your mouth is so sweet.”
“Hehe…”
Did Liang Zhu teach her to say this? Ye Anping didn’t know what expression to make and looked at his junior sister again, feeling inexplicably helpless.
Junior sister wanted to play house, and now the whole family was together.
Ye Anping sighed deeply, “Well, okay, let’s just go with Aunt.”
…